1. These are the ones!  God uses Families for his plan

• Exodus 6:14-19 “These are the heads of their fathers’ houses…” 
• Genesis 12:1-3 God’s promise to Abraham that through his family, all nations would be blessed.
• This genealogy reveals the foundation of the twelve tribes of Israel, each rooted in a family. 
• Families are crucial in God’s plan for redemption. Just as Abraham’s family was the channel for God’s blessings, our families can be instruments of God’s grace and redemption.
• The faith, values, and decisions we instill in our families can have a lasting impact on God’s redemptive work.- We too can display our families and say “These are the ones” who God uses
• In the Church- The Church is a family of families. All types of families. This isn’t a condemnation on anyone who isn’t currently part of a Nuclear family. But you have to agree, its God’s ideal situation. Qualification for Pastor is how they run their FAMILY not education and skill
• Its interesting that The Scriptures focus on the heads of the Fathers houses. Fathers are important. Cosmically important. 
• Fathers matter. It’s not to say that mothers don’t matter- but I want to focus on fathers for a minute here. Most people I know complain about what their father did, not their mother. 
• Eph 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
• Pr 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
• Proverbs 1:8-9 My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck.
• Children from single-parent families are twice as likely to suffer from mental health and behavioral problems as those living with married parents. 70% of youth in state operated facilities were from single-parent homes. Children with an actively engaged father perform much better in school, 33% percent less likely to repeat a class and 43% more likely to get As in school.
• In a study of 56 school shootings, only 10 of the shooters (18%) were raised in a stable home with both biological parents. Eighty-two percent grew up in either an unstable family environment or grew up without both biological parents together.
• In a study of 75 juvenile delinquents (Kofler-Westergren, Klopf, Bernhard, 2010): 66% experienced fatherlessness 20% had never lived with their father 25% had an alcoholic father. children without fathers in the home are more likely to carry guns and deal drugs, compared to peers living with their fathers (Allen, Lo, 2010). (Beck, Kline, Greenfeld, 1987):70% of youth in state-operated facilities were from single-parent homes. fatherless kids are more likely to be incarcerated (Seidel, 2022). children who are close to their fathers are less likely to spend time in jail (The Fatherhood Project). teachers and law enforcement officials state that the lack of parental supervision at home is a major factor contributing to violence in schools (Maginnis, 1997).
• In a study of 56 school shootings (Langman, P. 2016)
• Fatherhood matters in Church and the Bible. It is CENTRAL to the story. No denying
• Personally- Everyone I know with issues, usually a Father wound somewhere. 
• Blessing comes through families in the Bible, The Bible is a book of generations
• Look in Genesis 18 God didn’t want a one generation patriarch- many generations
• Gen 1:28- be fruitful and multiply! God wants us to populate the earth!
• He wants unity in purpose and generational dynasties- The American Church has Lack of victory because Satan has continually fractured spiritual families. Churches that split- die
• Read Numbers 1 and see how much God cares about families and lineages. 
• You should want your family to flourish! You should want a spiritual dynasty to impact the kingdom of God. More of my offspring doing the work of the ministry impacts the kingdom!
• God told people to teach their children Det 6:6-9 because FAMILIES GROW THE KINGDOM
• Be diligent with training your children! They are the future of the Kingdom of GOD
• Understand the generational aspect of scripture- 
• If your paradigm is individual you’ll miss the multigenerational aspect of the scriptures
• This is why I teach you the value of Church, Family, and Families. We’re Creating a dynasty! 
• The more you delight after God the more it pours over into the next generation
• My Father died recently- Failed as a father- I’m an exception- But I don’t want the men around me to fail their families. I don’t want some kid to grow up not knowing and being loved by his dad. Kids without a demonstrative loving father do not become all they can become
• The last words of the OT leading into the NT-
• Malachi 4:5 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Turn the hearts of fathers back to their sons
• This is the promise of Scripture and the impact of Jesus in the life of a believer! 
• The last words were turn the hearts of the fathers- Did you hear that?
• GOD USES FAMILIES! Hold them in high regard! “you and your household” the Bible says
• What does it mean to you-
• Your family is the most important ministry- But you must lead it. Take it seriously. 
• You decide what you prioritize, what you do, watch. Who you spend time with. YOU
• And it takes a Husband and a wife- THESE ARE THE ONES! 
• Pro 14:1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
• Listen, you made a decision who you were going to war with, so don’t subvert the plan. 
• And let me say this- quit complaining about YOUR kids. You made them. YOU are parenting them. If you always need a break from them, no one else probably wants them as well. 
• Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
• Don’t complain about what God blessed you with!  A blessed family is a promise of GOD!
• Ps 128:3-4 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
• And for the church? You can aunt and uncle the kids around here. They don’t have to be yours. 
• Look at your fellow laborers as the ONES. “These are the ONES”