WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.759 Well, I suppose it goes without saying that I'm emotional most of the time. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:23.580 ! And I guess today I'm emotional for several reasons. One is because I think about the Lord's 00:00:23.580 --> 00:00:29.980 ! and I'm thankful for the blessing of corporate worship. I listen to you sing, and I listen to 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:39.399 you sing, and I take pleasure in the joy you have in the Lord Jesus Christ. By the way, 00:00:39.980 --> 00:00:45.079 good singing is not the result of good voices but a good God. Do you understand that? Do you 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:54.219 understand that? Good singing is a reflection of our thought of God. It's also the outcome of being 00:00:54.219 --> 00:01:01.000 Spirit-filled. Would you agree with that? I mean, to kind of sit there, stoic, you know what I mean by 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:04.579 stoic? It's like, I mean, some people have a permanent grump, you know? I mean, it can't help, 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:09.519 but, you know, and they come to church, and they hear about the glory of Christ, and they still sit 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:17.539 there like, yeah, okay. But good singing happens when the Spirit of God gets a hold of the life of 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:22.980 a man or a woman and touches them with the glory of the cross, and then guess what we do? It says, 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:30.100 He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. I love listening to you sing. I also like 00:01:30.100 --> 00:01:34.840 watching the orchestra when they're not blowing on a horn or whatever. They're actually singing. 00:01:35.100 --> 00:01:41.460 That's a good thing, right? And I enjoy the blessing of our singing together. 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:51.039 Father, I am also emotional this morning because I have this book, and this book is prized. 00:01:51.919 --> 00:02:00.859 This book informs me. This book transforms me. And this morning, as we take this book in hand, 00:02:00.979 --> 00:02:07.519 the thing that I want to be clearest in your thinking is the supremacy and the glory of Christ. 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:14.960 Christ. We've spent five weeks. I should say, yes, we have. This will be the fifth. We have spent 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:25.960 five weeks looking at the subject of Christian marriage. I trust that you have not missed 00:02:25.960 --> 00:02:33.780 that Christian marriage is not the center and the be-all that ends-all in Christian living, 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:43.300 the center of all that we are and do, and the center of all of our relationships really is the 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:49.740 Lord Jesus Christ. Put it this way and have it stick in your mind. Christ is the center of the 00:02:49.740 --> 00:02:56.900 Christian life, and when He is at the center, our thinking and our behavior reflects His grace and 00:02:56.900 --> 00:03:06.599 power. Isn't that true? When He is at the center, the way we act, the things we think, the things we do, 00:03:07.259 --> 00:03:16.080 do nothing other than reflect His centrality and His significance in our lives. And the moment that 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:22.480 we misplace Him or shove Him over to the side, our behavior then begins to devolve. 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:33.520 I begin this way because as we look at the closing passage in Ephesians chapter 5 that addresses the 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:40.960 Christian home, we read one of a sequence of statements in which the apostle, as he is teaching 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:46.599 about Christian marriage, keeps on coming back to the centrality of the Lord Jesus Christ. And let me 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:53.520 have you look with me, if you will, turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 5 and pick up there, 00:03:53.640 --> 00:03:59.540 if you will, in verse 29, for no one ever hated his own flesh, talking about the relationship that a man 00:03:59.540 --> 00:04:06.939 is to have to his wife, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church, 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:14.579 because we are members of His body. I appreciated Amy's song that reminded us of the relationship 00:04:14.579 --> 00:04:18.500 that Christ has with us. And then it says in verse 31, 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:23.800 therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:32.759 one flesh. Now, when the apostle thinks one flesh, his thought is not just about the relationship 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:38.159 between a man and a woman. And we understand that because immediately after it, he says this, 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:47.399 this mystery is profound. And I'm saying that it refers to Christ and to the church. 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:54.939 So I want you to understand this morning that as we deal with the subject of marriage and we think 00:04:54.939 --> 00:05:00.680 in particular about the relationship that God intends for a husband and a wife to have together, 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:10.519 we see that really underlying the relationship is to be our relationship with Christ. And that's the 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:16.259 thing that makes the Christian marriage different. It's not that we said a particular set of vows 00:05:16.259 --> 00:05:23.519 or that we stood facing this way or that way. It is that Christ is at the center of our lives and 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:29.759 the way in which we act and live is nothing other than a reflection of the centrality of Christ. 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.680 And so let me put it this way so it's clear in your mind, union with Christ is the center 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:41.840 of a Christian marriage. And trouble in a marriage is not rooted in a misunderstanding of 00:05:41.840 --> 00:05:48.000 the respective roles that God has assigned to a husband or a wife. And while Paul has reminded us 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:53.460 of the responsibilities that a husband has and a wife has, nevertheless, that's not the main problem. 00:05:53.459 --> 00:06:01.799 Marriage that breaks apart is not something that happens simply because someone hasn't read Dennis 00:06:01.799 --> 00:06:06.620 Rainey's book on the five love languages. And I got to tell you, you've never heard me up here doing 00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:12.000 cartwheels over the five love languages because I'm not persuaded that the biggest issue in people's 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:18.279 marriages is the way in which they communicate their love. I got to tell you this, when a husband and a wife 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:23.699 do not stand in the shadow of the cross, a Christian marriage is not all that it can be. 00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:28.619 And it has a high probability of devolving into something very messy and very ugly. 00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:33.839 So let me begin by making this point undeniably clear, and we're going to see it woven through 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:39.059 the text. And it's going to be a recurring part of our theme today. And it should be a recurring 00:06:39.059 --> 00:06:44.039 part of all of your thinking about what marriage really is. Christ is at the center. 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:51.700 Christ is at the center. Woven into this extended passage that we have studied over these last five 00:06:51.700 --> 00:06:59.560 weeks is a number of references to Christ and His church. It's as though Paul, in teaching about 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:06.080 marriage, wants to remind us over and over again that the primary interest of the apostle is not that 00:07:06.080 --> 00:07:12.720 we have good Christian homes, and he is interested in that, but that he helps us understand that Jesus 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:20.640 is the motive and the enabler and the key to our living the kind of lives that He wants us to live. 00:07:21.460 --> 00:07:28.480 A wife's duty of submission was explained in the Scriptures using the example and relationship 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:34.340 between Christ and the church. A husband's responsibility of loving his wife is only compared 00:07:34.340 --> 00:07:40.660 to the love that Christ has for the church, and his care for the body, for his wife, is explained 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:47.740 in the context of, well, this is how Jesus takes care of the church that He loves. And so in verse 30, 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:54.940 as we are working our way through, it says, we are members of His body. And then in 31, He speaks about 00:07:54.940 --> 00:08:00.220 that passage in Genesis where it talks about a man leaving his father and mother, and He talks about 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:05.520 one flesh. But as soon as He talks about one flesh, guess what pops back into Paul's mind? 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:13.439 Ah, one flesh, He talks about the relationship we have with Christ. 00:08:14.899 --> 00:08:19.939 Now, I want you to look at verse 31, 32 in particular. It says, this mystery is profound. 00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:27.039 And I'm saying that it refers to Christ and the church. And when Paul talks about a mystery, 00:08:27.579 --> 00:08:33.240 he's not talking about a mystery such as in our culture where we tend to think about mysteries. 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:37.220 Mysteries are something that you need to solve with clues. I know several weeks ago, 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:43.480 our college and career group played clue. And I understand they came dressed in costume and, 00:08:43.740 --> 00:08:48.720 you know, whoever it is that does the murder, blah, blah, costumes and clues and all that kind 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:53.399 of stuff. Or we've read mystery novels. And I am one of those guys who just reads through it and 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:57.580 figures at the end, they'll tell me. Other people are kind of obsessive about guessing, 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:01.580 who is it? I don't care. Just get through the book. It'll come out eventually. 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:08.020 Yeah, a mystery is just, it'll be there. I'll understand it later. Mysteries in our culture 00:09:08.020 --> 00:09:13.879 are something that's secret that you've got to figure out. Mysteries in the Bible are different. 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:23.800 A Bible mystery is a truth that we would not know without God telling us. And so when Paul says there 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:32.039 in verse 32, this mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church, 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:38.659 I want you to understand that while there are a number of Bible truths that are mysterious, 00:09:39.139 --> 00:09:44.299 I think there are three in particular that stand out and really deserve our exceptional attention. 00:09:44.299 --> 00:09:55.759 For one, it is a mystery that God is a triune God. We would not in any way imagine the Trinity, 00:09:55.959 --> 00:10:03.279 the triunity of God, apart from the Scriptures telling us it's that way. Nobody in their right 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:12.120 mind would say, oh yeah, I understand that God is a triune person. No, we only understand that because 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:23.120 the Scriptures inform us and let us understand that. Secondly, no one would imagine the incarnation of 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:33.139 Christ whereby a mystery exists in that Christ is what? All man and all God. Now try to get your head 00:10:33.139 --> 00:10:42.919 around that one. How can Christ be all man and all God? And that is one of the cardinal doctrines of our 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:50.199 faith. The very core, the very center is the idea that the Lord Jesus Christ is man and He's also God. 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:56.439 And then we come to the third mystery, and sometimes people have a tendency of looking at this passage and 00:10:56.439 --> 00:11:01.720 saying, well, the real mystery is how a man and a woman become one flesh. And I got to tell you, 00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:10.740 that is mysterious, but that's not the center of what Paul is interested in. His interest is in the 00:11:10.740 --> 00:11:18.660 mystery of our relationship and our union with Christ. If you were to take the time in your own 00:11:18.660 --> 00:11:23.860 private Bible study in the mornings when you're reading the Scriptures of just doing a little bit of 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:30.620 searching and reading through the many, many different passages where it talks about our being in 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:37.519 Christ, in Christ, in Christ, Paul talks about this union and relationship that we have with Him. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:45.639 Christ in you, can anybody finish it? The hope of glory. He reminds us over and over again that we are 00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:52.379 in this relationship with Christ, and it is a mystery and something that we would never comprehend apart 00:11:52.379 --> 00:11:59.159 from grace how Christ is in union with His church. The thought's a little overwhelming. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:05.200 Honestly, when we stop and think about it carefully, and I think it's appropriate given the fact that 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:11.559 Paul speaks here in this passage in verse 32, this mystery is profound. It's appropriate for us to kind 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:17.059 of dig into that a little bit, and what makes the mystery of His union with us profound? For one, 00:12:17.059 --> 00:12:24.139 stop and think about your absolute anonymity and smallness in reality. Do you understand that? 00:12:24.439 --> 00:12:29.179 That actually about a hundred years from now, nobody will ever know that you ever existed. 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:35.519 I mean, maybe on a high side, you may be, I'm supposing that Google will still be around, 00:12:35.939 --> 00:12:40.879 but who is going to Google the fact that you existed 100 years from now? Do you think anybody's 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:49.799 going to care? Probably not. And 200, 300 years from now, you may be some little notation in somebody's 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:57.259 ancestry list, but other than that, guess what? You're not there. Insignificant. And yet the psalmist, 00:12:57.340 --> 00:13:03.580 when he thinks about it, he recognizes that God thinks about us personally. I want you to think with 00:13:03.580 --> 00:13:07.460 me just for a moment over to Psalm 8, verse 3 and 4, and I want you to turn there, if you will, 00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:15.040 just to kind of get the awe that the psalmist has as he thinks about God thinking about us personally. 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:19.560 Psalm 8, verse 3 and 4. 00:13:23.540 --> 00:13:27.620 While you're going there, I'm having hot flashes, so we're going to take this off. 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:31.200 Don't say anything. 00:13:34.160 --> 00:13:36.060 And I'm going to turn the fan on. How's that? 00:13:37.460 --> 00:13:42.639 Okay. I think I'm ready for another 40 minutes. 00:13:45.300 --> 00:13:47.080 Did I say Psalm 8? That's where we're going? 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:49.040 You're already there. 00:13:49.940 --> 00:13:50.480 Psalm 8. 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:54.240 Look at verse 3 and 4. It says, 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:57.040 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, 00:13:57.780 --> 00:14:01.340 the moon and the stars which you have set in place. 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:05.379 I got to tell you, the other day I was walking with my grandchildren, 00:14:06.060 --> 00:14:10.240 and Ivy Grace, we're trundling along, and it's at dusk, and she said, 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:14.220 I'm walking, I'm paying attention to cars, you know, important things that grandparents do, 00:14:14.460 --> 00:14:16.960 and she's just strolling along, holding onto my hand, 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:20.100 and suddenly this little voice comes up from around my knee and says, 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:20.879 Moon. 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:24.580 Yeah, right. 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:26.279 She says, moon. 00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:29.659 And then she says, sky. 00:14:30.860 --> 00:14:32.399 She put it all together for me. 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:34.820 It's like, moon there, sky. 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:37.899 And here's the psalmist who thinks about this. 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:38.179 He says, 00:14:38.179 --> 00:14:43.279 Man, look at the moon and the stars which you have set in place. 00:14:44.459 --> 00:14:45.979 What is man? 00:14:46.859 --> 00:14:48.539 That you are mindful of him. 00:14:49.319 --> 00:14:53.179 And the son of man that you care about him. 00:14:54.539 --> 00:15:00.439 I was thinking this morning as we were singing that song that I love, you know, 00:15:00.779 --> 00:15:03.259 his love never quits, never gives up, you know. 00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:09.659 And I was thinking about, I was kind of doing a little bit of a, did I get it wrong again, Tim? 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:12.639 I didn't call on you this time, though. 00:15:13.019 --> 00:15:16.980 Tim is my stand-in, help me with bad words in songs person. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:18.659 You know, I didn't get this one. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:19.939 But anyway, I like that song. 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:20.419 Is that okay? 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:21.639 I don't have the words. 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:22.679 They're not on the board right now. 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:27.799 But when I was singing that song, and we were having a good time doing that, 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:30.559 I was thinking about a couple different passages. 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.139 I was thinking about Psalm 136. 00:15:33.879 --> 00:15:34.620 Do you know what it says? 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:38.259 For his steadfast love, can anybody finish it? 00:15:38.779 --> 00:15:39.819 He endures forever. 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:44.319 As I was singing that, I was reminding myself of Psalm 136. 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:47.399 And after I'd kind of worked my way through that, and I opened up the Scriptures, 00:15:47.580 --> 00:15:50.200 and I could read the overhead and read the Bible, too, you know, back and forth, 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:53.139 I then thought about the passage in Ephesians chapter 3, 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:58.200 where Paul talks about the width and height and the breadth and depth of the love of Christ. 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:01.899 And I also thought about that passage in Romans, where it says, 00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:04.139 What shall separate us, right? 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:07.559 What shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus? 00:16:09.959 --> 00:16:12.639 The psalmist, he stops and he ponders and he says, 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:20.879 Man, it's amazing that, God, you would choose to have communion with us. 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:26.960 And we understand that in the Garden of Eden, what happened is that in the cool of the day, 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:30.740 God would come and walk with man. 00:16:32.500 --> 00:16:33.279 Isn't that sweet? 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:36.259 I believe it was a pre-incarnate Christ. 00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:42.539 And he would come and manifest himself to Adam and to Eve and have communion with them. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:48.839 And I got to tell you, when I stop and think about the joy and the blessing that that would have been during that time, 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:51.439 it must have been beyond imagination. 00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:53.179 And yet, sin came into the garden. 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:57.220 Instead of desiring communion and fellowship, what did man do? 00:16:57.899 --> 00:16:58.379 They hid. 00:16:59.199 --> 00:16:59.839 They hid. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:09.299 And in order to reconcile the relationship, God the Father sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:17.400 to die to pay for my sins and for your sins, that we who were afar off could be brought nigh. 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:20.100 That we could be reconciled to God. 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:27.539 And the theme goes on through Scripture as we see that God planned reconciliation through his Son, 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:30.779 that he sent to be the sacrifice for our sin. 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:39.539 And the New Testament revels in the wonder of how God would make a way of salvation and restored relationship, 00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:43.519 not by putting this incredible burden of behavior on us, 00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:49.000 in that, well, if you want to get to heaven, you need to do A, B, C, D, E, and so on. 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:51.399 And I bump into people all the time when you say, 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:54.500 and so, when you die, do you know where you're going? 00:17:54.500 --> 00:17:55.180 Well, I don't know. 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:55.740 I'm not sure. 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:56.339 I don't know. 00:17:56.460 --> 00:17:59.240 And you ask them, so, why would God let you into heaven? 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:00.819 Well, I've been a pretty good person. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:02.019 I've never met a good person. 00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:02.779 Do you understand that? 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:05.240 The Scripture tells us what? 00:18:06.099 --> 00:18:08.099 There is none righteous, no, not one. 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:13.880 There's not a one of us that can claim the right of stepping in to the presence of the Father 00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:16.000 on the basis of our own righteousness. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:29.039 And yet God sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins so that we who believe in Him might have Christ's righteousness placed on our account. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:38.259 I think about the passage that we find elsewhere in the book of Ephesians where it says that you who were once far off are brought nigh. 00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:49.159 And you and I, who were once terrified of judgment, are now in intimate union with the Lord Christ. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:50.500 We are one with Him. 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:59.960 And there in Ephesians chapter 5, as Paul has been working his way through this extended passage about marriage, 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:11.160 in the middle of all of it, when he thinks about oneness, he can't step away from the significance of the union that the believer has with Christ. 00:19:12.099 --> 00:19:15.480 He is our beloved, and we are His. 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:22.420 And His love for us is unfailing, and it is covenantal, and it will never change. 00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:28.640 And this is the most significant truth in the believer's life. 00:19:31.620 --> 00:19:41.559 I want you to understand this morning, there is no moment in the Christian life that is truly lived apart from the shadow of the cross and our union with Him. 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:52.740 And we are with Him and part of Him. 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:55.559 And we may drift, but guess what He does when we drift? 00:19:55.659 --> 00:19:58.319 How many of you by experience can tell you He comes looking? 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:06.480 How many of you, as you grow older in the Lord and a little more experienced at the consequences of drifting left of center, 00:20:06.659 --> 00:20:12.519 you begin thinking as you just kind of nudge over the line, you think, don't want to do that because I've been there before. 00:20:13.059 --> 00:20:21.759 I am His, and He will search me out because we are in communion and union, and He is my Lord and my Savior. 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:31.319 The reason that our hearts are overwhelmed when we sing that song, your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me, 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:32.700 is because we know that. 00:20:33.099 --> 00:20:34.220 We know that to be true. 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:42.819 So what does this mystery of the union with the church and Christ have to do with marriage? 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:44.220 Do you follow that question? 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:47.279 What does this really have to do with marriage? 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:56.119 Let me explain to you that Christian marriage really draws its distinct nature from Christ's love for us and His union with us. 00:20:56.200 --> 00:21:02.819 Let me say that again slowly because it is at the very heart of what makes a Christian marriage what it is. 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:16.139 Christian marriage draws its distinct nature from Christ's love for us and His union with us. 00:21:16.140 --> 00:21:28.780 I want you to understand that Paul could not imagine his life, his service, or marriage, or slavery apart from the glory and the power of being one with Christ. 00:21:29.520 --> 00:21:38.020 And I think that is the thing that colors his counsel and his instructions to us is that woven throughout all of this passage 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:44.700 is this idea that your marriage really is a reflection of your relationship with Christ. 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:51.680 And when you have that relationship front and center, it dominates the way you behave. 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:53.539 Let me tell you something. 00:21:53.660 --> 00:22:02.379 If your relationship with Christ does not grip your life, you will not have a marriage that displays Christ. 00:22:02.380 --> 00:22:13.480 As I was thinking about this earlier in the week, I stopped to recognize that no unfaithful husband ever fell into lust first. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:16.980 Let me say that carefully so you don't miss the point I'm making. 00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:20.360 No unfaithful husband ever fell into lust first. 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:25.700 No dissatisfied wife ever drifted away first. 00:22:25.700 --> 00:22:32.640 What happens in the life of a believer is that, first of all, the heart fails in its affection for Christ, 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:37.519 and then marriage is affected in proportion to the drifting away from Christ. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:45.900 And when you have your heart right with Christ, your heart being right with Christ will influence the behavior of your relationship. 00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:46.759 Is that clear? 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:49.460 Let's play it out in real time. 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:57.340 I shared with you that one of the struggles I have had for almost 44 years is moving furniture. 00:22:57.460 --> 00:22:58.000 Do you follow that? 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:03.940 It's much easier to share from this pulpit than it is to live it. 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:08.880 And this morning, we're going to have family dinner. 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:15.360 And lo and behold, I was doing something profoundly spiritual like having devotions in prayer. 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:24.779 And my bride decided it was time to make the table larger, and it was time to get more chairs. 00:23:26.259 --> 00:23:27.319 And guess what happened? 00:23:28.399 --> 00:23:33.879 My theology had an opportunity to declare the supremacy of Christ. 00:23:33.979 --> 00:23:37.719 And I've got to tell you, by the grace of God and the power of His Spirit this morning, 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:42.219 when she said, honey, would you help me with the table and we need more chairs, 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:45.539 I thought to myself, Tim, you're going to live it, and then you're going to preach it. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:50.880 Let's get this clear. 00:23:51.980 --> 00:23:59.819 What you believe about Christ shows up in the attitude you have towards your husband and towards your wife. 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:01.539 That's what it's all about. 00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:08.000 And when Paul, in this passage, says, listen, I'm talking to you about this mystery, 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:15.859 this wonderful, marvelous, unbelievable truth that you and Christ are one. 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:19.799 He's saying, if you get it, it's okay. 00:24:20.379 --> 00:24:23.059 All the other pieces are all right. 00:24:23.899 --> 00:24:25.180 And it'll work out. 00:24:25.180 --> 00:24:32.940 So as you sit here this morning and you think about marriage, 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:36.539 can I tell you marriage is not the most important thing? 00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:38.220 Christ is. 00:24:39.420 --> 00:24:44.200 And if you are sitting here and you're finding that your marriage is floundering 00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:47.680 and you're kind of sitting there thinking, it's the woman who God gave me. 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:49.180 I mean, what a stupid thing to think. 00:24:49.180 --> 00:24:55.620 You know, the problem is not the woman God gave you, but the problem is your attitude towards God. 00:24:56.900 --> 00:25:00.680 And when you get that squared away, guess what's going to happen in the relationship? 00:25:02.560 --> 00:25:03.799 It's going to be transformed. 00:25:04.900 --> 00:25:09.340 It's going to be transformed by the reality, the fact, the truth, 00:25:09.339 --> 00:25:17.099 that you are in this wonderful, undeserved, incredible relationship with the Lord Jesus. 00:25:17.099 --> 00:25:22.259 And as a result of that never-failing, covenantal relationship, 00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:29.899 your marriage is no more than a reflection of your relationship with Christ. 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:41.080 So with that understood, that my relationship with Christ controls my relationship with my bride, 00:25:41.840 --> 00:25:48.700 let's come to the closing little summary that the apostle gives us in Ephesians 5, verse 32. 00:25:48.700 --> 00:26:13.000 Now, before we actually take the passage, let me explain that this is an ancient sandwich. 00:26:13.620 --> 00:26:15.840 You're thinking, what is this? 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:21.859 If you can remember a little bit, a fair part of the passage that we have studied 00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:27.039 deals with two different people, husband and wife. 00:26:27.119 --> 00:26:27.740 Do you follow that? 00:26:28.439 --> 00:26:30.720 You have husband and wife at the beginning. 00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:32.899 You have husband and wife at the end. 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:35.279 Guess what the real meat is in the middle? 00:26:35.399 --> 00:26:36.139 Can anybody tell me? 00:26:37.579 --> 00:26:40.439 This is where the Sunday school answer is appropriate. 00:26:40.439 --> 00:26:43.699 Remember the story of the little boy, and he says, 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:46.019 I know it looks like a squirrel, but it must be Jesus. 00:26:46.220 --> 00:26:48.960 This is where you can say it's Jesus. 00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:53.480 The center of this whole lesson is not husband and wife. 00:26:53.600 --> 00:26:54.420 It is Jesus. 00:26:56.360 --> 00:26:57.500 Now we're at the end. 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:00.080 We're dealing with the other side of the bun, right? 00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:02.380 This side, this side, the other piece of the bun. 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:03.700 And here we are. 00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:08.480 He says, I want you to understand, let each one of you love his wife as himself. 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:09.180 He's closing it off. 00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:10.880 He says, by the way, I have one last point. 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:16.440 If you get this relationship with Christ, you who are husbands, it's real simple. 00:27:16.860 --> 00:27:18.120 All you got to do is what? 00:27:19.060 --> 00:27:19.400 What? 00:27:20.100 --> 00:27:21.520 What does a husband have to do? 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:23.100 Love her. 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:24.860 Love her. 00:27:25.420 --> 00:27:26.840 By the way, does she want to be loved? 00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:27.440 What's the answer? 00:27:28.560 --> 00:27:28.980 You bet. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:30.520 You bet. 00:27:31.620 --> 00:27:38.860 And the apostle here, he puts it so simply, let each one of you love his wife as himself. 00:27:38.859 --> 00:27:46.279 Now, when he says as himself, don't get caught up in that absolutely inane, ignorant thinking 00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:49.439 that until you love yourself, you can't love your wife. 00:27:49.779 --> 00:27:50.500 Let me put it this way. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:53.019 Until you love Christ, you won't do a good job. 00:27:53.679 --> 00:27:56.219 We are all hardwired to love who? 00:27:57.500 --> 00:27:58.519 To love ourselves. 00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:01.319 The other day, I was doing a little remodeling. 00:28:01.539 --> 00:28:04.179 And by the way, you know that remodeling is a blood sport, do you not? 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:10.759 You know, hammers and nails and sheet metal and wire and, you know. 00:28:11.259 --> 00:28:13.380 Anyway, I got a splinter in my finger. 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:15.440 Not real big. 00:28:15.539 --> 00:28:17.960 I mean, it wasn't anything to stop a train or anything. 00:28:18.180 --> 00:28:21.740 But the minute I got a splinter in my finger, guess what my body started saying to me? 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:24.299 Hey, it was saying, Tim, you love yourself. 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:25.980 Do something about that splinter. 00:28:26.080 --> 00:28:26.600 That would be all right. 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:27.019 I'll take care. 00:28:27.339 --> 00:28:30.819 Now, I immediately stopped, went in and got a pair of tweezers, and guess what I did? 00:28:32.259 --> 00:28:33.180 I extracted. 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:34.839 You know what extraction means? 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:38.440 You got to kind of dig the flesh around away from where the splinter has buried itself in, 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:39.319 and you pick, pick, pick, pick, pick. 00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:40.779 And does it feel good? 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:44.379 Well, not really, in case you're wondering. 00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:45.599 I'll work on your finger next. 00:28:46.819 --> 00:28:48.519 But why was I doing it? 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:50.680 I love my finger. 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:55.460 I don't want that piece of wood stuck in my finger for much longer than I can bear. 00:28:55.460 --> 00:29:00.900 And so here I am, tweezers in hand, and when I pulled it out, guess what I immediately had? 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:02.799 I had relief. 00:29:03.480 --> 00:29:07.880 I mean, it's like, yes, splinter gone, Tim happy, finger good. 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:12.299 You know, it's like, it's all about taking care of what belongs to me. 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:17.779 And Paul says, hey, listen, husband, love your wife. 00:29:18.900 --> 00:29:19.920 I like you to take care of yourself. 00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:24.779 Now, let me not miss this, because you need to get this. 00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:36.140 The fact that the Bible tells us, men, that we need to love our wives is that we have a profound ability 00:29:36.140 --> 00:29:40.660 to forget that we've been given that task and that responsibility. 00:29:40.660 --> 00:29:47.620 And by the way, wives who are sitting here, please don't go home and make little three-by-five cards 00:29:47.620 --> 00:29:50.120 to put around the house for your husband to remember this. 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:54.720 Oh, you're thinking about that, I know. 00:29:56.120 --> 00:30:01.500 My suggestion is that you pray and that you do your part in this equation 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:06.560 and trust the Holy Spirit to put the smack down if he misses the lesson. 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:12.779 Husbands, love your wives. 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:18.419 And I want you to understand, husbands, that your love for your wife is simply a reflection 00:30:18.419 --> 00:30:22.139 of what you understand about Christ's love for you. 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:23.099 Let me say it again slowly. 00:30:23.659 --> 00:30:29.460 Your love for your wife is simply a reflection of what you understand about Christ's love for you. 00:30:29.460 --> 00:30:35.900 So, when you are failing in loving your wife the way Christ loves you, 00:30:35.900 --> 00:30:43.259 you are failing in appreciating the depth and the marvel and the richness of his love for you. 00:30:44.519 --> 00:30:51.120 A godly husband who cares for his wife will be fundamental in his care for his wife, 00:30:51.180 --> 00:30:52.799 even as he is for his own body. 00:30:52.799 --> 00:31:00.319 And I want you to understand that, again, the way in which a Christian husband loves his bride 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:05.899 is nothing other than an admission, an acceptance, 00:31:06.500 --> 00:31:13.559 that he basks in the central relationship of all eternity, namely with Christ, 00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:15.799 and the way in which he treats his wife says, 00:31:16.099 --> 00:31:17.279 I get it from Jesus. 00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:21.700 I want you to understand also that as we look at this passage, 00:31:21.819 --> 00:31:25.579 we recognize that it's not just about a husband loving his wife, 00:31:25.660 --> 00:31:31.339 but it's also about a wife loving or respecting her husband. 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:32.240 Look at what it says there. 00:31:32.660 --> 00:31:36.579 See, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. 00:31:37.779 --> 00:31:40.279 And if you're a wife, I want you to understand this, 00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:44.440 that if you are gripped with the awe of his love and his grace, 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:46.000 your husband will know it. 00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:55.920 Not because you learn a particular manipulative way in which you can get your way in a relationship. 00:31:56.079 --> 00:31:56.240 No. 00:31:56.500 --> 00:32:03.079 If you are affected by the glory of Christ and the significance that he has because of who he is, 00:32:04.539 --> 00:32:09.500 your marriage and your relationship with your husband will reflect that. 00:32:09.500 --> 00:32:16.779 Because Christ is your Lord, you will respect his appointed gift. 00:32:17.740 --> 00:32:20.500 You will respect the man that he has given you. 00:32:21.019 --> 00:32:23.559 You will pray for his progress and his development. 00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:28.200 You'll be interested in him growing to be the man that God wants him to be. 00:32:28.359 --> 00:32:32.500 And you will be all about helping him make that progress and that development. 00:32:32.500 --> 00:32:38.859 Let me help you think with me just for a moment about the fact that what Paul is saying in this extended passage 00:32:38.859 --> 00:32:47.299 is just merely a practical outworking of our being affected by our personal relationship with Christ. 00:32:47.400 --> 00:32:55.980 Put it simply, if you are a believer and you are overwhelmed with the significance you have because of Christ, 00:32:55.980 --> 00:33:00.740 it will show up in every area of your life. 00:33:02.860 --> 00:33:06.799 So let me ask you, where did you start out? 00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:09.299 Where did you start out? 00:33:09.299 --> 00:33:13.740 What I mean by that is, how did your story begin? 00:33:15.419 --> 00:33:18.819 Well, I grew up in a pretty good Christian home and I was a pretty good boy. 00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:21.000 And, you know, I did well in school. 00:33:21.220 --> 00:33:22.200 These are all lies. 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:23.359 Christian home was true. 00:33:23.539 --> 00:33:26.119 But, you know, and I just was a pretty good guy. 00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:27.839 Although, no, no, no, no, no. 00:33:27.879 --> 00:33:28.940 How did it start out? 00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:31.519 The Scriptures tell us, 00:33:32.519 --> 00:33:33.899 all have sinned, and what? 00:33:34.680 --> 00:33:36.559 And fallen short of the glory of God. 00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:40.220 He found us, it tells us in Scriptures, 00:33:40.700 --> 00:33:42.559 as abandoned outcasts, 00:33:43.379 --> 00:33:46.319 and He has put His love over us, 00:33:46.480 --> 00:33:48.500 and He has drawn us to the cross, 00:33:48.679 --> 00:33:51.240 and He has gifted us with salvation. 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:53.539 And you know what? 00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:57.899 As a result of what we have received by His grace, 00:33:57.899 --> 00:34:04.000 we have the opportunity of living a life that says thank you every moment. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:12.219 Judith and I are in our third iteration of Bichon Frisees. 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:13.679 Okay, they're little white dogs. 00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:16.619 Last, was it last week we went to the men's conference, 00:34:16.760 --> 00:34:22.260 and Byron Yawn said that men should never admit that they have dogs that are throw pillows? 00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:24.980 I have one. 00:34:26.579 --> 00:34:27.739 Truth of the matter is, 00:34:27.760 --> 00:34:30.559 is that when I was in my first pastorate up in northeastern Ohio, 00:34:30.739 --> 00:34:31.639 we had beagles. 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:31.759 Beagles. 00:34:31.980 --> 00:34:33.179 All men have beagles. 00:34:33.719 --> 00:34:35.259 And I love to hunt rabbits, 00:34:35.500 --> 00:34:37.719 and we brought that beagle down here, 00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:40.859 and it hunted rabbits until it met somebody on the road. 00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:42.259 And then I got another beagle, 00:34:42.339 --> 00:34:43.539 and it met somebody on the road. 00:34:43.699 --> 00:34:44.799 And I got another beagle, 00:34:44.900 --> 00:34:46.039 and it met somebody on the road. 00:34:46.059 --> 00:34:46.339 And I said, 00:34:46.379 --> 00:34:46.859 that's it. 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:48.960 My wife, 00:34:49.219 --> 00:34:50.699 we had this discussion at home, 00:34:50.779 --> 00:34:51.219 and I said, 00:34:51.279 --> 00:34:53.480 go find a dog that doesn't meet people on the road. 00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:56.819 So she went to a pet store. 00:34:56.900 --> 00:34:58.779 People shouldn't buy dogs from pet stores. 00:34:58.799 --> 00:34:59.440 I've got to tell you that. 00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:01.099 We didn't know any better. 00:35:01.159 --> 00:35:03.079 We just went and bought a dog from a pet store. 00:35:03.820 --> 00:35:04.119 Judith, 00:35:04.260 --> 00:35:04.960 very matter of fact, 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:06.200 she walks into the pet store and says, 00:35:06.260 --> 00:35:06.480 all right, 00:35:06.519 --> 00:35:10.639 I want a dog that stays inside the house and wants to stay around us. 00:35:11.240 --> 00:35:11.900 Not a beagle. 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:12.500 You got that? 00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:18.760 And they happened to have had a leftover little Bichon Frise that had been kind of stuck in this cage. 00:35:18.880 --> 00:35:21.039 It was one of those puppy mill jobs. 00:35:21.099 --> 00:35:21.679 You follow that? 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:21.760 Yeah. 00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:25.280 And Judith, 00:35:25.400 --> 00:35:25.840 in strange, 00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:26.140 she says, 00:35:26.180 --> 00:35:27.140 I want one of those right there, 00:35:27.220 --> 00:35:28.800 and they're a little white fuzzball. 00:35:29.540 --> 00:35:30.180 I've got to tell you, 00:35:30.240 --> 00:35:31.140 when Judith brought her home, 00:35:31.200 --> 00:35:31.400 I said, 00:35:31.460 --> 00:35:32.360 that's not a dog. 00:35:34.940 --> 00:35:35.920 That's not a dog. 00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:41.360 We're very creative with names. 00:35:41.460 --> 00:35:42.120 We had Casey, 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:44.560 we had Sophie, 00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:45.580 and now we have Phoebe. 00:35:46.020 --> 00:35:46.640 You got that? 00:35:47.199 --> 00:35:48.619 I don't think we'll ever have another one, 00:35:48.699 --> 00:35:50.739 but I'll tell you something about Casey. 00:35:52.579 --> 00:35:54.920 She started life in a cage and nobody loved her. 00:35:56.460 --> 00:35:58.299 And when we came into her life, 00:35:58.559 --> 00:35:59.859 we just loved on her, 00:35:59.859 --> 00:36:02.599 and she never got over being loved. 00:36:07.179 --> 00:36:09.559 I'm wondering whether your marriage says, 00:36:09.739 --> 00:36:11.279 I've never gotten over being loved. 00:36:12.400 --> 00:36:13.279 Do you follow that? 00:36:13.739 --> 00:36:14.559 That's where it's at. 00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:21.059 The way in which your marriage plays out 00:36:21.059 --> 00:36:24.420 is a reflection of how significant 00:36:24.420 --> 00:36:28.500 Christ's love is in your life. 00:36:38.379 --> 00:36:39.460 There's a reason 00:36:39.460 --> 00:36:43.139 why the Psalms in particular 00:36:43.139 --> 00:36:47.579 say it over and over and over again. 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:49.039 What am I talking about? 00:36:49.239 --> 00:36:50.500 I'm talking about the fact 00:36:50.500 --> 00:36:51.859 that in the Psalms, 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:53.599 I forget how many times it is, 00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:54.139 over a hundred, 00:36:54.500 --> 00:36:56.940 it talks about His covenant love, 00:36:57.000 --> 00:36:58.000 His steadfast love, 00:36:58.059 --> 00:36:59.179 His never failing love, 00:36:59.420 --> 00:37:01.159 His love that never quits. 00:37:03.559 --> 00:37:05.259 There's a reason why Paul, 00:37:05.619 --> 00:37:07.440 when he is coming to the conclusion 00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:11.000 of that great doctrinal argument 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:15.220 for the significance of God's work in salvation 00:37:15.220 --> 00:37:19.280 and the certainty that His salvation is secure, 00:37:19.639 --> 00:37:21.780 he ends it up by saying, 00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:24.360 listen, what you need to get your hands around 00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:25.880 is the love of Christ. 00:37:25.880 --> 00:37:30.400 There's a reason why the apostle 00:37:30.400 --> 00:37:33.579 in Ephesians chapter 3 00:37:33.579 --> 00:37:34.800 says that, 00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:36.500 here's what I'm praying for, 00:37:37.420 --> 00:37:38.440 that you 00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:41.640 would be able to comprehend 00:37:41.640 --> 00:37:42.519 with all the saints 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:43.780 what is the breadth and height 00:37:43.780 --> 00:37:44.940 and the width and depth 00:37:44.940 --> 00:37:46.340 of the love 00:37:46.340 --> 00:37:48.840 of God in Christ Jesus. 00:37:48.840 --> 00:37:51.840 Is there one thing you need? 00:37:52.720 --> 00:37:52.980 Yeah. 00:37:54.900 --> 00:37:56.340 It is the love of Christ. 00:37:57.400 --> 00:37:58.800 And if you're sitting here today 00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:00.160 and you do not know Christ 00:38:00.160 --> 00:38:00.800 as your Savior, 00:38:00.940 --> 00:38:01.579 let me tell you 00:38:01.579 --> 00:38:04.160 that the certainty that I know is this, 00:38:04.220 --> 00:38:06.539 is that you live in a very tenuous 00:38:06.539 --> 00:38:08.579 and a very insecure place 00:38:08.579 --> 00:38:09.760 because Christ, 00:38:09.880 --> 00:38:10.940 who came into the world, 00:38:11.180 --> 00:38:12.960 will be the judge of your life. 00:38:14.160 --> 00:38:16.160 And that's a terrifying place to be 00:38:16.159 --> 00:38:19.019 because Scripture says 00:38:19.019 --> 00:38:20.000 there is none righteous, 00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:20.859 no, not one. 00:38:21.119 --> 00:38:22.659 You will not be able 00:38:22.659 --> 00:38:24.199 to stand before Christ 00:38:24.199 --> 00:38:24.980 and say, 00:38:25.119 --> 00:38:26.899 hey, I've earned my right, 00:38:27.099 --> 00:38:28.500 I've earned my way, 00:38:28.779 --> 00:38:30.960 I have a right to eternity. 00:38:31.359 --> 00:38:32.119 And you know what? 00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:33.759 If there's anything we know today, 00:38:33.759 --> 00:38:36.319 we live a moment from death. 00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:41.299 I remember joking with Tom Parsons 00:38:41.299 --> 00:38:42.339 on Tuesday 00:38:42.340 --> 00:38:44.880 and the phone ringing 00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:46.860 at 540 on Wednesday 00:38:46.860 --> 00:38:48.260 and Kathy said to me, 00:38:48.720 --> 00:38:50.100 my dad's gone. 00:38:52.140 --> 00:38:54.660 I lived for days 00:38:54.660 --> 00:38:58.240 in the shadow of that impact. 00:38:59.940 --> 00:39:01.160 I have no doubt 00:39:01.160 --> 00:39:02.059 that Linda, you will 00:39:02.059 --> 00:39:03.620 for a long, long time. 00:39:06.079 --> 00:39:06.720 Kathy, 00:39:07.860 --> 00:39:08.460 Mandy, 00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:09.519 Jenny. 00:39:09.519 --> 00:39:09.620 Jenny. 00:39:12.340 --> 00:39:14.079 But my appeal to you 00:39:14.079 --> 00:39:15.380 is that you who sit here 00:39:15.380 --> 00:39:16.980 and do not know Jesus Christ, 00:39:17.100 --> 00:39:18.320 let me make this clear. 00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:21.180 What it says in the Scriptures 00:39:21.180 --> 00:39:22.620 is that he will be the one 00:39:22.620 --> 00:39:23.480 who judges you. 00:39:25.019 --> 00:39:25.940 God the Father 00:39:25.940 --> 00:39:27.100 has handed judgment 00:39:27.100 --> 00:39:28.059 over to Christ 00:39:28.059 --> 00:39:29.180 and the one 00:39:29.180 --> 00:39:29.920 who was willing 00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:31.920 to die for your sins 00:39:31.920 --> 00:39:34.280 is the one 00:39:34.280 --> 00:39:35.780 that you have to say no to. 00:39:38.519 --> 00:39:39.600 And I can tell you 00:39:39.600 --> 00:39:40.640 if you say no to him, 00:39:40.639 --> 00:39:43.879 it will be a terrifying prospect 00:39:43.879 --> 00:39:44.719 for all eternity 00:39:44.719 --> 00:39:46.059 to face the judgment of God. 00:39:48.279 --> 00:39:50.079 And you who have come to Christ 00:39:50.079 --> 00:39:51.099 and have received 00:39:51.099 --> 00:39:52.519 the gift of salvation 00:39:52.519 --> 00:39:53.739 because you've come unbroken 00:39:53.739 --> 00:39:54.079 and said, 00:39:54.420 --> 00:39:55.420 man, I'm a mess. 00:39:55.900 --> 00:39:57.179 I don't need any more evidence. 00:39:57.559 --> 00:39:58.559 I need Jesus. 00:39:58.819 --> 00:39:59.599 Do you know what it says? 00:39:59.659 --> 00:39:59.940 It says, 00:40:00.019 --> 00:40:00.819 whosoever calls upon 00:40:00.819 --> 00:40:01.519 the name of the Lord. 00:40:01.579 --> 00:40:01.779 What? 00:40:02.539 --> 00:40:03.319 Can you say it with me? 00:40:03.960 --> 00:40:04.859 Shall be saved. 00:40:05.639 --> 00:40:06.119 Isn't that amazing? 00:40:07.659 --> 00:40:09.019 I'm into mysteries right now 00:40:09.019 --> 00:40:09.379 because we're talking, 00:40:09.380 --> 00:40:10.720 mystery is how can he 00:40:10.720 --> 00:40:11.960 save a person like me? 00:40:13.640 --> 00:40:14.640 He died for you. 00:40:15.240 --> 00:40:16.019 He died for me. 00:40:16.740 --> 00:40:18.200 And the Bible says this, 00:40:18.320 --> 00:40:19.519 whosoever calls upon 00:40:19.519 --> 00:40:20.420 the name of the Lord 00:40:20.420 --> 00:40:21.320 shall be saved. 00:40:21.579 --> 00:40:22.840 And if you're here today 00:40:22.840 --> 00:40:23.760 and you need Christ, 00:40:24.039 --> 00:40:25.519 this is the time 00:40:25.519 --> 00:40:26.559 to trust him. 00:40:31.340 --> 00:40:32.320 Let's close in prayer. 00:40:32.320 --> 00:40:38.039 Our Father God, 00:40:40.680 --> 00:40:44.940 Jesus will be the center 00:40:44.940 --> 00:40:48.780 of our worship in eternity. 00:40:50.980 --> 00:40:53.039 Jesus is the center 00:40:53.039 --> 00:40:56.280 of the life of the believer. 00:40:56.280 --> 00:41:00.920 Jesus is the center 00:41:00.920 --> 00:41:02.960 of a Christian marriage. 00:41:05.440 --> 00:41:06.900 And help us 00:41:06.900 --> 00:41:08.700 who know Jesus 00:41:08.700 --> 00:41:12.800 to never get over his love. 00:41:14.080 --> 00:41:15.380 And we ask this 00:41:15.380 --> 00:41:17.200 in Jesus' name. 00:41:18.060 --> 00:41:18.360 Amen. 00:41:18.360 --> 00:41:18.500 Amen. 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:18.500