A God Honoring Marriage In a Broken World, Part 3
Empowering Families • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Review
Review
God’s Purpose: To Show The Church Glorious, Pure, Holy, and Blameless
Satan’s Purpose: To Show the Church Stained, Wrinkled, and Guilty
God’s Example: The Marriage Relationship
Satan’s Design: Isolation
Satan’s Subterfuge: Selfishness and Pride
God’s Solution: Self-Sacrifice and Humility
God’s Model: Jesus Christ - Love and Submission
Satan’s Model: Fallen Humanity - Lust and Control
There is no estate to which Satan is more opposed as to marriage.
Martin Luther
Intro: There are times when I feel like I must be hitting a nerve with the devil.
This sermon series on marriage has been one I’ve been wanting to/ trying to preach on for awhile and it always seems to get waylaid.
Sometimes by my own fear of what you all will think.
Sometimes by circumstances where I end up preaching on something else.
Well, I have committed to preach through this series, and I’m getting push back in my own marriage.
Spiritual warfare has increased, but I shouldn’t be surprised.
I want to focus on another aspect of A God Honoring Marriage in a Broken World.
This is even more important that the love and respect thing, or the mutual submission thing, or the husbands as the covering and wives as the helpers.
And that is where the real fight is.
The Real Fight! (vs 10)
The Real Fight! (vs 10)
This section on spiritual warfare comes right after the sections on marriage, family, and a small bit about masters and slaves (doulos)
Be Strong...In The Lord - Our strength comes from the Lord.
Strength of His might. We have access to the power of God by the Holy Spirit.
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
Today I will be setting this all in the context of marriage.
The Schemes of the Devil (vs 11)
The Schemes of the Devil (vs 11)
The devil has plans against us and we need to learn to stand firm against them.
Unforgiveness
Bitterness
Anger
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.
It’s not wrong to be angry, it’s what you do with it that is the problem.
You anger misplaced will give the devil an opportunity to reek havoc in your marriage.
21 A marriage is like a dance. No matter how careful you are, periodically you’re going to step on your partner’s feet.
Steve Stephens
6 Key words: I’m sorry, will you forgive me?
Fight Fair
No name calling. instead of saying, “You’re a jerk.” Try, “When you do or say such and such, it makes me feel unprotected.”
Be careful of “You always...” or “You never...”. This always puts the other person on the defensive.
Try to listen to what they are saying and not how they are saying it.
Stay calm
Attack the problem, not each other.
Hand To Hand Combat With The Devil (vs 12)
Hand To Hand Combat With The Devil (vs 12)
We wrestle (hand to hand combat) not against flesh and blood.
My spouse is not my enemy.
But Satan is.
We wrestle against the heavenly forces
rulers - chief demons (arch-demons)
powers - supernatural strength and ability
forces of darkness (world) - term used to designate someone bent on world control. It was used to designate spiritual forces over designated areas.
“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
Then he said, “Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. “However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.
Forces of wickedness (spiritual) - spirit realm, not heaven where God dwells, but the spiritual realm in our midst.
This is not your traditional warfare. Even though Paul uses current armor as an analogy, this is way deeper.
Really nasty, wicked, powerful, high ranking unseen forces of other worldly strength that exist right in our midst.
The important point is that our battle is not against human beings. It is against spiritual powers. We are wasting our time fighting people when we ought to be fighting the devil who seeks to control people and make them oppose the work of God.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Satan can use believers.
He might have lost our soul, but he can still manipulate us.
We might think we are right on in our thinking, and discover by God’s truth, that we aren’t.
But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
and do not give the devil a foothold.
nor give place to the devil.
and do not make room for the devil.
The Ephesians understood the spiritual realm. Acts 19.11ff
Some knew of the power of God, but tried to use it wrongly.
Many held on to their magic scrolls and incantations, but gave them up and repented.
50000 pieces of silver = 160 years worth of wages.
This is what our marriages are up against.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
The Armor Of God (vs 13-18)
The Armor Of God (vs 13-18)
We need to be wearing the FULL armor of God.
So that we will be able to resist in the evil day. Stand against...
Having done everything to stand firm.
As opposed to falling for...
As opposed to running away from...
To continue, to persist, to sustain
Stand Firm, then…repeated phrase.
Belt of Truth - Jesus is the truth
The most important piece.
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
The truth will set us free.
forgiveness - How much has Jesus forgiven you? You can forgive your spouse...
bitterness - I don’t deserve to be treated this way. Neither did Jesus, but he endured with grace. When reviled, He did not revile in return.
If you continue in my word...Hearing the truth and embracing the truth are 2 totally different things.
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
Sanctification is an ongoing process.
It’s the renovation process.
Sometimes it gets messier before it gets better.
How are we sanctified?
By the Holy Spirit.
By serving our spouse in love.
Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”
“For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Applies to everyone, but how much more to our spouses?
Marriage is not a concession to our sinfulness; marriage is a provision for our holiness.
J. Alec Motyer
As we love our spouses in the truth and with the truth of Jesus, we will be sanctified and set free.
The belt is what holds some of the other pieces in place.
Breastplate of Righteousness - Jesus is our righteousness
Right Standing - Standing firm in the righteousness of God. Justification.
Remember we are both sinners who have been redeemed.
Marriage, and the process of coming to it, is not heaven! It is the bonding together of two needy sinners in order to make a partnership which is substantially greater than either of them alone.
Sinclair Buchanan Ferguson
Christ’s righteousness covers us both.
Right Living - Standing firm in a God honoring lifestyle. Sanctification.
Applying biblical standards and principles to our marriages.
Forgiving each other.
The fact that we have become Christians does not mean that we shall be automatically right in all we think and in all we do.
Life in the Spirit in Marriage Home and Work, 87
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
Feet Fitted with the readiness of the Gospel of Peace - Jesus is our peace
Only possible through Jesus Christ. Justification.
Peace with God
Peace with others
Peace with self
We need to preach peace to ourselves, our spouses, and our families. Sanctification.
In addition:
Shield of faith - We put our faith in Jesus. Sanctification.
Not faith in ourselves or our own strength.
Stand firm in the strength of His might.
He is stronger than those rulers and powers and dark forces...
We can only fight this fight through Jesus Christ.
Not faith in our works.
With which to extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one. He throws them at us to get us to give up or mess up
Deception
Faith in the Truth of God’s Word.
It Is Written.
Discouragement
Faith in the Promises of God.
Faith in the Living Hope God gives.
Disunity
Faith in the Peace of God.
Faith in God as Reconciler.
Doubt
Faith in the Love of God.
Faith in the Goodness of God.
Faith in the Faithfulness of God.
Doing Wrong - Temptations
Faith in His Holiness that is making us holy.
Faith in the Holy Spirit. Strength to conquer.
Helmet of Salvation - glorification
But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
We don’t have to fear what the enemy brings near, because Heaven is on the other side.
No weapon fashioned against us shall prosper.
God always wins!
God help us in our marriages. Save our marriages.
Sword of the Spirit - double edged sword.
The Word of God. We need to be in the word. Study something together.
Prayer - in the Spirit. We need to pray together. The family that prays together, stays together.
Summary:
Our marriages are at the bulls-eye of this spiritual battle!
The spiritual forces against us are powerful.
God must be #1 in our lives and will help us win this battle.
We need to activate the armor that God has given us.
We must know the Scripture and pray.
We are sanctified as we learn to serve our spouse.
Fight on! For God himself is with you; Jehovah Nissi is your banner, and Jehovah Rophi is the healer of your wounds. Fear not, you shall overcome, for who can defeat Omnipotence? Fight on, “looking unto Jesus”
Charles Spurgeon