TLG Session Outline and Discussion Question
"A Man And His Family" a man’s roles
Basil Marotta Jericho Ministries 719-487-9500 Aug 20, 2014
Session Outline: It has been said “as the family goes, so goes the nation.” The truth is that the family is the essential building block of all human society. NCMM believes that this statement can be amended to say, “As the father goes, so goes the family, and so goes the nation.”
"To be the father of a nation is a great honor, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy." Nelson Mandela
Eph 5: {25} Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her {26} to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, {27} and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. {28} In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Eph 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
The above verses teach us that we are to love our wives, and by extension our children, as Christ loved the church. How did our Lord love the church? He literally died for her.
In the Old Testament "Christ" is synonymous with "Messiah", or "Anointed One". There are three offices associated with anointing and Jesus fulfilled all of them. As leaders of our family we are expected to live out what these offices suggest with our loved ones.
Three offices men must fill:
(record your attitude and action items for each)
1. The family prophet .. his back to God… facing family...relaying to them what God is showing him…communicate God to the family
2. The family priest. His back to family facing God…he is the family shepherd …relaying to God his family needs and petitions…
3. The family king, which means to lead, protect and provide. Not the autocratic boss, but as servant leader…
"The great secret of contentment is not getting what you want but wanting what you get."
Let’s look at the roles and responsibility God gave Adam in the Garden…
Genesis 2: 16-25 15The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.16And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
What happened… The Fall of Man
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
3but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
5“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
10He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12The 9But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Stu Weber …Four Pillars of a Man’s Heart describes the man’ role..
to provide, as a Servant-King A king who is not a servant is merely a tyrant.
to protect, as a Tender Warrior A warrior who is not tender is only a brute.
to teach, as a Wise Mentor, A mentor who is not wise is just a know-it-all. and
to connect, as a Faithful Friend A friend who is not faithful is at best an acquaintance, or worse, a betrayer
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1 Peter 3:7(NIV) Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers
(NKJV) Husbands likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
I’ve been married 57 years…this is a lifelong project
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Life Implication: The biggest hindrance to men discovering and living out their roles as head of their home comes from dysfunctional notions of success. We must resist buying into three destructive myths:
1. Success means a dynamic career
2. I’m doing this for my family …work becomes end in itself…family needs and wants you
3. Money will solve all of my problems sometimes can create more problems than it solves…you become a slave to material goods
"No amount of success at work can compensate for failure at home."
Another definition of failure…succeeding at something that doesn’t matter
Ecc. 5:10-12 "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep."
“Don’t pray for tasks equal to your power, pray for power equal to your task.” Phillips Brooks
For Discussion:
Understanding the role of a prophet, priest and king how am I doing in each area on a scale of 1-10? What myth am I guilty of entertaining? What must I do to improve?