Giving
Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
Today we continue our series titled “Strengthening Christian Marriage and Family Living.”
Today we are talking about Trouble and triumph in the Home.
Prayer
Father, we receive your love into our hearts this moment and return that love to You with thanksgiving in our hearts and praise on our lips.
We also return it to you by giving our tithes and offerings to be used for the needs of others in the world.
Thank you for the privilege of giving and for the joy of seeing you abundantly provide for our needs.
Release those who are selfish and tight from that from their bondage.
Grant that our hearts may be clean and pure as we place our offerings on Your alter.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
Proverbs 11:29 AMP
29 He who troubles (mismanages) his own house will inherit the wind (nothing),
And the foolish will be a servant to the wise-hearted.
Scripture Reading
Proverbs 11 AMP
Contrast the Upright and the Wicked.
1 A false balance and dishonest business practices are extremely offensive to the Lord,
But an accurate scale is His delight.
2 When pride comes [boiling up with an arrogant attitude of self-importance], then come dishonor and shame,
But with the humble [the teachable who have been chiseled by trial and who have learned to walk humbly with God] there is wisdom and soundness of mind.
3 The integrity and moral courage of the upright will guide them,
But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.
4 Riches will not provide security in the day of wrath and judgment,
But righteousness rescues from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will smooth their way and keep it straight,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will rescue them,
But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.
7 When the wicked man dies, his expectation will perish;
And the hope of [godless] strong men perishes.
8 The righteous is rescued from trouble,
And the wicked takes his place.
9 With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge and discernment the righteous will be rescued.
10 When it goes well for the righteous, the city rejoices,
And when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
11 By the blessing [of the influence] of the upright the city is exalted,
But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.
12 He who despises his neighbor lacks sense,
But a man of understanding keeps silent.
13 He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets,
But he who is trustworthy and faithful keeps a matter hidden.
14 Where there is no [wise, intelligent] guidance, the people fall [and go off course like a ship without a helm],
But in the abundance of [wise and godly] counselors there is victory.
15 He who puts up security and guarantees a debt for an outsider will surely suffer [for his foolishness],
But he who hates (declines) being a guarantor is secure [from its penalties].
16 A gracious and good woman attains honor,
And ruthless men attain riches [but not respect].
17 The merciful and generous man benefits his soul [for his behavior returns to bless him],
But the cruel and callous man does himself harm.
18 The wicked man earns deceptive wages,
But he who sows righteousness and lives his life with integrity will have a true reward [that is both permanent and satisfying].
19 He who is steadfast in righteousness attains life,
But he who pursues evil attains his own death.
20 The perverse in heart are repulsive and shamefully vile to the Lord,
But those who are blameless and above reproach in their walk are His delight!
21 Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished,
But the descendants of the righteous will be freed.
22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a beautiful woman who is without discretion [her lack of character mocks her beauty].
23 The desire of the righteous brings only good,
But the expectation of the wicked brings wrath.
24 There is the one who [generously] scatters [abroad], and yet increases all the more;
And there is the one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want and poverty.
25 The generous man [is a source of blessing and] shall be prosperous and enriched,
And he who waters will himself be watered [reaping the generosity he has sown].
26 The people curse him who holds back grain [when the public needs it],
But a blessing [from God and man] is upon the head of him who sells it.
27 He who diligently seeks good seeks favor and grace,
But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him.
28 He who leans on and trusts in and is confident in his riches will fall,
But the righteous [who trust in God’s provision] will flourish like a green leaf.
29 He who troubles (mismanages) his own house will inherit the wind (nothing),
And the foolish will be a servant to the wise-hearted.
30 The fruit of the [consistently] righteous is a tree of life,
And he who is wise captures and wins souls [for God—he gathers them for eternity].
31 If the righteous will be rewarded on the earth [with godly blessings],
How much more [will] the wicked and the sinner [be repaid with punishment]!
Introduction
Our text is an unusual proverb that has a warning against troubling thehome.
It is a message to all members of a household and is a plea for true harmony and happiness in the home.
When we create disturbances in the home, we can expect to lose everything, or in other words, it inherit the wind.
There is no more needed message in Australia than the one concerning the home.
Everything that is wrong with this country begins and ends with the family.
But I hasten to say that there is hope for homes that find spiritual direction.
Let’s look at both the troubles and triumphs of the home today.
- Troubles in the Home.
What troubles the home today?
- The home is troubled by the relative morals of the times.
Popular ideas that are out there are, “What I do is nobody’s business except mine” and “Anything goes as long as no one gets hurt.”
These ideas are based on the philosophy that there are no absolutes in life, that all of life is relative.
It is openly declared today that lies, adultery, fornication, theft, promise breaking, and killing are sometimes permissible, depending on the situation.
But let us remember the words of Galatians 6:7, 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap.
B. The home is troubled by social pressures, financial stresses, moral needs, and social demands.
If permitted, social pressures will create disturbances in the home.
Conformity to society is a powerful force.
C. The home is troubled by moral inconsistencies.
Patents often have a double standard for what is permissible for themselves and their children.
But children see the sins of their parents and are quick to copy them.
What parents are is reflected in their children.
D. The home is troubled by spiritual indifference, as sen in the crumbling foundations of faith and in the uprooting of spiritual relationships.
Studies in human behaviour say that formal religion is one of the strongest influences of a happy home.
Where husbands and wives actively participate in the life of a church, they tend to have lasting marriages.
It takes more than just a church connection, however, for a home to know triumph.
What will make our homes victorious?
2. Triumphs in the home.
- The home needs leadership.
God has willed that parents are leaders in the home.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is a comma to parents to lead their children in the worship of God and the teaching of the Word in the home.
God’s Word is to be kept in our hearts, taught and talked about, and remembered in our daily lives.
God’s Word to children is in the fifth commandment, Exodus 20:12, “Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.”
These two ideas relating to parents and children dwell side by side in life.
They create harmonious relationships in the home.
B. The home needs love.
1. Love between husbands and wives, as sen in Ephesians 5:22-23, Marriage Like Christ and the Church
22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as [a service] to the Lord.
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as Christ is head of the church, Himself being the Savior of the body.
2. Love that transforms a home from frustration and fussing to harmony and a healthy spirit.
3. Love that communicates itself, rather than nursing itself and the wrongs done to it.
4. Love that practices faithfulness to the marriage vows made at the marriage alter.
5. Love that expresses itself in the Christlike spirit of respect and thoughtfulness in the home.
6. Love that forgives one another.
This is the key to solving many family conflicts.
7. Love that is positive minded, that strives to be an answer instead of a problem.
8. Love that is growing, realising that none of us are yet full grown.
God is not finished with us yet, so let us not only be patient with Him, but also with ourselves and wit one another.
9. Love that shares with others in all relationships.
3. The home needs a Lord.
Most of all the home needs a Lord, Jesus Christ, to who the family can look for direction and power.
Just as He gives abundant life to individuals, He does also to families.
He gives us direction and shares His presence with us daily.
In Acts 16 a man in deep spiritual need sought help for his life spiritually.
He was saved, and in the experience he made Christ Lord of his home.
Is Jesus Christ Lord of your life?
Is He Lord of your family?
Conclusion.
Life’s crisis are too many and too deep to try to live without leadership, love, and Christ’s Lordship in your home.
Will you open your heart to His triumphs?
Anything less means trouble!
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
Giving
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
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