Our Vocation In The Family

Please stand in honor of God's Word. The Old Testament reading is in Deuteronomy chapter 6 starting in verse 4

Hear O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one You shall love the

Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and these words that I Commanded you today shall be on your heart

You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk to them when you sit in your house

And I mean you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and you should be they shall be as frontlets between your eyes

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and and on your gates The New Testament reading today is found in the book of Ephesians The reading from chapter 5 starting in verse 22

Wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church his body and is himself its

Savior Now as for the church now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands

Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her

Having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word So that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing

That she might be holy and without blemish in The same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church

Because we are members of his body Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh

This mystery is profound and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church However, let each one of you love his wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband respects her husband

Remain standing, please Well open your

Bibles if you would to Genesis 3, I think we're gonna start there this past week we had a

Fire retreat conference. I always thought it was a retreat, but they kept on calling it a conference.

We were at It was a for men a men's retreat

Out in Amish country a lot of fun. I was I had the privilege to preach one of the sessions there

And the subject for all three sessions was the man's vocation and Who here knows when

I say I may I shouldn't I don't want embarrassing what but who here knows when I use the word vocation? Theologically what that means?

Is that a it's not a word we use very often But it's a very needed thing to understand

And I was able to give that the man's vocation in the home or in the family and Then a few days ago.

It was decided that it would be better for me to preach because of pastor

Tim's different conditions, and so I didn't mean for that to be a joke I didn't mean

I didn't and I Realized as I was saying it was gonna sound like a joke. It wasn't it's It's it's serious.

It's not that serious now. I'm going too far the other way. All right But but I realized that I didn't want to come up here and preach just to men although You know that's necessary sometimes, so I tried my best to kind of you know

Tweak it a little bit to make it our vocation in the family in other words Children men and women

I know there's still some people left out because some people aren't married And so it's still good if you're planning to become married one day you need to listen right and if you don't think that's in The cards for you.

It's still good for you to know what it looks like to help others who are married, right? And so I'm trying my best to make sure that this message is for all here on this

Lord's Day Let me begin in prayer

To settle settle our hearts mainly mine my heart father in heaven. Thank you Lord for this time that you have called us to gather

It is a good thing to gather in your name And it's a good thing to have the word open up, and I pray God that you would help me

To proclaim how good it is that you have given us callings vocations That you didn't just leave us to do whatever we desire here on this earth, but you loved us enough to give us vocation

To truly enjoy what you've given to us And so I pray God that you would help me to be clear

And I ask that you would help the congregations ears to be open that there would be soft hearts and that they would receive any truth that might come forth from my lips

And that it would change us as your means of grace does happen I thank you

Lord for your spirit because we know that it's him that applies the work of Jesus and these things to our hearts

And so God I pray that you'd be with us in this great time of our need in Jesus name. Amen Psalm 115 verse 16 says the heavens are the

Lord's Heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man

God is a Very kind God. He's kind in all his ways to us even to you

I know whatever situation you may be in it is very important for you understand that God is kind. He's he's he's wonderfully kind he's so kind he's given us this creation to enjoy him in and Given this creation to us it's very important that he would teach us or show us how to enjoy this thing that he has given each one of us and Vocation is this doctrine of it's another way of saying calling

God gives callings to each one of us in different areas of life If you are a husband you are given a

God -given Calling to be a husband if you're a wife to be a wife if you are a if you have parents

You are have a vocation to be a child or your your parents children

However best way to say that we all have our own different vocations We all have different callings that God has called us each one of us

And it's a gift from God for us to enjoy what he has given us this creation.

He has given us imagine going to Cedar Point being from Michigan See everyone who is at the retreat they get to hear the same jokes again isn't that great?

It's not great that to hear the same stuff, but God bless you patience being from Michigan Growing up.

We were told the only good thing in Ohio is Cedar Point. That's the only good thing in, Ohio And if you think about it

Cedar Point is a very fun amusement park track You know with the attractions and everything But imagine going there not knowing at all what's going on and having no one to instruct you no one to run the rides

Just you were just to go and do it yourself That fun is all the pleasures and funds that would be in there would quickly

Be gone as you die on one of the coasters because you're not following safety protocols You know you have this fun thing, but there needs to be guidance there needs to be rules

You need to know what's going on right well God gives us this creation. It's beautiful. It's wonderful for us to enjoy

You know we are supposed to be happy Christians We are we're supposed to be happy and he gives us callings so that we can enjoy this creation by glorifying him

There's one thing that this world needs is calling This this pagan world we live in this world broken world we live in People do not realize that God has a calling on them to act in a certain way

God expects you to answer the vocation the calling in a particular way to glorify him and enjoy

Him forever and people don't know that now because they reject God exists

And so they cannot enjoy this creation as God has given us to enjoy That's why men refuse or boys refuse to become men

We have a bunch of boys that will not become men Because they don't realize that you have a calling on your life

Something that's significant that you can do that will give you fulfillment But instead boys don't realize that they're raised up without this idea of a calling from God and so their life is very

Insignificant and so they live a life in all sorts of fleshly desires video games not leaving their parents basement at age 30

All this sort of things they are boys not men. It's played I Forgot to turn on my notes.

I'm gonna get in trouble if I don't follow my notes somewhat here women You know women have a calling you do

It's a calling from God a very specific calling depending on different circumstances in your life

But the world tells us that there is no calling from God Women aren't to be submissive.

That's deeply backwards. You're not one of those people. You're not fundamentalists Are you and women your your roles that you are given in Scripture is actually looked at as backwards is actually demeaning that you should actually

Climb up to be a role of something else You see even the woman's vocation is taken away from her in this society.

We live in children and adolescents They're bored, why do children get in trouble?

They're bored They're not told that they have a vocation from God that it is their delight and joy to fulfill

And so they're bored and so they get in trouble as a youth That's why I got in trouble because I was bored.

I had no deeper meaning It was just all for my pleasures and fun I was bored and so I got in trouble

Our children are bored because they don't realize that they have a calling from God that it is their delight to fulfill

We all have vocation And we all have a deeper meaning in life to fulfill that vocation that calling from on high

You think about the greatest generation right when I say those words, what do you think of the greatest generation?

Well, you think of World War two, don't you and why because the greatest generation these men boys becoming men

They had a calling that was deeply significant They had to fight the atheistic

Fascist regime that was spreading like wildfire across Europe and they had to go there and end the evil what a calling that is and They answered that call and they have this nickname being the greatest generation

It caused them to become men the conflict brought about this this this rite of passage if I may use that to become men

We don't need World War World War three we don't we don't need another world war

We don't need such a big conflict. Why because we have the greatest of conflicts we have spiritual warfare

We have that conflict going on every day It's not somewhere out in Europe or in Middle East and Afghanistan and Iraq, but it's right here right now in our homes

And it's a greater conflict If I may say this then World War two right now in your homes every one of you

We have an enemy that wants to destroy you That wants to lie to you and tell you lies about who you are and what your calling is from God And it wants to destroy you like cancer hidden deceptive, but nevertheless deadly we have great conflict and Many times we can ignore it as it destroys us from within So we don't need

World War two We have a great calling today right now in this moment, but we need to know it

We need to know what does God have for me in my vocation? How am I to fulfill it? Let it be your delight to look into that and to receive this calling on high

And let it develop your character into a godly mature Person, but do not ignore it beloved or it is your death and it is your family's death

So to explore this explore this calling on high I'm trying my best not to just make it about men

This is how this sermon was created after all so please forgive me if it comes across that way But men most of all as the leaders of the home needs to wake up every one of us needs to wake up every morning

We need to tell her we need to pray to God because it's so easy for us To be leading well last week, but then be completely off track today

Nevertheless, let's go to the beginning. Let's go to Genesis 3 Let's go to the first vocation that we see the first calling from God and the first family as well

I think it'd be helpful because we'll see certain Things happening that goes on today too that can help us today.

Okay. I'm hoping to draw this out in a quick Succession of time there should be a series everything it never have enough time

But beloved let us not stop complaining about it and just do it right Genesis 3 Now the serpent we have this we have this calling from God Adam was to take care of the garden

We talk about this often and we should and that was his calling from God take care of this garden And he was to do it in righteousness.

He was to be righteous. He was to protect the garden from Unrighteousness right and he had a family.

He had a wife That's a family right there beginning of a family and this is what his calling on high was to be

But the enemy comes Genesis 3 verse 1 now the serpent

Was more crafty now. I don't I Tell you right now the first thing that the enemy will do to try to lie to you say that this this this story isn't

Really true a serpent. Come on. Let's be real and this actually happened And this is can tell you how it can take you to the serpent.

We need to listen this we need to believe it We need to apply it now. The serpent was more crafty than the other beasts of the field

That the Lord God had made he said to the woman. Look how this attack starts the

God actually say The God actually say You see that it's questioning

God's Word. How much do we have people questioning God's Word today? Oh, it's backwards to believe that this is all true.

Come on. No way. It's backwards You're gonna be one of those weird bigoted fundamentalists

God did he actually say those things? Come on Did God actually say?

Says the wicked serpent we mean Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden notice a strategy to create?

hmm To create a well, maybe God didn't actually say these things You know and for your individual life, maybe

God didn't actually call me to be a specific way Maybe God didn't actually say that maybe it is up to me to be any calling that I want

Maybe I don't have this God on high telling me to be a specific way. Maybe that is true Maybe I have autonomy a freedom within me.

Maybe God didn't actually say The woman see him right here. We'll find out later that the man seems to be there

Adam seems to be there You know what Adam I believe should have done right there. It should have said and the man said yes.

God actually said now get out Protected his family protected his home, but we have the woman said to the serpent we may eat in verse 2 chapter 3 of Genesis of the fruit of the trees in the garden

But God said you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden neither shall you touch it Lest you die

Pretty good so far Genesis 3 4 but the serpent said to the woman you shall not surely die that is blasphemy

That is terribleness That is taking what God had said and saying no and that is awful

It's blasphemous It's something that we should take very seriously that someone would deny the truth the word of God and insert their own lies

It's serious business We'll get to more of that why later You'll not surely die for Verse 5

God knows that when you eat of it Your eyes will be open and you'll be like God knowing good and evil you see what the serpent's doing there

God had a specific calling for Adam and Eve do not do this Be like this and the serpent says

God's limiting you. He's trying to limit you You can be so much more if you just kind of have your own calling and you do your own thing do your own thing

Right, so that is what the serpent does He denies the word of God and he denies he says this the calling that God has given you to do

It limits you it is not good for you. You could be so much better if you just do this

You could see how the echoes of this goes into our family today, right? It's the same stuff that is around us.

Just use your head for a moment. You can see the same Argument that God actually say no.

No, no, no Instead Men, don't leave your homes.

Don't worry about it be indifferent and watch tv all day women Don't submit to your husband's that's backwards.

You know, you need to be so much more Children be autonomous be your own person, right?

Disney Disney tells our children to follow their heart. It's never wrong. No It is wrong.

You're depraved, right? But you know, no, just let's do something else There's the serpent denying the vocation given to Adam and Eve What happens well genesis 3 6 so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food

And that it was the light to the eyes And that the tree was to be desired to make one wise

She took of it and ate Well, what do we see there? Eve has a desire within her heart.

It looks good. I want it It tastes probably good. Let's check it out

So instead of fulfilling the vocation she has got from god That god's word has said she has a desire that's contrary to that and she says let me take

Do you see how this works? Do you see how that that's exactly how sin works today?

Desire is not rooted in your calling from god, but desire is rooted in autonomy and rebellion against god

Is that not how sin works today beloved? You can listen to me james 1 14 through 15

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire desire is good

But not your own desire god's desire for you, which makes it your desire. That's good your own desire bad

You're you're enticed by your own desire rebellion against god Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death

Not just to you, but to everyone you're responsible for it has that influence of death on them

Not good first john 2 if you look notice one thing in your studies notice how much sin has to do with your own desires

The desires of the flesh right and it starts right here in the garden It looked good to eve and so she took of it

She didn't remind herself of what her calling was, but instead she fulfilled her own wicked desires given by satan at the beginning

So in genesis 3 6 at the end of it She took the fruit and ate and she also had to find adam because he was busy doing something

He gives it no He just she's gave it seems like the adam was there the whole time which makes it's like your typical 21st century

Husband today right completely indifferent doing other things not concerned that his wife is being destroyed in front of him right there

Maybe adam wasn't there the whole time though. Who knows? Okay One result of this fall and support for us when we talk about the family is look at genesis 3 16 to the woman

He said I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing And pain you shall bring forth children

And here's what I want to emphasize for just one moment your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you this idea

What's what's getting at here? Is that the family the most natural way for the family to function is for the man to lead and for the wife to submit?

Yeah, that is natural. That is exactly how it should be and if that's offensive to you I would ask you just keep your mind open a little bit to the word of god

It is a natural thing for the husband to lead and we'll talk more about what that looks like not in any way

He wants the husband to lead and for the woman to submit But here all of a sudden now the wife's desire is for I would say that leadership

Also, that doesn't become natural anymore. That's actually deeply offensive But so we have this kind of kind of what do you call it contention in the family now?

No more, is it natural for it to be that way? But now there's fighting there is where the family should be an intimate place of peace

But now it's world war three in the homes Okay today

Today now we do not have a garden to take care of. Okay We do not have a garden to take care, but we have our homes.

We have our families We have our families. We have our homes and we are to do something very particular with our homes our homes

Our families are to look like something very specific It is a calling from god that you have a family and it's to look like something that he has determined for it to look like not our own desires

It's to look like something and it's to be a place where righteousness dwells It is to be a place just like adam was to take care of the garden and righteousness obedience to god

Your home is to be a place where righteousness dwells Where the gospel the second adam who didn't fail his vocation, but he succeeded in his vocation

We make our homes look like christ in his kingdom That is our garden.

So to speak that is our duty. That is what we are doing in our families for righteousness to dwell here

But we had the same enemy and the same tactics. Did god really say that?

No, no Husband wife child you to do it this way. It's better.

It'll be better for you If you just do it this way, I thought for sure in my youth drinking alcohol and going to parties was better for me

That's more fun. It's boring to be with you christians For sure, that was truth deception lies.

It is better for you to be in rebellion Satan said to my heart and I believed it and it was leading me to my death

No, you're to do this instead, right? It's the same lies and since we are falling in adam it

Grabs hold of our rebellious hearts and tendency, right? Our desires aren't naturally in god

What a what how crazy is that our desires are naturally in rebellion? So he speaks to our worldly flesh and if we are not

Aware of it if we're not on the attack if we're not offensive, we're not aware of it. We will be taken as prey

Naturally naturally don't think that you'll be able to see it from all angles You won't you will be getting destroyed in your family just like a hidden cancer beloved

If we are not alert if we are not looking at the word of god and letting it roll over us

So if I were to ask you wife husband I mean even children If I were to ask you what is the goal of your family?

Well, what are you trying to do you a husband and wife you ought to have a goal For your family.

I don't care if you have kids out of the house now, you should have a goal. What is our goal? What what are we doing in my in our family?

You should be asking each other this have deeper conversations What are we doing here? What is this?

What is this about? What are we supposed to be doing? What is the goal of your family and if it's only stuck and I kind of say this often

I don't know how often I've said it behind here, but whatever if it's only stuck in the physical You know,

I want a healthy 401k I want children who? Do well in school go to college and make money.

Here's my another joke. I keep on looking over here. Here's my other joke Okay, i'm going to repeat is that I all about you know, we need to have physical mindedness, right?

Like I have five kids i'm working on more so that one of them ought to be successful make enough money so I can retire

Right so I can retire in their basement So, I mean, I I understand there should be a mindedness of physical things.

I'm not saying to be so heavily minded, you know This is what's so spiritual minded that you're no physically good

No earthly good. Yeah. I mean that doesn't make any sense So there should be a reasonable understanding of the physical nature of everything, right?

But the problem that I think many of us christians are in is that the goal of our homes of our family

Is focused on the physical It's focused on our children growing up and be successful We tell our kids more about how you need to make money and go to school and get

I was told over and over again You got in order to be successful You got to go to college and and get yourself a hundred thousand dollars into debt and blah blah blah, right?

I was told what to be successful, but I wasn't told much about how to be successful in the kingdom of christ I think a lot of times we can be focused and it's so easy on the physical things

While the spiritual things of our vocation from god gets deeply neglected and our goals in our home reflects that What has god told us to do?

Colossians 3 1 through 2 if then you have been raised with christ, you know

If you're a christian If you beloved call yourself a christian Then seek the things that are above Where christ is

You love christ so much he's up there and you want to seek him that's your desire He's seated at the right hand of god set your minds on the things that are above not on the things of earth

As paul's saying don't worry about the earth at all. Don't know but he's saying let your focus be on The spiritual and let everything else fall into place

That's what we get in matthew 6 25 through 33 I don't have time to go through the whole thing, but you remember that jesus saying stop worrying

Stop worrying about what you're going to wear what you're going to eat All right, the pagans worry about that kind of stuff your your god knows that your father knows that don't worry about that Stop being anxious

But see a lot of people don't read on to the antidote to what jesus then tells you to do

And what does jesus then tell you to do? Well, he says in verse 33, but seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and then all those things

The physical things will be added. It'll be there Well, sometimes we face martyrdom and hardships and everything indeed

But whenever our focus is on the physical and we don't focus on the spiritual that is death indeed

We are called as christians to not be like the pagan that denies the spiritual world altogether

But we are called to look to christ who is seated at the right hand of the father and let our vocations be set in that Our focus to be in that and then everything else let it fall off of that through that now

There's all sorts of different things we could talk about what that actually looks like when the rubber hits the road But there is that theological general truth right there is is your family your goal with your wife or whatever?

It may be your children if you're a single parent Is your goal that this household would be seeking first the kingdom of christ

So that everything else can flow from that or are we seeking the things of the earth primarily?

Isn't that what satan told eve to do? Eve tried answering. No. No, we have a vocation from god to not do that and satan says

Don't worry about that. Just eat the things of this world, right? Just take the things of this world

The devil is always trying to get you off the vocation that you have from the lord And just your desires and the fleshly things of the world focus on the things of the world.

There's a trick from the evil one So as individuals we are to seek first the kingdom of christ and all the niceties of this life will organically follow from that And a family is made up of individuals gathered together and it has the same goal to seek first the kingdom of christ

Now I think a great trick of satan is to make a home look well put together

But the goal of that well look to you know the home that looks nice But the goal of it is nothing to do with the kingdom of christ

Everything to do with the kingdom of the world. I want to be careful how

I say I almost didn't say this part I don't i'm gonna say it tim. Correct me. Okay, just right away come up and correct me the crack house

That gets their kids taken away It's serving the domain of darkness just as the morally sound home

That does not have the service and worship of christ at its center And one may be worse than the other but both are serving the domain of darkness if you are not

Serving the kingdom of christ you are allowing the domain of darkness to take root in your home

Even if it looks beautiful and polished off to the world outside You get what i'm saying in our age of religious degradation

Going downhill most christian homes have enough morality to keep from being the crack house

But not the fortitude to be a bastion of kingdom activity

They have enough morality to not look like that crack house But they don't have enough kingdom activity to be a bastion of gospel warmth

And so one generation of christian family fails to produce the next Seventy percent

Of our children are leaving the faith. They're leaving the religion once they get out of the house now

It's all different reasons. I'm not trying to say if your child has left the faith. That means you did everything wrong But the whole number 70 % of our children are spending two decades in our homes and they decide that it's not warm enough there and so they leave

There is something Seriously wrong with that that cause that should cause us to repent

Eyes filled with tears what's going on here? Why are our children leaving for the pagans? Their worldview stinks.

There's nothing good about it. Why are they going there? Because there's something going on in our families.

It's not gospel It doesn't have the warmth that should have where they want to come in There's something going on with that statistic at least generally speaking

We need to stop blaming the world. Stop blaming college. College shouldn't take your kid College didn't do that.

It was just a circumstance that drew your kid away But there wasn't a kid goes away.

They should feel like a certain sense of man. It was much warmer The gospel light was much better than this stuff this dribble that i've been doing now

It should draw them back. But when there is no gospel warmth, they don't have nothing to go back to We need to stop blaming the world we need to stop blaming college

We need to stop blaming those things and we need to ask ourselves. Did am I leading my family? to gospel warmth

Or did I just send my kids or go with my wife to church in a building at a certain time?

But then in the intimacy of my home where no one can see there was no gospel warmth at all there Beloved that is going to destroy you and your family and it has and it's continued to do so until we change something

I don't have time to do it If you look I find it interesting in your own study time

Joshua 24 14 through 16. We got that famous Line from joshua, right?

He says But as for me and my house, we will serve the lord. It's beautiful, right?

It's good But notice what he says at the end of 14. He says or I always lose it

I lost it last time and I didn't learn my lesson He says in verse 15 And if it is evil in your eyes, he's talking to the israelites to serve the lord choose this day whom you will serve

What's so interesting about this? He says choose this day israelites who you're going to serve. Is it going to be the gods in canaan?

That we're about to take out or is it going to be yahweh? Notice he doesn't say Choose this day if you're going to serve yahweh, but he says choose this day who you're going to serve

Why is that so significant because beloved your household is going to serve something You're either going to serve god

And if you're neglectful for to that then you will serve the domain of darkness. There is no gray area

There is no well, you know, I don't i'm not against god Well, if you're not for him, you're against him, right?

And so I find it interesting joshua says choose to say who? Not if who are you going to serve in the domain of darkness?

Are you going to serve in the beloved kingdom of our dear lord? Jesus christ? I hope it's said about every one of us here that I will serve the lord

I'm, not going to serve the domain of darkness I am going to be actively serving the lord and looking out for different ways

The kingdom of darkness is coming in and creating division and creating that and making that gospel warmth be dampened

I'm, i'm searching every way where that's happening And i'm destroying it

May it be said of all of us that as our desire because the kingdom of christ is too good to mess up It's too warm.

It's too inviting It's too good to see your children walking in the faith to see Your wife and your greatest desire is to see her growing in the lord and loving her in that way

But of course i'm getting ahead of myself Let's go if you quick if you will don't quickly just take your time ephesians 5 22

What does it mean then? What does it mean? One could say that that was a 30 minute introduction, but i'm

You know, it's where it won't be that long Beginning of a family is a marriage

It's the beginning of a family In ephesians 5 22 through 33. We're going to just see this very hate to say it

But very quickly to see what is our vocation? What is a wife called to do? What is a man called to do? What is a husband called to do?

We see in ephesians 5 22 wives Submit to your own husbands ask to the lord That's clear, isn't it

Yeah, you submit just a little bit. No, no as the church submits to the lord.

So wives submit to your husbands All right, no matter how unpopular that gets we will proclaim that because that is the good things that god has for you

Is for you to have a heart of submission to your husband Okay, even when you're and we could talk about it could be a whole sermon

But even when your husband is difficult, it is good to have a heart of submission to him as you are doing it to the lord

Even masters who have servants servants are told to submit to their slave owners as they're doing it to the lord

There's a heart of submission and you're doing it for to the lord Wives you are called to submit to your own husbands ask to the lord for the husband is the head of the wife even as christ is the head of the church his body and As himself its savior now as the church submits to christ in ephesians 5 24

So also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. That's scary. It is first peter.

I think says Women do not fear anything because it is a fearful thing to have to submit to a human it is it's fearful um

And there's this idea That you are given a god -given calling to do something that is not easy to submit

Now, of course if you're in danger I always got to say if you're in danger if your husband is Physically attacking you and you are your life is at stake.

That doesn't mean you just you just take it right you get into safety But you are to submit even when it's difficult

Even when your husband is difficult you are to submit because that is your god -given calling It is a glorious thing for a wife to be patient in that you will get crowns

You will get rewards for being such a godly woman Now there's much more that could be said about that.

But my speech the other couple days ago was on men not women and so That's what i'll give you there verse 25

What why are wives to submit what is what's going on so that the husbands can do his job?

More openly if that makes sense or without objects, okay Wives you submit so that the husbands can do their job

And there's not a bunch of conflict and obstacles in the way husbands. What are you to do husbands verse 25?

You have a calling that is very specific You do not lead your wives with a hard hand or any way you want to do because you have a calling from god

And you are to fulfill it for the good of you and your wife for the glory of god And what is that husbands love your wives as christ loved the church that should make you husbands swallow hard How in the world am

I going to love my wife as christ loves the church? That should make you fall down in your knees each morning asking god to guide you because this is far too much for you

And if it just causes you to be like, yeah, I would beloved ask you to repent It is a lofty thing that husbands are what they are to do

They are to love their wives so much as christ loves the church. That is a lofty ideal

Husbands love your wives as christ loved the church Well, how did he show his love? Well, what does he go on to say in verse 25 and gave himself up for her?

Why why did jesus do that? Why did he give himself up for his bride for his church that he might sanctify her sanctify means to separate?

You know, so so jesus has a bride and he separates this bride away from everyone else

And what does he do with that separated body of people? Well, it goes on to say having cleansed her by the washing of water and the word

So what does christ want to do with his bride? He wants to separate it away from the rebellion of all mankind and he wants to sanctify this body

That is to set to get the sin out of her to get the sin out of her and what does he use as his means?

or his tools the word of god the truth You see how satan took away people with the lie with deception with falsehood

Jesus does the opposite reverses it and separates the people sanctifies her by the word of truth by the gospel sanctifies his bride

Applies the work that he has done on the cross through the word of truth This is what he's doing

So that he might in verse 27 present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be

Holy and without blemish as a christian Jesus wants you to be holy And jesus is your husband.

And so you say it is my delight to follow him in holiness because that's his desire for you beloved

But look at in verse 28 in the same way So like that like the example that christ has given us in the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies

Right because your bride Husbands is your own body. You have left your other household and you have became one flesh with your bride

And so in the same way that christ loves the bride so husbands you are to love your bride, too

What does it mean to love your bride then? What does it mean to have love for her is not to make sure you get her stuff on valentine's day and on your anniversary

Although that can be that's obviously part of it But you see your bride in the kitchen cooking you see your bride taking care of your children

And you say I want her to be holy I want the word of god to be here

God uses the word to sanctify his bride and I want to use his word, too I want the word.

I want the gospel truth to be here I don't want satan's lies I don't want my wife to be taken away with that with all the lies of satan.

I want the word of god to flourish here That is loving your wife's not leading her with a heavy hand right

Not leading her any kind of fickle way that your heart desires You're irritated with certain things

And so now you lead her in a way based off your irritation not based off of the kingdom of christ and the word of truth

You lead your wife into the kingdom of christ That is true love right there. That is true love and man that is difficult

But it's a lofty call and christ is our leader He's the one who has done it who is doing it

And so we grab hold of his ankles and we say help me lord. Jesus christ Men, and I say this often too men.

Do not let your morning devotions be boring You have far too many sins to repent of and take to christ for your time alone with christ to be boring

If it's boring That means you are not pointing out your sins to the lord as he washes you clean and guides you into further holiness

To do your job. Well, do not have boring time with the lord

Repent of that because that means that satan is hiding law is hiding sins from your eyes

My greatest times of worship is when i'm repenting and christ is healing me Verse 28 in the same way his husband should love their wives as their own bodies

He who loves his wife loves himself because she's It's part of his body now for no one has ever hated his own flesh

But nourishes it and cherishes it just as christ does his body the church because we are members of his body

Therefore a man in verse 30 Continuing on shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to the wife and the two shall become one flesh

This mystery is profound and i'm saying that refers to christ and the church However, let each one love his wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband

So that the husband can lead the wife. Well Wife if you're not submissive and your husband's trying to lead you into holiness

It's going to make his job hard and sometimes and by the way wives You lead your husbands too into holiness.

It goes both ways husbands. We tend to get blinded to certain things Lovingly in submission

Point out the sins right it goes both ways Husbands you are to be on guard for those sins in your wives

Uh in your wife and you are to lovingly bring her out Wives submit do not fight him on these things talk with him talk about it come into agreement

Look into the bible go to your pastor Do all those things but don't just automatically fight your husband's because he might bring something to your attention.

Hey again, it goes both ways Wives make sure you do in a very submissive way in a way that's very much respecting your husband's

But point out sin point out these things that are causing the domain of darkness to take root instead of the kingdom of christ nevertheless husbands our goal

Wives our goal is that the word of god would stand supreme Where the lies of satan take root naturally we set up the word of god as supreme it is everything to us

It's not just something that we say as christians that makes for a good bumper sticker but it is something that our house is a house that serves the lord and His word is supreme here because this is the tool jesus uses to make you clean

Husbands, when is the last time you asked your wife how her devotions are going? When is the last time you asked your wife?

What have you been reading in scripture? What are you battling right now? How often our marriage is is is rooted in just Just talk that doesn't go any further than the weather

When's the last time husbands you asked your wife how it's going? And if she's not doing it When is the last time you first went to the lord and asked you to be used as a tool to bring her to do it?

and a lovingly leader in that green pasture Pastors oftentimes

They say that their burden is to know scripture better so they can then give it to their congregation in a way that Well husbands, you are the pastor of your wife

Your burden should be to know the word of god so you can lovingly Teach her and bring her her along But how often and I am guilty of this too.

Are we rather interested in sports facts and video games We should want to know the word of god so we can lovingly give it to our wives

Our conversation should be enriched with the word of god. The gospel should flow out of us the warmth

And we can see our calling with our children Very quickly Ephesians 6 1 children obey your parents and the lord for this is right

We want our children to be submissive and to obey You know, I don't know if you know this but your child is depraved

And they don't want to submit and so you must train them to but why are you doing it? parents

Are you doing it because it's just annoying when your kids are disobedient That I find myself that's why

I want to discipline because they're annoying me. Stop annoying me That's not why we discipline

That's that's not why we want our kids to be obedient because we want our kids to enter into the kingdom of christ

Same thing with our wives. We want our wives to be sanctified. We want to lead our wives in a way That's sanctifying her well same thing with our children

We want them to be sanctified in christ And so we teach them you must be obedient to me child so that I can lead you to our lord

I Try to talk to my son when I gotta be in a way that's I gotta spank him or I gotta do something.

I know he's not gonna like I try to show him This is why i'm doing this I'm, not doing this because i'm just irritated with you.

I'm doing this because i'm trying to lead you to christ And so when he realizes that when that clicks in his head when they're old enough they realize yes, this is good for me

This is good for me. This isn't just because you're just randomly disciplining me because you're angry This is because you are loving me they will see that if you teach them that They are to be obedient so that in chapter 6 verse 4 of ephesians fathers

It's mothers too, but fathers you are to be leadership over this process That's why I think he's talking to fathers here, but it's mothers here, too.

Fathers. Do not provoke your child to anger Don't you dare? Use their obedience and provoke them to anger with it because that will cause them to be bitter

And we do that whenever we are setting up a standard that is our standard and they'll see through that and they'll be bitter for that They will they'll get old enough.

They'll realize that mom and dad just disciplined me in a way that was arbitrary It was it was in their emotions

It was their own kingdom that they built up that they wanted me to submit to they'll know that and they'll be bitter do not

And bitter your children. What are you to do instead? But bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the lord in the kingdom of christ in the word of truth

And when your kids see that this is where you're guiding them. That's where you're leading them They will see that there is green pasture here.

There is warmth here. I want this. I need this discipline They will see this if you are patient with them and you show them that Far too often though we train our kids up in our law

And they get bitter it's the same thing though, isn't it? We are to bring them up not in the lie of satan, but in the word of truth

We are to sanctify our wives not with the lies of satan, but in the word of truth, but in the gospel

But in the word the word is to be dominant in our homes now um application as we finish this deuteronomy 6 4 through 9 deuteronomy 11 18 through 21

We see that the general environment of your home

The the environment of your home Just the way your home feels the way your family feels in your home the general environment of your home

Must be to teach proclaim and celebrate and worship the word of truth god's word god himself

That is the feeling you want in your home the atmosphere of your home. You want to be full of worship

Full of the word of truth and how it guides us I'm going to read it real quick deuteronomy 6 4 through 9 notice here

Oh israel The lord our god the lord is one you beloved shall love the lord your god with all your heart with all your soul and with All your might see how it starts in you individually.

I love the lord in my heart so much And these words

I command you today shall then from that organic worship in your heart shall be on your heart

You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house

Or when you walk by the way or when you lie down or when you rise You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and you shall be as frontlets between your eyes

You shall write the word of the lord on the doorposts of your house and on your gates now Should we all go out and do that with everything?

No, the point is it needs to be everywhere Whenever you're just hanging out on your porch You should see the gospel everywhere

And you talk to your son and your wife about the gospel that you see The beautiful sun going down and you talk about how good god has been to us today

Right. The point is is that you should love the lord so much within your heart that you can't help us

See the gospel everywhere and you talk about it It comes forth from you. It's the environment of the home

It's when your kids come in they're breathing in gospel environment and they're breathing out worship, right?

This is what you should want And I would argue and there's so much that could be said more about that It starts in your own private life

It starts beloved in your own private life You need to have that worship in your own heart If you do not have it don't expect it to be in the environment of the home

It won't be there and we know that it needs to be that you need to wake up and have that time with the lord Whatever during the day it is right you fall down on your knees and you say christ heal me today

Show me my weakness. Let me see you as beautiful and wonderful And then in that let me worship you as being so good to me

Right, and then that just kind of comes out of you throughout the day And then your wife breathes it breathes it in your children breathes it in and they're worshiping too, right?

And I think for a very practical i'm going to end here with this because i'm running out of time I think a very practical step in this very practical

Because what i'm saying is you want your environment to be a one of worship And a way that you can set the day off right with your family is to start in a family worship time

Okay If our desire is for the kingdom of christ and the word of god to be proclaimed and be exalted

And be the general feel in the home I suggest beloved that in your family there should be a time where you come together and you worship god explicitly together

Um, this is a time that you come together and you read god's word you sing god's word with hymns

And you pray god's word because you're setting the tone for the rest of the day. This is going to be the atmosphere of my home

Now one thing I would say I want to be careful Because this looks like different this looks different in everyone's home

But I do think it's good. I think if you look in church history, this the apostolic age You look at the reformation.

They took family worship very seriously They look at it as a staging ground as as a is

I don't know how to say a staging ground might be right But as a way to start the day off in this to create this environment in the home

As they open the word together as a family as they sing praises together as a family

As they pray together as a family And I would say that this is the first Application.

This is the first practical step that you could take to make that environment in your home is to have family worship consistently in your home

And I it's not just for children Um, you should be doing it individually But if you have a husband and wife, that's a family do it together

Um, i'm telling you that will create a unity a bond and where conversations are brought out there with the word of god open

You have children do it with your children um You should want to encourage them to talk about their day to talk about their

Their hardships to talk about what they're thinking and everything with the word of god open during that time of family worship

There's much more that could be said about that and I don't have time to say it Um, do I think it's a very quickly do

I think it's a litmus test if you're not doing family worship your family? No But I do think it's a very practical step to to with the desire for your house to be a kingdom

Of christ activity going on. It's a very good way to settle our hearts as a family together and then go forth from that Um, and i'll end it with that God in heaven.

Thank you so much You know, I can't end it with that If you are very quickly if you're thinking this is too much for me

I can't do this It's this sort of Vocation from god is lofty and it's too much for me.

Can I say something real quick good That is a good feeling to have good because that drives you to prayer it drives you to christ

It is too much for me. It is too much for you. You can't do it beloved but christ empowers you to do it

Anytime we realize that we're weak and christ is strong. That is a good day And so if you're thinking in this moment,

I can't there's no way Beloved good Go to christ cry out to him

Say empower me by your by your gospel By your spirit to have such a love for the gospel that it flows out in my family

You have pastors here that are wanting to help you have deacons you have elders you can utilize them

It is good to need the lord and he will meet you I promise you when you go to him in repentance and desire to grab hold of him.

He won't let you down. He never does God in heaven. Thank you so much for the gospel Thank you so much for jesus christ our lord

I can think of how much Lord this lofty calling is something that I failed to even come close to But I know lord that in that I can then go to the lord jesus christ

I can go to you and you'll comfort me by empowering me lord To gather me up And to bring me into greater conformity to christ so that when

I lead my family I do it in a way that honors you I'm thankful that you are a god who does this

You don't tell us to do a bunch of things that are too hard for us and say well good luck You don't do that lord, but you tell us to do it and then you empower us to do it

So I pray god that as the people before me and me myself We would see that we have a vocation in our homes that it is a serious vocation and it is difficult and hard But glorious at the same time because christ jesus in his kingdom by his word empowers us to do it

So that our families become a family of kingdom activity So I pray that that would be the desire of the husbands and wives here

I pray that be the desires of the children I pray be desires for everyone in this church that we would have families here who love the lord so much that it is just In the environment of the family itself lord, if any of my words were untrue,

I pray that they'd be forgotten And I pray that your truth anything that I said was true. It'd be grabbed hold of and be celebrated