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Pastor Rev. Stephen Coates
Father’s Day 2010
REFLECTION
Our Heavenly Father – created us in His own image, and shared His
1. Power
2. Authority
3. Creation – with us!
· We were created in God’s image, and like Him we are a many faceted being!
1This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
· The nature of our Heavenly Father is to rule.
· He has delegated His ruling authority to mankind as well!
5And for your
lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require
it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for
the life of man.
6 "Whoever sheds the blood
of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for
God made man in his own image.
· Our Heavenly Father
of course maintains His ultimate authority, but He has given to each of us a measure of management skills that must be developed if we are going to reflect His nature.
3When I
look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the
moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what
is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son
of man that you care for him?
5Yet
you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and
crowned him with glory and honor.
6You have
given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7all sheep and
oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8the
birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever
passes along the paths of the seas.
9O
LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all
the earth!
· Our original mandate was to -
reflect the glory of God and rule – therefore this trait must be somewhere in each of us!
6It has been
testified somewhere,
"What is man, that
you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that
you care for him?
7You made him for a little while
lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with
glory and honor,
8putting everything in
subjection under his feet."
Now
in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside
his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection
to him. 9But we see him who for a little while was made
lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor
because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he
might taste death for everyone.
· Good management or government
- is more than maintaining or controlling one’s resources, it is multiplying or increasing one’s resources.
6
For to us a child is
born,
to us a son is given;
and the
government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his
name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of(I)
Peace.
7Of the increase of his government and of
peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of
David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and
to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from
this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will do this.
· The Bible calls this fruitfulness!
4Likewise,
my brothers, you also have died to the law through
the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has
been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
· We normally refer to it as productivity.
9And
so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking
that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all
spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so as to walk in a
manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
· Our Heavenly Father is infinite in creative acts and fruitfulness.
· To be like our Heavenly Father – is to exercise our abilities is such a way as to preserve and prosper.
14 "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' 21His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 22And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' 23His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 24He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' 26But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
· Our Heavenly Father wants to teach us Husbandry – which means more than the male role in marriage.
· Husbandry is the overall care that brings productivity.
19 Now out of
the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the
field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to
the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called
every living creature, that was its name. 20The man gave
names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every
beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a
helper fit for him.
· Mankind, collectively was created to “husband” life on this planet – both animal and plant.
· We are to name, cultivate, and use as desired all forms of plant and animal life – with the exception of one tree.
· Interestingly one of Adam and Eve’s sons was a caretaker of plants (Cain).
· The other son was a shepherd (Abel).
1Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." 2And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,
· Adam and Eve developed their companionship and family life around the task of sharing responsibility.
· Adam was also a husband to his wife!
· God – Our Heavenly Father -
gave both Adam and Eve a biological family and economic roles with definition and restrictions or boundaries.
1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
5When
no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the
field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to
rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6and
a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of
the ground— 7then the LORD God formed the man of
dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life, and the man became a living creature. 8And the LORD
God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man
whom he had formed. 9And out of the ground the LORD God
made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good
for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10A
river flowed out of Eden to
water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11The
name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the
whole land of
Havilah, where there is gold. 12And the gold of that land
is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13The name of
the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the
whole land of
Cush. 14And the name of the third river is the Tigris,
which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15The
LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it
and keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying,
"You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17but
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for
in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
18Then
the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him a helper fit for him." 19 Now out of
the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every
bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would
call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that
was its name. 20The man gave names to all livestock and to
the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for
Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21So the
LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept
took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22And
the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman
and brought her to the man. 23Then 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."
24
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast
to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25And the
man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
· Man was to take care of the woman, who was to help him in his task of management and productivity.
10 An
excellent wife who can find?
She is far more
precious than jewels.
11The heart of her husband trusts
in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12
She does him good, and not harm,
all the
days of her life.
13She seeks wool and flax,
and
works with willing hands.
14She is like the ships of
the merchant;
she brings her food from
afar.
15She rises while it is yet night
and
provides food for her household
and portions for
her maidens.
16She considers a field and buys
it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a
vineyard.
17She dresses herself with strength
and
makes her arms strong.
18She perceives that her
merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go
out at night.
19She puts her hands to the
distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20She
opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her
hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of snow for her
household,
for all her household are clothed in
scarlet.
22She makes bed coverings for herself;
her
clothing is fine linen and purple.
23Her husband is
known in the gates
when he sits among the elders
of the land.
24She makes linen garments and sells
them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she
laughs at the time to come.
26She opens her mouth with
wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her
tongue.
27She looks well to the ways of her
household
and does not eat the bread of
idleness.
28Her children rise up and call her
blessed;
her husband also, and he praises
her:
29"Many women have done excellently,
but
you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceitful, and
beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD
is to be praised.
31Give her of the fruit of her
hands,
and let her works praise her in the
gates.
· Co-regency and interdependence was the order from the beginning.
· Our Heavenly Father saw that loneliness was not good.
· Our Heavenly Father ordained the family so that social and economic principles could be learned and employed in their world task.
1 The
earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
the
world and those who dwell therein,
2for he has founded
it upon the seas
and established it upon the
rivers.
· Adam and Eve not only functioned together in overseeing creation, but had children together and trained them to join with them in the family business of managing the earth.
1Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." 2And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
· Adam and Eve both maintained and grew the productivity of the family business.
This family was a:
1. Spiritual Unit
2. Relational Unit
3. Educational Unit
4. Economic Unit
· We should also note that Adam and Eve’s separation from God – produced the same in their sons.
· This division manifested itself in both their:
1. Work and their
2. Worship
· As Children of Adam, when we begin to have problems with our relationship to God, we soon begin to develop bad attitudes towards our fellow man – that will usually show up in the field or workplace.
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He
said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of
any tree in the garden'?" 2And the woman said to the
serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree
that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest
you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You
will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of
it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good
and evil." 6So when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the
tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit
and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with
her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and
they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together
and made themselves loincloths.
8And
they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the
cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the
presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9But
the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?"
10And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the
garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself."
11He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have
you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
12The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with
me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." 13Then
the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have
done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I
ate."
14The
LORD God said to the serpent,
"Because
you have done this,
cursed are you above all
livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on
your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall
eat
all the days of your life.
15I
will put enmity between you and the woman,
and
between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise
your head,
and you shall bruise his heel."
16To
the woman he said,
"I will surely
multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you
shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your
husband,
and he shall rule over you."
17And
to Adam he said,
"Because you have
listened to the voice of your wife
and have
eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
'You
shall not eat of it,'
cursed is the ground because of
you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days
of your life;
18thorns and thistles it shall bring
forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of
the field.
19By the sweat of your face
you
shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for
out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and
to dust you shall return."
20The
man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of
all living. 21And the LORD God made for Adam and for his
wife garments of skins and clothed them.
22Then
the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in
knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also
of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—"
23therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of
Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24He
drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed
the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the
way to the tree of life.
· The first murder was:
1. Family related
2. Religion related
3. Vocationally related
· If the family can stay right with God, they will probably stay right with each other, and they will very likely vocationally prosper together.
1Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." 2And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."
8Cain
spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose
up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9Then the LORD
said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I
do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?" 10And
the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s
blood is crying to me from the ground. 11And now you are
cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your
brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you work the
ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a
fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." 13Cain said to
the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14Behold,
you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I
shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth,
and whoever finds me will kill me." 15Then the LORD
said to him, "Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be
taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest
any who found him should attack him. 16Then Cain went away
from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of
Eden. 17Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore
Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the
name of his son, Enoch. 18To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad
fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael
fathered Lamech. 19And Lamech took two wives. The name of
the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20Adah
bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have
livestock. 21His brother’s name was Jubal; he was
the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22Zillah
also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze
and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23Lamech
said to his wives:
"Adah and Zillah,
hear my voice;
you wives of Lamech, listen to
what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a
young man for striking me.
24 If Cain’s revenge
is sevenfold,
then Lamech’s is
seventy-sevenfold."
25And
Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name
Seth, for she said, "God has appointed for me another offspring
instead of Abel, for Cain killed him." 26To Seth also
a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people
began to call upon the name of the LORD.
· The family was the first social unit where relationships and training directly effected economic development.
· In the beginning – God did not distinguish between natural and spiritual obedience.
· Care for the natural resources is a spiritual issue.
· Productivity is also a spiritual issue.
· Spiritual fellowship with God is revealed by obedience and responsibility to family and society.
· CONCLUSIONS
· We all have a serious stake in the successful functioning of families in general – and more specifically: - Our Family and Our Church Family!
· This reflects our:
1. Spiritual development
2. Relational development
3. Educational development
4. Economic development
This
is for our own personal and collective good!
We
do this for Our Lord Jesus Christ!
Compiled
By:
Pastor
Rev. Stephen Coates
www.churchonthego.ca
June 14, 2010