(Dreams & Visions of a Godly Home) a Home for God — Denny Kenaston

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Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus. This morning, it is again a joy to be in your midst, dear young people. I sing with you. May I say, be carried along by your singing. I really appreciate that.

It's an inspiration to my own heart and a beautiful thing to precede the giving of a message out of the Word of God. Thank you for that enthusiastic singing. Thank you for loving the Lord and having a sincere interest to come here to Bible School because you wanted to learn.

Let's bow our heads for prayer. Our Father and our God, we bow down to you. Lord, we know that you are our King now, but we know that there are many beautiful manifestations of you as the glorious King that are yet to come.

Lord, we want to serve you. We want to honor you. We want to crown you this morning, Lord, personally as our King. Thank you for that, Lord. Thank you for that song so beautifully chosen by thee to precede this message this morning.

A Home for God and the Vision of a Godly Household

Now, God, please help us to lay the foundation stones for godly homes in Jesus' name. I'd like us to open our Bibles to Colossians chapter 1. This is the other portion of Scripture that I wanted to read yesterday, but alas, that clock.

We were speaking yesterday about having a vision. We learned what a vision is. We learned it's something that we see with the eyes of our heart. A vision is something spiritual. It is something that is born by the Spirit of God in the heart of man.

Though we could go in many directions about that vision, we are receiving a vision born by the Spirit of God in our hearts about missions. That's a spiritual vision. But having a godly home is also a spiritual vision which requires just as much attention and just as much that God, by His finger, would write it upon our heart.

And so we look at the portion of Scripture this morning, the other one which expresses Paul's heart in this matter of spiritual vision. This is for the church at Colossae. Verse 9 of chapter 1 he says, For this cause we also, since the day we heard of it, of your faith in Christ, of your love in the Spirit, since we heard of it, we do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

I want you to be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Now note that, young people. It is a spiritual thing. If God does anything in your heart concerning your future home, it will be a spiritual thing that is done.

So it's very important that we approach it in a spiritual manner. He goes on to say, I want you to be filled with these things that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering and joyfulness, giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

And even this morning, young people, as we sit here, He has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. And you may only understand that this much today, but I tell you, that is a subject which is this big.

And you may take the rest of eternity to grasp it all. But in verse 13 He says, who hath delivered us, He, God, the Father, hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption.

We have redemption in His dear Son, who is the image of the invisible God. That is His dear Son. He is the visible image of the invisible God. And look at what verse 16 says, for by Him were all things created.

All things created that are in heaven, that are in the earth, visible, invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him. And dear young people, our homes need to fall within that category.

They must fall within that category. They must be in their proper place. And thus the title of the message this morning, A Home for God. A home for God. Our homes must fall into that category. They must take their perspective place, with God having His place.

Why? Because He is before all things and by Him all things consist. And so our homes must take their proper perspective, in their proper place, with Him in His place. Now I have been preaching and teaching on the home for about 15 years.

And because of this, I have had many opportunities to view the varied responses that many of your parents and many parents have made to the message on the home. The call back to a godly home. I have had many opportunities to view the varied responses of the parents to this message.

Some have adapted themselves to country living because they heard those messages. Some have went Amish and slowed way down. Some have started homeschooling because they heard that call. And some have gone to strict obedience.

And I feel many times an overuse of the rod because they have heard something and they have seen something and they want something for you. And I am not judging any of these responses. They were made in sincerity and much of the responses I agree with.

The Youthful Foundation of Future Generations

But as I said yesterday, we saw something late. We saw it late. But you, young people, it is not late for you. It is not late for you. It is early for you. How many parents have said to me with tears streaming down their face, Oh, if I had only heard those things ten years ago.

Maybe they were even thinking of you when they said them. Oh, if I would have just heard that ten years ago. I have seen men and women stand up in meetings. Old men with grey hair. All the children are gone and married.

Weeping as they realized they missed the whole thing. But it is not late for you, young people. It is early. God has called you to hear early. And it is amazing to me how human nature is. As you know, the parents who hear the call of the message on the home ten years late, they hang on every word.

But the youth who can hear the message early, some of them will let it pass right over their head as if it was nothing at all. The same words. The same words. That your parents would sit on the edge of their seat to grasp every one of them.

Because they don't know what to do. The young people who have the opportunity to hear it early, it will go right over their head. I hope you are praying this week that God will give you ears to hear and eyes to see.

Somehow He will arrest your attention on your road of life. As we consider the vision of a godly home, it is important that this vision unfold before us in its proper order. You see, we are laying foundation stones for your homes.

And so, since we are laying foundation stones, it is important that we view this whole matter in its proper order. Remember, you young people, you are not coming in at the middle. You don't have a wife yet.

You don't have a husband. You don't have a house full of children. You don't have some two-year-old bouncing off the walls, and you don't know what to do with them. You don't have any of that yet. I know you snicker and it's kind of funny, but there's a lot of parents that have two-year-olds bouncing off the wall.

They don't know what to do with them. And many times, in utter frustration, it goes pretty hard for that two-year-old. God has answers for all of that. And I'm not going to tell you this week how to take care of that two-year-old that bounces off the wall.

But I am going to tell you how to lay the foundation stones in your life so that when you come to that place, you will know what to do, young people. My burden is to help you to lay a many-generation foundation for your home.

My burden is to help you to lay a many-generation foundation for your home. And, dear young people, I don't know if you can know how I feel inside. How intently I feel inside. Because it is dawning on me.

You know, it stirs my soul deeply to stand in front of your parents with their hungry hearts wanting to learn and challenge them to lay a many-generation foundation in their home. But when I stand in front of you, young people, and I realize that you have not even begun yet, my heart soars with the possibility of what could be done in the foundation laying of your homes, in your lives, if you will get a hold of what I'm saying.

A many-generation foundation, young people. Isaiah 58 and verse 12. And we're not going to read that. You can just study that verse. Beloved young people, you are the foundation of the generation to come.

You are the foundation of the generation to come. Not what you believe, not where you go to church, but you, where you are at with God. And yes, what you believe in that order, but you, you personally, who you are, where you're at with God, are the foundation of the next generation.

Now that can be quite an overwhelming, crushing thought, can't it? And you may say, well, Brother Denny, tell that to my mom and dad. I'm too young to hear those kind of heavy things. No, you need to hear it now.

You need to hear it now. Many of your parents would agree, the reason why they caught the vision late, the reason why they had to be shown out of despair is because they frittered away the days of their youth, even their Christian youth.

They frittered away the days of their youth. Then they met a possible mate, chose to get married, started having children, and all of a sudden, woe is me, I am not prepared and I don't know what to do.

How many of you, you know, that's kind of how your parents have gotten along in this whole matter of the whole. Let me see your hands. That's what your parents have gone through. Many, many of your hands.

So, I think I do right and I do right by you to challenge you to get a hold of these things. Now, to allow the truth of that to grip your heart that you are the foundation of the next generation. You are.

What's it going to be like? What's it going to be like? I was reading this tract, very interesting, fits this very well. Now, a Finnish infidel, an infidel from Finland, died and left his farm and willed his farm to the devil.

The Consequences of Doing Nothing

The courts, after deliberating on such a ridiculous set of circumstances, decided that the best way to carry out the wishes of the infidel was to permit the farmland to grow up in weeds and briars, allow the house and barn to remain unpainted and to rot and fall down, and to permit the soil to erode and wash away.

The court said, the best way to let Satan have it is to do nothing. The best way to let Satan is to do nothing. The best way to let Satan have your home is to just do nothing, young people. Just do nothing.

I thought, what a perfect testimony of something that has been willed to Satan. Weeds, briars, broken down house, a broken down barn, and land that has been eroded away. What a perfect picture of something that has been willed to Satan.

But notice, young people, the best way to let Satan have it is to just do nothing. I wonder how many young people are in that posture concerning their home. Now, just come on, let's come to grips with something.

Most of you are going to get married. Wake up, young people! Wake up! It will be here much sooner than you think. You fritter away your days, your youthful days. Accepting the spirit of the age and the spirit of worldly youth which says, I got lots of time.

I don't need to get serious about things yet. It's not going to matter. That's the spirit of the age, young people. That's not the spirit of a soldier who sees the king. That's not the spirit of a soldier who sees the king.

Crowning God King of the Home

A home for God. A home for God. That's what we're talking about today. My mind goes to the story of Hudson Taylor's great-grandfather. Such a beautiful story. Hudson Taylor's great-grandfather. It was his wedding day morning.

He got up early that morning and was arrested by the conviction of the Spirit of God upon his heart. God was convicting him. God was pressing upon his heart. A verse, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Hudson Taylor's great-grandfather was not born again. The Lord was not the Lord over his house. And here it was, his wedding day. And he was seized with conviction. So much so that he had to go and find a place and try to relieve himself of the burden that was on his heart.

And he stole away to his barn. And there he was, alone, wrestling with God. And God was wrestling with him. Maybe you find yourself in the same place here at Bible School. Wrestling with God. And God wrestling with you.

I want to encourage you to give up the fight. Give up the fight. God is very stubborn. He's very stubborn. But here he was. It's his wedding day. And God is laying this thing on his heart. What about me, James?

I believe that was great-grandfather's name. James Taylor. What about me? You left me out of your marriage, James. It's your wedding day. And what about me? He had heard one of those fiery Methodist sermons.

And he couldn't shake it. And so there he wrestled with God. The clock was ticking by. And everyone was showing up at the church for the wedding. And no James anywhere to be found. Where is this guy? He's over there in the barn on his face before God.

Wrestling with God. And God is wrestling with him. And somewhere there in the late hours of the morning, he got through and was converted. And rushed out of the barn and off to the church. And you can just imagine the scene.

And, you know, she looked at him and he looked at her. And all the people wondering what's wrong with this guy. And after the wedding was all over, he sat his new wife, bride, down and told her the story.

And she said, Oh no, you mean I've married one of these Methodists? Well, my personal opinion is he was a bit late. But praise God that he got things straightened out. And it took a few weeks before his wife came around.

He tried to guide his home in the way of that which God laid on his heart there in the barn. And she didn't want anything to do with it. He wanted us to have prayer. And she didn't want to pray. And let's read the Bible.

And she wasn't interested. And finally one day, out of the burden and compassion of his soul, he swept his wife up in his arms and carried her up the stairs and dropped down on his knees in the bedroom and pulled her down beside him and he broke down and wept before God.

And conviction settled down upon her heart. And I think in about a week and a half she was born again and then everything was all right. I wonder where you're at, young people.

A home for God!

That's what it's all about! Oh, maybe for you it was a home for me. No, it's a home for God. That's what it is. He crowned him king that morning in the barn. King of my life and king of my home. And this is where each one of us must begin, young people.

We must begin there. As we ponder our personal vision of a godly home, it must begin with a vision, a personal vision of God. Agreed? Wouldn't make a lot of sense. What good is a home without God? What good is a marriage without God?

What good is a bunch of children without God? So as we ponder this matter of a vision of a godly home, it must begin with a vision of God. It must begin there. We must put things in their proper order.

In their proper order. Turn with me and let's read just a bit in Isaiah. Isaiah 6. Isaiah began his ministry with a personal vision of God. And I believe it affected all the rest of his days. And if you read from chapter 6 all the way through to the end of the book, Isaiah had such a glimpse, a revelation, a beautiful understanding of God and who He is and what His purposes were.

And I believe it flowed out of this personal vision that he had of God. A personal seeing of God. And then my response to that. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

Above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings. With twain He covered His face. And with twain He covered His feet. And with twain He did fly. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of Him that cried and the house was filled with smoke. And then said I, woe is me, for I am undone, I am shattered, because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.

For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Isaiah had a personal glimpse of God. And Isaiah had a response to that personal glimpse of God. In this text here, we see that he had a vision of the glory of God.

From that vision flowed a vision of his own need. From there he received a vision of the possibilities and God's ability to cleanse him of his personal need. From there he received a vision of his calling.

And lastly, he got a vision of a world around him. Well, that's beautiful. That's kind of how it works in all of our hearts and lives, isn't it? As we get a glimpse of God, who He is, and you can get a glimpse of God and who He is in this blessed book right here.

In here is a divine portrait of the living God. As Isaiah got a glimpse of this living God, he also got a glimpse of the needs in his own heart and life. Every one of us must come to that place where we also realize, I am undone.

I am undone. We must begin with a vision of God and a personal response to it. Where is God in your life, young people? Where is He? Who is He? The question was given to us last evening and it's a good question.

Knowing Christ from the Heart

Jesus asked the disciples, Whom do ye say that I am? And God could ask that to every one of us here today. Whom do ye say that I am? And God, in asking us that question, He is not desiring that we would speak out of something that we have in our head.

I know that everyone in this room can answer out of your head the answer to that question, but God was not asking the disciples to give Him an answer from their head. Because He said to Peter, after Peter answered with such a glorious revelation of who Christ was, He said to Peter, Ah, blessed art thou, Peter, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.

Do you see that? A revelation of who I am. That's what Peter had. And God would say to us today, Who do you say that I am? From your heart. Not your theology. Not the things that you've been taught to say.

Not the things that you can say by root and repetition because you heard them all your life, but who do you say that I am from your heart? What does your heart say about me? Does your heart rise up this morning and say, with all reverence, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Does your heart say that today, young people? That's where we must begin. In laying foundation stones for a godly home, our heart must say, with deep reverence and yieldedness, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Yes. Like our brother shared with us last night, we must, each one of us personally, crown Him Lord of all. We must. Oh, what a foolish thing to embark down the road of marriage and raising children and have this point off.

What a foolish thing to do. I hope none of you will do that, young people. I hope none of you will do that. Say now, Brother Denny, you're supposed to talk about the home. This is not talking about the home.

But you know that it is. It is talking about the home because you are the foundation of the home. A godly home is a very spiritual endeavor and you dare not walk into it if you are not going to be spiritual.

Did you get that? You dare not walk into it if you are not going to be a spiritual person. Don't do it. The revelation of the home is one of the major themes in this book we call The Word of God. The revelation of the home is one of the major revelations in the heart of God.

It is a very spiritual thing and it must be entered into in a spiritual sense. Don't do it the other way. That may discourage you this morning and maybe you already have your plans, yet your heart is double-minded and it's in and out and it's on and off and it's okay sometimes and not okay other times and you haven't learned to walk with God yet, but you've got your mind set on getting married and I'm warning you, don't do it.

You say, well, Brother Denny, I might have to wait two more years. Two years is nothing, young people, when you put on the other side of the balance of that scale the twenty years of struggling and stumbling and bumbling you can do if you enter into this whole matter without being a spiritual person.

Two years is nothing compared to twenty. Mine eyes have seen the King. Mine eyes have seen my need. Mine eyes have seen my rebellion. Mine eyes have seen the sacrifice. And I repent and I give up and I humble myself and I believe on Him to save, that is, to salvage my soul.

Now, that's the place to start a home. You walk in this beautiful posture for a while and a home for God will flow out of it. It will flow out of it. Do you see? The eyes of your heart must be seeing God.

If you're going to enter in and have a godly home, you must be seeing God with the eyes of your heart, young people. He puts the whole home in proper perspective. It's a home for God. It's not for me.

Oh, I'm going to have a wife for me. No, young men. I'm going to get a husband for me. No, young ladies. Oh, we're going to get married. We're going to have children. I like babies. No, no, no. It's a home for God.

There's a big difference, young people. There's a big difference. And you have all the natural inclinations in you to just jump into the whole thing and run down the road a few years and then all of a sudden realize, uh-oh, I'm not prepared.

You have the natural inclinations to do that. I hope you won't do it. I hope there are some authorities in your life that would stop you. Although that's a very painful thing to say to a young man or a young lady.

I don't think you're ready yet. Why don't you wait two more years? Two more years. Yes! If you haven't learned to walk with God, if you don't have a vision of God in the eye of your heart, it's so much more than, I have met a boy, I have met a girl, we are going to marry and we're going to have children.

Instead it's, my eyes, our eyes have seen the King. My life is now filled with His purpose and we are going to get married and raise up a family for this King that I see. That's the proper perspective, young people.

That's the proper perspective. You know, we talk about seeing a vision for our homes. You cannot see spiritually, young people, if you have a dirty conscience. You cannot see spiritually if you have a dirty conscience.

You know, I studied the word conscience. Do you know what the word conscience means? It means to completely, to see completely. The word conscience, it means to see completely or to see clearly. The whole idea of the conscience is speaking about something that is clear.

You see God with a clear conscience. You see the dreams and visions of God with a clear conscience. But if you don't have a clear conscience, you can't see spiritually. Let's turn and read in Matthew 6 just a moment.

A Single Eye and a Clear Conscience

I'll help you to see what I'm saying. Matthew 6, verse 22 and 23. The Bible says, Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount, The light of the body is the eye. The light of the body is the eye. And may I say, He's talking about the eye of the heart.

The light of the body is the eye of your heart. Therefore, thine eye, the eye of your heart be single upon me. Thy whole body shall be full of light. Ah, but if thine eye be evil. Now notice that. He didn't say double.

In the one verse, it's single. In the other verse, He didn't say double. He didn't say triple. He just put it all in one package. Evil. If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness.

Now just imagine with me, to enter in to this whole matter of home life with a dirty conscience and an eye that is not single. I don't know what the eye of your heart is seeing. But I assure you that God is after the eye of your heart this week.

He is after the eye. He wants it to be single. He wants it to be on Him. He wants it to be set on Him and who He is and His purpose for your life. That's what God wants. If you can learn that, you walk that way a little while and a godly home will flow right out of that.

But if thine eye is not single and your heart is set on all kinds of other things, the conscience is dirty and you cannot see God and you cannot see God's ways. There's darkness. Darkness brings stumbling, fumbling, bumbling, big mistakes, rabbit trails, going down a road for a whole year and realizing that was the wrong thing to do.

Darkness brings all of that. Imagine a young man calling a young lady to his side saying, come with me. We're going to have a home. And all the while, his heart is set on this and that and the conscience is cloudy and he's going to lead us.

It won't work. I tell you it won't work. If your conscience is dirty, you can't see. You can't see. Some of you young people, you've been hard on your parents. I know you have. Now, none of them called me.

So relax. None of them called me and said, Brother Denny, please. No, none of them called me. But some of you have been hard on your parents. I know you have. You've been frustrated with them. They've been stumbling around a bit.

Maybe they haven't done everything right and you've been a bit hard on them. But dear young people, I'm warning you. Some of you are on the same road. It's just a few miles back. The same road. Going my own way.

Oh yes, I'm a Christian, but I'm going my own way. I'm going to live my own life. I've got my own plans and on and on and on. Yeah, yeah, right. You've got all that figured out. You're only a few miles back on the same road and you're going to do to your children just what your mom and dad did to you in their stumblings.

Do you want to do that to your children? Let's get things in their proper order this week, young people, and leave them there and see if a godly home doesn't flow right out of that. You are set to reproduce the same thing.

Isn't that amazing how human nature is? I can sit in the home and think, I wish he was more this. And here you sit. Let's get on fire for God, young people. Let's get on fire for God. Let's sell out. Like our brother challenged us this morning in the first lesson.

Building a Spiritually Strong Home

Let's sell out to God. It doesn't matter what you have ahead of you. This is the first building block. And to me, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you've been born again or if you're sitting here and you lost your way with God.

You need to get back. He needs to be in your life. And if He isn't, then you need to do whatever you need to do. And that's why we called you here. We want to help you with that very thing. We want to help wake you up.

We want to help you to see what reality really is. We want to see you break through to the reality of a living God that your heart can say of a truth out of experience. He's real. He's real. I know He's real.

You ask me how I know He's real. He lives within my heart. Does God live in your heart, young people? Is there a God living inside of you? Willing and doing His good pleasure? Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain to build it.

Does God have His hands on your hands, young people? Your children, your children, will they have to endure your oversight of one of the most important parts of your life? Will they have to endure that?

As I travel and visit homes, catch tears, and see how many, many can't get it all together in their homes, I've come to this conclusion with many, many examples. This that I'm speaking about this morning is the need of the hour.

This is the need of the hour. The commitment to Christ is weak, and therefore the home doesn't go very well. There's very little walk with God, very little walk with God, and therefore the home doesn't go well.

The spiritual strength is low, and therefore I don't have the strength to do what I need to do in my home. But young people, let us get our focus right now in your youth. It's a whole lot harder with a wife and a husband and three or four children, and I guarantee you, it's a whole lot harder to get the focus right and keep it there.

But now you're free. Let's lay this foundation stone this week, young people. God doesn't want this for your home. King of my life, I crown thee now. Thine shall the glory be. Thine, Lord, only Thine.

My life, only to glorify Thee. My purpose, only to live for Your purpose. The reason why I'm here, only for Thee, Lord, only for Thee. You are the foundation of the next generation. However shocking that may be, however crushing that may be, however discouraging that may be, still the facts are the facts.

You are the foundation for the next generation. And most of you will probably get married and have children. What kind of foundation are ye? Say, Brother Denny, I'm not ready. I'm not ready. Okay, that's alright.

That's why we're telling you now, so you can realize you're not ready and change the next few years of your life and what you do with the next few years of your life. Because you're not ready. I'm telling you now, so you can get ready and have a beautiful, fruitful, holy Spirit-filled home someday.

Let's stand together for prayer. Our Father, we stand before Thee. We stand before the eyes of Him of whom we have to do. And Lord, we acknowledge that this morning. You know us. You see us. You know us through and through.

And we're grateful for that, O God. Lord, give us Christian homes like the song we sang yesterday, God. Give that to these dear young people, Father. May they raise soldiers for the King. O God, may they raise soldiers for the King.

Open our eyes, Father. And I pray, God, on this stone, this foundation stone this morning, O God, send conviction. Grip those hearts, Lord, just like You gripped James Taylor's heart that he had to go find a place to get alone and wrestle with God.

I'm trusting You to do that, Lord, in Jesus Christ's name. You can be seated. Thank you. Thank you.