Then we're going to begin our worship and we're singing firstly in Psalm 125, Psalm 125 in the
Scottish Psalter, page 419. Today we're singing Psalm 125, 126, 127 and 128, just as a series of
psalms. So 125, they in the Lord that firmly trust shall be like Zion Hill, which at no time can be
removed but standeth ever still. And so on to the end of the psalm. We stand to sing if you're able to stand.
Time can be removed but standeth ever still. As round about Jerusalem, the merchants stand all way.
The Lord is full, the compass so, from henceforth and foray.
For ill men's rod upon the road, all just men shall not lie.
Lest righteous men set forth their hands unto iniquity.
Do thou do all those that be good, thy goodness for him far.
And do thou good to those that are upright within their heart.
God shall lead for the world, even if they are iniquity.
But as for such as turn aside, after their crooked way, God shall lead for the wicked men.
Let's join together now in prayer, a prayer especially for the children and for the young folks just now.
Lord, our God, we thank you on this lovely bright day that we come before you as a people who worship you and to confess you as our God.
And we thank you today that this is an opportunity, Lord, for us to worship you and in the worship find further fellowship with you and knowledge of you.
We thank you today that you give us these opportunities to draw aside from our normal course of activity in the world and to come together on the Lord's day to worship the Lord, to be together as his people and to share in that fellowship with him and with each other.
Bless our children, we pray today.
Lord, be with them during these times and grant to them again that they may increase in the knowledge of your own will and of your word and that they may find by your grace that they apply these things to their lives each and every day.
Remember them, we pray, from the youngest in creche through to those in Bible school, Bible class, we pray that your blessing will be with them.
And we ask that they will know day by day of the power of your truth working in their lives.
And so receive our thanks, we pray.
Continue to guide us and bless us and pardon our many sins for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
In Psalm 142, it's just for the children and young folks, Psalm 142,
we find David in a cave.
He was being chased by his enemies.
He found refuge in a cave.
And this was a psalm that he wrote while in the cave or thought about in the cave.
It's really a prayer that he made from the cave to God.
And in verse 3, he says,
When my spirit faints within me, you know my way.
Now there's a wonderful verse for memory for those in the Sunday school and for children always looking for verses to learn.
Here's one verse you could learn.
It's quite short, but it's also important.
It tells us about how God looks after his people in all their situations.
Even though David was in danger and hiding from his enemies, he said to God,
When my spirit faints within me, in other words, when I'm really afraid, you know my way.
God's eye is upon him.
God knows his way.
For my recent birthday, the family got together and actually got a wonderful gift for me.
It's a bird feeder.
And you might say, what's wonderful about a bird feeder?
A bird feeder is available from many sources.
But this bird feeder is good because it has a hidden camera in it.
And it takes videos.
As soon as a bird lands on the tray, it triggers the camera.
The camera takes a video as long as that bird is moving.
The movement begins the camera.
When the movement stops, the camera stops.
And it records it onto a little card inside the camera.
And it's been absolutely wonderful to see close up these birds who have no idea they're being filmed or videoed.
But you can see all the birds that land there.
So far, we've seen chaffinches.
Even a turtle dove the other day or a collared dove actually landed on there.
There's been green finch.
There's been sparrows.
Different kinds of birds over the course of these few weeks.
And it reminded me about some things that are important for us in our spiritual understanding as well.
Such as the verse I've just read.
Here was David saying in the cave.
Nobody was seeing him there.
He was safe from his enemies.
He was hiding, at least, from his enemies.
And yet he says,
Whatever our circumstances are like, however difficult your lives may be,
whatever challenges you're facing as children or young people,
be thankful that God actually knows exactly where you are, exactly what you're doing.
He's seeing you all the time.
You might say that although he sees you all the time,
there are special occasions, especially when we have a need of really being helped.
That is, I is special.
Just like the camera is triggered by the movement of the birds,
so God's heart is moved when he finds us crying out to him
out of circumstances that are challenging and difficult.
You know, he said, my way.
Now, there's another side to that as well.
Well, just as that camera picks up the movement of the bird without them knowing about it,
so God is watching our lives all the time.
And as well as being really comforting for us
to know that God is looking over us when we have difficulties in our lives,
it's also a challenge for us to know that God is looking in on our lives
at every time.
Whatever we're doing, God sees it.
And that should be a means of keeping us from doing things which are wrong,
keeping us from even thinking wrong thoughts.
God sees into our minds.
And as he sees into our minds, the Bible reminds us that he reads our minds.
He knows our thoughts.
So I hope today that that little bird table and its camera
are a symbol for you or a picture for you
of something very, very comforting, very assuring,
that God watches over us when we place our trust in him,
but also that God looks in on our lives
just to actually see what we're doing
from day to day, from moment to moment,
every time he's looking in on us.
So there's a very important verse for us to remember.
When my spirit faints within me, you know my way.
So practice that through the day to day.
And as you do so, let that word, let that verse sink into your mind
and use it in your life so that when you have a difficulty,
you'll turn to God and say,
Lord, I'm thankful that you know my way,
that you know my circumstances.
So now let's say the Lord's Prayer once again together.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
Now we're going to sing again.
This time we're singing Psalm 126.
Again, it's on page 419.
When Zion's bondage God turned back,
as men had dreamed were we,
then filled with laughter was our mouth,
our tongue with melody.
And you can see in this psalm
that even people who don't follow the Lord
can actually know and see
when the Lord has blessed his people.
It says there in verse 3,
among the heathen,
they said the Lord great things
for them has wrought.
In other words, the world,
people who watch us all the time,
can see when God has blessed our lives
and we tell them
about how God has been good to us.
So Psalm 126,
When Zion's bondage God turned back.
When Zion's bondage God turned back,
as men that dreamed were we,
then filled with laughter was our mouth,
our tongue with melody.
They among the heathen said the Lord,
great things for them hath brought.
The Lord hath done great things for us,
when joy to us is brought.
As streams of water in the sun,
our bondage Lord recall,
whose soul in tears and reeping time,
of joy in joy they shall.
that man who bare in precious seed,
in going forth the poor,
he does bring him back his sheep,
rejoice in shall return.
Our reading of God's Word this morning
is from 2 Samuel,
the second book of Samuel,
and chapter 6.
And we're reading from the beginning.
That's the second book of Samuel,
and chapter 6,
it's around about page 310 or so,
in your church Bibles,
if you're using these.
So we'll read verses 1 to 19.
David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel,
30,000,
and David arose and went with all the people
who were with him from Baljudea
to bring up from there the ark of God,
which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts,
who sits enthroned on the cherubim.
And they carried the ark of God on a new cart
and brought it out of the house of Abinadab,
which was on the hill.
And Uzzah and Ahio,
the sons of Abinadab,
were driving the new cart
with the ark of God.
And Ahio went before the ark.
And David and all the house of Israel
were making merry before the Lord
with songs and lyres and harps
and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon,
Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God
and took hold of it,
for the oxen stumbled.
And the anger of the Lord
was kindled against Uzzah,
and God struck him down there
because of his error,
and he died there beside the ark of God.
And David was angry
because the Lord had burst forth against Uzzah,
and that place is called Perez Uzzah
to this day.
And David was afraid of the Lord that day
and said,
How can the ark of the Lord come to me?
So David was not willing
to take the ark of the Lord
into the city of David,
but David took it aside
to the house of Obadedum the Gittite.
And the ark of the Lord remained
in the house of Obadedum the Gittite
for three months.
And the Lord blessed Obadedum
and all his household.
And it was told King David,
The Lord has blessed the household
of Obadedum,
and all that belongs to him
because of the ark of God.
So David went and brought up
the ark of God
from the house of Obadedum
to the city of David
with rejoicing.
And when those who bore
the ark of the Lord
had gone six steps,
he sacrificed an oxen
and a fattened animal.
And David danced before the Lord
with all his might.
And David was wearing
a linen ephod.
So David and all the house of Israel
brought up the ark of the Lord
with shouting
and with the sound of the horn.
As the ark of the Lord
came into the city of David,
Michal, the daughter of Saul,
looked out of the window
and saw King David
leaping and dancing
before the Lord.
And she despised him in her heart.
And they brought in
the ark of the Lord
and set it in his place,
inside the tent
that David had pitched for it.
And David offered
burnt offerings
and peace offerings
before the Lord.
And when David had finished
offering the burnt offerings
and the peace offerings,
he blessed the people
in the name of the Lord of hosts
and distributed among
all the people
the whole multitude of Israel,
both men and women,
a cake of bread,
a portion of meat,
and a cake of raisins
to each one.
Then all the people departed,
each to his own house.
May God again follow
with his blessing
of reading that portion
of his word.
Let's again engage in prayer.
We do give thanks,
O Lord, again for your word
and for every portion of it,
for we recognize
your own hand
as the one who has authored
and produced this word for us
and caused it
to be put into writing
in a language
that we ourselves
can understand.
We thank you today, Lord,
for the value
that's placed upon your word
by your people now
and having been the same
throughout all generations.
We thank you for the liberty
that we have
to read your word in peace,
the liberty we have
to hear it explained,
to find it for ourselves,
a word that speaks to us
of our own lives personally
and of the world
in which we live.
It speaks to us
of things past in history
and things to come
in your prophecy.
We bless you, O Lord,
that every aspect of your word
remains the truth,
however much things may change
from one generation to another.
We bless you
for your unchanging word today.
We thank you
for its relevance
to our own situation today.
We bless you
that it never loses
its relevance.
And we thank you, Lord,
that however many
may turn aside from it
or cast it aside,
we pray, O Lord,
for grace to retain your word
with relish
and with love in our hearts.
That we might be like the psalmist
to hid your word in his heart,
to hide it not only
in a way that treasured it there,
but also so that it might
be seen through
in the life that he lived
in accordance with your word.
We ask, Lord,
that you would give us
an increased burden
for this in our own lives.
And for we need a world
in which your people
are shown to be
a people of your word,
a people in which
your word shines out,
and a people who come
to speak of that word
approvingly to the generation
they belong to.
We ask, Lord,
as a people,
as a congregation,
that we may indeed be,
as Paul would say
to the Philippians,
holding forth
the word of life,
so that we may hold it forth
for our own use
and for the knowledge
of those around us.
Lord, help us never
to be ashamed of your word.
Help us never to be
in a frame of mind
that would doubt
the veracity,
the truthfulness,
or the authority
of your word.
Help us always
to be sure
that your word
is superior
to every human ideology,
every human source
of knowledge
that we have.
We thank you, Lord,
for all that we come
to learn during
the course of our years,
and yet we pray
that your word
may continue
to be fundamental
and foundational
to our thoughts
and our conclusions
and our way of life.
And so,
blessed to us,
we pray today,
as we gather once again
here to hear
what the Lord God
would say to us.
Bless us,
we pray,
that we may speak
in your name
and hear in your name,
that we may come together
to realize,
O Lord,
that this itself
is such an important occasion
because it is so intimately
connected to eternity
and to our meeting
with you at last.
And we pray
that your word
may continue
to prepare us
for that great eventuality,
for we know
that after we leave
this world,
we will not have
the opportunity
of having your word
declared to us
or preached to us
or read for ourselves.
We thank you
for the opportunities
we have through life
to know you in word
and in providence.
Lord,
we pray that you,
by your Holy Spirit,
enable us to profit
from those great opportunities
we have.
Bless us,
we pray,
in the world
in which we are set.
Bless us in our life
as a congregation.
We ask,
O Lord,
that you would be pleased
to once again
continue to provide for us.
Provide for us,
we pray,
spiritually,
morally,
financially.
Provide for us,
Lord,
encouragement
that would strengthen us
from day to day.
Provide for us
in the teaching
of our children.
We ask,
Lord,
when the Sunday School
requires more resources
in terms of those
who would teach
our young people,
Lord,
we ask that you would
lay this upon
the hearts of those
you would want to come
and help out
with the teaching
of the children.
And we ask,
Lord,
that in the search
for suitable teachers
for the Sunday School,
you would help those
who presently serve,
grant to them,
Lord,
that they may know
that we value them
and that they are
so precious to us
as they give off
their time so readily
to this important work.
And we ask
that those who are taught
will come themselves
one day
to take the place
of teachers,
Lord,
over young people
yet to be born.
And we pray
that you would
continue to provide
for us as a people
so that through the gospel,
not only may
our own lives flourish,
but that of our community
as well
as we come under
your blessing
as we pray.
And so we ask
your blessing now
for all of our number
today who are
in specific needs.
We think of those
who are ill
and ask that you
would bless them,
some in hospitals,
some in care homes,
some in their own homes.
We pray your blessing
upon them,
lay your good hand
upon them
for their healing
if it please you.
And grant,
Lord,
we pray to those
too who have
mental health issues
and struggle at times
through the course of life.
Be pleased,
Lord,
we pray to help them.
We ask for any,
O Lord,
today who have
troubles with addictions
of various kinds.
We ask that you
bless the efforts
made to help them.
And we pray
that you would
release them,
Lord,
from such addiction
if it please you.
And we ask
that the help
they receive
may truly be
of benefit to them.
and we ask
that you would
bless all who help
in that way.
We pray that you
would bless
our health centers,
bless our hospital
and our hospice
and our care homes.
Lord,
we ask that you
would be pleased
to continue
to bless us
and to provide
resources for us
in regard to
this important aspect
of our life
in this community.
Remember those
who are in authority
over us today.
Bless them here
locally in the Corlea.
Bless them also
nationally
in Edinburgh
and in London
and Westminster.
Gracious Lord,
we know from
your providence
that we live
in tumultuous times,
times when we
can look back
upon a great shift
of thinking,
a great shift
in those things
that are regarded
as priorities
compared to past ages.
Lord,
we pray that
you would provide
for us.
And we pray
when there is
so much uncertainty
and indeed
at times turmoil
amongst those
who rule over us.
We pray
that you would
bring stability
through the gospel,
that you would
turn people
to yourself,
that those who
exercise government
over us
and high office
in our land,
O Lord,
our God,
that they may come
to be guided
by your truth
and set in your ways
and come to commend
you to the people
over whom
you have set them.
Graciously,
Lord,
hear us
as we pray
for them.
We know
that it is
our privilege
as well as
the instruction
of your word
to pray for those
who are in authority
over us.
Lord,
we do so
willingly today.
We ask
your blessing
to be with the world
in which we live.
We extend our prayers
today,
Lord,
to this world
and to its many,
many troubles.
We pray
for places
where there is
today war
and the threat
of terror,
loss of life,
different places
in the world
where we find
this constantly
before us
in your news reports.
Lord,
we pray
that all the efforts
made for peace
might truly
prove successful,
but we pray
especially
for the peace
that only you
can create,
the peace of Christ,
the peace that
comes through the gospel.
Lord,
we pray
that you bless
every evangelistic
endeavor,
even in these
very difficult
circumstances
in these places
in the world.
Bless your word
there too,
we pray,
and bless your
believing people
as they continue
and struggle
against so many
different types
of adversity
to hold true
to your word
and, Lord,
to know your blessing,
keeping them
and guiding them
and blessing them.
And so we pray
now that your blessing
will continue
with us here.
Hear us in our prayer
and cleanse us
from our sin.
For Jesus' sake.
Amen.
We'll sing once more
to God's praise
this time,
Psalm 127,
before we turn
to a verse or two
in 2 Samuel
where we read.
Psalm 127,
page 171,
and sing the whole
of that psalm again
from verse 1.
Unless the Lord
builds up the house,
its builders toil
in vain.
Unless he keeps
the city safe,
they vainly watch,
maintain.
in vain you rise
before the dawn
and late hours
vainly keep,
that you may toil
for food to eat.
He gives his loved ones
sleep.
Psalm 127,
Unless the Lord
builds up the house.
unless the Lord
builds up the house,
its builders toil
in vain,
unless he keeps
the city safe,
they vainly watch,
maintain.
In vain you rise
before the dawn
and late hours
vainly keep,
that you may toil
for food to eat.
He gives his loved ones
sleep.
Sons are a precious
heritage,
a blessing from the Lord.
The children that are born
to us
are truly his reward.
like arrows in a warrior's hand,
our children of one's youth,
the man who's quivered
full of them
is blessed by God in truth.
Such men will not be poor to shame,
that will not be their fate,
when they condemn
against their foes,
who face them in the gate.
Well, please turn with me now
to 2 Samuel chapter 6.
Reading again at verse 11,
2 Samuel 6 at verse 11.
And the ark of the Lord
remained in the house
of Obadedam the Gittite
for three months.
And the Lord blessed Obadedam
and all his household.
And it was told King David,
the Lord has blessed
the household of Obadedam
and all that belongs to him
because of the ark of God.
I want to take these two verses
under the heading today
of a blessed household.
We've seen a massive shift
in Western civilization
over many years now, sadly,
in terms of what are set out
as principles and values
that people hold to in their society.
And that massive shift
has meant that
as the Bible has been rejected
increasingly,
so what we call
moral absolutes,
in other words,
absolute truth,
the truth of God
has set out for us
in the Bible
as that has been discarded
increasingly or set aside,
so other things have followed
where throughout society
you can see a great shift
in people's thinking
as to what is important,
what should be foundational
for individual life,
for communal life,
for national life, indeed.
The more the Bible
has been set aside
and replaced
with human ideologies
and other ideologies
of different kinds,
so the more we've seen
that massive shift in value
in terms of principles
and what is important
for our way of life.
And that's had
a drastic effect,
that redefinition
of such things
as truth itself.
Ask anybody
in the street today
what they think truth is,
and you're very seldom
going to get them saying,
well, truth is
especially
what God has set out
for us
in Holy Scripture.
Truth is,
in many ways,
people's thinking
of truth is
truth is what you make of it.
Truth is what works for you.
Truth is what is
really maybe
the view of a majority
as to what ought to be
the principles
and values of society.
And it's not just that.
It's been
a time of redefining
not just truth,
but redefining
other things
follow on from that,
redefining marriage,
for example,
redefining gender,
and the whole concept
of what a family is
is part of that great shift
part of that great change,
part of that thinking.
And that's what I want
to focus on today,
how you get from
these verses
things which are important
in our thinking
of what is a family,
what is a family for,
what are the benefits
of family life,
what should be
the starting point
for family life,
and of course
that has to be Scripture.
That's why we're going
to Scripture,
where we're going
to these verses today.
What does God say
about the family,
what constitutes
a family,
and what other things
are related to
the concept of a family
as far as the Bible
is concerned?
So we're looking at that
under the heading
of a blessed household,
because that's what
this household became
and was due to the ark,
as David was told
here in verse 12,
the Lord has blessed
the household of Obidadum,
and all that belongs to him,
because of the ark of God.
I will look more
into what that means,
the ark of God,
what that signified,
and why it's especially
related to the blessing
of Obidadum's house.
First of all,
I want to look at this word
household itself.
A blessed household.
There isn't any single word
in the Old Testament
for family,
and not as the equivalent
at least of the word family
as we use it.
The nearest thing to it
is this word household.
You find that often,
of course,
in the Old Testament,
also in the New Testament.
The word household
encapsulates what the Bible
means by family
and by family life.
And it means,
when you use the word household,
and you find it this way
in the Bible,
it actually means
all who live
in one home
or under one roof.
And of course,
in those days,
and even to this day,
it means more than just
a father and mother
and children.
It also means
servants,
relatives.
In the Old Testament days,
there were
especially well-off families
like Abraham's family,
for example.
He had a steward,
somebody who looked
after the household,
who was charged
with managing
the household.
And they became
part of the household.
And also,
you had other servants
or slaves
in the household as well.
So,
all that came under
that one roof
are regarded as
the household.
They are the family
in the extended sense,
you might say.
And that carries
into the New Testament
as well.
You remember,
perhaps,
in Acts chapter 2,
sorry,
Acts chapter 10
and verse 2,
the household there
of Cornelius.
There was a man
in Caesarea,
a centurion,
a devout man
who feared God
with all his household.
And it describes
later on
how that household
was brought together
to hear the preaching
of God's Word
from Peter
and how that household
comprised not just
Cornelius
and his immediate family
but his servants
and all those
who comprised
that group of people
known as his household.
So,
a household
is somebody,
is everybody really
living under the one roof,
the immediate family,
and those others
in connection
with that family.
That's what you say
is the meaning
of household
in the Old Testament.
Now,
I'm not going to go into this
in terms of applying it
to the church,
but you realize that,
you know yourselves,
that the description,
the household of God
is actually used
for the church.
The household
of God.
In other words,
it is the dwelling place
of God,
but in that dwelling place,
the church is
the home,
if you like,
of God
where all his people
also live together
or are gathered.
That, of course,
is a spiritual meaning
of household.
But the household,
literally,
is like Obadadum here.
The household
of Obadadum
was himself,
his immediate family,
servants,
all others
who lived
under that roof.
And secondly,
let's think of that household
as the basic unit
in human society.
The basic unit
in human society.
Around the household
of Obadadum
were other households.
And together,
all of these households
made up that community
of which the household
of Obadadum
was a part.
And every household,
as it forms part
of a community,
that household
is itself
a basic unit
of that wider structure.
And you can apply that,
really,
to the whole
of human society.
Now,
let me just take you back
to Genesis,
to the beginning of things,
to the creation
of human households,
beginning with the creation
of marriage.
Genesis 2
and from verse 18.
Then the Lord God said,
It is not good
that the man
should be alone.
That was Adam.
I will make a helper
fit or suitable for him.
So out of the ground,
the Lord God formed
every beast of the field,
every bird of the heavens,
brought them to the man
to see what he would call them.
And you read down
through there
until he discovered
or Adam proclaimed
there was nobody
like himself.
Until he actually found
this woman
that God had created.
He took one of his ribs,
closed up its place
with flesh.
He made into a woman.
He brought her to the man
and the man said,
This at last is bone
of my bones
and flesh of my flesh.
She shall be called woman
because she was taken
out of man.
Therefore,
see the next thing,
therefore,
a man shall leave
his father
and his mother
and hold fast
to his wife
and they shall become
one flesh.
What's happening there?
Well,
it says there's a man
leaving his father
and mother.
There is the household
he belongs to
and in order to have
a marriage
and to cleave to his wife,
he leaves that household
he belonged to
and he sets up another one.
Another household
beginning with the marriage
of himself
and his wife.
And then,
of course,
as you go through
the book of Genesis,
you'll find children
born to that couple
and therefore becomes
a household
in the sense of having
husband,
wife,
children
and eventually
servants as well.
So,
the ideal
in a family
is father,
mother,
children.
That is,
you might say,
the nuclear family.
The nucleus
of the wider household
is in the marriage
relationship
and the children
that are born
to them
in that marriage.
Ideal is the father,
the mother,
the children
and others then
are added on to that
household.
Now,
you have blameless,
I'm calling it
blameless exceptions
and the Bible
takes account
of these
and these blameless
exceptions are,
for example,
singleness
where there is
no marriage.
That's not a
dishonorable situation.
That's not a
dishonorable thing
in the eyes of God.
In fact,
when you go to
Paul's writings,
he actually says
that being single
and unmarried
has great advantages
spiritually
and certainly
in terms of
serving the Lord.
It's not far
from being despised,
far from something
that makes you
of a lower status.
It actually gives you
many advantages
rather than have
a household
where there's a marriage
where you look
after your children
where that takes up
your time
and your resources.
However,
that's,
you might say,
a blameless exception.
The other blameless
exception
that comes to mind
is a marriage
where there are
no children,
children,
where children
can be adopted,
of course,
but what I mean
is where there
are no natural children.
That, again,
is not to be seen
in any way negatively
as if God was cursing
that relationship.
It's not to be seen
as other than just
with God's arrangement.
And it brings
its own challenges
but also its own
benefits as well.
But then we live
in a fallen world.
And while there are
these blameless
exceptions,
we know very well
ourselves
that there are
other exceptions
where sin,
the sin that is
in each one of us,
the sin that came
into the world
and set about
destroying relationships
and destroying
individuals
in their own lives
too,
where that is set in
as we live
in a fallen world.
So we've seen
exceptions
to the family
as God's ideal
over the years
that set in
from the time
of the fall
of Adam onwards.
In other words,
an increase
in such things
as divorce,
cohabitation,
and same-sex relationships,
and especially
in our own day,
those things
have been multiplied
sadly more so
than at other times.
We live
in that fallen world
and are susceptible
to all of these
breakdowns
in marriage
and homes
and families
and households
and we're very much
aware of that
in our own day.
So you see,
the household
is no longer
regarded widely
as the basic unit
in human society
because the redefinition
of family
has really redefined
household as well.
We're living in times
when people say,
well, you know,
you should get rid
of this idea
of the nuclear family
of father,
mother,
and children
if God blesses them
with children
or father
and mother,
husband and wife.
These things
are outdated.
We need something new
for this century
we belong to.
We need something new,
something fresh,
something different
to what the Bible
actually says,
something different
to these Old Testament
ideas or New Testament
ideas.
You need to redefine things.
Come on,
keep up with the times.
That's not what people
want nowadays,
so we need to reject
all of these previous
models or ideals
of family life
of what a household
is like
and what it's for.
Way back in 1980,
nearly a quarter
of a century ago,
a book came out
called
Who Needs the Family?
Written by a man
called Olaf R. Johnston.
And in that book
he says as follows,
the family chronicles
of Genesis 11 to 50,
verses,
that's chapters 11 to 50,
are packed
to the very end
of the book
with intense
personal records
of family life,
jealousy,
hatred,
betrayal,
revenge,
scheming,
and deception,
as well as
forgiveness,
faithfulness,
and joy.
And he went on
to say,
few can fail
to sense
the utter modernity
of this ancient account
full of deep perception
of the dynamics
of family relationships.
It is no mere
modern discovery
that the family
can be the focus
of destructive urges,
a place of damage
and despair,
as well as of love
and security.
Scripture constantly warns
about the way
human sin
can turn the source
of great blessing
into the source
of greatest damage
and torment.
that was 1980.
How much more
is it the case
that his words
are true
in the generation
that we actually
belong to,
where the household,
where the basic,
where the nuclear unit
of the family
has been so redefined
and indeed
in many places
so despised.
You,
friends,
have the benefit
of knowing the gospel,
of having your Bibles,
of knowing the teaching
of your Bibles.
You live in a society
that's largely
discarding those things,
that's shedding
the influence
of that truth
day by day.
You have the benefit
of knowing
what your Bible
teaches you
about family life,
about what a family
consists of,
what a household is
and what it's for.
And we have to express
our thankfulness
to God
that we are in
this privileged position,
but we have to do it
by living out
the ideals
of God
in a family setting,
in family life.
Because the household
remains the basic unit
of human society,
even if we find it
largely discarded
as an ideal.
For us as Christians,
for us who follow
the gospel,
for us who value
the truth of God,
it must remain
this way.
And the more you see
the family broken up,
the more you see
the ideal of the family
discarded,
the more fractured
human society
will become.
You can see that
in the generation
we belong to.
It's not the only reason,
but one of the main reasons
why you find
so much
of a breakdown,
so much
in society
of fractures,
of tensions,
all of the things
that follow on
from a family unit
being broken up.
And the ideal
of the family
at the center
of society
being discarded.
Friends,
we have to
counter that
with our own
family lives.
Here's the challenge
for us today
as we live
as husbands,
wives,
children,
that we follow
the ideal
that God has given us
in His Word
where the household
is to be the basic
unit of human society.
And where the more
that's the case,
and especially the more
like the household
of Obidadum,
was blessed by God
where there's a blessed
household due to the
presence of God
as we'll see in a minute,
that proves to be
so influential
in any community,
in any society.
Household,
what it means.
People together
under one roof.
People in the structures
that God Himself
has defined for us
at His creation.
Husband,
wife,
father,
mother,
children,
others in the
extended family.
Household.
The household
being the basic
unit of human society
all the way
through the Bible,
you will find that
in some way or other
mentioned as
significant.
How the household
proves to be
part of the gel,
if you like,
that holds human society
together
in a proper way.
And the more
the household disappears,
the more that gel
is lost
and the influence
is lost
until the household
continues to be
the basic unit
in human society.
Thirdly and finally,
what is a blessed household?
Well, let me take you
back to the words
of our text today.
The ark of the Lord
remained in the house
of Obidadim,
the Gittite,
for three months
and the Lord
blessed Obidadim
and all his household.
And it was told
King David,
the Lord has blessed
the household
of Obidadim
and all that belongs
to him
because of the ark
of God.
That was the reason
why the Lord
blessed this household,
because the ark
of God
was stationed there
for these months.
And as long as
the ark was there,
the blessing of God
followed.
Now, what was the ark?
Well, the ark,
of course, you know
from Exodus chapter 25
is that wooden chest
made of acacia wood
overlaid with gold
in which Moses
was instructed
to make for the tabernacle.
It was one of the most important,
if not the most important,
article of furniture
in the tabernacle
where above the box,
above the ark itself,
was placed the mercy seat
with the cherubim.
And it was there
that God revealed himself,
the cloud that dwelt
above the mercy seat,
indicating the presence
of God.
The ark is always associated
with the presence of God.
And where you find at times
the people of Israel
putting their trust
in the ark,
but not having
the presence of God,
having disobeyed God,
having gone away,
as on one occasion,
fighting the Philistines,
where the ark of God
was captured,
where the sons of Eli,
Hophni and Phinehas,
were killed.
When the news came back
to old Eli
as he sat waiting
for a report of the battle,
what made him fall
off backwards
off his stool
to his death,
eventually,
difficult though it was
to know that his sons
had died,
what really struck him
was the fact
that the ark of God
had been captured
by the Philistines.
The very thing
that indicated
the presence of God
was gone.
And so,
that word,
Ichabod,
as a name for one
of the children born
then,
was actually given
in relation
to the loss
of the ark.
So,
the ark
associated always
with the presence
of God,
and you take that
on board
when you look
at what these verses
are saying.
Verse 12,
the Lord has blessed
the household
of Obidadim
because of the ark
of God.
That's,
of course,
fulfilled
in the New Testament
because the presence
of God
is no longer
above a wooden chest
like the ark.
it's now in his people.
He lives in their hearts.
God actually comes
to make a dwelling place
for himself
in the hearts
of his people
so that together
they constitute
the home
God has made
for himself.
John 14,
verse 23.
That's the blessed household,
the household
that has God
at its heart,
the household
where God lives,
where God is real,
where God is worshipped.
What is it,
can we say,
about that household
that makes it special?
Why is a household
as the household
of God
so distinct
and so important
in this day
and generation
we belong to?
Well,
four things,
I think,
at least,
you can mention.
We can mention
other things
related to that
you could think
of yourselves too.
A blessed home
has God
at its heart
and one of the
significant elements
there is parental faith,
the faith
of the parents
or parent,
the faith
that actually
teaches children
the importance
of the Word of God
and the worship of God.
What has to be
in our homes
must begin,
first of all,
in our hearts.
Where our hearts
don't have the presence
of God,
our home is not going
to have the presence
of God.
Where our hearts
have God present,
if this is dwelling place
of God
in our souls
individually,
in the souls
of fathers
and mothers,
then that's passed on
to the children
by way of them
being taught
these things of God.
The fact that God
is in that home
makes all the difference.
That's why it's wonderful
to have
Christian families,
families
who profess God
as their God,
who want God
to be the God
of their children,
their grandchildren.
We're blessed
with having many of those
families,
and it's something
we need to pray over.
Pray for God's protection
over parents
who are seeking
to bring up children
in a way that
teaches them
the things of God
in a generation
that largely
doesn't want to know,
and not only
doesn't want to know,
but it's really
against those ideas
and those ideals.
Parental faith
at the heart of things,
first of all,
and then the home
benefits from that.
You see many instances
in the Bible
where a home
has benefited
from the fact
that the parents
or a parent
has had faith in God.
That brings blessedness
into that home.
The second thing
is worship.
A blessed home
is a home
where worship
exists meaningfully,
where the Word of God
is read,
where the Word of God
is explained,
where the Word of God
is important,
where prayer
is exercised,
where praise
to God
is exercised.
It's a miniature,
really,
of the life
of the church.
The household
of God
that the church
is has its miniature
in the home
as the household
where father,
mother,
children together,
and others maybe
share in the Word
of God
with each other.
Worship
in our homes
is crucial.
How many homes
in Stornoway today
have worship
as a feature
of their life?
I'm quite sure
they're in
a majority
compared to those
that do.
But as it was
for Joshua,
as he declared
at one time
in the book
of Joshua
chapter 24,
choose this day
whom you will serve,
he said to the people.
As for me
and my household,
we will worship
the Lord.
We will have
the Lord
as our God.
We will serve
the Lord.
That's the conviction
of your heart
surely today.
That's the conviction
of the hearts
of all today here
who are parents
or grandparents
who want their homes
to be blessed,
who want their homes
and their children
and their relatives
to be blessed.
It begins in your own heart,
it moves from your own heart
to your practice
in the home
of having the Word read,
having the Word explained,
taking time with the children
to explain it,
which I know many of you do.
I'm not saying this
because it's not the case.
But just to reiterate
the importance
of those issues
for ourselves today,
there's parental faith,
there is worship,
the worship of God,
and there is what I'm calling
shaping of lives.
The shaping of lives,
for example,
in Ephesians especially,
the Apostle Paul wrote
to families,
but he differentiated there.
He gave a word firstly
to husbands and wives
and their marriage relationship.
He then passed that on
to children
and then even to slaves
or to servants in the home.
He had instruction
from the Word of God,
from God,
to each of those elements
in a household.
And you remember what he said,
children,
as far as children were concerned,
he then said,
honor your father and mother,
obey your parents in the Lord,
for this is right.
Fathers,
do not provoke your children
to anger,
but bring them up
in the discipline
and instruction
of the Lord.
In other words,
these words,
discipline and instruction,
really mean that
in this blessed home,
in this godly home,
the home that has God
at his heart.
It's a place where
children's will
is shaped through training
and where children's minds
are shaped through teaching.
Two things always go together.
Where a children's will
is shaped through training,
through seeing the parents
as an example,
and the teaching they receive
instructs their mind,
the mind and the will,
as they're shaped
by the truth of God.
And that's literally
what it means
in that context
in Ephesians.
Our children are to be
trained, shaped.
Just like you train a plant
to follow a certain direction,
you train it,
you shape it.
That's what's needed
for our lives as well.
And it's the Word of God
that brings that shaping
to our lives.
It's the Word of God
that brings about
that training
of our lives.
So there's parental faith,
there's worship,
a blessed home,
it's one where shaping
takes place for ourselves
as adults and parents,
for children as well.
And fourthly,
and not least,
where the Lord's day
is honoured.
And I'm putting that in
because it's something
which we have to remind ourselves
is a feature
of a blessed home.
A home where the Lord's day
is honoured.
Where our children,
if we have children with us,
as we have today here,
come to realise the value
of being with others
in the public worship of God,
to be part of the visible church
that worships God
and has that privilege
of worship
and of rest spiritually.
It's a home where worship
is a familiar feature,
where the Lord's day
is a familiar feature,
where the Lord's day
is seen to be different
to the other days of the week.
Not talking about
legalistic observance
of rules and regulations,
but out of love for God,
where we actually value
His Word
and His day
and His people
and His own setting
of family life
in His own ideals.
Now, the greatest endorsement,
I think, of family life
really comes from
the incarnation
of the Son of God,
of the coming of Jesus,
the Son of God,
taking human nature
to Himself
and continuing
to be God
and man
in His own person.
That really is
the greatest endorsement,
I would feel,
of family life
because He came
to be born
into a family.
I'm turning to Luke chapter 2,
where you find Him there
with Mary, His mother,
and Joseph,
her husband,
regarded there
as His parents
as they went
to Jerusalem
every year
at the Feast
of the Passover.
And you remember
when He was 12,
they found Him
in the temple
teaching and disputing
with those who were skilled
in the teachings
of the law.
And of course,
they turned back
and went to look for Him.
This is where
they found Him.
And
He said to them,
His mother said to them,
Your father and I
have been searching
for you in great distress.
He said to them,
Why are you looking for me?
Do you not know
that I must be
in my father's house?
And they did not understand
the things
that He was saying to them.
And He went down
with them
and came to Nazareth
and was submissive to them.
And His mother
treasured up
all these things
in her heart.
You see,
He spoke about
His father's house,
the spiritual dwelling
place of God
which was associated
then with the temple
where they found Him.
But then He went home
to His own household
and He was submissive
to them there.
The Son of God
in our human nature,
the Son of God
being an obedient child.
At 12 years of age,
He submitted Himself
to the authority
of His parents
even though He knew
they were somewhat wrong
in their thinking
of why He wasn't
actually with them
on the journey.
Then you see this.
And Jesus increased
in wisdom
and in stature
and in favor
with God
and man.
Now that's not just
tacked on
to the previous verses
loosely
or just added
just by way
of an added thought.
What that is telling us
is that
the context
in which Jesus
increased
in wisdom
and in stature
and in favor
with God
and man
was in His family home,
in His family setting,
and being brought up
there as a child
in that family
that He had willingly
given Himself to.
There is your great example.
There is your endorsement
of family
and of family life.
It's stamped
by the Son of God
in His incarnation
as the central,
important,
instructive unit
in human society.
Today we belong
to a household.
Today we find
the household
as the basic unit
of human society.
Even today
that's still the case.
And today we find
a blessed household
as a household
where the presence
of God is known,
where God is worshipped,
where His truth
shapes our lives,
and where the Lord's day
is an important feature
of it.
And may God bless
these thoughts
to us today.
We're going to conclude
by singing
in Psalm 128,
128,
page 172.
How blessed are all
who fear the Lord,
who walk the way
that He has shown.
Success and blessing
will be yours.
You will eat the fruit
that you have grown.
Your wife will be
a fruitful vine,
and round your table
will be placed.
Your children,
like young olive shoots,
thus he who fears
the Lord is blessed.
May you behold
Jerusalem's good.
From Zion may God's
blessing flow.
Your children's children
may you see.
May God on Israel
peace bestow.
We'll stand to sing
these verses.
How blessed are all
who fear the Lord,
who walk the way
that He has shown.
Success and blessing
will be yours.
You will eat the fruit
that you have grown.
Your wife will be
a fruitful vine,
and round your table
will be placed.
Your children,
like young olive shoots,
thus he who fears,
the Lord is blessed.
may you behold
Jerusalem's good.
From Zion may God's
blessing flow.
Your children's children
may you see.
May God on Israel
Israel peace bestow.
This morning I'll go
to the door here
to my left.
Now may the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father,
and the communion
of the Holy Spirit
be with you now
and evermore.
Amen.
Thank you so much.
I hope you wonderful
for all your time.
All my time I should
tohida Him,
to shepherd him Melanna