August 18, 2024 Preaching | Ptr. Peter Tanchi
As we end our series on BIBLICAL CULTURE, we take on the last Core Value of CCF: ENGAGE THE FAMILY.
This core value has to do with our stewardship of relationships and influence. Spirituality is developed at home. To engage the family means, to get involved in the lives of our family members. The family is the most basic foundation of human society, and as Zig Ziglar once said “As the family goes, so goes the nation”. Furthermore, John Unwin, a British anthropologist who analyzed civilizations and families, Edward Gibbon, an English historian who studied the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and Carle Zimmerman, an American sociologist who studied the correlation between the rise and fall of civilization – all agree on different times and different studies that when the family declines, nations disintegrate. The family today is indeed falling apart. We must engage and disciple our families! CCF believes that Every Family is a Discipleship group (EFAD). Discipleship begins at home. Our Christianity must be lived out at home. Our spirituality is tested at home!
The importance of assuming responsibility in the family is emphasized in the failure of the priest, Eli, to disciple his sons (1 Samuel 1:3). Hophni and Phinehas were “worthless men” who did not know the LORD (1 Samuel 2:12). Eli was so busy doing his duties, that he wasn’table to disciple his sons. He did not even know that his sons did not know the Lord and were not walking with the Lord. They did not steward their influence, and their family was disgraced. Deuteronomy 6 is in the context of the Israelites about to take on the Promise Land, where God commanded Moses and His people to follow His commandments –¬ fearing the Lord, keeping His decrees, with the purpose of them being able to enjoy long life, to obey so that it may go well with them (Deuteronomy 6:1-3). This is the heart of God – His purpose for His commands is not to kill our happiness but to guard us and help us put boundaries so that we will not mess up. The purpose of God’s rules is for our protection. Verses 4-6 show that the first thing God’s people need to teach their family is to love the Lord their God with ALL their heart, soul, and mind. The core values of CCF are biblical. If you love God, you will obey Him. If you love Him, you will love other people and choose to do right. The nature of love is that it must be 100%. Everything we do should begin with love. The command was given in Deuteronomy 6:7 to disciple or train others in the ways of God, and pass this on by choosing to “teach them diligently” as they sit, walk, lie down, and rise.
To do this, we follow the MRI Principle.
1) MODELING
Children copy us either positively or negatively. 1 Corinthians 11:1 has Paul’s command for the Corinthian believers to be imitators of him just as he imitates Christ. Does the way we live show Christ living in us? There’s no way that we can be a model like Jesus if our lives are not surrendered to Him. We can model humility, most especially in how we respond to corrections that we receive. Modeling is not about perfection, but about authenticity. Learn to admit mistakes, work on changes, and be very intentional. We can ask what we must start doing and stop doing in terms of how to model Christlikeness.
2) RELATIONSHIP
The closer the relationship, the greater the influence. Jesus understood this principle – in Mark 3:14, Jesus chose 12 disciples and spent time with them. The people we spend time with have an important role. 1 Corinthians 15:13 tells us that bad company corrupts good morals. The power of influence is proportionate to the closeness of the relationship. The closer children are to their parents, the less they are influenced by their peers. The more peer-oriented the children are, the less they will be influenced by their parents.
We are social beings. We must provide that venue for relationships to grow stronger. How do we do this? We can find out what others enjoy doing and spend time doing these with them. We must learn to listen to the people we want to build relationships with. Spend time with them, and even with our busy schedules, we yearn to have their hearts. How is your relationship with your family members? Do they want to spend time with you?
3) INTENTIONALITY
Good results seldom happen by chance. They are a product of intentionality. If we want to build something, we must have a plan. We must follow a design. To be intentional is to be deliberate, and purposeful, and avoid haphazard, accidental interactions.
Proverbs 22:6 gives us a command to TRAIN UP (direct one’s appetite towards a specific direction) children. It has a sense in which we break self-will; to learn to follow God’s will. This takes great intentionality and discipline. We are to TEACH our family important topics like identity, the truth about the world, family, friendship, marriage, and more importantly, all things about God.
Sooner or later, we will depart from this life. We must ask the question: what will we leave behind? What kind of influence will be your legacy? Is it eternal or temporal? Is it good or bad? What are we leaving behind? CS Lewis said “Christianity, if false, is of no importance. If true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” We need to take seriously who Jesus is and take living according to His ways seriously. We are not being asked to leave a legacy of religion but of a real, deep love toward God and the relationships He entrusted to us, beginning with our families.