Frameworks for Life

today we're going to explore three essential Frameworks that God has designed for Humanity the first one is the framework of a man the second one is the framework of a woman and thirdly and most importantly the framework of God himself so just as an art G Gallery contains frame pieces that each tell a unique story like of all the frame portraits and photos and pictures that my wife has in her Gallery they each tell a unique story but these Divine Frameworks that I'll speak about to today reveal God's Perfect Design for human relationships and our relationship with him and so this message today it's just going to be an outline sketch if we will because actually a message could be presented on each one of these Frameworks but before I delve into the Frameworks let's understand what I mean by a framework a framework provides structure it provides support and boundaries in a framework it also defines roles the ones I'm speaking about today responsibilities and relationships the most importantly it creates a space within that frame if you will in which something can function as intended think it if you will like a house's framework the framework of a house there's the beams the joist the rafters and they're not restrictions they're not restrictions we see here they're the very elements that make the house stable and livable and similarly God's framework isn't completely about limitations although in God's framework we know there are limitations of course but it's also about providing in the structure within which all of us can grow flourish and become the individuals that God wants us to be so I'd like to begin at the very Foundation of God's design beginning in Genesis chapter 2 now I'm going to I will turn in my Bible to the chapter but I want to let you know that I have my scriptures in my notes because for some reason the font size of my Bible has gotten smaller not sure how that happened and by the way just as a side note this Bible I was looking for a Bible years ago I wanted a King James version with margins wide margins so I could take notes and I was having the hardest time finding one well the porteous's I don't know if you remember this Daniel Linda you found this Bible for me you had my name engraved on the front of it here and I wrote inside that it was a gift from the two of you all I need to know is what day that was or date what year I cannot remember if I remember right you were traveling up you stopped in Long View maybe Washington and you found this Bible I still have it so so like I said it's it might be replaced with larger font if I can find one so all right we're going to go to Genesis CH 2 verse 7 and this is what we're going to read it says the Lord God formed man of the Dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and Man became a living being a living soul okay now I want you to consider something think about the extraordinary care God put into the creation of man because he didn't speak man into existence like he did all the other creation he personally formed man from dirt from the ground so that extra care and extra love went into this master piece that God created and he begins to frame man up God is going to frame Adam up and he's going to give him specific responsibilities and guidelines which God expected this man to follow verse 8 verse 8 and the Lord God planted a garden Eastward and Eden and there he put the man who had formed and then dropping down to verse 15 then the Lord God took the man and he put him in the Garden of Eden and notice this he put him in the garden to tend it and to keep it to tend it and keep it so God put Adam into this beautiful garden and he instructs him basically to take care of it I want you to take care of this beautiful garden and God gave adam work to do because God knew this was what would bring a man happiness fulfillment and a purpose because men need a purpose men need a purpose and then in addition to that God gave adam Specific Instructions just about one tree in that Garden just one tree you know the story verse 16 verse 16 here in Chapter 2 and the Lord God commanded the man saying of every tree of the garden you may freely eat now this might have included the tree of life but the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat it it you should surely die so what is God doing here first of all he's giving Adam a John and now he's instructing this man to follow his his Commandments his laws and he wants Adam to keep those and to tend those as well as he was the garden so the man is given physical and spiritual responsibilities and so God is preparing the man's framework and within this framework are some very important responsibilities and once again we're going to see Adam has given another project verses 19 and 20 out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field every bird of the air air and he brought them to Adam to see what he would call them and whatever Adam called each living creature that was that was his name and Adam gave names to all the cattle to the birds of the air and to every beast of the field but for Adam for this man there was not found a helper comparable to him comparable or comparable to him so Adam's all alone we I don't know how long it took for him to name all these animals I would assume it took a while but there's no one like him in God's creation so we see so far that Adam he has a place to live he has a job and responsibilities and he's been instructed by God not to venture out of God's framework stay in my framework which is once again the instruction God gave him in regards to that one tree that one particular tree so you see God has established the boundaries for the man to live in and so now that Adam is framed up God then moves on to his next creation let's go back to verse 18 Verse 18 and the Lord God said it's not good that man should be alone I will make him a helper comparable to him and the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam and he slept and he took one of his ribs and he closed up the Flesh in its place then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and notice this he brought her to the man so God knew God has a plan he knows it's not good for a man to be alone and so he creates this woman and also we see the woman was not created from the ground as was Adam she was taken taken from his very rib she contained Adam's very DNA and notice and I believe this to be important as we read in verse 22 that God brought the woman Eve to the man and she was to be a helpmate to Adam someone that was comparable to him someone like him so she she came from him and she was brought to him verse 23 and Adam said this is now bone of my bones and Flesh of My Flesh she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh so a lot of these things we uh we actually read in our wedding ceremonies So based upon what we just read the man was to frame up we've talked about that how God framed him up leave Mom and Dad bring a wife into his framework keep that in mind he wish to bring a wife a woman into his framework now Adam and Eve had no physical parents so God filled that responsibility God frayed me up and brought her into his framework today this is responsibility or it should be of her mother and father to help frame up their son and a mother and father to help prepare a woman to be brought into the framework of a man all right let's move back to Genesis chapter 1 now if you will Genesis chapter 1 I want to look at some additional instructions given to Adam and Eve Genesis chapter 1 let's begin in verse 26 here then God said let us make man in our image our image more than one God here according to our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air over the cattle over all the Earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth so God created man as his own image in the image of God he created him male and female he created them now notice this here are the instructions here our instructions for the man and woman then God blessed them and God said to them be fruitful and multiply have lots of children fill the Earth subdue it have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over every creeping thing that moves on the earth and God said see I've given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of the Earth and every tree whose fruit yields seed seed to you the sh shall be for food also to every beast of the earth to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth in which there's life I have given every green herb for food and it was so it was so so what was God's intent here for this man and woman it was God's intent that this man and woman living together as man and wife man and wife working together raising children within the framework of the man would realize success and happiness and have a productive and rewarding Life Now ladies ladies Pro please realize that a woman would have her own frame that she would also develop but once again the frame was supposed to be contained within the mans what about the frame of a woman let's talk about that well that frame will vary depending on if she's single or married FR is going to be a little different but today I'm speaking in the context of a married woman living in the frame of a man a good example for us to consider in regards to the frame of a woman we found fine written in Proverbs 31 we've referenced proverbs 31 numerous times but what a beautiful framework this lady built for herself let's go to Proverbs 31 if you will we're going to read just a few scriptures because I want to point out ladies that a woman can frame up they can build their own frame let's read it 31 let's start in verse 10 who can find a virtuous woman for her worth is far above rubies the heart of her husband safely trusts her so he will have no lack of gain notice this relationship here speaking about a woman but it's also brings in certain aspects of her husband and what and how he benefits from this all right verse 12 she does him good and not evil all the days of her life and then let's drop down to verse 20 she extends SS her hand to the poor yes she reaches out her hands to the needy her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the Elders of the land she makes fine linen garments and sells them and supplies sashes for the merchants strength and honor her clothing she shall rejoice in time to come she opens her mouth with wisdom and on her tongue is the law of kindness she watches over the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness charm is deceitful and beauty is passing but a woman who fears the Lord she will be praised give her the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates let her own Works be praised in the gates and so her works and the works of her husband or beautiful blend and what I really appreciate about proverbs 31 is it emphasizes the capabilities of women and I think this section in Proverbs was recorded for us I believe to honor men's honor women's capabilities rather than restrict them now we should also recognize that women May Express these qualities in different ways according to their own circumstances and their own choices but I believe most importantly proverbs 31 shows us if we truly understand what is written here that the frame of a man and the frame of a woman even though different in some respects truly compliment each other this is what God intended because this married woman in Proverbs 31 she did not create a standalone frame her husband supported her Enterprises but she never neglected her number one priority which was her family and it says her husband was honored and respected by the leaders of the community because of who she was and who he was and the respect she demonstrated towards her husband all right let's get back to Adam and Eve now what God planned for this man and woman was short-lived unfortunately because we know that in that same beautiful garden an evil spirit being was there that wanted to destroy the framework that God had established and he's still doing a masterful job of that today but his plan was to destroy God's designed relationship between a man and a woman and their relationship with their creator you see Adam knew the rules of the garden he knew the rules he had been instructed directly by God what his job was what fruit or what tree he could eat from and which ones he couldn't he from so his responsibility god-given responsibility was to take the lead to follow God's instructions and and to provide those instructions to his wife and eventually his offspring because there's no indication in the scriptures that God gave these same instructions directly to Eve we assume that Adam did and we can assume that because she knew right she knew that she shouldn't eat from that tree if you look at the conversation that she had with the serpent with Satan she knew so we assume that Adam told her but what did Adam do what did Adam do he abandoned his leadership role we're not sure why he did so we could can only imagine what went through Adam's mind and why he did but it seems if he just stood there and said okay and did it too now we're not sure the wording we're not sure of the wording there well let's read verse chapter 3 verse 6 let's read it chap Genesis chapter three let's go back there of course you know this very well but let's read what happened after she was influenced by Satan Genesis 3:6 so when a woman saw that the tree was good for food that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make own wise she took of its fruit and ate and she also gave to her husband with her and he ate now like I said we're not sure the wording we don't know if he was standing there at the tree with her when she did it or she brought it to him and then he ate if he was elsewhere and she brought it to him he she must have told him where she got it anyway look at what happened in verse 7 verse 7 then the eyes of them of both of them were open and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves covering so the man and woman because of this Disobedience and sin split the framework between each other and stepped out of the frame of God everything in God's ordained framework for a man and woman in God's personal framework in which they were supposed to reside had now changed forever until that day comes when God is going to correct that because moving forward men and women would struggle in their relationships and often struggle with raising children let's notice what changed verse 16 here chapter 3 to the woman he said I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception in pain you shall bring forth children your desire shall be for your husband and he will rule over you now we often ask a question was it God's original intent that a woman would have no physical pain when delivering a child ladies think of that you could deliver a child with no pain let me share a story with you when Cheryl became pregnant with our first child someone uh we were living down in I think Vancouver at the time someone told us of a natural birthing center and Cheryl wanted to have our first child naturally she want to go to the hospital and so we traveled out it was in Oregon it was a dri but we went out there orientation they told us how it worked and we watched a video and there was a woman in this big um Barrel I guess wooden barrel with warm water and she was in the water and she had had children before and it was it was discreet video but she gave birth to her baby inside this tub of water and it it was nothing I mean she just had her baby there was no uh seemed like there was no pain I'm sure she had some and I'm sitting next to Cheryl and I'm thinking easy peasy lemon squeezy you know what this is going to be easy no big deal no problem well unfortunately Sheryl had complications and so she couldn't have our baby uh natural birth and so we had to go to a regular birthing center so we went to a hospital over I think it was Oregon and we're going up for orientation up to the birthing center and we get up there and I'm walking through the hall and there's a a lady in labor and she is screaming at the top of her lungs at her husband I can't repeat what she was saying to her husband but it wasn't pleasant everything that she was going through was his fault and so now what am I thinking now I'm thinking oh no what have I done you know this maybe this is not going to be good after all anyway but it brings up to mind you know ladies would it be fantastic if you could have children and no pain in that birthing process now for the you ladies that have had children I'm sorry it's too late for you maybe in the king maybe in the Kingdom but reading that last part of 16 it doesn't appear that it was God's original intent that a man rule if you understand that rule over a woman nor should he yes a leader a leader but not a dictator and a man that leads in the proper way because once again men and women were meant to be equal and potential in God's eyes working together harmoniously working together in a marriage Rel relationship how be it with different roles and responsibilities this is God's intent unfortunately Society has turned what God ordained upside down and backwards verse 17 notice what God's now going to say to Adam then to Adam he said because you have heeded the voice of your wife instead of listening to me and have eaten from the Tree of which I commanded you saying you shall not e it eat of it cursed is the ground for your sake and toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the herb of be filled I don't like Thorns with thistles I like to pick wild blackberries but they don't like to be picked because they stab you when you try to take that fruit verse 19 in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground for out of it you were taken for dust you are and to dust you shall return so you see here the man the man was more culpable than the woman because he was not deceived if you read you can read 1 Timothy 2:14 you're probably very familiar with the scripture this says Adam was not deceived but he turned the leadership role over to her for whatever reason and he decided to listen to her instead of God and because of those cursings man would have many challenges in supplying the needs for his family especially living in an agrarian society we have a farm you have all the challenges and that was your source of income your sustenance but even today even though very few of us live on farms anymore man still struggles many do to take care of their families but worse of all more so than what this man and woman did in their relationship worst of all man and woman at this time were rejected out of God's frame verse 22 then the Lord God said behold the man has become like one of us to know good and evil and now lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground of which he was taken so he drove out the man and he placed cherubim at the East of the Garden of Eden and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way of the tree of life so prior to their sin they were on the pathway to eternal life no longer no longer not at this time anyway they were cut off and this is the current state of mankind living outside the framework of God because we're currently living in a society where our young men are struggling to understand what it means to be a man and what type of man God intended him to be and because of this Dynamic this is what is occurring in our society today with our young men today women are giving up on men women are giving up on men and they're building their own frame outside of a man's frame because they're beginning to believe they can be successful have what they want obtain and Achieve those things they need and desire without a man and if a woman wants children there's other ways to do that if they want companionship many times they bring another woman into that relationship now if a woman decides to remain single for some reason and she does build her own frame and remains faithful to God I'm sure God supports that and Honors that as we should absolutely also aside from that we see that modern religions do not reside in God's frame but what have they done they bring God into their frame they bring God into their frame they create God in their own image they paint a portrait of God it's basically a god of of health and wealth or a God that allows them to decide what is wrong right or wrong but how can one live in the framework of God if you don't know the true God and you reject everything within his framework but we understand don't we that at this time it's not God intent God's intent that they live in his framework or in his frame that's going to happen later right but not so for us not so for us in the body of Christ and so the question for us today getting back to the original intent of this message is how do we make sure that we are living in God's frame how do we make sure that we're not trying to pull God into our frame Mr Sanders it's important that we strive to know God as best we can as you mentioned in your sermon at because we know in God's frame within God's framework there is a pathway to eternal life Mr Sanders read this verse I have it in my notes John 17:3 remember what he read recall what it said say John 17:3 notice this is eternal life so if you have a question what is eternal life here it is that they may know you Jesus Christ is speaking here that they may know you father and the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You' sin to receive eternal life means we must know God the father and we have to know Jesus Christ whom God sent who made it possible for us to know the father Jesus Christ is the one that made it possible because Jesus said numerous times I came to reveal my father you don't know him I came to reveal him so how well do we know God how well do you know God what is God like or what you know what is he like how does he think how does he act in any given situation based upon his divine power what does God like and dislike what does he expect from us as chosen people what does he tell us about himself so that we can discern his attributes even though we have never met him we've never met God the father Jesus Christ but to live in the framework of God we must know him understand him but most importantly we must have a clear understanding of what we should be doing so that we remain in his framework because actually none of us here are completely in the framework of God none of us completely reside in the framework of God where God resides and why do I say that because we're still human because we still make mistakes because we still sin and on occasion we step outside the framework so we're not locked into the framework of God completely yet because we're in the process of the scriptures talk about reconciliation we're in that process we're being reconciled back to God the Father into that relationship by Jesus Christ and that's only going to be complete after we've all been changed give an eternal life and stand with Spirit beings with Jesus Christ in Jerusalem so this is the part of understanding what God the father is doing and what he's been doing with individuals for thousands of years and we know the scriptures say actually this has all been planned out before the foundation of the earth of the creation of the world let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 let's look at this these verses that talk about that reconciliation process which we're in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 I'm going to read verses 18- 20 verse 18 says now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation and notice what verse 19 says says a very interesting verse how God the father's been working that is that God notice was in Christ reconciling the world to himself not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation and then he says now then he's talking about himself Paul's talking about himself in the other Ministry now then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were pleading through us we implore you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God so this is something that we can know about God and the process and what he's doing how he's working with us through his son Jesus Christ all right now let's spend some time in the remainder of this message spend some time and look at some attributes of God because like I said we want to know more about God and the reason for that is so that we can become more like him we can emulate him become more like him and his son let's begin in Exodus chapter 34 these are the attributes of God Exodus 34 let's begin in verse 4 we're going to break into the story here where Moses had gone back up to Mount Si to receive the second set of tablets of Stone from God after he had destroyed the first ones Exodus 34:4 so he cut two tablets of Stone like the first ones then Moses Rose early in the morning and he went up to Mount Si as the Lord God had commanded him and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord and notice what he says here and the Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious longsuffering and abounding in goodness and Truth keeping Mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin so God is merciful longsuffering forgive sin but also by no means clearing the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation so look at these attributes look at these attributes of God here we see the Creator God of the entire universe and he tells us what his motivations are towards his creation and we read him he's merciful gracious longsuffering and he bounds the goodness of Truth fortunately for us and and yes he does forgive he does but he's also a god of judgment and a God of Justice towards the guilty or those who refuse to repent and live within his framework now when God says he hates something When God says he hates something typically an action or attitude I think it's something that we all should take very seriously let's go to Proverbs Chapter 6 because God tells us he gives us a list here a short list of things that he hates over in Proverbs chapter 6 verse 16 these six things the Lord hates and and then the author stops and says no wait a minute there's seven there's seven seven are an Abomination to him and here they are a proud look a line tongue hands that shed innocent blood now I know no one here sheds innocent blood but there's principles that lie within some of these and so what would apply there maybe gossip destroying someone's reputation Verse 18 A Heart That de devises Wicked plans feet that are Swift and running into evil a false witness who speaks lies and this last one the one who SWS Discord among Brethren that's a big e Brethren none of these exist in God's frame none you won't find them in God's frame and so we just have to ask ourself do they exist in ours and because we're human and we slip and we fail I would say on occasion they probably do and that's why God is longsuffering and merciful and forgiving because when we do we can go to him and ask for forgiveness but here's another thing if we live in God's frame then we have to allow God to lead we have to allow God to lead us and what what does that require to allow someone to lead you first of all it requires humility and faith that you accept them as your leader and that you're willing to be led and faith that they're going to lead you properly so for a woman to step into a man's frame ladies and I'll Grant you this for a woman to step into a man's frame and let him lead takes humility and Faith believe me as a husband I know this because she has to have faith in him that he's going to lead and he's going to lead properly and she must be willing to let him lead and then like I said he might not always do it perfectly and it might take time for him to learn how to lead and when to lead you know there's times when a season and a wise man lets his wife Take the Lead if she's willing to do so it depends on the situation and Circumstance there's many times when Cheryl has to take the lead depending I travel things come up I'm not there she has to make decisions and sometimes they're a spur of the moment decisions and I trust her with those decisions so she takes the lead and I appreciate that about her but a wise and seasoned woman living in man's frame knows knows when the man should lead and she's willing to let him lead but God the father in Jesus Christ are perfect leaders without a fault so our trust and faith in him can be without wavering and together they designed a perfect and beautiful framework for us to reside in no doubting now we know that ancient Israel failed to remain in God's framework and that's been recorded reported for us as an example because God brought them out of Egypt he brought them out of bondage he brought them out of the land of sin which Egypt signifies and he wanted them to be a model Nation to the Gentile Nations around them and the plan and hope of God was that these Gentile nations would observe the Israelites and they would think and say to themselves and others this is what they would think or say look at this nation of slaves that their God whom we don't know we do not know he has brought them out of Egypt and look at their blessings in abundance look at how peaceful they live and how happy and productive they are they have beautiful relationships and their marriage relationships and their children are are happy they don't seem to have the problems we have let's go and see how this is possible and what would these Gentile Nations discover if they had now this is what I'm talking about it's going to happen in the future these Gentile nations are going to come up and want to know God and see how God's people are living what would they have discovered they would have discovered that people people that was living in God's framework that he designed for them and it was open to any other peoples that wanted to live within it and they would find his laws his judgments and statutes which God created for the benefit of his creation existing right there in his framework and this should be true for all of us as our neighbors observe us as our co-workers observe us as people see us even though they would never maybe believe what we believe excuse me refuse to believe what we believe but looking at your conduct looking at your family your relationships your children and say wow what are they doing right a tremendous example for other people let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 10 if you would Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 12 I want you to see what God inspired Moses to write to Israel the children of is Israel here's what he wanted for them and imagine if you would as as I go through this imagine if you would that Moses is speaking directly to us on behalf of God because we Are Spiritual Israel right we're spiritual Israel so notice Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 10:12 and now Israel what does the Lord your God require of you and here it is to but to fear the lord your God to walk in all his ways and to love him to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to keep the Commandments of the Lord and the statutes which I command you today for your good indeed Heaven and the highest Heavens belong to the Lord your God also the the Earth and all that is in it the Lord delighted only in your fathers to love them and he chose your descendants after them you Above All Peoples as it is today and he says therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be stiff like uh neck no longer so Brethren out of the billions of people that exist on this Earth God has pulled you out as he did those Israelites and so he speaks to us in the same way verse 17 once again God begins to reveal himself here and what he's like and what he cares about and what he wants from us for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords the great God Mighty and awesome who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe God is not a man he administers Justice for the fatherless and the Widow and he loves the stranger giving him food and clothing therefore love the stranger For You Were Strangers in the land of Egypt you shall fear the lord your God you shall serve him and to him you shall hold fast and take Oaths in his name he is your praise he's your God he is done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen your fathers went down to Egypt with 70 persons and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven and multitude Brethren throughout the scriptures God Reveals His framework to us and his great plan is to bring all mankind eventually into into that frame everyone who was willing to step and remain and currently residing in his frame of the ones that God has called now and that is you not perfectly but you're there I want you to look inside that frame if you would in your mind's eye look in that framework of God and you will see the ones that God has granted the greatest opportunity of a lifetime do you see yourself do you see yourself in that frame are you there hopefully you do you know this is the portrait that was painted for us at the feast last year and that is the kingdom of God which is the beautiful framework of God and when Jesus Christ returns he's going to bring Israel back into that relationship with him and God the Father they'll eventually be back in that frame and he will cleanse them forgive them and they will be that model Nation then moving forward the knowledge of the true God God will spread around the world Nations will seek him out and God's plan will come to fruition when finally the entire world will live in the framework of framework of God and everyone will be one with him so Brethren let's strive to make sure that our frame whether we're married widowed or single resides in the framework of God if it does what an incredible and beautiful portrait your life can be now and a glimpse of what your eternal life will be someday in the future when we all Stand Together framed together in a beautiful portrait with God the father Jesus Christ and one another