Book of Ephesians - Ch. 5, Vs. 25-33 (09/02/2001)

Park Meadows Church

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Ephesians chapter 5 and since we sat for the singing we'll stand during the entire message Well, that's the way the

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Jews did it wasn't it They stood all day and heard the word preached and then they started weeping

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Their feet were hurting Ephesians chapter 5 and I Believe we finished verse 22 didn't we let's see where's no we

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I've got down to a verse 24 we finished 24, right? That's where I put my little mark

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Okay Well as brother Otis mentioned when he taught Verse 22 the submit the wives submit to the husband part.

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He said that's a lot easier to do if you If you have verse 25 operating, so verse 25 is what we're covering today

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So let's pray together father. Thank you so much for our time together today and Lord we know that when we come together, we're encouraged by our mutual faith and we thank you for the fellowship time and the food and the

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Sweet spirit that's among this church body as we spend time together and Lord now

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We come back to a time where we want to break the the true bread together and fill our hearts

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With your glory and also teach us what we must learn today. We ask it in Jesus name.

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Amen Let's look at verse We've got to start with verse 23 really

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For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the Savior of the body

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Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ So let the wives be to their own husbands and everything husbands love your wives

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Even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it now

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It almost seems like here as we read through the next few verses that we're going to change the metaphor

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But I contend that we really don't and let's read through it and I'll show you what I mean

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Verse 26 that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word

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That he might present it this bride to Himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing

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But that it should be holy and without blemish so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies now, there's where the metaphor seems to change

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But it's really not he that loveth his wife loveth himself For no man ever yet hated his own flesh

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But nourish it and cherish it yet, even as the Lord did the church. So we see here that The Lord loved the church as his own body as his own self.

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He loved the church And cared for it as much as he did his own person and so this is simply instructing the husbands to love their wives in this fashion just as Christ did the church for we are members of his body of His flesh and of his bones and it's kind of like the marriage in the physical sense pictures the unity of becoming one flesh

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This is speaking of the unity that we have with the Savior being his bride For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall join unto his wife and the two shall be one flesh

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And I'm gonna go back and we're gonna discuss verse 25, but I wanted to cover this so we can finish We'll actually cover this chapter

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I want to focus on verse 25, but let's mention this because this is a an often it's not really a misused verse, but it's a partially used verse verse and the part of the verse that people like To use is the part the last part where it says and the two shall be joined unto his wife and the twain

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Shall be one flesh and people like to talk about that preach about it teach about it

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And and when young people are thinking about getting married that's the important part, but we sometimes don't realize that all of the

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Bible is important and God put the first part of the verse in and it's very very important in creating a blissful

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Young marriage of a young couple. So you young people that are contemplating marriage someday

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Think about this part it says for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother now that's not easy for the father and the mother and We have not experienced this yet, but we have experienced taking

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The older daughter to college last year and then again last week and it is terrible

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It's an awful thing it's like a severance almost although she calls every day and wants to talk to mom and dad and sister and baby brothers and big brother and everybody but but it's still something to get used to and so Just a few days ago.

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I did perform the wedding of One of the sons of some friends of ours In fact, these people were our first Sunday school teachers when

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Charlotte and I first got saved they had a young couples class Frank and Patti Ford and they were our teachers when we first got saves and became they

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Disciple us became friends and we were very close friends and still are through the years even though they moved to Arlington but one of their little boys that we babysat when he was this big and And just loved it.

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In fact, it made us want to have children. These boys were so neat to babysit and I did the wedding so I got to watch this was their first one to be married out of their siblings and got to kind of be a part of it and watch and see how they reacted and so forth and Just made me think forward to this time

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But it's difficult for the parents to realize that there is a cutting of the apron strings and there must be

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Many marriages Have problems the first couple of years because the parents of one of the two interfere with the marriage and That cannot be it's just a disastrous thing.

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In fact, it is a breaking of God's word when that happens because just as important as the union is where it talks about the joining and the two becoming one flesh is

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This severance that takes place where it says the man will leave the father and the mother Now it doesn't mean

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Paul that you have to go 10 ,000 miles though No, it probably it just simply means that The young man needs to be able to get away from the dad so that he can become a man

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Not under the complete shadow. Now. I remember when Charlotte and I were married

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I think we stayed in Waco for a couple two years and And Then we moved to Mahea and Then my grandparents both passed away within a month of each other

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And so we moved out to the place and we've lived within walking distance of my parents since that time but They've been remarkable in that they've never won

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Charlotte I were talking about this the other day because we were we were doing this wedding with this young couple and just talking about things like this and She said, you know, there's never been one time in 25 years of marriage where they've ever interfered with anything in our life

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And that's true, but that's unusual But the thing is the first two years of our marriage.

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We didn't live right next to him either and So young people you need to remind your parents of that when you get married

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You need to cut those apron strings and that is a something that God said to do. It's not easy for the parents

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It's really tough, but it needs to be done Okay, it doesn't mean that you don't still honor your mother and father

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However, it just means you don't live in the same house necessarily for a while. Okay now

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Verse 32 kind of concludes this whole passage. It says this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church

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Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself and the wife see that she reverence the

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Husband so he concludes by bringing the two together now Marriage to me is one of the greatest types ever given in the whole

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Bible And you think about the types in the Old Testament so many of them that are fulfilled in the

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New Testament I can think of a couple of places in the Old Testament where God got absolutely

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Wrathful Because someone destroyed a type for example Moses was told to smite the rock the first time and it gave forth water for the children of Israel and Later, they went on about their way and they came to another time when they needed water again and God very clearly told

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Moses to speak to the rock and What did Moses do he was upset?

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I don't remember exactly what he was upset about probably the people were griping and complaining again, and he went out and in anger

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What did he do? Smote the rock didn't he and you know that God told him, you know,

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I told you not to do that and you did it So you'll never see the promised land in that sad to think about that.

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He was the great leader He never set foot in it. Why is that? So well because he broke a type

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The type was supposed to show that Jesus Christ is smitten once and only once for the sins of his people and That after you're saved when you sin again, you don't have to go back and recrucify him

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Hebrews chapter 6 talks about that and says It's blasphemous to think that we have some people in different Denominations that teach that you can lose your salvation and then get resaved again

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Well in order for that to happen, you'd have to recrucify you'd have to smite the rock again, which is not to be so What the

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Bible does teach is we are to 1st John 1 9, which means to speak to the rock

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Confess our sins. He's faithful and just forgive us and he cleanses from all unrighteousness And that's what Moses was supposed to picture and he blew it and he was punished for it

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There is the sowing and reaping Concept in the world and it took part there

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As well now you think about this? I try to instruct young people this way if I'm going to be the one that does the service

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Then they need to go through a little bit of counseling and answer some questions and go through some Bible studies

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That I've prepared for this and one of the things that I try to teach them is that their marriage is a type

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It is it is the most beautiful picture of how salvation works that God ever put in the

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Word of God and He uses the physical union of the marriage and the unity and the oneness that is supposed to be there

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To teach the spiritual unity of a born -again child of God between his spirit and the

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Holy Spirit within us So there is a union that takes place and this is what is meant by spirit filled

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Is that your spirit and his spirit become one one spirit there is such a union that it's like there's one spirit and a

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Marriage is a picture of this relationship And that's why you see at the end of this passage in 32.

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This is a great mystery But I speak concerning Christ and the church, but now he's comes back and he teaches about physical marriage and he's using the two to picture one another and so the physical marriage between man and woman on this earth is

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Designed by God to be a beautiful type or a picture of the relationship that the church has with Jesus Christ the bridegroom

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So let's be careful not to break that type young people. It's very important that we not break that type

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Now let's go back to verse 25 Husbands Love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it part of the definition for this kind of love

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Is the word gave? Gave himself for it and then as it goes on down through the passage and it talks about that You love the wife as you love your own body or you could say your own self

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You realize that when the two become one then it is one body in a sense just like Christ and the church are one and so he loves us just like he loves his own person and We're to love the wives in that same way

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Now I can find no greater definition for this kind of love than first Corinthians chapter 13.

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So let's go there and we'll What I want you to do as we look at this love gentlemen

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Rather than focusing on the wife reverencing us And on the wife obeying and submitting to us

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Let's focus on what we're supposed to do first God has made

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Woman where she is the responder and that's why the church is the responder.

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You don't go out seeking Christ You see these bumper stickers that I found Christ You weren't even looking for him

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He was the groom. We are the bride. We did not even notice him He noticed us from eons ago and he put his eye upon us and he said you're mine and Then when you were born into this world and you got to the place where you could understand things

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He began to pursue you And he began to woo you to himself and to show you in a million ways his love just like the young man brings the flowers to the young ladies and The candy later on as he gets a better job the diamonds and the jewel that God made and put in the earth

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Only reason those things are there ladies and gentlemen is so that we men can have something to give

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To our brides Unless you want to put them on the end of a drill bit and drill for oil.

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That's about the only other thing They're good for So God has pictured this through and through and through and as he began to pursue you and to woo you to himself

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There came a day where you saw that love so strong for you that you Responded and loved him back and that was the day of your earthly salvation and So he gave you the capacity to love him

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You did not have it to start with and the young men when they're pursuing the one that they've selected and said this has to be the one

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There's a similar thing going on. There is there is a wooing and a pursuing and in a gift -giving and a

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Loving From a heart from the heart that goes on. It's it's pictures this relationship

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So let's look and see what kind of love this is that the husband must have for the wife long before we ever look at her response of love and Reverence and submission which is a response by the way.

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It is also an obedience to the Word of God I'm not saying it's not but I'm just saying the way the nature of it is

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It happens in real life as God's designed this world and the way things work as a response

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And it's a response to this kind of godly love that the man is supposed to have for the wife now

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Let's look at it in chapter 13. What I want us to do gentlemen is to as We begin to look at these

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Starting with verse 4 everywhere. You see the word charity. That's agape. So that's love

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Instead of reading it like it's written Charity suffereth long. I want you to read every one of these this way

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If I love my wife Like Christ loved the church

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Then my love for her suffers long Okay, that's how we're gonna read every one of these takes a little longer to read it that way

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But this is the way it is because the Lord as he wrote this he personified love He acted as if love is a living being that is doing these things to the object of its love.

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Are you with me? so for the husband the object of this love is your wife and so This is personified and this is what true love will do to the wife

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Gentlemen, if you have it and if you don't have this and you don't display this don't expect submission.

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Don't expect referencing Don't expect anything Don't expect anything at all from the wife

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Other than what she would do and as into the Lord just out of obedience But that's not really what you want in your marriage.

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Is it? You want her to have times with you just out of obedience or out of warm affection?

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so Let's look at this love Suffereth long if I love my wife like Christ loved the church

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Then I am patient and not just patient but long patient I have long lasting patience with her

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If she does have little things that get on my nerves, I'm not even aware of them

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I'm patient If Satan tries to come and put in my mind something that she's doing that's irritating

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I cast it out of my mind immediately and I say Lord that's not from you It's not for me

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So where'd it come from? I reject it Lord. Give me the mind of Christ Let me think like Jesus would think right now and it'll go

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So that's part of what love is love is patient So that anything that the wife would do does not irritate you cannot

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Because you don't love her because of what she does or doesn't do This is a God type of love

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The love has nothing to do with the object of the love it has do with the one who's the lover and The great title to this part of this chapter in Ephesians is the man the husband is the lover the lover so It's not so important the object of the love as it is the lover and that's the man's role

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So next it goes and it says if I love my wife like Christ loved the church.

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I am kind to her Now the Greek word for kind means it carries the connotation of I do whatever

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It takes to help her To help her to to build her.

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That's what kindness really is. So it doesn't always Kindness is not always in a little sweet voice to be a man pleaser type thing

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It's to be a helper a genuine helper of the person But it does carry the connotation even in the meaning of the word that it does have a tone of kindness and not a tone of rebuke

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Now it took me a long number of years since Charlotte and I were childhood sweethearts. She was 14 when we met so I raised her and We carried that into the marriage and there came a day and I don't know how old she was when this day came and she

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Said I don't need a daddy. I just need a husband And I said, hmm What does that mean and I contemplated that for days and hours out in my car alone out on the couch by myself?

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no, I'm kidding and I Don't need a daddy.

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I got one of those. I need a husband. What does that mean? Does that mean maybe she's learned how to live in the world now?

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And I can remember times when we'd be crossing the street and I'd say stop right there

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You know, I saw the car it was it wasn't that she didn't like me being a gentleman she just didn't need a daddy

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Now that was last week and I have turned aside because I got into this scripture as I studied and the

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Lord burdened my heart And so Charlotte I'm not gonna be your daddy anymore So there's a tendency in marriages you young ladies listen to me now

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If you do marry a young man that you meet when you're fairly young so that the two of you

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Maybe even if you get married at a young age There will be a tendency for your husband to do that.

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It it really means he loves you Charlotte it's really what it meant back in those days

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But it can be somewhat irritating and this passage doesn't say that the woman has to be patient with the man.

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So Kindness is important now So here's what

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I'm saying. A lot of times the tone that the man will use with the wife is like it Well, I'm really getting all over myself.

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It's like a teaching tone Like a shoe. Yeah, man. Yes Don't you wish don't say she you wish

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I was sitting by you so I could go. Amen, but I wouldn't okay. Hey, man It needs to be in kindness a kind tone.

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Oh My goodness. All right next let's move on. What do you say gentlemen? It ain't getting any better though Okay If I love my wife like Christ loved the church, then

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I don't envy her Have you ever had a situation where the woman was the bigger breadwinner in the family?

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Do you know that some men can't handle that their pride will not let him handle that. You know, why they envy that But in a healthy marriage the man will do the smart thing he'll say let me help you how can

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I help you You know, but I don't know why I picked that example there are a thousand examples where the wife can meet success and If the man loves her like Christ loved the church, he's happy.

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He's happy that she meets that success Now I'll have to say that this particular definition for love has its place in the marriage

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But it also probably has a far better place in the church among brothers and sisters as we look at one another

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Not to envy because it's seldom that in in the marriage that you envy the spouse. Would you agree with that?

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I mean this one's kind of easy. I'm getting by pretty good on this one I don't think I've ever envied Charlotte except for her.

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Wait a minute. I did think of some things She has a great immune system and never gets sick. I envy that But you know what

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I'm saying? So this is not the best fit in the marriage But it is true and it should be there and I'm sure there are situations in Marriages where there is envy

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And it's not to be allowed and it's the man's responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen He is the lover and if he loves her like Christ loved the church.

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He does not envy what the Lord brings to her in her life and The next one if the man loves the wife like Christ loved the church

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He is not prideful and puffed up And he doesn't bought himself as if he is the little rooster in the old family hen house

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That's an attitude thing The man does not have to go around Announcing that he's the leader of the household very often.

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There are times when he will have to announce that Gentlemen if it seems to be unclear sometimes but The attitude should be one of love

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Not one of vaunting saying uh -huh. I get to be the leader. You don't get to because God made me the leader

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You're the server You know, it's not that attitude Not if you love her

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Puffed up falls into the same category as vaunting not the self puffed up in pride

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I am the man I Am the all -wise one of how the things of the world to go and you will listen

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That'll only last so long gentlemen and most of you already know that but some of you younger guys That attitude only lasts so long and God will have straightened that out in the marriage

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Verse 5 if you love your wife like Christ loved the church, you don't behave yourself unseemly towards the wife

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Have you ever been in a situation where you saw a man tell a joke and the wife was the butt of the joke?

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Don't you feel very uncomfortable when they do that because you're saying you blew it fella You just messed up And oh boy, that's a bad thing to see

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That's just one example, but if you love the wife that is a no -no you just don't do that so When we teach these things in the marriage counseling, of course, it goes both ways

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The wife should never do that to the husband either but specifically this is talking to the husband. So Nothing, that's unseemly or that's not beautiful And clean and righteous if you love her then that's what you'll bring.

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It's the clean righteous beautiful thing Okay, what about the next one husbands?

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If you love the wife like Christ loved the church Then you don't seek your own things You don't seek your own things.

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You're not selfish Now what's interesting about it is that as God made things to be it from the very beginning when he said that the role of the wife as we discussed in Ephesians last week is to submit and To reverence the husband and you go all the way back to Genesis.

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It says she is created as the help meet which implies very clearly that though she has gifts and And God has makes her fit to do certain services and ministries

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That her main ministry is to help the husband to meet his ministry the most successfully that he can

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She is the help meet. She is the helper of his ministry That's a huge part of the life of the wife and that never ends

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It's always a part or the larger part of your role You also have other things and gifts and and duties and ministries that God will put within that realm

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If you won't don't believe that then read the Proverbs 31 woman in the last chapter of Proverbs And you'll see all the things that she was able to do but Predominantly underlying all of that is she is doing it to create the situation in the home.

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That is right so that everything works right as the husband is is the breadwinner and goes out into the world as the

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Bible language puts it he Goes out and he comes in and he goes out and he comes in when he comes in the home is right.

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It's managed Well, it's in proper order and in good shape and so forth

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So in that in that respect, this is what God would teach the ladies But it's interesting as God comes back to teach the men.

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He doesn't teach it to the men that way What he teaches the men is he says don't put your own things first, isn't that interesting?

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Now what if Jesus had put in the if he had the ability to have his fleshly desires come before His own apostles and disciples and in all of us as he could see the future and see us and all that What if he just put his own fleshly desires had he had any first?

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That would not be the Christ that we know would it He did not

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Demonstrate his love in that fashion because that would defy the very definition of love as God has given it because the definition of love says if I love the church

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I Jesus Christ will not seek my own Life, I will give my life

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So as we think of this gentleman in our own lives Even though it's true that she's the helpmeet we don't think of it as if Our selfish needs and desires and goals in life are the only thing and it she shouldn't have some of her own

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It balances that do you see all of this all of this balances the submission aspect that was taught earlier in Ephesians Okay What about the next one if I love my wife like Christ loved the church,

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I will not be easily provoked Have y 'all noticed that in a lot of marriages and even maybe

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I would notice this more being a being a pastor and counseling and Dealing with pre, you know marriage counseling even with young people that aren't married yet just in their date life

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That they argue a lot If y 'all ever had friends that did that or I know none of you've done it

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But I mean have you had friends now? That's okay to argue as long as you don't let the lunch the the

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Sun set on your anger So you have to kiss and make up and that's the fun part. So you do that before the

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Sun goes down. It's okay But I'm talking about where it's just like the predominant Relationship is to disagree

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Not supposed to be that way and gentlemen guess whose responsibility it is to make sure it's not as you know

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It takes two to tango It's not a good thing to say in a Baptist church. Let me rephrase that it takes two to fight

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It takes two not just one so if the man Understands that if he loves her like Christ loved the church, she cannot provoke him

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At least not easily it says Maybe it leaves room there for us as men

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Christ was not provoked By his own and he was provoked by the Pharisees Satan seed and so forth

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But not by his own and we are not supposed to be provoked by the wife She you she's not supposed to be able to bring us easily to anger

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Why is that a reflection on her or on us? Remember love is not has not to do with the object but the lover and you as the men are the lovers

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Your example is Christ and the love you have in your heart He put there and it's his love just like his faith.

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Our faith is his faith. I believe our love is his love as well However, you can tell when you get in the flesh if you're easily provoked

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It's fairly easy as a man in a marriage to know if you're walking in the spirit of the flesh It's really easy for the wife to know if you are

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Because if she can provoke you You're not you're you're in in the flesh

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Because in the spirit you will have the love of Christ for your wife and it is not easily provoked and then look at the

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Next one if you if I love my wife like Christ loved the church, I Don't think evil of her

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Satan can put a thought in my mind But it won't stay there because I'll reject it and ask the

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Lord to remove it And I'll see it for what it is. The Bible says to test the spirits I will see that it did not come from me.

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It did not come from the Lord and Therefore I reject it and ask the Lord to let me think like Jesus thinks towards my wife

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Give me the mind of Christ and I reject this thought and it'll be gone immediately But now if a man is a in the flesh he's not walking with the

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Lord He does not have the love of God for his wife then

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Satan can put thoughts in his mind about her inadequacies or weaknesses and he will think about him

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He'll roll him over in his mind. It'll go on for days. It'll turn to bitterness And 60 % they say of the marriages today and then divorce

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How does that happen? Well, there's the division that's created who is the one who brings division in churches and families and husband -wife relations among siblings

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Satan is the great divider Even Jesus told on him when he said, you know

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He wants to divide and conquer so If you have the love of Christ for your wife

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You don't allow evil thoughts in your mind towards her and by that a better English word today would be like just negative thoughts

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Because you're not think we think of evil. We're thinking about you got a hatchet or something. That's not we're talking about here

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We're talking about just negative thoughts the little things the little things

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I'm thinking negative. That's not of God and it's not from God and it's not the love of God Okay Now the next one if I love

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Charlotte like Jesus loved the church Then I will not rejoice in Iniquity if she has sin in her life.

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I won't be happy about that So gentlemen that to me would be an exhortation that it's part of our

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Responsibility as the husbands to watch over our wives in this world as Ephesians chapter 6 says to watch always in prayer because Satan roams to and fro

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Seeking whom he may devour and let me ask you gentlemen this in the Garden of Eden.

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Who did he choose? Why why didn't he choose Adam We not well, let's don't use the word weaker, but I certainly won't use that as as the preacher of the ladies and the men

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The pastor, but I know what you mean you what you meant is let me help you out here. Here's what he meant

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Marianne. I Know I know I know he did not mean weaker

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Okay, did you mean weaker all right, that's what I thought you meant That's why you ain't a pastor too

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Okay Built different, how about that? She has a tendency to think with her heart and the man was not deceived.

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He sinned willfully All right, so we're supposed to watch over the wise we don't rejoice when sin enters in Now if I love my wife like Jesus loved the church,

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I do rejoice in the truth If I love my wife like Jesus loved the church

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I can bear all things I can believe all things

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I Can hope all things which requires some discussion? And I can endure all things and that love never goes away

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No matter what she does She cannot affect that love her actions

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Her deeds or misdeeds do not change that love if it's from God now gentlemen that kind of love will elicit a response from the wife of Reverence a response of submission and a response of love

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So what does it mean when it says it bears all things that's kind of clear There's not anything she can do that.

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You can't bear up under if you love her All right It believes all things if she tells you

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That this is the way my heart is Then you believe it Because to doubt it might be to believe some demon that's putting a thought in your mind.

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It's not even real So if you have love for her then you believe her when she looks you in the eyes and says this is the truth

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If you hope all things if this love for her causes you to hope all things remember the word hope doesn't mean like it does

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Today in English doesn't mean well, I hope it will but it probably won't that's kind of what the word means now What it means is a joyful expectation of a certain fact that's going to take place and so When you if you love your wife

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You hope all things it just implies that you you know that all things are going to work out.

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Well in the marriage and with the wife and that you have trust and and you honor her and You have a joyful expectation of her growth in the

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Lord and so forth And when it says endureth all things that's clear this kind of love

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Holds up under any stress the wife can put on you gentlemen if she's going through some time

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For whatever reason she may even be in the flesh and be carnal as the devil and you can bear up under it

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In fact that very love that you have of enduring and bearing up under it is what will cause her to come back both to the

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Lord and to you Love never fails Never can stop if it was ever real in the first place

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Isn't that amazing? So young people you might think about this when you start

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Trying to figure out which one's the right one. Have you ever asked your parents? How do I know when it's the right one? And you know what their answer always is you'll know

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Does that sound like an answer? Not really, but that's the answer But tell you one way you can think of it young people

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Is say is to yourself. Is this a person that I can never imagine myself ever being away from again

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Well, I love them so much that my love will never fail for them. No matter what happens in life

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That's a good question to ask The answer is no and it doesn't matter how much

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Affection you seem to have or how much you like them They're not the one to marry

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Okay so that's what I think the Bible teaches about this kind of love that the man is supposed to have for the wife and It's something that's impossible to do in the flesh by the way not in a lasting way and So the marriages that Are healthy and strong today

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As we have marriages in our auditorium right now those healthy strong ones They're strong first because the husband

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Loves the wife with an unselfish God -like love And if it's unhealthy, it's not the wife's fault because she doesn't submit it's not the wife's fault because she doesn't reverence you

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It's not the wife's fault because she's not growing in the Lord. God puts the responsibility on the man to be the lover and Then the woman to respond to that Now gentlemen, if this message gets you the place where you say boy, you know,

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I have failed in many areas Well, then we can go read Proverbs 31 to the women and they'll think the same thing.

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Okay, but You know, what's wonderful about it? Is that? truth is truth and If you start over today with an apology a

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Heartfelt apology and you say You know, I just have seen some things in this passage that hadn't been in our marriage and I apologize

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The Lord and she will both let you start over and it will take some time gentlemen and I a good amount of it for her to see you

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Do the James thing and put this type of faith to practice in this type of love to show in reality

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It's not enough for you to say. Well, you know, I love you now. She it's not good enough for a woman It takes some flowers sometimes

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But she wants to see the James type of love, you know, well you say you love me How come I don't see it more often?

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but with some time gentlemen She Will come back to the place of that warm affection

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That you had when you first got married That's a fact and if it's not there guess whose fault it is

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It's the minute the gentleman's fault That's where God puts it So that's not an easy lesson for us and we'll be very happy for brother

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Otis to move right along Next week, let's stand and have prayer together My brother

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Burge, I will be praying for you. Yes Lord we thank you for this word from heaven today

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Lord is so sad that we Have this owner's manual for human beings in our laps and we don't always

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Read it enough to even understand it and live by it. But if we would life would go so much more smoothly

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Because everything in the universe operates around these laws That you've placed in motion just as sure as the law of gravity is

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This law of love in the home that if the man would love the wife with this kind of selfless

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Love that Jesus Christ has for us Then the marriage would be blissful and the woman would respond and be all that she's supposed to be for the

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Lord as well So help us as men in the church to be the leaders in the home To be the leaders in the church and to lead out with godlike love and we ask it in Jesus name.