May 9th, 2004, Sunday Morning
Mother's Day 2004

"Importance of Family"
Your first and primary duty in life is to your family

OPENING: 1 Timothy 1:3-8


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INTRODUCTION: 50 years ago this weekend (May 6th, 1954), Roger Bannister, a 25 year old British medical student, became the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes (3 minutes, 59.4 seconds). He did this at the Iffley road track in Oxford, witnessed by 3,000 people. When asked whether that was the most important thing in his life, he replied, "No. My family and my work are what's important in my life." Today, Roger is 75 and lives in Oxford. He has four children and 13 grandchildren. (His subsequent distinct acts are his distinguished reputation as a neurologist, author and master of Pembroke College, one of 30 colleges that make up Oxford University.)

OUR TRUE RELIGIOUS DUTY IS TO TAKE CARE OF FAMILY

• Taking care of family is a learned behavior: there is no complete instruction manual to suit all people; you have to rely on experience (your childhood/family) and put that into practice
  
  
• Godly principles of life are always simple and tailored to all people:
  
  
  • Ephesians 5:25: Husbands love their wife as Christ loves the church
  • Ephesians 5:22-24: Wives are submissive to their husband
  • Ephesians 6:1: Children obey their parents
  • Ephesians 6:2: Honor your father and mother--no matter what
  • 1 Timothy 5:3: Honor and support widows
  
  
• Proverbs 14:23, James 1:22: Prove yourself a doer of these commands--not just a hearer
  
  
• Life's duty is to learn godliness within the family
  
  
  • 1 Timothy 5:4: In all your affairs, first learn to be pious at home
  • 1 Timothy 2:2: Strive to live a quiet, peaceable life, in dignity
  
  
• You have the ability to be godly in your family
  
  
  • 2 Peter 1:3: God has provided us the tools and knowledge to do this
    
    
  • 2 Peter 1:6-7: Knowledge leads to temperance; temperance leads to patience; patience leads to godliness; godliness leads to brotherly kindness; that kindness ultimately leads to charity
  
  
• Family is not limited to your immediate relatives (mom and dad); family is everyone in this world but especially your saved brothers and sisters in Christ
  
  
• APPLICATION:
  
  
  • Having faith in Jesus Christ means you will act to take care of your family
  • You will not only learn but practice these truths
  • 1 Timothy 5:4: To do these things is "good and acceptable before God."

IGNORING FAMILY NEEDS IS A SIGN OF REBELLION AGAINST GOD

• 1 Timothy 5:8: To not care for the family is to be, in the Bible's words, "worse than an infidel" (unbeliever)
  
  
  • 2 Timothy 3:2: As infants and babies, some adults have not outgrown the trait of selfishness
    
    
    • We are to act opposite to that, in giving back to your "family," (widows, orphans, etc.) just as your mom and dad (immediate family) gave to you
    
    
  • Selfish people do not think before they act; And acting before thinking through an action's consequences is a knee-jerk reaction that almost always goes wrong
  
  
• When one does not think of their family beforehand, they have rejected and rebelled against God
  
  
  • This person has denied the faith
    
    
    • They are saying: I will do what I want--do not bother me
    • They will give every excuse why they cannot help, thereby refusing the Lord's command
    • Proverbs 12:15: Man believes he knows--not God--what is best for him
    
    
  • And the Bible brands that person an unbeliever
    
    
    • 2 Timothy 3:5: These men falsely believe they have a form of godliness and righteousness but they do not; these are men to stay away from
      
      
    • 2 Timothy 3:4: These men love pleasures and rest--they care only for their own needs
  
  
• Luke 13:25-27, Matthew 15:8: These are men labeled by Jesus as hypocrites; men who proclaimed Jesus with only their lips--not also their heart
  
  
  • EXAMPLE: Matthew 15:4-6: Pharisees made their own rule that if you give a gift of money to a charity, you don't have to help your mother or father, thereby nullifying God's command to honor your father and mother
  
  
• There will come a day when THESE men will need help--and no one will be found
  
  
• APPLICATION:
  
  
  • Everyone has family problems--there is no model family; the challenge is to meet and defeat those problems using Christ's love and virtues (patience, longsuffering, charity, sacrifice, etc.)
    
    
  • Words without actions not only deceive you but are contradictory and draws future mistrust from others
    
    
  • 1 Corinthians 10:10: Think before you speak; you may be helping others but doing so out of spite and not love negates your actions

CLOSER

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Roger Bannister is a true example of putting family first: he was the first human to ever run the mile in less than four minutes and yet he declared his family more important

The true test of your faith in Jesus Christ will be in how you care for "the family" in the face of adversity and inconvenience