The Family of God 1

The Family of God – It’s Better Together; nv 10/29/06am

OS: 1 “Dad, you’ve got to admit it wasn’t a bad show for just a dollar.”   

I.      Obviously God intended His church to be far more than just a show. - family.

A.   2 Matthew 12:48-50, He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

                      1.       3 Ephesians 2:19, Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,

                      2.       We are born into His family, not just added to a membership.

B.    Family carries so much meaning. Within family we find:

                      1.       Acceptance, purpose, identity, etc. Family is where you can safely be yourself.

                      2.       If you ever fear for your life family is on your mind.

II.   4 Series: The Family of God – It’s Better Together (Acts 2:44, believed..together)

A.   A Family who lives together, grows together, works together, and goes out together…

                      1.       Family atmosphere is one of our strengths: Grow in that!

                      2.       These principles will have a positive impact on your life as a whole.

B.     Describe your life in one word - “How are you doing?” – really – One word: struggle / joy / difficult / etc.

                      1.       All problems are relational – improve relationships and improve life. If your home is a battle zone right now it’s not because of a leaky roof, broken down furniture, or lost remote – relational.

                      2.       5 The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the quality of your relationships.

III.           6 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

TS] Question: Why? Why did God choose ‘family’ to be a description of His assembly of people.

I.      7 We are better together. (God knows what we need and where we find it)

A.   Bible: :Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for man to be alone.”

                      1.       Ecclesiastes 4:9, “Two are better than one…”

B.    We have this basic need to be with people:

                      1.       Some more than others. (some can’t eat alone. I can)

                      2.       Why is solitary confinement used for punishment, and prisoner’s of war interrogations? (body & mind begins to break down)

a.   Hearing voices (even whispers)

b.  Panic attacks, loss of concentration and memory, Disoriented, paranoia, loss of reality.

c.   Our system fails to function in isolation.

C.   8 Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

                      1.       “good return for their work” (MMT formula – 2 mules = 3.5 – 500 lbs. then- 1750 lbs.)

                      2.       help when you need it. Warmth, safety. (Divide and Conquer)

                      3.       notice, “a cord of three strands is not quickly broken” ( 3 ?)

TS] Suppose “3” is God, then that leads us to the second reason God has made us family…

II.   9 We are better together when we are together with God.

A.   Remember, The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the quality of your relationships. … 10 The quality of your relationships with people is in direct proportion to the quality of your relationship with God.

                      1.       With God relationships are brought to a whole new level.

                      2.       Remember those mules (Add God and they can pull 10,000 pounds)

                      3.       We are better together, but a whole lot better when we are together with God.

B.    11 Illustrate – Remember your last fight? (discussion, conflict, etc.) (“wait…let’s pray…right!)

                      1.       Matthew 18:15-20 – “…if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’…For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them.”

                      2.       :Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

                      3.       We are able to love, accept, support with Him in ways that are impossible without Him.,

                      4.       12 A family that prays together, stays together. A family that worships together, stays together. Relationships that are founded on God are a lot stronger, better, more meaningful.

C.   “Friendship Factor" A new Gallup study commissioned by Group Publishing shows that people with close friendships in their church are very satisfied with their congregation, less likely to leave their place of worship, and have a strong friendship with God.

                      1.       Church members who have a best friend at church are 21% more likely to report attending at least once a week and 26% more likely to report having a strong, more active faith in God.

                      2.       77% of highly satisfied members have eaten a meal with fellow congregants (who are not members of their family) at some point over the last year.

                      3.       Only 56% of somewhat satisfied or dissatisfied members have shared a meal together. Mealtime fellowship appears strongly correlated with high levels of congregational satisfaction.

                      4.       62% of those who eat meals together report regularly spending time in prayer and worship daily vs. 49% who have not eaten meals with other church members. The findings are published in Group’s new book Friendship: Creating a Culture of Connectivity in Your Church. (Monday Rush 2/22/05)
http://garydfoster.com   

TS] 13 The Quality of our Spiritual Family relationships effect the quality of our relationship with God. God has called us to be family – the family of God because it’s better together. We are better together, and much better when we are together with God.

III.            Therefore,…In order for us to be family we must act like family.

A.   Freely disagree? Imperfect? Dysfunctional?

B.    14 Take our together time seriously. If you don’t take this time seriously you stack the odds against you. If you struggle with your spiritual family connection it is more likely that you will struggle in  your faith.

C.   :Hebrews 10:24-25, And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

                      1.       Notice what you give up. (spurring and being spurred, love and good deeds, encouraging and being encouraged,)

                      2.       How would your extended family feel if you just decided one year to not celebrate the holidays with them?

                      3.       Evidently, God intends the same sort of attachment or He would not have called us to be His Family.