August 28, 2025 • 58 mins
Guest Speaker Tom Mason continues to teach on the biblical family in Ephesians 5 and 6. What do the Scriptures say about the family? He emphasizes our duty to be subject to one another in our different roles as believers.
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We will look at Ephesians chapter 6 starting with verses
one through 9. Tonight we will be picking up
kind of where we left off from 2weeks ago and walk through this
passage as we see what it is that God would direct us in His
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Word. So let us read Ephesians chapter
6 verses one through 9. Children, obey your parents in
the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your
mother, which is the first commandment with the promise, so
that it will be well with you and that you may live long upon
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the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your
children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord. Slaves, be obedient to those who
are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and
trembling insincerity of your heart as to Christ.
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Not by way of our service as menpleasers, but as slaves of
Christ, doing the will of God from the heart with goodwill,
rendering service as to the Lord, not to men, knowing that
whatever good thing each one does, this he would receive back
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from the Lord, whether slave or free And masters, do the same
thing to them and give up threatening, knowing that both
your master and, excuse me, boththeir master and yours is in
heaven, and there is no partiality in him.
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When we was together before 2 weeks ago, we talked about this
book, this letter, Ephesians, and we explained that what it
meant as we look at review, thatthese were Christians who lived
in the city of Ephesus, that it is the capital of the Roman
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Providence of Asia, Asia Minor or modern, modern day Turkey
would be it today. Many commentators point out that
the earlier manuscript did not include the words in Ephesus
because they believed that this was a circular letter and
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therefore it was intended for everybody.
But they rushed to tell us that there is nothing lost in the
leaving out of those words. So we move on to the letter and
we asked you last weekend. We will ask you again.
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Please remember that this is a letter and not a book.
Therefore, it was not written inchapters and verses as we have
it today. Now that being said, what we
have is chapters 1-2 and three. We are instructed in who we are
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in Christ. Chapters 4-5 and six instructs
us on how we ought to act because of who we are in Christ.
And when you think about that, that's what the Christian life
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should be about, putting God on display because of what He has
done for us and in US. We started with Ephesians 515.
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Therefore, be careful how you walk.
The word walk in Scripture meansthe manner of life.
Be careful how you live, becausepeople are watching and you want
to put Him on display as you live.
And then he goes on and tell us,not as unwise men, but as wise.
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By the way, I think if we asked anybody would you rather be wise
or unwise? I think we would all agree that
we would want to be wise. So he says to us not as unwise
men, but as wise as Paul is instructing the Saints how we
ought to live because of who we are in Christ.
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He says that we are not to be unwise.
Think about the things that we do.
Think about the things that we say.
How is it that we communicate topeople?
Are we communicating from a wisestandpoint or from an unwise
standpoint? And then we looked at verse 16,
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chapter 5. He says making the most of your
time because the days of evil. The old King James uses the term
here redeeming the time. The Greek word is used four
times in the New Testament and it means to buy back twice.
It is used of what Christ did for us.
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We will read you one of those from Galatians chapter 3 verse
13. Christ redeemed us from the
curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is
ridden. Cursed is everyone who hangs on
the tree. The other time it is used is
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about us and how we are to act. In Colossians chapter 4 verses 5
and 6, he says conduct yourselves with wisdom toward
the outsiders. Here's our word, making the most
of the opportunity. Conduct yourselves with wisdom
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for those who are on the outside.
Those would be non Christians. Then he goes on to say, let your
speech always be with grace as those seasoned with salt, so
that you would know how you ought to respond to each person.
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This is each person on the outside that you are responding
to. Let your speech always be
seasoned with salt. Let it always be of grace, even
when they are not gracious to you.
Yes, let your speech always be of grace so you will know how to
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respond to each person. Then we went on to talk about in
verse 17. So then do not be foolish, but
understanding what the will of the Lord is.
How is it that we not be foolish?
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We come to know what the will ofthe Lord is.
How do you know that? By reading His word, by
understanding what it is that Hesays that we are to do.
By the way, when you see some people who say that they are
Christians, and then you listen to what it is they have to say,
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it leaves no doubt that they know nothing about Christianity.
Just because a person says that they are Christian doesn't mean
that they are. So He says to us.
So we are not to be foolish, butto understand what the will of
the Lord is. And then he goes on in verse 18
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and says do not be drunk with wine, for that is dissipation.
That is a terrible way to live is what he's telling us to be
drunk with wine. And the word has to do with
excessive drinking. So he said don't be controlled
by that. Don't be, don't live by that,
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but be filled with the Spirit. The word to be filled means to
make fool, to fill up. He's telling us to let the
Spirit of God control us and notsome other source because see,
we can look at well, I don't drink so that's not a problem
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for me, but could be controlled by some other thing and that's
what he's telling us not to let happen.
What happens when we are filled with the Spirit?
He says to us that we were speaking to one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
in our hearts. And to the Lord, notice he says
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in your heart, you can't make melody in my heart.
I can't make melody in your heart.
The other thing that I think about I can't control your heart
and you can't control mine. But He says here that we are to
make melody in our hearts unto the Lord, and those are the
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things that we are called to do.You cannot fulfill verse 19 out
of a heart that is controlled bysomething other than the Spirit
of God. And these are the things that we
want to keep in mind for us. And then he says to us, always
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giving thanks to all things in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to God, even the Father,always give thanks for all
things. Do we stay in that attitude of
Thanksgiving or do we like to gripe and complain about things
that come up, the weather, the people that we work with or
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everything else? By the way, you know, Christians
have gotten so good with complaining.
We think it's a spiritual gift. It actually is not OK.
He tells us here that here is how we ought to live.
We're to live in a way that we're giving thanks to God for
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everything. When we think about this from
chapter 4 verse one, Paul is telling the Saints how we ought
to live irregardless to our situation when it comes to
marriage. You could be in marriage, you
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could be out of marriage, you could be before marriage, you
could be one of those that say I'm never going to get married.
He is telling us as Christians how we ought to live.
That should tell us something. How we live doesn't depend upon
our situation. How we live depends upon how we
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respond to the Word of God in the direction that He gives to
us. In verse 21.
He would say to us that we are to do something He says in verse
21 and be subject to one anotherin the fear of God.
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Be subject to place yourself under.
It's what it's calling us to do.That's what the word be subject
to, to arrange yourself under, to subordinate.
Do you know the president of theUnited States is the commander
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in chief of all of our military forces, regardless to whether
he's had military experience or not?
So all the men, let's tell you, on the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
come into the room and put all of the effort together and make
a decision. And he can say no to that
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because they have to rank themselves under.
And that's what he is telling usto do.
Paul says as we operate in the church, as we operate in the
family, we ought to submit to one another.
So what is this point? We covered this last time.
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And why does he start with the wife?
Because he's dealing with leadership.
When it comes to leadership, thewife is to submit herself to the
husband. And I love what the Colossians
say about this. He said in everything.
Now that doesn't make me as a husband puffed up OK?
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Because just a few verses later he's going to address men and
help us to understand what the husband is to do.
But he goes on and says in verse22, Wives, be submissive to your
own husband as unto the Lord. Note that he doesn't say because
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he's smarter than you, it's because of the position that
their husband has. Wives, when it comes to
leadership, rank yourself under the husband.
He goes on in verse 23 and says,for the husband is the head of
the wife, as Christ is also the head of the church, he himself
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being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to
Christ, so also the wives ought to be subject to their own
husbands in everything, wives totheir own husbands.
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Then from chapter 5, verse 25 through verse 33, he addresses
their husbands. Husbands love your wives, just
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her.
Notice what words are not inserted here?
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Submit yourself and they shouldn't be as they shouldn't
be in verse 22 because in verse 21 he has told us to be subject
1 to another and therefore as weread through this, we don't need
the word submit because he's already addressed that issue in
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verse 21. So in verse 22 we say wives to
your own husbands. Here he says, husband, love your
wife, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up
for it. So when it comes to my love for
myself, I am to rank that under my love for my wife.
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That's how I submit to her. That's how each husband is
called to submit to his right notice.
He says here, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
himself up for her, He wants us to know that we ought to be
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subject in that way. Look at verse 26.
He goes on to talk about Christ and what Christ has done for the
church so that he might sanctifyher, having cleansed her by the
washing of the water with the Word, that he might present her
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to Himself, the church in all ofits glory, having no spot or
wrinkle or any search thing, butthat he would be, excuse me, but
that she would be holy and blameless.
Is that what we are doing with our wives?
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Do we really love them in a way that we want them to be holy and
blameless? We want them to be without
fault. I should never ask my wife to do
something that would put her in the spot of not being holy and
blameless. Never.
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And that's what he's directing us to do here.
Treat our wives just as Christ treated the church and gave
himself up for her. He goes on in verse 28 and says,
So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own
body, For he who loves his wife loves himself.
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For no one ever hated his own flesh, but narrison cherished
it, just as Christ also does thechurch.
It doesn't matter what a person says about how much they hate
themselves. The Bible says for no one has
ever hated himself by the way, that's the truth.
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I don't we don't have to debate that.
But he says in verse 30, he saysbecause we are members of his
body, for this reason, a man shall leave his father and his
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two of them shall
be 1 flesh. I think parents have a bigger
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issue with this than the husbandand wife does really.
It says for this reason a man shall leave his father and
mother and shall be joined to his wife and the two of them
shall become one flesh. That means that man and that
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woman has their house and to be ran by them, not the mom and the
dad back somewhere else. That's what he's pointing out
here. Now he goes on in verse 32 and
said this is the mystery. By the way, he calls the mystery
great. He says, but I am speaking with
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reference to Christ in the church.
This is how Christ in the churchreally should function.
But look at the next verse. Nevertheless, each individual
among you also is to love his own wife even as himself.
And the wife must see to it thatshe respects her husband.
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So he has talked to us. He has told us how the husband
and the wife is to submit to oneanother.
Now we're going to pick up tonight's message, starting with
the children. And he says Ephesians chapter 6
verse one children obey your parents in the Lord.
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For this is right. Wow, what a great statement.
Now if if in the statement in the Bible wouldn't be great, but
just I want to tell you something children, he said
children obey your parents and the reason you're going to do
this is because it is right As Iwas reading and preparing for
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this came across this comment, this commentator and he pointed
me to Hosea. And if you remember, Hosea was
the guy that was told to go out and marry a wife of holla tree
and to have children of holla tree.
And the reason God told him to do this because Israel had
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turned that back on God and had brought holla tree into their
lives. Hosea chapter 14 is the last
chapter in Hosea verse 9 is the last verse in that chapter.
And here's what it says. Whoever is wise, let him
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understand these things. Whoever is discerning, let him
know them, for the ways of the Lord are right, and the
righteous will walk in them, buttransgressors will stumble in
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them. Notice he uses the term right,
that those who are right will walk in them, but those who are
transgressors will stumble in them.
By the way, if a person is walking along and he stumbles,
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it's kind of like noticeable to everybody.
So here he says the transgressors will stumble over
the same rights that the righteous person is walking in,
the righteous person is doing. And Hosea would say long before
Paul would write this, the ways of the Lord are right.
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So when Paul comes along and said, children, obey your
parents for this is right, He ispointing out to us as children
that it's the right thing to do to obey your parents.
Now he says, that's the action Iwant you to take.
Then he tells us how to address the attitude that we should do
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that right thing. In he says honor your father and
your mother, which is the first commandment with a promise so
that it may be well with you andthat you may live long upon the
earth. So when I am obeying my parents,
I need to have a great attitude in doing so.
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By the way, the word honor meansto estimate or to fix the value.
There's a difference between fixing the value and fixing a
value. Because see, if I fix a value, I
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put whatever price on it I want to.
But when you fix the value, you're given the proper value of
that thing. And that's what honor means when
it says honor your father and your mother, number one, know
who this person is, know their value and set that on them.
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Honor them in that way. And he's given us this
understanding that the children ought to submit themselves to
their parents by obeying them and by honoring them.
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And then we come to verse 4. Most of us as parents never
think about the idea that we areto submit ourselves to our kids.
But here he tells us, yes, you are, because he's told us to
submit to one another in all things.
He says, Father, do not provoke your children to anger, but
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bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
How is it that parents would submit themselves to their
children by not bringing them, driving them to anger?
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Now, that doesn't mean don't spank your kids because the
scripture strictly tells us thatthat should happen.
OK, What he's talking about hereis don't play something on your
kid that they can't do that would drive them to anger.
An example, let's say you have the best B student in your kid
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that that kid can be. That kid is doing all this
homework, doing everything that he can, but the very best that
he can come up with or she can come up with is AB.
And you decide it has to be an A.
So you go and you drive them to get there, and they can't make
that. That's what he's talking about.
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Fathers or parents, do not provoke your children to wrath,
exasperation, or anger. Don't provoke them to that.
That they might understand, thatthey might know that yes, Mom or
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dad really do love me. It would not provoke me to that.
By the way, this word for anger here, this Greek word is only
used twice in the New Testament,only used in 2 verses here and
in Romans 10/19. Romans 10/19 says, But I say,
surely Israel did not know, did they?
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First, Moses said, I will make you jealous by that which is not
a nation, and by a nation without understanding.
I will anger you. God is driving Israel to anger
over the Gentiles because of what he's doing to bring them
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in, because of how far Israel has walked away from God.
God's motives are always pure. I was a not and that's why he
would tell the children of Israel, I will provoke you to
anger because of this. But then he can direct us not to
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provoke our children because ourmotives can be wrong.
I love the last part of that verse though.
Don't drive them to anger, but bring them up in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord. I have a picture in my mind when
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I come to the word. But, and let's say this podium
here would be the word, but thisis kind of the picture I have in
my mind on the left side. Whatever is on but is going to
be different from what's on the right side.
So he says over here He says, donot provoke your children to
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anger, but over here he says, but bring them up in the nurture
and the admiration of the Lord. So he wants me to instruct them
in the Lord. And then I'll ask myself the
question, how would I do that? In Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 to 8,
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he gives us a great way of doingthis.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God.
The Lord is 1. You should love the Lord with
all. You should love the Lord your
God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with
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all of your might. These words which I am
commanding you today shall be inyour heart.
You shall teach them diligent toyour sons and shall talk to them
when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way.
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And when you lie down and when you rise up, you shall bring
them as a sign. Excuse me?
You shall bind them as a sign onyour hand, and they shall be
frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the
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doorpost of your house and on your gates.
He's given some great instructions here.
Here is how you ought to do this.
First, God addresses the adults in the room.
O Israel, what does He want themto know?
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The Lord is our God, and the Lord is 1.
A parent cannot teach this to the children unless they believe
it. Now he moves on to verse 5.
You shall love the Lord your Godwith all of your heart, and with
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all of your soul, and with all of your might.
Then in verse 6, he says these words which I am commanding you
today, They shall be in your heart.
Notice this is a command, this isn't a suggestion.
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What you're going to do first, Israel, you're going to know
that the God our God is 1 and you're going to teach that to
your children. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, yes,
but one God. He says, I want you to teach
this to your children and teach it how teach it diligently to
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your sons. Teach it when you're sitting in
your house. Teach it when you're walking in
the way. Teach it when you are rising up,
Teach it when you're laying down.
This is the thing he wants the Jews to do first, to understand
that these instructions ought tobe taught to the kids, but
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they're to be lived out in frontof the kids, and the kids will
know that you believe these things because they see you
living them out. Do our kids see those things in
US? My parents taught me many things
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about God in this way and those have stuck with me for a
lifetime. I am 77 years old.
So 65 years ago my mother taughtme one of these lessons that I
have never forgotten. I had a dog.
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The dog was named Skippy. So we're getting ready to leave.
I have no idea where we were going, but I was 12 years old
and I just said verbally to my dog, Skippy, we're leaving the
house in your hands. And my mother heard that and she
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said to me, no, we're not. We're leaving the house in God's
hands. She didn't scold me.
She didn't say you are wrong. She didn't call me a name.
She just says, no, we are not. We are leaving it in God's
hands. She was teaching me we need to
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depend on God, not the dog. And I tell you that have stuck
with me all of these years because how she approached it
and what she said. Just a gentle correction.
And there are many times when either one of my parents would
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have talked to us about the Bible and made out a point.
They may have even given us an assignment to go look up and
come back to them. That was another way that they
taught us. My parents was intentional about
instructing us about God. And that's what Paul is asking
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us to do, to be intentional whenit comes to teaching our kids
that they will come to understand who God is and what
it is that he would have us to do.
So we're not to provoke them to anger, but we want to teach them
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the things of God and how it is that God would direct us and
strengthen us, and how it is that He will call us to be the
things that He wants us to be. By the way, when I first learned
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about Abraham from the Bible, you know who, I compared him to?
My dad. Because see, I knew my dad's
faith long before I knew about Abraham's faith, because my dad
lived out the things of God and I could see it.
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So when he would teach me something about it, I didn't
have a problem understanding it because I saw it in his life
1st. And these are the things that he
is bringing to us. Paul here covers the husband and
the wife. He covered the kids and the
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parents and now he's going to deal with the slaves and the
masters. Today's language would be the
employee and the employers. He says in chapter 6 verses 5
and 6, Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters
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according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in sincerity
of heart as to Christ, not by way of our service as men
pleases, but as slaves of Christdoing the will of God from the
heart. When I'm reading through
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scripture and I see the term bondservant, that word bothers
me. By the way, I I got that from
John MacArthur. By the way, while he was alive,
he called it a nun word. Why?
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Because the word that is there in the Greek is do loss.
You know what do loss means? Slave.
That's all it means. It doesn't mean anything else.
It means slave. But a lot of the translators
would translate this one bond servant or servant.
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By the way, this Greek word is used 127 times in the New
Testament, the King James Version and New King James
Version mostly always translatedservant of bondservant.
Let me read to you from the New King James this these same 2
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verses bondservant. Be obedient to those who are
your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling
and sincerity of heart. As to Christ, not with I service
as men please, but as bondservants of Christ doing the
will of God. Bondservant.
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Is there a difference between bondservant and slave?
Yes there is. I know a guy at Mount Wilson
that tells us he has nine jobs. That means he's bondservant to
nine people. That's what that means.
You can be as many bond servantsas you want, but slaves is one
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person. You don't have many masters,
just one. Notice when Paul uses this term,
he says slaves be obedient to your masters according to the
flesh. He doesn't want them to be in
the misunderstanding between whothe real master is here.
This is your master according tothe flesh.
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Later on he would say both of you have a master in heaven and
you know that. And so that's the thing that
he's directing here. Slaves or employees, How are you
going to submit to your employer?
By obedience, by being obedient to them.
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And let me hurry and say the Scripture would tell you that if
they want you to do something that God has told you not to do,
you don't have to obey that. If they tell you not to do
something that God has told you to do, you don't have to obey
that. People have asked all the time.
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Well, how do you share your faith with people at work if the
boss has told you not to see? The boss controls the time he's
paying you for. He doesn't control before work.
It doesn't control lunchtime, itdoesn't control after work.
So you set up a time then to share these things with him,
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with the person who you want to share with.
You can do that, but you have tobring it to that particular
level because you want to do what you want to obey him, to
put him, to put God on display. Now notice verse 7.
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It says with goodwill, renderingservice as to God, not as to
men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he
would receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.
He said you honor God. Whether you get back from them
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or not is a whole different thing, but God will bring the
thing back to you, whether you are the slave or whether you are
the slave owner. He says God will bring these
things. I know that there are those of
you who have been going through some difficulties and you simply
prayed about those and left themin God's hand and you were
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amazed at what God has brought out of that.
That's why the Scripture tells us He would do more than we
could even ask or think. That's how we as employers, I'm
sorry, employees, or to submit to the employers.
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Then in verse 9 he deals with the masters or the employers,
and masters do the same thing tothem and give up threatening,
knowing that both their master and yours is in heaven and there
is and there is no partiality inhim.
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There is no partiality in God. Whether you are a slave or
whether you're the slave owner, there's no partiality.
Whether you're the child or whether you're the parent,
there's no partiality. Whether you're the husband or
the wife, there's no partiality.There's one thing for you and I
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as Christian to present God as to say that God is not doesn't
have partiality. We have to present him that way
in every way. We present him that God has no
partiality in him. In Galatians chapter 6 verses 9
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and 10, he says let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due
time you will reap if we do not grow weary.
So then why we have opportunity?Let us do good to all people,
and especially to those who are the household of faith.
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So you an employer or your supervisor, he says treat
everybody that's in your care. Well, that would be the all
people. And then he says especially to
those who are the household of faith.
So you're going to treat everybody good, those of the
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household of faith, you're goingto give them a little bit extra,
especially those who are the household of faith.
In this Ephesians chapter 4-5 and six, what have we seen?
Chapter 4 verse 1, he says I therefore the prisoner of the
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Lord emplore you to walk in a manner worthy of your calling
which you have been called. Therefore let me see that word.
Therefore, you have to look at why is it therefore and the
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reason it's there in verse in chapter 4, verse one, because of
chapters 1-2 and three, here's who you are in Christ and now
he's going to say here's how youare to conduct yourself.
Chapter 5, verses 15 and 16, he says, therefore be careful how
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you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your
time because the days are evil. You and I are instructed in
Scripture to be careful how we live, recognizing that the days
are evil, and we ought to do this in a way that we ought to
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honor him. And then in chapter 5, verse 21,
he tells us to be submissive to one another and the fear of God.
He deals with the whole church there.
Everybody in the church was either a husband or wife, a
parent or a child or slave or free.
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So he deals with everybody in the church.
You know, we have that same situation today.
You either just change it out toemployee and employer.
Some of us are retired, but thatmeans we had we use them for
heads at one time or another. But he said these are the things
that he's laid out to us. He tells us we must do this.
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Now look at the Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10.
He says finally be strong in theLord and in the strength of his
mouth, His might. How are we to do this?
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We are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
By what are we to do this? Verse 11 put on the full armor
of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the
schemes of the devil. Interesting, Paul mentioned the
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devil twice in this letter in chapter 4.
When he's dealing with our anger, he says to us in verses
26 and 27, be angry and yet do not sin.
Do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the
devil an opportunity. Wow.
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He wants us to know how to deal with thy anger.
He said do not let the sun go down on your anger.
I've had people say to me, well,that's, you know, it happened at
night time. So I have all night and he's
talking about it's a change of day.
That's all he's talking about. So if you get angry at night,
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then don't let the sun come up on your route.
That's all he's saying now. Because if you do, what are you
doing? You're giving the devil an
opportunity. And by the way, the opportunity
is with you. Morning.
Is it with anybody else? But that's what he's telling us.
We need to not to give the devilan opportunity.
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And then in verse 12, he says, for our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against rulers, against powers, against
the world forces of darkness, against spiritual witnesses in
heavenly places. Now all of this he's told us how
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to submit to one another. Then he says, But you're not
wrestling against flesh and blood.
This thing is against spiritual weaknesses in the high places.
This is against the enemy that you are struggling against.
I know you think it's your boss,but it is not.
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You think it's the wife, but it's not.
You think it's the husband, but it's not.
It's the enemy provoking them todo the things that they are
doing. And your battle is really
against the spiritual weaknessesin high places, he says.
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For we struggle, not against flesh or blood.
The word struggle there is an athletic term, has to do with
two men wrestling and they're trying to throw each other to
the to the floor and the way they win is by one man throwing
another to the floor and then holding them there by his neck.
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That's the victor, he said. This is what the enemy is trying
to do for us. You are not struggling against
flesh and blood, but you're struggling against rulers.
This word is used to describe the demons and the angels.
Then he says against powers, power of choice, literally of
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doing as one pleases. That's what comes up against us
more than anything else. I really do want to do as I
please, he says. That's what you're struggling
against. That's the thing that is being
brought to you. Then he says you're struggling
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against these forces of darkness.
Some would say the rulers of darkness, but it has to do with
the Prince of this age, the devil and his minions.
These are the things that we arestruggling against, spiritual
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forces of wickedness belonging to the Spirit or man, higher
than mankind but inferior to God.
You are dealing with something that's higher than you but
inferior to God. Therefore you can come to God
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and say I'm not going to remain angry about this because I know
I'm not fighting against relations, but I am going to
trust you to deal with this thing for me to help me that I
might move forward and put you on display God.
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In verse 13, he says, therefore take the full armor of God.
Notice He told us earlier to puton the full armor of God.
Now he tells us again, thereforetake up the full armor of God so
that you will be able to resist it in the evil day.
And having done all to stand, stand firm.
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Having done your best to stand, stand firm in their way.
By the way, when he describes the armor, he talks about the
what you put on your feet. The old Roman soldiers used to
wear boots and they would drive nails through the soles of the
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boots so they could stand firm in battle.
They wouldn't be slipping and sliding.
That's what he's telling us. Stand firm verse 15, he picks up
on that he says having shod yourfeet with the preparation of the
gospel of peace, know the Scriptures, know what's there in
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addition to all take the shield of faith to which you will be
able to quench the fiery arrows of the evil one.
Now this word for shield there is talking about this shield
that's about two foot and a halfacross, 4 feet high.
The soldier could actually get down behind it because notice
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what he's dodging here. He's dodging fiery arrows.
Can you imagine being shot by anarrow?
Now think of that arrow having tar tar on it and it's a fire
and it comes in. He says this is what the enemy
is shooting at you, so you want to be able to get away from
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those things. And then he says, take the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of the Lord. He's not talking about getting
saved, He's already talking to saved people.
But you and I must know salvation, and we can only know
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that through the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of the
Lord. Let me encourage you to stop
running and pulling the shades down.
When you see the coach coming toyour door, go meet them at the
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door with the sword of the Spirit in your hand, so you can
share with them the truth, because that's what God has us
here for. How are you going to submit to
one another? By putting on the full armor of
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God that you might do this, thatyou might say this, that you
might live this out. And then He tells us at the end
of all this, verse 18, with all prayer and petition, pray at all
times in the Spirit. And with this in view, be on the
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alert with all perseverance and petition for all the Saints.
Do we pray for one another? That's what He's instructing us
to do here. Pray for all the Saints.
Look at verse 19 and pray on my behalf that utterance may be
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given to me in the opening of mymouth to make known with
boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an
ambassador in chains. He's not asking that the chains
be taken off. He's acting that his mouth would
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be open, that he would speak theWord of God to people with
boldness. Do we do that?
Do we talk to people about God and who it?
It doesn't matter whether they listen or not, whether they pay
attention or not, whether they agree with you or not.
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What matters is whether you're sharing or not.
Paul says Pray for me also that I might open my mouth with
boldness to speak the mighty word of God.
I was at Costco yesterday havingmy glasses renewed or whatever
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they do. The guy said, do you bet the
computer a lot? I said, yeah, I am.
He says, I'm doing the study. What are you studying?
I told him studying the Scripture.
He said, yeah. He said that's interested.
He says, I'm, I'm a Catholic andI just believe that, you know,
you do the best you can and God just, you know, counts that and
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you know, you're, you're all right.
He said, what do you think aboutthat?
That's what the Bible says, thatthere's no one who does good, so
doing the best you can isn't going to even show up.
He said, no, I agree 100% with you.
That's not what he had just saida minute ago.
OK, But that's what he was saying now.
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And in our conversation, he kepttelling me, I agree with that.
He did not agree with it becausehe told me what he believed
upfront. All we have to do people, is be
faithful in getting the word outand that is the thing that he is
calling us to do. Now, let me just tell you this
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in the last few minutes that I have, this isn't written to
everyone. This is written to the believer.
You are not a believer because you come to church.
Matter of fact, you're not a believer because you're in this
church. Believer is one who has come to
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Christ based on what Christ has done on the cross on our behalf,
and based on that belief we haverepented and turned from our
sinful ways and turned to Him. That's what makes the
difference, and that's who He's instructing us to.
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And you and I ought to put thesethings into practice and to live
the life that God has called us to live, that we might put him
on display in all that we do Let's pray.
Father, we thank You for this time that You've given us
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tonight. We ask now that You would direct
our hearts to follow Your directions for us in Scripture.
We who know who we are in You, help us to live a life that
would reflect You. If there are anyone here tonight
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who do not know you, we pray that they would come to know
You. We pray this in Christ's name,
and for His sake we ask it. Amen.
We will look at Ephesians chapter 6 starting with verses
one through 9. Tonight we will be picking up
kind of where we left off from 2weeks ago and walk through this
passage as we see what it is that God would direct us in His
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Word. So let us read Ephesians chapter
6 verses one through 9. Children, obey your parents in
the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your
mother, which is the first commandment with the promise, so
that it will be well with you and that you may live long upon
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the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your
children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord. Slaves, be obedient to those who
are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and
trembling insincerity of your heart as to Christ.
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Not by way of our service as menpleasers, but as slaves of
Christ, doing the will of God from the heart with goodwill,
rendering service as to the Lord, not to men, knowing that
whatever good thing each one does, this he would receive back
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from the Lord, whether slave or free And masters, do the same
thing to them and give up threatening, knowing that both
your master and, excuse me, boththeir master and yours is in
heaven, and there is no partiality in him.
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When we was together before 2 weeks ago, we talked about this
book, this letter, Ephesians, and we explained that what it
meant as we look at review, thatthese were Christians who lived
in the city of Ephesus, that it is the capital of the Roman
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Providence of Asia, Asia Minor or modern, modern day Turkey
would be it today. Many commentators point out that
the earlier manuscript did not include the words in Ephesus
because they believed that this was a circular letter and
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therefore it was intended for everybody.
But they rushed to tell us that there is nothing lost in the
leaving out of those words. So we move on to the letter and
we asked you last weekend. We will ask you again.
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Please remember that this is a letter and not a book.
Therefore, it was not written inchapters and verses as we have
it today. Now that being said, what we
have is chapters 1-2 and three. We are instructed in who we are
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in Christ. Chapters 4-5 and six instructs
us on how we ought to act because of who we are in Christ.
And when you think about that, that's what the Christian life
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should be about, putting God on display because of what He has
done for us and in US. We started with Ephesians 515.
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Therefore, be careful how you walk.
The word walk in Scripture meansthe manner of life.
Be careful how you live, becausepeople are watching and you want
to put Him on display as you live.
And then he goes on and tell us,not as unwise men, but as wise.
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By the way, I think if we asked anybody would you rather be wise
or unwise? I think we would all agree that
we would want to be wise. So he says to us not as unwise
men, but as wise as Paul is instructing the Saints how we
ought to live because of who we are in Christ.
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He says that we are not to be unwise.
Think about the things that we do.
Think about the things that we say.
How is it that we communicate topeople?
Are we communicating from a wisestandpoint or from an unwise
standpoint? And then we looked at verse 16,
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chapter 5. He says making the most of your
time because the days of evil. The old King James uses the term
here redeeming the time. The Greek word is used four
times in the New Testament and it means to buy back twice.
It is used of what Christ did for us.
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We will read you one of those from Galatians chapter 3 verse
13. Christ redeemed us from the
curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is
ridden. Cursed is everyone who hangs on
the tree. The other time it is used is
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about us and how we are to act. In Colossians chapter 4 verses 5
and 6, he says conduct yourselves with wisdom toward
the outsiders. Here's our word, making the most
of the opportunity. Conduct yourselves with wisdom
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for those who are on the outside.
Those would be non Christians. Then he goes on to say, let your
speech always be with grace as those seasoned with salt, so
that you would know how you ought to respond to each person.
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This is each person on the outside that you are responding
to. Let your speech always be
seasoned with salt. Let it always be of grace, even
when they are not gracious to you.
Yes, let your speech always be of grace so you will know how to
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respond to each person. Then we went on to talk about in
verse 17. So then do not be foolish, but
understanding what the will of the Lord is.
How is it that we not be foolish?
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We come to know what the will ofthe Lord is.
How do you know that? By reading His word, by
understanding what it is that Hesays that we are to do.
By the way, when you see some people who say that they are
Christians, and then you listen to what it is they have to say,
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it leaves no doubt that they know nothing about Christianity.
Just because a person says that they are Christian doesn't mean
that they are. So He says to us.
So we are not to be foolish, butto understand what the will of
the Lord is. And then he goes on in verse 18
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and says do not be drunk with wine, for that is dissipation.
That is a terrible way to live is what he's telling us to be
drunk with wine. And the word has to do with
excessive drinking. So he said don't be controlled
by that. Don't be, don't live by that,
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but be filled with the Spirit. The word to be filled means to
make fool, to fill up. He's telling us to let the
Spirit of God control us and notsome other source because see,
we can look at well, I don't drink so that's not a problem
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for me, but could be controlled by some other thing and that's
what he's telling us not to let happen.
What happens when we are filled with the Spirit?
He says to us that we were speaking to one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
in our hearts. And to the Lord, notice he says
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in your heart, you can't make melody in my heart.
I can't make melody in your heart.
The other thing that I think about I can't control your heart
and you can't control mine. But He says here that we are to
make melody in our hearts unto the Lord, and those are the
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things that we are called to do.You cannot fulfill verse 19 out
of a heart that is controlled bysomething other than the Spirit
of God. And these are the things that we
want to keep in mind for us. And then he says to us, always
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giving thanks to all things in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to God, even the Father,always give thanks for all
things. Do we stay in that attitude of
Thanksgiving or do we like to gripe and complain about things
that come up, the weather, the people that we work with or
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everything else? By the way, you know, Christians
have gotten so good with complaining.
We think it's a spiritual gift. It actually is not OK.
He tells us here that here is how we ought to live.
We're to live in a way that we're giving thanks to God for
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everything. When we think about this from
chapter 4 verse one, Paul is telling the Saints how we ought
to live irregardless to our situation when it comes to
marriage. You could be in marriage, you
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could be out of marriage, you could be before marriage, you
could be one of those that say I'm never going to get married.
He is telling us as Christians how we ought to live.
That should tell us something. How we live doesn't depend upon
our situation. How we live depends upon how we
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respond to the Word of God in the direction that He gives to
us. In verse 21.
He would say to us that we are to do something He says in verse
21 and be subject to one anotherin the fear of God.
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Be subject to place yourself under.
It's what it's calling us to do.That's what the word be subject
to, to arrange yourself under, to subordinate.
Do you know the president of theUnited States is the commander
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in chief of all of our military forces, regardless to whether
he's had military experience or not?
So all the men, let's tell you, on the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
come into the room and put all of the effort together and make
a decision. And he can say no to that
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because they have to rank themselves under.
And that's what he is telling usto do.
Paul says as we operate in the church, as we operate in the
family, we ought to submit to one another.
So what is this point? We covered this last time.
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And why does he start with the wife?
Because he's dealing with leadership.
When it comes to leadership, thewife is to submit herself to the
husband. And I love what the Colossians
say about this. He said in everything.
Now that doesn't make me as a husband puffed up OK?
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Because just a few verses later he's going to address men and
help us to understand what the husband is to do.
But he goes on and says in verse22, Wives, be submissive to your
own husband as unto the Lord. Note that he doesn't say because
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he's smarter than you, it's because of the position that
their husband has. Wives, when it comes to
leadership, rank yourself under the husband.
He goes on in verse 23 and says,for the husband is the head of
the wife, as Christ is also the head of the church, he himself
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being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to
Christ, so also the wives ought to be subject to their own
husbands in everything, wives totheir own husbands.
(14:59):
Then from chapter 5, verse 25 through verse 33, he addresses
their husbands. Husbands love your wives, just
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her.
Notice what words are not inserted here?
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Submit yourself and they shouldn't be as they shouldn't
be in verse 22 because in verse 21 he has told us to be subject
1 to another and therefore as weread through this, we don't need
the word submit because he's already addressed that issue in
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verse 21. So in verse 22 we say wives to
your own husbands. Here he says, husband, love your
wife, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up
for it. So when it comes to my love for
myself, I am to rank that under my love for my wife.
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That's how I submit to her. That's how each husband is
called to submit to his right notice.
He says here, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
himself up for her, He wants us to know that we ought to be
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subject in that way. Look at verse 26.
He goes on to talk about Christ and what Christ has done for the
church so that he might sanctifyher, having cleansed her by the
washing of the water with the Word, that he might present her
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to Himself, the church in all ofits glory, having no spot or
wrinkle or any search thing, butthat he would be, excuse me, but
that she would be holy and blameless.
Is that what we are doing with our wives?
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Do we really love them in a way that we want them to be holy and
blameless? We want them to be without
fault. I should never ask my wife to do
something that would put her in the spot of not being holy and
blameless. Never.
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And that's what he's directing us to do here.
Treat our wives just as Christ treated the church and gave
himself up for her. He goes on in verse 28 and says,
So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own
body, For he who loves his wife loves himself.
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For no one ever hated his own flesh, but narrison cherished
it, just as Christ also does thechurch.
It doesn't matter what a person says about how much they hate
themselves. The Bible says for no one has
ever hated himself by the way, that's the truth.
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I don't we don't have to debate that.
But he says in verse 30, he saysbecause we are members of his
body, for this reason, a man shall leave his father and his
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two of them shall
be 1 flesh. I think parents have a bigger
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issue with this than the husbandand wife does really.
It says for this reason a man shall leave his father and
mother and shall be joined to his wife and the two of them
shall become one flesh. That means that man and that
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woman has their house and to be ran by them, not the mom and the
dad back somewhere else. That's what he's pointing out
here. Now he goes on in verse 32 and
said this is the mystery. By the way, he calls the mystery
great. He says, but I am speaking with
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reference to Christ in the church.
This is how Christ in the churchreally should function.
But look at the next verse. Nevertheless, each individual
among you also is to love his own wife even as himself.
And the wife must see to it thatshe respects her husband.
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So he has talked to us. He has told us how the husband
and the wife is to submit to oneanother.
Now we're going to pick up tonight's message, starting with
the children. And he says Ephesians chapter 6
verse one children obey your parents in the Lord.
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For this is right. Wow, what a great statement.
Now if if in the statement in the Bible wouldn't be great, but
just I want to tell you something children, he said
children obey your parents and the reason you're going to do
this is because it is right As Iwas reading and preparing for
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this came across this comment, this commentator and he pointed
me to Hosea. And if you remember, Hosea was
the guy that was told to go out and marry a wife of holla tree
and to have children of holla tree.
And the reason God told him to do this because Israel had
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turned that back on God and had brought holla tree into their
lives. Hosea chapter 14 is the last
chapter in Hosea verse 9 is the last verse in that chapter.
And here's what it says. Whoever is wise, let him
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understand these things. Whoever is discerning, let him
know them, for the ways of the Lord are right, and the
righteous will walk in them, buttransgressors will stumble in
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them. Notice he uses the term right,
that those who are right will walk in them, but those who are
transgressors will stumble in them.
By the way, if a person is walking along and he stumbles,
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it's kind of like noticeable to everybody.
So here he says the transgressors will stumble over
the same rights that the righteous person is walking in,
the righteous person is doing. And Hosea would say long before
Paul would write this, the ways of the Lord are right.
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So when Paul comes along and said, children, obey your
parents for this is right, He ispointing out to us as children
that it's the right thing to do to obey your parents.
Now he says, that's the action Iwant you to take.
Then he tells us how to address the attitude that we should do
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that right thing. In he says honor your father and
your mother, which is the first commandment with a promise so
that it may be well with you andthat you may live long upon the
earth. So when I am obeying my parents,
I need to have a great attitude in doing so.
(23:25):
By the way, the word honor meansto estimate or to fix the value.
There's a difference between fixing the value and fixing a
value. Because see, if I fix a value, I
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put whatever price on it I want to.
But when you fix the value, you're given the proper value of
that thing. And that's what honor means when
it says honor your father and your mother, number one, know
who this person is, know their value and set that on them.
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Honor them in that way. And he's given us this
understanding that the children ought to submit themselves to
their parents by obeying them and by honoring them.
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And then we come to verse 4. Most of us as parents never
think about the idea that we areto submit ourselves to our kids.
But here he tells us, yes, you are, because he's told us to
submit to one another in all things.
He says, Father, do not provoke your children to anger, but
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bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
How is it that parents would submit themselves to their
children by not bringing them, driving them to anger?
(25:18):
Now, that doesn't mean don't spank your kids because the
scripture strictly tells us thatthat should happen.
OK, What he's talking about hereis don't play something on your
kid that they can't do that would drive them to anger.
An example, let's say you have the best B student in your kid
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that that kid can be. That kid is doing all this
homework, doing everything that he can, but the very best that
he can come up with or she can come up with is AB.
And you decide it has to be an A.
So you go and you drive them to get there, and they can't make
that. That's what he's talking about.
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Fathers or parents, do not provoke your children to wrath,
exasperation, or anger. Don't provoke them to that.
That they might understand, thatthey might know that yes, Mom or
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dad really do love me. It would not provoke me to that.
By the way, this word for anger here, this Greek word is only
used twice in the New Testament,only used in 2 verses here and
in Romans 10/19. Romans 10/19 says, But I say,
surely Israel did not know, did they?
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First, Moses said, I will make you jealous by that which is not
a nation, and by a nation without understanding.
I will anger you. God is driving Israel to anger
over the Gentiles because of what he's doing to bring them
(27:13):
in, because of how far Israel has walked away from God.
God's motives are always pure. I was a not and that's why he
would tell the children of Israel, I will provoke you to
anger because of this. But then he can direct us not to
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provoke our children because ourmotives can be wrong.
I love the last part of that verse though.
Don't drive them to anger, but bring them up in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord. I have a picture in my mind when
(27:59):
I come to the word. But, and let's say this podium
here would be the word, but thisis kind of the picture I have in
my mind on the left side. Whatever is on but is going to
be different from what's on the right side.
So he says over here He says, donot provoke your children to
(28:23):
anger, but over here he says, but bring them up in the nurture
and the admiration of the Lord. So he wants me to instruct them
in the Lord. And then I'll ask myself the
question, how would I do that? In Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 to 8,
(28:46):
he gives us a great way of doingthis.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God.
The Lord is 1. You should love the Lord with
all. You should love the Lord your
God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with
(29:07):
all of your might. These words which I am
commanding you today shall be inyour heart.
You shall teach them diligent toyour sons and shall talk to them
when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way.
(29:28):
And when you lie down and when you rise up, you shall bring
them as a sign. Excuse me?
You shall bind them as a sign onyour hand, and they shall be
frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the
(29:48):
doorpost of your house and on your gates.
He's given some great instructions here.
Here is how you ought to do this.
First, God addresses the adults in the room.
O Israel, what does He want themto know?
(30:14):
The Lord is our God, and the Lord is 1.
A parent cannot teach this to the children unless they believe
it. Now he moves on to verse 5.
You shall love the Lord your Godwith all of your heart, and with
(30:35):
all of your soul, and with all of your might.
Then in verse 6, he says these words which I am commanding you
today, They shall be in your heart.
Notice this is a command, this isn't a suggestion.
(30:55):
What you're going to do first, Israel, you're going to know
that the God our God is 1 and you're going to teach that to
your children. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, yes,
but one God. He says, I want you to teach
this to your children and teach it how teach it diligently to
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your sons. Teach it when you're sitting in
your house. Teach it when you're walking in
the way. Teach it when you are rising up,
Teach it when you're laying down.
This is the thing he wants the Jews to do first, to understand
that these instructions ought tobe taught to the kids, but
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they're to be lived out in frontof the kids, and the kids will
know that you believe these things because they see you
living them out. Do our kids see those things in
US? My parents taught me many things
(32:04):
about God in this way and those have stuck with me for a
lifetime. I am 77 years old.
So 65 years ago my mother taughtme one of these lessons that I
have never forgotten. I had a dog.
(32:29):
The dog was named Skippy. So we're getting ready to leave.
I have no idea where we were going, but I was 12 years old
and I just said verbally to my dog, Skippy, we're leaving the
house in your hands. And my mother heard that and she
(32:53):
said to me, no, we're not. We're leaving the house in God's
hands. She didn't scold me.
She didn't say you are wrong. She didn't call me a name.
She just says, no, we are not. We are leaving it in God's
hands. She was teaching me we need to
(33:14):
depend on God, not the dog. And I tell you that have stuck
with me all of these years because how she approached it
and what she said. Just a gentle correction.
And there are many times when either one of my parents would
(33:36):
have talked to us about the Bible and made out a point.
They may have even given us an assignment to go look up and
come back to them. That was another way that they
taught us. My parents was intentional about
instructing us about God. And that's what Paul is asking
(33:58):
us to do, to be intentional whenit comes to teaching our kids
that they will come to understand who God is and what
it is that he would have us to do.
So we're not to provoke them to anger, but we want to teach them
(34:18):
the things of God and how it is that God would direct us and
strengthen us, and how it is that He will call us to be the
things that He wants us to be. By the way, when I first learned
(34:41):
about Abraham from the Bible, you know who, I compared him to?
My dad. Because see, I knew my dad's
faith long before I knew about Abraham's faith, because my dad
lived out the things of God and I could see it.
(35:02):
So when he would teach me something about it, I didn't
have a problem understanding it because I saw it in his life
1st. And these are the things that he
is bringing to us. Paul here covers the husband and
the wife. He covered the kids and the
(35:25):
parents and now he's going to deal with the slaves and the
masters. Today's language would be the
employee and the employers. He says in chapter 6 verses 5
and 6, Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters
(35:48):
according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in sincerity
of heart as to Christ, not by way of our service as men
pleases, but as slaves of Christdoing the will of God from the
heart. When I'm reading through
(36:13):
scripture and I see the term bondservant, that word bothers
me. By the way, I I got that from
John MacArthur. By the way, while he was alive,
he called it a nun word. Why?
(36:34):
Because the word that is there in the Greek is do loss.
You know what do loss means? Slave.
That's all it means. It doesn't mean anything else.
It means slave. But a lot of the translators
would translate this one bond servant or servant.
(36:58):
By the way, this Greek word is used 127 times in the New
Testament, the King James Version and New King James
Version mostly always translatedservant of bondservant.
Let me read to you from the New King James this these same 2
(37:18):
verses bondservant. Be obedient to those who are
your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling
and sincerity of heart. As to Christ, not with I service
as men please, but as bondservants of Christ doing the
will of God. Bondservant.
(37:43):
Is there a difference between bondservant and slave?
Yes there is. I know a guy at Mount Wilson
that tells us he has nine jobs. That means he's bondservant to
nine people. That's what that means.
You can be as many bond servantsas you want, but slaves is one
(38:08):
person. You don't have many masters,
just one. Notice when Paul uses this term,
he says slaves be obedient to your masters according to the
flesh. He doesn't want them to be in
the misunderstanding between whothe real master is here.
This is your master according tothe flesh.
(38:32):
Later on he would say both of you have a master in heaven and
you know that. And so that's the thing that
he's directing here. Slaves or employees, How are you
going to submit to your employer?
By obedience, by being obedient to them.
(38:56):
And let me hurry and say the Scripture would tell you that if
they want you to do something that God has told you not to do,
you don't have to obey that. If they tell you not to do
something that God has told you to do, you don't have to obey
that. People have asked all the time.
(39:17):
Well, how do you share your faith with people at work if the
boss has told you not to see? The boss controls the time he's
paying you for. He doesn't control before work.
It doesn't control lunchtime, itdoesn't control after work.
So you set up a time then to share these things with him,
(39:40):
with the person who you want to share with.
You can do that, but you have tobring it to that particular
level because you want to do what you want to obey him, to
put him, to put God on display. Now notice verse 7.
(40:01):
It says with goodwill, renderingservice as to God, not as to
men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he
would receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.
He said you honor God. Whether you get back from them
(40:25):
or not is a whole different thing, but God will bring the
thing back to you, whether you are the slave or whether you are
the slave owner. He says God will bring these
things. I know that there are those of
you who have been going through some difficulties and you simply
prayed about those and left themin God's hand and you were
(40:46):
amazed at what God has brought out of that.
That's why the Scripture tells us He would do more than we
could even ask or think. That's how we as employers, I'm
sorry, employees, or to submit to the employers.
(41:07):
Then in verse 9 he deals with the masters or the employers,
and masters do the same thing tothem and give up threatening,
knowing that both their master and yours is in heaven and there
is and there is no partiality inhim.
(41:34):
There is no partiality in God. Whether you are a slave or
whether you're the slave owner, there's no partiality.
Whether you're the child or whether you're the parent,
there's no partiality. Whether you're the husband or
the wife, there's no partiality.There's one thing for you and I
(41:56):
as Christian to present God as to say that God is not doesn't
have partiality. We have to present him that way
in every way. We present him that God has no
partiality in him. In Galatians chapter 6 verses 9
(42:19):
and 10, he says let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due
time you will reap if we do not grow weary.
So then why we have opportunity?Let us do good to all people,
and especially to those who are the household of faith.
(42:43):
So you an employer or your supervisor, he says treat
everybody that's in your care. Well, that would be the all
people. And then he says especially to
those who are the household of faith.
So you're going to treat everybody good, those of the
(43:05):
household of faith, you're goingto give them a little bit extra,
especially those who are the household of faith.
In this Ephesians chapter 4-5 and six, what have we seen?
Chapter 4 verse 1, he says I therefore the prisoner of the
(43:27):
Lord emplore you to walk in a manner worthy of your calling
which you have been called. Therefore let me see that word.
Therefore, you have to look at why is it therefore and the
(43:48):
reason it's there in verse in chapter 4, verse one, because of
chapters 1-2 and three, here's who you are in Christ and now
he's going to say here's how youare to conduct yourself.
Chapter 5, verses 15 and 16, he says, therefore be careful how
(44:08):
you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your
time because the days are evil. You and I are instructed in
Scripture to be careful how we live, recognizing that the days
are evil, and we ought to do this in a way that we ought to
(44:29):
honor him. And then in chapter 5, verse 21,
he tells us to be submissive to one another and the fear of God.
He deals with the whole church there.
Everybody in the church was either a husband or wife, a
parent or a child or slave or free.
(44:50):
So he deals with everybody in the church.
You know, we have that same situation today.
You either just change it out toemployee and employer.
Some of us are retired, but thatmeans we had we use them for
heads at one time or another. But he said these are the things
that he's laid out to us. He tells us we must do this.
(45:15):
Now look at the Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10.
He says finally be strong in theLord and in the strength of his
mouth, His might. How are we to do this?
(45:36):
We are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
By what are we to do this? Verse 11 put on the full armor
of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the
schemes of the devil. Interesting, Paul mentioned the
(46:05):
devil twice in this letter in chapter 4.
When he's dealing with our anger, he says to us in verses
26 and 27, be angry and yet do not sin.
Do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the
devil an opportunity. Wow.
(46:31):
He wants us to know how to deal with thy anger.
He said do not let the sun go down on your anger.
I've had people say to me, well,that's, you know, it happened at
night time. So I have all night and he's
talking about it's a change of day.
That's all he's talking about. So if you get angry at night,
(46:53):
then don't let the sun come up on your route.
That's all he's saying now. Because if you do, what are you
doing? You're giving the devil an
opportunity. And by the way, the opportunity
is with you. Morning.
Is it with anybody else? But that's what he's telling us.
We need to not to give the devilan opportunity.
(47:17):
And then in verse 12, he says, for our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against rulers, against powers, against
the world forces of darkness, against spiritual witnesses in
heavenly places. Now all of this he's told us how
(47:38):
to submit to one another. Then he says, But you're not
wrestling against flesh and blood.
This thing is against spiritual weaknesses in the high places.
This is against the enemy that you are struggling against.
I know you think it's your boss,but it is not.
(47:58):
You think it's the wife, but it's not.
You think it's the husband, but it's not.
It's the enemy provoking them todo the things that they are
doing. And your battle is really
against the spiritual weaknessesin high places, he says.
(48:19):
For we struggle, not against flesh or blood.
The word struggle there is an athletic term, has to do with
two men wrestling and they're trying to throw each other to
the to the floor and the way they win is by one man throwing
another to the floor and then holding them there by his neck.
(48:39):
That's the victor, he said. This is what the enemy is trying
to do for us. You are not struggling against
flesh and blood, but you're struggling against rulers.
This word is used to describe the demons and the angels.
Then he says against powers, power of choice, literally of
(49:05):
doing as one pleases. That's what comes up against us
more than anything else. I really do want to do as I
please, he says. That's what you're struggling
against. That's the thing that is being
brought to you. Then he says you're struggling
(49:25):
against these forces of darkness.
Some would say the rulers of darkness, but it has to do with
the Prince of this age, the devil and his minions.
These are the things that we arestruggling against, spiritual
(49:46):
forces of wickedness belonging to the Spirit or man, higher
than mankind but inferior to God.
You are dealing with something that's higher than you but
inferior to God. Therefore you can come to God
(50:08):
and say I'm not going to remain angry about this because I know
I'm not fighting against relations, but I am going to
trust you to deal with this thing for me to help me that I
might move forward and put you on display God.
(50:28):
In verse 13, he says, therefore take the full armor of God.
Notice He told us earlier to puton the full armor of God.
Now he tells us again, thereforetake up the full armor of God so
that you will be able to resist it in the evil day.
And having done all to stand, stand firm.
(50:56):
Having done your best to stand, stand firm in their way.
By the way, when he describes the armor, he talks about the
what you put on your feet. The old Roman soldiers used to
wear boots and they would drive nails through the soles of the
(51:20):
boots so they could stand firm in battle.
They wouldn't be slipping and sliding.
That's what he's telling us. Stand firm verse 15, he picks up
on that he says having shod yourfeet with the preparation of the
gospel of peace, know the Scriptures, know what's there in
(51:44):
addition to all take the shield of faith to which you will be
able to quench the fiery arrows of the evil one.
Now this word for shield there is talking about this shield
that's about two foot and a halfacross, 4 feet high.
The soldier could actually get down behind it because notice
(52:09):
what he's dodging here. He's dodging fiery arrows.
Can you imagine being shot by anarrow?
Now think of that arrow having tar tar on it and it's a fire
and it comes in. He says this is what the enemy
is shooting at you, so you want to be able to get away from
(52:31):
those things. And then he says, take the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of the Lord. He's not talking about getting
saved, He's already talking to saved people.
But you and I must know salvation, and we can only know
(52:52):
that through the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of the
Lord. Let me encourage you to stop
running and pulling the shades down.
When you see the coach coming toyour door, go meet them at the
(53:14):
door with the sword of the Spirit in your hand, so you can
share with them the truth, because that's what God has us
here for. How are you going to submit to
one another? By putting on the full armor of
(53:37):
God that you might do this, thatyou might say this, that you
might live this out. And then He tells us at the end
of all this, verse 18, with all prayer and petition, pray at all
times in the Spirit. And with this in view, be on the
(54:01):
alert with all perseverance and petition for all the Saints.
Do we pray for one another? That's what He's instructing us
to do here. Pray for all the Saints.
Look at verse 19 and pray on my behalf that utterance may be
(54:22):
given to me in the opening of mymouth to make known with
boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an
ambassador in chains. He's not asking that the chains
be taken off. He's acting that his mouth would
(54:42):
be open, that he would speak theWord of God to people with
boldness. Do we do that?
Do we talk to people about God and who it?
It doesn't matter whether they listen or not, whether they pay
attention or not, whether they agree with you or not.
(55:03):
What matters is whether you're sharing or not.
Paul says Pray for me also that I might open my mouth with
boldness to speak the mighty word of God.
I was at Costco yesterday havingmy glasses renewed or whatever
(55:24):
they do. The guy said, do you bet the
computer a lot? I said, yeah, I am.
He says, I'm doing the study. What are you studying?
I told him studying the Scripture.
He said, yeah. He said that's interested.
He says, I'm, I'm a Catholic andI just believe that, you know,
you do the best you can and God just, you know, counts that and
(55:45):
you know, you're, you're all right.
He said, what do you think aboutthat?
That's what the Bible says, thatthere's no one who does good, so
doing the best you can isn't going to even show up.
He said, no, I agree 100% with you.
That's not what he had just saida minute ago.
OK, But that's what he was saying now.
(56:07):
And in our conversation, he kepttelling me, I agree with that.
He did not agree with it becausehe told me what he believed
upfront. All we have to do people, is be
faithful in getting the word outand that is the thing that he is
calling us to do. Now, let me just tell you this
(56:31):
in the last few minutes that I have, this isn't written to
everyone. This is written to the believer.
You are not a believer because you come to church.
Matter of fact, you're not a believer because you're in this
church. Believer is one who has come to
(56:57):
Christ based on what Christ has done on the cross on our behalf,
and based on that belief we haverepented and turned from our
sinful ways and turned to Him. That's what makes the
difference, and that's who He's instructing us to.
(57:20):
And you and I ought to put thesethings into practice and to live
the life that God has called us to live, that we might put him
on display in all that we do Let's pray.
Father, we thank You for this time that You've given us
(57:44):
tonight. We ask now that You would direct
our hearts to follow Your directions for us in Scripture.
We who know who we are in You, help us to live a life that
would reflect You. If there are anyone here tonight
(58:08):
who do not know you, we pray that they would come to know
You. We pray this in Christ's name,
and for His sake we ask it. Amen.
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