Love Self 2 ~ Love Others: Honour in Family

Transformation

The heart has to be in line with what God wants us to do

Ephesians 6:1-9 NIV

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.”

““Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

Exodus 20:12 NIV

Honor - give weight, respect, value to someone

To give esteem others than yourself

1) Command with a PRIORITY

Why? 

An Elevation to Recognize 

An Esteem to Render

An Experience to Regard

- wiser, more experience than us 

Honoring our parents is not about:

- Their Performance

Honoring our parents is about:

- Their Position

- Their Personhood ( God created everyone an image of Himself. God can bring about a change in their lives, ) 

Honoring our parents is not mean it's ok to give in to them but to honor them is to honor to God. 

It's a step of obedience and faith to believe that God can do amazing things our family.

What are some ways you can honor your parents?

2) Commamd with a PROMISE

““Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.””

Ephesians 6:2-3 NIV

Our days will be lightened 

Our days will be lengthened

3) Command with a PRINCIPLE

When you respect others, you get respect

4) Command with a PURPOSE 

1 Peter 2:17

“Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”

1 Peter 2:17 NIV

Learn to honor those who served us.

5) Command with a POSTURE

It takes Humanity to honor people

Love Self 2 ~ Love Others: Passion in Marriage

Marriage is the GOSPEL personified, the greatest earthly representation of the spiritual Union of Christ and His Church

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

Ephesians 5:31-33 NIV

SUBMIT TO CHRIST:

The Head and the Body

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Ephesians 5:21 NIV

Christ is our Head

“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”

Ephesians 5:22-24 NIV

Christ is Our Example

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body.”

Ephesians 5:25-30 NIV

"Love, in the Christian sense, does not mean on emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have other people."

C.S. Lewis

"We never know whom we marry; we just think we do.... 

The primary problem is... Learning how to love and care for the stranger to whom you find yourself married."

Stanley Hauerwad

CELEBRATE THE DIFFERENCE:

Husband and Wife

““For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.””

Ephesians 5:31 NIV

Opposite attract : DESIRE

Opposite Annoy: DUTY

Opposire Affirmed DELIGHT

Agape: Servant

Philia: Friend

Storge: Sibling

Eros: Lover

SHOWCASE THE GOSPEL'S POWER: 

Christ and the Church

The first purpose in marriage -

Beyond happiness, sexual expression, the bearing of children, company's hip, mutual care and provision, or anything else - is to please God. 

The challenge, of course, is that it is utterly selfless living; rather than asking, " What will make me happy?" We are told that we must ask, " What will make God happy?" Gary Thomas

"If you understand what holiness is you come to see that real happiness is on the far side of holiness, not the near side." Timothy Keller

The Spirit Power

The Sacred Promise 

" I didn't marry you because you were perfect. I didn't even marry you because I love you. I married you because you gave me a promise. That promise made up for your faults. And the promise I gave you made up for mine.

Two imperfect people got married and it was the promise that made the marriage. And when our children were growing up, it wasn't a house that protected them; and it wasn't our love that protected them - it was that promise." Thornton Wilder

Marriage is your loudest Gospel message 

Peter Scazzero