Fortify || Faith and Family
INFLUENCE WITHOUT THE FEAR OF THE LORD WILL LEAD TO DESTRUCTION!
1 Samuel 2:27-29
One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. I chose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!
What does it mean to be fortified in faith?
DEFINITION OF FAITH:
The Hebrew word for FAITH is the word EMUNAH (eh-moo-nah) (strong #H530) which means Faith, Faithfulness, Steadfast, firmness, stability, Responsibility, trust & Truth.
DEFINITION OF FORTIFY:
The Hebrew word for FORTIFY is the word mibtsar or mibtsarah (strong #H4013) which means a fortification, castle, fortified city, a defender, it is also defined as to be Strengthen, to be built and be made strong.
Simply put: Mibtsar Emunah: You were created to Build faithfully, to be a Steadfast Defender, firm truth, strengthen in faith.
Jeremiah 1:18-19 NLT
For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured,like an iron pillar or a bronze wall.You will stand against the whole land—the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
The Lord has made you strong to build faithfully, to stand firm in His truth as a steadfast defender for your families!
Now it is up to you to choose if you want to influence your family under the fear of the Lord, or allow the cycle of resistance to lead your family to destruction.
What is the Fear of the Lord?
Is to see God rightly, for who He really is. In this we are able to then see ourselves rightly.
1 Samuel 2:30-33
Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed! In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength (Fortify) and the strength of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house! You will see trouble in my dwelling place! Israel will experience blessings, but there will not be an old man (wise man) in your house for all time. Any man of yours that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause his eyes to fail and will cause him grief. All those born to your family will die by the sword of man.
This was the word of the Lord giving to Eli the priest due to his home and family’s corruption. Eli struggled to lead his sons under the fear of the Lord. He loved his sons but not enough to correct them. Eli thought that having His sons around his priesthood duties and traditions will keep his sons under the fear of the Lord. We clearly see, that was NOT enough.
Let’s confront the lie that our families do not want to be led. They do want your Godly leadership! Your wives desire your leadership, your children are expecting your leadership! Your families need your leadership!
How many of us have been or have ever struggled with balancing family, life and everything else?
As a priest Eli had a responsibility to obey and live a lifestyle separated unto God. It was God's command for their male children to follow the same training, responsibilities, and lifestyle. Serving as priest and living according to God’s law and holiness.
They treated the Lord’s business casually.
EVERYTHING starts at home. EVERYTHING!
This was one of Eli’s mistakes. He thought that having influence without being Fortify, without being disciplined in health will keep him and his family in the Cycle of Overflow.
We can NOT REMAIN in the cycle of overflow if we are not Fortify! For us to be Fortified it requires the Lord’s guidance and leadership. Guidance requires total surrender and leadership requires total obedience to God!
Three disciplines that will help FORTIFY your families through faith in Jesus.
1. Feed them the truth:
Eli chooses to compromise and hide the entire truth from his sons. Your family deserves the truth. We are called to be a man of the flawless and timeless word of God. We must build, encourage, and comfort our family with the scripture. Our wives and children are our first disciples. It is our duty to empower and train our family in the way they should go. 2 Tim 4:1-4, 2 Tim 2:15, Proverbs 22:6.
Imagine if Eli would have had the hard conversations (Real talk) with his sons? 100% of the conversation. This is why it is vital for us to model humility.
Empower your families by fortifying them through the word. We live out the rhema word of God when we can lead our families from a solid foundation, on a Rock, on Jesus!
Matthew 7:24-26
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
2. Love them like Jesus:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Replace the word love with your name: Raphael is patient, Raphael is kind.. Prophesy over yourself!
Start with us, leaders go first! Allowing Him to love us and us loving Him, Living in full surrender to Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-5, Matthew 22:37.
Love them with a love that is quick to honor, through their mistakes. Be their covering, safe covering. Love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8, Romans 12:10, 1 Peter 2:17.
Love them with a love that is willing to forgive and be forgiven over and over again. Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13, 1 John 1:9, Mark 11:25.
Don’t allow unforgiveness to hinder you from loving the Lord and loving your family. 1 Peter 3:7. Be the first one to model and Invite Forgiveness.
3. Lead them in the Spirit:
Galatians 5:25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
We must lead through the Spirit always. Galatians 5:16. It starts at home. We must lead by example and by serving our family in excellence how Jesus serves the church. Col 3:21, Proverbs 11:9, Proverbs 15:1&4, Ephesians 4:29.
Giving our best starts with our RELATIONSHIP with the Lord, God cares MORE about our relationship with Him than anything else. We must be Presence Driven & unashamed!
NO more depending on our wives to lead in the spirit! This is our duty. We go to the Lord as Intercessors of our families, not our spouse.
Remember it is in the Presence of God where we produce the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23. As we produce the fruit of the Spirit we will lead in Excellence.
Don’t be like Eli! Lead as the man of God He has created YOU TO BE!
1 Peter 2: 5, 9
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
