WARNING FOR THIS SERMON: This sermon contains VERY adult topics. If you have not had the birds and bees conversations with your kids, they should not sit through this sermon. If you have not talked to your kids about sins that adults sometimes commit that ruin marriages… your kids should not sit through this sermon… please, check your kids into Children’s church, they have great teachers and a great lesson, this sermon… it goes hard.

Introduction

Genesis 1:28-31 NKJV  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  (29)  And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.  (30)  Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.  (31)  Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

• Today I want to focus on the final details of the last day of Creation.
  • Because in these details we see God’s first commands to mankind.
    • Some people mistakenly say that the only rule that Adam and Eve had to follow in the garden of Eden was “Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” otherwise known as the forbidden fruit.
      • But that is not true, that was not the only command God gave Adam and Eve, because here, directly after Adam and Eve were created, they were given three direct commands.
        • First: Be Fruitful and multiply.
        • Second: Fill the Earth and subdue it.
        • Third: Have dominion over all the Earth.
• This was, and still is, God’s plan for mankind.
  • In the perfect world, before sin, God’s marching orders, His plan, His design for mankind was for us to be Fruitful and multiply, to full and subdue the earth, and to have dominion over all the earth.
  • Why? Because before sin, we had a perfect fellowship with God. Nothing separated us from Him.
    • We had perfect fellowship, perfect worship, perfect praise.
    • We had a perfect enjoyment of Him and He had a perfect enjoyment of us.
      • Therefore, the more children we had meant the more people who got to enjoy God, and it meant the more people God got to enjoy.
        • Now that there is sin in the world, the only thing that has changed with this plan is that there is a fourth step: Lead people to repentance. But we will talk about that at the end of the message… for now I want to ask you guys this… we are going to bring it back to James now…
      • Do you guys remember the verse from James that says: To him who knows the right thing to do and does not do it… for him it is _______ (sin).
        • That’s James 4:17 we preached on this a few months ago…

James 4:17 ESV  So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

• So let’s go back to our three original commands and let’s just think very plainly and clear about this… The original three commands for humankind once again.First: Be Fruitful and Multiply.Second: Fill the Earth and Subdue it.Third: Have Dominion over all the earth.So church, let me ask you, did humans know they were supposed to be fruitful and multiply?So if they knew that and failed to be fruitful and multiply, would it be sin?Did they know they were supposed to fill the earth and subdue it?So if the failed to subdue and fill the earth, would that be sin?Did mankind know that they were to have dominion over all the earth?So if they failed to have dominion would it be sin?
  • Ok, so we are all in agreement, right?
    • So don’t be getting all mad at me when I start calling out sin later on in the sermon, ok, because we can all agree, God commanded these things… He made it clear… and to not do them is sin…
      • And boy, let me tell you, it seems to me that every command God has ever given to man, we have figured out a way to twist, to corrupt, to rebel against…
        • God gives us commands and we create new and evil ways to break those commands, and this is certainly true of these three commands…
• So, for the next three weeks we are going to be talking about these three commands, how man has rebelled against them… how American culture has rebelled against them, and how we as Christians should STILL be obeying these commands.

• Multiply, Fill, Dominate: Part 1 – Be Fruitful and Multiply

• So this morning we are going to focus on that first command, the very first command God gave Adam and Eve and thus all mankind…
  • He told them to be fruitful and multiply… in other words, they were commanded to have lots of babies.
    • And you know, I find it interesting, everything that God created, He made a point of creating to be fruitful and multiply.
    • The language God uses in Genesis 1 is very abundantly clear… Living things are meant to be fruitful and multiply… take a look.

Genesis 1:11-12 NKJV  Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.  (12)  And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:21-22 NKJV  So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  (22)  And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

• Everything that God made living He made with the EXPLICITE purpose to be fruitful and multiply. And as it did, God said it was good.
  • Mankind was no different.

Genesis 1:28a NKJV  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply…

• Now, an interesting aside: Some people ask “How long were Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden before they were kicked out?”… may I suggest that it was likely less than nine months… Why?
  • Because they were commanded to be fruitful and multiply.
  • They had perfect bodies in perfect health.
  • I am assuming they probably got busy obeying that command like right away…
    • But they did not have their first child until AFTER being kicked out of the garden.
    • Therefore I think 9 months is a pretty decent time limit for how long they lived in the garden.
• None the less, the command was to be fruitful and multiply.
  • And while disobeying this command is not the sin that Adam and Eve committed… it is certainly one that we in American Christian Society commit often.
  • We know that we are supposed to be fruitful and multiply, yet our culture, American Culture… even sometimes American Christian culture… we rebel against this command.
    • Church, can we be better than culture dictates?
    • Can we at Christian Life Church have KINGDOM CULTURE and not American Culture?
    • Can we do things God’s way? That is what I am striving for as the pastor of this church… that we would be a church that is DIFFERENT from the world… and that is going to take work… but in time, I think CLC can be a Dynasty of God’s faithfulness in Cedar Rapids.
    • And it starts with obeying the first command to mankind… be fruitful and multiply.
• So let’s get into the three points this morning as we talk about that first command… point one – Abhor Abortion in All Forms.

Point One – Abhor Abortion in All Forms

Genesis 1:28a NKJV  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply…

• God tells the trees “Be fruitful and multiply” so the trees create fruit that carries seeds so that birds and animals will spread their seed to all the earth.
• God tells grass “Be fruitful and multiply” so the grass creates seeds that can be carried off by the wind, spreading it to the four corners of the earth.
• God tells the animals “Be fruitful and multiply” and suddenly the skies, the seas, and the lands are TEAMING with animals.
• God tells man “Be fruitful and multiply” and we build a Planned Parenthood…
  • Listen, I am going to be as clear as possible… and this may offend some people… but it is about time we get a little bit offensive for the sake of the unborn…
  • YOU CAN NOT BE A BIBLE BELIEVING CHRISTIAN AND ALSO BE PRO-ABORTION.
    • Those two things cannot exist side by side.
    • And listen, if you have had an abortion, I love you. There is grace. There is forgiveness. God can and will redeem you, restore you, and use you for His glory…
    • So please, don’t see me as throwing stones this morning… but instead see me as imploring you and others to not fall into this horrendous sin ever again.
  • But I will say it again, and I am going to back this up: You cannot be a Bible Believing Christians and also be pro-abortion.
    • Why? Because as Christians we believe that murder is sin.
    • And the Bible makes it clear that life begins at conception…

Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

• God knows us and even knows our calling before we are even IN the womb.
  • Before you are even in the womb, God knows your name, He knows your future, He has plans for you…
    • Yet abortionists say “That doesn’t matter, it’s just a lump of cells”.

Psalms 139:13 NKJV  For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.

Isaiah 44:24 NKJV  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;

• God formed YOU while you were in the WOMB. That means YOU were YOU in the womb.
  • Yet abortionists say “My body my choice”… no, if it were your body you would be the one who dies!

Luke 1:39-41 NKJV  Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,  (40)  and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.  (41)  And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

• Do you understand what is happening here?
  • Mary is pregnant with Jesus, the Lord of Lords! The Mesiah!
  • She goes to her cousin Elizabeths house who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
  • And when they meet, John recognizes Jesus, though they are both in the womb, and John the BABY jumps for joy in Elizabeths womb.
• Did a clump of cells jump for joy? No, John the baby did. That is what scripture says.
• Did Elizabeth cause “Her Body” to jump for joy? No, because it wasn’t her body, it was the BABE John.
  • See you can NOT believe that a fetus is just a lump of cells and also believe the Bible is true.
  • So if you hold the Biblical world view that life begins at conception, then you must believe that abortion is literally the murder of an innocent life.
  • And you can not be a Christian and be ok with murder, because the sixth commandment is Though Shall Not Murder.
• So we must abhor abortions in all of its forms.
  • Imagine if there was a store where you could watch women walk in with her kids… and a few minutes latter she walks out with no kids.
    • And you could sit there for hours, watching the same thing…
    • Woman walking into this store with one or two kids… and then leaving with none.
    • Sometimes the kids are toddlers, sometimes the kids are pushed in strollers.
    • Sometimes the kids are school aged.
    • But the same thing happens… the mom walks in with kids and walks out without kids.
    • And to your horror, every time a mom walks in with kids, the smoke stake begins billowing out an evil black smoke… and you realize, those moms are killing their kids in this store.
      • Church, this store exists in Cedar Rapids, it’s located at 3425 First Aven SE, in Suite 100. It is called Planned Parenthood.
      • It is a store where moms go in with their children and leave with none.
        • And I will tell you right now, this is the darkest evil this nation has seen since the days of slavery… AND I ABHORE IT. I HATE IT.
        • IT TERIFIES ME THAT MAN CAN BE SO EVIL AND WE AS A SOCIETY ARE JUST KIND OF OK WITH IT.
      • Because if you are a Bible believing Christian you realize that the life of a toddler is just as valuable as the life of an infant, and the life of an infant is just as valuable as the life of child in the womb. So it doesn’t matter if they are school aged or in the womb… they are children, and we should not be murdering them.
• God says “Be fruitful and multiply” and we say “Forget that, LET’S MURDER”.
• Now this point is “Abhor abortion in all of it’s forms…”… well, there are more forms that don’t get talked about that often, but we are going to talk about it.
• Let’s talk about the Plan B pill for a moment…
  • Guy’s I want you to understand that the abortion industry is evil and you can not listen to what they say… they will hide the truth under a mountain of lies.
  • If you read about the Plan B pill from MOST secular sources it will say “The Plan B pill does not cause an abortion, it does not terminate a fertilized egg… it works by stopping the female body from releasing an egg to be fertilized. If there is no egg for the sperm to fertilize, then pregnancy is impossible”.
    • And you can look and look and this is the answer you will find… but this answer doesn’t make sense…
    • Because the Plan B pill is effective up to 72 hours after sex.
    • Yet sperm can’t live for more than 24 hours and most sperm can’t live longer than 12 hours…
    • Not to mention, the sperm and egg meet just minutes after sex, and the egg can be fertilized within just a few short minutes…
      • So how can it be that the Plan B pill can work up to 72 hours later?
        • Because of the real way the pill works… it causes a woman’s uterine lining to thin, so that the fertilized egg will not stick and be passed out the body.
        • So the woman think she is spotting, but really that is her baby she just flushed down the toilet…
        • By the way, you won’t find that information using Google or Bing… they hide it… I found it using DuckDuckGo which has less biased results… and the site that information was from… FDA.gov… this is the Government official answer, Plan B kills babies.
• And guess what church, if I haven’t offended you yet… here it comes… Plan B is the same drug as Birth Control, just in a much higher dosage.
  • Plan B is a high dosage of Levonorgestrel which primarily works to stop ovulation, but it has a back up plan… thin the uterine lining so fertilized eggs, which as Christians we know are babies, so these babies pass without sticking to the uterus.
• If you are using the pill or any other drug as a form of birth control, please, I beg you as your pastor, STOP. We must abhor abortion.
  • And I realize you are married, and this is what you have found works, and it helps with emotions and hormones and periods… but please… you could be killing babies and not know it… please stop, I beg you. Do not use the pill for birth control.
  • If your married and you need birth control, use a condom, use the pull out method, use natural family planning… just don’t do things that might kill babies… please.
• Now that brings me to the last form of abortion I see happening in the church. In vitro fertilization.
  • This is when a husband and wife who are struggling to get pregnant have a doctor harvest the woman’s eggs and the mans sperm. The doctor than manually fertilizes the wife’s eggs with the man’s sperm… and then the doctor implants an egg into the woman’s uterus, sometimes resulting in a healthy pregnancy.
    • Now in this, there is no sin… but it is what happens after.
    • When a couple chooses in vitro fertilization normally 8 to 10 eggs get fertilized, because there is only a 75% success rate, so the doctor fertilizes extra eggs to use if the first does not work.
      • But what if the first does work… what happens with those other 7-9 fertilized eggs?
      • What if the first doesn’t work and the second doesn’t work… what happens to those other 6-8 fertilized eggs?
      • If we believe that life begins at conception, then we MUST also believe that those fertilized eggs are human beings, and to destroy them or to throw them away is murder.
      • THEREFORE, if you and your husband decide to go down the In Vitro Fertilization Route, then you need to be willing to have as many babies as there are eggs fertilized.
        • You must give each and every one of those eggs a chance.
        • Otherwise, you are murdering human life.
        • Again, if you have done this, there is grace, but let’s be better in the future… ask for forgiveness, God will give it, and move on. It’s none of my business what you have done in the past… but as your pastor it IS my business to help you avoid sin in the future.
  • And I know that for some this is HORRIBLY offensive… but it is only offensive because our culture has been lying to us. The Catholic church has been against the pill since its inception, if they can stand for holiness in this area, certainly we can. Let’s be a KINGDOM CULTURE church, not an American culture church…
• So, point one: Abhor Abortion in All Forms, it is the opposite of be fruitful and multiply.
• This brings me to point two: When it comes to having kids, don’t be a Functional Atheist.

Point Two – When it Comes to Having Kids, Don’t Be A Functional Atheist

• Now I know we talked a lot about abortion, now let’s get back to our key verse this morning:

Genesis 1:28a NKJV  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply…

• Be fruitful and multiply…
  • American Christianity, I believe, has failed miserably at this command, and it’s not just over the abortion issue.
  • It’s over the culture we have created that ask questions to newly weds like “How many kids do you want to have”.
    • Can I present a hard and offensive truth to you, and I want to speak this in love, because the Bible says to speak the truth in love…
    • But… guys… why does it matter how many kids you want to have?
  • Listen, I don’t ask my kids “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
    • Instead I ask “What do you think God wants you to be when you grow up? What do you think God is calling you to?”
      • Because what they want doesn’t mater when compared to what God wants.
      • Church, I wanted to be a police officer and MMA fighter…
      • But God told me, clear as day, and confirmed it through three separate prophecies “Christian I did not call you to be a police officer, I called you to be a pastor”.
        • So how did I respond? Did I say “But God, I really want to be a cop!!!!!!! I have since I was a little boy”.
          • NO! I did not say that, because that would be rebellion.
          • I said “Yes sir” and went that moment to the police department to tell them I was quitting training.
        • Because it doesn’t matter what I want, it matters what God wants, God will take into consideration the desires of my heart… but ultimately He knows best.
  • But it is so common to ask “How many kids do you want”.
    • “Well I was thinking once Jeremy’s career takes off we will have two kids”
    • “You know I was an only child and I really liked that so I think one is all we can handle”.
    • “Well I always wanted a big family so I want to have 8 kids”
      • All of these answers are fine… but they are not Christian.
      • You see ATHIESTS are the ones who make decisions based on feelings.
      • Atheists don’t believe there is an all knowing God who holds life in His hands.
      • They don’t believe there is someone who should be guiding your life and lighting up your path.
      • Atheists don’t pray and ask God for guidance and wisdom.
      • And unfortunately, it seems, for most American Christians… when it comes to children we might as well be athiests… because we don’t ask God “How many children do you want me to have?”.
• And honestly it breaks my heart that there are couples in this church who are crying out to God, praying, fasting, and interceding for children… that they might have children, that God would open their wombs…
  • And then we have other couples who have gone and gotten Vasectomies without even a word of prayer. Without ever considering what God wants.
    • And I am not saying a vasectomy is sin… I am saying “Are you sure this is what God want’s for you?! IS GOD TELLING YOU NOT TO HAVE MORE KIDS? Or is that your own desire?”
      • Because my own desire was to have TWO kids. Ezra and Hannah, boy and girl…
      • But God spoke through a prophet that we were not done yet.
      • AND PRAISE GOD. I would not trade Esther for the world.
      • I would kill you before I let you hurt Esther.
        • Yet if it was up to ME Esther would have never been conceived, because I was acting as a functional Atheist.
        • Because I was not asking God “Do you want me to have more kids” which is precisely how an atheist behaves.

Genesis 38:8-10 NKJV  And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.”  (9)  But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.  (10)  And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.

• We will get deeper into this story when we get to chapter 38, but let me show you what happened.
  • This man Onan had a brother who was married… but his brother died before having kids.
    • So, because having kids is SO IMPORTANT to God and Jewish culture, the custom was that Onan would then marry his brother’s widow and give her children.
    • Onan thus married his dead brothers wife, and went to have sex with her.
    • But Onan was selfish, and did not want to raise a child that was not really his own heir… so he did not try to impregnate his brothers wife, who was now his wife… instead he “Spilled his seed on the ground”.
    • What was God’s response to this? God killed Onan.
    • Because Onan did not care about God’s laws or customs… he just didn’t want to have a child… so God killed Onan.
• I wonder how many Onan’s we have in America… God has churches full of Christians in America… are we seeking God’s will when it comes to how many children to have.
• I can tell you statistically we are not.
• That means having more than two children on average each… you can’t just have two, a society can’t survive with a neutral birth rate. For a society to survive each couple, on average HAS to have more than two…
  • So I think be fruitful and multiply means have at least four children…
    • NOW HEAR ME, I don’t think God want’s everyone to have four children… you need to know what God wants for you and your wife…
    • God may want you to have more than four, God may want you to have less… but in general, two times two is four… so that seems like a good starting place for obeying the command “Be Fruitful and Multiply”
  • Yet… do you know the average amount of kids the American Christian family has?
    • 2.5… on Average
    • So some are having two, some are having three, some one, some four… but it averages out to two point five… does that count as “being fruitful and multiplying”? I don’t think so, and if it does, only barely…
    • Yet, consider this… according to a 2019 study by Pew research… the Average Muslim American couple has 4.4 Children.
    • Did you know that Muslims almost never evangelize, they almost never share their faith… they grow their church by HAVING KIDS…
    • What a concept… they are fruitful and they multiply.
      • This is why countries are becoming muslim majorities… not because the Islam faith is so compelling… but because Muslim families have almost TWICE as many kids as anyone else…
      • WHAT IF THIS WAS CHRISTIANS?!
        • What if we had such strong family units that our Children remained faithful to Christ…
        • What if we had lots of kids who all loved Jesus, and they had lots of kids who all love Jesus, and they have lots of kids who all love Jesus…
          • Put that on top of evangelism… and how long until the whole world is FULL OF CHRISTIANS?!
• Listen I need to close this sermon down… but let me encourage you, if you are married and still young and healthy enough to have kids… stop asking “How many kids do I want” and ask “How many kids does God want me to have?”
  • And by the way, if you are struggling to have kids, keep trying! Don’t give up. The Bible is full of women who struggled to have kids and God made a way for them.
    • I know a family in California who has had 8 miscarriages, and they still are trying. They say they are just trusting God and populating heaven.
  • And I also want to reiterate this promise: If you are a member in good standing in this church and you want to adopt or foster, please let us know. We will do everything we can to help you, spiritual, emotionally, physically, and financially. I think adoption is a beautiful way to be fruitful and multiply, after all, James taught us that pure and perfect religion is to take care of the widows and orphans and to remain unstained form the world.

Conclusion – Leave a Generational Legacy

• I want to conclude with this… God is a God of Generations.
  • He gives blessings to our children and our children’s children.
    • Maybe you have not been a great parent… maybe this sermon struck some nerves…
    • Make the change today… be the start of something better, something greater… be the start of generations of Christians.
      • David’s grandchildren were spared the wrath of God “For the sake of your grandfather David”
      • Be the reason your family is blessed.
  • And if you are listening to this sermon, and you are passed the age of having kids…
    • Make sure you are still pouring into and loving your children and grandchildren…
    • That you are praying for them and waring for them.
    • That you don’t stop until your whole family is saved.
  • And if you don’t have kids and may never have kids… bless the children of your church family… be theses kid’s aunties and uncles and grammy’s and papa’s… get to know the young parents in this church, love on them… bless them and their families… be the best generational blessing that you can be.
  • And 100 years from now, a sermon like this wont be offensive or controversial, because the generations of Christians started from this church will have raised their children and Grandchildren to believe these things… this sermon will be a “Duh” kind of sermon… but we have to start somewhere.
• Gospel Call

Aaronic Blessing