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[0:00] Take your Bibles if you want and open them to the book of Ephesians. That is a break from Jeremiah, but I wasn't here on the 14th of February, and I was going to preach that night for a wedding vow renewal, but Trent did a great job renewing everybody's vows that night.

[0:22] My wife felt strange because we have always participated in that, and in 46 years we've done that many times, and I laid out on that one that night and stayed at home.

[0:35] I really want to talk to you about marriage. I thought about doing this Sunday night and doing the other, but I want to talk while the mysteries are here, and so I'm going to just really preach or talk to you, or I want to help our marriages.

[0:54] Now, these old people that have been married for 300 years in the room, they probably don't need any of this. They're probably in real good shape, but some of our young ones might could use this, and some of the older ones, it might not hurt.

[1:07] It is in the Bible, so it's good stuff. So go with me, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 5. Now, I would, if we had a lot of time, I would read all the way from 21 down to 33, but tonight I'll just work your way through that with me, if you would.

[1:22] I want you to take your Bible, and I just want you to think with me. Everybody leaves this verse out, but I think verse 21 really fits this scenario, and so I want us to start there.

[1:35] Real marriage starts with mutual submission. I would think you ought to write that down somewhere. A good marriage starts with mutual submission, love and respect.

[1:48] It is two people. Sometimes Christians get, when they get saved and they read the Bible, they love Ephesians 5.22.

[1:59] All the men, that's their favorite verse, because they get to tell her to obey, and they love skipping verse 21. But God put 21 right before 22.

[2:12] That's interesting. And he said in verse 21, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. I'd like to just pray with you a minute about our marriages.

[2:23] I'm going to give a ton of practical advice, which I typically don't do in a church service here, but I was going to do it for the marriages. I want to do that tonight, and then you can argue with me after church if you'd like.

[2:34] Father, I love you. God, I want us to have happy marriages. I know you meant for them to be happy. You meant for the kids to be able to enjoy having a mama and a daddy that loved them and cared about them.

[2:46] You meant for every wife to have a wonderful husband that would love her and be kind to her and blessing to her and lead her and guide her. And you meant for every woman to be the helpmate and to have a husband that she loved and helped and worked together.

[3:03] God, every picture in the Bible is so beautiful, and yet so many times marriage doesn't work like what we read about in the Bible. So God, I would like to take a little bit of time, and I'd like to just talk to people that I love.

[3:16] And Lord, these guys that are missionaries are about to go to the mission field, and how little they understand that their marriage will be tested. That their marriage will be tested. That she will have a hard time following him, and he will have a hard time loving her, and that the marriage may very firmly be tested.

[3:34] And I just would like to help them, Lord, tonight, if you would speak, that they might get a better relationship and be prepared for what comes in the future. And I'll give you praise for what you do. In Jesus' name, amen.

[3:45] The Bible says in Ephesians 5, 21, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. If I respect God, if I have fear towards God, if I believe He's who He says He is, then I ought to have an attitude.

[4:00] And by the way, it's a Christian attitude that I submit to everybody. Did you know that I'm supposed to esteem you as better than me, and you're supposed to esteem me as better than you, and our arguments ought to be us thinking the other is better than us.

[4:11] Amen. No, you have the seat. No, you have the seat. No, you have the seat. Please, you have the seat. I'm going to hit you if you don't have the seat. Have the seat. And that's a little bit different than what we tend to think of, and there's a dominating attitude.

[4:23] Both husband and wife intermarriage as good Christians, and good Christians esteem the other better than themselves. Good Christians desire to serve one another.

[4:35] Good Christians do not seek their own. We ought to write that down. If I'm a good Christian and I get married, I ought to keep acting like a good Christian. You don't get to leave your Christianity at the church door.

[4:45] You don't get to check out of Christianity before you walk into the house. And so when I walk into the house, I need to understand that I am going to respect Betty and submit to Betty and show love to Betty and respect her, and she's going to do the same for me.

[4:59] I wish you'd just write this down somewhere and consider this mutual, mutual submission. Mutual submission. It is not about me getting to run the family.

[5:10] By the way, any guy who thinks he's running his wife's probably not been married long, or he's living deluded. It doesn't take you long to figure out. You don't get to boss people around as much as you think. Young pastors always talk to me about how they're in charge of their church.

[5:23] And I say, yeah, well, you don't know much yet. You haven't figured that out. Nobody gets to tell anybody else what to do. We just get to lovingly lead and pray they'll follow. So I wish you could do that. Go with me to the second thing. It's in the verse, if you would, Ephesians 5.22 in this passage.

[5:37] The Bible says in Ephesians 5.22, wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. Now, we're going to read three times in this passage of Scripture.

[5:47] There's several things that are very interesting in the passage of Scripture. Did you know he starts with the wife? I wouldn't have done that. I would have thought that the husband's the leader, and you ought to start with the leader.

[5:58] If the leader got his act right, then we might have a good marriage. But when God decided to write it down and put it in the Scripture, and we believe this is the Word of God, amen? He starts off, and he says, I'm going to talk to the wife, and here's the thing we need to get her doing to work in this marriage.

[6:10] And she is to submit. Ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden, the woman has wanted to take the charge and lead. Ever since then, she's had a desire to rule over her husband.

[6:23] Women have a mothering instinct. Women have mothering issues. They like to mother us. And if you, you know what, Betty and I have been married a short time, 46 years.

[6:35] And whenever we have fights, we don't have them too much anymore. I think we've kind of punched these things out over the years. But you know one of the biggest things I used to say to her? I didn't want to marry my mother.

[6:46] Because, you know, she just tried to take care of me. She just tried. And she knows better, because women know better. Amen, women? And y'all just know better.

[6:57] All the girls are like, women know better. But look at what it says in Ephesians 5. I want you to mark it. It's all in the Bible. In verse 22, wives submit.

[7:09] Wives submit. In verse 24, it says, Look in verse 33.

[7:21] Nevertheless, let every one of you, in particular, so love his wife, even as himself. And the wife see that she reverence her husband. Three times in one small passage.

[7:33] Here's what I really think you can't read this passage without realizing. God thought women had a submission problem. Because that's what he addressed. He came in there. Look at the passage with me.

[7:44] Just go back through it and underline what it says in your Bible. Wives submit to their husbands as unto the Lord. If a woman loves Jesus, she will follow her husband.

[7:55] She will submit to her husband. She will have that attitude towards her husband. Look at what it says in verse 24. It says, As the church is subject unto Christ.

[8:06] And the truth of the matter is, that gives women plenty of room to not be obedient. Because most churches tend not to be very obedient. Amen? But it's not supposed to be that way. The church is supposed to realize Jesus is the head.

[8:19] Jesus makes decisions. We follow. We obey. As the church is subject unto Christ, let the wives be to their own husbands. Underline, in everything. Everything.

[8:30] That's an amazing set of words. I didn't make up the words. They're right here in the Bible in front of you. You are to submit as unto the Lord. You are to submit in everything. Look at verse 33.

[8:41] Nevertheless, let every one of you, in particular, so love his wife, even as himself. Underline this. And see that the wife reverence her husband. Underline that. Reverence her husband. What a word.

[8:53] What a word. Reverence her husband. That's a word we use for God. God. God is reverent. It is, boy, I honor you. I submit to you. I respect you.

[9:04] I follow you. It's interesting. In the passage of Scripture, when God is going to deal with things that have to do with marriage, he starts with the lady. I'm not sure.

[9:15] Maybe he didn't mean for me to take it that way. You can all go work on that in your own heads. But we know this. God made the wife to be a helpmate. I regularly, I don't know why I get into this position, but I regularly am speaking to guys.

[9:28] And a man will come to me and say, I'm trying to figure out what God's will is for my life. And the first thing a lot of men will say to me is, I'm just not sure my wife will go for that. I recently talked to a man and he said to me, I'm trying to work out what God's will is, but I got to make sure my wife will go with it.

[9:43] I said, now, something might be just a tad backwards there. I said, if you let a skirt tell you, you ought to think about letting a senor tell you, the Lord tell you. Amen. You ought to think about that somebody else.

[9:54] And so in this passage of Scripture, we have her submitting. A wife was made to be a helpmate. A wife struggles with a desire to control that she's supposed to die to.

[10:09] I only know my wife like this, but my wife would tell you that that's probably the hardest thing there is about marriage. You know, she's smarter than I am, and she can think these things through.

[10:20] And so how many times, how many times do women struggle with trying to lead and control what's going on in a family? I knew this would be a tight time, so we'll just move on.

[10:36] I feel the control in the room. Ephesians 5.25, men, husbands have a loving problem. Husbands have a loving problem.

[10:48] Look at Ephesians 5.25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. Now, it's amazing. God will speak to the husband three times, and he spoke to the wife three times.

[11:02] He tells the wife three times, you need to submit, subject, and be irreverent, which is really all the same thing, just three different words described in the same condition. The wife ought to respect and follow the leadership of her husband.

[11:15] But do you know what men have a real problem doing? According to this passage of Scripture, you men were loving it when we talked about how the wife has a cementing problem. You have a loving problem. You have a loving problem because three times he says the same thing.

[11:29] Look with me, if you would. Let's just kind of look at the verses again and go back through them.

[11:55] It's what the Bible teaches. I actually use Ephesians 5.25 on the mission field. It's like one of my favorite verses for preaching a series of messages in a new church where we're trying to win new people to Christ.

[12:09] And I tell them we're going to preach on the family because Ephesians 5.25 is like one of the richest verses. And we could stay here for the next five hours and talk about what it says. Look at this. Husbands, you are to love your wife like Christ loved the church.

[12:23] Look at that. Even as. I wish you'd circle even as. And you know, do you ever thought about how he loved us? By the way, if there's a marriage issue in your problem, in your family, if there's a problem between you and your wife, do you realize that Jesus never went and sat in the recliner and put on his headphones and wouldn't listen or wouldn't talk until she got things right and came and asked forgiveness?

[12:43] It was Jesus that came to us. He loved us first. Can I get an amen there? Hey, when we were in sin, it was Jesus that came to us. And so he tells his husband, he said, husband, you're to love your wife like Christ loved the church, even as Christ loved the church.

[12:58] You know what he did for me? He loved me. He loved me when I didn't love him. He loved me when I didn't deserve his love. He came to me and loved me first. And that's why I love him.

[13:09] And by the way, he loved me enough that he gave himself. Underline that in the verse. He gave himself. A husband is to love his wife with a sacrificial kind of love. So many people, even as we get older, we got these marriage issues.

[13:25] We got these marriage issues and we're fighting. Can we just get something straight? If the wife would get a hold of, submit, subject yourself and reverence your husband, that would probably solve most of our marriage problems.

[13:37] If the husband would get a hold of, husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself, that would probably fix our marriage problems. I am to love my wife, even as Christ loved the church.

[13:51] By the way, you know what? He doesn't hold over our heads our sin. You know what's a beautiful, wonderful thing? When Jesus loves the church, he forgives our sin, separates our sin, buries our sin, erases our sin.

[14:06] And when men love their wives, they remember that sin and bring it up at the next fight. But we're supposed to love even as Christ loved the church. We're supposed to be the givers in the situation.

[14:19] We're supposed to be the seekers in the situation. It's the Lord who sought me out. Look at Ephesians 5, 28. So ought men to love their wives. This is the funniest one to me.

[14:31] These next two are just hilarious to me, the way God says things. He says, as their own bodies. It's pretty obvious men love their bodies, at least in this verse.

[14:41] Amen? And you young bucks, you're going down to the gym and working out, and you've got to have mirrors so you can look at yourself. Check out my body. I like my body. Come on. Checking out my body this way now.

[14:51] And then I won't talk about selfies. No, we don't love our bodies. And I'm supposed to love my wife like I love my body. And by the way, a man, when he loves his body, he nourishes it.

[15:05] He nourishes it. He takes care of it. He feeds it. That's how we get well. I come with that. We get well furnished and fat, in other words. We get nice.

[15:16] We love. You know, that nicest chair in the house usually belongs to mama. Why are y'all laughing? Because you and I both know who gets a nice chair.

[15:27] Amen. And I'm supposed to love my wife like I love my body. I'm supposed to love my wife like I love my body. Because if you love your wife, you love yourself. That's what the Bible says.

[15:39] Look at verse 28. He that loves his wife loves himself. In Ephesians 5.33, he gives one more run at it. He's kind of summing things up. In 5.33, he said, Nevertheless, in every one of you in particular, so love his wife, even as himself.

[15:55] Love your wife like you love yourself. You say, well, I don't really like myself. You know, that's not true. I mean, you can say that all you want. Jesus, I really hate myself. You don't hate yourself enough not to eat.

[16:06] You don't hate yourself well enough to suffer very much. We're pretty soft on ourselves. I don't mind being tough on you. I just don't want anybody being tough on me. I am to love my wife as I love myself.

[16:19] God never meant for the man to exercise some kind of control over the wife. The amazing thing, you know, I just got through going over this with a friend. You know how much our father loves us?

[16:31] You know, he actually told us to call him Daddy, Abba, Father. You know, he's got this thing like, he's got this thing like, I'm in love with you, and I mess up, and he keeps on loving me. And the reason I'll obey him and follow him is no one has ever loved me like the Father loves me.

[16:46] And Jesus loved the church like that. A husband is to lovingly lead her. A husband is to challenge and motivate her. But can we just add this? A husband is to treat her like he would like to be treated if he were in her position.

[16:59] And I'll just say something a couple of seconds. When you have a daughter gets married, you know, when my son got married, I was pretty happy about that. Both my boys, I was pretty happy about that.

[17:12] You know, I mean, I was like, I think they know how to love a woman. They've seen me. They've been with me. They know about Mama and Daddy and how we love each other. But, you know, I was walking my daughter down that aisle, and I was like, I wonder how this idiot's going to treat my daughter.

[17:23] Good for you, kid. Tyler, you just come stand right here in the front so I can talk to you. You just wonder.

[17:35] You just wonder. I mean, is he going to take her and treat her like a lady? I mean, most dads, I don't know about all dads, but dads tend to have the spoiling thing going on with their daughter.

[17:48] We kind of rough on the boy. Amen. Kick him over the curb. Tell him whatever. But it's the girl. The girl says, Daddy, can we? And we say, no. She said, Daddy. Okay, we'll do it. And now, all of a sudden, he gets married, and you look at him like, what's he doing?

[18:02] She gets a junk phone. He gets a good phone. She gets a junk car. He gets a good car. She gets no money to spend. He gets any amount of money to spend he wants. It's amazing how a husband's tend to treat her. I often tell young missers, when I talk to them, I'd say, how would you like to be your wife?

[18:17] How would you like to be treated the way you treat your wife? We had one young guy. He doesn't go here. You don't know him anymore. But he came here, and one day he told me, he said, we're going to have to leave. My wife cannot adjust here.

[18:29] And I said, that's terrible. I said, well, can you tell me what her problem is? He said, I don't know. She just doesn't like it here in Alpharetta. And I said, well, now let me ask a couple of questions to make sure. Is it true that she stays at home with two little kids by herself all day long?

[18:43] He said, yeah. And I said, is it true that it's a one-room house? He said, yeah. And I said, is it true she doesn't have a television? He said, yeah. Or internet? He said, yeah. Or a car? He said, yeah. I said, is it true you kind of leave her locked up with those kids all day long?

[18:57] He said, well, I don't like to think of it that way. And I said, how would you like it? He said, I'd kill myself. I said, well, maybe you ought to think about that. You know, treat her like you wish to be treated.

[19:09] Jesus' love is a sacrificial love. That's the love I'm supposed to have. Two more things I want to say to you. I'll get to the real practical stuff in just a second. But would you look at chapter 5 and verse 23?

[19:22] And then we're going to look at verse 32. Marriage is a picture for the world of the relationship between God or Jesus and the church. In Ephesians 5.23, this is probably, in my opinion, the heaviest part of this passage.

[19:40] Marriage. You know, Moses got in trouble because he hit the rock the second time. And he messed up a picture of Jesus. You don't strike the rock, but once, Jesus only struck once.

[19:53] You know what the greatest picture that the Lord lets us participate in, in front of the world is? Marriage. And then he tells me, now, Austin, the lost world is going to look at you, and they're going to watch your family, and they're going to know something about me.

[20:09] Read your Bible. It says in Ephesians 5.23, as the husband is the head of the wife, even as. I need you to circle even as. Even when he's giving us this instruction, he keeps bouncing between husband, wife, and church, and Jesus.

[20:24] It's just like, make up your mind, Lord. What are you talking about? You seem to be talking about marriage, but you keep throwing in the church. And then look what he says in verse 32. He said, this is a great mystery.

[20:35] I know y'all have a little bit of problem understanding this, but I'm really not talking about marriage. I'm talking about the Christ and the church. I'm talking about Christ and the church.

[20:45] I speak concerning Christ and the church. I would like to ask you some hard questions real quickly. Are you satisfied with the testimony and teaching you give the world about Jesus and his church?

[20:56] Are you satisfied with the church? Are you satisfied with the testimony and teaching that you give the world about Jesus and his church? So you and your wife are always fighting and fussing.

[21:08] You're just telling people, according to Jesus, and according to Ephesians chapter 5, you're telling people this is what Jesus and the church looked like. Austin, Betty, Jesus, church.

[21:19] Austin, Betty, Jesus, church. And so you're always mad. You're always fussing. You're not ever taking care of you. You're never submitting to him. Whatever's going on, you are teaching people what marriage is like.

[21:29] Then you get a divorce. Then you look at porn. You think Jesus would do that? You can't be faithful to your wife. You think Jesus would be like that?

[21:40] I mean, you are. Look at the verse 32. This is a great mystery. I am not talking about marriage. I'm speaking concerning Christ and the church. Would you make a decision to take your marriage in light of how God speaks of it?

[21:56] Young man, you are to treat your wife thinking of this all the time. I'm supposed to be acting like Jesus. We're putting on a skit here. All the world, look at us and watch us.

[22:07] We're going to teach you how Jesus loves the church. I'll be the actor playing Jesus in this, and my wife will be the church playing Jesus in this. Watch me. I'm teaching you how my Jesus is.

[22:18] Shoving her around. Being angry and bitter with her. Rebelling against him. Saying ugly things. Fighting between each other. And the world's looking and saying, wow, I didn't know Jesus was like that.

[22:28] You say, well, brother, nobody knows that. Well, God does. He said it. Go ahead and get mad, but he did. Would you ask yourself if you're responding like a godly church or like Christ himself?

[22:42] Let's know that our marriage is a great testimony, and we want to reflect well on Christ. And I'm going to go ahead and say this before I get to my just downright practical stuff, and I quit on you tonight. Your kids are learning about marriage, but you're also learning about Jesus.

[23:01] Do you know your kids probably don't want to get married because they know you, and they know what marriage is like because they've been watching you? Your own kids are like, I ain't getting married. My daddy put my mother through. My mama put my daddy through.

[23:14] Well, I wouldn't get married. Last thing I ever, man, goodnight marriage ain't fun. I don't think you'd ever like what I'm about to say, but it's all right. You ever consider that there might be a whole lot of third-sex people because they didn't like the way they watched you, so they became same-sex and homosexual and a whole bunch of junk?

[23:32] They reject God's way because they watched you, and you were not given a good illustration of God's way? I wouldn't want to be a man. I see what they're like. I don't want to be a woman.

[23:43] I see what they're like. And your own kids turn on that. So let me give you some practical thoughts. This is just taken from all of this and things I deal with when I talk to marriages.

[23:56] Christians don't or should not live by feelings but by obedience. You should write that down. Obedience, not feelings. Well, I just feel like he's not doing his part, so bless God, I'm not doing my part.

[24:11] Now, wait a minute. When did feelings get into the story here? When I was living on the farm and my dad was giving me work to do, and he would have come home and I would have said, well, Dad, I just felt like it was a little too hot today.

[24:21] He'd say, well, you won't think it's that hot outside after I light your rear end up because that's what he would have done. If he got around to my rear end, most often he just punched me. I am not teasing. He called it backhanded.

[24:33] Backhanded me. And bam, by the time I picked myself up like a ping pong ball, I was like, okay, I think it wasn't that hot outside. It's not about how you feel. I feel like my husband.

[24:44] I feel like my wife. Biblically, we don't live by feelings. And I don't get to say, I just feel like that speed limit's too low. Next time a cop stops you for speed and just say to him, well, I just feel like you've got a bad attitude.

[24:56] And that's why I'm speeding, bless God. I just feel like that speed limit's not right. I just feel like that was a speed trap. And I think you're a crook and you can say all that while you're in jail. Amen. We don't live by feelings.

[25:07] We live by obedience. You know, I don't get to wake up and come in here to this church and do what I'm supposed to do because I feel like it. I do it because I'm supposed to. You say, well, brother, don't you feel something?

[25:18] Sure, you feel something. But the truth of the matter is we aren't allowed to live by feelings. You may not want to be married tomorrow morning. You may wake up and you and your wife had this massive fight, but that's okay.

[25:28] You love Jesus. You're going to keep loving your wife. You don't get to go look at porn because you feel like you just ain't being treated right. It just doesn't work that way. Number two, you need to learn your place in a relationship.

[25:43] You won't like this one. You need to learn your place in a relationship so you do not put yourself under pressure that doesn't belong to you. Ma'am, you're a wife, not a mother.

[25:56] And so when he's an idiot, that's his problem. You know what mothers do? Come here, son. You're an idiot. And what you're doing, just don't cut it. And if you don't straighten up, I'm going to turn you on my knee and spank your little backside.

[26:09] And he's over there saying, I thought I was a husband in this here deal. But see, you mother and women, it's like, well, I think we ought to do this. And you need to figure out who was told to submit and was told to lead.

[26:21] Told you it wasn't a proper one. I had a lady in Adikipa. She told me one day in Adikipa Prue. She told me, she said, I need help. I just can't live with the pressure. I just can't live with the pressure.

[26:34] And I said, well, what in the world is causing so much pressure? She said, I do all the work in this house. I pay all the bills in this house. I mean, I got all the pressure in this whole house on me. And I said, well, biblically, you know, he ought to be leading the home.

[26:44] She said, well, he's too dumb to do that. And I said, well, he could help with something. No, no, you don't understand how he is. And I said, I think I understand how you are. Wives do not try to manipulate, force, or control the one that God placed in leadership.

[27:06] You know what wives are famous for, if you'd like to know. It's not, you know, it just may be that what she wants to do is she just wants to manipulate. And like, you're convinced that it ought to be done this way, and he doesn't want to do it that way, so you figure out how to make him feel like a dingbat, so he'll do it your way.

[27:26] You're manipulating and enforcing, and then he's in a bad mood, or she's in a bad mood, because you're manipulating her. We're not supposed to be the one of those. We don't use manipulation.

[27:36] Can I just be honest with you? So many of our independent Baptist churches, we kind of got our feelings hurt, because the preacher was a manipulator. Then why you act like that? You didn't like it, so why are you doing it?

[27:50] Don't judge another person's servant. You want to hear a wild one? Betty doesn't serve me. She serves Jesus. And I don't serve Betty. I serve Jesus. Now, if Betty serves Jesus like she ought to, she'll serve me.

[28:04] And if I serve Jesus like I ought to, then I'll love her. But you know what? The truth is, we're all serving Jesus. You're to do your part in your marriage.

[28:15] You're to do your part in your marriage. God made you to be the husband, or God made you to be the wife. He didn't make you to be both. God made you to take a part in that. You can't make your spouse do anything.

[28:26] It's like you feel like I got married to him, now I've got to fix him. I don't know why that's so funny, but it probably is, isn't it?

[28:42] You can't make your spouse. You know, in Adikipa years ago, one of the mysteries was in heaven. Now, he had a daughter, and her name was Grace. I'm pretty sure you've heard this story, but here it comes again.

[28:55] And she was a brat. This girl screamed. She's a grown woman now, but she screamed and threw fits. And the guys told me, they said, he misnamed her. He calls her Grace. She should be named Disgrace.

[29:07] And I said, boys, hush. You're all going to be daddies one day. And they said to me, well, I would never have a kid did that. I wouldn't put up with it. And so when their kids were doing all that, I'd just look at them and say, did you name that one Disgrace?

[29:23] You can't make people do stuff. Ladies, allow yourself to be led. Some of you wish your husband would lead, but you never let him lead. Don't make excuses for yourself while you accuse your partner.

[29:35] Well, I would let him lead, but you know he's a loser. I would love her, but she's not lovable. Work on your marriage spiritually. If you really want to tune your marriage up, it isn't about learning a bunch of marriage rules.

[29:48] It's about getting right with God. Do some devotions. It's a spiritual work. We're spiritual beings. Get your children involved in the work with you.

[30:02] It's a sad commentary that when we preach in other churches, there aren't any young people. Somebody didn't get their kids involved. We're to submit to God in our lives and not judge others, even your spouse.

[30:17] I'm supposed to do what's right, whether you do or not. I don't get to say to God, well, I'd do right if you'd make them do right, but since you don't make them do right, I'm not going to do right. I was coming through Atlanta one time.

[30:28] I was flying, speeding, and I was right behind about four cars, and there was about three or four behind me. And he stopped me and pulled me over the side. And he came up to my car and he said, you realize how fast she was driving?

[30:41] I said, I got a good idea about seeing those other four and those behind me. And I said, why'd you stop me? He said, I just had to pick one, and you're the lucky one. I was like, well, you can't do that, bless God.

[30:51] I don't feel like that's right. Be careful what kind of words you use. I'll just give you some practical stuff.

[31:02] But, you know, when you're mad, you say things, and your partner never forgets them. When you call them that name, or you say that about them, they never forget. Don't judge others from your point of view.

[31:15] You know, I mean, I always, you know, I know I'm right, and I'm doing good, and I'm a pretty good guy, but y'all aren't doing that good. I mean, from where I stand, I'm a good man.

[31:27] I'm not too sure about the rest of y'all. It's pretty easy to talk like that, but scripturally, that's not our way to talk. Learn to live each day and do what you should and get up the next day and do the same thing again.

[31:37] Do you realize, by the way, sometimes, can I just, like, I'm just telling you what I said at the church. I just preached that last night. You know, this coronavirus got all y'all freaked out? When they're looking under Jesus, you could just be all right in this.

[31:48] And, you know, the stock market's got you freaked out. But if you looked under Jesus, you've got to be all right about that, too. And your wife's got you freaked out. If you look under Jesus, you'd be all right in that, too. And the truth of the matter is that I can't do everything today.

[32:00] I can't do everything today. Did you know that the way we do anything we do for God is little by little? So if you can't get it all done today, you do what you can do.

[32:12] When you get done, you lay down and go to bed and get up the next morning and do the rest of it. You say, well, I won't be able to finish it tomorrow. I think I've got 200 years worth of work left. Good. You only know you've got one day. Here's a great Bible verse for every one of us to remember.

[32:24] Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. Do you know you don't know if you're going to live tomorrow? And, you know, you had that big fight over that thing that was going on today because you was worried about tomorrow, and when you die tonight, it's going to be a little bit late to say you're sorry.

[32:39] And there's going to be some bitterness and hurt feelings. Know that no one can meet your spiritual needs. I really think that's probably one of the biggest ones. Betty cannot feed my spiritual needs.

[32:51] Only Jesus can. And you can't do it. Only Jesus can. You're responsible to God, and God will meet your needs. Never say it's more than you can bear. That's not what the Scripture says.

[33:02] You can't say it. I just can't take it. That's not true. You don't want to take it. The Bible says you can take it. You don't like that part. Live with an attitude of gratitude.

[33:16] Did you know that all I got today? It is possible that today is my last day.

[33:26] The rapture could happen, or I could die, or my wife could die. So I might as well just enjoy today. That's all I got. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.

[33:39] I ought to honor God today and trust Him to do the right thing today. I think our marriages ought to be the sweetest, most important thing in our lives, and we ought to work on our marriages.

[33:51] But I think it's really more about relaxing and being grateful than fussing and fighting and worrying about all the junk you can't get done anyway. Take it one day at a time and trust the Lord.

[34:03] Father, I love you. Father, I love you.