Coimbatore Conference - 2015: Session - 6 - Zac Poonen
This is the Live Broadcasting of Coimbatore Conference - 2015 on 11th & 12th April, 2015
Summary
The speaker emphasizes the profound importance of the home, arguing that it is the primary field where spiritual battles are fought and where true discipleship takes root. He draws heavily from scripture, noting that the Bible dedicates significant passages to family life, covering everything from marriage and parenting to the role of servants within the household. Ultimately, the home is presented as the gateway to spiritual life, making its maintenance and spiritual health critically important for both the individual and the church.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Why family life is emphasized in the New TestamentThe Old Testament focused heavily on individual lives with God, and details about the family lives of great men are mostly absent. In contrast, the New Testament sets strict family qualifications for elders, showing that home relationships are foundational.
The home life section in Ephesians and the command to be filled with the SpiritEphesians 5 and 6 contain extensive instructions on husbands, wives, children, and servants, bracketed by the unique command in Scripture to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Home life is the first place where being filled with the Spirit must be manifested.
Five qualifications for spiritual leadership based on personal lifeWhen evaluating someone for ministry, key factors include their attitude toward money, their humility with both rich and poor, the spiritual state of their grown-up children, the godliness of their close co-workers, and the reality of their family life.
Navigating early differences in marriageBecause husbands and wives grow up in completely different home environments with different habits, tensions and frictions are normal in the first few years and require patience to overcome.
The number one rule: Be quick to ask for forgivenessIn a newly married life, conflicts over daily habits will happen, and the most important practice is to quickly humble oneself and ask for forgiveness rather than expecting the other person to change into a carbon copy of yourself.
Husband and wife as complementary perspectivesA husband and wife view life from different angles, much like two people taking photographs of a building from opposite sides. They complete each other rather than operating as master and slave.
Treating your wife as an equal partner, not a servantTreating a wife like a servant contradicts God's design; a husband needs his wife just as a body needs both hands, and they must share deep spiritual fellowship together.
Leaving parents and making the marriage primaryThe biblical principle requires leaving father and mother and cleaving to one's spouse, establishing that the marital relationship supersedes all previous family ties.
Using humor as a test of relational healthA practical test for whether a husband and wife or two brothers have a truly good relationship is whether they can freely joke and laugh together after a disagreement.
The challenge and responsibility of bringing up childrenRaising godly children requires daily dependence on God, honesty about one's own failures as a parent, and maintaining complete unity between husband and wife.
Protecting children like David protected the lambsJust as David fought off lions and bears to protect the helpless lambs from his father's flock, parents must aggressively protect their children from worldly influences and the attacks of the devil.
Claiming God's promises and exercising parental disciplineParents must agree together in prayer over their children's struggles and exercise necessary discipline, remembering that until children learn to fear God, they must learn to respect godly parental authority.
Training children in the Scriptures and guarding the homeFathers bear the primary responsibility to teach children the principles of God's Word, test their understanding of the Bible, and monitor what they read and listen to in order to keep the home pure.
