How To Grow In Your Relationships Series

Title: How to grow in your relationships

Text: Ephesians 5:21-6:9

Introduction

I came across a list of 10 reasons why it is good to be a man

10 You know stuff about tanks.

9 You can go to the bathroom without a support group.

8 If someone forgets to invite you to something he can still be your friend.

7 You can drop by to see a friend without bringing a little gift.

6 If another guy shows up at the same party in the same outfit, you might become lifelong buddies.

5 One wallet, one pair of shoes, one color, all seasons.

4 There is always a game on somewhere.

3 Your pals can be trusted never to trap you with, “So…notice anything different?”

2 If something mechanical doesn’t work, you can bash it with a hammer and throw it across the room.

1 You can do your nails with a pocketknife.

The title of this message is “How to grow in your relationships.” And the answer is found in verse 21. By “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (v21)

Submitting to one another shows reverence for Christ.

Since this is Fathers Day I’m going to focus this message on addressing the men and how we as men can grow in our relationships. We’ll identify some areas we can always grow more in and look at some ways to grow. (Women you can keep us accountable by taking good notes)

Let me begin by saying “men we are needed!”

We need to submit to the fact that we are needed. God made us so as to fulfill certain needs.

There is no reverence for Christ if I’m out doing my own thing.

There are 4 areas that we as men are needed from our text.

“Wives, submit to your husbands as 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 submit to their husbands in everything.” (v22-24)

1.Men we are needed for our leadership.

Our wives want us to lead. Christ wants us to lead. The church wants us to lead.

Illustration: If we are driving to a place we’ve never been before. My wife prefers I drive.

What specific areas does verse 24 tell us men to lead in? Everything!

(underline /cross it out the word everything)

Men we are not to know everything about everything but we are to lead in everything.

There is no way that these verses suggest we can lead anyway we want too.

Christ is to be our model for leadership. We are to lead in the same manner Christ leads the church. And we are told in verse 23 that Christ ‘s leadership saved the church.

Men if I could single out one area of leadership we need to grow more in it would be spiritual leadership.

If you need help on how to grow in your Spiritual leadership write these 3 words down. They are 3 words found in verse 24 Submit to Christ

Submit to Christ and I’m qualified to lead everything.

Men we are needed for our leadership.

2.The second area we are needed men is for our love.

“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, 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 his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church- for we are members of his body.” 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 of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” (v25-33)

Now there is no man here who would not argue “but I’m a loving person.”

But by what standard are we basing our love? And is our standard to low?

What does our scripture use for our standard?

1. There is a divine standard

2. There is a human standard

The divine standard is to love like Christ loves the church.

The human standard is to love like we love ourselves

The question we need to ask ourselves is this? Is our love producing a transformation in the lives of those around us?