PREACHING OF MARCH 16, 2025:

Pastor Antonio Russo

THE RESTORATION OF THE FAMILY PART 1

In this worship service, we will talk about a theme titled "The Restoration of the Family," a topic that concerns all of us because, whether we are parents, children, married or not, we all come from a family. The family is not a human invention but a divine creation with a specific plan established by God. Jesus often said, "It was not so from the beginning" (Matthew 19:8), so we want to understand the divine principle with humility, asking the Holy Spirit to bring healing into our lives. A wounded mother, father, husband, or wife will bring wounds into the family, but the Word of God heals and sets free.

Psalm 107:20; 20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

God has established His Word as law and order, creating limits and boundaries for all creation so that everything remains within the order He has set. You know, this topic is so vast that we won’t be able to cover it all in just one evening, but we will begin with the first part and continue with a series of teachings on the family, starting today with the first fundamental aspect.

Genesis 2:15; 15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

The garden represents the family, our Eden, and God has called us to work and care for our family. No one is born a husband, wife, father, or mother, but the family is a school of humility and growth, where God calls us to work for its well-being and to protect it from external dangers. Unfortunately, many invest in professional training to become barbers, pizza makers, doctors, or lawyers, but how many prepare to be good fathers, mothers, husbands, or wives? We have underestimated the importance of being parents and spouses according to God's heart, prioritizing other things instead. But regarding this, Jesus said:

Mark 8:36; 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

What benefit is there in professional success if we fail in our family? How many can truly say that their family, spouse, and children are their top priority? Often, we get married without the right preparation, thinking that "love and a simple home" are enough but without commitment and responsibility, what happens when there isn’t even water or electricity in that "home"? We must learn to be excellent parents and spouses, remembering that God entrusted man with the task of working and caring for the garden (Genesis 2:15). We have coined the saying: "Strong families create strong churches," because if families are weak, the Church will be weak as well just like society as a whole. Today, society is weakening because it is underestimating the importance of the family and not giving it the priority it deserves. So today, we will begin by discussing the laws, order, and boundaries that God has established for the family. In the Book of Genesis, we discover God's original plan for the family, which is far different from the chaos and crisis we see today because everything that follows is about its restoration. In His mercy, God desires to restore families and bring them back to His original design, as the Scripture says:

Acts 3:19; 19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Repentance and conversion are the keys to this restoration, helping us change direction if we are walking down a path we know leads to destruction. The restoration of the family happens when we choose to return to God, abandoning sin and realigning ourselves with His will. The term "refreshing" means divine restoration and peace, and this is what God desires for our homes places of peace and joy, not of tension and conflict.

Acts 3:20-21; 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

The restoration of families means bringing them back to the order established by God because the fall of man distorted His design, bringing chaos and suffering. Today, society is redefining the concept of marriage and family, promoting models that do not align with the Word of God. Education, culture, and the media have distorted the roles of father, mother, husband, and wife, but the truth remains unchangeable: God has established an order, and we are called to return to His Word. Many families today are in crisis because they have distanced themselves from God and His principles, and the problems we see in the younger generations are a reflection of this. A family that is far from God cannot pass down sound values to its children, and the solution is not to conform to the world’s mentality but to put God back at the center of family life. In the United States, a president once declared his intention to reintroduce the Bible and prayer in schools, recognizing that without God, families and society collapse. Today, many enter marriage unprepared, unaware of how to be good spouses and parents because society does not provide valid role models. However, God has given us clear examples in His Word. When we rely on our personal experience rather than the Word of God, we only create harm and misunderstandings. If we want to build a family according to God’s heart, we must commit to it and work on it; otherwise, our wounds will affect our spouse and children, and bitterness will spill into our homes. This happens because we draw from our experience instead of from God’s Word, but He calls us to a different path: returning to the Bible and His presence to see our families transformed by His grace. When discussing this topic, we must move beyond personal barriers and return to God’s perspective because we are not talking about our experiences but about what He says in His Word. Let us be taught and guided by the Word of God not by our culture, not by our thoughts, not by our ideas. Many cultural views on family do not reflect God’s divine order, such as machismo and matriarchy, but God has never supported violence against either women or men. Therefore, we must return to His Word. To restore our homes, we must collaborate with God, with husband and wife working together to protect and nurture the family because true balance and truth are found only in God’s Word. The world has been influenced by the fall of man when the first Adam gave up his authority, handing it over to the woman, which triggered the disaster that led to all family problems fathers against sons, husbands against wives. When man followed what the woman told him to do, sin entered the world. There is equal dignity between man and woman, but they have different roles. God assigned specific roles, and stepping outside of them means straying from divine boundaries, leading to inevitable disasters.

Genesis 3:6; 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

If man had not consented, we would not be in this condition today, because God gave him the responsibility of being the head of the household and deciding what enters it. Therefore, if Adam had not accepted what his wife presented to him, sin would not have entered, because he should have silenced the serpent but he did not.

Genesis 3:1; 1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Adam was present and did not intervene, despite God having given him authority.

Genesis 1:26; 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Adam should have said to the serpent, "I do not allow you to speak to my wife," but instead, he engaged with it. We must obey God, not argue with the devil. When God gives a word and establishes His Word, we must submit to it. However, Adam did not intervene, even though God was very specific when He said, "Have dominion over all the earth." The serpent is a reptile, so we have the authority to silence it and prevent it from bringing destruction into our home. Unfortunately, ever since Adam listened to Eve, disaster took place. This is the teaching of the Word of God, which we believe, submit to, and must study deeply, starting from Genesis 1:1. God always introduces Himself first because He is the beginning of all things; in the beginning, there was neither man nor woman only God. From Him, the family originated, a creation born from His heart.

Genesis 1:1-3; 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Between the first and second verse of Genesis, Satan’s rebellion takes place. Everything that God creates is good; in fact, from verse 9 of Genesis, we see that as He brings creation into existence, He declares the sea, the sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, and finally, man and woman as very good. God establishes three things for all of creation: a law, an order, and boundaries. Where there is no order, there is chaos. God created everything and placed it in its proper habitat, giving the sea to the fish, the land to the animals, and applying the same principle to man and woman. God establishes a law, which is His Word, and this is the first thing He put in place because, without it, we cannot distinguish good from evil. After sin entered, the human heart became hardened and distanced itself from the presence of God, even though He gave us a law to guide us.

Genesis 2:7; 7 And 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 soul.

Where the Word of God is absent, anarchy reigns, because without it, it would be difficult to discern good from evil.

Psalm 119:44; 44 So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.

The Word is the final authority over everything; it doesn’t matter how we feel, what matters is what God says. The absence of His Word leads to chaos, but God has established the law, order, and boundaries to protect us, not to deprive us of anything, or else He wouldn’t have given us free will. If there were no boundaries, Naples would already be destroyed, but the sea's water rises and then falls because God set a limit. Creation suffers because of the sin of man, and tsunamis and disasters are consequences of the chaos introduced by sin. If, as stated, God told the sea, "You will come to this point, then you will go back," and the sea obeys, why don’t we? Many times we say, “But I feel like doing this...” “For me, this is the right thing to do...” But this is why God established His Word: it must regulate our lives. What is right is what God says, not what we think. We may believe we are on the right path, but Scripture warns us:

Proverbs 14:12;12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Our opinion doesn’t matter, but what God says does. If we don’t like one of His teachings, it means we need to return to the Word because it cannot be questioned; we are the ones who must be examined, not God. Without law, there is no order, and without order, chaos reigns. This means that disorder in families comes from the absence of the Word of God. When we don’t follow the Word, roles get confused, and everything becomes unstable. But when we follow it, we understand God's design for our lives. Wherever rules are established, some might feel controlled, but rules are not control they are protection. Even though children often rebel against rules, we cannot allow them to grow up rebellious. As parents, we have the responsibility to fulfill our role as fathers and mothers. None of us are perfect, but we must work to improve. Our families are not perfect, but we can progress. How many want to improve their lives? How many want to improve their marriages? We must return to the Word and let it speak into our lives because we are not here to accuse one another, but to recognize that we can grow spiritually. Why did God give His law and His Word? The first purpose is to prevent rebellion. Without rules, chaos would reign in our homes, and if we did not establish them, the world and its customs would influence our families, leading us to raise rebellious children. If there is rebellion, we must correct it in the light of the Word, because there is always the possibility of repentance. The second purpose is to prevent evil. It’s not about control; it’s about protection.

Matthew 24:12; 12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

The Bible warns that in the last days, rebellion will increase. God had given Adam laws to prevent this, but he did not obey them and got himself into trouble, dragging humanity into the fall. The Word serves to help us make holy choices and protect us from evil. In households, the pastor sets the rules in the church, while the father establishes them in the family, and what we allow will have access, while what we forbid will remain out. God calls us to return to His Word.

Matthew 24:35; 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

The disaster began when Adam set aside God’s Word, leading to conflicts and dysfunctional families.

Psalm 119:11; 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

When we obey the Word, sin will have no place in our lives. Man’s destruction is called sin; God’s solution is obedience to His Word. One day, everything will pass away, but God’s Word will remain forever are we ready to recognize it as the ultimate authority? No other voice matters, only His. God’s Word does not limit us; it protects us from disaster. Adam did not obey, and evil entered his life. God has given us His Word; it is up to us to decide to make it the center of our lives.