Skip to content GOD'S PLAN FOR DOMINION: A COVENANT FAMILY Oct 28 · 54 min ...more
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Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub serves as president of Pastor Jeff Ministries, a national and global ministry designed to equip believers and challenge them to take
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The Importance of Family in God's Plan 0:00 Word of the Lord. Father in heaven, we just thank you so much for your son, Jesus Christ, and your Holy Spirit who indwells all of us who believe. And we pray today, Lord, that you would move mighty in this service.0:08 Lord, it's been a privilege and an honor, to bring you song and to sing to you and tell you how worthy you are because you are, and our greatest admiration and praise belongs to you and to you0:20 alone. Father, we do pray for our nation, Lord, to see on television cameras an assassination attempt of our former president Trump. Lord, we just pray for his quick recovery.0:32 Lord, we pray for the families of the victims that lost lives yesterday. Lord, we pray that you would take what was intended for evil and you would use it for good. Lord, regardless of our political conviction and0:43 affiliation, we know that that's wrong and it's dark and it's evil. And Lord, in these days, may we truly be salt and light. May we preserve the putrid in our culture, may we be light in the darkness in this culture,0:54 and may we learn how to pray for those who persecute us and to stand firm in a world that doesn't want anything to do with you. God, we entrust this whole election cycle to you because we believe, as it's already been1:05 said, that you're on your throne and you're ruling and reigning, and we don't even need to vote about that, that you're still in charge of everything. But Lord, we pray you'd have grace on our nation, that you would turn1:14 the hearts of our people back toward you. And now, Lord, as we get ready to open up your living and active word, we pray that you would speak, because we as a people believe that every time your word is faithfully and1:23 accurately proclaimed, that you are speaking. And so our prayer this morning is, Lord, speak, for we are ready to hear. And so for all of those who have gathered who desire to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak directly to1:33 you, who will believe what he tells you, and who will, by faith, put into practice what he shows you, will you agree with me very loudly by saying the word, amen. Amen. I'm very excited to kick off this1:44 Families Fortified series and there's a lot of different ways that we could tackle this. But I wanna tell you from the onset, when I say the word family, I know it elicits an emotional response. For some of you, it's a1:56 response of delight. You think about your mom, you think about your dad, perhaps you think about your current family, your wife, or your husband, or your children, and you're like, family's the best. Family's the place2:06 where we connect. Family's the place where we build 1 another up. Family is the place where I can be loved. Family is the place where I can be myself. Family is the place that no matter what the world says, family is2:15 what keeps it all together and I'm so for the family. But for others, when I say the word family, it elicits different feelings. It engenders a different response. It's abuse and2:26 it's, where was dad? And it's divorce and it's pain and it's shattering and it's hurt and it's, where do I step now? And what do I do? And how come I had to endure that, and how come this happened to2:38 me, and where was God, and all of these different things. And I realize I'm talking to a wide audience of people. I'm talking to young children, talking to older people. I'm talking to some of you who have never been2:49 married that want to get married. I'm talking to some of you that have never been married that say, I've watched what people in church say about marriage. I don't know that I ever want to get married. I'm talking to some2:57 of you who have been married and divorced, that have experienced the pain and shattering of that, that are in a position to say, Well, what's God say to me now? And how can I move on? Some of you are widowed and you3:07 understand the devastation of losing a spouse. Some of you are just wondering, well, what do I do now? And how do I align the pieces? And where do I go? And my situation's so complicated. So what I want to do is I want3:19 to start in the word of God and help us this morning. Series, I hear here's what a husband should be, and here's what a wife should be, and here's what kids should be, and here's what singles should be. And I think the3:30 Bible has a lot to tell us on all those things, and we'll get there. But the 1 thing I don't think that we answer quickly enough is why even talk about the Like, is it really that big of a deal? Or is it just for some3:41 people to engage in? Does God have a plan for families? Should there be a purpose of family as a Christian? What should I think about family? And that's what we're gonna dive into today3:53 is answering the why question. We're gonna talk about God's dominion mandate for us. We're gonna talk about God's plan for dominion, and God's plan for dominion is very, very4:05 simple. It's very, very clear. For those of you that are believers that attend brave, many of us would say, we wanna see revival. We wanna see God move. We wanna see God move through our church, out into the world. We4:15 wanna see change. We wanna see everything take place. And God has an answer, and God says, if you really wanna see that, the 1 place that I'm willing to bless and the 1 place I'm willing to move the most is in a4:26 covenant family. So goes the family. So goes the world. If you're a Christian, you need to understand why family is central to everything4:38 that God wants to get done. And so we're gonna answer the question why. Why even talk about the family? Maybe I don't wanna be part of a family. Maybe I'm just waiting to grow up to get out of my family so I can be on my4:48 own. I don't want family. To take a look at what scripture has to say as we begin this series. So I want you to open up your Bible to Genesis chapter5:00 1. Genesis chapter 1. We're going to start right in the beginning because that's where God begins to speak about this topic. And we're gonna start in the beginning, specifically focusing on verses 26 to 31 today. We'll5:11 get into some of chapter 2 as we highlight that and spell it out a little more. But as you open up your Bible to Genesis chapter 1, you see the most controversial passage in the entire Bible, Genesis 1 1. In the5:21 beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. That is the most controversial passage in the Bible. Our world doesn't wanna hear it, but what God wants to tell you is, before anything ever was, I am. And I created it5:33 all, and I'm gonna tell you how I did it. And if you want more specifics on what God does, because I don't have time for it today, I did an entire series called the Alpha and Omega series. We did the first 11 chapters of5:43 Genesis, the entire book of Revelation. You can go online and you can watch all that. But I just wanna spell out for you the background of where we're getting today because what we see in Genesis chapter 1 is that God5:53 created everything out of nothing. He did it in 6 literal days and he rested on the seventh. And there is no other way to read or understand how that happened, unless your authority is outside the Bible. If you read the6:04 Bible and say, I'm just gonna believe what this says. You will come to the conclusion that God created everything out of nothing, things visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. All things were6:14 created by him and through him. He did it in 6 literal days and rested on the seventh. You said, how do you know? Because he tells us. The only reason you don't believe that Well, I don't know if day means a day, but but6:24 it does. And if you can't believe Genesis chapter 1, why would you believe anything else? Okay. So that's just a little bit of welcome and truth. Yes. So6:36 there's 6 days, and God's creating everything. But on day 6, God does something different. God creates differently. He creates a group differently than anything else that he's ever done. For the6:48 first 5 days, every time he creates, there's evening, because he spends the whole day creating. Then there's evening, and then night, because there's a morning, and then there's day 1. And then there's day 2, and day 3,6:57 and day 4, and day 5. And after every day, God speaks to what he creates. And what does God say? That is good. This is good. Why? Because God is perfect and is a creator, And everything God7:09 creates is good because I did it. And everything I create is good. But this is where we get to verse 26. This is in the middle of day 6. We read what God did.7:22 And this is where we get why a covenant family is so important, what this dominion mandate's about, and how God, who created this whole perfect world, is going to get his message out. How is God gonna be7:34 most glorified, and how is God gonna expand his rule on the planet? And he begins to answer it in verse 26. And that gives us our first point. You need to understand this, that dominion starts with identity7:45 rooted in the image of God. Says.7:57 Then God's let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all of8:09 the of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So he said, I'm gonna create humankind. And I'm gonna do it different than anything else I've created thus far. It's gonna be different than the8:20 moon. It's gonna be different than the stars. It's gonna be different than all the galaxies. It's gonna be different than the trees and the bushes and the animals. When I create this distinct group, I'm gonna create them8:30 differently than any other group that I've created, and I'm gonna create them in my image. And who's he gonna create? Mankind. And you're gonna see exactly how he creates mankind, because God's even gonna tell us8:41 that. So how does he create? He creates us in his image. Now what does that mean? It means you're distinct from anything else in all of God's creation. You're different than animals. You're different than trees. You're8:52 different than planets. You're different than the sun. You're created in the image of God. That's where your value comes from. In case you woke up today and said, I don't even know what I'm living anymore. I don't even9:01 have any value. Nobody appreciates me. You have value because the God of the universe is the 1 who created you and gave you your life. That's your central part of why you're valuable. That's the9:13 central reason why anybody on this planet's valuable. And anybody, any life, is created in the image of God, which means every single person has value because God gave9:25 them value. You understand that? Now we say that we do, but we really don't. Now when it talks about being created in the image of God, he's not talking physically, he's talking intrinsically. I mean, for those of you9:36 who've been to the gym, you see guys flex in front of the mirror and think that they're God, but they're not. I mean, the the reality is, it's talking about intrinsic value. It's talking about those internal things that9:48 God created you different than he created the animals and the trees and the plants. So what are those things? What does it mean to be created in the image of God? Let me share just a few of them. Mentally, you're created9:57 in the image of God. You are you're aware that you have freedom to make choices. You you can create and you can destroy. I mean, dogs can think, and you can train a dog to not do this, or to put out its paw and10:09 all that. But a dog can't sit down and decide to write a symphony, or paint a picture, or create something. Any building you've ever walked into, like the 1 that you're sitting in, or if you've ever used a glass, or a10:20 straw, or a pen, or paper, those were ideas that somebody had once upon a time that became a reality. Why do people have these ideas and visions and understandings? Because you're10:32 created in the image of God to create because God's a creator. Animals can't do that. Trees can't do that. Human beings can do that. You're you're different. You're distinct than10:44 anybody else in all of creation. What about this? Relationally. Relationally, you're created in the image of God. There is a desire in the heart of every human being to be in relationships. Now10:56 why is that? Because our God is relational. Long before he created anything, we learned that God that Godhead is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And the Father is not the Son of the Spirit. And the Son is not the11:08 Father or the Spirit. And the Spirit is not the Father or the Son. They're 3 distinct persons, but they're 1 distinct essence, and that's what makes up the Godhead. And if you ask me to explain that to you, I would just11:17 say, glory. Can't explain that. But I know that they relate to 1 another, and that's why, from the time you're born, there's this hunger to be in relationships. It's why a baby craves a mother.11:29 It's why we wanna be in relationship with other people. It's why we crave friendships. It's why we wanna be known, and we want people to like who we are. Why? Because God created you that way. Ministry is11:41 relationships. Jesus said the entire law was summed up by loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and loving your neighbor as yourself. What's that? It's relationship. God's not just some distant11:50 being that sits on a chair. God's active in everything we do. He's relating to us. And if you've repented and believed in Christ, then God wants you in the way that you're relating to him, than to relate to others.12:02 There's a relational component that12:05 no12:05 1 else has in all of creation. Yeah. You say, well, my dog likes to be loved. It's different. They don't crave relationship. They don't crave being known. They don't crave getting their heart out and sharing everything12:16 that they believe and what they think and why they think it and relating back and forth. Morally, you're different. There's an innate knowing when something is good or bad.12:28 Even little kids have it. Whether they've been raised in the church or not, they know when they've crossed the line. It's true of all cultures everywhere. Everybody knows that cold blooded murder is wrong. Why do you12:37 know that that's wrong? What what makes that wrong? Because God is the 1 who convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. We know it's wrong. Right? Because you're created in the image of God.12:49 Spiritually, you're created in the image of God. That's why you're ultimately curious about God and how we're supposed to relate to him. So even if you're a hardened atheist, you're not settled. That's why even if you're12:58 an agnostic, you're not settled. Because deep down in your heart, you wonder, is there someone greater? Is there someone bigger? It's the reason you ask the questions you ask, and read the things you read, and do the13:07 things you do. Because there's an innate desire to know, because you're a spiritual being, what's out there, and who am I? And it's normal for a human being to ask those questions. It's not normal for a cat.13:21 They don't ask why they're here, why they were born in that litter, or why they did this. And a fish doesn't ask those questions, but you ask them. And they're normal because you were created in the image of God. Let me13:32 give you 1 other way. Mentally, relationally, morally, spiritually, and then how about willfully? Willfully, you have the ability to align yourself with the word of God to extend and reproduce his work13:44 of creation. You you you can choose to repent of your sin and believe in Jesus. You can choose to believe that this is the authority of God's word. You can choose to place yourself under it. You can choose to say,13:56 I'm gonna do it God's way. That's what separates you from everyone else. And if you watch television or you watch movies for the last decades of years, they try to make animals seem more important. Cartoons make animals14:07 seem more important and humans less than, or planets more important and humans less than. Why? Because God says human beings are the crown of his creation, and they're created in his image. Friends, listen to me. I14:19 know many Christians will nod at this. I get it. I get it. But do you own it? That your value, the centrality of your value is that you were created in the image of God. Period. End of story.14:31 That's why you're valuable. Even if you would choose to rebel against God, even if you choose to go the other way, even if you choose sinful behavior, even if you choose to do things God doesn't love, you still have14:41 value because you're created in the image of God. When I stand at the end of the on the platform here at the end of service and say, you are loved. I'm not saying God's pleased with you. I'm not saying, you did14:51 everything right this week. I'm telling those of you who have repented and believed that God has an unconditional love for you, and I'm telling you that haven't come to Christ yet, that even though you haven't, he still15:02 has a love for you because he created you, and he still is yearning for you to come to him. That's why you're loved. Now we say we believe this,15:14 but our culture would say the opposite. Our culture would say you have value based upon your contribution, your abilities, or your talents. In other words, if you can contribute something to society, if you're talented15:26 or you have abilities or you've I value you because you can do something for me, now you have worth. But the Bible says, no. You have worth because you were created by God, even15:38 if you don't do anything. And that's important for us to understand as Christians, because for those of us who have repented and believed in Christ, we have the identity of Christ. We're forgiven. We're loved. We're15:50 holy. We're set apart. The devil can't touch us. Those are all true of us. Not based on anything we've done, but who we are in Jesus. And it means when we look out at the world for people that don't love Jesus, that are16:01 living in sinful rebellion against him, they still have value because God is the 1 who created them. And while we may vehemently disagree with their positions, their attitudes, their behaviors, they still have16:13 intrinsic value because God was the author of their life. Do you believe that? I think we as Christians need to believe that because16:25 when we disagree with people outside, we need to realize we're disagreeing with someone that was created in the image of God. I mean, let me just put some pictures up on the screen. You tell me, does this person have16:36 value? That person have value? He doesn't have value necessarily for what he's doing. You might say he took those goods and they didn't belong to him, or he's asking for money at the corner, but he has value because he's16:48 created in the image of God. What about this person? Basically, it's a picture of somebody I found in Colorado. Of course, they have intrinsic worth. Doesn't matter what17:00 they do. Created in the image of God. What about this group of people? Oh, they matter. As a matter of fact, the New Testament said we should even go visit those in prison, because they have such17:12 intrinsic value. What about this group person? What about if you're anesthetized, you're under surgery. I mean, you can't do anything. You can't even think for you. Does that person at that moment have value? Of course17:23 they do. It it doesn't matter what you're able to bring at any given moment. If you're a human life, you have value. What about this group of people?17:35 They may go against God in every single way and what we're gonna talk about this morning, but they have intrinsic value because they were created in the image of God. If you believe that, what about this picture?17:47 Do you17:47 know what that's a picture of? It's a picture of a zygote. That's what happens when a sperm joins an egg and you have 23 chromosomes from the man, you have 23 chromosomes from the woman, and you have 46 chromosomes.17:57 That's called a zygote. It's a cell formed by fusion of 2 gametes. That's what you used to look like. Does that have value? Yes. It 100 percent18:09 has value because God is the 1 that created the life. I don't care about your political18:21 convictions. I'm telling you, abortion is murder 100 percent of the time. And I'm gonna pause and say something else here too. Because I know I'm talking to a group where probably a quarter of the people here have gone18:32 through that or experienced that. There is redemption and forgiveness in that, but it's not God's plan. And I'll tell you this, if you're pregnant and you can't find a place and you're freaking out, you come18:44 see me. And if my wife and I can't adopt that child, we will find somebody that will. I promise you that. And let me just say this while we're on the topic. This18:56 is not a woman's issue. Just at a conference this week and I was listening. Do you know the the number 1 indicator as to whether a woman will get an abortion or not? Do you know what the number 1 indicator is? Whether19:05 the man will support her or not. That's the number 1. Man, this is not a woman's issue. You're culpable. If you get a woman pregnant, then you take care of that kid, and you do everything for that19:17 kid until the kid's 18 and out of the house.19:21 Right?19:24 That's just what God would teach, and this is what we have to get to, because if we don't see everybody that has intrinsic value, because they're created in the image of God, we will argue and debate, but we won't do it19:33 from a heart of love. We'll do it from a heart of anger. We have to love all people because God created all people. Doesn't mean we have to agree with all people. Doesn't mean we have to help their sinful conditions. It19:43 doesn't mean we have to go along with what they say. We can love them enough to point them to truth, but that never takes away from genuinely showing respect and love because that person that we're talking to, that19:52 person we're disagreeing with, is what? Created in the image of God, and they have intrinsic value and worth. You think about that during this election cycle. You think about it when you see things and you read things in20:03 the paper where your heart rate's coming off the chart. You think about things when you watch our school systems, and you watch our politics, and you watch our government, and you watch our financial crisis, and you want20:12 you think about that when you're coming up. Every single person, like, I do not agree with anything that person says. Can't stand the way He created in the image of God. God loved them so much, he sent his son Jesus20:22 Christ to die on the cross for them in hopes that they would repent and believe that he's the Christ, the son of the living God. Amen? And if we're gonna have dominion in this world and do things God's way, it starts20:34 with our identity being rooted in the image of God and realizing that all people's identity is rooted in the image of God, even when they don't respond to it. Amen? Let me give you a second 1. Now just before I tell you20:45 this, don't write me any emails because I'm not gonna read them, and just go back and disagree with the word, and argue it all you want, and that's fine. And you can disagree with me, because I've told you many times, if20:56 I'm saying something that's not true in the word, believe the word. The word is authoritative. I am not. I'm just trying to do my best job to present it. But if dominion starts with your identity rooted in the image of21:05 God, it also starts with your purpose. You wanna know your purpose? Your purpose is rooted in your God given gender. Your purpose and why God put you here is rooted in the gender that you are. Okay?21:21 Now verse 27 says that God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. Question. According to the authority of God's word, how21:33 many genders are there? 2. 2. There are male and female, and there are no others. I don't care if you think there's 39, 74, 60 There's 2. There's always been 2. There will always21:45 be 2. And you have your gender because God's the 1 who gave it to you. That's right. And I wanna let you know something. I know a lot of people have these gender reveal parties where they pop a balloon and it pops pink21:55 or it pops blue, which probably in 10 to 20 years those kids are gonna sue and say, you misgendered me in the womb and all. You know? But what you're really doing is you're taking a look at what God22:07 said he was going to do. So in Psalm chapter 139, we read exactly what God says in verse 13. He says, for you formed my inward parts. You wove me together in my mother's womb. I will give thanks22:19 to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well. Who created your inmost parts? Who created every part about you? God did. And he said it's fearfully and22:29 wonderfully made. So when you have a child and you're checking out their gender, let me just give you some quick science and authority from God's word. If that baby has a penis, it's a boy. And when the22:41 boy comes out, he is to grow into a man. And that boy should be as masculine as that boy can ever be because that's God's design for that boy.22:55 If when you check-in utero, that child has a vagina, that child is a girl, and that child's gonna come out as a girl, and she's gonna grow into a woman, and God wants her to be as feminine as she can possibly be, and23:05 fulfill his design for her as a woman for her entire life. And isn't it interesting that everything that Satan that God makes so clear and distinct,23:17 Satan always tries to blend. And anytime that you say, well, I don't like my gender, or I don't feel this way, and I don't I don't wanna be this way. God would say, I don't care because23:29 I made you that way. Now, let me say something here really clear. Some of you have families where you're dealing with this in your family, where some are saying, I don't know. I was born a boy, but I don't know that I23:41 feel like a boy. Or I was born a girl, but I don't know that I feel like a girl. It's a real thing. Hard to stand in the gap and point people. And by the way, if you're a young kid, it's totally normal to ask questions.23:53 Why did God make me a girl? Or why did God make me a guy? Totally normal. As long as you're going to the Bible to get your answers. It's totally normal to go through puberty and wonder why I look like this 1. Because God24:02 made you that way. Let's give some biblical answers. Side note, if you send your kid to public school, and you can send your kid to public school, and you're the parents who get to do that, you need to know that the24:11 public school can train your kid to be any gender your kid wants, without your knowledge, and take them away from you, and it's happening right here in Colorado. So just be aware of that. But some of you24:23 even here personally, like, man, I tell you Pastor Jeff, I I wanna love Jesus, but I'm telling you, I was born as a guy, but I I feel like a gal. Here's the reality. Satan always tempts us to go against what God designed24:33 us to be. But if God designed you to be the way he designed you to be, the greatest joy is in being that. And I could bring hundreds of people up here on this platform that could testify who were former lesbians, former24:45 homosexuals, former trans people who have been born again saying, that's not who I was. I was confused. Now that I know the Lord, I'm living for him.24:57 And 1 more word on this while we're on the topic, because I hear Christians ask all the time, well, how do you know they weren't born that way? Because the Bible says they weren't. Because God said he gave you the gender25:07 he gave you. Period. End of story. Argue with the word. I'm just the deliverer of the message. Right? And you need to realize that if you were25:19 born as a boy or then God has a plan for you as a man that's distinct and different than if you would have been born as a woman. And if you were born as a girl, he has a plan that's distinct and different from you being25:30 a woman than if he had made you a man. And all of your purpose in life is linked to your gender. Why do you think Satan is trying to attack that so strongly? Why do you think he even25:42 uses the pride flag, which is a rainbow, which God uses a covenant to to promise after a sinful world when he destroyed them by water? I won't destroy you by water again. I'll give you this covenant. And you're like,25:52 We'll take that covenant and we'll rebel against you even harder. I mean, do you see what Satan is doing? I'm just telling you from the authority of God's word, whatever you were born is whatever God wanted you to be and26:03 your purpose is linked to that. I mean, all throughout the bible we see it. We see it. And here's the problem. Most of us, because we don't believe in our God given identity and we don't believe our value26:15 from what God has, we don't believe in the value of the gender he gave us, we try to find value somewhere else. We try to find it in the sports world, we try to find it in the business world, we try to find it out there,26:25 we try to get kudos for all these different things, and all of us are looking outside rather than vertical to gain our value all the time. And God says, no, just look to me. You have value because I created you, and if26:35 you'll be who I made you, that would be great. And we'll take a look at some of these things here in just a minute when we unpack chapter 2. But I mean, think about it. I mean, I just want to say something to the women26:44 right here. I mean, all throughout the scriptures, God talks about women being wives and mothers. He champions that. He doesn't forbid women to work. There's nowhere in the Bible that says a woman cannot work outside the26:54 home. It doesn't say that. But her primary responsibility is in the home. As a matter of fact, Titus two:five makes it so clear that women are to be workers at home. You can't get any more clear than that. I I don't know27:03 that I like it. That's not very rewarding. I get it. It's impossible apart from the spirit of God. That's what he says. Well, Pastor Jeff, haven't you read Proverbs 31? I have. I haven't you read about that woman? Yeah,27:15 I have. I mean, she was so valuable. She does she does good all the days of her life. She brings her husband no harm. She considers a field and buy it buys it, so she's in the real estate business. She works out. She's27:27 looking fine. She helps the poor. She's making clothes, and she empowers her husband. But I want to tell you something. All of that is in the context of the home. She's choosing a field27:39 and buying it for her family. She's making clothes for her family. She's working out with her family. She's empowering her husband with her family. She's doing it all for her kids. And so at the end of Proverbs27:51 chapter 31, the kids even stand up and arise and call their mother blessed. And then the husband praises her too and says, many women do noble things, but you out pass you surpass them all.28:02 Why? Because she's devoted to her home. Can I just say this if you're a woman? There's something innate in you that wants to be cherished, that wants to feel honor, that wants to feel respect for having the desire28:14 to be a wife and a mother, and to be championed in that role. And if that's your heart's desire, God would tell you, if that's the only thing you ever do, you're a winner in his book.28:26 Amen? And here's what the world won't do. They will not applaud that. They will not you could have a job. You could have your PhD. You could have this. You could have.28:40 Have Yeah. But I got a family, and I28:40 got kids, and I got God, and I'm gonna honor him first and foremost. Right? And we'll get after the men here in a little bit too. Because the men's number 1 responsibility is in their home as well.28:53 Without question. It's not what people in the marketplace say, and it's not what your bank book says, and it's not any of these things. It's how you love your wife and your kids that's most important. But it starts with29:03 this, it starts with your identity being rooted in Christ, then you being rooted in God, and your purpose rooted in your God given gender, because he's got different paths for men than for women. And if you get that,29:14 then you get point number 3, which I think is the most important point of this entire text. And that is this dominion mandate for seeing God move throughout the world starts with mission.29:26 Your mission rooted in establishing a godly family. Little bit. Your mission in this life is rooted in establishing a godly family. So think about it. God's29:38 the designer of your life. You're created in his image. He gave you a gender. Why did he give you a gender? So you would get married and have babies and produce29:50 the next godly offspring for the next generation. That's why he gave you what he gave you. And we'll get into this when we talk about intimacy. But you need to understand that intimacy in a marriage is all about serving30:01 somebody else. It's never about serving yourself. So anything that falls shy of serving someone else in the covenant of marriage is sin. Every single time. Every single time. I mean, listen to what the word of God30:12 says. God blessed them, verse 28 of chapter 1, and God said to them. So we're gonna read what God said to Adam first. But this is the first time he's speaking to the couple directly after their marriage. And what does30:24 he say? First command to men and women on planet Earth. Be fruitful and Amen. Multiply. We kinda miss that command. We kinda30:36 think, well, that's for some people, not for No. No. It's for everybody on planet Earth. Be fruitful and multiply. Get married, be fruitful, and multiply. That's the command. Now, let's see how all this took30:48 place. In Genesis chapter 2 starting in verse 4, what we get is a depiction of day 6. And like I said, you can go back and listen to sermons on this. But what you see on day 6 is during that day, if you go down to30:59 chapter 2 and verse 7, it says, then the Lord God formed man out of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. And if that doesn't take your breath away,31:08 you don't understand what just happened. Dust, put it together, breathe life into it. It's a man. He made a man in his image out of nothing but the dust that he had created. I mean, amazing.31:21 So he creates man first. And then he's gonna take the man, in the very next verse. And he's gonna place him in a garden toward the east in Eden. And there he placed the man whom he had formed. So he31:33 makes a man in his image, puts him in a garden. Drop down to verse 15. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to do 2 things, to cultivate it and to keep it. So31:45 what's his responsibility? It's cultivated. God made the world in such a way that it took the responsibility of a man to make it go. He he didn't just make everything grow and everything do everything. It took the31:54 cultivation. It took man doing 1 thing and 1 thing only. Working. Man had to work. He had to cultivate it, and then he had to keep it, which means this. He protected it. So you gotta work it and protect32:05 it. Here's what he here's the man's responsibility. Listen, listen, listen. This is what you're created for. If you're a boy, this is what you're growing into. You provide and you protect. That's what you do. That that's32:14 your responsibility as a man. It means this, if you don't have a job, go get 1. Not not like, look32:26 for 1. Like, go get 1. Yeah. But this isn't what I'm looking for. Go work. It's noble to work. The fall hasn't even happened. Sin hasn't even crept in. God's saying, work. And then when you work, protect32:38 what you're working for. Guys, your responsibility in a marriage is to do 2 things, provide and protect. That's called leadership. You're providing and protecting. Now, some of you need to realize, it's time to32:50 get married. It's it's time to quit sitting on the fence and thinking about it, because the most important thing you'll ever do is get married. Let me let me say it from my perspective. When I get to heaven, I know I'm32:59 judged more harshly because I'm a teacher of the word of God, and I have a responsibility before the Lord to teach the word in such a way that's clear and accurate. That's my job. Hopefully, I do that as well as I can.33:09 But to the extent that I don't believe the Bible, because that's authoritative, I'm not. But at the end of days, you know what God cares about more in my life than how what I do here? How I treat my wife, Kim, and my 333:18 kids. That's way more important to God than what I do here. Way more important. Because if your values and your identity in the Lord, and your purpose is in why God33:30 gave you your gender, then what God's gonna care about is how did you propagate the next generation of offspring for me to serve for for for for them to serve me. Like that's what God's asking. That's that's33:42 most important in your life. Guys, the most important thing is not your job. It's not what people say about you. It's not your bank account. It's not how gifted you are. It's what does your wife and your kids say about33:52 how closely you follow the Lord. Period. That's your job. That's that's your most important job. Right? Wife's your most important job. If you're married, it's to be a wife and a mother. That's your most important34:04 job. And if we have more priority of the family, we wouldn't be in the mess that we're in. Right? So why does Satan attack gender? Why does Satan attack family? Because he knows. That's where God's at work. I34:16 mean, think about it. Satan could have attempted man to cut down trees. He could have attempted Eve to, like, do all sorts of different things. He could have, you know, whatever. Burn the grass up. I I don't know. I34:25 mean, he could have got He didn't do that. He could have killed animals. That's not what he did. He went right after the family. Right after what God was establishing. Well, what he got established? So he got man. He34:35 brings man into the garden, tells him to provide for the garden, protect the garden. And then the Lord commanded the man, not the woman, but the man, because the woman wasn't alive yet. From any tree in the garden, you34:44 may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from the day that you eat of it. You will surely die. So the day you eat of that tree right there dying, you will die. You're gonna34:52 start dying and you will be dead. And the reason we know that Adam and Eve ate the tree is because they're not here. Because they died. It started in motion the day they ate it. But who did he give the command to? He35:01 gave the command to the man because it's always the man's job to bring the word of God to the woman. It's always been that way. Eve wasn't there. The reason Eve was deceived is not because she's all emotional and didn't35:09 know any better. The reason Eve was deceived is because her husband was a Lummox or something like this. And instead of being there and telling his wife, don't listen to him, or cutting the head of the serpent off, he's35:20 like, oh, you know what? You should listen to him too. I mean and that's what we as guys do. We think devotions is a woman's job. We think raising the family spiritually is a woman's job. Men, it is your job. Period. So35:31 then here's what he says after he tells him, just don't eat that. Then he said, it's not good for the man to be alone. Let that 1 sink in, men. It's not good for you to be alone.35:44 You need help. I mean, that's what God's saying. God's just gotten done for 6 straight days. It'sShow more In this video 0:00 The Importance of Family in God's Plan
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