Tag: reunion

 

Many years ago there were a sitcom called “All in the Family”

It was about a Family called the Bunkers.

The head of this Family was a man called Arches and a Lady called Edith and how they dealt with there children and dealt with life around them.

 

While the sitcom was mostly funny it did not reflect or relate in anyway to a true Family

It was T.V.’s version of what man call a family.

So what is a Family?

Is it a Man and a Woman getting married?

Is it a Man and a Woman getting married and having children? 

Is it just people getting together for a reunion or gathering ormaybeChurch?

There are many types of family’s

But what is God’s true design for his Family.

In the beginning God!

That in it’s self is the biggest statement you can make, that in the beginning God created everything. 

It tells who God is What God is and what God did.

One day God the Father and God the Son were in a meeting the topic of this meeting was to be different from all the rest. The doors of the great kingdom were shut and only the Father, Son, and the Spirit were to meet.

The Father was to lay out his plan for a new Family before the Son and Spirit. They were to be different from all the rest of his creation they were to be flesh and blood and able to reproduce themselves the Father did not stop here, this family were to also be made in the image of his Creator. They shall be called Mankind

Then the Son said to the Father what if Mankind prove unfaithful and fall into Sin what will happen then. The Father replied; then they would have to be destroyed for the wagers of Sin is Death.

The Son looked at the Father and said, if the new Family proves to be unfaithful and fall into sin I will pay the price with my own blood. I will take their guilty sin upon me that they could live and I will die the death that they deserve.

But how could God die for he is the giver of all life. The Son said I will become one with them. If mankind falls I will be born of them, I will live among them, I will work side by side with them, and show them the Love of the Father, and at the end I will give my life for them to prove I and the Father love them and are one.

The Father looked on the Son with love overflowing and said I commit all creation unto you my Son. From your hands will the heavens be formed, and from your hands will the foundations of the Earth be made, and also from your hands will mankind be created in our image, and if mankind should fail and sin from your hands shall salvation come and by no other.     

 

John 1

1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2: The same was in the beginning with God.

3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

All creation was committed to Jesus and with out him was nothing made that was made of this world. As the Bible said for he was in the beginning with God and he was God.

10: He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11: He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit left the meeting that day with heart overflowing with love. Now that all plans have been worked out the creation of mankind could begin.

Genesis 1:

27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28: And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

 

God the Son did accordance to the Father plan and from his hand came a breathtaking new world perfect in everyway. The Son created all kinds of new creatures, some that walked on the Earth, some that swam in the waters, others that could fly in heavens above. Then the Son formed out of the dust of the Earth in the image of God man and into his nostril he breathes into him life and Man became a living Sole.

 

Genesis 2:

18: And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19: And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20: And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

 

All was perfect the Son was pleased with all he seen but the crowing act of all creation was yet to be completed. Jesus was saving the best for last.

 

21: And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22: And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

 

Woman the crowing act of all creation why because from her and in her was life to start she would carry life in her life. She was to be the Mother of all living.

Gods perfect family Jesus, Adam & Eve. If God is not in the family it is not complete.

Only when Jesus is put in the middle of the family is the harmony of theEdenhome restored.

This perfect family was to live forever.

 But Sin entered and destroyed it.

God’s plan of salvation is still working for all of mankind his love is today as it was when in the council of the Father he said I will give my life for them.

He lived up to his promise he became a man, lived as a man, worked as a man, and died as a Savoir. Why because of an undying love for his creation.

Ephesians: 3 

11: According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

12: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

13: Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

14: For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15: Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

21: Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Here we find that God has also another family. A family in Heaven and a family on Earth, the family in heaven would be none other then the unfailing worlds, and the family on Earth would be his people, his bride, his CHURCH.

I love the picture word stories Jesus would use to describe things or bring home a lesson. Stories like being a family he used these in many different ways

John 15: The true vine

1: I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2: Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

 

Jesus liking the family of God as a vine, and a vine has many of branches. On each of these branches is to be the fruit of the vine not the branch.

How are we to make fruit for thekingdomofGodlet’s look at the book of Mark?

Mark 16:

15: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

We as his church have a mandate from God to make disciples, to tell this world about Jesus who he is and what he came to do.

Do you believed that church,

Do you believed that we are to go out into the world and preach the gospel of Jesus or was that just for those disciples in Jesus time.

John 15

3: Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5: I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Jesus clearly tells us that we must abide in him in order to live; we must live in his word daily. Abide in me and I in you for with out me you can do nothing.

If you cut a branch off a tree what happens to it.

At first nothing, it looks OK still green and very lively looking.

What about after a few hours, still ok but there seam to be something different.

What about after a day, now you see the leaves or wilted the once healthy looking branch don’t look healthy any more.

Why is that? Because it is not connected to Vine anymore, the life giving sap that flowed through the Vine has been cut off from the branch and so it will die.

Jesus said

6: If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

It is only as we abide in God love that we live day to day. Apart from God we are totally helpless. To abide in God is also to grow, if a tree stops growing and does not bear the master fruit what good is it. It is good for nothing but to be removed and another tree planted in its place that brings fruit in the time of Harvest.

8: Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

9: As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

10: If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

11: These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

12: This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 

The greatest of all commandments is Love.

Mark:12:30:

30: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31: And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

 

Story of the Prodigal Son: But yet the Father never stopped looking for his lost Son.

Jesus showed what true love was all about by dieing on the cross so that we could live.

Satan wants to cut off out connection to God. If we are not living for him now, when the time come to go with Jesus it may be too late. Satan may have cut off your connection he may have stopped the life flowing sap for the vine from reaching you. But only because you made the choice to be separated from the true Vine, Jesus Christ.

For a true family to be a family there must be the Savior in the middle

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About six months later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, “Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.” The young man held out this package. “I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.”

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears.

He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. “Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.”

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died years later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. “We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?”

There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.”

But the auctioneer persisted. “Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?”k

Another voice shouted angrily. “We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!”

But still the auctioneer continued. “The son! The son! Who’ll take the son? ”

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10 for the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

“We have $10, who will bid $20?”

“Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters.”

“$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid more for the Son.

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!”

A man sitting on the second row shouted, “Now let’s get on with the collection!”

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction is over.”

Over  “What about the paintings?”

“I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including all the other paintings.

The man who took the son gets everything!”

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: “The son, the son, who’ll take the son?”
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON,
WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE… THAT’S
LOVE

 

Will you come and be part of the Family, the Family of God.