His Needs, Her Needs Series

A Walk that is Worthy

Part 13

His Needs Her Needs

Text: Eph 5:21-33

Intro:

Illus:

The Creation

God created the mule and told him: "You will be mule, working constantly from dusk to dawn, carrying heavy loads on your back. You will eat grass and you will lack intelligence. You will live for 50 years." The mule answered: "To live like this for 50 years is too much. Please, give me no more than 20."

And it was so.

Then God created the dog and told him: "You will hold vigilance over the dwellings of Man, to whom you will be his greatest companion. You will eat his table scraps and live for 25 years." And the dog responded: "Lord, to live 25 years as a dog is too much. Please, no more than 10 years."

And it was so.

God then created the monkey and told him: "You are the monkey. You will swing from tree to tree, acting like an idiot. You will be funny, and you shall live for 20 years." And the monkey responded: Lord, to live 20 years as the clown of the world is too much. Please, Lord, give me no more than 10 years."

And it was so.

Finally, God created Man and told him: "You are Man, the only rational being that walks the earth. You will use your intelligence to have mastery over the creatures of the world. You will dominate the earth and live for 20 years." And the man responded: "Lord, to be Man for only 20 years is too little. Please, Lord, give me the 30 years the mule refused, the 15 years the dog refused, and the 10 years the monkey rejected."

And it was so.

And God made Man to live 20 years as a man, then marry and live 30 years like a mule working and carrying heavy loads on his back. Then , he is to have children and live 15 years as a dog, guarding his house and eating leftovers after they empty the pantry, then, in his old age, to live 10 years as a monkey, acting like a fool to amuse his grandchildren.

And it was so.

This morning we are going to continue on in our series in Ephesians. In light of the Valentine weekend I want to skip ahead just a bit in our text to chapter five. This morning I would like to take a few minutes to focus in on Marriages. I realize that not everyone here this morning falls into the category of a

married couple. But some of the things that I share will apply everyone here.

Illus A mature-looking lady had an appointment with a marriage counsellor, and told him flat out: "I would like to divorce my husband." To this, the counselor replied, "Well, do you have any grounds?" She answered, "Why yes. We have almost an acre." The puzzled counselor asked her, "You don’t understand. What I want to know is do you and your husband have a grudge?" The lady answered, "Actually, we don’t, but we do have a nice carport." At this, the counselor shook his head and said, "Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I just don’t see any reason why you should divorce your husband." The lady looked at the counselor and said to him, "It’s just that the man can’t carry on an intelligent conversation."

Our text this morning is a common marriage text, and even now there may be some palms that are starting to sweat in fear of what I am going to share. Don’t be afraid, I am going this won’t hurt…to bad.

What is it the dentist always says before when he is holding that 3 inch needle about ready to stab you in a place that was never meant to be stabbed…just a little bee sting.

Now most of your bibles have a heading that says “WIVES AND HUSBANDS” right before verse 22. I started with verse 21 because I think it is crucial that it be included in this discussion.

Many times when looking at this passage of scripture the word submission is reigned down upon the wife, and sacrifical love is reigned down upon the husband. We need to understand that verse 21 throws these two areas towards all of us, married or not.

1) Submit to one another.

2) Out of Reverence for Christ.

In light of what Christ has done for us. This eliminates any “Ya Buts” These two points can be boiled down into this phrase:

“Do what can to satisfy each others desires in light of the work Christ has done to meet your needs”

Dr. Larry Crabb in his book Marriage Builder had some real interesting comments on needs and desires. We must understand that marriage originated with God. He ordained it, and He set up the rules by which it should be used.