8:00 AM - "A Great Mystery" - 5:22-33- 9-5-21

[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] good morning how's everyone this morning happy labor day weekend i guess i'm the only one excited about that labor day weekend extra day off tomorrow for many of us not so much huh someday son someday well let's stand together this morning let's pray and we'll worship father thank you for your goodness thank you for your faithfulness lord thank you that you lead us and guide us and direct our steps we pray that as we worship you today that you'd be glorified that as we come to your table today lord that you would draw near to us that you'd speak to us through your word we pray in jesus name amen [Music] [Music] come and see his glory come just as you are come and hear the story of his [Music] his heart that he gave his only son that we might be forgiven death has been overcome hallelujah [Music] salvation [Music] come just as you are come and let his mercy heal your heart for god so loves his children that he gave his only son we might be forgiven [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] salvation [Music] glory to ever [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] hallelujah hallelujah you are the god of our salvation [Music] hallelujah [Music] you are the god of our salvation [Music] i was lost but he brought me [Music] is [Music] his grace while [Music] yes [Music] is in my father's house there's a place [Music] yes [Music] i am [Music] i [Music] sets free [Music] there's a place [Music] there's a place for me i'm a child of god yes i am thank you lord amen we're going to continue to worship this morning and teach you a new song called the hymn of heaven and as we do we wouldn't invite you to come to the table take your communion elements but hold on to those because we're going to receive those together after we sing this song [Music] where pain is gone and mercy fills the streets to look [Music] upon for all eternity [Music] there will be a day [Music] no more standing face to [Music] died face rose again holy holy is the lord in every prayer we prayed in desperation the songs of faith we sang through doubt in fear the end we'll see that it was worth it when he returns to wipe away our tears 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 with he who died and rose again holy holy is the lord [Music] and on that day we join the resurrection [Music] stand beside the heroes of the faith with one voice a thousand generations [Music] and on that day we join the resurrection [Music] a thousand generations [Music] he shall reign [Music] so let it be today we shout to him heaven with angels and the saints we raise a mighty roar glory to our god who gave [Music] so let us be today we shout to him heaven the angels and the saints we raise the mighty roar glory to our god who gave us [Music] is [Music] i'm going to ask you to go ahead and have a seat just a moment i'm going to ask you to stand again but for a very specific reason [Music] the apostle paul wrote to the church at corinth giving them instructions on the lord's supper because there were problems in the church [Music] communion in the earliest church was celebrated at the end of a meal called the agape the the love feast it was a potluck where people would bring food and they would contribute to a common table and then everyone would eat and as a kind of dessert they would conclude by taking a loaf of bread breaking it and taking a common cup and passing it around and that was communion it was their dessert it was the high point of the meal but in the city of corinth they they had uh gotten so used to this it had become just a routine as they would meet each week to have their agape feast they'd have their their church service and then it would conclude with a meal and there were some that were not waiting for others to come to the table they were they were rushing to the table and they were just grabbing food and eating it all so that those that came a little bit later had nothing to eat and paul found out about this and so he wrote to correct them you see the church in corinth was kind of divided there were some that were wealthier more elite from the nobility in the aristocracy and there were some there that were slaves and when they came together they were all supposed to be one before the lord but they were still living out their worldly distinctions in the church vying with each other and so paul writes to them and he says this now in giving these instructions i do not praise you since you come together not for the better but for the 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 he believed it because he had been in corinth he knew what the city was like the reason why i shared this passage this morning is because over the last almost two years now what we've seen is the effect of kovid is a great division that has happened not only in our society but that has been reflected in the church people are very divided divided in opinions about how we proceed in dealing with this pestilence and this plague and it's divided the body of christ churches are set against churches within churches people are set against each other arguing social media has exacerbated it's made this much worse as people snipe at each other online and then they go to church and look at each other across the the aisle and across the room at each other and oh you posted that i don't agree with you and and there's this division that's happened in the body of christ communion is about being one with the lord a unity that brings us into unity with one another amen and paul writes to this fractured church and he corrects them and he says it's wrong that you're mistreating each other this way over over distinctions that no longer apply because of who we are in christ and he goes on then and he and he talks about how divided they were and what they were doing in in some eating more and others having none and he corrects them and then he ends with this he reminds them of the meaning and the purpose of communion when he says for i receive 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 and then paul concludes with this for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the lord's death until he comes tomorrow begins a two-day feast holiday on the jewish calendar called rosh hashanah the head of the year the feast of trumpets many of us believe that the ancient feast of trumpets is the feast on the jewish calendar that speaks of the rapture and we expect many of us expect that the rapture will occur at the feast of trumpets at rosh hashanah you might say well wait a minute lance i i thought jesus said no man knows the day or the hour well guess what the jews call the feast of trumpets the no one no one it's the feast that no one knows the day or the hour of jesus wasn't calling us to not know that he was pointing to a specific beast and saying that's when these things shall happen now i don't have time to go into why it's called that this morning you can investigate it and look at it on your own am i saying the rapture is going to happen tomorrow or tuesday no i'm not saying that i'm saying that i personally and many of us expect the rapture to happen at this season of the year during this feast could it be tomorrow could it be tuesday yes the point is that we are to be ready when at all times and here's why i asked you to sit down just a moment ago because when jesus originally instituted communion it was at the jewish passover and the instruction was that they were to eat it while seated the original passover they were given instructions that they were to eat it standing because they were in egypt and they were to be ready to go that as soon as the word came that it was time to leave time to leave slavery and bondage they were to have their shoes on and their cloaks on and their staff in hand ready to go but after they entered into the promised land to mark the fact that god had brought them into his perpetual rest they were then to celebrate passover sitting down we are at rest the lord has brought us into the promise okay now would you stand please the reason why we stand today is to remember that first passover where the blood of the lamb was shed to save the people from judgment they were to stand and to this day jews continue to sit because they've entered in now to the promise but i ask you to stand today because we anticipate our deliverance from this world paul said as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you do this when until the lord comes again and so lord here we are awaiting your return awaiting the blowing of that last trump when you call us home whether it's this year or next year or a hundred years from now may you find your people ready to go not complacent not apathetic not unmindful lord that you are the god of history and all things proceed just as you have ordained so lord we pray however long it is before you come for us may you find us ready when the trump trumpet sounds let's take the bread together and the cup [Music] it is by your work by your cross that we can come to you you have opened the way for us oh lord into the glorious eternal promised land into heaven oh lord give us ears to hear the call of the trumpet for your people to come out of this world to belong to you thank you [Music] prince of heaven king of all he descended from his throne into the world [Music] this son of god was born in my friend he bore the cross despised the shame clothed in sin his robe was stained and by his blood now i am free now i am saved for my jesus paid the highest price the lamb of god was crucified oh and he deserves my love he deserves my life for jesus paid the highest [Music] prince of heaven king of all he descended from his throne into the world the son of god [Music] he bore the cross despise the shape cold and sand his foot by his blood now i am free now i am safe for my jesus paid the highest price the lamb of god and was deserves he deserves jesus [Music] there's no greater sacrifice lord i'm laying down [Music] oh and there's no greater sacrifice [Music] [Music] there's no greater sacrifice [Music] oh and there's no greater sacrifice [Music] i surrendered [Music] all of heaven held its breath [Music] and creation mourned his death but then jesus rose and now that he lives i am alive all again held its breath and but then jesus rose now that he lives [Music] the lamb of god [Music] oh and he deserves he deserves he deserves my love he deserves he deserves [Music] price [Music] oh god we thank you for the price that you paid for our salvation that well we were still sinners while we were still your enemies you demonstrated your love for us in this that christ died for us but we thank you we offer up the fruit of our lips a sacrifice of praise we offer up ourselves our bodies as living sacrifices of worship to you today be glorified lord in all that we say and all that we think in all that we do that the way that we live our lives would be worshipped to you we pray in jesus name amen amen if you're here in person would you turn and say hello to a few people if you're with us online say hello to some people online [Music] 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 calvaryoxnerd.org if you have more questions or need information please email pastor rob at rob calvertoxner.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 2pm this will be held at the winey 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 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 connex 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 p.m 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 dollars 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 good morning so turn your bibles please to ephesians chapter 5. ephesians 5. so we're going to be taking a look at verses 22 through 33 this morning but what we find there begins in what we looked at last week it flows cleanly out of that remember there are no chapters and verses in the original text and so what paul is going to speak to us about in what we're looking at today really begins in the verses that we looked at and pastor david shared last week so we're going to start with verse 17 and read through verse 21. won't you stand and join me in standing in honor to god's word as we read and uh we used to have everybody read together we don't do that anymore for this reason we have so many different versions of the bible when we try to read together it's just noise i'm reading from the new king james bible so whatever version you're using it'll it'll be similar but might not be the exact same word so verse 17 of ephesians 5 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 his dissipation is wasteful 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 as we look now at the application of that that you would speak to us that our minds would be renewed and we would leave this place with a grander wider richer vision of what the gospel accomplishes for us we pray this in jesus name amen go ahead and have a seat now in the rest of chapter 5 and into chapter 6 paul describes what being filled with the spirit and submitting to one another in the fear of god mutual submission what it looks like he speaks first about what it looks like in marriage what it looks like in the family and then in the workplace today we're going to see how mutual submission and walking in the spirit looks like in in marriage but a couple of things before we dive into the text we are covering a lot of ground today a lot of ground we could easily break today's message into into two messages as we look at the role of the wife and the role of the husband why we are going to cover all of it in one message one session will become clear a little bit later may i recommend humbly recommend a book on marriage written by some pastor in oxnard there's a chapter in here that details the role of the wife and then another chapter that details the role of the husband talks about the purpose and the goal of marriage also this book by another oxnard pastor marriage and the gospel really good books on marriage if you haven't read them i would encourage you to pick them up and and glean more the second reason um that i need to talk about before we dive in is i have to acknowledge that a good part of what we're going to look at today just doesn't jive with modern sensibilities some of what we are going to look at is regarded some people regard this as the misogynist rant of a male sovereign male chauvinist that was immersed in a patriarchal culture of the first century because their minds aren't renewed they miss an amazing revelation of the power of the gospel to redeem us back into the image of god into the image of christ that we find in this passage and so that's where we're going to begin before we actually get into what he says here in ephesians 5 we're going to we're going to start at the beginning when adam was first created adam was created first and then eve she was his equal in every way as genesis 1 27 says human beings were created in god's image as male and female but equality of essence doesn't mean sameness of roles i want you to think of god the father the son and the holy spirit they are all equal as god but they have different roles jesus often in the gospels delighted that as the son he was an active and joyful submission to the father but then in john 14 he said that that when the holy spirit came the holy spirit would glorify him point people to him you see we see it there in the godhead we see what mutual submission looks like when the father wants to reveal himself what does he do he sends the the son and when the son wants to abide with his followers he sends the holy spirit the spirit then points people not to himself but to jesus and jesus directs attention to and makes a way back to the father the creation of adam and eve in the image of god was a reflection of this amazing difference between the persons of the godhead 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 adam is leader eve as follower we see that all affirmed then adam's task the assignment that god gave him to name the animals in scripture naming something was a way to show your your authority with it but because what you're doing is you're giving it identity so you're in the place of of being able to establish something's identity by by naming it and so god tells adam to name the animals you see it's part of his dominion in creation but when god takes eve from adam adam doesn't assign her a different name he gives her his name he's not assigning some different name to her showing his authority over her he in fact gives her his name he just changes the masculine-ish man to isha woman by identifying her this way adam fulfills his responsibility as leader while recognizing her equality to him they are equal but they're not the same they are male and female and that images god in the order of their relationship but then enter satan who isaiah 14 tells us rebelled against god he tried to usurp god's throne who does satan sidle up to to attempt to eat the forbidden fruit who does he go to come on eve not adam no it's eve that he plies with lies and 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 that relationship with him and bypassing that relationship with her husband i want you to note that in the fall eve doesn't consult adam she doesn't include him she doesn't ask his advice she acts autonomously and for his part adam that genesis 3 6 tells us was right there he neglected his responsibility as protector you see in adam's role as the leader in his relationship with eve he was in submission to god whose prohibition on eating should have moved him to intervene in that conversation between eve and satan a fundamental failure of the fall was the confusion of the roles between adam and eve are you guys following me that confusion that gets cemented into the consequences of the curse when in genesis 3 16 it says that the result of their sin is this listen god says and to the woman god said your desire shall be towards your husband but he shall rule over you now the english misses is misses the flavor the sense of the hebrew here for the woman the fall means that her inclination will be to want what belongs to her husband but he will rule over her that beautiful harmony and active joyful mutual deference to one another that they had before the fall was replaced by tension and conflict where each of them seeks to dominate and control the other the remedy the way back to what god originally intended is the gospel it's jesus folks he first restores our relationship with god and then with one another amen the gospel first restores our relationship with god and if that relationship has been restored then it restores all other relationships now let me be clear there is no separating our walk with god and how we treat others that's the message of the letter to the the ephesians chapters one through three tell us what christ has done and who we are in him and then chapters four through six tells us how we are to live out this new identity in christ here we see it in the that it restores the original order that god intended for a husband and a wife now let's look at it verse 22 of ephesians 5 what follow along with me if you have your bible open what read with me now it says wives to your own husbands as to the lord hold on what word did i leave out you know why i left it out because it's not in the original look in your bibles i'll bet it's in italics which means that it's supplied by the translators it's not in the original why because it's in verse 21 and what does he say there what does he say in verse 21 submitting to one another in the fear of god it the the the word submit in verse 22 is supplied by verse 21 where paul calls us to submit to one another you see verse 21 calls us to mutual submission verse 22 is how a wife demonstrates that to her husbands and then in verse 25 paul begins by showing how the husband lives that out in relationship with his wife and he tells why there's a crucial phrase there at the end of verse 21 that makes this all clear look at it again he says verse 21 submitting to one another now note those last words in the fear of god a restored relationship with god restores all other relationships starting with the relationship between a husband and a wife so wives your submission to your own husbands is as to the lord 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 wives be to their husbands in everything a wife's submission to her husband is patterned after the church's submission to christ we all know that christ is the master amen he's the lord he calls the shots he's the head we don't question jesus right to be the head of the church do we that's just not up for debate no one questions that he is the lord and we yearn for the day when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god we all yearn for that day don't we oh lord please come and establish your throne come and rule rather than newsom rather than biden rather than the united nations rather than any earthly ruler lord we long for the day that you come and so we don't wait for the day when every knee is made to bow and every tongue is forced to confess we do that gladly now jesus is lord we declare it when we worship we declare it with our lives you are lord and do you know why jesus is lord it's not because he announced himself large and in charge jesus didn't promote himself jesus is lord because the father has made him lord the father has turn back to chapter one of ephesians look at verse 22 it says he that is the father put all things under him that is christ's feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all god the son jesus serves the father as lord and master and head of the church and by doing so he establishes the principle of that those that are in authority need to be under authority jesus is lord under the father jesus shows us how the authority of the leader is worked out when he kneels at the feet of his disciples with a bowl of water and washes their dirty feet i want you to picture that scene picture christ kneeling there at the feet of the disciples as he goes around that table and washes their feet he's their rabbi they have pledged themselves they they are coming to the realization that he's more than a man that he is in fact god incarnate and he's kneeling there at their feet washing their feet once he's washed all of them he puts the bowl aside puts his garment back on and he sits back at his place at the head of the table and he says this john 13. do you know what i've 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 domination it takes responsibility for what is assigned by god and god's assignment for a husband is to lead therefore it's the wife's responsibility and assignment to follow and it's right here that we get pushback from those that say that well certainly now here we are we've moved on from that outdated patriarchy of the first century the context in which paul wrote certainly we've moved on from that these people contend that paul was part of a system that subjugated women but we've evolved this is 21st century america it's not afghanistan under the taliban right it is 21st century america but what we read here wasn't the rantings of some male chauvinist trying to keep uppity women in their place what what paul wrote was spirit inspired timeless truth i want to ask you to think for a moment who paul wrote this to he wrote it to women in ephesus in the first century yeah that's exactly who he wrote to ephesians was a greco-roman city that was governed by roman civil law and roman civil law had this principle called pater familias which said that the man of the house had absolute authority and control over the members of his household his wife his children his servants he could literally do whatever he wanted under the law including killing them and the law could do nothing to him he had absolute control over over the members of his house his wife his kids his servants he could beat them he could treat them any way he wanted to even taking their lives and he couldn't be accused and charged with murder he had the power of life and death over his household when paul says wives submit to your husbands here's how the women of ephesus would have heard that well duh that's like saying ladies keep breathing of course they submitted of course they did and so they would have realized that he must mean something more than what's obvious no this was an invitation into something unexpected paul is empowering women who thought they didn't have any power this submission that he's calling for isn't mere compliance of outward behavior they can choose to honor their husband from their hearts biblical submission isn't mere obedience it's honor and respect and that's why verse 24 says look at it this is crucial don't miss this every word is important therefore just as the church is subject to christ so let wives be to their own husbands what are those last two words everybody say him out loud in everything everything you see paul isn't just calling for a submission of the hand do what your husband says this is a attitude of submission from the heart that is ready and joyful in its deference to the husband far from this being a brutal subjugation of women paul is empowering women who didn't think they had any power he's telling them yes you do you have the power to choose to prove how revolutionary what he says in this passage was to the time look at what he says now to the husbands 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 the water by the word and 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 and that may not sound so revolutionary to us because it's let's become part of our understanding of marriage that a husband should love his wife and you know why that's become just so accepted among us because of this passage what paul writes here was utterly unheard of in the social life of ancient ephesus what he's writing here the men would have read and said what love my wife because marriage in that time wasn't about love not at all no friends you married for status usually 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 ensure that they rise in society people married with an eye to produce children that would advance the family name and fortune their prestige marriage was business it was not romance for men romance love and pleasure had little to do with a wife it was fulfilled by mistresses ancient writers all say the same a wife was for children mistresses for fun for love what we find here in ephesians and paul's instructions to husbands was a radical departure from what was practiced in the greco-roman society before christ the christian husband was to express a mutual submission to his wife by loving her sacrificially with the same kind of love that jesus showed when he went to the cross he was to sanctify her he was to set her apart as special so that she would know that nothing came close to her in his love for her and his devotion to her he was to have an affection for her that she saw that she felt that she experienced his deference to his wife was shown by taking responsibility for his assignment by god to be the leader in their marriage you married men listen up your wife's submission to you puts her in a vulnerable position because your decisions are going to affect her she will defer to you when she sees you honoring what's most important and that is your relationship with god 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 serve god and that love and service of him is lived out in the way that you treat her 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 it frees her confidence and your ability to lead because she sees that you are in fact following your lead your head your authority look at verse 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes cherishes it just as the lord does the church for we are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones and then and then he quotes genesis 2. he goes right back to the beginning where this whole thing started linking what he's writing 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 this verse 32 this is a great mystery but i speak concerning christ in the church after giving the roles of the husband and wife paul in effect says 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 jesus and his church provide an example for our marriages as our marriage is to be an example of jesus and the church and this isn't this isn't the only place that paul speaks of this great mystery oh in first corinthians 11 that we were reading earlier in verse 10 we find one of the most cryptic verses in the entire bible you've read it before and you've got i wonder what paul means by that but you've just read on in that passage and and here in ephesians 5 paul's speaking about how the gospel restores god's plan for relationships between men and women in the home and in the church and then he drops this bomb first corinthians 11 verse 10 he says for this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels remember reading that in the past you go wait wait wait paul and then he just moves on he just goes on and we're like no paul stop for a second you just brought angels into this you got to explain that what do you mean because of the women should have a symbol of authority on their head he says to the corinthians because of the angels paul come on you got it you got to elaborate on that he doesn't he just moves on it's all he needs to say because it takes us back to the very beginning where it all went wrong satan and the angels that he persuaded to join his revolt they contend that god isn't fair they're rebels who vie with god for control they want to dominate rule they want to take over though god originally created us in his image as male and female to reflect the harmony of the godhead satan hijacked humanity and messed everything up the gospel is the way back to the harmony that god originally intended back to what it means to be fully human in the image of god when a man sacrificially loves and serves his wife it affirms that god is right and the devil is wrong when a wife actively joyfully defers to her husband it dep declares that god is true and satan is a liar and the angels are watching us do you understand the angels are watching us those of you that are married think about this you're in your home there's a discussion that's going on not a disagreement not a debate not an argument a hard discussion is happening ever had one of those there's a disagreement there's talk that's going on there's the the husband and the wife they disagree and they're going at it with each other and all of a sudden they they say oh you know what remember what pastor lance taught last sunday the angels are watching and the husband stops and he says my wife is is smart she's a smart woman i need to listen to her counsel that's why god brought us together because she brings a different perspective i need to listen to it and the hu and the wife starts thinking you know what i i i need to give my counsel here my husband i need to share it with him but but ultimately he has the responsibility to make that decision and i'm going to defer to that so he stops and he goes honey hold on you know what i tell me again i need to listen to what you okay he asked a couple questions to clarify to let her know he's really listening not just to her words but he wants to understand what her heart is in this and so she shares that and then she finishes it by saying but honey ultimately i know that you have the responsibility for this and and so whatever whatever you ultimately decide uh i support that and the angels are going oh that's what the gospel does oh that's the change that god makes oh that's what this rift between god and satan and the demons has been all about they couldn't work it out because they want to control they want to be in charge but god is in charge and nothing will ever change that but here we are seeing what the power of the gospel what god's love and truth can do when people actually surrender and give into it that's the power of the gospel to bring back what was lost the home is the first and best place where the gospel's power to redeem is 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 on the success of your home being a healthy mini church some amazing messages are being preached in churches all around the world today and if the lost were there to hear them no doubt many of them would come to faith in christ but they aren't in church today i'll tell you where they are though they're at your work tomorrow they're in your school on tuesday they're in your workplace in your neighborhood the rest of this week your marriage could be the evangelistic message that sees them one to faith in christ when we finish with verse 33 paul says nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself and let the wife see that she note the word respects her husband that's an important insight into what paul means by the deference that the wife shows to her husband it's respect for his role as leader that word means to revere someone to honor the role that they have but i want to end this message with what paul says to the husbands here it's remarkable paul's giving them specific application look at it again nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself it's it's like paul though he's writing this letter and knowing a bunch of men are going to read it it's like he's saying to them i wish that i could be with you to speak these words to you let each of you in particular it's like paul is going around each man and looking them in the eyes and not saying the generic general word husband he's using your name and saying love your wife and using not the word wife but using her name when i read this i understand that paul is saying lance love lin i do paul really lance do you love her sacrificially do you love her like christ is loving the church right now oh paul stop it no lance i'm going to press in on this does she know you love her is she safe with you lance are you leading her in the things of god are you in fact loving her as christ loves the church and has given himself for her are you washing her feet men paul comes to you the spirit comes through paul to you every one of you who says your name and asks you if you're loving your wife like that and uses her name as we step into the power of the gospel to redeem these relationships as husbands and wives it is a powerful evangelistic message that can transform our world let's stand lord we pray we pray these words this truth into our lives we pray that what we find in these verses would transform our homes our marriages we pray lord i ask for those here today who are single who maybe these words don't seem to apply to but they do because they speak powerfully to this relationship with you we are your bride o lord and you are our divine husband we long for the day when we rise to join you at that wedding we pray that the power and the reality of that coming relationship will now transform our earthly relationships for the singles who are here that are interfacing and meeting with and and rubbing shoulders with married couples that are struggling in their marriage that lord you would recall to their memory at the right time with the right words to be able to speak life into these troubled marriages for the singles that have marriage in front of them that you would begin to to do a work of transforming them with an understanding of what it means to be a godly husband or wife lord we pray that husbands would love their wives and that wives would honor and respect their husbands as they lead them in the things of god 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 [Music] it's lord 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 give life you are love you bring light to the darkness you'll restore every heart that is [Music] 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 [Music] and all the earth will shout your praise our hearts will cry these bones will sing great are you lord [Music] and all the earth will shout your praise our hearts will cry these bones will sing praise [Music] our hearts will cry these bones will sing [Applause] [Music] 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 and pour out our praise it's your breath in arms 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] great are you lord [Music] [Music] [Music] how great are you lord [Music] but we would just confess that we are incapable of living out the things that you put before us apart from the working of your spirit within us [Music] lord help us to be the husbands and the wives and the single people that you've called us to be [Music] it would be a beautiful reflection of the truth of the gospel go with us as we go this week lord we pray in jesus name [Music] amen if you need prayer this morning we'd love to pray with you if you're with us online send us an email we'd love to pray for you [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] do [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Calvary Chapel Oxnard

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Id: FPcC2SEsyUA

Length: 85min 42sec (5142 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 05 2021