The Authority of The Christian Home


In 1987 the Lord first impressed upon me the need for a
study on relationships within the Body of Christ, including
guidelines and information on how to walk out the Christian Life
in this world. We must learn how to live in this world, without
becoming a part of this worldly kingdom. At the same time we
must be a witness for Jesus Christ to the lost people of this
world.

Many subjects will be covered, and when it is finished, it will be
put into one book, as well as individual booklets. Some of
the subjects to be included are; the love of God, the grace of God,
sowing and reaping, the fires of the Lord, waiting upon the Lord,
the armour of God and of course the relationships of Christians,
with our God and with each other.

The first subject covered in this series was The Authority of
The Christian Home, because this is where it all must begin.

Is is my prayer that these studies will edify you and yours,
and make it easier for you to become what God has ordained you
to be.

 

THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME Part 1



Why are so many "Christian" families
in trouble? Children involved in drugs - sex
-rebellion - homosexuality - husbands
unfaithful - wives unfaithful - constant
stress and bickering in the family - Mom and
Dad at each other's throat - hurt being piled
on hurt - (this is not really a Christian
environment) - - whom are we kidding? What is
wrong?

The Bible says, "And there is nothing
new under the sun".
(Ecc.1:9).
And "no trial
has overtaken you that is not common to man."
(ICor.10:13).

This tells us that the
definition of the problem and the solution
are to be found in the Holy Scriptures, if we
can locate and understand it. I believe it
is time to look at the reasons for and the
solution to the problems that today befall
our families and then apply the axe to the
root of the problem. The scriptures say,
(II Chron. 7:14)
"If My people, who are called by
My name shall humble themselves, pray, seek,
crave and require of necessity My face, and
turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear
from Heaven, forgive their sin, and heal
their land."

Scripture tells us this is the place
to start - pray , humble ourselves and seek
God's will for our family. For it is SIN
that causes the turmoil. (SIN - "anything
that is not part of God's plan", is sin). If
we start here, repent, and then go on, God
will hear and heal. (He promised and He
keeps His promises).

Please stop here -
humble yourself before God - pray, ask for
understanding - search out the scripture
references and approach the following with an
open heart and mind. Asking God to confirm
the truths herein contained.


The first place to look is at the
leadership. "For the time has come for
judgment to begin with the household of God."
(I Pet.4:17).
God's judgments always start
with the leadership. So in order to look at
this area, we must understand the line of
authority (leadership) in the Christian
family.

REASON FOR AUTHORITY

Authority (RULERSHIP) is needed to keep
things in order and prevent total chaos while
we are learning to come into full and total
submission to GOD. Once we come into full
subjection to God, there will be no need for
rulership as we know it, as we will no longer
have to be kept under control. All authority
will then be back in the hands of God, where
it belongs, because a people in full
submission and subjection under God will not
do anything without being shown or told by
God to do so.


Unfortunately, this takes much
time and much effort. Some folks never will
get there because they are not willing to
subject themselves to God's will in the
fullness that is necessary. It takes full
and total covenantal commitment. Are you
willing? Really willing and ready to be
changed? If so, this study will be of great
benefit to you. Read on
to understand God's
plan for the Christian family, and how you
can fulfill your part in the plan.


THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME Part 2



REQUIREMENTS ON THE AUTHORITY IN THE
CHRISTIAN HOME


Husbands- please hear and understand
this . God has given a special authority to
the husband in the home, not to be abused,
but to be used to carry out the plan of God
in a godly, Christlike manner. He requires
you to answer to Him in this. Though at
times you have to make unpopular decisions,
this does not excuse you from "loving your
wife as Christ loved the church". Remember,
you are to always keep in mind the goal,which
is - becoming one mind and spirit under GOD,
with her. "Finally, all (of you) should be of
one and the same mind (united in spirit)"
(I Pet.3:8)

So be prepared, You have no rights,
you have only the responsibilities and
privileges given to you by God. So be
responsible, lead by loving, but do not let
go of your responsibilities. (You will be
held accountable to God for your handling of
them). Learn to fulfill your call under God
in the manner which Jesus did. Be led by the
Spirit of God in all things, do not be in a
hurry, wait until you hear from God, then
act. This way it will be easier for you and
your wife to hear God together.

Remember,
our goal is: for both husband and wife to be
so tuned in to God, that both hear God
clearly and both hear exactly the same thing
from Him. And then both obey completely and
immediately. Then we will not be able to be
separated, from each other or from God. We
will have become "one flesh, one spirit", as
God has planned from the beginning.
(Gen2:24)"Therefore a man shall leave his
father and his mother and shall become united
and cleave to his wife, and they shall become
one flesh."

HUSBAND'S REQUIREMENTS TOWARD HIS WIFE.


Love your wife

(Eph.5:25)


A.) As Christ loved the church and gave
Himself up for her

(Eph.5:28).

Everyone readily recognizes that
Christ did give Himself up in the
physical realm, but more
importantly He gave Himself in the
area of dying to His self-life. In
fact he had no self-life. He lived

only for the church. He required
nothing of her for Himself. He
required only that she learn
righteousness and obedience to The
Father,and that, only as The Father
showed or told Him. Husbands have
a requirement of righteousness for
themselves first and then their
wives. "I am able to do nothing
from Myself-independently, of My
own accord; but as I am taught by
God and as I get His orders. I
decide as I am bidden to decide.
As The Voice comes to Me,so I give
a decision."

(Jn.5:30).

"Even as
I hear, I judge and My judgment is
right because I do not seek or
consult My own will. I have no
desire to do what is pleasing to
Myself,My own aim,My own purpose,
but only the will and pleasure of
The Father who sent Me."

(Jn.5:30)

(also Jn.5:19)

"But I do
as The Father has commanded Me so
that the world may know that I love
The Father and that I do only what
The Father has instructed Me to
do."

(Jn.14:31)

Do you get it,
husbands? You have no rights. You
must have only a righteous desire
to do the will of the FATHER -His
will must be the only will you
have! When you act as Jesus
acts,you can expect to obtain the
same results that Jesus
experienced.


B.) As your own body

(Eph.5:28)

"Even
so husbands should love their
wives as (being in a sense) their
own bodies. He who loves his own
wife loves himself. For no man
ever hated his own flesh, but

nourishes and carefully protects
and cherishes it, as Christ does
the church."

(Eph.5:28-29)

How
many of us men (remember, we are
addressing Christian men) are there
that do not care for, protect,
cover, shelter, feed, and to some
extent even pamper, our own bodies?
The Word tells us a wife is to be
as our own body. Let's obey God
and treat her at least as well as
we treat our own physical bodies,
while we are learning how to walk
in the fullness of this command.


Leave father and mother (forsake all
else for your wife).

(Eph. 5:31).

(Gen.2:24)

Again the scriptures are
clear, the husband's covenant to his
wife is to be such that he will allow
no-thing to come between them. A
husband's #2 priority is his wife.
(#1 is God) This means, if necessary
(and sometimes, unfortunately, it
is) he must cut off, sever, end
relationship with anyone that will
come between him and his wife. (Even
his own mother, father, son or
daughter).

Become one flesh with your wife.

(Eph.5:31b)

(Gen 2:24b)

Notice that
the scriptures say your wife is to
become part of your own flesh. Way
back in the beginning

(Gen.2:24)

God
said to become one flesh with her.
Your wife is not your best friend.--
she has a much higher calling...WIFE.
You are to become one flesh with her,
by command of God. According to the
dictionary, a friend is a person whom
you know, like and trust. Your best
friend then is going to be the
"friend" that you know,like and trust
the most. But your wife is the only
person that God requires you to
become one flesh with. One flesh -
you are to learn to think alike,
understand God alike,be in the same
agreement that a person is with
himself in all things. (This takes
time,do not be in too big of a
hurry). In other words, if God
speaks to either of you, the other
one will hear and respond to God in
exactly the same manner. "For a
double-minded man is unstable in all
of his ways."

(KJV, James1:8.)

See,
you are to have one mind together,
not two. Until you two become "one
flesh" you will be double minded,
(that is, each will still have their
own mind) and unstable in all things,
so you can see how important it is
that the two of you continuously work
on this until you actually do become
"one flesh". The husband is to set
the example. This means that she is
to be always with you,(whether in the
flesh or not) always a part of you,
flesh of your flesh, bone of your
bone.- The ultimate relationship.

Be Sympathetic and affectionate to
your wife.

(Col.3:19).

In other
words, try to understand her,make
room for her,show her your desire for
her, (not just the physical,not just
the emotional), but in all possible
ways. Attend to her finely tuned
emotions. Remember, the emotional
make-up of the woman needs tenderness
and attention. She will thrive on
your affection.

Live considerately with her.

(I Pet. 3:7).

This one is not too difficult
to understand - if we understand that

the scriptures admonish us to put
others first -that is showing
consideration for others. Learn to
understand her feelings and respond
to her as the Lord instructs you.
KJV says,"Dwell with her with all
knowledge". And if we understand all
knowledge is given from the Lord,
then this is an admonishment to live
with her according to the way God
will reveal (give knowledge).

Honor her as the weaker vessel.

(IPet.3:7b).

This means you must -
esteem - value - strengthen -her, as
God says she is the weaker vessel.
(Things upset her more easily than
you, because of her emotional make-
up. She is, by God's plan, the weaker
vessel.) You are charged by God with
this, as she is more tender and more
easily hurt. In other words,look out
for her, protect her - love her.
Provide her with your godly covering
as God expects of you.

Become one mind and spirit with her.


(I Pet.3:8).

This is the
continuation of becoming one flesh.
Only it is the most vital part.
Fulfilling these scriptures will be
the consumation of God's desire and
plan for the husband and wife,
because when you finally become one
mind and spirit there will be no more
strife in the home. It will not be
possible to argue, disagree, or
misunderstand each other, because
both will have given up their "self-
life" (carnality), and will be moving
only as the Spirit of God is moving.
Both will have " put on the mind of
Christ".

(Phil.2:5).

You will now be
the fullfillment of scripture. You
two will have become one.


The husband can only do all the above
as he takes seriously the admonishment in

Eph. 5:23,

to "exercise all authority". He
does this by seeing and doing what THE FATHER
is seeing and doing.

(Jn.5:19-20).

"So
Jesus answered them by saying, `I assure you,
most solemnly I tell you, the Son is able to
do nothing from Himself- of His own accord;
but He is able to do only what He sees the
Father doing. For whatever the Father does is
what the Son does in the same way (In His
turn). The Father dearly loves the Son and
discloses (shows) to Him everything that He
Himself does'", and responding in the same
manner as Jesus.

(Jn.5:30).

"I am able to do
nothing from Myself (independently, of My own
accord--but only as I am taught by God and as
I get His orders). Even as I hear, I judge(I
decide as I am bidden to decide. As the
voice comes to Me, so I give a decision), and
My judgment is right (just, righteous),
because I do not seek or consult My own will
(I have no desire to do what is pleasing to
Myself, My own aim, my own purpose) but only
the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent
Me.
Husbands, its up to you to set the example!



THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME Part 3
WIFE'S REQUIREMENTS TOWARD HER HUSBAND



Wives, please hear and understand
this. God's plan does not make you "second-
class citizens".
That is what the devilish
world system wants you to think, BUT this is
simply a lie of the devil. God's plan is
designed to place you in a position of loving
protection and total security. You are very
special to GOD.
But you are also different.
It is not a question of equality, it is a God
ordained and planned difference. In the area
of spiritual relationship to God all are
equal, but in the areas of authority and
function there is no equality.
God created
man with a special unique temperament and He
created woman with a special unique
temperament, each designed so that each could
fulfill the special, different role He
created them for. He equipped the man to be
the authority and He equipped the woman to be
his helper, but each is incomplete and
unfulfilled without the proper interaction
with the other.
(Gen.2:18)
"Now the Lord God
said,`It is not good, sufficient,
satisfactory, that the man should be alone; I
will make him a helper meet-suitable,adapted,
completing for him'".
Without you, he is not
complete. Without him, you are not complete.
Do you see it yet? God loves you in such a
special way that He prepared a place for you
to be protected from anything that would harm
you. It is not a matter of rights, equality,
or anything else. It is the plan of God and
who are we to question God?
If we truly love
God, we should have a sincere heart attitude
and desire to learn where God wants us to fit
into His plan and get there as quickly as
possible, as a service to God.
Do not listen
to the ungodly ways of the world, for it
belongs to satan. We have no rights, and
only the privileges given to us by God.
Let's get ALL of our instruction from the
Author and Finisher of our faith, our beloved
LORD. He gave us HIS WORD for this very
purpose, so let's use it. Remember, the role
of the wife as God designed it is a place of
completeness and oneness and provides
complete fulfillment. It is the ultimate
relationship.
Remember, we are talking to
Christian wives with Christian husbands.
Unequal yokes will be discussed in a later
chapter.

Submit to him. (
Eph. 5:22,

I Pet. 3:1)
.
This word "submit" has been so
abused in recent years that many
women cringe when they hear it, and
do not hear anything else that is
said. This is not God's desire.
(Those that have abused their
authority in this will have to repent
or reap the fruit of their fULly.)
God does, however, expect us to
understand this word and obey it.
The greek word used here is
"hupotasso", meaning to subordinate -
obey -put under obedience -subject to
- submit self unto. Submission to
your husband is only possible if you
are fully submitted to God. You can
then and only then submit to your
husband " as unto God".

Be subject to him in all things.
(
Eph. 5:24,

Col. 3:18).
This is
the same greek word, (submit self
unto).

Reverence him, (respect) him. (
Eph. 5:33)
. The Greek word used here is
"phobeo". It is from the same root
word that we get "fear the Lord". It
means to "be in awe of, have
reverence for", fear in the sense of
respect. This shows us that as the
husband is the head of the wife, as
Christ is the head of the church, in
the authority of the home, the wife
is to have the same respect for her
husband as toward God, as he is
God's delegated authority here.

Subordinate yourself (as being
secondary to and dependent on) him.
(
I Pet 3:1,5
;
Tit.3:5
). Again,
the Greek word here is "hupotasso",
subject to, obedient to - but it
means willingly submit yourself unto
him as unto God. Do you see it? As
unto God, as he is God's direct
representative of authority here.
This should be an act of loving
obedience to God, not an act of
grudging obedience to a man. This
is established by God for your good,
protection and blessing.

Acknowledge his headship over your
life. (
I Pet 3:5-6, 7
). Let him
know that you accept him as God's
appointed/annointed authority in
your life. Remember, he is still an
imperfect man- he will make
mistakes, but he is still God's
authority in your life. When he
knows you accept him as God's
appointed, he is then going to be
more diligent about hearing from God
and doing what he is directed by God
to do. You owe it to him and to
yourself, as well as to God to
accept this headship that God in His
wisdom has provided for your
protection.



THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME Part 4



WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE?





Now we must understand - as in the
church - in the home there is a line of
authority - this is different from personal
relationship to the Lord. Authority has to do
with rulership. -

Personal relationship to
God is a different subject - we must each
have our own personal relationship with the
Lord.
Let's look at the area of rulership in
the home - the relationship of husband and
wife to each other, as shown in God's plan
for man. According to scripture - the
husband has the same authority over the
Christian home (wife and children) that
Christ has over the church. "For the husband
is the head of the wife as Christ is head of
the church". (
Eph. 5:23
).
This then means
that the husband has all authority in the
home (over the wife) because the scripture
also says: "Jesus approached and breaking the
silence said to them, `ALL AUTHORITY (all
power of rule) - in heaven and earth has been
given to Me". (
Mt.28:18
,
Jn.3:34-35
).
P.S.
Husbands, remember to whom much is given,
much is expected.
(
I Tim.2:11
) says: "Let a
woman learn in quietness in entire
submissiveness". (
I Tim.2:13
) says: "For
Adam was first formed then Eve". And finally
(
I Tim.2:14
), "And it was not Adam who was
deceived but the woman was deceived - deluded
and fell into the transgression".
This is
not a put-down for the woman. It just shows,
as God intended,that she is the weaker vessel
and needs the protection of her husband.
See
here, satan's plan has never changed. As in
the beginning, he is trying to separate the
man and the woman, from each other - and from
God. (That is his plan and the purpose for
which he was created.) He must keep us from
becoming one, as this will be the fulfillment
of God's plan. Once we reach that point of
oneness that God has called us to, satan can
no longer touch us. He is finished - he has
failed. Now we will be dangerous to him, as
God has planned it from the beginning.

We are also told an elder (every
husband is the elder and overseer of his own
home) is to "Rule his own household well".
(
I Tim.3:4&5
). "He must rule his own household
well,keeping his children under control, with
true dignity, commanding their respect in
every way and keeping them respectful. For
if a man does not know how to rule his own
household, how is he to take care of the
church of God?"

This is an awesome task in
today's world, but it is the word of God.
Today the humanist - womens lib - and the
general attitudes of the world say the woman
and children are to be left to be their own
people. "If it feels good, do it". They use
scriptures out of context to promote their
devilish goals of a divided household. They
use: "There is neither Jew nor gentile,
neither male - female", (
Gal.3:28
) to promote
their satanic belief.
This scripture has
Nothing to do with authority. It applies
only to the personal relationship to God that
all must have. Too many Christians are
accepting psychology as a godly guideline,(in
the guise of Christian Psychology), a
misnomer.

Psyche=soul.
Psychology =the
science of mental processes or behavior, the
emotional and behavioral characteristics of
an individual or group.


Psychology is not
godly. The scriptures tell us we are not to
work with or understand our soul we are to
bring our "psyche" into submission to the
Spirit of GOD.(
Gal.5:16
)"But I say, walk and
live habitually in the [Holy] Spirit-
responsive to and controlled and guided by
the Spirit; then you will certainly not
gratify the cravings and desires of the
flesh-of human nature without God." We do
not need to understand our psyche, (soul man)
we need to control him.

Today's women have been taught that
they are equal to their husbands in all
things, but this is simply a lie of the devil
- God's word makes it clear that in the area
of authority there is NO EQUALITY in the
home.
We (Christians) live in a theocratic
society, not a democratic one.
The Kingdom
of God IS not a democracy!
In the area of
authority in the home the husband is GOD'S
appointed authority.
I Pet.3:6
says,"It was
thus that Sarah obeyed Abraham,(following his
guidance, and acknowledging his headship over
her) by calling him lord master, leader,
authority. And you are her true daughters if
you do right and let nothing terrify
(confuse) you."
It's time we stopped trying
to make the Bible say what we want it to and
just simply obey the Word of God. Let's
throw away the myriad of books that contain
the ideas of men and go back to the plan for
all, THE WORD OF GOD. We are not to care what
men think, we are to know and understand what
God requires of us and do it. Any book or
other material that does not use the word of
God taken in proper context as its source
should be discarded, thrown out, killed , as
it is, according to
Deut 13:1-9
and
Gal.1:6-9
, another gospel.
"I am surprised and
astonished that you are so quickly turning
renegade and deserting Him who invited and
called you by the grace (unmerited favor) of
Christ, the Messiah, (and that you are
transferring your allegiance) to a different,
even an opposition gospel. Not that there is
(or could be) any other (genuine Gospel),but
there are (obviously) some who are troubling
and disturbing and bewildering you (with a
different kind of teaching which they offer
as a gospel) and want to pervert and distort
the Gospel of Christ, the Messiah (into
something which it absolutely is not). But
even if we or an angel from heaven should
preach to you a gospel contrary to and
different from that which we preached to you,
let him be accursed-anethema, devoted to
destruction, doomed to eternal punishment!"

Once we really understand what God
has planned for us, we will know that when we
reach that place of fully functioning in
God's plan, there will be no hardship, it
will not be him against her, it will be as if
there is no authority over the wife or the
husband, as none will be needed. They will
recognize that God is the only authority, so
no natural (flesh) authority is necessary.
They will be so one that they will think,
act, understand and hear God as they are ONE.
They will no longer be able to disagree,
because they will have both given up
completely their self-life, and will be
moving in all things and at all times ONLY as
THE SPIRIT OF GOD MOVES.
Oh what a glorious
day that will be. See the love of God here.
Let's just forget about ourselves, as the
song says, and concentrate on obeying the
word of God, get on with His plan, so that we
can reach this joyous place of peace,
fulfillment and oneness with God that He has
ordained for us from the beginning of
time,and on into eternity.
Now the
scriptural ground work has been laid, let us
look at the problem - the pattern and the
solution.
There are two spirits that are
satan's primary tools to control and pervert
the lives of married Christians.
They are:
1.The spirit of Ahab. (spirit of
abdication)
2.The spirit of Jezebel.(spirit of
usurpation) SO, lets now look at;

THE WRONG EXAMPLE

THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME Part 5

THE WRONG EXAMPLE



The pattern we need to look at is
found in

I Kings
and

II Chronicles
- it is
the story of Ahab and Jezebel - Much has been
written about the spirit of Jezebel, and it
is important to understand, recognize and
deal with the spirit of Jezebel, But we find
little has been written of the spirit of
Ahab, and this, as we shall see, is the real
problem -today, much more dangerous than the
spirit of Jezebel.

Ahab and Jezebel are types of the
worldly marriage - family - We are to be
godly families, so we need to understand how
this spirit of the worldly works so that we
can destroy it. As it always tries to creep
in and must be destroyed (as Ahab and Jezebel
were destroyed) - or it will destroy our
marriages.

First, let's establish for certain
that the Ahab - Jezebel example is in fact
evil. In scripture we know that the name
relates to the character of the person - Ahab
- means brother of his father - Omri (his
father) means heaped evil. "And Ahab son of
Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above
all before him".
(I Ki.16:30)
. "And Ahab
made an asherah, Ahab did more to provoke the
Lord God of Israel than all the kings of
Israel before him".

(I Ki.16:33
,

I Ki.21:20, 21:25, 21:26).
How evil he was - to the
extent that God Himself said he was more evil
than all the kings before him put together.
Ahab was the very personification of EVIL!!

Jezebel means chaste? - Questionable
chastity, dwelling in other words an
indwelling false chastity (false purity).
Jezebel was indwelt with evil. If Ahab is
the very personification of evil and Jezebel
is indwelt with evil, then certainly anything
and everything they do or stand for would
also have to be evil.


THEIR MARRIAGE - Ahab and Jezebel


"As if it had been a light thing for
Ahab to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of
Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel, daughter
of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and served
Baal and worshiped him".

(I Ki.16:31).
Their marriage was evil - Ahab married a
daughter of EthBAAL (Ethbaal means with Baal
or Baal's man). So Ahab married the daughter
of Baal's man and worshipped Baal - very evil
in the eyes of God.

"As if it had been a light thing to
walk in the sin, he married Jezebel", shows
us that this was even more evil. Ahab took
covenant with the ungodly things - is this
not the very highest example of an evil
marriage? Even though Ahab was an evil man,
look what happened to him when he violated
the scriptural guideline of being unequally
yoked. (An Israelite was not to marry out of
his race.) As King, Ahab was the example for
the people.

Deut.7:1- 10
,"When the Lord your
God brings you into the land which you are
entering to possess, and has plucked away
many nations before you,the Hittites,the
Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites,
the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the
Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier
than yourselves, and when the Lord your God
gives them over to you, and you smite them:
then you must utterly destroy them; you shall
make no covenant with them, or show mercy to
them. You shall not make marriages with
them; your daughter you shall not give to his
son, nor shall you take his daughter for your
son, etc." This is equal to

IICor.6:14
"Do
not be unequally yoked up with unbelievers-do
not make mismated alliances with them, or
come under a different yoke with them
(inconsistent with your faith). For what
partnership have right living and right
standing with God with inequity and
lawlessness? Or how can light fellowship
with darkness?"

He was drawn even further from God. This is
the pattern that God wants us to see here.
When a Christian marries an unbeliever, they
are not to expect to bring them in, they are
to expect themselves to be brought down.

Now let's look at their marriage and
see what Ahab did wrong and what he reaped
from his evil deeds. You should stop here
and read

I Kings 16:28
thru
22:40
so that you
fully understand the story.



THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME Part 6



LET'S LOOK AT AHAB
We find AHAB was the most evil man on
earth up to his time.

(I Ki. 16:20)
. Then he
married Jezebel, his most evil deed yet.

(16:31)
. Even at this point it would not
have been too late. Ahab could have chosen
to take over his responsibility and serve
God, but he chose to follow his wife and
serve her gods.
He submitted so fully to her
that he built homes for her gods. See, she
was already in control - he had abdicated his
position.

IKi.16:33
says, " Ahab did more to
provoke the LORD GOD of Israel to anger than
all of the kings of Israel before him".
Even
though Ahab was evil, we don't have to be
evil, we only have to disobey God's word to
allow this evil to come upon us. "Then he
erected an altar and built a house for Baal,
then he built an asherah (shrine) and
worshiped the ungodly thing."

IKi.16:33.
By building a shrine (home) for the ungodly
thing, he was enticing others to worship the
ungodly thing (false god).

Deut.13:6-10

tells us that if anyone entices an Israelite
to seek after or serve another god, he is to
be killed. "But you shall surely kill him;
your hand shall be first upon him to put him
to death, and afterwards the hand of all the
people. And you shall stone him to death
with stones, because he has tried to draw you
away from the Lord your God, who brought you
out of the land of Egypt, from the house of
bondage." This is what we must do when the
spirit of the ungodly marriage tries to
attach itself to our marriage - We must kill
it.
God's word is clear, we must destroy any
evil thing that tries to come upon us. In

IKi.20:13
, God told Ahab that He would
deliver into his hands for destruction the
king Benhadad and his people. In

IKi.20:34,
after God delivered Benhadad into the hands
of Ahab, Ahab made covenant with and released
Benhadad instead of destroying him. We see
in

IKi.20:42
, the terrible price that God
required of Ahab for his disobedience - his
life and the lives of his people.
Do you get
the picture? Either destroy completely this
false marriage spirit when it tries to come
upon you or it will destroy your life and
that of your family.

Note that in

IKi.18:4
, Jezebel had killed off
all of the Lord's prophets except the 100
that Obadiah had hidden. Who is in charge
here? Isn't it amazing that even in the
midst of all this wickedness there is a godly
man present? Obadiah, the governor of Ahab's
house was a godly man. God's presence is
always available to those who will serve Him
without question. We need only to recognize
it and avail ourselves of It.

Next he allowed his wife to take
over (do her own thing).

(IKings 21:7)
. Then
he allowed her to act in his name under his
authority.

(21:8)
. Then he allowed deceit in
his name (authority).

(21:9-13)
. All
authority is given of God.

Romans 13:1b

says, "For there is no authority except from
God -by His permission, His sanction; and
those that exist do so by God's appointment."
Also see

Proverbs 8:15
. Next he allowed her
to control him, he did as she told him to do.
But he finds he is responsible for all that
is done by his authority (name). "For there
was no one who sold himself to do evil in the
sight of the Lord as did Ahab, incited by his
wife Jezebel".

(I Ki.21:25)
. See the
principle here? The authority given by God
belongs to the one to whom He gives it. He
is fully responsible for what he has
responsibility over. He cannot allow himself
to be led (incited) by anyone or any thing,
other than God. He can abdicate his
responsibility - he can delegate his
responsibility, but he cannot escape
responsibility for his area of authority. He
is held accountable to god for it! Men - we
must understand this godly principle.

See, the problem was AHAB. If he had
exercised his authority properly (himself),
if he had feared God, he would have been
concerned about what was being done in his
name and he would have controlled Jezebel,
thereby making her spirit fruitless. But
since he did not, he had to reap of her
fruit, as well as his own. He was responsible
and was held accountable by God. And we see
both of them meet horrible deaths because of
the sin of Ahab.
Understand; it was not the
sin of Jezebel that was responsible for their
fate, it was the sin of Ahab. We must
recognize that the sin of omission is as
deadly as the sin of commission. Not doing
something that is required of you by God is
just as serious as doing something that God
has told you not to do.

(IKi.20:42)
"Thus
says the Lord, `Because you have let go out
of your hand the man I had devoted to
destruction, therefore your life shall go for
his life, and your people for his people.'"

In Bible days one of the worst things
that could happen was to be eaten by dogs (no
grave, no memory of you), another was to be
eaten by the birds. No grave - no memory-
forgotten as if you never lived. And this is
precisely what God pronounced on Ahab and
Jezebel and their people for their ungodly
acts. Ahab was responsible! Even though he
abdicated his responsibility, GOD held him
responsible.

(I Ki.21:19,23,24)
"Thus says
the Lord, `In the place where dogs licked the
blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood,
even yours.' Also the Lord said of Jezebel,
`The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of
Jezreel. Him of Ahab who dies in the city
the dogs shall eat, and him who dies in the
field the birds of the air shall eat.'"


THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME Part 7
LET'S LOOK NOW AT JEZEBEL

The first mention of her is

I Ki.16:31
, when Ahab married her - telling us
it is his worst sin so far. "As if it had
been a light thing for Ahab to walk in the
sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he took for
wife Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the
Sidonians, and served Baal and worshiped
him." What a wonderful recommendation for a
wife, to be the greatest sin of the greatest
sinner. Her first act we find in

I Ki. 18:4
, "While Jezebel was killing off the Lord's
prophets", destroying the very word of God.
Then she feeds the false prophets

(I Ki.18:19)
, thereby supporting (with the king's
authority) the false. Next we find her
willing to go to any means to support her
wicked, vengeful, evil ways, by threatening
the life of God's prophet, Elijah,

(I Ki.19:2)
. Now she is really feeling "her
authority" and usurps the king's authority

(21:7-8)
, by doing things only the king has a
right to do. Next she becomes a murderess
and false accuser

(I Ki. 21:9-13)
, playing
God in the king and other lives. Now she is
really rolling on the path to hell - in

21:15

and

21:25
, she is shown as the driving force
in things evil in the sight of the Lord.
"For there was no one who sold himself to do
evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab,
incited by his wife Jezebel."

We find later on she is referred to
only for her evil.

(II Ki.9:22.)
"And he
answered, `How can peace exist, as long as
the fornications of your mother Jezebel and
her witchcrafts are so many?'" (Have you
ever heard the name of Jezebel used in a
complimentary way?) She is noted for her
idolatry and witchcraft.

But she dies a horrible death.

(II Kings 9:33-37)
says she is destroyed - gone -
forgotten. Only her evil deeds remain -"And
he said, `Throw her down!' So they threw her
down, and some of her blood splattered on the
wall and on the horses, and he drove over
her. When he came in, he ate and drank, and
said, `See now to this cursed woman and bury
her, for she is a king's daughter.' They went
to bury her, but they found nothing left of
her except the skull, feet, and palms of her
hands. They came again and told Jehu. He
said, `This is the word of the Lord which He
spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, In
the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the
flesh of Jezebel. The corpse of Jezebel
shall be like dung upon the face of the field
in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall
not say, `This is Jezebel.'"

Husbands, is
this what you want for your wives? Wives, is
this the way you wish to be remembered? Oh,
if only Ahab could have understood the ways
of our God. If only he had loved himself and
his wife enough to turn to God, recognizing
that his authority, therefore his very
existence was subject to God. Look at the
grief his people and even the world up to and
beyond today, would have been spared, had the
spirits of Ahab and Jezebel been controlled
by the Spirit of the Living God, as was God's
plan from the beginning of time.

If this is not what you desire, then
let's follow God's pattern - that is the only
way to avoid repeating the story of Ahab and
Jezebel in your lives.

Beloved, understand: the Christian
husband has a devine, awesome responsibility
under God - HE will be judged and will stand
fully accountable to God for the manner in
which he performs his DUTY. He must rule his
family well.

(I Tim.3:4)
. He has a mandate
from God to do as God tells him, on a daily
basis throughout his life, and to see that
his family also does this, or by his acts of
omission, he will destroy his family and
himself by his disobedience.

This is a serious problem in the
earth today - many husbands have abdicated
their throne of authority, thus accepting the
spirit of Ahab and allowing the Jezebel
spirit to reign. If we are going to see a
turn around in the Christian family then the
husband and wife must both learn their
scriptural roles and fulfill them.

Let's now humble ourselves and pray
before it is too late, as it was for Ahab.
Maybe it is a sin of ignorance, but now you
have no excuse for continuing on in your sin.
Repent - change - go on in fulfillment of
God's plan for the family and we can see the
world changed, and welcome the return of our
LORD JESUS CHRIST.


THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME Part 8
REMEMBER:



The spirit of Ahab is:
A spirit of ABDICATION
SELF PLEASING
DESTRUCTIVE (It will destroy
you)


Too many men have abdicated the
responsibilities that God has given them,
thereby accepting the spirit of Ahab into the
role of authority in their lives because:

It is not a COMFORTABLE place
There is no SELF-EXHALTATION in
it
It causes you to make HARD
choices
It makes you to stand in
UNPOPULAR places
It requires you to DISCERN
SPIRITS -issues.
It makes you RESPONSIBLE
It requires ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE
TO GOD

The spirit of Jezebel is:
A USURPER
A FALSE anointing
An evil CONTROLLING spirit

Its purpose is:

STOP the word of God
DESTROY word of God
REPLACE GOD'S plan with satan's
plan

The Jezebel spirit:

Has NO FEAR
REFUSES to consider consequences
of its actions.
Does not believe it will REAP
WHAT IT HAS SOWN. Gal.5:7, "For
what a man sows and that only
shall he reap".
Is NOT responsible for its own
actions
MUST BE STOPPED before it's too
late



THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME Part 9



THE RIGHT EXAMPLE




Have you noticed? Throughout thescriptures God relates the relationship of
husband and wife to that of His Christ and
His Church. Can you see why? The family is
the place God has set up for us as Christians
to learn our relationship to Christ and the
Church.

If we can learn and understand these
lessons, we can then be the victorious people
that God is going to have on this earth.
Praise God! Jesus did it and so can we, if
we just allow our carnal nature to be killed
- if we can learn to die to our self-life,
then God will be able to use us in any way He
sees fit.

GOD'S DESIRE FOR HIS ELECT


"You shall therefore keep and do the
instruction, laws, and precepts which I command
you this day. And if you hearken to these
precepts and keep and do them, the Lord your
God will keep with you the covenant and the
steadfast love which He swore to your
fathers. And He will love you, bless you,
and multiply you; He will also bless the
fruit of your body and the fruit of your
land, your grain, your new wine, and your
oil, the increase of your cattle and the
young of your flock, in the land which He
swore to your fathers to give you. You shall
be blessed above all peoples; there shall not
be male or female barren among you, or among
your cattle. And the Lord will take away
from you all sickness, and none of the evil
diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will be
put upon you, but will lay them upon all who
hate you."
(Deut. 7:11-15)


By now you should be coming into a
more complete understanding of the real "plan
of God" for man. Developing the godly
marriage relationships is not a matter of
reading books, plans, or schemes of men to
try to develop a relationship with your mate.
Rather, it is a matter of understanding:
The plan of God
The word of God
The Covenant between God and Man
The marriage covenant between
husband and wife

and then doing the will of God,
(Prov.3:6
&
8:32)

regardless of any personal discomfort.
God is the author and finisher of all things,
and the most important unit to God is the
family.

The reason there are problems and
misunderstanding in marriages is very clear
in the scriptures - it is the same reason for
any problems in the world. "`For My thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
My ways', says the Lord. `For as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are My ways
higher than your ways, and My thoughts than
your thoughts.'"
(Is.55:8-9)
That is
because, "The mind of the flesh -with its
carnal thoughts and purposes - is hostile to
God; for it does not submit itself to God's
law, indeed it cannot."
(Romans 8:7)


The reason is man. Man does not want to believe
that God knows what He is doing. Man feels
that he should be in charge of his life. He
feels that he needs to interpret God's word
to fit his own unique needs.

This is not
God's way. God wants us to understand His
Word, just as He had It written, then do just
what it says. "Thus says the Lord of hosts:
`If you will walk in My ways and keep My
charge, then also you shall rule My house and
have charge of My courts, and I will give you
access to My presence and places to walk
among those who stand here.'"
(Zech.3:7)
Do
you see it? If we will walk in obedience to
God, we will rule in His house and have
access to His presence. All of the time -
WOW-

It may not always be easy, but it is
always what God requires of us. Instead of
trying to "figure out" and manipulate each
other, let's help each other to understand
and "fit into" God's Plan as He has designed
it. Let's Die to Self. "Let this same
attitude and purpose and humble mind be in
you which was in Christ Jesus. - Let Him be
your example in humility."
(Phil.2:5)
Let's
die to self and become, like Jesus, God's
emissary on earth, as He desires for us to
be.

When we do these things that God desires
of us, we can stop trying to convince others
to become Christians like we are, as they
will see our example and ask about our peace,
joy, etc. They will not be thinking, as they
so aptly do now, "Hypocrites - why should I
want to be like them? Saying one thing and
doing another."

They will know we are
Christians by our fruit.

"Therefore you will
fully know them by their fruits."
(Mt.7:20)

Remember: If you desire a godly life, full of
the fruits of the Spirit, then you must walk
in the ways of God in all things. "But the
fruit of the Holy Spirit, is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness; gentleness, self-control.
Against such things there is no law that can
bring a charge. And those who belong to
Christ Jesus, the Messiah, have crucified the
flesh - the godless human nature - with its
passions and appetites and desires. If we
live by the Holy Spirit, let us also walk by
the Spirit. - If by the Holy Spirit we have
our life in God, let us go forward walking in
line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit."
(Gal.5:22-25)


In the plan of God, the training
ground is the family unit.- No-one misses
out on this. Some family units are
completely out of order, and thus many are
hurt and confused. Some may appear to miss
out on the family, but all have a family of
some sort. (Orphanage, foster home, etc.)
But, if we get ahold of God's plan and then
follow it, God will be able to remove the
pain and confusion, setting those who have
been hurt free. The family unit is God's most
important priority. The local church, is just
a "family of families. And the "Body of
Christ" is a family made up of a family of
churches. If we are going to be able to
properly function in "The Body of Christ", it
is imperative that we learn to properly
function in the family unit that God has, in
His wisdom, placed us in.

Husband - Wife - it's up to you - you have
seen the pattern - the example and the Lord's
instruction (what He desires to do for you.)
Which way will you follow?

My desire for you and your family is
that you may walk in the fullness of God,
that He has promised us. But, remember it is
a conditional promise. For it to be
fulfilled, we must understand and walk in the
full plan of God. I pray that this
scriptural study will make it easier for you
to attain your place in God.



May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ, Charles LaFoe