SERVING GOD WITH THE WHOLE FAMILY

27/04/2017

SERVING GOD WITH THE WHOLE FAMILY

          Joshua 24:15

In our text Joshua made a resolution to serve God together with his whole family. Well, he could speak for his family because He knew them very well and has influence over them. He was much like Abraham who had a great godly influence over his family that God Himself testified about: “For I know him, that he will command his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Genesis 18:19).

As in the days of Joshua, so it is with us today. As parents, we have the responsibility to prepare our children to be worthy and to have a desire to serve God. We are stewards of those children. God has entrusted them to us, and we will be held accountable for them. One of the blessings of that stewardship will be preparing them to serve God.

The Church also has a great role to play in ensuring that whole family serve God, not just as individuals but together as a unit. Today’s model of church is one of consumerism; that is, “We go to get.” We go to church because of what we will get individually. This consumer-driven model has driven churches to make programs and ministries to fit every age group. Early elementary aged children are ushered to Children’s Church, teens leave their families to sit in the youth class and adults sit in their familiar groupings of self-assigned seats week after week. While this model has served to engage individuals, it doesn’t serve to engage families as a unit.

In 1 Chronicles we see families serving together, using their unique gifts to serve the Lord and His people. Some of the ways they served together included performing ceremonies (23:28); making food (23:29); worshiping through music (25:1); managing the facility (26:1-19); and managing money (26:22). We must encourage each family in the church to exploit ways of serving God together, whether it is serving the Body of Christ or their community at large, and hold programs that will train and help individual family serve God together in a variety of ways. 

1.      PREPARING THE WHOLE FAMILY TO SERVE GOD

Joshua 24:15; Genesis 18:19; Isaiah 52:11; 2 Timothy 2:20-21; Ephesians 6:4; Proverbs 22:6

To serve God together as a family, parents must bring up their children in the way of the Lord. The Bible has a great deal to say about the way you can successfully raise your children to become great men and women of God. The first thing you must do is to lead them to Jesus early in life. Explain God’s amazing plan for salvation to them in a simple, not complicated way; let them admit that they need to be forgiven their sins; and make them confess those sins to God. Let them ask Him for His forgiveness and help them turn away from wrongdoings.

Then, teach or instruct them in God’s Word. This should be done at all times—at home, on the road, at night, and in the morning. However, when you instruct them, you are not simply presenting a list of rules to follow. You’re letting your “actions speak” by training them according to God’s standards. Somebody said, “Parents who wish to train up their children in the way they should go must go in the way in which they would have their children go.” You must show good examples for your children to follow. Children model everything their parents do and incorporate what they see into their own lives. It is important that you set the right examples for them. Negative examples can be detrimental to a child’s development, and can lead to bad behaviour. This means you must be born-again yourselves and model the Christian life.

Also, teach and train them, just as you train and prepare yourselves, to serve God in various capacities. When you teach them that there is a just God and that He wants every able and worthy young man and woman to serve Him, your children will have the faith to answer God’s call.

2.      PRACTICAL WAYS BY WHICH THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN SERVE GOD

Joshua 24:5; Acts 18:1-4, 24-28; Romans 16:5

Your family can serve God in a variety of ways. Service for God doesn’t have to be relegated to Sunday morning or church service day. Let’s glean some lessons about the whole family participating in God’s service from Aquila and Priscilla.

We might say they were “partners” with the apostle Paul. And how can we be “partners” with Paul, even today? How can we as a whole family be involved in the service of God? By (1) active participation in church ministry; (2) witnessing to others; (3) willing to take a risk for the sake of others hearing and believing the Gospel; (4) faithful attendance at church services; (5) supporting mission and church projects financially; (6) interceding for others; and (7) opening our homes for Christian fellowship.

You can also mentor other Christians as Aquila and Priscilla mentored Apollos. What kinds of people can you begin a mentoring relationship with today? You can mentor grandkids, nephews, nieces, young couples, and families who are young in their Christian faith. And what kinds of things can you do to mentor people like this? You can pray for them. Ask them if they have any prayer requests you can be praying about. You can also pray with them. Offer to meet on a regular basis to pray together. Invite them into your home. Sometimes, just listening to them gives them an opportunity to think through and verbalize the struggles they are having. Often, this helps them see solutions or provides an opportunity for you to share how God has solved similar problems in your life.

3.      PROFITS OF OUR WHOLE FAMILY SERVING GOD

Joshua 23:25; Genesis 18:19; Exodus 23:25

God says, “And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee” (Exodus 23:25). Here, God promises to bless those that serve Him. So how does your family benefit from serving God together?

-          Your whole family will be bonded together

-          God will work through your lives

-          He will make every member of your family become fruitful Christians

-          You will receive answers to your prayers

-          He will provide the needs of the whole family

-          He will immune the whole family against sickness and diseases

God knew Abraham would influence his whole family to serve Him, and He blessed him (Genesis 18:19). By influencing and training your whole family to serve God earnestly, you too will receive God’s blessing

POSSIBILITIES AND PROFITS OF BIBLICAL FOLLOW-UP

POSSIBILITIES AND PROFITS OF BIBLICAL FOLLOW-UP

Acts 14:21-23; 15:36; Matthew 28:19-20

The efforts put into the soul-winning activities will bear no fruit if the soul winner fails to

 follow up the new convert. In the Great Commission, the Lord Jesus Christ did not

 only tell His apostles to preach and baptize, but also to engage in "teaching them to 

observe all things that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). 

The Lord wants them to 'follow-up' those who were baptized. Too often, once people

 are born again, they are left to simply drift. In many cases, drifting back into the world 

or they drift into a state of apathy regarding their devotion, spiritual life and service to 

the Lord. This greatly hinders the growth of the Church. Not only are the souls who

 drift or become apathetic in danger of falling away but many souls that could have 

been won to the Lord through them if they had been faithful and consistent in the Lord

 are likely to perish.

1.     Proper Perspective Of Biblical Follow Up

      Acts 14:21-23; 15:36; Matthew 28:19-20; Col. 1:28-29

Follow up is the work of grounding a new believer in the faith. This was part of the 

ministry of the early church. It was given a priority in the ministry of Paul the apostle 

and other ministers in the early Church. Paul the apostle told Barnabas: 

“Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of 

the Lord, and see how they do” (Acts 15:36). It is advisable to visit a new convert within the first

 24 hours of his/her decision. Why do we need follow up? We need follow up for these reasons:

1. Satan seeks to destroy those in the faith – 1 Pet. 5:8-9

2. A new believer is most vulnerable if he is not firmly grounded in the faith – Luke 8:13

3. Weak Christians need to be assisted by older, mature Christians – Gal. 6:1-2

It’s important for us to follow up on converts in order to conserve them in the faith. If this is 

dutifully carried out, it will lead to growth and development of the body of Christ.

2.     Possibilities Of Biblical Follow Up

Acts 14:21-23; 15:36; Matthew 28:19-20

Your Church Visitor retention rate is highest when you follow-up with visitors within 48 hours. Retention rates of a first time visitor is 34%, 2nd time visitors 51% and 3rd time is 78% in fast growing churches. A follow up research by Herb Miller gives the following statistics for following up:

·         85% of guests return if visited in 36 hours

·         60% of guests return if visited in 72 hours

·         15% of guests return if visited in 7 days

  

Follow up will achieve the followings in the new believer’s life:

1.  It will help the new believer understand that he is like a new-born babe that needs spiritual food, fellowship and guidance to successfully mature in Christ (1 Pet. 2:2).

2.  It will help new converts to gain encouragement, love and trusting relationships with other Christians (Hebrews 10:25).

3.  It will help them to establish a rich devotional time to praise God, read the Scriptures and pray every morning (Mark 1:35; Ps. 143:8).

4.  It will help the new believer to develop a plan for memorizing and meditating on the six basic assurances: i). Assurance of Salvation – Romans 5:1-2; Ephesians 2:1-3 ii). Assurance of Forgiveness - 1 John 1:9; Prov. 28:13 iii). Assurance of Guidance – Prov. 3:5,6 iv). Assurance of Answered Prayer - John 14:12-14; 16:24 v). Assurance of Overcoming Temptation – 1 Cor. 10:13 vi). Assurance of victory in times of persecution – Matthew 5:10-12.

5.  It will help to teach the young believer to expect opposition from the world, the flesh and the devil. Let him know that Christ has promised us victory in all battles (I John 2:15-17; John 16:33)

6.  It will help to teach the new believer how his salvation is not based on feelings or performance but on the facts of what Christ has done for him in providing eternal life and forgiveness (I John 5:11-13; Rom. 10:9,10; John 1:12,13; 10:28,29).

3.     Profits Of Biblical Follow Up

      Acts 14:21-23; 15:36; Matthew 28:19-20

Biblical follow up will among other things help the new believer to be fully established in the faith and have a sense of belonging as he is not left to face the challenges that come with his new-found faith alone.

1.     Integration into the family life of the local Church – Heb. 10:24-25

2.     Grounded in the basics of Bible doctrines – Heb. 5:12-14; 1 Timothy 4:16

3.     Involvement in sharing the gospel with others with the help of older believers – Mark 16:15-20; 1 Pet. 2:9-10

4.     Developing a sound consistent devotional life – 1 Pet. 2:2; Col 4:2

5.     Understanding the basics of abundant Christian living – Col. 3:12-17; 2 Pet. 1:5-11

6.     Having the assurance of salvation and acceptance with God- Romans 5:1-2; Eph. 2:1-3; 1 Jn. 5:13; 2:3

7.     The body of Christ will be strengthened as we have people to function in different arms of the Church – 1 Corinthians 12:18

8.     There will be corporate joy as we see the will of God of bringing souls into the Kingdom being fulfilled in our midst - Acts 2:46-47

There cannot be any meaningful growth and progress in the Church if new believers are not being integrated into the body of Christ. Apart from all the blessings that are meant for those who do the will of God in getting souls converted into the body of Christ here on earth, a lot of rewards await the faithful soul-winners at the end of time in Heaven.