The idea that "the Church" and "family" are separate is an unscriptural statement. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys to the kingdom, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Jesus said this to Simon based on his Holy Spirit-led confession of, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Most of the time when we hear the word "church," we think of a building, but the church consists of PEOPLE. Jesus was saying, "Based on a person's confession of Me, I will build that person, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against him or her!" Everything we struggle against is either a result of us not knowing our divine nature, or us walking in our lower Adamic nature.
God's desire from the beginning was that His creation walk in His divine nature and calling. God said, "Let us make man in our own image and our own likeness. Let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth(Genesis 1:26)."
Since God gave the command to subdue, everything God was, He breathed into Adam. Man--if he is in right relationship with God--has the ability to dominate his surroundings. The creative power (thinking power), the power to follow through, and the ability to speak to a dead situation now resides in man.
A building was never meant to determine a person's salvation, nor does it have the capacity to outline the course of a family's lifestyle. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33)."
The kingdom of God is God's rule or His law. When the Body of Christ begins to live by the scripture (God's law) our divine nature will be showcased in the earth realm. The thought that we have to go to a building to hear one man lead us in prayer and preach about holy living is half right. The other half of the picture is when the believer engages God's law on a daily basis and exercises their God nature in their daily existence.
The first Youth Pastor children should have is their parents. Deuteronomy 11:18-20 describes the parents role in leading their children in their foundational covenant relationship with God. Sharing God's goodness should not be purposed in trying to increase your church membership. It should be rooted in the fact that God entices us to Him through His lovingkindness (Jer.31:3).
As a result the first place the love of God should be felt is in the home. The home should be the safest, most secure, emotionally built up breeding ground. It's the atmosphere where we first experience right, wrong, truth, acceptance, and most of all love. All biblical priorities flow from this diagram God-Family-Vocation.
My-Life, how do you view the church? How have you incorporated a relationship with God into your own family?
Kehinde Stevenson is a devoted husband and father, and resides in Arizona with his wife and three children. His relationship with Christ is extremely personal, and he fully understands the value of grace, mercy and love within both his outside relationships and the relationship he has with himself. He can be reached at kehinde23@yahoo.com
Posts
2 comments:
Preach man of God!!!!! I loved it.. on point..
"The first Youth Pastor children should have is their parents." Wonderfully said.
How my family and I incorporate God into our family is through family prayer time. And also I express with my family the importance of a personal one-on-one relationship with God in prayer and in the Word.
God's continued blessings on you and your family.
Post a Comment