Embracing Christlike Submission in Marriage

Submission is actually really exciting to me. I love talking about it because I feel like it's one of the few distinct ways that we as Christian women can really stand apart from the world. It's one of the few ways that causes other people to look at us and look at our marriages and say why would that woman treat her husband in that way? [00:24:03]

We cannot forget that the very core of the Gospel is to die to ourselves. I think it bears repeating, we have to die to ourselves and we have to first live in total submission to God. If you don't first have a commitment to Christ, a respect for the word of God, a desire to really obey all that he has commanded, you really can't even move on to any other subject. [00:25:21]

When it says in everything, it is not talking about the times when your husband is asking you to sin. We are all under the ultimate umbrella of God's Authority, our husbands included, and anytime that your husband steps outside of that umbrella of authority, whether it be to cheat on your tax return or to engage in pornography or to get drunk on the weekend, I don't know what it may be, but anytime he steps outside of God's ultimate Authority, that's when you are able to say honey as much as I love and respect you and want to honor you, I must obey God rather than man. [00:31:23]

If you see a man who is making decisions like we talked about a couple weeks ago based on the will of God, the word of God, you see Integrity in his life and his walk with Christ, then you're going to know that it will at least be easier to come under his leadership. It will not always be easy, I'm not trying to paint that picture, but it will be easier. [00:32:42]

I have enough faith for the both of us. I really do feel like I wish I could look you in the eyes and infuse my faith and My Hope into you that God does know exactly what it's like to be married to your husband and he also knows the beautiful woman of God that you can become regardless of how Godly or ungodly he is. [00:35:15]

Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husbands so that if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives when they see the Purity and reverence of your lives. I'm going to read it again: wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husbands so that if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives when they see the Purity and reverence of your lives. [00:35:15]

The great thing about doing what's right even when no one else is or in spite of someone else's actions is that first and foremost you look the most like Christ. Like Francis said, is that your ultimate goal? Because this is one of the biggest opportunities that God gives to us to look like Christ is when someone does not deserve our kindness, our love, our affection, and we give it to them anyway. [00:37:16]

God has given them a position of authority over us and we need to respect that position even when the person does not deserve it. I think sometimes that can help us as ladies wrap our minds around this because it's very easy to say well, he doesn't deserve respect, he's this kind of a person and he's that kind of a person, and I realize that, but God has placed him in a position of authority over you. [00:39:43]

Our motivation is always a need to honor God, a need to be holy, it's a need to be more and more like Christ that will motivate us every time if that's what we desire, not them. Because there will be times when yeah, he's being pretty cool and nice and then I'm pretty motivated to be cool and nice, but if we keep our ultimate motivation, our ultimate goal where it should be on the author and perfector of our faith, that will motivate us every time. [00:45:41]

I feel like God has just kind of pulled me back a little bit and said don't you realize that it's so much more about just letting go and serving and being like Christ and dying to yourself. This is stuff I've called all of you as my Believers to do and to be. I want you all to act like Christ, I want you all to deny yourselves, I want you all to serve one another and to put on love above all else, to be humble and to be servants and just to be Christ. [00:47:27]

Jesus was sitting on a throne, think about this, in heaven as the creator of the whole universe and he leaves this place where all these millions of angels are worshiping him, adoring him. He leaves the Comforts of that and comes down to this tiny planet that's on this universe and takes the form of a man. So he goes from that to this, okay, and not just the form of a man but the form of a servant going around washing people's feet, healing people, taking care of the sick, loving them, even loving the people that were going to betray him. [00:50:14]

I want you to understand this call to follow Jesus every week. I mean this morning we had just the most beautiful baptisms last service, but it was this real picture of people saying you know what, I'm done being, that's a picture of baptism is when you join yourself with Jesus Christ when you decide to follow Jesus. It's like what Lisa says, you're dying to yourself, you're saying you know what, I'm done being Francis Chan and I'm going to rise up, I'm coming out of this water filled with the Holy Spirit and that spirit of God is going to help me to walk like Jesus walked. [00:54:36]