It is not a secret that most men in the world now is more effeminate than the men of uh before..mas uh, siguro in Tagalog, mas uh, malambot ang mga kalalakihan ngayon. At iyon ay katotohanan, ‘no. In fact, sa panahon ngayong, minsan hindi mo na nga malaman kung uh, tunay na lalaki ang isang lalaki. Uh, medyo, some may think na harsh yung mga ganung salita. Pero there’s truth in it, right. Let me add to that the the movements, you know, uh, transgenders, LGBTQ. I mean, true manhood really becomes obscure, uh, especially in the world now. This is why in this world we need real men who lead. In this church also, in churches, we need spiritual men as well. This is why and this is the focus of our sermon this afternoon. This is also why uh, gusto nating emphasise ito that every home needs a spiritual leader. So turn with me to Genesis chapter 26 verses 34 up to the end of Genesis chapter 27. Now I want to say that this is a first of four sermons in Genesis chapter 27. We will focus on the spiritual leadership of Isaac this afternoon and then next week we’ll focus on uh Rebecca’s role as a submissive supporting wife. And also the third sermon we will look at the progression of sin specifically in the sin of Jacob and lastly we’ll look at the life of Esau as a paradigm of reprobate, okay.
So let’s read Genesis chapter 26 verse 34 up to the end of Genesis chapter 27. When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” The next sections, we will see the plan of his wife, Rebekah. Verses 5 to 10, Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I
die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” The next section, we will see the hesitation of Jacob. But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.” The next section we will see the execution of the plan. Verse 14, So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. Verse 18. So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognise him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. The next section, we will see, Isaac blessing his son, Jacob. Of course, he thinks he is Esau. Verse 26. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,“See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” The next section we will see Esau finding out. Verse 30. As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him.
What then can I do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Have you but
one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Verse 39. Then Isaac his father answered and said to him “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother, but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.” The next section we’ll see the hatred of Esau and then the plight of Jacob. Verse 41. Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?” Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
So I want to begin by saying that this sermon is addressed to the husbands and the fathers. Now do women need not to listen to a message specific to men? Of course not. It is important for the wives well to know what the roles are of men. How about the singles? Single ones male or female? Of course. especially if you’re planning to get married this is also for you. But also to those whom God purpose to become single. Since we will talk about the word of God, this is for everyone.
Now obviously, in the text we see a very dysfunctional family. Isaac having a favourite son, Esau. Rebecca having a favourite son, Jacob.
Esau and Jacob are against one another. Not only that; Isaac and Rebecca not really being good parents and a good couple. So you have all these issues in the family. Something that all families definitely experience as well. At the end of the day, we can put all the blame on Esau. Esau, you lost, you already lost your birthright why are you aiming for the blessing still? Now we can put the blame on Jacob.
Jacob, you lied, you liar, you lied to your parent, you deceived your father. Or we can put the blame on Rebecca, right. Rebecca you were eavesdropping, right. You were plotting against your own family, in fact your own husband. But at the end of the day, someone was given the task, someone was given the authority to direct and to lead the family. And that is the father of Esau and Jacob, that is the husband of Rebecca, and that is Isaac. Now our scriptures, scriptures tell us that Isaac was a faithful man indeed. Uh, we can see specifically in this chapter the lack of spiritual leadership of Isaac. We can say that during this time he was trying to make things his way instead of God’s. That is why my message this afternoon is that Every Home Needs A Spiritual Leader Who Himself Very Important Is Led By The Lord.
Every Home Needs A Spiritual Leader Who Himself Is Led By The Lord Kailangan, May Namumunong Pang-Ispiritwal Sa Bawat Tahanan At Siya Dapat Ay Namumuhay Rin Para Sa Diyos. How do we see if one is truly led by the Lord? I have two points firstly, Must Be A Doer Of God’s Word and secondly, Must Be Dependent On God’s Promises.
So let us consider the first point. DOER OF GOD’S WORD. You see clearly in Gen, we’ve read this in the scripture reading Genesis chapter 25 verse 23. God spoke to Rebekah. Sabi ng Diyos kay Rebekah, the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.
Genesis chapter 25, binasa natin. Scripture reading..o teka, Pastor, kay Rebekah Niya sinabi yan; so hindi yan alam ni Isaac. Ay hindi po. Alam po iyan ni Isaac. Alam po ni Isaac ito. Kung basahin natin yung chapter, di ba nung nagulat si Esau na teka, nakuha na yung blessing. Ano sinabi ni Isaac kay Esau? You shall serve your brother. So alam niya! Sinabi rin niya mismo kay Esau yung sinabi ng Diyos kay Rebekah. So, Isaac knew. Oh, we can definitely assume that when God told this to Rebekah, alam din ng head of the family. Alam din ng patriarch na si Isaac. So he knew about the word of God. It was his task as the patriarch, the head of the family to make that pronouncement early on. Imagine God told Rebekah this when they were babies, in fact, sorry, they were inside the womb of Rebekah. It was the task of Isaac to pronounce this early on, right. I mean, ilang years na inabot? May asawa na si Esau, dalawa pa nga. Hittites. It was Isaac’s job, it was Isaac’s task to make this pronouncement to his family, to his wife, to his sons, to make sure that Esau knew early on that it was him who will serve Jacob, to make sure that Jacob will receive the birthright even though he wasn’t really the firstborn, to make sure that it was Jacob who will be blessed.
But what happened? Again, scriptures tell us that Isaac loved Esau because of his game. And he didn’t pronounce the blessing as God had commanded. There was favouritism and this caused the rift between the siblings. Merong sibling rivalry dahil ito sa kagagawan ni Isaac. Now it’s sad to see that because of the head of the family, Isaac, him not doing what the word of God said, Esau and Jacob became enemies. But what’s sadder is that because he was not a doer of the word of God early on, oh this cost Rebekah to devise a plan. E, kung ginawa ito ni Esau noon pa, hindi na aabot sa pakikinig ni Rebekah, ‘no at pag plot ng, pag-cook ng plan; well, nag-cook siya ng pagkain, nag-cook siya ng plan at kasama sa plan yung pag-luto, basically. You get the idea. Hindi na sana umabot doon, right. Hindi na sana umabot na, magkasala din ang kaniyang asawa, right. Naging favourite pa niya si Jacob, na dapat ay siya ang maka-receive ng blessing. It sadder to see that his relationship, most importantly huh, nakakalungkot na yung nangyari kay Jacob and Esau, nagkaroon sila ng pag-aaway. Tapos, mas nakakalungkot na pati silang mag-asawa, sobrang naging apektado ang kanilang marriage. See how there’s a, makikita natin sa, sa, I think sa chapter 27, very clear that there was a problem of communication between Rebekah and Isaac, right. Sabi ng chapter 26 at the end, verse 34-35, it says there that Esau married Hittite women, right. And then at the end of chapter 27, because when Esau found out that Jacob got the blessing instead of him, he was so angry that he wanted to kill Jacob. And so Rebecca points to the fact that Esau married Hittites and she didn’t want that for Jacob as well. So she plots the plan to tell Isaac that Jacob must marry someone from the land of her kindred, Haran. Isaac, my husband, please send Jacob to to Haran because I don’t want him to marry Hittite women. But really, she sends Jacob away so that Jacob won’t be killed by Esau. Napakaganda ng kanilang communication, right. It’s a bad communication sa mag-asawa. Why can’t Rebekah just approach his, approach her husband and just say na Esau wants to kill your son, Jacob. What can we do about it, right. Not only that, Rebekah could have approached her husband nung narinig niya na gusto palang I-bless ni Isaac ang kaniyang anak na si Esau.
Rebekah could have approached her husband and say hey wait that’s not what God said! God said to bless your son, Jacob instead of Esau. What are you doing? But Rebekah didn’t have the uh the will to approach her husband and I would even say that it still falls under the responsibility of the husband for not even creating such communicating atmosphere in their home in a way that his wife is able to talk to him freely.
So again, we could yeah we can put the blame on Rebekah but at the end of the day the head of the family is truly responsible. Ano ba sabi sa Ephesians chapter 5 verse 23? Sabi ni Paul for the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ as the head of the church. Sino ang may authority sa tahanan? Ang asawang lalaki. It is the task of the head of the family to make sure that his family, his sons know the Lord. It is his responsibility to make sure that his wife can freely approach him and just freely talk to him. Ano ba ang task ng head of the family pagdating ng kaniyang mga anak? Ephesians chapter 6 verse 4 also tells us fathers do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Oh yes, there are the women, the wives have responsibilities as well for their children but ultimately who makes sure that the rearing of children? Who make sure that the gospel is proclaimed to their children? Ultimately it is the task of the fathers. It says there by Paul. He must make sure that that is happening in his home. The head of the family is responsible to, responsible to heed the call of God to make sure that his wife, that is children hears the gospel at home. Not just at home. It is, he’s responsible that his family, he makes sure that they hear the gospel every Lord’s Day. Responsibility iyon ng asawang lalaki. Then again, what’s sadder in this picture is yung relationship ni Isaac at Rebekah, right. In fact, before Paul says fathers, it is your responsibility to make sure that your children knows the Lord know the Lord. Before that, Ephesians 5 verse 25 to 27 this is his primary responsibility as a husband. In fact number one ito, number two lang yung sa children na responsibility niya. Number one responsibility niya, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her that he might sanctify her having cleansed her. Ang church ay nililinis ng Panginoong Hesukristo. Kine-cleanse ng Panginoong Hesukristo, how? By the washing of water with the word by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit uses the word of God to cleanse the church. So that He might present the church to Himself in splendour without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish. So ganun daw ang ginagawa ni Christ at kinu-kumpara iyon ni Paul sa bawat husband. The husband is tasked to do that as well. Now Paul did not say husbands, work hard so that your wife and kids have food on the table. Why didn’t Paul say that? I mean yung understanding natin, husband ka, you must be the main provider of your home. Bakit hindi iyon ang sinabi ni Paul? Because it’s already a given! Paul did not say that the most important thing is that your children get to study in a prestige, prestige school.
What Paul is saying here is that every husband must love his wife the same way Christ loved the church. That’s the number one. If you’re a husband, it is your primary task to love your wife as Christ loved the church. How did He love the church? He gave Himself up for the church. He died on the cross to save the church. But He did not only save the church from the coming wrath of God. He gave Himself on the cross so that the church will be made righteous, so that the church will be made holy, so that the church will be transformed from being a wretched sinner to a holy bride like the church, who is, who’s, whom God, whom Christ is transforming into a holy and blameless, spotless bride. Ganun din dapat ang mga asawang lalaki sa kanilang asawang babae.
Oh yes, it is the task of every man to provide for their families. But clearly that is not what Paul is saying here. Clearly, Paul is not saying here that primary, provide for them, make sure that they alive. It’s not there, because it’s a given. Your primary task is to point them to Christ. How do you point them to Christ? Again, you wouldn’t have this understanding if you yourself is not led by the Lord, kapatid. This is only possible if you understand the love of Christ on that cross. Kung alam mo ang, ang, ang ginawa ni Kristo, ang suffering Niya. Ang Kaniyang kamatayan sa krus. Anong necessity nung Kaniyang kamatayan, na yung Kaniyang kamatayan ay nagligtas mismo sa iyo! At hindi lang iyon. Hindi ka lang nag-escape sa wrath ng Diyos, ikaw rin ay binabago ng Diyos to be holy like Christ! Kung hindi mo iyon naiintindihan, then there won’t be, then hindi mo maiintindihan ang task bilang christian husband. Pero kung ikaw ay kay Kristo, you are the head of the family, loving in a way that conforms the wife into Christ’s image is the main task of the husband as the spiritual leader at home. That is your main task.
In fact there are providentially, there are, there are problems in marriages wherein, kumbaga at times, hindi makapag-trabaho ang isang lalaki because of siguro incapacity or providence ng Panginoon. So even yung provision ay minsan nawawala. Pero hindi dapat mawala sa iyo ay ang pagmamahal mo sa iyong asawa. Pagmamahal katulad ng pagmamahal ni Kristo, pagmamahal na magbabago sa iyong asawa. Iyon ang tunay na pagmamahal! Iyon ang tunay na task mo bilang asawang lalaki. Kaya CHALLENGE ko sa lahat ng mga lalaki dito..HUSBANDS, FATHERS, GIVE YOUR OWN LIFE TO LEADING YOUR FAMILY ESPECIALLY
YOUR WIFE TO CHRIST. Ibigay mo ang buong buhay mo doon. When you have given your vow in your wedding, gagawin mo lahat ng ito, gawin mo iyon! Mawala na ang lahat ng ginagawa mo sa buhay, eto yung hindi dapat mawala. Huwag kang maging katulad ni Isaac na bulag na nung time na iyon. Hindi na niya makita na si Jacob pala. Huwag ka ring maging bulag sa salita ng Diyos. Sinasabi sa salita ng Diyos na mahalin mo ang iyong asawa katulad ng pagmamahal ni Kristo..Huwag kang magbulag-bulagan dun! Alam mo iyon, kapatid! Directions at
home must come from the word of God and it is you, husband, it is you father, who make sure that this is happening in your home. It is you who must create a communicating climate that your wife would be free to communicate to you. It is you who must create that and sustain it in your family. It is you who must create a, for a private family worship in your home na maging sanay na ang inyong asawa at inyong mga anak na mayroong pagsamba sa loob ng inyong tahanan. That is how you love your family. And that is your main task.. THAT IS YOUR MAIN TASK! The problem nowadays is that we become so busy, men. So busy with things and we don’t have enough time for our families, for our wives. We spend most of our week and months working. And our reason is that it is for our family. But let’s go back to what Paul is saying in Ephesians 5, is that your main task? It is your task, but is it your main task kapatid?
There was a wife, there was a wife who was not convinced sa doctrine of election. Hindi sya convinced. Pero yung asawa niya, nag- reform na. Calvinist na; nauna siyang naging calvinist. Yung asawa niyang babae, e, bahala ka diyan, hindi ako naniniwala diyan, right. Eh alam niyo naman pag nag-away ang mga, kumbaga hindi naman away, argument, right. Sa social media, grabe, right.. Armenian, Calvinist, ‘no..yung mga pag-aaway na iyan. What more sa bahay, ‘no? Medyo mahirap yata iyon. So, ano’g ginawa nung asawang lalaki, who was reforming that time. In order for his wife to be so persuaded by such doctrine, oh he just became faithful and consistent in their family worship. And that’s it! And through it, ah si wife yung naging cage stage..hindi naman. Pero nakita natin, what, it is the task of the husband, it primarily falls under the sovereign control of God. It is God who changes the heart. But it doesn’t mean na hindi mo gagawin ang iyong responsibilidad bilang asawa to always point your wife to the word of God. To persuade your wife through the word of God. It is God who changes. So is your wife not persuaded yet of the commands of God? Is your wife not persuaded yet of some issues or some doctrines found in the word of God? Is your wife not convinced yet of Lord’s day worship? Teka, bakit whole day iyan? Oh, this is where the husband must come in. This is where the husband must come in, right. Is your wife not yet convinced and mortifying her specific sin? Fleeing from a certain temptation? Oh, this is where also the husband must come in, pointing his wife to the word of God consistently, faithfully. Mga kapatid, I challenge every man in this church to be faithful men, to be real men, doing their main task of loving their wives. Again When We Say Loving Their Wives, By Loving What We Mean Is… Feeding Them With The Word Of God Just As Christ Feeds The Word To His Church So That His Church Would Grow In Grace In Christ.
So, are you leading your wife to the Lord? Are you spending time in worship with them? Are you the number one encourager of your wife?
Or is she the one always reminding you to worship? I hope brothers that this is not the case. But also, if you are doing this, making sure that they are fed with the word of God, do you notice the transformation?
If yes, praise the Lord! Now I understand that all not all families have christian husbands, have christian fathers. In such cases, we rely on the grace of God and do what we can to lead our families.
Are your christian wife struggling to encourage your non-christian husband? Pray for him. And continue to submit to him lawfully and pray that use that submission as an opening to the Gospel.
Are you a christian single man or a woman and your parents are not christians? Spend family worship with them. If you’re if you’re the only christian go ahead and lead and pray that God would save your family. Again, if you are a single woman, nakita natin how a man should be, a man should be a spiritual leader at home, your single woman be with a man who can be a spiritual leader. Do not settle mga kapatid kong single women with a man who can’t even lead you to the Lord, no. Now, if you are a single man, ngayong pa lang, know the calling of a husband, know the calling of a father, and be ready, mga kapatid.
Let’s consider my last Point, DEPENDENT ON GOD’S PROMISE, dependent on God’s promise. When Isaac found out that it wasn’t Esau who first gave him food, verse 33 it says, then Isaac trembled very violently, huh si Isaac trembled very violently and said, teka! who was it? Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me? Sino nagbigay sa akin ng pagkain, kundi si Esau iyon. At kinain ko iyon and before you came, binless ko siya, and yes, ma-bbless talaga siya kasi binless ko siya. He trembled violently sabi dito. He came to his senses. In other words, nabuhusan ng malamig na tubig si Isaac. Because when I, because when Esau asked if he could just bless him, pwede bang i- bless mo ako? I-bless mo rin naman ako, Tatay, or father, Dad. Isaac knew at that time that the blessing can only be given to one. Oh sorry son, I cannot give this to you. I’ve already given it to your brother Jacob. Isaac knew it can only be given to Jacob. Even though Isaac tried to manoeuvre, even though Isaac tried to sidestep God’s purpose, dun niya nalaman na teka, i-a-accomplish din pala ng Diyos ang purpose Niya kahit na i-try ko i-manoeuvre at gusto ko, gustuhin ko mang ibigay ang blessing sa paborito kong anak na si Esau, here’s what happened, I ended up blessing Jacob. That’s what God wants. That, that’s what happened. Iyon ang nangyari. That’s why he trembled. At that point Isaac knew he was dealing with the sovereign God. He did not, in fact he can actually revoke the blessing and then give another blessing to Esau. But he didn’t do it. He did not revoke the blessing of Jacob, he did not give another blessing to Esau because he knew that God is doing what he said he will do. And from that point on he depended on God’s promise. How? By finally doing it. Kita natin a verse
39. Ginawa na niya. Ginawa na niya yung dapat ginawa niya noon pa, right. Verse 39. Isaac has his father answered and said to him behold away from the fatness of the Earth shall your dwelling be, Esau. And away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live Esau.. and here’s what it says – and you shall serve your brother, Esau. But when you grow restless, you shall break his yoke from your neck. Dapat ginawa na yan noon pa. Pero nagising siya at ginawa na niya ngayon. See that despite of failures, despite of efforts, God will accomplish His purpose. He is faithful. And we know that He does accomplish His purpose. Alam natin iyan ultimately because of what He has done in the gospel. We see the faithfulness of God in the gospel.
He said, He said in the beginning that He will send the Messiah who will defeat sin and He did! He said to Jacob, He said to Rebekah, rather, the older shall serve the younger, pronounce this.. and that’s exactly what happened. Despite of the many manoeuvring of Isaac. We see the faithfulness of God most especially in the gospel. Again, when He said that He will defeat sin, defeat the devil, He sent Jesus Christ to defeat sin by living a sinless life, He sent Jesus Christ to defeat death by rising from the dead. But Jesus Christ was punished for sins He did not commit, so that we who sinned against God might be saved. That is how faithful our God is. Mga kapatid, paalala lamang, mga kaibigan, mga guests na ngayon, kung ikaw ay wala pa kay Kristo, ngayon, huwag mong sayangin ang oras. Tumalikod ka na sa iyong kasalanan at maniwala ka, manampalataya ka sa probisyong ng Panginoon na si Kristo na Siyang nag-defeat sa kasalanan at sa kamatayan. Again, this gives us hope, brethren, that even though we fail, just like Isaac, because God is faithful it is not the end. It is not the end kapatid. Eventhough Isaac failed, He took that opportunity to show Esau that God was faithful. That what happened was the will of God. It is what God wanted in the first place. So he will do what God asks.. to pronounce the blessing to Jacob and not to Esau. Same thing for all of us, brethren. When we fail as well at home, and we will!
Fathers, husbands, we will fail! When there are problems and there will be problems, brethren. It is not the end. We have an opportunity as well to show the faithfulness of God. But in our case, we point back to the faithfulness of God in the gospel. That God has already done it in Christ. That God has already shown forgiveness, reconciliation, love, on that cross. So problems at home are great opportunities for the gospel to shine. A great opportunity to show repentance, that when you fail, and you will, kapatid. That you are so sorry about it. A great opportunity to show that in the gospel, there’s reconciliation so you must immediately be reconciled to your wife. A great opportunity to show forgiveness when your wife or family did something, you forgive. In fact this is something that all family members even the single ones should remember. Hindi lang mga fathers and husbands ito, but the HEAD OF THE FAMILY MUST BE THE SPIRITUAL LEADER and must be the
one making sure that such opportunity is not put to waste. So ang CHALLENGE ko sa lahat. fathers, husbands, When The Problems Arise, It’s Not The End. Let The Gospel Help You Stand On Your Feet And Take The Lead. That Even If We Fail, And We Will.. The Gospel Gives Us Hope. Hindi pa katapusan. The gospel reminds us of reconciliation. We are reconciled to God. The gospel reminds us of forgiveness, it reminds us of grace. And so as the head of the family, we are called to display the love of Christ at home – reconciliation, forgiveness, grace. All must come from us. The problem is most men nowadays are discouraged.
Sobrang discouraged ang mga kalalakihan sa kanilang mga tahanan. Marahil siguro, hindi, dahil nag-i-struggle ang kanilang mga asawang babae sa submission, so ang nangyayari, nag-a-abdicate na lang from their role ang mga kalalakihan. Discouraged probably began because of their wives, because of situations. But let me remind you brothers, discouragement will not go away. There will always be discouragement there will always be problems at home. But the issue here, is where do you get encouragement? Kasi there will be times that you won’t get encouragement. Find encouragement in the gospel. Alone in Christ.
Si Joseph Alleine was a Puritan. In his biography, it was said that Joseph Alleine wakes up early for private worship. Siya lang mag-isa. Marahil kumakanta siya mag-isa ng hymn. Kumakanta siya, nagp-pray siya. Private worship. And then he spends time with, spends time with his family in Family Worship. And of course he makes sure that his family worships with the church the whole day. And it says in his biography, that even though he was not a perfect man, he fails, oh he definitely sins, even at home, he continues to be encouraged by the gospel. And this made his family see the gospel even more. Especially his wife. You know who wrote his biography? His wife. Nawawalan ka ba, kapatid na lalaki, husband, father, nawawalan ka ba kaagad ng loob bilang head of the family? Huwag ka mawalan ng loob. Discouraged ka ba dahil may ginawa ka, or tingin mo hindi mo nagagawa ito before. Katapusan na ba? Hindi pa. Stand on your feet and take the lead. We have the gospel. The gospel is your hope. The gospel reminds us that there is hope. That even though we have sinned, oh we are being changed by God as we can see in the gospel. Remember Christ! Was He encouraged by the people around Him? No! And yet He persevered. Remember kapatid, it is your role as the spiritual leader at home to take the lead, to make sure to love your wife as Christ loves the church sacrificially, unconditionally, make sure that he’s fed by the word. Make sure that he is changed by the word by the spirit through the word. And kapatid, you will fail. You’re not a perfect man. You’re not a perfect husband. You’re not a perfect father. But stand up, stand up on your feet and take the lead. Look at the gospel which gives us hope, which gives us hope that our sins have been forgiven. So take the lead brethren. Remember this encouragement: THE GOSPEL CAN BE MADE CLEARER AT YOUR HOME.
Your wife and your family can clearly see the gospel more WHEN THE SPIRITUAL LEADER IS FAITHFUL TO THE WORD and dependent on, AND
HE IS DEPENDENT ON GOD. May the word of God enrich our knowledge of Him and may it stir us to live in light of these truths.
Let us pray. Panginoong Diyos, aming Ama, salamat Lord sa Inyong kabutihan sa amin. Thank You Lord for giving us the perfect model of husbanding. And that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His love for the church. Lord, alam namin, na we have been hearing oh Lord this text, this passage, especially in Ephesians 5 oh Lord. But we can say na alam na alam na namin itong mga verses na ito, marahil kabisado. Panginoon, alam namin na this is a passage that we all need every day. For we fail at loving our wives in a way that Christ loved the church. And so Lord may the gospel be our soul motivation and encouragement to do this. That You have in Your grace. O Lord You grant us oh Lord the strength to become good and Christian husbands that you’ve called us to be. Allow us Lord to always see the sacrifice of Christ on the cross so that we would be reminded to be sacrificial and unconditional in our love. That we would make sure O Lord that the word of God, the gospel is proclaimed in our home whether that would be in worship, corporate or family worship or even in our deeds and words and how we treat our wives. May we be good representatives of the Gospel. And Lord may You allow us to have a heart of compassion for our children that we would be patient for them and we would teach them and point them always to the gospel as well. And Lord, whenever we fail at home, Lord I pray that we will always be reminded of Christ who persevered. That we will stand up and still take the lead because You have given us this authority. So Lord thank You for this great reminder. We praise You In Christ’s name. Amen