Interlocked week 6

Lesson 1 part 3

Last week we discussed:

*Responsible Dominion

Genesis 1:28 “28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.””

- Ultimately we discussed how God has ultimate authority.

- He gave authority to us to name animals. (Gen. 2:19 “19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.” )

We can trust Him.

Good teachers use their authority responsibly.

bad teachers abuse their authority.

Now, this morning, we are going to continue this though by talking about 2 more things from Responsible Dominion, then conclude this part of our study talking about marriage and the family.

I. RESPONSIBLE DOMINION CONTINUED.

3. How we Experience God.

As we’ve already discussed this morning, Adam learned about God by seeing how God interacted with the world and by listening to the Words of God.

For example, God told him which fruit was safe to eat and what was not (the words of God)

God told him and showed him.

Adam needed to experience God’s creation and HEAR God’s word before he could understand.

This is true then and it’s still true today.

Psalms 19:1 “1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

We see God in all of creation. We see the work of his hands.

2 weeks ago if you were like me, you saw the foreign object in the sky.

The “chinese spy balloon” as it was called.

Now I’m not about the theorize what in the world all that was about this morning, but let me just say, when I saw it, you knew it was something in the sky that wasn’t God’s creation.

It was man made.

Yet all around that balloon was God’s creation!

At night the sky is filled with stars.

During the day, it’s filled with sunlight and a blue sky.

God makes himself known through His creation.

This is called General Revelation.

But God also has made Himself known through his Word.

God’s Word, the Bible is called Special Revelation.

The last part of Responsible Dominion I want to discuss this morning is about God’s work.

God called us to work! This was not something that was part of the fall.

4. God’s call on us

A good life isn’t just entertainment 24/7

It’s not playing all the time or doing what you want to do.

God started earth by working! And then by calling it good.

There is a sense of joy, satisfaction, and pride that comes when good work is accomplished.

God wanted us to know that was a good thing.

Proverbs 18:9 “9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.”

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 “11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 “11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.”

We all know the truth here.

There are people who work too much and there are people who are lazy.

The truth is in the middle.

Work is more than just what you do to make money.

Work is also far less than sacrificing family and other things so that you can chase your ambitions in your career.

The point is we were designed to be productive.

We were not designed to be stagnant.

You may work a blue collar job one day, amen! Do it for GOd’s glory.

You may work a desk job one day, Amen, do it for God’s glory.

You may be a stay at home mom one day, Amen, that’s a tough job! Do it for God’s glory.

The point is that in whatever we do, do it for God’s glory.

We have an opportunity right where we are every day to point others to Christ.

One of the best ways we can do that is by working hard with the gifts and talents God has given us.

Always giving credit to our creator.

As we credit our creator, we remember that God is the ultimate authority, and any authority we have is given from Him.

We should use it wisely as we trust Him.

_____________________________________________________

II. The next institution we see God establish in Genesis 1 and 2 is that of Marriage.

Imagine for a minute that you are Adam.

You’ve been naming all these animals and enjoying creation.

But as you look around, you notice you are alone. Nothing else is like you.

God says in Gen. 2:18 “18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.””

Genesis 2:20 “20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.”

Why would Adam need a helper?

Remember God’s call

Genesis 1:28 “28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.””

The authority God gave to Adam was bigger than one man. It was not mean’t to be a lonely job.

To fulfill his primary job, multiplying and filling the earth, Adam also could not do that alone.

Thirdly, God wanted to show Adam that men and women complement one another and are not opposed to one another.

This is an important part we will discuss for a moment.

Vs. 18 says, “I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Other versions of the Bible say, “A helper who is just right for him.”

The helper that was “just right” for Adam was not a best friend.

How are Women and Men just right for one another?

maternal instincts women have men don’t.

protecting and providing instincts men have.

What happens when you put a left shoe on your right foot or a right shoe on your left foot?

You might still walk from place to place, but you know something isn’t right.

You can’t run in those shoes or do anything remotely active without hurting yourself or ruining the shoes.

Why? Because your using the shoes differently from how they were designed.

This is a good illustration for men and women.

God designed them to work as a team.

To care for the land, one another, to nurture and raise children.

So to say this clearly: let me say, men and women are equal. They are to complement one another.

Men and women have different roles and different responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean they are unequal responsibilities.

Fulfilling your God-given roles as a man or woman shows how you complement one another.

Proverbs 31:27-29 “27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.””

Ephesians 5:21-27 “21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

Marriage is a model God gave to men and women.

Not to live in conflict, but to live in complement.

Men are to set the tone, leading and bearing responsibility for their families.

Women are to manage the house with the husband and lead along and share responsibilities with Him.

The idea of marriage is a partnership between one man and one woman so both fulfill their God-assigned responbilities.

As our culture rebels against that, remember, God is the authority, ultimately culture isn’t pushing bag against the church or traditional marriage, but God.

This is why finding the right spouse is also a matter of great importance.

Start now, praying, thinking, and considering the right spouse to complement you.

Finally, and lastly, God gave the institution of the Family in Genesis 1:28.

III. The Family.

The call to care responsibly for nature is a responsibility that should be taken even more seriously when we consider passing on our family to future generations.

Have you ever really thought about how crazy it is that we can create other humans.

Like one day, you will make another human.

Isn’t that wild?

Its even more wild when your human comes out and now He’s real. He’s never going away.

It’s joyful, wonderful, and terrifying all at once.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

This is one of my favorite verses.

The idea of teaching your children about God isn’t that you stand up and preach to them every day.

It’s that you bring them with you every day and as you do things, you teach them about God.

The driving in the car.

The playing on the ball field.

The hike through the woods

The quick dinner after grabbing fast food.

These are all opportunities to share Christ.

As a parent one day, this is your responsibility.

It’s scary, intimidating, and at times leaves you feeling like a complete failure.

But isn’t it wonderful.

Proverbs 22:6 “6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Pray now as well for this responsibility you will have one day.

Run the race of life with the goal in mind to get married and have kids soon.

Don’t wait until your 30.

It may not happen to you until late in life, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

But make it a goal to find that spouse in your early 20s.

Enjoy a long happy life together with all the sorrows and great joys that marriage brings.

The saddest moment of life and the happiest moments of your life will likely be shared with your spouse.

God gave us this relationship as a gift.

As a treasure.

That together we would bear the responsibility of ruling, sharing, and creating.

What a good God that he would give us such gifts.

May we use them responsibly and run the race God has given us with joy.