Title: Proverbs 15:16-19 The Ideal Family
Contents
The ideal family (Proverbs 15:16-19)
God-fearing Blessed Home
It should be the center of the beautiful faith that spreads the gospel
There are important things that have not changed even though they transcend the environment and time. It is ‘home’.
God has given people living on this earth the source of true rest and happiness. That is where home is. The history of mankind began with Adam, a family in Eden. The Lord restored the family that Adam lost because of sin and said, “Today salvation has come to this house.” This was a declaration of blessing to restore the lost family of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:10). “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household,” Paul exclaimed (Acts 16:31). The home is truly beautiful. Verse 16 of today's text says, "No matter how much wealth you have, it is better to fear the Lord than to be greatly rich and afflicted." The ideal family that God wants is to fear God.
1. A home that fears the Lord (verse 16)
To fear the Lord means to ‘fear God’, ‘to please God’, and ‘to live according to God’s will’. If we take a closer look at the word fear of the Lord, it means that we fear God greatly. God is absolute, life is opponent, God is eternal, life is finite, God is omnipotent, life is incompetent, God is the creator, and life is a creature.
It means faith to believe that only God has immortality, He dwells in unreachable light, and He is the only One. In the land of Goshen in Egypt, the Hebrew midwives Sipphrah and Buah, who had been commanded by Pharaoh to kill all Hebrew women who gave birth to sons, feared (feared) God. (Exodus 1:17, 21). Then, God showed grace to the midwives and made their homes prosperous.
When we look at a family that feared the Lord, we can see the family of Cornelius, a centurion in Acts 10 of the New Testament. We feared God together with all our households, and gave alms to the people and prayed. We became a family filled with the Holy Spirit to carry out missions.
According to 1 Kings 18:3 in the Old Testament, Obadiah was a man who feared the Lord greatly. Therefore, even under the idolatry of King Ahab and Jezebel, his family hid the prophet in a cave and fed them with bread and water, and was able to fulfill the mission of that time.
Such an ideal family is one that fears the Lord. The Holy Spirit works in such a family to fulfill the mission of mission. I believe that by looking back at the prophets, we will become a blessed family that receives even the rewards of the prophets.
2. How to be the ideal home
First of all, the whole family must become a family in which the Lord's Day is celebrated. This is Sungmin's mark. This is the basic life charter of God's people. The fourth commandment given in Exodus 20:8-11 is one of the essential signs of serving God. Only this day should be set apart and dedicated as a day to serve God.
Second, Bible education must be continued (Deuteronomy 6:7-9). Teach your children diligently, preach these words while sitting at home or walking on the road, and tie them to your wrist as a sign, put them on your forehead as a sign, and write them on the doorposts and outside doors of your house. The whole family should be together in reading, memorizing, and preaching the Bible. The Word is the only source of spiritual nourishment for the saints.
Third, it is a continuous family worship (Gen. 13:18-). Wherever Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of the Old Testament went, a family altar was offered.
Fourth, we need a pious religious exercise in the family. Times such as the birth of children and infant baptism are times of blessing that show the fear of God. Even when we marry children, we must start with a sign of fear of God. You should use it as an opportunity to have faith to seek God's help when your family is sick (James 5:13-16). Even at the time of family separation, it should be an opportunity of hope to show the fear of God. You must focus on faith in all aspects of business and college.
Finally, the home should be a small church of evangelism. All the precious homes mentioned in the Bible were used as places of evangelism without exception. The house of Lydia in Philippi (Acts 16:14-15), the house of Philemon in Colossae (Pm 1:2), the house of Mark in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12), the house of Aquila in Ephesus (1 Cor 16:9), Laodicea It is the house of Numba (Colossians 4:15).
The meetings of the early church began in individual homes (Acts 1:13). When Peter was imprisoned, the special prayer meeting for the release of the apostle Peter was held at Mary's house (Acts 12:5-12).
I hope that God-fearing homes, like Cornelius's and Obadiah's, can become God-fearing families while pondering on the ideal family. Today, I hope that our family and family will build an ideal family that fears God and serves only God, so that only descendants can pass on this blessing.
Sermon notes
The ideal family is one that fears God. The way to fear God is to make it a beautiful place for the spread of the Gospel: ① Holy water for the whole family ② Bible recitation ③ Family worship ④ Devotional practice ⑤ Gospel preaching