11:15 AM - "A Great Mystery" - 5:22-33- 9-5-21

[Music] come and let his mercy heal your heart [Music] that he gave his only son [Music] he might be forgiven [Music] [Applause] hallelujah [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] hallelujah hallelujah you are the god of our salvation [Music] [Music] [Music] the god of our salvation [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i was lost but he brought me [Music] yes [Music] jesus died [Music] for me [Music] there's a place [Music] i am [Music] [Applause] [Music] i am [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] [Music] there's a place [Music] there's a place [Music] [Applause] we're going to teach you a new song this morning called the hymn of heaven and as we sing that song i want to invite you to come and take the elements of communion but hold on to those because we're going to receive those together after we sing this next song [Music] how i long to breathe [Music] where pain is gone and mercy fills the streets to look upon the one who bled [Music] there will be a day when all will bow before him there will be a day when death will be no more standing face to face [Music] every prayer great in desperation the songs of faith [Music] when he returns to wipe away our tears there will be a day when all will bow [Music] standing face to face [Music] [Music] and on that day we join the resurrection and stand beside the heroes of the faith with one voice a thousand generations [Music] and on that day join the resurrection stand beside the heroes of the faith and with one voice a thousand generations [Music] forever he shall reign [Music] and the saints we raise the mighty roar glory to our god who gave us [Music] angels and the saints we raise the mighty roar glory to our god who gave us life beyond the grace holy is the lord holy holy is the lord holy would you please go ahead and have a seat i'm going to ask you to stand again in just a moment but there's a reason why i want to ask you to sit first [Music] over the last year almost two years now as uh our nation has been dealing with this pestilence this plague one of the really the biggest results of it has been division there's been a lot of dividing of people among uh how to respond to to the the plague of covid it's divided churches some churches are closed others are open they're very intentional uh they have their reasons they argue with each other oh sorry thank you you were trying to tell me what to do i was completely ignoring you i was dividing from what you wanted so you heard what i said right and then within churches there's differences of opinion and we argue you know about masks and vaccines and all of that uh and and we've really witnessed this those of us that are in ministry and we we talk with people and talk with other pastors and churches and just reading about what's happening in the church seeing a lot of division so i find it interesting that the apostle paul wrote a letter to the church at corinth he had heard about problems in the church there they were very divided not over vaccines and masks but they had their own reasons to divide they were a society that was very divided among the rich and the poor among different classes of people and those things that were supposed to exist outside in society unfortunately were being duplicated inside the church there was factions there was groups within the church and and and they weren't united they weren't one in christ as they were supposed to be and so every week when they would gather their service would end with a big meal a big potluck or everybody would bring what they could and put it on a common table it was called the agape word which means love and it was the love feast the agape feast and and so what would happen is there'd be church service and then everybody would go to eat and some people would rush the table and grab a bunch of food and take it for themselves in their own group and leave others without anything whatsoever and they were going hungry and paul writes a letter to correct this now listen to what he says in chapter 11 of first corinthians he says now in giving these instructions i do not praise you since you come together not for better but for worse for first of all when you come together as a church i hear that there are divisions among you and in part i believe it and then he goes on to describe how these divisions were manifest during the love feast a feast which ended with them taking a piece of bread breaking it passing it out as the representative of the body of christ it's kind of their dessert their way to end the meal together a time of communion when we come together as one in christ then they would pass around a cup a common cup from which they would all drink and they would supposed to be celebrating this work of christ that had reconciled them to god and and to one another and so paul was saying this is really it's a sham what you guys are doing it this communion this lord's table that you're supposed to be celebrating together you're divided what you're doing in communion is not represented at all by how you conduct yourselves at church and in the agape and so he corrects them on that and then he says this then he reminds them of the real meaning of communion when he says for i received from the lord that which i also delivered to you that the lord jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me in the same manner he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood this dew as often as you drink it in remembrance of me calling them reminding them that they were to be one in christ to remember what it was that they were really doing and the celebration of communion but then he ends his instructions with these words listen for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the lord's death till he comes till he comes this is something that believers in christ are to do until jesus comes back for us [Music] at that last meal as jesus then was instituting communion he said to them i will not drink of this cup until it is with you in the kingdom of my father so he installs it there he institutes the lord's supper there at what was the jewish passover [Music] and as they're partaking of it he's saying guys listen we're not going to share this meal again you with me until it's in heaven [Music] and this is why i ask you to sit down because the original lord's supper was instituted at the jewish passover meal that very first passover god gave the instructions that they were to eat that first passover when they were in egypt standing on their feet but their sandals on remember you only have your sandals on out outdoors you take them off when you come inside but no now this meal was to be celebrated with your sandals on standing up with your staff in your hand your traveling clothes on your backpack on because when the word comes that it's time to leave your bondage your go don't delay get out of here and that's how they were to eat that meal so that first meal was standing ready to go waiting for the word of deliverance [Music] and then once they entered into the place of promise the land of promise passover from then on they were instructed to eat sitting because now they're free they're the people of god and they've entered into his rest and so passover to this day the jews eat passover around a table seated because they're at rest now and that's why i ask you to sit a moment ago that we would remember that that passover now is a meal that's eaten seated but let's remember the first passover would you stand now stand with me [Music] because we are to do this until the lord comes tomorrow night tomorrow evening actually in israel it'll be tomorrow evening it'll be morning for us because we're behind in time monday evening in israel begins rosh hashanah the feast of trumpets and it spread over two days now they're not allowed to actually say the day has begun until they see the new moon rise so technically they can't know the day until they see the new moon with their own eyes in israel so listen that is why the feast of trumpets rosh hashanah is called the day no man knows the hour of many of us believe that the rapture of the church will happen at the feast of trumpets it spread over two days now you might say lance hold on jesus said no man knows the day or the hour of his return jesus wasn't saying we wouldn't know he was pointing to a specific feast the feast of trumpets what day will it be will it be the first day of the feast of trumpets or the second day we don't know because it's the day you don't know the day of am i saying the rapture is going to happen tomorrow i hope so but it could be next year it could be a decade from now it could be a hundred years from now what's the point just as those jews were to be standing ready to go ready for the word of deliverance to come so that they could exit their bondage you and i must be ready for whenever jesus comes for us [Music] could it be this week that'd be great if not could it be next year then then we would pray may the next year as we wait for the lord to come be a year of our growth in grace and truth if it's ten years from now may the lord come and find us waiting and ready for him whenever he comes amen amen father we pray that whenever you send your son jesus whenever you come oh lord find us ready [Music] eager waiting for you not surprised by your coming [Music] but rising to meet you with joyful anticipation of the eternal glory that is now ours lord find us ready this day prepare us even more lord for your return let's take the bread together thank you and the cup [Music] oh lord as the church has prayed for many generations we join our voice to their cry even so lord come quickly amen [Music] prince of heaven king of all you descended from your throne into the world [Music] this son of god was born in my frame [Music] he bore the cross despised the shame clothed in sin his robe was stained and by his blood now i'm free now i am saved for my jesus paid the highest the lamb of god was crucified oh and he deserves my love he deserves my life for jesus paid the highest price prince of heaven king of all he descended from his throne into the world the son of god was born in my friend he wore the cross [Music] and by his blood now i am free now i [Music] paid am highest price the lamb of god was [Music] my love he deserves jesus [Music] and there's no greater sacrifice [Music] oh and there's no greater [Music] that your prayer sacrifice morning [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] held its breath and creation mourned his death but then jesus rose and now that he lives [Music] held its breath [Music] [Music] now that he lives i [Music] right [Music] is [Music] he deserves he deserves jesus [Music] lord we thank you [Music] that you paid the highest price for our salvation that there was nothing more costly [Music] than the death of the son of god in our place for our sin [Music] dying the death we deserve to die [Music] or there's no higher price we can never repay it if we had a million lifetimes we could never scratch the surface of repaying what you've done for us we can never justify it we can never earn it so lord we do what we can do and that's this to offer you a sacrifice of praise the fruit of our lips your word says to do what your word says in romans chapter 12 to offer our lives our bodies as living sacrifices and worship to you we do that this morning lord we pray that we wouldn't just do it this morning as we sing songs lord but that we would do it today and tomorrow this week offering our lives says worship to you the things that we do the things we say the things we look at the way that we treat other people lord let those things be an offering of worship to you because you deserve it lord thank you lord amen [Music] amen if you're with us this morning in person would you say hello to a few people before you sit down if you're with us online say hi to some people in the comments online good morning everyone let's continue our worship by bringing back to the lord what he has already given to us to give visit our app or website you can also drop your tithe and offering in one of the boxes on the way out here are a few things you need to be aware of this week the very first discipleship level 3 session of our cco discipleship program begins on thursday september 16th at 6 30 pm this will run for 12 weeks in order to register for level 3 you must have already completed levels 1 and 2. to register go to our website at calvaryoxnard.org if you have more questions or need information please email pastor rob at rob calvert oxnard.org are you new believer in jesus christ but have never gone public with your faith by being water baptized well this announcement is for you we have our next water baptism coming up sunday september 12th at 2 p.m this will be held at the wineme beach park directly across from the alaskan airlines memorial sundial to register go to our website at calvaryoxner.org anyone is welcome to attend and if you have any more questions you can also email pastor rob at rob at calvaryoxnard.org now it's that time again to remind you all that scammers are out there and they may pretend to be cco rest assured that cco will never call or email you and request a donation or try to sell you an extended warranty ladies of cco we'll be hosting another round of connects groups starting on the fourth week of september we are excited to announce that we will be offering four different meeting times and locations to choose from tuesday am tuesday p.m thursday am and thursday pm register quickly and pick up your books because spots are limited and this is coming up very soon also ladies we are approaching the women's retreat day on october 2nd from 8 30 to 3 30 pm please register on the church center app or our website vicki bentley will be speaking and registration will be 30 finally ventura county needs blood here's a chance to serve our community on thursday september 16th less than two weeks away to register go to our website calvaryoxnard.org for a list of available times thank you for serving in this way that's all for today let's open up our bibles as we get into god's word all right turn your bibles please to ephesians chapter 5 ephesians 5. we're going to be looking at verses 22 through 33 this morning but what we find there begins with what we looked at last week and verses 17 through 21 what we're looking at today just flows cleanly out of that and so that's where we're going to start by being reminded of what pastor dave taught us last week so let's stand as we read this morning ephesians 5 17 paul says therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the lord is and do not be drunk with wine in which its dissipation but be filled with the spirit speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart to the lord giving thanks always for all things to god the father in the name of our lord jesus christ submitting to one another in the fear of god lord we pray this morning that is paul now transitions into showing us what it means to be filled with the spirit and to to be submitting to one another what that looks like is we we live that out in the relationships of of this life that you would give us the grace to receive these things that our minds would be renewed and we would set the picture of marriage that we see today in the wider context of what it means to be redeemed to you and one another we pray this in your name amen go and have a seat in the rest of chapter 5 and then on into chapter 6 paul describes what being filled with this spirit and submitting to one another looks like first of all in marriage then in the family and then in the workplace today we're going to see what that means to be mutually submitted to each other within within marriage and a couple of things before we dive in first of all what we're looking at today is the role of both the wife and the husband and we could easily take two weeks to do that one week for the wife one week for the husband the reason why we're going to combine them this morning will become clear a little bit later and the second thing is to understand that a good part of what we're going to be looking at today does not jive at all with modern sensibilities there are some that would say that what we're taking a look at is just the misogynist rant of a male chauvinist in the first century that wanted to subjugate women that that mentality that thinking really misses a powerful revelation of the gospel and its ability to redeem not only our relationship with god but our relationships with one another and that's where i want to begin before we even dive into our text in verse 22 i want to begin at the beginning adam was created first and then eve she was his equal in every way in genesis 1 27 it says that human beings are created in god's image male and female they are created we are equal to each other as men and women but equality of essence does not mean sameness of roles think of god the father god the son and god the spirit they are all god they are all equal in essence but they have different roles jesus god the son delighted in his active joyful submission to the father and then in john chapter 14 he said that when the holy spirit came the holy spirit would would point people to and glorify him you see there in the godhead we see what mutual submission looks like when the father wants to reveal himself who does he send he sends the son and when the son wants to abide with his followers who does he send he sends the spirit then when the spirit comes and indwells us who does he point people to to jesus and who does jesus point people to and make a way back to back to the father the creation of adam and eve in the image of god was a reflection of this amazing deference adam was created first then eve the order of creation establishes the pattern for how they were to express their mutual submission to each other adam's responsibility was to lead eaves was to follow theirs was a beautiful relationship of harmony as each actively and joyfully fulfilled their roles and we see all of that affirmed when adam was given the task when he was assigned the duty of naming the animals in scripture naming something is a way to show authority with it and so god tells adam to name the animals it was part of his dominion in creation but when god takes eve from adam adam doesn't assign her a name he doesn't he doesn't appoint a name for her you know what he does he gives her his name remember he says to her behold woman she was taken from the man what he does is he takes the hebrew word for man ish and makes it feminine isha he's giving her his name by identifying her this way adam fulfills his responsibili responsibility as leader he is assigning her that name but he's recognizing her equality so there they are equal but not the same they are male and female and that images the images god images him in the order of relationship but then enter satan who isaiah 14 tells us rebelled against god seeking to take his throne now who does satan sidle up to and attempt to eat the forbidden fruit is it adam or eve it's eve he doesn't go to adam he bypasses adam and goes to eve it's eve that he plies with lies he goes after her because it mirrors his rebellion against his head he tells her that she can forge an identity apart from god distinct from a relationship with him and bypassing that of her husband i want you to note that in the fall eve never consults adam she doesn't include him she doesn't ask his advice she acts autonomously and for his part adam who we're told was there does nothing to protect her adam's role as the leader in his relationship with eve was under this his submission to god god had given the pro prohibition of eating that ought to have moved him to intervene in this conversation between between even satan a fundamental failure of the fall was the confusion between the roles of adam and eve and that confusion gets cemented in the consequences of the curse in genesis chapter 3 verse 16 god says that as a result of their sin he says to the woman your desire shall be toward your husband but he shall rule over you now the english misses the flavor the sense of the hebrew there for the woman the fall means her inclination will be towards what belongs to her husband but he will rule over her that beautiful harmony of active and joyful mutual deference to one another that it was theirs before the fall was replaced by tension and conflict where they each would seek to dominate the other the remedy the way back is the gospel it's through jesus he first restores our relationship with god and then our relationship with others let me be clear there there's no separating our walk with god and how we treat others this is really the message of ephesians chapters one through three tell us what christ has done and who we are in him and then in chapters four through six we see how that's lived out how our new identity in christ is lived out and here we see that it restores the original order that god intended for a husband and a wife so having said that having understanded where we're coming from now look at verse 22 and look what we read in fact i'm going to ask you to read along in your bible because there i want you to note the words here we go verse 22 wives to your own husbands as to the lord now y'all tell me what word did i leave out come on you know why i left it out because it's not in the original paul did not write wives submit to your own husbands as to the lord what he wrote is wives to your own husband says to the lord why because he had already given the principle of mutual submission in verse 21 submitting to one another in the fear of god wives to your own husbands as to the lord verse 21 is the called the mutual submission verse 22 is how a wife does that toward her husband and then in verse 25 paul turns to the husband and shows how that principle is lived out in his relationship with his wife and he tells us why there's a crucial phrase there at the end of verse 21 that makes all of this clear look at verse 21 and note the last words submitting to one another what in the fear of god a restored relationship with god restores all other relationships starting with god's plan for a husband and a wife and so wives your submission is to your own husbands as it is to the lord because verse 23 for the husband is the head of the wife as also christ is the head of the church and he's the savior of the body therefore just as the church is subject to christ so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything a wife's submission to her husband is patterned after the churches after our submission to christ we all know that christ is the master amen he's the lord he calls the shots he's the head no one questions jesus right to be head of the church he is the lord and we all yearn for the day when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that jesus is what lord to the glory of god the father don't we long for that day aren't we oh lord please let that day come when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that you are who you really are the lord not newsom not biden not any other man's name no one else is no we can't wait till the day that you come and establish your throne lord because you are the lord we all acknowledge that and you know why jesus is lord why is jesus lord not because he he got up one day and decided you know what i want to be in charge i'm large and in charge it's not because he made himself lord it's because the father appointed him to be lord turn to chapter 1 of ephesians he's not lord because he said you know i think i'm going to be lord now he was assigned that task he was assigned that role look at verse 22 of chapter one he that is the father put all things under his christ's feet and gave him to behead over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all jesus serves the father as lord master and head of the church and by doing so establishes the principle that those that are in authority are under authority and jesus shows us how the authority of his headship is worked out when in john chapter 13 we read that jesus knowing all authority in heaven and earth had been given unto him rose from supper laid aside his garment took a basin and knelt at the feet of his disciples and wash their feet listen to how john starts that and jesus knowing all authority in heaven and earth had been given unto him wash their feet and then having completed his task put the basin down and he put his robe back on and he sat down at the head of the table and he said this do you know what i have done to you you call me teacher and lord and you say well for so i am if i then your lord and teacher have washed your feet you also ought to wash one another's feet for i have given you an example that you should do as i have done to you most assuredly i say to you a servant is not greater than his master nor is he who sent greater than he who sent him friends behold mutual submission witness godly authority it's not dominion it's taking responsibility for what we have been assigned by god and god's assignment for a husband is to lead that's why paul says for the husband is the head of the wife that's his assignment he doesn't take that he is given that place he is given that assignment therefore the wife's posture towards her husband is to defer it's here we get pushback from those that would say that well certainly you know we we've moved on it's 2 000 years after paul wrote this we certainly we've moved on we've we've evolved past that place paul paul was part of a system that just subjugated women this is 21st century america this isn't the afghanistan under the taliban no it isn't but what we find here in ephesians 5 isn't just the ranting of some male chauvinist trying to keep uppity women in their place what the apostle wrote was inspired by the spirit and it is timeless truth i want you to think for a moment who paul wrote this to women in ephesus in the first century ephesus was a greco-roman city ruled by roman civil law and a major part of that was called pater familias it was the rule that the man of the house had absolute authority over the members of his household his wife his kids his servants and he could literally legally do anything to them he wanted including beat or kill them and the law could do nothing to him he had absolute authority of the power of life and death over the members of his household when paul says wives submit to your husbands here's how women would have responded to that well duh that's like paul writing to us keep breathing of course they submitted and it's the very obviousness of that that would have moved them to realize that paul is certainly meaning something more than just the obvious that he's inviting them into something unexpected he's empowering women who thought they didn't have any power at all this submission that he's calling for isn't mere compliance of outward behavior he's telling these ladies that they can choose to honor their husbands from their hearts friends biblical submission isn't mere obedience it isn't just doing what we're told to do it's honor and respect from the heart question christian does god want you to just obey what he says or does he want you to have an attitude that says lord tell me what to do look at verse 24 again look at it there's there are two words here i'm going to ask you to say them out loud therefore just as the church is subject to christ so let the wives be to their own husbands last two words say it out loud in everything in everything you see this isn't just a submission of the hand it's from the heart with an attitude of ready joyful deference he's he's saying the the submission ladies that i'm calling you to as christian women what i'm calling you to isn't just to do what your husband tells you to do i'm calling for you to take a posture in your attitude towards him that esteems him that defers to him that says you're my head you're the one that god has placed in my life to be my head i from my heart defer to you in everything far from this being a brutal subjugation of women paul is empowering women who didn't think they had any power and to prove how revolutionary what he says here was to that time it becomes clear in what he says to the husband look at verse 25 husbands love your wives just as christ also loved the church and gave himself for her that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word that he might present her to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that she should be holy and without blemish so husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies he who loves his wife loves himself that may not sound very revolutionary because it's become part of our understanding of marriage husbands should love their wives and we go well of course and you know why that seems so obvious to us because paul wrote it here because this has changed the complete direction of society you need to understand that when paul wrote this to the ephesian husbands read this they read this and went what love my wife what are you talking about jesse what because people did not marry for love in the ancient world in the greco-roman culture you married for status parents arranged the marriage of their children with one overarching concern what's the most profitable union for my son or my daughter what is going to advance the family name and prestige and fortune marriage was business if a man wanted love if he wanted romance if he wanted pleasure he had a mistress all the ancient writers agree on this marriage was for kids a wife was for kids a mistress was for fun what paul says here was a radical departure from what was practiced in greco-roman society before christ a christian husband was to express the mutual submission of verse 21 to his wife by loving her sacrificially with the same kind of love that jesus showed in going to the cross he was to sanctify her that means he was to set her apart as special so that she knew no one and nothing else came close to her and his love for her and his devotion to her his deference to his wife was shown by taking responsibility for his assignment from god as the leader in their marriage you married men listen up your wife's submission to you moves her into a place of vulnerability because the decisions that you make affect her so when she submits to you when she defers to you she becomes vulnerable she'll defer to you when she sees you leading her and what's most important in the things of god she needs to see that god is first in your life and that what you do you do because you love and you serve the lord and that love and service of him is lived out in how you treat her ladies kind of get an amen being the head doesn't mean that you demand that she wash your feet it means that you wash hers and when you do that when you serve her that way it gives her the confidence in your ability to lead because you're following your head you are in authority but under authority look at verse 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it as the lord does the church for we are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones it paul knows men he is one and so he he says hey hey uh guys love love your wife like you are already loving yourself so it's real simple when you think about yourself as often as you think about yourself your wife is right there in your thinking so if you will show her the same kind of deference that you show your own self everything is going to be just fine he's real practical i don't know about you but i think about myself a lot in fact when i woke up this morning i thought you were thinking about me it's real simple lance how do i here's how we lance here's how you can treat your wife as often as you think about yourself think about your wife oh okay well that means i'm thinking about her all the time treat her like you treat yourself oh okay simple and then he just very practically says listen you take care of yourself that's how you take care of your wife and then he links all of that to genesis 2. he goes back to creation verse 31 for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh now watch verse 32. here we go this is a great mystery but i speak concerning christ in the church after giving the roles of the husband and the wife paul in effect says i've i've really been talking about christ in the church wives submit as to the lord husbands love as jesus did because your marriage is a picture of christ and his bride it isn't so much that that jesus and the church provide an example for our marriage which is what we assume he would be saying here we come to a passage like this and and we read paul's words and we say oh my marriage is to be like like jesus in the church paul seems to say that and then gets to the end of it and flips it around he goes i haven't really been talking about using jesus in the church as an example of your marriage what i've really been talking about and what you need to realize is your marriage is a picture of jesus in the church it's the other way around a picture to who to the world but there's another audience that's watching and that's why paul calls this a great mystery my friends please hear me and this is why we needed to cover both husbands and wives on the same day to understand what's really going on in marriage paul says something in first corinthians 11 verse 10 and it links up to what he says here in ephesians 5 right here in these verses that we're looking at it isn't just the world that's watching us there's another audience that's more important and it goes back to the very beginning paul is dealing in first corinthians 11 with this issue of submission and authority and he gets to verse 10 and he's speaking to the ladies about their need to defer to their husbands and he's talking about a cultural application of that in corinth and he says this for this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels what and then he just goes on and i don't know about you but i've read that many times and i've said hold on paul back the truck up you can't just throw in because of the angels and then go on not to explain that bro come on paul doesn't really need to explain it because he he's assuming that we are understanding what happened back at the beginning angels are watching us folks for this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels satan and the angels that he persuaded to join in his revolt contend that god isn't fair right now there is this huge contest going on and the issue is the question is what's what's to be decided is god fair job this man serves you because you you load him up with goodies let me take away those goodies and i'll show how he he rebels against you and calls your your goodness into question lucifer was the highest of god's creation he was incredibly beautiful and wise the worship leader of heaven think of the angels and all of their glory and their power these immensely glorious creatures and lucifer gets it in his mind why should god be in charge what gives him the right to call the shots look at me i'm glorious i'm smart i have angels following me why can't i be in charge and so he says in isaiah 14 i will exalt my throne above the stars of god i will sit in the place of worship and god says no you won't and the contest ever ever since has been god's not fair he should let somebody else rule and then satan comes along and he appeals to adam and eve to join him in his rebellion and he messes up that relationship with god and because that relationship has gotten messed up all other relationships have gotten messed up and what we have now is women wanting what the position of the man is and the man then pushing back on that and dominating the woman to keep her down this is the fallen world in which we live and here's what paul says the gospel of jesus christ first restores your relationship with god so that every other relationship can go back to the way god made it the way it's supposed to be and when we enter into that from the heart not just by compliance not just in acts but from a heart that says i want to be in the place that god has assigned for me to be when i'm in that place and harmony comes and joy comes and i i i come back into the fullness of what it means to be a human being in the image of god as a man or a woman the angels are watching and they're going oh god's right when a husband loves his wife like christ loves the church it says to the angels god is right and satan's wrong when a wife defers to her husband from the heart and honors him and esteems him as the leader in their relationship it says god is true and satan is a liar the home is the first and the best place for the gospel's power to redeem relationships is lived out every home every marriage is a mini church where the husband is like jesus and the wife is like the church the strength of this church lies in the success of our individual homes and marriages being a healthy mini church some amazing messages are being preached in churches across our nation right now and if the lost were in those churches there's a good chance many of them would come to faith in jesus christ but they're not in those churches hearing those messages you know where those people are they're in your tomorrow at work and they won't come to your church you take your church to them they're in your school they're your neighbors they might not come to this church but you can take your church your marriage your family to them and show them what a restored relationship with god looks like because that's the gospel verse 33 as we end nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband and there paul changes the word interesting that he doesn't say see that the wife submit he's adding a word to what he said earlier to give an understanding of the flavor of this mutual submission it really is respect the word means to revere someone's position respect that honor it but i want to end with what paul says to the husbands it's remarkable he gives specific application and it's so important it's such a priority he wants us to read this not as a blanket statement to all husbands collectively notice what he says there let each of you in particular you see he's written this and he knows that it's going to be read by all the men at the church at ephesus but he wants them to understand that if he could speak this instead of write it he would go up to each one of them and look them in the eyes and speak this to them and use their name lance love lynn i do paul really are you loving her like christ is loving the church right now paul are you serving her lance are you washing her feet well i didn't i didn't wash her feet but i gave her a neck rub last night if i had washed her feet she would have said up here lance are you leading her in the things of god are you investing time and effort into her are you really loving your lance are you laying down your life like jesus did lance does your wife know does lynn know that she's safe that you're protecting her she needs to know that that's what paul is doing when he says that each of you in particular so you men you husbands the holy spirit's coming to you and speaking your name and asking you if you are loving your wife by name and the only way that any of us men and women can do this begins with verse 18 through 21 being filled with the spirit submitting to one another in the fear of god let's stand father i pray that you would expand our vision and our understanding of what we found in these verses today that paul isn't just laying on us a marriage manual husbands do this wives do that that he's by inviting us into a much deeper understanding of what marriage really is you are giving us lord the opportunity to live out our relationship with you where husbands love their wives as christ is loving the church as he gave himself to redeem her to make her eternally safe to help her become all that you created her to be and wives have this incredible opportunity to reveal to the spiritual realm what it means to submit to their husband from the heart in everything not just doing what he says but honoring who he is as a man called to lead them together in the things of god i pray for those marriages here that are are broken where a lot of things have happened and words have been said that have created a lot of hurt nothing is beyond your power to heal [Music] i'll pour out your grace lord upon those marriages that need your healing and may our our homes preach the glorious gospel of christ in your name we pray amen you give life you are love you bring light to the darkness you give hope you restore every heart that is broken [Music] great are you lord it's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise pour out our praise it's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise to you only [Music] you give life you are love you bring light to the darkness you give hope you restore every heart that is broken [Music] it's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise pour out our praise it's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise to me [Music] and all the earth will shout your praise our hearts will cry these bones [Music] [Applause] and all the earth will shout your praise our hearts will cry these balls will sing great are you lord and all the earth will shout your praise our hearts will cry these bones it's your breath in our loves so we pour out our praise pour out our praise it's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise pour out our praise it's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise pour out our praises your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise to [Music] great are you lord [Music] are you lord [Music] oh god we pray that you would help us to be the people you've called us to be lord that you'd help us to be the husbands the wives the single people the sons and the daughters you've called us to be and lord we would just confess our complete lack and inability to do that apart from the work of your spirit in us making us more like you so we pray that you do that in us god we pray that you'd show us how to be who you've called us to be how to give honor and glory to you lord for those of us who are married we pray that you'd help us to have marriages that shine forth the truth of the gospel to a lost and unbelieving world go with us as we go today lord cause your word to ring out in our hearts and our minds throughout our week we pray in jesus name amen if you need prayer this morning we'd love to pray with you uh please come up to the front if you're with us online send us an email so that we can pray for you [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so 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Channel: Calvary Chapel Oxnard

Views: 141

Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: XilTxqiguPA

Length: 90min 56sec (5456 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 06 2021