Taking
Stock of Your Spiritual Life #2
Your
Family’s Spiritual Inventory
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. J.
Paul Getty was an American businessman. He was the Bill Gates of the mid-20th
century. He made his first million dollars
by the age of 23. In 1966 the Guinness book
of world records listed him as the world’s
richest private citizen. When he died in
1976 he was worth more than 2 billion
dollars (that’s more than 8 billion in today’s
dollars).
1. As rich as he was there was one thing he
regretted.
2. Near the end of his life he wrote, “"I
hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I
would
gladly give all of my millions for just one lasting marital success.”
B.
When Trey and Lea Morgan were with us in October for our “Stronger Families”
workshop, Trey told a story of how he had
met man who was a multi-millionaire. The
man
was in his fifties with no family. He had houses in Florida, Maine and Los
Angeles. He had appeared on the TV show “Millionaire
Matchmaker.” He had cars,
boats and planes. As he and Trey talked
Trey thought, “This guy has it made. He is
living the American dream.” The man asked Trey
what he did. Trey told him he was a
minister for a church in a small Texas
town, that he had married his high school
sweetheart and they had four boys. The man
looked at him and said, “You are a far
richer man than I am.”
C. If
you have a family you are a wealthy person. As you take stock of your life you
need to take inventory of your family.
1. I suspect this is what the writer of
Psalm 127 had in mind as he wrote these words.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, they
labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord
guards the city, the watchman keeps
awake in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up
early, To retire late, To eat the bread
of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved
even
in his sleep. 3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a
reward. 4 Like arrows in
the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.”
5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.”
2. This Psalm suggests four questions that
comprise your family’s spiritual inventory.
I. WHERE IS YOUR STABILITY?
A. Notice the opening words of this Psalm,
“Unless the Lord build the house they
labor in vain who build it.” What does
the foundation of your home look like?
1. I am not talking about your “house.”
When we lived in Newport many years ago
we purchased our first house. It was a
very modest, older house for which we
paid $35,000. Across the back of the
house a previous owner had added a large
den, an extra bathroom and an extra
bedroom. During our first summer we
noticed how that addition would
settle and cause large cracks in the brick.
Whoever built that did not properly
prepare the foundation for that addition.
2. Many people begin families today
without giving any consideration to the
foundation of their home.
B. What does it mean to have the “Lord
build the house?”
1. You follow God’s plan for marriage.
a. There are many forces working to
define marriage and family. God has always
had a plan for marriage.
b. Marriage and the family were the
first institutions God established following the
creation of man and woman
(Genesis 2:18-25).
c. The Old Testament prophets used
marriage as a metaphor for God’s
relationship with Israel. The
sins of Israel were compared to unfaithfulness in a
marriage (See the books of Hosea
and Malachi).
d. Jesus taught about marriage. In
Matthew 19:4-6 he said, “Have you not read
that He who created them from
the beginning made them male and female,
5and said, ‘For this
reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no
longer two, but one flesh. What
therefore God has joined together, let no man
separate.”
e. Before Tami and I married we
determined that our marriage would be built on
God’s foundation. In our wedding we quoted
Ephesians 5:21-25. We pledged
that we would submit to one
another out of reverence for Christ and follow the
teaching to love and respect one
another. Years before our first child was born
we decided that our children
would be raised in the “nurture and admonition of
the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
2. Understand God’s purpose for marriage
and family.
a. The social purpose.
1.) God has created us with a
need for relationships. He wants to have a
relationship with us. This is
why we are created, “in his image” (Genesis
1:27).
2.) God also recognized our need
for relationships with others. In Genesis
2:18 He saw something that
“was not good.” It was a man who was alone.
God created another person.
b. The sexual purpose.
1.) When God created another
person it was not a clone but a compliment.
Someone with whom he could
become one flesh.
2.) The sexual union between a
husband and wife is so precious it is to be
protected and preserved with
great care.
c. The societal purpose.
1.) The family is the basic unit
of society. It is the thread that comprises the
fabric of society.
2.) This is why the family is such a prime target for
Satan. When Satan
destroys a marriage and a
family he weakens the fabric of society.
II. WHERE IS YOUR SECURITY?
A. The Psalmist continued in verse 1,
“Unless
the Lord guards the city, the watchman
keeps awake in vain.”
1. Who is protecting your family?
2. Several years ago we had an alarm
system put in our house. Early one morning I
was going outside and forgot to
disarm the system. Sirens sounded, lights
flashed and within five minutes a
policeman was on the scene to see if
everything was alright.
3. We go to great lengths to protect our
houses and possessions. What are we
doing to protect our families?
B. Suppose you went home today and by means
of radio, TV or social media you
learned that three convicts had escaped
from prison and were in our community.
According to the report these men are
convicted killers. They overpowered the
prison guards, and took their weapons.
They are armed and exceedingly
dangerous.
1. If you heard a report like that you
would probably take some precautions. You
would lock your car doors and lock
the door to your house. If you had a weapon
you might even keep it handy for the
protection of your family.
2. There is a convict on the loose. He
is out to steal, to kill and to destroy (John
10:9). There is nothing he would
rather do than inflict harm on your family.
C. You can take all of the security
measures you can imagine physically. You can
stay awake all night to fend off
thieves. Unless the Lord is protecting your family all
of your security measures are in vain.
Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the
body but are unable to kill the soul;
but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell”(Matthew10:28).
III. WHERE IS YOUR SATISFACTION?
A. Verse
2 says, “It is vain for you to rise up
early, To retire late, To eat the bread
of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved
even in his sleep.”
1. You can work all day and all night to
acquire “things” but you will not be satisfied.
2. Some people move from relationship to
relationship and never find satisfaction.
B. Several years ago in the city of Miami,
there was a homicide. That is nothing new
since this was homicide 106 for that
particular year. It was a 38 year old woman
who was stabbed and strangled. Her name
was Judith Bucknell. What was
interesting was the diary she left
behind. She was lived in a wealthy community
called Coconut Grove. She had a good
career. She had wealth. She had many
lovers. She was not happy with all of
these things. She wrote of her fear of getting
old, getting fat or getting pregnant.
She said, “why can’t I find someone to love
me?” She never did.
C. There is nothing wrong with providing
your family with nice things. There is nothing
wrong with providing them a nice house
or a nice car. Ask people in wildfire
ravaged southern California about the
satisfaction of these things. Ask people in
Houston or southern Florida. There is
only one source for lasting satisfaction. The
Lord, Himself.
IV. WHERE IS YOUR SUCCESS?
A. The Psalmist had a specific view of success
that revolved around his family.
1. Children are a heritage from the
Lord. The Contemporary English Version
translates this as, “Children are a
gift and a blessing.”
2. The Psalmist says, “the more you have
the more blessed you are.” Jule and Judy
Miller had twelve children. A
relative told them “God said ‘be fruitful and multiply
and replenish the earth’ but you
don’t have to do it all by yourselves.”
3. The investments you make in your
children’s lives will bring greater return than
any investment you make.
B. Now that my children are grown and have
children of their own I have come to
realize that my greatest heritage is not
in preaching or teaching. My greatest
accomplishment is not in human
accolades. It is the heritage I leave with my
children and grandchildren.
CONCLUSION:
A. As
you conduct your family’s spiritual inventory ask yourself, “What role am I
playing
in the spiritual development of my family?”
1. Am I setting the proper example?
2. Do they see Christ living in me?
3. Is my leadership at home leading my
family to Christ?
B. If
your inventory comes up short please do not hesitate to make the necessary
corrections in your life. If you are ready
to confess Christ and be baptized into Him or
to come home and be restored to Christ we
invite you to come today.
