← ArchiveSunday, February 11, 2018DateFebruary 11, 2018Speaker—TextEphesians 5Passages in this sermonEphesians 55:18Romans 1014:51Genesis 318:032 Corinthians 638:28TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Music playing. Music playing.0:30Music playing. Music playing.1:00Music playing. Okay, good morning.1:30My name is Josh. I haven't had a chance to introduce myself, lead pastor here, and I'm just so grateful to be with you. Not in the rain dry today, and so we're thankful that God is working in us an eternal weight of glory. If you don't understand this yet, or have not been brought to your remembrance, Wednesday is Valentine's Day.1:56So if you are panicking right now and sweating because you don't have a gift, you have time. So this is your warning, men. This is your warning to get that gift. I pastor a place this week that they have these six-foot-tall bears, and maybe you're significant other would like a huge bear. I don't know what you do with those bears. You put them on, I don't have a shelf big enough.2:25But for some of you, Valentine's Day brings up a lot of different memories. So for some, it's a romantic meal. So you think for Valentine's Day we're going to go out somewhere special, wait until you have kids, and it's like, you know, Chick-fil-A romance. That's my idea of romance. Kids in the playpen, we're scarfing down our sandwich. But if that's your idea and you want to impress your significant other, I have a deal for you. Paulie's, a restaurant in Boston, is pre-ordering right now for a hamburger plate.2:55It will cost you $3,000, but it includes almost a full carrot engagement ring on top. So there you go. For some of you, you're the opposite. Maybe you have been out of a relationship this year, and for you, Valentine's Day is going to be about revenge. I have an offer for you, too. There's a restaurant chain that will give you a free appetizer if you bring a picture of your ex.3:26And they have a shredding booth, and you can shred that person. And you can eat, I don't know, potato fries or whatever you're going to get for your free appetizer. For some of you, maybe this is a day where you just want to retreat, and you're going to live vicariously through a celebrity or pop culture. I heard this week, I don't know why this jumped across my feed, but for some of you who are believers, Justin Bieber is taking his girlfriend, Selena, on a romantic getaway outside of Los Angeles.3:51They said he said he's going on a spiritual tour, and he's going to take her in just a week of solitude. And so maybe for you, Valentine's Day is a chance for you just to get away and think about all these beautiful Instagram relationships you see. Valentine's Day brings up a lot of questions and thoughts in our lives.4:17And I don't want us to come away today thinking, well, if I just had 10 more steps, I could do these things. 10 more steps to better communication. 10 more steps and I would look prettier. 10 more things and our relationship would be better.4:46That's the last thing we need. And we need, I believe, really to quit asking the question, God, give us good relationships. You know what I asked before I put my life in the hands of Christ? God, give me a good marriage. I wasn't married at the time, but God, give me good relationships. That's what pagans ask. That's who I was. We don't need to say, God, give us good relationships. We need to say, God, let us pursue Christ. Give us godly relationships.5:15And so with that, that's going to be our task this morning in Ephesians chapter 5. Now, some of you are thinking, oh, here we go. I'm single. I'm checking out for the next hour and a half, however long this lasts. I want to pause very quick and speak to you. If you are single, several thoughts. If you're single and you have the idea that one day you will be married as God has purposed and planned in your life. The purpose, the person you date right now matters.5:43The person you date matters. Youth, and you're not alone, but we have singles scattered throughout. If you are not planning to marry this person, don't date them. Don't. Why play with fire, strange fire, as the scripture says? It's not worth it. I also want to say this to you. Right now, God is molding you into the person that he wants you to be one day as a married couple.6:07You don't wake up one morning and say, God, I'm getting married right now. Make me the spouse you want me to be. That begins now. That begins now. So if you're single, contemplating, maybe dating, maybe you're shredding your ex this year, but next year you want to be engaged, prepare your heart right now for what God has for you. What if you are single forever?6:37What if this is a call upon your life or you're a widow or a widower and you say, well, what does this have to do with me? I want to remind you of several things. Contrary to popular culture and opinion, you are not broken and you are not weird and you are not unredeemed. The world says, well, if you're not in a relationship, what's wrong? What did you do? Apparently no one likes you. That's not what God's word says. Think about this.7:08We are going to open our Bibles to the book of Ephesians. So you can go ahead and turn there with me. Ephesians chapter five. You know who's writing the book, the God's word of Ephesians? A single man. A single man. Think about it. We forget this sometimes. Think about the Lord and Savior that we have been created to worship. The one who died on the cross for our sins. A single man. So don't tell me that God cannot use single people. That is a lie from the adversary.7:39You are redeemable. And actually in certain ways God can use you more. Because you're not stuck at Chick-fil-A like I am. You don't have to worry about the responsibilities at home. God has freed you up to serve him like others cannot. It is a gift, Paul says. So I want you to know that God loves you and he is using you for his glory. And we have a lot to do this morning.8:07So let's begin Ephesians 5, 22. If you are a wife, give me about 15 minutes before you withhold judgment for 15 minutes. That's all I ask. Ephesians 5, 22. Ephesians is in the New Testament about halfway through. I always remembered it this way. General electric power company. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.8:36General electric power company. Ephesians 5. Wives, submit in verse 22 to your husbands as to the Lord. Wives, highlight that verse. Now before you think, I can't believe he did that. How dare. You have two verses. That's it. Two. We have six. Okay. Six. Because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.9:03He is the savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. We're going to come back to that. In everything. Husbands. It's our turn. Love your wives as Christ has loved the church and gave himself for her. Now some of you wives are pointing to me, I can't believe he said submit. Well, God just told me to die. Right?9:33Right? That's our task. Verse 26. Make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. Verse 27. He did this to present the church to himself as we present our wives in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands, love your wives as your own body. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh, but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church.10:04Since we are members of his body, for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. To sum up, each of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.10:27Let's pray. Father, we need your wisdom in our lives. Father, we need the good news that Christ redeems and saves us and our relationships. Lord, we ask right now that you would let us live in your will by living according to your design for our marriages and our relationships.10:51And Lord, may this not only be about marriage, but may we submit to you, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Father, speak to us. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, let's back up. So some of you are already, your feathers are ruffled. Some of you men are mad because I told you you had to love your wife.11:19Why? Some of you are mad because God just told you you had to submit to your husband, and it's difficult. It's difficult. But let's look at verse 21, so I make everyone mad, and then we'll proceed. So we think, I'm not going to submit. Look at verse 21. Submit to one another in the fear of Christ. So who is Paul calling to submit here? Everyone, everyone. So some of your wives are looking at your house and saying, yep, you too, buddy.11:50And we have a horrible understanding of God's church. I hear every week, well, pastor, I don't need to come to church. I can worship at my house. And my response is this. Who told me that church was only about worship? You know who told me that? Satan. Because I cannot live out, verse 21, by myself. Look at verse 21.12:19Submit to one another in the fear of Christ. This is counter-cultural. This is counter-cultural. Submit to one another. Paul uses the word hupotasso. Underneath hupotasso is the influence. That I am called by Christ to put myself under the influence of you. This is why this scares me to death.12:46If I am saved into the bride of Christ, and Jesus is the head of the church, right? So if I leave the church, I've cut the head off of my spirit. God has called me to put myself under the influence of you. Of you. You think, well, you're the pastor. Aren't we under the influence of you? What does verse 21 say? We are now under the influence of each other because we are under the influence of Christ. So this is what it means.13:16Everything I do in my life is your problem and your business. When I sin, you know who it affects? You guys. And you have every right, if you love me, to come to me and say, Pastor Josh, we saw you lying, and that's not what God wants. And I was reminded this weekend that our sin should be met with kindness. That's how God meets us. But it's still truth. My sin is your business, and your sin is my business. My celebrations, church, when God has done something good in my life,13:47you know who needs to know about it? You. Because we are called to celebrate together, and it's really quiet right now because none of us want to do this. But that's what God has called us to do. Spurgeon says this about submission. I believe the man who is not willing to submit to the electing love and sovereign grace of God has given great reason to question wherever he is a Christian at all.14:15For that spirit that kicks against that is the spirit of the unhumbled, unrenewed heart. You see, submission is the most difficult step of faith. And it is the most necessary step of faith. Submission is the most difficult step of faith, but it's the most necessary. Think about how backwards we are. I've heard it growing up. Well, I made Jesus Savior when I was a young person, but now I've made him my Lord.14:44I what? Because Romans 10, 9 says this. If I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead, I will be saved. So God tells me, I make Jesus Lord, I submit to him as Lord, and then he saves me. So who am I to say, well, I have made him Savior, and then now I have made him Lord?15:13No. We submit to one another because we submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And so I ask you right now, have you submitted to the Lordship of Christ in your life? How do we know that we've submitted? Is there anything in my life that is off limits? Is there anything that I've come in here today and said, Lord, I will give you everything, but not that.15:40Not my kids. They're mine. Not my house. Not my checkbook. My debit card. But I will give you anything but this. And Jesus is saying to us, but I thought you submitted to me as Lord under your influence. This is radical. God calls us to radical submission. Now with that, if we are called to radical submission as the people of God, why is it has profound impact now on your life?16:09Look at verse 22. It has profound impact on the way that you live. Wives, radically submit to your husbands. In verse 22, wives, submit to your husband as to the Lord. Because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the head. He, the Savior, is head of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives, you are to submit to your husbands in everything.16:39See, this was counter-cultural. See, Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus. That's why they're called the Ephesians. A particular group of Christ followers in the city of Ephesus. And Ephesus was a cultural behemoth. It was known for its glorious palaces and its economic wealth. It was also known for a woman called Artemis.17:07She was a goddess. She was a Greek goddess of the moon, protector of nature and animals, the goddess of fertility, and the great perpetual virgin mother of heaven. How's that for a title? So much so that she was so important that the statues of Artemis depicted with multiple breasts were housed in temples. The most famous being the temple of Ephesus, which is, was one of the seven wonders of the world.17:33And so in Ephesus, there is a culture of fertility, sexuality, and feminism. Now, we don't have that today, of course. But this is what God's people are battling. And in this, Paul radically writes to them and says, live differently. Why? This is why it's so important. In Genesis 3, 16, one of the products, the results of the fall and the sin in this world is that you will not have a desire to be over authority of your husband.18:03So you want to know what your struggle is going to be spiritually? Firstly, you desire to have headship over your husband. Genesis 3, 16. That there will be pain in childbirth and your desire will be for your husband, but he will rule over you. It's the same desire that Paul tells Cain and Abel in this situation.18:32He says, sin desires to have you, but you must rule over it. It's an unhealthy desire. And that's the next chapter, chapter 4. So here's your struggle, ladies. You will have a broken desire to be ahead in your household. That is not God's design for your marriage. So how do you radically live differently? It's the same struggle they were having in Ephesus. With that, let me give us some quick thoughts on what submission is not, as I've really caught your attention.19:01First, submission does not mean inferiority. Submission does not mean that you are not equal. The fact that Paul would write to wives in the ancient world is revolutionary. This is unheard of. Wives had no status in the ancient world.19:29And Paul is writing to them, telling them, look, you are equal in Christ. But don't take your equality as something to be championed for sinful purposes. Don't forget the way that God has designed marriage. In the ancient world, there were three particular groups that had no rights. They were seen as property. You know who those groups were? Wives, children, and slaves.19:53Look at chapter 6, verse 1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right. Chapter 6, verse 5. Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling in the sincerity of your heart as you would Christ. Paul is reminding us here that submission has nothing to do with equality. It has everything to do with function.20:23Because we're reminded that in Christ there is now no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male nor female. We are one in Jesus Christ. Jesus has made us equal. But wives, you are called to submit. Submission does not mean, also, unconditional obedience. Some of the ladies just went, whew, thank you, Lord.20:53It does not mean unconditional obedience. Look at verse 22. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. It does not say, wives, submit to your husband because he is Lord. It says, wives, submit to him as unto the Lord. Now, you say, well, pastor, you just read. Look at verse 24. You said that I should submit to my husband in everything.21:22Well, no, he is not God. You don't need to amen that. Your husband is not God. But you submit to him as to the Lord. The Bible leaves no place for abuse. There is no place in your house for abuse. Men, I want you to hear me. Not physical abuse. Not sexual abuse. Not verbal abuse. And not emotional abuse. There is no place in your house for that.21:53I don't want you to think, well, no matter what he says, if your husband asks you to do something that is against the specific will and glory of God, God wins. But that does not give you, as a wife, to say, well, I think God told me to do this. Is it strictly, objectively against God's counsel? Submission does not mean something that is forced. Husbands, some of you have circled and highlighted these verses.22:23You're about to go home and you're going to slam this on the table and say, what? I told you, woman, submission is not coerced or demanded. Submission is not forced. Husband, you cannot force your wives to submit. And wives, you cannot use your submission to your husband as a manipulation to get him to do what you want him to do. And we see this in our Savior.22:52If anyone should manipulate anyone, God should make us worship him. But he does not. Submission is not and is never forced. You say, well, what happens, pastor, if my wife does not believe? What happens if my husband is not a godly husband? Can I just throw this out the window? Well, first, Peter specifically addresses this issue. Peter says to wives, submit to your husbands. And then he addresses those that are living in a place where your wife or your husband is not a believer.23:21And he says, submit to him in a way that he, your husband, without a word will be won by the word of God, by the way that you live. So God might be telling you today, quit nagging. Quit using your words. To submit in your life, in your house in a way that your husband would see your reverence. And they would see how you respect them.23:50And that they would be won for the glory of Christ. Because I know we have ladies here that you are living in a house where your husband is not a believer. I want to encourage you right now. Do not give up. Do not give up. Submit to him. Respect him. Pray for him. We have men in our church right now that are following Christ because of the submission of their wife years prior.24:14Do not give up. We say, well, pastor, then how do I submit? And then husbands, it will be your turn. One of the favorite pastimes in our house right now is an evening of wrestle. So I have a five-year-old and a three-year-old. The five-year-old is all boy. The three-year-old is all girl. But she's tough. She has to be tough to survive.24:44If anyone who knows my family knows, that's how she's still here. But one of the things that my son loves to do is wrestle. He knows if my contacts are in, I can wrestle. Because my excuse is, well, I can't wrestle with my glasses on. So he says, Dad, take them off. But one thing that I have to do when we wrestle is this. I have to submit my strength and my will to him. Because I know if I wrestle him with my full strength, I can easily hurt him.25:11And there are times where I want to easily hurt him. But the Lord is still working on me. So submission does not mean that I am no longer equal to him. Actually, submission is the opposite. That I have willingly laid down my strength. You know why I do that for my son?25:40Because I love him. Because I say, son, I'm going to lay down. I'm going to submit my strength to you. I'm going to let you lead as we wrestle. I'm going to let you put me in the headlock. But just know, if you squeeze too tight, I will no longer submit myself. But I submit because I love him. I want to spend time with him. Why, this is at the core of submission. And this verb is in the passive participle tense.26:09You say, well, Pastor, why did you go all English on us? It's interesting that this is in passive because this is something that only the Holy Spirit can do in your life. This is from the Spirit in your house. Are you willing to submit? Matthew Henry says it this way, and I'll end here. The reason that submission is so difficult is because through the ages, men, we have abused leadership.26:32We have made it difficult for women to submit to us because we have abused the right that God has given us. Matthew Henry sums it up this way, poetically. The woman was the rib out of the side of Adam, not out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected and near his heart to be beloved.27:02Wife, do you want to radically live for Jesus Christ? Live out radical submission to your husband. And if you do, the world will see that you are different. They will see that you are different. Well, husbands, if our wives are to radically submit in this way, how then are we to live?27:28Look at verse 25. Husbands, love your wives in everything. So now the submission of the wives is passive because it's brought by the Holy Spirit. You know what's imperative and active? The word love. You know what that tells me? Men, man up. That's God saying, wake up.27:57So if ladies will have a spiritual struggle because they want to be the head, something that God has not created them to be, men, our spiritual struggle is now what? Because of the fall. Love. It is not the wise job to set the table for love in their marriage. Man, it is your job. And now you're thinking, well, okay, Pastor wants me to be all romantic. I have to go buy that six foot bear. I'm going to go to Polly's and buy the $3,000 hamburger.28:25No, but God is calling us not to be, not to be thermometers. Or we walk in our house and say, man, it's a little chilly. And those of you who've been married longer than a day, you understand when you walk in, you know when it's like, something's chilly and it's not the temperature in the house. You know what happens, you know what should happen in our minds and our hearts when we feel that? We need to say, dear, I'm sorry, but this probably has a lot to do with me.28:56And I have not led in a way that God has called me to be. I have not loved you in a way that God has called me to be. And I am gauging the temperature right now in our house, but I'm sorry because I should be a thermostat. I should be setting the temperature, not just gauging it. Husbands, are you setting the spiritual and the love temperature in your house? Man up. That's what God has called us to do.29:25Radical love. Husbands, radical love is sacrificial. I heard a pastor say it like this. If you are really loving your wife, that you will voluntarily lose 75% of the arguments. Some of you are thinking, hmm, how about 50? All right, how about five? But if I love my wife sacrificially, I'm willing to say, dear, I don't even know what we're arguing about, but you win.29:50Because I love you. And I love you not just as myself, but I love you more than myself. And I love you like Christ has loved his church. And you know how Christ loved the church? He died for her. This is radical submission to your wife. Are you sacrificing? Now, husbands, before you get all symbolic on me, before you're ready to charge the hill and die on the cross,30:17don't tell me that you will sacrifice for your wife on a hill called Calvary if you're not willing to vacuum the carpet. Cook dinner. Do the laundry. Change diapers. Because oftentimes, it's the small sacrifices in our homes that show her that she can trust us. Because we use that as an excuse, don't we?30:46We say, baby, I'm not going to do that. But you know what? If anyone's shooting an arrow at you, I will take a bullet. But I'm not going to do that. And Jesus is screaming, man, we set the spiritual climate in our homes. Does our wife, does your wife know that you will sacrifice for her? As Christ sacrificed for the church. So what does that look like? Just quickly here. First, look at verse 26 and 27.31:14Jesus makes the bride. He cleanses her with the washing of the water by his word. We set the spiritual climate. Verse 27. Jesus does this to present the church to himself in splendor. In splendor. Splendor means having good esteem or high reputation. So husbands, how do you talk about your wife around others?31:43Do we present our wife around others as if the queen is coming to dinner? Or do we talk about her as if she was the worst thing that's ever happened in our life? Because I will be held account. You will be held account to how we speak about our wives. Are we presenting them with splendor? If your wife was to walk through these doors and there's a thousand people here and the president is on your right and the queen is on your left,32:11are your eyes going to leave these people of importance and look at your wife? And are you going to present her with splendor to others? This is how we show and sacrifice in a way that loves our wives. Not only that, we are to present our wives without spot or wrinkle. The weekend that we had at church, Paul Tripp reminded us that I am an instrument of God's grace for my wife.32:36That no one will have more of a spiritual impact on my wife than me. And I want to one day when I am before heaven, I want to present my wife and say, Jesus, you died for her, but I tried my best to present her as holy and pure and pleasing before you. And God, I have watered her with your word. Husbands, are you leading the charge?33:06Are you leading your house in worship? Are we presenting our wives without spot or wrinkle? Or are we quick to point out their spots and their wrinkles? May God help us do otherwise. Not only do we present them, but we also do this. Look at verse 31. Sacrificial love. Men, sacrificial love. This is something that we have difficulty with because of the fall. Sacrificial love means that we are to forsake all others.33:36When you say, I do, your marriage is closed. There are no open marriages. Look at verse 31. For this reason. What reason? For the reason of my wife. I will leave my father and my mother and be joined to my wife and the two will become one flesh. Listen, husbands, your wife should not have to compete with other women for your affection.34:04Not anyone you work with. They should not have to compete with things that you look at on the internet for your devotion. That is ungodly and sinful. When I vowed to my wife that I would marry her, I said, in sickness and in health and forsaking everything else. Marriage means, baby, I am a one woman man.34:30And if you say I do, you're it. But I don't want my wife to have to compete or to think that she has to compete with anyone else. And that includes my mom. Look at verse 31. If you are not willing to leave your mom, you're not ready to get married. Your wife, and I see that in our culture. My wife should not have to compete with my mom for her attention. I am not married to my children.35:00I am not married to my mom. And if you're listening, mom, sorry and thank goodness. Right? But why do we let our wives, why do we want them to compete for the affections of our parents or our children? We need to tell our wives, look, I have forsaken everyone else for you. Because I love you. Sacrificially. Men, lastly. Love in a way that is radically shaped by grace means that we will be the head.35:29Look at verse 23. The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. I just want to leave you with this. Men, man up. Marriage is difficult. Relationships are a struggle. But it's worth it. And I can just imagine Jesus looking at us right now. We are his bride. And he's saying, man, you guys are messed up.35:58And God, Jesus looking at his father and saying, but father, they're worth it. Father, I will work to sanctify them because I love them. Men, we need to stand up, get off the couch, put down the remote and lead our families. And if you have not done that, that can begin today where you on your knees say, God, I have failed you, but you are the God of second chances.36:23I just want one more chance. I won't fail you. God help me. God help me. God help me be a leader. That means, husbands, if there is a split spiritual decision in your house, do not put that decision off on your wife. Do not run away and say, well, you know what? It doesn't matter. You make the decision. You, men, you are held accountable for what goes on in your house. And if submission to her husband is passive, headship and leadership is active.36:53You catch that? Wives, you are to submit passively through the Holy Spirit. Husbands, you are to actively engage your wives for the glory of Christ. Honey, if you have not done that, there is no greater gift on Valentine's Day than for you to go to your wife and say, I don't have a beer. I don't have chocolates. But what I have is the Holy Spirit. And from this day forward, I will be the man that you have called me to be.37:21And honey, I'm sorry that you have had to compete for my mom's attention. And I will stop that. I'm sorry that you have had to compete with my hobbies or my friends or my job for your love. And from this day forward, I will forsake it all for you because God has sent his son to forsake it all for me. And I will radically love you in a way that Jesus has radically loved me.37:49And the world would see that I am different. Husbands, are you willing to do that? Are you willing to radically love your spouse? Now, if you're a lady here and you're single, you say, okay, easy, I'm single. I just want some words of wisdom from the Scriptures. If you are thinking about dating someone, do not date someone who is not a follower of Jesus Christ.38:19Do not date someone who is not a follower of Christ. Well, how dare you say that? 2 Corinthians 6 says, do not be unequally yoked. You know what dating leads to? Marriage. So reverse engineer that. Why would you even start the path to something that God doesn't want for your life? And God will not bless my life if I am refusing to walk according to his design. So do not say, God, this person looks really fine right now.38:49And they're taking me to Cancun. They are showering me, their affection. Lord, I'm going to date them and I hope one day you'll bless it. That's not the way we should enter into relationships. We should say, God, one, if they're going to be the head of me, are they submitting to you? Ladies, if you are in a relationship with a man that is not submitting to Jesus Christ, and Jesus is not his head, he will not be a good head of your house.39:11It is not worth it. A man who does not love Christ like he should cannot love you like he should. Men, if you are dating, a woman who is not submitted to Jesus Christ will never let you influence her for the kingdom like you should. Date in a way that God is watering your soul.39:41The first question, not do you go to church. We have lost people in every church. Is it, do you know Jesus Christ? Have you submitted your will to the Lord Jesus Christ? That's the first question. So, ladies, if someone comes to you and says, I want to date you, you say, talk to my father. The one with the shotgun and also the one with the sword. Because if you have not submitted to Jesus Christ, you're not the guy for me.40:11Young men, if you are dating someone who has not submitted to the authority of Jesus Christ, they are not for you. No missionary dating. They are not for you. So how do we respond? Very simply, this morning. One, husbands, are you willing to stand up today and say, I will be the man that God has called me to be? I will radically love my wife as she submits to me. And I will, I want her to submit to me because I want her to see me submitting to Jesus Christ.40:41I want to be the man that God has called me to be, to set the spiritual climate. Hey, men, that never ends. If you have been married 70 years, that still does not end. And wives, are you willing to say this morning, I will submit to my husband unto the Lord? That is our response. Maybe you're here right now and you have not submitted to Christ at all.41:10I want to read a short, profound thought by Wilbur Reese and then conclude. Is Jesus Lord of your life? Wilbur Reese says this. He said, I would like to buy $3 worth of God. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough, just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine.41:31I don't want enough of Jesus to make me love a black man or pick beats with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb, but not a new birth. I want a pound of the eternal in a paper bag.41:59I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Maybe you're here today and that you have never submitted to Christ. I want you to know right now, if you just only want $3 of Christ, he wants so much more for your life. If you will confess him as Lord and believe in your heart that he is who he says he is, you will be saved.42:20God, give us so much more than $3 of Jesus Christ. Let's pray.More sermons on Ephesians →
