PART 1
1. FILL YOU HOME WITH PLEASANT WORDS.
FOCUS ON GOD’S PLAN FOR EACH MEMBER OF THE FAMILY. ENCOURAGE, CORRECT, BUT ALWAYS KEEP A FOCUS ON THE GOAL.
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
–AVOID STRIFE. SOME PEOPLE PLAN ON IT, SCHEDULE IT, AND EXPECT IT. THIS SHOULD NOT BE.
Proverbs 17:1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
–LEARNING GOD’S WORD, AND KEEPING IT IN YOUR HEART HELPS YOU TO MAKE DECISIONS AND WILL GUIDE YOUR PATH CORRECTLY.
Proverbs 22:17-18 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
–IF YOU FILL YOUR KIDS ROOMS WITH UNPLEASANT THINGS–DON’T EXPECT THEM TO TURN OUT PLEASANTLY. EXPECT TO FACE TROUBLES. BAD POSTERS AND MUSIC WHICH ADVOCATES REBELLION, SATANISM, MURDER, DRUGS, AND VIOLENCE IS PLANTING SEEDS OF WHAT WILL GROW LATER IN.
2. SING PRAISES TO GOD IN YOUR HOME.
IF YOU DON’T KNOW A LOT OF PRAISE SONGS, READ PSALMS, MAKE UP YOUR OWN, OR SING ALONG WITH A RECORDING OF OTHERS WHO ARE NOT JUST ENTERTAINERS, BUT ARE TRUE WORSHIPERS.
Psalms 147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
3. KEEP THE FOCUS THAT GOD WANTS EACH PERSON IN THE FAMILY TO KNOW AND SERVE HIM. YOU CAN’T BE AN EFFECTIVE SERVANT WHEN THERE IS STRIFE.
Psalms 133:1 « A Song of degrees of David. » Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
4. DON’T ATTEMPT TO MAKE IT PLEASANT WITHOUT THE LORD. TRYING TO MAKE IT PLEASANT WITHOUT THE LORD WILL NOT SATISFY.
Isaiah 17:10-11 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
5. SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO SUBJECT YOURSELF TO DIFFICULTIES SO THAT YOU CAN GET CLOSER TO GOD AND NOT DEPEND ON THE PLEASANT THINGS TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD. LET GOD MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD.
Daniel 10:3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
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PART 2
1. GOD MADE THINGS GOOD. WE CAN EITHER FOLLOW HIS GUIDANCE IN MAINTAINING THEM, OR WE CAN DESTROY WHAT HE WANTED US TO HAVE. .
A. SIN BROUGHT THE FIRST UNCOMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR MEN.
Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
THE PLEASANT AND HAPPY ENVIRONMENT TURNED INTO DISASTER BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN DECISIONS.
**The attitude of people often is affected by their environment. If their homes are noisy and contentious, and filled with music that is combative, they will be aggressive. ***Even plants are affected by the environment. Is it hollering, screaming, or crying ? Or, is it filled with praise, thanksgiving, and joy ? A quiet home can go either way. It can invite trouble, or it can be peaceful.
B. WHERE GOD IS ABSENT, THE PLACE BECOMES A WILDERNESS.
Jeremiah 12:10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
C. WHERE GOD IS NOT THE CENTER OF THE HOME, THE WORDS OF THE HOUSE ARE NOT PEACEABLE AND KIND.
EVEN PEOPLE WHO DON’T USE GOD’S NAME IN VAIN, OR SWEAR SOMETIMES USE THEIR WORDS TO CONDEMN, CUT DOWN, AND CRITICIZE.
Proverbs 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
D. THE HOME SHOULD BE FILLED WITH PLEASANT THINGS.
*Not monsters, rock star posters, etc.
Joel 3:5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
2. PLEASANTNESS CAN BE MANY THINGS.
A. PLEASANTNESS IT CAN BE A FIGMENT OF IMAGINATION.
IT CAN BE RE-DEFINED, AND PERVERTED BY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO HAVE PLEASANTNESS SO MUCH, THEY WILL ACCEPT ALMOST ANYTHING.
Isaiah 2:16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
B. IT CAN BE A TIME OF TRIAL OR TESTING; BUT WITH THE LORD, IT CAN BE PLEASANT.
Daniel 10:3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
C. IT CAN BE THE FRUIT OF PERSEVERING PRAYER.
James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
3. A PLEASANT PLACE CANNOT BE FULLY REALIZED WITHOUT THE LORD JESUS.
A. WE NEED PEACEABLY LIFE INWARDLY.
THAT COMES FROM PERSONAL SALVATION THROUGH FAITH.
B. WE NEED TO BE PEACEMAKERS.
HELP PEOPLE GET RIGHT WITH GOD, AND THEY WILL BE RIGHT WITH YOU. NO BETTER PLACE TO INITIATE THIS PRINCIPLE THAN IN THE HOME.
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
C. WE NEED THE PEACEABLE WALK THAT COMES FROM RESPONDING TO PROBLEMS AFTER WE BRING THEM TO THE LORD.
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.