Bible Study: FAMILY MONTH: SETTING A PRIORITY FOR A GLORIOUS FAMILY

THEME:              GLORIOUS FAMILY – PSALM 43:13; EPH.5:27; ISAIAH 4:2; 49:5

TOPIC:                 SETTING A PRIORITY FOR A GLORIOUS FAMILY

TEXT:                  GEN. 18:19; DEUT. 6:5

TEACHER:      REV. ADEYIGA SAMSON                                                           DATE: 06/10/2020 __________________________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION:

When we look at the Scriptures and find biblical principles for prioritizing our glorious family, our family will be heaven on earth. Failure for us to imbibe with Biblical General Principles [BGP] we are opening doors for Principality, and when there is a principality, Biblical General Principles will not work.

PRIORITY ONE: GOD'S HEARTFELT LOVE. 

Deuteronomy 6:5: Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

·      God obviously comes first: All our heart, soul, and strength is to be committed to loving God for us to showcase a glorious family.

·      Make loving Him be the greatest priority His love will rescue our home from the principality of self-centeredness. The best way for this to be realized is through Hebrews 10:25. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.

·     Church membership and regular church attendance will be one additional way a family shows that God is first in their lives.

·       Where the regular church is not visible during the week, the online program must not be joked. 

 

PRIORITY TWO FOR MARRIED COUPLES 

EPHESIANS 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

·         If you are married with God's heartfelt love, your spouse comes next as a priority.

 A married man is to love his wife as Christ loved the church.

·         Under the second priority for the married, Christ must be the first in all that God has us do must be paramount. A glorious husband should follow, God first, then his wife. In the same way, wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). The principle is that a woman’s husband is second only to God in her priorities.

·         If glorious husbands and wives are second only to God in our priorities, they both become one flesh.

 

 

PRIORITY THREE FOR PARENTS 

·         Glorious husband and wife being one flesh according-Ephesians 5:31  should see godly fearing children as their next priority. 

·         Parents are to raise godly children who will be the next generation of those who love the Lord with all their hearts (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4), showing once again that God comes first. All other family relationships should reflect that.

 

 

PRIORITY FOUR: GLORIOUS CHILDREN
Deuteronomy 5:16 tells us to honour our parents so that we may live long and so things will go well with us.

·         No age limit is specified as to that, children should honour their parent which leads us to believe that as long as our parents are alive, we should honour them.

·         Once a child reaches ADULTHOOD and MATURED in the Lord, he is no longer obligated to obey parent but see parents as a coach.

·         But there is no age limit to honouring parent as a glorious family. 

We can conclude from this that parents are next in the list of priorities after God, our spouses, and our children. After parents comes the rest of one’s family (1 Timothy 5:8).

 

 

PRIORITY FIVE: EXTENDED FAMILY. 

So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Romans 14:10 NLT

 

·         Following extended family in the list of priorities are fellow believers. As a glorious family, we are not to judge or look down upon our brothers or do anything to cause a fellow Christian to “stumble” or fall spiritually.

·         Much of the book of 1 Corinthians is Paul’s instructions on how the church should live together in harmony, loving one another. Other exhortations referring to our brothers and sisters in Christ are “serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13); “be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32); “encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11); and “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). Finally comes the rest of the world (Matthew 28:19), to whom we should bring the gospel, making Disciples of Christ.

In conclusion, the scriptural order of priorities is God, spouse, children, parents, extended family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and then the rest of the world. While sometimes decisions must be made to focus on one person over another, the goal is to not be neglecting any of our relationships. The biblical balance is allowing God to empower us to meet all of our relationship priorities, inside and outside our families.

 

PRIORITY SIX: THE GLORIOUS FAMILY SINGLE AND ELIGIBLE YOUTH PRIORITY. 

What kind of marriage and family do you want? We often totally neglect to clearly think of what kind of marriage we really want. Perhaps before we were married, we would dream about such things, but after getting married couples fall into busy routines.

Marriage, however, is a crucial and foundational aspect of our lives. A good marriage demands prioritization. This article shares two important aspects of securing those priorities: (1) What priorities are needed to have a good marriage and (2) how to order those priorities to form godly marriages and families.

It is easy to superficially think about this question. How can I get my spouse to do what I want? From the outright, we must see that this selfish thinking and questioning process brings our marriages down into the gutter. Reject that!
Instead, ask what kind of marriage do you want? Think of the options:

·         A marriage that ends up having three big fights a week?

·         A marriage where you always win in an argument but lose in a relationship?

·         A marriage where you avoid seeing your spouse, so you have fewer problems?

Do you see where these questions are taking us to? This is where marriages tend to default to, even Christian ones. Without following a set of godly priorities, we default to having a poor marriage.

HARMONISATION OF PRIORITIES. 

1.    Help your glorious family to follow God. Psalm 128:1-end.

2.    Spiritual Family is a must. Matt.12:46-50, Mark 3:33-35, 

3.    Outstanding Care.  1 Timothy 5:3