As For Me and My House We Shall Serve The Lord
The scripture we stand on as we believe for our family members our friends and neighbors to come to salvation in Christ is… Acts 16:31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house.”
God has a plan for your family and neighbors. Your salvation is just the beginning of a great flood of grace that will sweep them into the kingdom. The human family is most precious to our Creator God. In Genesis chapters 1 and 2, upon creating the first 2 human beings, Adam and Eve, God ordained the human family. He ordained it to be close, intimate relationships of love among its members. Therefore it should be a most heart breaking thing for any Christian believer to know that he or she has family members who are without Christ, and not interested in Christ as their Savior, and therefore headed for the eternity without Him.
Imagine that you would never again see them or be able to visit for all eternity, while you yourself are enjoying all that God has prepared in heaven. God is not desirous that any person departs this life without knowing Christ as savior. Because God found Noah to be a just and obedient person, God chose to save him from drowning in the great flood. The Bible does not give us any description of the spiritual condition of the rest of Noah’s family at that time. Each of them could have been similar to the above description of Noah, or each of them could have been much less than that.
So, let’s look at what God does for Noah’s family. Genesis 6:18 “But with you I will establish my covenant; and you shall come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.” There is a good chance that the remainder of the family was included because of the faith and trustworthiness of Noah in God’s eyes.
Genesis 6:22 “In this, Noah did according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” Noah’s personal total obedience to God was key to the rest of his family being saved from drowning in the flood. When Noah and family finished building the ark, look at the invitation God gives to them. Genesis 7:1 “And the Lord said unto Noah, come with all of your house into the ark; for I have seen your righteous before me in this generation.” In this verse God issued all of them an invitation to come into that ark of salvation. And because God, at the time of this invitation, commended Noah for his own, personal righteousness, likely the invitation to the rest of the family hinged upon Noah’s righteousness before God. When God prepared a way of salvation for Noah, He commanded Noah's whole house to enter the ark. Therefore, the household, not just an individual, entered the ark.
A new believer should bring every member of his household into the ark. You can say to the Lord, "I have believed in You. You have said that my whole household can enter into the ark. Lord, according to your word, I bring my whole household into the ark now." Because it’s God’s word, He will honor your faith. In Exodus 12, God struck dead all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, to motivate Pharaoh to let God’s people go. But God prepared salvation for His people, Israel, so that none of them would be smitten dead when God’s death angel passed through Egypt at midnight. And in thus “saving” them, He again dealt with them by households.
Exodus12:1-3 “And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying…Speak unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house.”
At this time, God ordains the feast of the Passover for His Nation, Israel. This lamb is to be killed as a sacrifice for that feast. Each Israeli family is to prepare a sacrificial lamb for their house. Verses 6-7 “And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.” The family member who applied the blood for each household would take the stick with hyssop tied to the end, dip the hyssop into a bason containing the fresh blood and strike each of the side posts and then the upper post over the door, thus forming a cross with that motion, a foreshadow of the cross our Saviour, the Lamb of God, would die on over 1000 years later.
Exodus 12:3-7 says, " take a lamb, for each house of their fathers, a lamb for a house...." The Passover lamb was clearly given to a household, not to an individual alone. Again we see the importance of a household before God. A lamb was not prepared for each individual, but for each household. The blood struck on the doorpost and side posts was to protect the household. The angel of destruction would pass over an entire household. It is marvelous to see that the salvation prepared by the Lord Jesus Christ is not for an individual alone but for the entire household, just like the Passover lamb. If one man eats the lamb, it means that only he is being saved. But if the household eats the lamb, it means that the household is being saved. Salvation is for the entire household. The household eats the lamb, and similarly the household strikes the blood upon the entry way. The entire household enjoys these things together. May God open our eyes to see that salvation is a matter of the household, not individuals.
When Joshua sent spies to spy out the fortress city of Jericho which was slated for destruction, a woman named Rahab hid the spies, so they could escape and report back. God made a covenant promise with Rahab, which reveals His desire for the household. Joshua 6:17 says, "And the city shall be devoted to Jehovah for destruction, it and all that is in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the messengers we sent." Here we see Rahab the harlot and her household being saved. What did she do? She protected the spies. When she became a co-worker in God’s plan, He gave her a sign. She was to tie a line of scarlet thread in the window. All who were in the house which had the scarlet thread were spared, while the rest of the entire walled city came down, only her section remained intact. While the rest of the inhabitants of Jericho were killed, all those of her house were safe. The scarlet thread signifies salvation. The scarlet-thread salvation saved Rahab's entire household; it did not save just her. We need to be very clear about the scope of salvation. Chapter two of Joshua gives the promise, and chapter six gives the actual execution. Both the promise in chapter two and the execution in chapter six show us that Rahab and her household were saved. All who were in the house which had the scarlet thread were saved. God's desired work of salvation is for the entire household, not just for individuals.
The blood in the child, is produced by the father, so if God was Jesus’ father, then it was the blood of God that flowed from Jesus, to cancel sin and the judgment which accompanies it. The cross of Jesus, deals with and acts upon our ongoing capacity to sin. Paul says, “I am crucified daily, yet I live…” He also speaks of taking up our cross daily and following Jesus.
If you are a Christian believer and there are members of your house (immediate family) who are not Christian believers, they are on their way to an eternity without God, to be spent with Satan, his demons, mass murderers, thieves, rapists, and all sorts of vile lawless people. But God has ordained that you, as a Christian believer, also enter into the role of being a “Co-worker” with Him in introducing the savior to your house. God has ordained that you enter into the toil, travail, and labor with our Lord to “birth” them, bringing your lost family members into the new birth, and doing your part to lead them to Christ and His salvation. To have the marvelous joy of seeing your lost family get saved, no toil, sacrifice, suffering or cost should be too much! We hope that all the children who are born among us will not need our extra effort in the future to bring them to salvation and to rescue them out of the world.
Some have already been born into our fleshly family. We should make sure that they are born into our spiritual family also. We cannot afford to lose them year by year and then fight to rescue them back year by year. We cannot just beget them into the world; we still must bring them to the Lord. If all the brothers and sisters agree that this is simply the way it should be, we will have at least as many saved ones as the number of children in our midst. The Lord has placed them in our hands. We should not let them go; we must make sure that they are saved. Otherwise, it will take considerable effort to bring them back from the world. All the little fishes born of our big fishes should be on our side; we should not let them go back into the sea and then have to struggle to catch them again.
When Paul was supernaturally released from prison by the angel, Paul used it as an opportunity to preach household salvation. Acts 16:31 he said to the jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." This is one of the most outstanding verses in Christianity. Throughout the entire Old Testament, God dealt with man by households. Likewise in the New Testament, He deals with man by households. This is the smallest unit; one cannot reduce it to a smaller one. It is the understanding that God’s desire is, If anyone believes in the Lord Jesus, his household shall be saved. This is indeed a wonderful thing. I do not know why this is so, but the Lord's Word says it is so.
The Old Testament and the New Testament are consistent and both recognize the same household salvation. The church in Philippi started with a jailer. Acts 16:34 says, "And he (the jailer) brought them up into his house and set a table before them; and he rejoiced because he had believed in God with all his household." Here we see a wonderful picture. In the beginning the promise was given to the jailer; no one else heard it. "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." Later, the jailer brought his household to Paul. After Paul spoke to them, they were baptized. Then the jailer brought them into his house and set a table before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God. This is not something difficult to achieve. The apostle gave the jailer a promise, and his entire household was saved. Everyone listened, everyone was baptized, and everyone rejoiced.
Suppose the apostle told the jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved." If this was the case, we would have to wait until after a person was saved, teach him something, and hope that he would understand. Then he might gradually testify to his family, and his family might eventually believe and be saved. If this had been the case, how long would it have taken for the jailer's household to be saved? The apostle did not preach the gospel this way. He did not deal with individuals one by one, instead, he addressed the entire household. He said, "You and your household" shall be saved. You need to see this: The salvation of a household is no different and certainly no more difficult than the salvation of one person. You should never forfeit the wonderful privilege of seeing the entire household saved. Whether or not the church will continue with its second and third generation depends on whether we have brought our children to the Lord.
God has ordained a blessing upon households, when the leaders of the home, walk in obedience to Him. A striking example of this is on the occasion of recapturing the ark after it had been taken by the Philistines. Because Uzziah touched the ark and was struck dead, they left it at the house of Obed-edom so that preparations could be made to bring it to the temple in the prescribed manner which God had commanded. 2 Samuel 6:11 says, "And the ark of Jehovah remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and Jehovah blessed Obed-edom and all his household." Jehovah's blessing in the Old Testament was to the household. While the ark remained in the house of Obed-edom, Jehovah blessed his entire household as he cooperated with God’s greater plan. Once again, we see that the unit of the Divine blessing is upon the household, not just the individual.
This is clear in the New Testament as well. One day while Jesus was ministering, he saw a tax collector named Zaccheus, who had climbed up in a tree, to get a better view, since he was short in stature. In Luke 19:9 it says that, "Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to your house." This is wonderful. The New Testament declares the same principle. I am afraid that many people have been preaching for over twenty years about personal salvation only. However, the Lord tells us that "salvation has come to this house." We are told that Zaccheus became a transformed follower of Christ and everyone could see what had happened in his life, by his transformed behavior and actions. One thing that will draw your family members to Christ is for them to see you live your Christian life before them as an example and a testimony.
Ask God to show you any ways in which you, as a Christian, have failed your family, by any way in which you wronged your family before you became a Christian. Some of those wrongs may have been done in ignorance because you did not yet know the Bible and what God commands us in the Bible. God readily forgives, but you need to confess and ask for forgiveness on any such matter the Holy Spirit brings to light to ensure that it ceases to be any barrier between you and God, and also that it ceases to be any hindrance to you being used by God to help bring your family to salvation. So many Christians have married unbelievers, only to find out that the devil is their father-in-law. It is time for you to truly repent of knowingly and willingly disobeying God’s command forbidding you to yoke up with an unbeliever.
Ask God to have mercy on you, forgive you, and to save your house. Ask God to give you the courage to fully offer your life as a living sacrifice to God to allow Him to do anything that He wills to do for the purpose of bringing your lost family members to salvation in Christ. Totally yielding yourself to Him during this life is the one thing you will never regret for all eternity. Make your daily declaration over your unsaved family members according to 2 Corinthians 6:2 “Behold, now is the day of salvation.” God will always honor His word out of your mouth! Our God has unlimited power and He has promised us in Mark 9:23 that, “If we can believe, all things are possible to those that believe.”
We must not believe that any sinner, no matter how vile, rebellious, evil and boisterous is greater than the conviction of the Holy Spirit, because we serve an Almighty God Who never lies and Who has promised to save our household. Always conclude your prayers for your family with praise to God for saving them even before they get saved. There is much power in doing that. I cannot emphasize that enough. It is a most bold exercise of faith that honors, glorifies, and pleases God greatly, thanking Him for what He promises to do, even though it is not yet done experientially, but positionally by faith. Offering up your thanksgiving and praise in advance, is one thing that will keep you from slipping into discouragement, despair, and disbelief. Boldly declare to God that you believe Him instead of believing the enemy.
Confess to Him that you praise His High and Holy Name because your family member is going to be saved. If lost family members grow stronger in their opposition to you and to God, do not let that bring on any level of discouragement, but rejoice that they are under conviction by the Holy Spirit! Praise is a most powerful weapon in our spiritual warfare. By all means, do not fail to use it. How foolish to be engaged in such important warfare where the eternal fate of your household hangs in the balance, and fail to use the most powerful weapons of warfare that God has provided. Ephesians 3:19 is another good verse to declare over your unsaved loved ones… “And to know the love of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge, that they might be filled with all the fullness of God.” Always keep in mind that you are on the victorious side.
Almighty God, Who promised to save your house, is your Captain. He is fighting for you and He has all power over Satan and your lost family members. Believe Him fully and totally trust as you absolutely refuse to believe the devil and your wicked, sinful, lost family members in their defiance against God. You need to see your family members serving God, attending church, and living a Christian life style. In your spirit, see them reading and sharing God’s word, praying for others, and serving through their gifts. Remember that scripture tells us in Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish..” Richard Foster was quoted as saying.. ”Prayer involves transformed passions. In prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God’s thoughts and desire the things He desires, to love the things He loves and to will the things He wills.”
Christ promises us that there is extra strength and power in unity, so all of your saved family members should join together in faith, believing God to save the remainder of your house. Matthew 18:19 “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” Let’s say that you have 1 brother and 2 sisters who are each married with children, and every person in those 3 households is lost and on their way to an eternity without Christ. First, you believe God to save your brother and 2 sisters, because they are of your house. Then when God honors your faith and saves these 3 siblings of yours, then tell them everything in this study, ask them to read it, and from there teach them how that they are each to be a co-worker with Christ to their own house and believe God to save their houses (their spouses and children).
When those 3 spouses get saved, then each of them is to become a co-worker to each of their houses (parents and siblings). Proclaim that to them and pray that God will get them to work, sacrifice, intercede, and spare no effort, for the salvation of their houses. When all the family members of those spouses get saved, then that branches out into more in-laws and such additional family members who then can claim this promise for all their house, parents, siblings, spouses, and children. Think seriously on how this saving of souls will spread if each Christian believer will come to be the co-worker with Christ of their house, as God has ordained that we do. 2Timothy 2:2 “And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also”. Keep the cycle of household salvation going as you pray and share with other families and friends, interceding for the salvation of their house.
Speak to them the words God gives you to encourage them to have strong faith and to not despair and give up, but rather to believe the words of Christ until all their house is saved. Each and every Christian believer is assigned a definite mission field, his or her house, and we are given a definite and wonderful promise that the lost ones in that mission field will definitely be saved. God forbid that we allow any precious family member to perish because we failed to do our part. In the Jewish culture, circumcision was a household covenant between God and each Jewish family. Genesis 17:12-13 says, "Every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of your seed. He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with your money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant."
God called Abraham and made a covenant with him, saying, (v.7) "I will establish my covenant between you and Me and your seed after you" The sign of the covenant between God and Abraham was circumcision. All who were circumcised belonged to God, and all who were not circumcised were not of God. God also told Abraham that every male of his household needed to be circumcised, since they would be the heads of families, including those who were born in his house and those who were bought with his money. Therefore, the promise of circumcision was not given to Abraham alone but to his whole household. Circumcision takes the household as a unit. God's promise came to Abraham's house, not to him alone. You have a calling and anointing to set a salvation domino effect in motion, everywhere that there is opportunity.
The little girl who told Naaman about Elisha is an example of someone who did just that (2 Kings 5:1 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. 2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
Your family and neighbors will respond to the 3 t’s….Time- spending quality and quantity time with them..Talent- using your skills in areas they need help in..Treasure- giving a financial blessing to them as a seed for harvest. You determine the size of your harvest by your faith. 2 Kings 7:3 Then Elisha said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.”
When the woman was called upon by God to participate in the miracle of the oil and meal in famine, her faith was the only limitation on her miracle. The more empty vessels she gathered, the greater the miracle she would experience. Because she continued to get empty vessels from her neighbors and fill them, her neighborhood was spared from the terrible famine that devastated the land. People are the empty vessels in your life. They have lost their direction and their purpose. They are dry, wasted, and tossed aside. They desperately need fresh oil.
We must develop a yearning for their empty household vessels around you to be filled. Millions of Christian believers on this earth are not aware that the lost people in their household are their mission field. Jesus said to begin in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem represents your home base and it is specially assigned for every believer to develop their evangelistic gift and they are duty bound to act on God’s promise to save their household.
Many Christians are neglecting their own personal mission field, which is their lost family members. May God help us to make other Christians aware of this grave responsibility which they have been given and guide them into being faithful in their mission field. Whatever else we do in this life, may we believe on and act upon this wonderful promise. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and all your house.” Joshua declared over His household…Joshua 24:15 “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
In Acts 10:24, Cornelius is a perfect example of household salvation.“Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.” The Holy Spirit fell upon all his relatives and close friends. He brought them into his home, and the Holy Spirit filled all the vessels. What vessels would the Lord like to use you to fill this week? What family members are waiting for the miracle of God’s amazing oil of grace and salvation?
