Understanding Women, Understanding Men (Part 2)

Understanding Women, Understanding Men (Part 2)

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon by: Rick Crandall

Preached at McClendon Baptist Church

West Monroe, LA

Nov. 13, 2005

*Tonight we continue our study on understanding women & understanding men.

-And yes we can do it.

*Think about trying to keep a car running right.

-I don’t know how to do even simple repairs on an engine, but I can get the right manual and find out what to do.

*I went to the library to check one out for tonight, but they wanted a $65 deposit for that book!

-That’s a valuable book, but here in our hands we’ve got a priceless book.

*It can help us understand the most important things in life.

-It can even help us understand men & women.

--So if we really want to understand men & women, we have to take a look at the Book & follow God’s plan

1. And the first thing we see is that God calls wives to submissive love.

-(This is in vs. 22-24.)

*These verses have been distorted by a lot of men, and discarded by a lot of women, but they are important to help us live together in love.

-And as I said last week, one main reason why is because God created men with a built in need to be respected.

--Men respond to respect.

*All things being equal, it motivates us, it charges us up, challenges us, and helps us to be the men we were created to be.

-It helps us be the husband you want us to be.

*So ladies, let’s go deeper.

-How are you going to show submissive love?

-The key is in the last part of verse 22: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”

*My wife Mary’s submission to me is a reflection of her submission to the Lord.

-She can submit to me, because she has already submitted her life to the Lord.

*Of course, it helps when I act like the Lord!

-And I don’t always do that.

--Men, we get it wrong sometimes don’t we?

*I really like the story Ed Boland tells about a wedding that his pastor performed.

-Unfortunately, he forgot the groom’s first name.

--He just could not remember if it was “James” or “John.”

*I’ve never done that, but I did ask one poor bride to take the groom to be her wedded wife.

-Fortunately, she had enough sense to not repeat after me, and eventually, I figured out what I was doing wrong.

*Well, this pastor forgot the groom’s first name.

-And the pastor said: -“I knew I would have to ask him.

*So I said, Is your name James or John?”

-“James,” the groom said.

*Then his bride nudged him gently & said, “Your name is John.” (1)

*We don’t always get it right, do we guys?

-Not by a long shot.

*But when our wives submit to our leadership in a Godly way.

-Then it brings glory to God & grace to our families.

2. So God calls wives to submissive love, and He calls men to the Savior’s love.

-(We see this in vs. 25-29.)

*Men: We can see clearly here that God gives the greatest responsibility to us.

-We are to love our wives the way Jesus Christ loves us.

1-That means we are to have a love that’s supreme.

*In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, for a man to lay down his life for his friends.”

*Jesus Christ gave His life on the Cross for us.

-He made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

--And that is the kind of love He wants us to have for our wives.

2-Love her with a supreme love, but also love her with a serving love.

*In verse 26, we see Jesus washing the church with the water of His Word.

-And one of the most memorable things the Lord did on the night before He went to the Cross was this:

--He got up from supper, got a towel & a bowl of water, and began to wash the disciples’ feet.

*Jesus loves us with a serving love, and that’s the way He wants you to love your wife.

*I like Bob Dole, former Senator & hero from WW2.

-At age 21, Senator Dole was severely wounded on a hill in the Italian mountains just two weeks before the end of the war.

--He was trying to pull his radioman to safety.

*Over the next 3 years, he was not expected to survive.

-He lost a kidney, lost the use of his right arm, and most of the feeling in his left arm, but God blessed him to recover.

--And the best I can tell, he is a good man with a delightful sense of humor.