Producing Godly Offspring
Producing Godly Offspring
Introduction: How can we produce both Godly offspring and have happiness in marriage?
A Dietitian was once addressing a large audience in Chicago. "The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks erode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. Vegetables can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the bacteria in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"
Then a 75-year-old man stood up and said, “Wedding cake.”
Ephesians 5:21-6:4
Practice the Art of Mutual Submission
Verse 21
The Message
Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.
- Art of Mutual Submission, is the art of rendering respect
- Every person shows respect for the other…the body of Christ is intended to be a visible sample of our future home!
Bring Out The Best in One Another
Verses 22-24
The Message
Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
- Submission is not slavery—the husband is not the Master, he is the one who provides Godly leadership…
o Why do so many wives rebel against their husbands? Because their husbands are bums instead of Godly men walking close to God!
- Notice how the husband leads…
o He leads n same way that Christ leads His Church—not by domineering, but by cherishing...
What does Paul mean by cherishing? Let’s read on…
Verses 25-30
Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage.
No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.
o Husband is required to go all out…with a love marked by giving, not getting!
o Everything he does is supposed to build, not tear down…
o He feeds and pampers his wife as he would his own body…
o He is to “leave and cleave” to his wife—no woman wants or needs a “Mama’s boy” for a husband—they want a man!
Matthew 19:4-6 “Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' [5] and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? [6] So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (NIV)
BOTTOM LINE:
Wives: Understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Jesus Christ…
· Bring out the best in him, by following his Godly leadership...and don’t nag him to death!
· Pray for him to make the right decisions! Don’t nag him to death!
· Follow your husband in the same way you would follow Jesus!
Husbands: Love your wives as Christ loves His Church! Make them a priority, and they will make you a priority!
Concerning Eph 6:4
Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.
a. orge, which means “impulsive nature.” A demonic excess which bring disaster.
b. Secondary meaning is “anger” manifested by impulsive behavior...
· Thought is quite simple—Father, do not make decisions that are impulsive and emotional, expressed out of anger...
· Rather, lead your Children, as Jesus would lead them!
Thank You Sincerely
Thanks for the start to the lives that we’ve had.
Thanks for the nights that you went without rest.
So many memories, most happy, some sad;
If you weren’t perfect, you still passed the test,
Holding our hands, holding back all the fears.
Thank you sincerely for all of those years.
So many hours that you worked to provide
Multiplied by all the days that we grew,
When we behaved and the times we defied,
Never a doubt we could still count on you,
Making our laughter and drying our tears.
Thank you sincerely for all of those years.
Thanks for the rules that we wished were not there.
Thanks for the wisdom we sometimes denied.
All the attention and all of the care,
All the forgiveness and all of the pride,
Pointing out faults but then calling out cheers.
Thank you sincerely for all of those years.
For the examples you set every day,
Teaching with actions, those lessons hold tight.
We hardly knew just how much you could say
Simply by doing what you knew was right.
Now that we’re older, the logic appears.
Thank you sincerely for all of those years.
Thank you for love not required to be earned,
Not ever fading as time moves along.
You have to know that the love is returned,
Not always showing, but always so strong.
And you still care as your golden time nears.
Thank you sincerely for all of the years.