2021-09-05 Walk in harmonious relationships 10am Service

well good morning and welcome again to pathway if this is your first time with us or you've only recently joined us an extra special welcome to you this morning we hope that in time we'll get to meet you face to face and get to know you much better before we go any further this morning i've just got to remind you all of a couple of things today firstly straight after our service this morning we invite you to stay back and and log into zoom uh for a virtual morning tea it's not easy for us to catch up with each other at the moment but this is one way that we can do it and have a chat get to know what each other are doing and make sure that everyone is is okay the details were sent out via the the church office email this week so straight after the service grab something for morning tea and log in to zoom the second thing i want to just draw your attention to is is this little book at some stage hopefully this week these little books will start landing in your letterboxes we're going to be using these little books for the next 21 weeks as we pray positively and powerfully together principally the book is aimed at praying through the current covert 19 crisis but there are many crises that are happening in our world at the moment and we're going to use this book to to help us pray together through this time and finally um this sunday being the first sunday of the month we will be sharing a time of communion together whether you're a regular at pathway or not we invite you to to be part of that and to join with us as we share together now normally when we're here together we would be using a small piece of bread and some some juice to represent the body and and blood of christ but under the current circumstances whatever you can find at home that will help you visualize those elements do the best you can so you might have some bread or biscuits or crackers something liquid to represent the juice it's what the symbols represent that really matters so if you aren't prepared and you haven't got those things ready you might want to use this time now to to rush off and get prepared for that a bit later on in the service well happy father's day to all of the dads out there normally it's a very special day for family gatherings and get togethers and celebrations and again this year it's not to be so i trust that you have been able to find some creative way to honor your father today or that your children have found a creative way to honor you this morning in spite of our current restrictions you know the image of god as our heavenly father is right through the bible and when the relationship between a father and a child flourishes it can teach us much about our relationship with our heavenly father let me just read to you a few select scriptures that speak to us about this relationship between us and our heavenly father from psalm 103 14 as a father shows compassion to his children so the lord shows compassion to those who fear him well proverbs 3 11 to 12 my son do not despise the lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke because the lord disciplines those he loves as a father the son in whom he delights or from the gospel of matthew chapter 7 verses 9 to 11 or which one of you his son asks him for bread will give him a stone or if he asks him for fish will give him a serpent if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him and finally it's hard to go past that story of the prodigal son when we come to father's day the son who asked for the father's inheritance and then took it and blew it and when he got to that point of destitution the bible tells us in luke 15 20 and he arose and returned to his father but while he was still a long way off his father saw him and he felt compassion and he ran and embraced him and kissed him that's a wisdom from the scriptures this morning about that relationship between us and our heavenly father we're going to hear some different kind of wisdom now from the children of pathway as they speak to us and honor their fathers this father's day [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] one thing my dad says is you are a cheeky monkey and one thing i love about my dad is that he um cares for us and puts us first before him happy father's day yeah one thing that my dad says all the time is i love you and i love him because he's very funny and he takes care of me happy father's day one thing my dad always says is dingo which means go to sleep uh i love my dad because he cooks me very nice food um one thing that my dad says a lot is um that he's really cold and i'm grateful for my dad because he plays soccer with me and he makes really good food and he gives it to me for free one thing that my dad always says is the truth and i love my dad because he does stuff that i don't deserve happy father's day my favorite friend to say is pampa i love my damn cause he is awesome always is a very broad term so i'm not gonna answer that i love my dad because he's my dad one thing my dad always says to me is um to go to sleep and i love my dad because he's very funny one thing my dad always says is not i love him because he is hard working and he is funny and he loves me one thing that always says is all shum shell i love my dad because he makes it he's he's really good at baking he plays lego with us and he's really kind and he loves us thing dad always says is um lifelike movie great cutscene and i love my dad because um he plays lego with us and he also gives us ice cream when mommy's not when mom is at shops and not at home and he and i also like him because he um he plays he he has funny jokes one thing my dad always says is huh i love my dad because he says funny sentences my dad always says you can do it i love my dad because he is very encouraging and he looks after me very well something my dad always says is that i'm a precious i love my dad because he's daddy and nobody else i love my dad because he gives me food and he looks after me and he pays for my dance lessons [Music] something my dad always says is get the stink bag out of the house and this is a stink bag happy father's day well you've got to love kids for their honesty don't you and it's been such a long time since we've seen them and they're all growing up so fast thank you children for your contributions this morning and thank you sherilyn and family for putting that together for us would you join with me in prayer now father this morning we praise you for earthly fathers for the wisdom of putting us in families we thank you father for fathers who work hard especially at the moment to balance work and family life and who have modeled for their families love patience sacrifice and joy we recognise that fatherhood is not always easy nor is it without sacrifice and we give thanks for those fathers who have embraced this nurturing role and been godly examples in their children's lives but we know that in this world life does not always work out as we might have planned and so today we give thanks also for those dads who have bravely raised children alone and for those dads who've worked hard to remain in children's lives even in the midst of family breakdown and for those dads who have never given up on a wayward child we give thanks for stepfathers and adoptive fathers who have freely chosen to love a child they did not conceive men who put these children's interests ahead of their own and who have worked hard to love and raise and support them for those men who may not have had any biological children of their own but have fathered many in their roles as mentors and teachers and listeners and guides we give thanks on this day by their example they have made us the people that we are today we also remember those fathers and grandfathers who remain now only in photographs and memories and although parted by death their loving example continues to guide us and we are so thankful for the memories that we have of them we pray your blessing on our fathers today we thank you that a healthy father-son or father-daughter relationship can teach us about you our heavenly father you discipline you show compassion you give good things to those that you love you long that each one who has strayed would return to you and you provide for us the ultimate example of what it means to lay down one's own life you are gracious and compassionate slow to anger and rich in love you are a good father and we praise and we bless you this morning and now as we move as it to a time of communion we thank you for the elements that we have in front of us this morning and more especially we thank you for what they represent to us whatever it is that we might be using to represent the elements this morning as we take communion in our own homes the point is that we remember you lord we remember jesus and his perfect sacrifice and once again we are humbled before you thank you father for sending him to die for us amen well as we come to the lord's table this morning we remember jesus who gave of his body and shed his blood for us and we have the symbols before us that jesus gave to his disciples on that night that he was betrayed and we have those words of jesus to explain what those symbols meant as he took bread we're told he gave thanks and he broke it and he said to his disciples this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me and then concerning the cup he said this cup is the new covenant in my blood do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me bread representing his body that was given and the cup representing the new covenant in his shed blood and this morning i want to take you a little bit further on from that night to the point at which jesus has been crucified and his body's been laid in the tomb but the tomb is now empty and mary is there and she is weeping and she encounters someone at the tomb and at first she thinks she's speaking to a gardener but then when he speaks her name she recognizes jesus and she's overjoyed and tries to hold on to him but he tells her instead to go to the brothers to the disciples and he gives her a message for them and the message is this i am returning to my father and your father to my god and your god this is what the risen jesus wanted them to know that they have one and the same father that the king of kings the lord of lords the great i am he is your father and he loves you and because of all that christ has done for us symbolized by these elements that he's given us we are forever secure in that love the punishment that was rightfully due to us has been taken by christ who was sent from heaven to earth by a merciful father who longs to see each one of us reconciled to him and went to such great lengths to ensure that that could be possible so come let us eat and drink together and be reminded of our father in heaven who loves us more than we could ever fully appreciate thank you lord for that very great news that was carried by mary from the empty tomb to the disciples on that first easter morning i am returning to my father and your father to my god and your god thank you for the great privilege of being called your sons and daughters thank you for being our good and perfect father we love you and worship you amen and i'm sure many of you can guess the song that we are about to sing now we're going to to hear again a song that was presented to us last year by the children of this church it is good good father [Music] [Music] stories [Music] me [Music] [Music] who you are [Music] [Music] it's who i am [Music] foreign [Music] say [Music] [Music] who i am [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] two [Music] [Music] i [Music] is [Music] love love [Music] [Music] [Music] who i am [Music] you are perfect [Music] [Music] two [Music] is is [Music] well i'm going to hand the time over now to uh pastor glenn to continue our series from ephesians we're at the penultimate penultimate that's the the second from the end uh message this morning walk in harmonious relationships thank you thank you pastor caroline ephesian chapter 5 if you could turn with me to ephesians chapter five it's quite a long passage so you'll be handy if you have your text your scripture your bible open up to ephesians chapter five and it's from verse 22 all the way down to chapter 6 verse 9 chapter 6 verse 9. and as pastor caroline already mentioned the title for today's sermon is walking in harmonious relationships walking in harmonious relationships relationship is a rather tricky things some people are easier to get along with but there are some are quite a challenge to get along with and but here in this context it's talking about christians christians and i believe i believe with all my heart that the most essential key ingredients to walk in harmonious relationships is first and foremost to die to yourself so before i come to the text i want to explore these issues on dying to yourself as a believer when we become christian even through the symbol of baptism it is quite clear that we go down and immerse you die to your own self and then when you come out of the water you resurrected with your new self so it is to learn to die to yourself even jesus in matthew chapter 16 and other texts in the gospel message he when he issued a call to the discipleship he said whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves take up their cross and follow me for whoever wants to save their life will lose it but whoever loses their life for me will find it dying to yourself paul here is going to echo this truth the self-fulfillment involves self-denial if you want to walk in harmonious relationship the starting point is to learn to die to yourself peter craft a philosopher from america said this is the secret of life he said the self lives only by dying finds its identity only by self-forgetfulness self-giving self-sacrifice and agape love so if we want to walk harmoniously in a relationship we have to learn to die to ourselves but self-denial does not mean self-hatred or self-mortification nor the rejection of our individuality self-denial is a way by which we realize that our happiness and fulfillment are not dependent upon having our own way or getting what we want self-denial is the willingness to consider the needs of others above our own self-interest it is a commitment to live in relationships where the worth of all persons is valued and where getting my own way gives way to considering the concerns the needs and interests of others if christ is not lord in practice life becomes a better ground for conflicting interests so the starting point of harmonious relationship is learning to die to yourself otherwise there will be lots of challenging interests that laid before us in our christian journey die to ourselves find our true identity in christ self deny take up the cross and follow jesus is always the starting point of harmonious relationship william temple many many years ago he says this which i think is spot on concerning about christianity he said above all else do not touch christianity unless you are willing to put him first i promise you a miserable existence if you put him second and some of us we also call ourselves christian but we have a lot of miserable existence in our christian journey we are not ripping all the benefits of what it means to be a christian is simply because we have not truly put cry first and take up the cross and follow jesus and crucify ourselves to the cross as paul said in galatians chapter 2 i have been crucified with christ and i no longer live but christ who lives in me and the life i now live in the body i live by faith in the son of god who loves me and gave himself for me galatians 2 verse 20 which paul understood what it means to die to yourself you are dead and that is why there are some tradition when you first become christian after baptism they give you a new name because there is a new person that resurrected and your own self is gone and you live a christ-centered life you lit a spirit filled life in christ i wonder whether you heard of this story about a captain of the ship he looked into the dark knight and he saw faint light in the distance very far away a fence light and immediately he took his he he told his signal man to send a message alter your course 10 degrees south and probably a written message was received alter your course 10 degrees north the captain was angered his command had been ignored so he sent a second message alter your cost 10 degrees south i am the captain soon another message was received from the other party alter your course 10 degrees north i am cement third class jones immediately the captain sent the third message knowing the fear it would evoke alter your course 10 degrees south i am a battleship and then the reply came alter your course 10 degrees north i am a lighthouse you know in the midst of our dark and foggy times where all sorts of voices are sorting orders into the night telling us what to do pertaining to relating to one another and pertaining to many other things in this world that we live how to adjust our lives and all that out of the darkness i think one voice sickness something quite opposite to the rest something almost absurd but the voice happens to be the light of the world and we ignore it at our own peril and so we have the word of god to guide us so while this passage is rather sensitive topic to talk about about relationship with husband and wife parents and children and slaves and masters but yet at the same time it is the word of god given to us with a strong sense of the right thing to do in a family and and the basis of this relationship these three sets of relationship we're going to unpack is about submitting to one another because the key verse is in verse 21 submit to one another out of reverence for christ and an outcome from this submission paul is being is going to give three sets of relationship in how how to get along and adjust you know basically there are four myths of submission in christian life because the word submission is actually a taboo word it's not a good word is is that some sort of a negative connotation to it in christian context but there are actually four myths of submission in christian life people think that submission is a loss of freedom because you almost have to give in you have to submit to some form of authority and so it's a loss of freedom and secondly it's a loss of identity like if you submit you you you lost your identity you have to give in to someone else and the third myth is not just loss of freedom loss of identity but it's also a loss of purpose like when you submit you can't do what you want to do and therefore you almost lost a sense of purpose and finally the the fourth myth of submission in christian life is the loss of joy that there's no longer any joy because you're giving up something that you want to and give in to please someone else so that these four myths of submission in christian life the submission is a loss of freedom loss of identity loss of purpose loss of joy but i want to this morning unpack this text for you and you're going to see the contrary to all this thing the true submission is the way to freedom the way to find your identity the way to find your purpose and full of joy in our christian journey so i want to read first and foremost the text to you first and this section of the scripture is what scholars categorize it as the new testament household quotes c-o-d-e-s also known as the new testament domestic quotes so i want to read to you from verse 22 and all the way down to chapter 6 verse 9. three sets of relationship wives and husband children and parents slaves and masters so if you have your bible please turn to me to 5 verse let me start with verse 21 because that is the key verse that hand hang this tree relationship together verse 21 says submit to one another out of reverence for christ verse 22 addressing the wise and the husband wise submit to your husbands as to the lord for the husband is the head of the wife as christ is the head of the church his body of which he is the savior now as the church submits to christ so also wise should submit to their husbands in everything husbands love your wives just as christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy cleansing her by the washing with water through the wood and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless in this same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies he who loves his wife loves himself after all no one ever hated his own body but he feeds and cares for it just as christ loves the church for we are members of his body for this reason a man will leave his father a mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh this is a profound mystery but i am talking about christ and the church however each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband and then the second relationship is between children and parents chapter six verse one children obey your parents in the lord for this is right honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth fathers do not exasperate your children instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the lord and then the third sets of relationship is between slaves and masters i think it's still applicable you can put it in influencer employee and employer slaves obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart just as you would obey christ obey them not only to win their favor when their eyes is on you but like the slaves of christ doing the will of god from your heart serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the lord not man because you know that the lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does whether he is slave or free and masters treat your slaves in the same way do not threaten them since you know that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven and there is no favoritism with him three sets of relationship new testament household quotes of the day new testament domestic quotes hang on the verse of verse 21 of submitting yourself to one another out of reverence for christ you know each society believes certain things about families and expects certain things from family members paul used that idea but his teaching went against the culture of his time he taught that faith in jesus impacts every relationship a believer has our relationship within our homes are to reflect jesus living in us our relationship outside our homes are also to reflect jesus living in us whether at home or outside homes paul's point was that jesus transformed relationships as we have been looking at the entire book of ephesians chapter one to three paul has been telling the believers now that you are believers you know all this spiritual blessing you have in christ god loves you lavish you redeem you shower you with all the spiritual blessing in christ and then from chapter four onwards he went on to expound now that you know who you are this is how you ought to live now that you know all these privileges of yours you have to live up and discharge your responsibilities chapter 1 to 3 talks about doctrine chapter 4 to 6 is all about duty and here paul is reaching out to the ephesus christians those converse in the pagan world under this family structure and paul is saying now that you are a believer you are going to transform your relationship the way you relate to people and he's going to use this these three sets of relationship the the structure is the same but paul is going to change the entire dynamic that comes along as a believer of christ that because you are a christian now because that jesus lives in you because your own self is gone you are going to transform every relationship that you are in the structure is exactly the same but the dynamic is going to change and i'm going to show you how paul begins to change this dynamic between husband and wife parents and children slaves and masters and paul wants the ephesians to see that their new life in christ should transform their relationships becoming a christian means reorienting the most basic aspect of life together so i want to unpack by giving you three letters as a easier way to unpack 3m the first one is mutuality and the second point is motivation and the third point is mission mutuality motivation and mission firstly mutuality paul introduced a new element into the household quotes namely the christian home was to be different to the typical greco-roman family every member of the christian household was to live under the lordship of christ which is going to revolutionize all relationships and paul is saying that mutuality rather than hierarchy is the new norm in the christian community mutuality not hierarchy is going to be the new norm in the christian community christian relationship the concept of mutuality will be used to challenge the hierarchical structure of the household identity there are basically two sets of relationships always husband and wife uh parents and children and enslaved and masters but there are two groups here one group is in the authority section and the other group is on the subservient section authority group is like husband parents father and master and most observing one in the greco-roman culture is wives children and slaves and paul is going to address to these two groups but first and foremost he changed this dynamic in the structure of the household codes at that time because now that you are believers is mutuality mutuality and not hierarchical is going to be the norm in the way you deal with your household that is what paul is saying for example you say wise submit to your husband but husband loves your wife see there's a mutuality there each has a part to place why submit husband loves children obey but parents or father do not provoke in king james version is do not provoke your children to wrath or do not exasperate your children or in collusion in the same context you say do not embitter them so children obey fathers do not provoke or exasperate and then the third sense of relationship with slaves obey your master but master treat them well and do not threaten them paul moved from this hierarchical way to mutuality he introduced the new concept of of relationship that as a believers the way you handle your relationship now is mutuality and not hierarchical of course this mutuality instruction by no means suggesting that wives are exempt from being loving and nurturing towards their husband or husband are exempt from being submissive and respectful towards their wives because as i already mentioned before verses 22 and 23 comes verse 21 which is submit yourself to one another out of reverence for christ and if you were to turn to uh chapter five verse one uh paul says that again uh be imitators of god therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as christ loves us and gave himself up for us as a fragrance offerings so submission isn't just for wives and sacrificial love isn't just for husbands but but the bottom line is paul changed the hierarchical way into mutuality because in the roman greco culture and he addressed specifically to that group of people that has authority so when paul is describing the duties of the husband if you look at it again duty of the husband parents and master this set of relationships that is supposed to have the authority but paul never emphasized the authority part at all he didn't ask them to exercise the authority on the contrary whether it's explicitly or implicitly paul actually warned them wants them against the improper use of their authority forbids them to exploit their position and he actually urges them instead to remember their responsibilities and the other party's rights and so husbands are to love their wives care for them parents are not to provoke their children but to bring them up sensitively sensitively and masters are not to threaten their slaves but to treat them well and treat them with justice and so paul did not emphasize on the authority part at all to the husband to the masters and to the parents but instead tell them to love exercise love and so if we sum up authority in biblical usage it is not a synonym or equivalent of tyranny that we send to associate authority with tyranny and all those who occupy position or of authority in society instead are responsible both to the god who has entrusted this power to them and also to the person or persons for whose benefit they have been given it in a word if you lost everything that i've said the biblical concept of authority spells not tyranny but responsibility responsibility just like a peter addressed to leaders of the church in 1 peter chapter 5 it brings in this this concept of authority it redefine what the greco roman will understand or our world now understand authority in 1 peter chapter 5 verse 2 uh paul give peter gave a charge to the leaders of the church he said be shepherds of god's flock that is under your care watching over them not because you must but because you're willing as god wants you to be not pursuing dishonest gained but eager to serve not lording it over them not lording it over those entrusted to you but being examples to the flock and when the chief shepherds arrive or appears you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away see peter similarly like paul redefine what authority is into some sort of a way of servant and bringing christ as an example so if you look at chapter five again between the relationship of husband and why if you think submission is difficult look at the role that husband responsibility is interestingly i just made a calculation of it the instruction to wives is only three verses 22 23 and 24 but instruction to husband nine verses nine verses and i calculate in terms of number of words paul gives instruction to wise only 71 words and paul gave to husband 155 words three times more three times more three times if you look at verse 25 three times 25 28 and and 33 25 28 and 33 three times paul uses the word love when speaking to husband look at verse 25 husband love your wives look at verse 28. in the same way husbands ought to love their wives and and then verse 33 each one of you must love his wife just as he loves himself three times paul talks about loving loving and loving his authority is defined in terms of loving responsibility so to our minds the word authority seems power dominion and even oppression we may have the image of a husband that is domineering issues commands and expects obedience inhibits and suppresses his wife and so prevent her from growing into the mature or fulfilled person but that's not how the scripture defines authority it is not this kind of hate sheep that uh verse 23 talks about for the husband is the head of the wife it is not the word hate sheep that paul is describing whose model is jesus christ and if you look at verse 25 again you see husband loves your wives but what is the standard just as christ loves the church you know how high the standard is how does christ lose the church die for the church and so husband lives with a wife is just as christ loves the church and so this hates ship implies sacrifice self-giving and for the sake of the beloved bride so if hate ship here means power in any sense then it is the power to care and not to crush it is the power to serve and not to dominate it is the power to facilitate self-fulfillment and not frustrate or destroy it or put obstacle to it and in all this the standard of the husband love is to be the cross of christ on which he surrendered himself even to death in his selfless love to his bride as someone jokingly loved to say husband may be the hedge but the wife is the neck that control the head my professor my new testament lecturer once was teaching this topic and he said well in my household i make all the major decisions my wives make all the minor decisions but to tell you the truth for some reason in my household there are no major decision to make and when you really think about the word submit and love they actually means the same thing if i were to ask you what is the meaning of submit when you really try to define these two verbs submit and love it is not easy to distinguish clearly between them what does it mean to submit it is to give oneself up to somebody and if i would ask you what does it mean to laugh it is to give oneself up for somebody just as christ gave himself up for the church so therefore submission and love are two aspects of the very same thing namely that of selfless self-giving which is the foundation of an enduring and growing marriage as the husband loves his wife and the wife submits to her husband each is seeking to enable the other to become more fully himself and herself within the harmonious complementary of the sexes so paul bringing this element of mutuality into the greco-roman world which is hierarchical of this authority but paul said no it's mutuality husband love why submit parents children obey your parents parents do not provoke them do not exasperate them do not be sarcastic to them insult them provoke them to anger there's a mutuality there the children obey your parents of course there are a whole lot of exceptional you could listen to it what age group is you cut off you're 30 years old you still obey your parents of course not then you move on to honoring your parents there are scriptures about submission as well to authority and all that kind of things but they are also in junction in the scripture where you don't have to in the issue of shadrach meshach and abednego in the story of peter and and john in acts where they say i'd rather obey god than man so there are some exceptional case where the rules doesn't apply the higher law that comes into place when that is okay but under the norm it should be the case in that way so children obey your parents don't make the mistake to think that when you are 13 14 15 years old you know everything and it will come back to haunt you you will come back with a vengeance if you do not listen to their advice you may not like their advice but i always believe that they always have your best interests at heart always means always have your best interests at heart and and then masters and slaves is the same you know slave obey your earthly masters your employer because and and masters then will treat them properly so the first point paul brings into this dynamic relationship structure remains the same but changing the dynamic is a mutuality aspect of it no longer hierarchical but mutuality secondly not to worry second and third point is rather short it's not as long as the first one the second point i want to bring to you is motivations not just mutuality that paul brings into the dynamic of the relationship but motivation the structure is the same but the dynamic change in the sense of the motivation change now the motivation is christ look at verse 21 submit to one another out of reverence for christ look at this three sets of relationship look at the subsequent segment of the three sec section uh why submit yourself look at verse 22 why submit yourself to your own husband as you do to the lord so your motivation then is i'm doing it for the lord i'm submitting to god therefore i'm submitting to you i'm doing it for the lord why submission to husband is a voluntary self-giving to a lover whose responsibility is defined in terms of constructive care it is loves responds to love so doing it unto the lord and then look at children in chapter 6 verse 1 children obey your parents in the lord for this is right doing it for the lord the motivation is doing it for the lord and look at slaves in chapter 6 5 and 7 slaves obey your earthly master with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart just as you would obey christ serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the lord not people you see this this segment of it that the motivation is to the lord and look at the group of people with authority paul is saying the same thing husband in verse 25 in chapter five is when your husband loves your wives just as christ loves the church and gave himself up for her the motivation again is christ and look at fathers fathers do not exasperate your children instead or provoke your children to wrath instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the lord do it for the lord and then again masters in chapter six verse nine masters treat yourself treat your slaves in the same way do not threaten them why since you know that he who is both their master and yours in heaven and there is no favoritism with him master remember you may be your slave earthly master but both of you has a master in heaven and god is not going to show favoritism to you as a master so you can see that paul again bringing this dynamic of relationship of motivation factor the motivation is for the lord i'm doing it for the lord for the lord and as you come through scripture i have no time to to to bring in so many of the scripture verses that tells us that whatever we do we do it for the lord and then it will change the whole dynamic of what you do because the motivation has changed and when motivation change the output will be different for example let me just give you a few verses okay without going into detail uh colossians chapter 3 verse 17 whatever you do whether in word or deed do it all in the name of the lord jesus christ do it for the lord whatever you do do it for the lord it's okay and then if you remember the story the parable of the sheep and the goat in matthew 25 the story about sheep and go read about it in matthew 25 uh oh i don't know that you're in prison i don't know you're hungry i don't know you're thirsty and uh jesus said well whatever you've done to the least of these brethren you are actually doing it unto me unto me and then of course the more uh popular verse is in matthew chapter 10 that talks about if you give even a cups of cold water to one of these little ones with my disciples truly that person will never lose their reward because you are doing it unto me in in matthew chapter 10 verse 40 anyone who welcomes you welcomes me anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sends me whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet's reward and whoever welcomes the righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward here again the motivation is doing it unto the lord so paul again bring in this second dimension not just mutuality but motivation in the way we deal with people that are we are doing it unto the lord well there's this very famous quotes that's been going around uh it has been attributed to mother teresa but i did some research it was not actually by her at all um just want to qualify that you say basically is is the title of this uh saying is do it anyway i've used it before i say people are often unreasonable illogical and self-centered forgive them anyway if you are kind people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives but be kind anyway if you are successful you will win some false friends and some new and true enemies but succeed anyway if you are honest and frank people may cheat you be honest and frank anyway what you spend years building someone could destroy overnight build anyway if you find serenity and happiness they may be jealous be happy anyway the good you do today people will often forget tomorrow do good anyway give the world the best you have and it may never be enough give your best anyway and this is the punchline you see in the final analysis it is between you and your god it was never between you and them anyway so the motivation factor helps in harmonious relationship whatever we do whether it's submit or love whether it's obey or do not provoke whether it's obey or treat them well we do it unto the lord and the third aim that i want to conclude is mission paul built in the new dynamics to harmonious relationship mutuality motivation and finally mission when a person become a believer in the greco-roman world the structure was like that paul did not go and change the entire structure ask people to rebel and and change paul said no continue as it is but change your perspective change your motivation change your your outlook of it and it become a mission the purpose is to share is it when you when you do it that way you are shining you are shining you are bearing a very good testimony to those around you by changing the dynamic involved in that structure so the purpose is to shine for christ and be different while submitting to their husband willingly and joyfully out of her own will and husband loving their their wives sacrificially children obey your parents willingly joyfully and parents never embitter or provoke their children and bring them up in the training and instruction of the lord slaves obey and serve your earthly master wholeheartedly as if you are serving the lord not men and therefore master provide them what is right and never threaten them so the way of purpose of doing all this is that there can be a wonderful testimony as a family unit wherever they are whether it's the wives or the husband whether it's the children or the parents whether it's the masters or slave whatever they do they fulfill their role and change the entire dynamic and as a result it becomes a wonderful mission to those around us people may begin to wonder how come they are like this why this husband and wife can harmoniously live together in the way even though the world that we live in uh tend to uh want to redefine our roles so there you go a walk in harmonious relationship here in this part of the scripture on top of what paul has already challenging us to walk in unity walk in holiness walk in love walk in wisdom walk in the spirit and now walk as in the lifestyle in harmonious relationship with one another let me finish with this uh all of us have heard of the guinness book of world records uh it's one of the best selling books in the past i don't know about now i really love that book it is often the ultimate authority on record-breaking achievement did you know that it started out as an idea for a book of facts to solve arguments at pub because there's no authority to appeal to and the idea came in 1950s from sir hugh beaver i read about this he was the managing director of the guinness brewery and he was attending a shooting party and there he and his host they argued about the fastest game bird in europe and then who is a which one is which boat is the fastest game bird in europe and so they tried to research and did all the they couldn't they failed to find an answer in any reference book and so in 1954 recalling his shooting party argument sir hugh had the idea for a guinness promotion based on the idea of settling pop arguments and so he invited the twins by the name of norris and ross who were fact-finding researchers to compile a book of facts and figures and so in 1955 the guinness brewing company decided that an official record was needed to pacify its customers the guinness book of records was created to settle pub arguments over a glass of guinness tower but we have a far better bestseller to help us to live harmoniously this is scripture the word of god revealed to us how to live harmoniously in society most important sense of relationship husband and wife parents and children employer and employee and this is the word of god and i pray and i hope that you will take it to heart and and then we can live harmoniously and be a wonderful light to those who need to see what it really means to live harmoniously in those sets of relationship may we pray now father thank you for your word we pray that we will always let your word dictate how we live may we die to ourself because we want christ to live in us we want to live a spirit-filled life and and therefore we need to die in order for us to live harmoniously we pray for husbands and wives we pray for our parents and children masters and slaves dear lord uh we pray that you will protect us and for us believe us that we will always be a wonderful light for you in this relationship thank you lord we bless you we ask all this thing in jesus name amen well before i play a very special clip of benediction for father's day i wanted to watch that and then after that we will sing the closing song so that the benediction clip beautiful we must be all fathers muslims especially for fathers uh benediction clip and then the closing song and remember we have a morning tea after the closing song please join us amen [Music] [Applause] the lord bless you and keep you make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the lord turned his face toward you and give you peace the lord bless you and keep you make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the lord turns face toward you and give you peace [Music] heart um [Music] the lord bless you and keep you make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the lord sinners face toward you and give you peace [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] may his favor be upon you and a thousand generations and your family and your children and their children and their children may his favor be upon you and a thousand generations and your family and your children and your family and your children [Music] and your family and your children [Music] is is um children is is so [Music] you

Channel: Pathway Baptist Church

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Id: 98__1fwkmNU

Length: 77min 27sec (4647 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 04 2021