Family Fellowship

We have talked about fellowship inside the church, fellowship outside the church, how fellowship affects the lives of those around us. How does fellowship impact our families? Remember what we are calling fellowship is this lifestyle of actively living in the Word and living out worship and evangelizing. We are all wanting to change our world but changing the world means nothing if we do not change our families. if we change the world and lose our families then we are in a worse spot than impacting our families and not affecting the world. The most important unit that God gave us to be a part of is our family units. There is not other group of people in your life that you have as important of an obligation to as a believer than your family. Today in our scripture we will talk about the family fellowship and how important it is as we join in the true understanding of fellowship. I have talked to many of you and what I can tell you based on my family and the stories I am hearing across our church, our families are under attack. Today I pray that we will find some fortification for our families and ability to find some protections for our families.

Two paddleboats left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail's pace of the other. Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.

One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship's cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. They ended up winning the race, but burned their cargo.

God has entrusted cargo to us, too: children, spouses, friends. Our job is to do our part in seeing that this cargo reaches its destination. Yet when the program takes priority over people, people often suffer. How much cargo do we sacrifice in order to achieve the number one slot? How many people never reach the destination because of the aggressiveness of a competitive captain?

Turn with me today in your Bible to Psalm 128 we will be in verses 1-6. In this scripture we find that family fellowship starts with a Fear of the Lord. Second Family Fellowship brings change in our families. Third Family Fellowship results in blessing. Read with me Psalm 128:1-6

Psalm 128:1–6 ESV

1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! 2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. 5 The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! 6 May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!

Family Fellowship starts with Fear of the Lord

Psalm 128:1 ESV

1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!

Family fellowship starts with Fear of the Lord. What exactly is fear of the Lord? I know what fear is, we have all experienced fear in some form in our lives. I have told you of the times my wife has hidden around the house to scare me and that is one level of fear. I have experienced other levels of fear in my life. There have been times in my life where something happened that could have killed me and that is a different type of fear than when my wife scares me. The fear that the Bible is talking about though is a different type of fear all together. The word used here is pronounced yadread. When you hear that word spoken it you can gather from it the word dread. In the Old testament this word is used to explain a dreadful situation. We often times will hear pastors preach about the fear of the Lord and they will attempt to soften the message and say that the fear of the Lord is just a healthy respect. Almost like a bull, you should have a healthy respect for a bull but you should not be overall afraid of the bull. This though is not an accurate description of what is being called for here. What is being called for is a true understanding of who you are in the face of God. This is not a healthy respect or a fear like that of being scared. This is a fear that brings you to a place of understanding who you are in the presence of an Holy and powerful God. It is amazing how we treat God. It is like we think that at the end of the day that we can do and say whatever we want to God and that He just has to sit there and listen and take it. We act like the purpose of prayer and conversation with God is like our spiritual amazon cart. The fear of God has gotten to a point where everyone believes that fear of God is a healthy respect for God and that is completely up for interpretation. How do you fear the Lord? are you in a position of understanding the real power of our God?

Have you ever been to a place that was so awe inspiring that you felt so tiny and insignificant? I remember going to the blue ridge mountains and standing at the base of a waterfall and realizing how much power was in that waterfall. I remember standing at the base of Niagara Falls and realizing just how tiny and insignificant I was in comparison to the immense power of the waterfalls. The fear of knowing that if I made my way into the water and over the falls that I would be torn apart and the waterfalls would act as though I was never there.

I believe that sometimes in our attempt to let everyone know that God loves them and to understand God’s love in our lives we lessen His power so that we do not have to fear Him because we do not equate fear with love. In our minds fear and love do not go together. To have a full understanding of love for God we must first understand a real fear of Him.

In The Chronicles of Narnia, an allegory by C.S. Lewis, the author has two girls, Susan and Lucy, getting ready to meet Aslan the lion, who represents Christ. Two talking animals, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, prepare the children for the encounter. "Ooh," said Susan, "I though he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion." "That you will, dearie." said Mrs. Beaver. "And make no mistake, if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knee's knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then isn't he safe?" said Lucy. "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king, I tell you!"

Our God is fearful and there is no man who can stand before Him. Do you understand this in your life? Do you really have a fear of the Lord? In leading our families especially men we must fear the Lord.

Proverbs 9:10 ESV

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Isaiah 6:1–5 ESV

1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

We serve a God who’s train fills the temple. What is the significance of that? A large train was something that kings would use to instill fear. A king who had a long train to his robe was a king who had defeated many other kings. After defeating another king the king would take the other kings train and have it sown to their train indicating that they were more powerful. The train that fills the temple indicates that God is the greatest king of all. Above God were Angels that had 6 wings. 2 wings covered their faces, 2 wings covered their feet and 2 wings allowed them to fly. God was so holy that the angels in His presence had to be completely covered. When Isaiah looked upon the Lord he was stricken with fear. He fell on his face and said I am as good as dead. I have seen the Lord and in His presence I am a sinful man. I do not deserve to live. Contrast this with how we pray. When is the last time that you took a moment to really understand the power of our God? When was the last time that your prayer life indicated that you were fearful of approaching the throne of our God? We utilize scripture that says pray without ceasing and pray constantly to justify our flippant response to a Holy God. A family that understands and takes part in fellowship is a family that has fear of God. Fathers, how do you pray in front of your families, does it start with an understanding of who God is? Mothers when you pray does it start with centering God on His throne and entering His presence in reverence and fear? We often times override this because we preach a message of Love. God’s love is so much more meaningful when you understand that you do not deserve it, that His power is so great and His presence so holy that simply being in His presence would be enough for us to deserve death. To fear God does not mean that He does not love us it means that in spite of His holy power He still chooses to love us in the depths of our humanity. Love does not give us the right to disrespect our God. If we are going to have families that understand and take part in Holy fellowship it must start with a Fear of the Lord. A Fear of the Lord brings about change.

Fear of the Lord brings change

Psalm 128:2–3 ESV

2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

Families who Fear the Lord will see two things. The Lord will bless your wife, and the Lord will bless your children. A family who Fears God and walks in His ways will find that the Lord does an amazing work. Husbands, if you will take the time to understand the real fear of the Lord then you will see amazing things happen in your families. Notice that the scripture did not say that you needed to be the one who made the change happen. What the scripture says is that you must lead by example in the fear of the Lord. Husbands and Fathers our church and our families are under attack, It is so vitally important that we take this seriously this morning. I am going to be a little transparent here this morning and let you know that in the past week the devil has attacked my marriage, he has been attacking my children, and it is not time for me to expect them to change, the change must come from me. It does not come from me having more strict expectations of my wife or kids, It comes from me having more expectation of me fearing the Lord. I you will take the time to recenter on a fear of the Lord what does it say will happen?

Psalm 128:2 ESV

2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

You will see success and you will enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Psalm 128:3 ESV

3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

Your wife will prosper when you fear the Lord and your children will prosper when you fear the Lord. I have not properly taken time to fear the Lord in my life and as a result the devil is attacking and winning in the lives of my children and my wife. If this morning nothing else happens I ask that you will pray for your pastor. That your pastor will get to a real and necessary fear of the Lord for my family and for my faith. I’m not telling you that I do not fear the Lord, I am telling you that I have allowed “love “ to cloud the way I should approach God. Men if you want your wife to be a different person, quit trying to change her and change you. Seek the Lord. Fathers if you want your children to be different children, quit trying to change them and focus on your fear of the Lord. Teach them to Fear the Lord through the example you set. When you fear the Lord your wife will be a fruitful vine within your house Notice it does not say when you fear the Lord and you prune your wife and you teach her to do everything you tell her to do she will be fruitful. No she will be a sweet and fruitful vine when you learn to Fear the Lord and walk in His ways. Not when you teach her to do those things. Jesus will do the work in your family when you Fear the Lord. Your children will be like olive shoots. What is the significance of olive shoots? Olive shoots grow from the main trunk of the tree and represent new life, potential, and growth. Your children will grown and find potential and have a new life when you Father Fear the Lord. The best thing we can do for our families this morning is to take time and ensure that we have a proper fear of the Lord in our lives. The best thing I can do for my wife is to exemplify a proper fear of the Lord in our house. If I want good for my family it comes from me walking in the ways of the Lord. We sometimes spend so much time trying to get everyone else around us to change but the ones who really need to change is us.

Max DePree gets to the heart of things with this succinct formulation: "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality." Leaders need to have a good picture of what is really going on around them. And they need to help others take an honest look at this reality."

We are seeing our church attacked and we are seeing our families attacked. This is not the time to come up with a million reasons why it is happening, but one solution to stop it. The one solution is for the men in our church to get honest with ourselves and to look in the mirror and see if we are leading our families and our church through a proper fear of the Lord. For our women to be able to trust that we are leaders capable of looking in the mirror and evaluating whether or not we are properly fearing the Lord and leading properly. Women please do not hear me undermining or limiting your leadership. In areas where God has not placed a qualified man in your life and in areas where God has specifically called you to serve, these are true for you too. I am not in any way trying to say that women have no power or right. I believe that God will use who He desires in any way that He desires to achieve His holy purpose. In the context of our families God has distinctly called the man to live life Christ and to lead our families. What would your family look like if you really began to seek to fear the Lord the way you should? How different would your wife be if she was presented with a husband who loved her unconditionally and exhibited patience even when it was not deserved. How would your children be if they saw that example being lived out in front of them. The Lord does the changing in lives, we are called to simply live the way He has commanded of us. it is time for us to quit trying to change everyone around us and allow God to do the work in our lives as we learn to fear Him.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ezekiel 36:26–27 ESV

26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

It is God who will do the work in the lives of our families. We are simply called to Fear Him and to walk in His ways. Sometimes we want so badly to help our families that we forget that the best way to help them is to lead by example in the way we relate to God. Family fellowship starts with the Fear of the Lord, leads to change in our families, and results in the blessing of our families.

Family Fellowship results in blessing

Psalm 128:4–6 ESV

4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. 5 The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! 6 May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!

I am not a prosperity preacher, meaning I do not believe that when you accept Christ the sky’s open up and you will become a millionaire. I believe we will face many struggles and trial in our lives. The scripture is true

James 1:2 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

I do however believe that when we face these troubles as the Scripture has called us to and we become the rocks in our families and our churches, doing the right things in the face of the toughest times, that it always results in blessing. Fearing the Lord and walking in His ways will result in wives that love the Lord and love others, it will result in children who love the Lord and love others. The scripture tells us that the blessing for those men who decide that they will live in the fear of the Lord and walk in His ways is that our wives will prosper and our children will prosper and that we will see our children and their children. We are called to fear the Lord and to teach our families, not through making them do things that we are not doing, but by leading by example in our fear of the Lord. Do you want to see blessings in your family? If so, fear the Lord and walk in His ways. Do you want to have a security about your children and wife? Quit controlling every thing they do and say and control the things you do and say. We must lead by example and seek the Lord. God desires to bless us but His blessings come with expectations. In the Scripture this morning we see that God wants to bless our families and He will do so if we as the men, husbands, and leaders will Fear the Lord and will walk in His ways. Are you willing to make the commitment to do this today? I am not standing here and telling you that your families will not face attack and trials, I am telling you that in the face of those challenges and trials if we will Fear the Lord and Walk in His ways, He will see us through the challenges and struggles and will bless us.