The War Against The Family
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Text - Hebrews 11.7
Text - Hebrews 11.7
By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
A spiritual war is being waged against the human family.
A spiritual war is being waged against the human family.
There is a clamour to change, even remove, the family structure.
There is a clamour to change, even remove, the family structure.
Notes John MacArthur, Jr. in his book, “The Fulfilled Family”:
Successful Christian Parenting The Demise of the Family
We may be watching the death of the germ-cell of all civilization, the family. Signs of the family’s demise are abundantly clear all around us. Numerous facts confirm the grim prognosis. There’s almost no need to cite statistics. For the past forty years or more the signs of the family’s collapse have been paraded before us continually: divorce, the sexual revolution, abortion, sterilization, delinquency, infidelity, homosexuality, radical feminism, the “children’s-rights” movement, together with the normalization of the single-parent home, the decline of the nuclear family, and other similar signs. We have been watching the braiding of an intricate rope that will ultimately strangle the family to death.
Ideas and attempts have been drawn to kill the family:
Successful Christian Parenting The Demise of the Family
In his 1971 book, The Death of the Family,7 British psychiatrist Dr. David Cooper suggested that it is time to do away with the family completely.
Successful Christian Parenting The Demise of the Family
Kate Millet’s 1970 feminist manifesto, Sexual Politics.8 She claimed that families, along with all patriarchal structures, must go because they are nothing more than tools for the oppression and enslavement of women.
Successful Christian Parenting The Demise of the Family
Hillary Rodham Clinton, for example, would like to hand over to the federal government some of the rights and responsibilities of child rearing. Mrs. Clinton’s book, It Takes a Village, 9 was written to set forth an agenda that would move America closer to state- sponsored parenting. Although she gives lip service to the importance of the parents’ and grandparents’ roles, she clearly believes that parents should not be permitted to train their own children unsupervised by the secular government. She also suggests that a more socialist approach to parenting should be the new norm, including state-sponsored day-care centers and full-day preschools for children as young as three. It appears that the village Mrs. Clinton envisions is a morass of federally-funded programs designed to indoctrinate children with whatever values the state deems acceptable.
Successful Christian Parenting The Demise of the Family
Ti-Grace Atkinson, former president of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women, says she would like to eliminate all sex, marriage, motherhood, and love. “Marriage is legalized servitude,” she says, “and family relations are the basis for all human oppression.”10
Successful Christian Parenting The Demise of the Family
Gore Vidal, best-selling author and social critic, agrees. He proposes reorganizing society to eliminate the family as we now know it. Instead, he would like to see a central authority with the power to control human population, food distribution, and the use of natural resources.11
Today’s families have become mostly dysfunctional
Today’s families have become mostly dysfunctional
Indications of a dysfunctional home
poor male leadership
abusive leadership
addiction
unsettled conflicts
fear
control
poor communication
The systematic attack against the family
The systematic attack against the family
The attack against today’s families was systematic and thorough. Satan is effectively destroying the woman, the man, and finally the children.
The first attack took place in the Garden of Eden
The first attack took place in the Garden of Eden
The whole humanity is under the power of sin because the Satan was successful in destroying the “first family”.
First, Satan-possessed serpent deceived Eve.
He convinced her to partake of the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil
Read - Genesis 3.1-6
Second, Adam concedes to the work of the enemy.
The enemy did not attack Adam directly, but indirectly through the woman.
Surprisingly, Adam gives in wilfully to his wife.
Third, the first kids fight.
Cain kills his brother Abel. He is cursed by God.
The first signs of a dysfunctional family begin to appear.
Read - Genesis 4.1-15
Other significant attack against families recorded in the Bible:
The attack against Israel’s children in Egypt
The attack against Israel’s children in Egypt
Unfortunately, Jacob’s family was dysfunctional
he raised children from legal wives as well as concubines
he was guilty of favoritism - he favored Joseph and Benjamin over all his children
the rest of his boys had a grudge against their father and Joseph
they tried to kill Joseph; later they sold him to Ishmaelite merchants
When Joseph, and a new pharaoh had risen, the children of Israel began to suffer:
they were forced into hard labor;
He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.
“Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.”
So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.
The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
the king of Egypt instructed the midwives to kill the baby boys at birth
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;
and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”
Pharaoh commanded all Egyptians to kill all the male child
Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”
Every time God prepares to do a mighty work in a given generation, the enemy was there attempting to destroy families so that God’s work will be hindered.
The attack against the Child Jesus
The attack against the Child Jesus
Mary and her child were almost abandoned!
And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
King Herod kills children in Bethlehem
Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
“A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more.”
Although the enemy tries to destroy the work of God by destroying homes, God would not allow the the “elect” children to be destroyed.
Moses was delivered.
The children of Exodus were delivered.
Jesus was delivered.
The attack against today’s family
The attack against today’s family
The enemy’s attack against families today is by far his ‘best’ work.
Feminism - a direct attack against the man and the woman
Although it can be said that today’s women are in far better situation compared to 200 years ago, the harmful effects of feminism far outweigh the good.
It encouraged women to do what men can do.
It encouraged women to leave household work and child-reading to “kasambahay” in order to pursue their own careers.
It emasculated men - they would rather be silent than face charges of harassment
It undermined the leadership of man in the house
It paved the way for LGBT to flourish
Quotes from the article “The End Of Men”:
Man has been the dominant sex since, well, the dawn of mankind. But for the first time in human history, that is changing—and with shocking speed. Cultural and economic changes always reinforce each other. And the global economy is evolving in a way that is eroding the historical preference for male children, worldwide.
Earlier this year, for the first time in American history, the balance of the workforce tipped toward women, who now hold a majority of the nation’s jobs. The working class, which has long defined our notions of masculinity, is slowly turning into a matriarchy, with men increasingly absent from the home and women making all the decisions. Women dominate today’s colleges and professional schools—for every two men who will receive a B.A. this year, three women will do the same. Of the 15 job categories projected to grow the most in the next decade in the U.S., all but two are occupied primarily by women. Indeed, the U.S. economy is in some ways becoming a kind of traveling sisterhood: upper-class women leave home and enter the workforce, creating domestic jobs for other women to fill.
Over the years, researchers have proposed different theories to explain the erosion of marriage in the lower classes: the rise of welfare, or the disappearance of work and thus of marriageable men. But Edin thinks the most compelling theory is that marriage has disappeared because women are setting the terms—and setting them too high for the men around them to reach.
Feminism - a direct attack against children
abortion
single-parent kids
perverted view of family, leadership and motherhood
kids who lack discipline
Feminism is not all the woman’s fault. Men are also to blame for the rise of this evil ideology by failing to be the man that God wants him to be: godly, kind, caring and gentle.
William Branham prophetically described the world today:
93 Now, I’m… You’re my sisters. See? But look, there’s only one place in the whole universe that gives a man his credit; that’s God gives it to him. Today the god of America is a woman. Now, that’s right. Strip one of these little women off, and set them down here on the beach somewhere with their bathing suits on, and she’ll send more men to hell than all the bootleg joints you got in the city. That’s right. She’s America’s god. She—she makes men fall, anything she wants to. She know…
94 The devil knowed that in the beginning. That’s the reason he chose the woman. Now, the woman is redeemed, and she can be a sister and godly. But brother, what we need today is some more good old-fashion, God-sent, Holy Ghost-borned mothers to raise children right. Talk about juvenile delinquency; it’s parent delinquency is where it lays at. That’s exactly right.
- The Faith Once Delivered To The Saints (53-1129a)
26 Now, and so then Jezebel, when she got in there, she stomped that little high heel shoe she was wearing, and she said, “Now, Ahab, I’ll run this business.” That’s wrong to begin with. The man’s the head of the house. All but in the United States, the woman’s the head of the house here. This is a woman’s country. The woman is the god of America.
I predict that before the coming of the Lord that a woman will be a great ruler in the United States, ’cause it’s a woman’s country. Started in Hollywood, that’s how it run right on out.
- Painted-Faced Jezebel (56-1003)
92 And what have we got swayed by today? Remember, I predict this, that America is a woman-lover. She is a woman-worshiper. The spirit in America, absolutely is woman-possessed. These little women can come upon Hollywood, they can walk out on the street and send more men to hell than all the barrooms you could clang together.
93 And, yet, in her right condition, she is a jewel to a man’s heart, and a blessing to the Kingdom of God. You see it?
- God Keeps His Word (57-0120e)
47 Notice. So that they would be one, both soul and body, He took a rib from his side, and made a woman. See? A woman is not in the original creation; she’s a by-product of the man. See? Today in America she’s boss, god, and everything else. She’ll twist down the street and send more souls to hell than all the bootleg joints you could place between here and Los Angeles. That’s right.
But yet a good woman is the best thing that God could give a man, because it’s part of him. But of this Hollywood down here, and such hellholes as that has corrupted the nation and the life of the nation, and broke the backbone through the immorals of womanhood and motherhood, through divorce courts and everything else.
- To Take On The Whole Armor Of God (62-0701)
Noah saves his family
Noah saves his family
By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
“Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.
“Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.
“But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
He was warned by God, and he listened!
He built the ark, and brought in his family!
God will use true, spiritual leadership to save homes and families in the last days.
God will use true, spiritual leadership to save homes and families in the last days.
God will not allow the enemy to destroy the elect!
God’s plan will not be hindered by enemy schemes.
Joseph embraced God’s plan for his wife, Mary
But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Real mothers will not let the enemy take their children, but commit them in the hands of God.
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi.
The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.
But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
“It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive.
“It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home.
True, spiritual leadership will lead families back to God!
True, spiritual leadership will lead families back to God!
Moses did not go out of Egypt without the children
So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God! Who are the ones that are going?”
Moses said, “We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”
Apostle Paul recognises the importance of spiritual male leadership
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity
(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),
God’s end-time work will directly involve families
“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
“In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
“The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves;
the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves;
all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.
“It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.
“Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
“I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke.
“The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the Lord has said, Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The attack against the family today is real.
to deny this fact is to let the enemy do his work
to ignore this fact is to put our home under direct threat from the enemy
Children today need special attention and care from spiritual parents.
Bring your whole household to Christ
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.
And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.
And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.
Bring your whole household under the authority of God’s Word
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?