Isn't it great to think about people all over the world praising the Lord today? You know, one of the privileges I have, I generally start Sundays over at Faith East. That's when I do whatever study I'm going to do early in the morning. That gives me the opportunity then to greet the 8 a.m. folks over at Faith East, and then I either stay there and speak or go to one of our other campuses. But on a day like today, I have the opportunity to drive around town to make my way down here. And so I'm passing a number of other churches. And it's interesting, every church it seems like has that one guy, his car's already in the parking lot and he's getting the landscaping finished off, or he's doing something in the building, or there's a woman walking in and she's doing her task, but people who are just getting everything ready for the people of God to come and do exactly what we were singing about this morning. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures, all creatures here below, all over this town. Aren't you glad for that? That the many, many Bible-believing churches where there are people praising God from every corner of this town, and then you just extrapolate that all over the world. And I haven't had time to watch much of the Olympics, but I have seen some of the news that has come out. And part of what I love is the many Olympic athletes who are also faithful followers of Jesus Christ. And they have been praising God even during athletic contests in ways that are incredibly powerful. people who are using the platform of athletics that God has given them as an opportunity to praise Him. And so what a marvelous thing. So thank you for joining in the praises today. And I'm also glad for our worship team, aren't you? And for the wonderful work that they do in just helping us, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, joyfully praising the Lord together. Over the last couple of years, I've had several occasions where I needed to remove concrete slabs behind our house. Now, back when I wore a younger man's clothes, I would have just grabbed a sledgehammer from the garage and beat those things out myself. But now, unfortunately, I have to look at tasks like that through the lens of, what is the possibility of me injuring myself if I try to do it that way? And is it really worth the risk? And is there a smarter, more efficient way to get that done? So for me, I mean, I hate to admit it, but just where I am in life, a lot of times that means calling the tool rental place. So what piece of equipment could I get that would provide me a whole lot more power than I have on my own? Well, a couple of years ago, that led me to the discovery of this baby right here. That is a Hilti TE3000AVR portable electric jackhammer. And if you have a man in your life... Although, I probably need to say there may be some ladies here who would also like one of these, too. And I don't want to get something started on the Lord's Day between the genders. But let me just say it that way. If you have a man in your life and there's a birthday, there's an anniversary coming up, you're not sure what to buy that person, I would strongly recommend the Hilti TE3000 AVR portable electric jackhammer. And what I like about the thing is they're really well designed because they're not that heavy. So you don't have to be a brute to carry it around. But once you get that thing in place, and you get it going on, you feel like a brute. You just do, because it goes through the concrete like butter. And I realize you say, oh, Pastor Brown, I've been around you long enough to know you tend to exaggerate. Well, I'm not gonna lie about that. But that particular analysis, that's pretty close to the way it is. I could not believe how quickly you can get through a piece of concrete with that thing right there. It was one of those, and I don't have this happen very often to me, but it was one of those, I'd gladly spend that money again. kind of experiences. It's because you have access to so much more power. That's the point of the whole of the story. Now I realize you might say, did you know that this is Sunday, we're in church? Wait, wait, wait, I didn't come here to hear about how to break up concrete. Well, okay, okay. But if you're married, you're married this morning, and you've been in that position for over, let's say, like a week, a week, you know this. Being what God wants you to be in that relationship is a very challenging task. And if you're not married at this point in your life, if you think about your other relationships, so relationships in your family, or at work, or in your neighborhood, you know that being what God wants you to be in those relationships, that's a challenging task for sure. Well, you want some good news? You want some good news? If you've trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, in other words, if you're a Christian, your relationship with Him, it can give you power. You believe that? It can give you direction. It can give you guidance that is every bit as effective as a hilty jackhammer. And you say, that's incredible news. I haven't finished yet. You won't even have to pay a dime for that kind of access. Now that might open your Bible, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 5 this morning. Ephesians chapter 5. That's on page 1172 of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you if you'd like to use that this morning. So Ephesians chapter 5. Or page 1172 of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you. This is our church's 60th anniversary. And we're having a lot of fun, a lot of fun just thinking about all of the lessons that go along with that anniversary. And so we've selected the theme of building on our heritage this year. So part of what we've been doing is just a verse-by-verse exposition of the wonderful book of Ephesians. Well, this morning we're starting a mini-series on the family. called strengthening marital unity. And the reason for that is, well, at the end of Ephesians chapter 5 and into chapter 6, that's what the Apostle Paul talks about. Now let's just discuss that in its entirety. I realize that a number of people who are going to be at our various campuses today are single. So how are we going to approach this material on the family for people who are single? Well, I suppose the answer is that the same way we teach anything from the Word of God, we're just going to unpack what the Word of God tells us. Sometimes passages are more directly applicable to a particular person than others. That's just the way it is. But how do we feel about that? What do we think about it? Well, it's like Paul said to Timothy, he said, all Scripture, how much? All Scripture is inspired by God and therefore what? It's all profitable. Do you believe that? All Scripture is inspired by God and it's profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training, and righteousness so that the man of God may be adequate, thoroughly furnished unto every good work. So here's what that means. Even if a particular verse isn't directly applicable to a particular Christian, we still consider it to be profitable because it's the Word of God. You know, a certain percentage of the people in Ephesus that would have been the original recipients of this book, they too would not have been married. But apparently Paul thought it was important enough to discuss this material with them anyway. I think we'd also say this, you know, if we're serious about this theme of building on our heritage, well, part of that is helping every married couple in our church know what God's Word says about marriage. And I'm fairly certain I could speak for the average person in our church, single or married, who would say this, well, we want that to be the case, even if it doesn't directly impact me. There's also, and I also already tried to do it in the introduction, but I'm going to be doing it throughout the message. We're going to be doing it throughout the series. A number of these principles that we're going to be studying are very easily applied to friendships. or to relationships in the workplace, or with extended family members. So we'll do the very best we can throughout this entire series to try to broaden this out whenever possible. This just gives us an opportunity to say something that we believe, and I hope we say it regularly. We highly value single people in this church. In fact, Paul said this in 1 Corinthians chapter 7. He said, single people in a church many times have more bandwidth More time, more energy to serve God than those who are married. We certainly found that to be the case at Faith. If we didn't have all of the single people that we have in this church family and we lost all the ways that they serve and bless and minister, this place would come to a grinding halt in a second. Now, with all that in mind, let's read the core passage this morning, Ephesians 5. And let's start in verse 21, where Paul said, "...and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything." Husbands? Love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her so that he might Sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word so that he might present to himself the church in all her glory Having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that she would be holy and blameless so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their bodies and He who loves his own wife loves himself, for no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ also does the church. Were members of his body, then quoting Genesis, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great. Don't miss this. Paul says, I'm speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife, even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. Now, we're talking about the power of marital unity. And what I'd like us to do this morning is sort of set the stage for what we're going to study from this passage for the next several weeks by looking at four Spirit-empowered actions that must be present to facilitate unity in husband-wife relationships. That's a mouthful right there. Well, let's unpack that even before we go any further. What do we mean by that? For spirit-empowered actions. And think back to the whole jackhammer thing as well. Throughout this book, if you've been with us through the series, or if you know the book of Ephesians, you know that Paul's been alluding to the issue of people like you and me understanding the spiritual power that is available to us in Christ. See, just because the rental place has one of those jackhammers doesn't mean you know that. Or it certainly doesn't mean that you're going to take benefit from it. And so that's what Paul has been saying a number of times in this book is he wants us to understand that the spiritual power that's available to us in Christ, in other words, we don't have to break up the piece of concrete by hand by ourselves with a sledgehammer. So, for example, Paul said this in chapter 1, Paul prayed that people like you and me would know that, and he went on to say, which He brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. So you say, how much power are we talking about? We're talking about the same amount of power necessary to raise Jesus Christ from the dead. That's what we're talking about. Seated Him at the right hand in the heavenly place is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. Every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. Understanding that, if you and I do, that changes the way we think about any relationship challenge. And hopefully, that would fill our hearts with hope. That's the point. We saw it again in chapter 3 where Paul's talking about the incredible ministry assignment that Paul has given him to minister to the Gentiles even though he was Jewish. That takes some power, right? And here's what he said, of which I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me, according to what? There it is again, according to the working of His power. or the way that wonderful section of the book begins to draw to a close that he would grant you, you, people like you and me, according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through a spirit in the inner man. How are you doing right now? What phrase would be used to describe you and the way you're handling whatever challenge God may have for you relationally? And in your marriage, if you're married, I'm strengthened with power through a spirit in the inner man. And then a few verses later, now to him who's able to do, far more abundantly beyond all we could ask or think. Picture old Pastor Vires with a sledgehammer in his hand, hitting a piece of concrete, the thing not even cracking, the sledgehammer bouncing back up in my mug. compared to me having a hilty, electric, portable jackhammer. Beyond all we could ask or think. According to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, amen. It's amazing when we just stop and think about the kind of spiritual power that is available to people like you and me. No wonder Paul would say this to the Romans. Now may the God of hope, Aren't you glad he's that, by the way? There's a great name. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, here it is, look at the purpose clause, so that you will abound in hope by what? By the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, if you're married right now, here's the takeaway. You might want to pause and consider any challenges you might be having, and we all have them, And simply ask this, are you viewing those challenges through the lens of what might be achieved through your power and your wisdom, or are you factoring in the access that you have to the resources of heaven? Now, right before, the verses that we just read about the family, because you might say as I was reading that, it's so countercultural. In fact, he might have even said this morning, I can't believe he'd still read that passage in this culture. Well, that goes back to what we read from 2 Timothy 3.16. We believe the Bible's inspired. Do you believe that? I hope you do. What does that mean, inspired? It's the Greek word theopneustos. Theos, God, neustos, breath. You would not say that about any other book ever. This book is inspired by, breathed out by God. You might say, well, I don't believe that. Good for you. You can believe whatever you want. This is America. You realize you could believe you're a tomato plant. You could plant your feet in potted soil and paint your cheeks rosy red. That does not make it true. Just because you don't believe something doesn't make it false. You realize that? And just because you refuse to believe something, that doesn't mean it's not true. And you have to decide, we all do. We all have to decide, what is our source of truth going to be? And this church 60 years ago, 60 years ago, made this affirmation. We believe that the Word of God is true. We believe that it is inspired. Now, we're not going to force it on anybody, but we are not going to be ashamed of what the Word of God says about any topic in the world. But here's the point. I kind of got off on that little tangent there. Imagine that. Here's the point. Right before Paul wrote what he did about the family that we read just a few moments ago, Here's what he talked about. In case you would say, that is a really hard piece of concrete to bust up. He talked about this matter of power. He said, Ephesians 5.18, don't get drunk with wine. Don't be controlled by that, but instead be filled with the Spirit. That's one of the primary concepts that Paul uses to frame this entire conversation about the family. So here's what we're going to be asking. Well, what does it mean to be a Holy Spirit-empowered husband? There's a question. What does it mean to be a Holy Spirit-empowered wife? What does it mean to be a Holy Spirit-empowered parent? Speaking of pieces of concrete that sometimes need a little attention. What does it mean to be a Holy Spirit-empowered child for those who might have imperfect parents? What does it mean to be a Holy Spirit-empowered employer? What does it mean to be a Holy Spirit-empowered employee? You know, you've heard me say this many times. We are far from a perfect church. But on the other hand, we have a lot of people running around here who have been married a long time. And if you nuzzled up to them, and this would be a good thing to do, and just say, hey, what's the secret sauce? Here's what you will not hear. Here's what happened. I met my soulmates, and then it was all easy. We don't have any problems. We don't have any difficulties. I found the one, and it has just been a little bit of heaven on earth ever since. We wake up, and he's on his cloud, and I'm on my cloud, and we kind of bounce around like Charmin. I mean, that's just what it is. No, no, no. Here's what they would say. Well, by the power that comes from the Holy Spirit of God. That's what they would say. Now, go back to Romans 15, 13. Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing so that you will abound in hope by what? Because I'm so strong. Because I'm so smart. Because I'm so... No, no, no, no, no. By the power of the Holy Spirit of God. So that's why we're talking about for Spirit-empowered actions that must be present to facilitate unity in husband-wife relationships. It starts right here. Understand the ultimate marriage for God's people. You know, the letter to the Ephesians is pretty short. So it's fairly interesting that there's so much real estate in this book devoted to human marriage. Why might that be? Well, perhaps because human marriage is to be a picture of God's relationship to His people. Now, please chew on that. That's very, very important. Because human marriage is a picture of God's relationship to His people. Isn't it interesting the Bible both begins and ends with a marriage? Obviously, with Adam and Eve, and so we read, the Lord God said it's not good. That's interesting. Up to that point, everything God had said about his creation was, that's good, that's good, that's good, that's good. Then he looks at Adam and he says, the Lord God said it's not good that man would be alone. I'll make him a helper suitable for him. You remember how that story goes? Some of it was quoted in Ephesians 5. Then the Lord God said, it's not good for man to be alone. I'll make him a helpful suitor both for him. Out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field. Why are we going to the zoo? Out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field, every bird of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what, what? And whatever the man called the living creature, that was his name. The man gave names, all the cattle, to the birds of the sky, to every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found a helper. See, a puppy's not going to do. I know a cat's not going to do. And please don't send me an email about that. I've learned, I've been in the ministry a long time, some people like their cats a whole lot more than they like me. So I get some interesting cat memes. But anyway, back to the Bible. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man and he slept. Then he took one of his ribs, imagine that, closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which he had taken from the man. Can you imagine? She was made by God. Brought her to the man. The man said, Oh man, this is now bone in my bone and flesh in my flesh. She should be called woman because she was taken out of man. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. They should become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Here's the point I'm making. God did not first institute government. He didn't first institute work. He didn't first institute the church. He first instituted what? He first instituted marriage, and isn't it also interesting that the Bible ends not just with any supper, if there's going to be some Baptist up there, there better be some kind of supper, but it's not, there better be fried chicken, right? It's not just going to be any kind of supper, it's going to be what kind of supper? It's going to be the marriage supper of the Lamb. Revelation 19, 7, let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him for the The marriage of the Lamb has come, and this is us. His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then He said to me, Write, Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage, the marriage supper of the Lamb. And He said to me, These are the true words of God." Can you imagine what that event will be like? I mean, it's hard to even put into words, but who's invited? Who's invited to that event? The people of God. We're the bride. We're the bride of Christ. We know the Lord uses this picture of marriage to describe His relationship throughout the Word, His relationship with His people. So like Isaiah 54.5, for your husband is your maker. Your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who's called the God of the earth. Same terminology in Hosea 2.19, I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice and loving kindness and in compassion. Think about that. Instead of God being aloof, and He certainly could be, right? Or instead of Him being indifferent, I ain't got time for your hot mess. Instead of Him being distracted or maybe even just plumb disgusted with us, He chose to be married to us. Now, what kind of God is that? Isaiah 62, 5, For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. And as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride. Now listen to this next part really carefully. So your God will rejoice over you. In my line of work, I've had an opportunity to do a lot of weddings, a lot of weddings for sure. And there's nothing quite like that moment where I'm standing there right next to that groom, and it's time for the bride to appear. And so she's at the back, generally on the arm of her daddy. change up the music, and then everybody does what? Everybody stands and everybody looks back at the bride. And that's where the attention ought to be at that moment. Here's something I routinely do. I steal a look at the groom. I'm going to be looking at the bride too, but I want to see the groom. Because I'll tell you, I've never seen it happen anything like that. That guy is so excited about his bride appearing. I mean, okay, stand back here, fella. She'll get here. You just stand right here. But I've never once had a groom say, yeah, whatever. No, no, no. We're talking about that. We're talking about rejoicing over you. That's the way he feels about his bride. His heart is like beating out of his chest. And it's always that way. And listen, the Lord chooses that imagery to help us understand what? His love for us. His love for us. So, like at a wedding, your God will rejoice over you. Paul said it this way to the Romans, he said, Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the law through the body of Christ, listen to this, so that, look, for the purpose clause, so that you too might, what? be joined to another. J. Adams, a number of years ago, translated the New Testament, the Christian Counselor's New Testament. I love the way he translated that phrase. He said, therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the law through the body of Christ so that you might be married to another man. That's what Christians are. And the point is our marriage to God gives us direction and guidance and power and hope. If we'll allow it to, as we navigate human marriage and all other relationships. That's why we read in Ephesians 5, that's why in Paul's talking about husband-wife relationship, he goes back to Genesis. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife, the two shall become one flesh. And then he says this, this mystery is great, but ultimately I'm speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Now I've said a lot, but here's the point. The reason you can have hope for your human marriage is because of the spiritual power that is available to you through your spiritual marriage. Again, if you interviewed couples who have been married for decades at our church, here's what many of them would say. They would talk about the integral role that their faith has played in the way they think about their marriage and all other earthly relationships. In fact, I think you could say it like this. They're constantly talking to their spiritual spouse about how to please God in the way they relate to their physical spouse. It's all mixed together. Or their spiritual marriage to Jesus Christ gives them hope and direction as they navigate the challenges of their physical marriage to their husband or their wife. One of the questions that frequently comes up in counseling, regardless of the issue that a person might bring to the counseling room, is this. Well, you say that you're a Christian, if they do. Well, how does your relationship with Jesus Christ affect that, the problem? And how does that affect your relationship with Christ? And too often people treat those relationships as two very separate categories. It's almost like those relationships, they're in separate tupperware, and we don't let those two things mix. Which is why somebody can say, I can't stand my spouse, but everything between me and Jesus is fine. You see, separate categories, separate tupperware. You could say it like this. The Christian life is designed to be lived and eaten more like a casserole than like a separate course meal. You understand what I mean by that? It's true of marriage. It's true of any human relationship at all. Your relationship with the one to whom you're married, ultimately the Lord Jesus Christ, that's designed to impact the way you handle all of the other challenges that you have on this earth. In fact, for those who are married, I would just ask you to consider this question this morning. How are you connecting your walk with the Lord, your spiritual marriage, with your walk with your spouse? What is the relationship between the two? Now, how else can our spiritual marriage guide and direct us? Well, get ready for this. Be humble because of what you brought into the marriage. What kind of dowry did you bring into it? And you might say, what does even humility have to... Why didn't he talk about humility in marriage? Well, pride is one of the poison pills in marriage. And it's also one of the poison pills in a friendship, or an extended family relationship, or conditions at work, certainly in the church. That's why Peter said, all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. There's a great marriage verse. There's a great everything verse. Listen, listen. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. What is the relationship logically between all of that? What's one of the big tools our adversary, the devil, uses to destroy relationships? Answer? Pride. Pride. And here's now the point. Reflecting on what we brought into our marriage with Jesus Christ, will that make us proud or will that make us humble? Friends, that ought to humble the fire out of us. Which is why Paul has emphasized this so much to the Ephesians. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. That's what you brought. into the marriage. Or again, in Ephesians 4, 17, so this I say and affirm together with the Lord, you walk no longer just as the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God. By the way, this is why it's so important to understand that salvation is not by works. Salvation is by grace alone. In fact, if you had these phrases, that would likely make a person proud or that would likely make a person humble. And you had to connect them to one of these phrases, salvation by works or salvation by grace. If you were going to connect those together, how would they fit? Well, salvation by works is likely to make a person what? Proud. Because the focus is on all the good things that I've done. Whereas salvation by grace is likely to make a person humble. Why? Because the focus is on how I needed somebody else to die for my sin so that I could be redeemed and I could be reconciled to a holy God. Well, does the Bible teach salvation by works or salvation by grace? I hope you know the answer to that question. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And the more we reflect on that, what kind of people ought we to be in relationship to the Savior to whom we've been married? Humble people, because of what we brought into the marriage, hopefully preparing us to respond humbly to our human spouses and all other relationships. And the Lord uses some very stark imagery just to help us understand that point. Like this, Ezekiel 16, 4. As for your birth, on the day you were born, your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. Now I looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather, you were thrown out into an open field, for you were poured on the day you were born. By the way, this is another reason why it's so important just to immerse yourself in the Word of God, because we have so many different voices speaking into, here's the way you ought to think about yourself, here's the way you ought to view your story, etc., etc. Some of my Bible reading this week has been in the book of 1 Samuel, where the children of Israel rejected Samuel and the ministry of Samuel, and they demanded a king, so they could be like all the other nations. And the Lord told Samuel, listen, fundamentally, they're not rejecting you. God said, they're rejecting Me. And providentially, I'm also at the same time in the book of Jeremiah, which is a few hundred years later, to see where that road eventually led the people of God. Well, day after day, you read about the covenant unfaithfulness of the children of Israel, and then God. He chose to marry people like that Anyway. And it's a pretty short walk, if we'll allow it to be, to say, and God was willing to marry a person like me. Anyway. One of the most graphic illustrations of that principle is found in the amazing story of Hosea and Gomer. Do you know this story? Hosea was an Old Testament prophet, and God told his prophet to marry a woman named Gomer. So don't think about, what was that show? What was the show that Gomer was on? Was that Andy Griffith? So don't think about that Gomer. We're not talking about that Gomer. We're talking about Gomer, who was a woman. She was a prostitute. And so the prophet Hosea was told by God to go marry a prostitute. And so after their marriage and the conception of several children, all of whom have incredible names, by the way, we won't get into that this morning. But what the Bible tells us is this prophet's wife, Gomer, returns to a life of prostitution. And here's what Scripture tells us. Hosea, the prophet, you know what he did? He quietly, behind the scenes, continued to provide food and provision for his wife. even though she was out living like a prostitute. And then it got so bad for her eventually that she was going to be sold on an auction block as a slave. In other words, men were done with her. She was all used up of any value she might have to anybody. And so now, she's going to be sold on an auction block as a slave. And do you remember what God commanded His prophet, her husband, to do? Go buy her back. Which is exactly what happened. Hosea 3.2. So I bought her for myself for 15 shekels of silver and an omer and a half of barley. Now, what was that supposed to picture? Who was Hosea? Hosea was like God. Who was Gomer? Gomer was like the children of Israel. And again, it is a very short walk from that to see what did she bring into the marriage? And what did you and I bring into the marriage? And the more we allow that kind of biblical truth to humble us regarding our relationship with the Lord, the better prepared we are to respond humbly to our human relationships here on earth. Well, thank the Lord that's not the end of the story. Because where does our spiritual wedding go next? Recognize what your groom did for you. but God being rich in mercy because of His great love. Ephesians 5, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love. Why? Just as Christ also loved you. And you know, I realize you might be here this morning and would be in a marriage relationship or a family-friend relationship or a work relationship that feels pretty loveless. And you might be tempted to think, you know, nobody loves me. Nobody loves me. Well, friend, can a follower of Jesus Christ ever legitimately say that? And by the way, if you're here this morning and you're not sure that you have the kind of personal relationship with the Lord that we're discussing, we would love to talk with you about that. You can just contact us. That's why my cell phone number is in the bulletin every week. And that's not there simply for teenagers to prank me. It's there, along with all of our other pastors, because we want to be available to people. If you have a question about it, if you don't know that you know that you know that you're on your way to heaven, and you can pick the place, you can pick the time, and we'll be happy to come talk to you. And please don't think, well, you're busy. Look, I'm a pastor. I work one day a week, and I take the afternoon of that day off. So I have plenty of time. And that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I'll drop just about anything. I will drop just about anything. And so will a lot of other people around here to help you get to the place where you can know for sure that you're on your way to heaven. Listen, if you know Christ, God's love for you is never going to fail. And I hope you would agree with this sentence. The more you focus on God's unfailing and undeserved love for you, the less you need it from anybody else in your life. because you have it fully and completely in Him. Sometimes the Lord lays this out in graphic terms. Listen to what Ezekiel 16 went on to say. When I passed by you and I saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, live. Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, live. I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall, and reached the age for fine ornaments. Your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. that you were naked and bare. Then I passed by you, and I saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love. So I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became mine, declares the Lord God. Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil. I also clothed you with embroidered cloth, and I put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet, and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil, so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of my splendor, which I bestowed on you, declares the Lord." See, thank the Lord for graphic pictures in His Word intended to help us just focus on all that God has done for us in Christ. And I realize you might say, well, I came to Christ, where's my sandals covered with porpoise skin? Where's my necklace? Well, listen. If you know Christ as Savior and Lord, what are you clothed with right now? What did your groom clothe you with? And here's the answer, his righteousness. Salvation is not simply a matter of our sin being forgiven. It's also a matter of Christ's righteousness being placed on our account on our wedding day. You know, I mentioned I have the opportunity to travel around to our various campuses. That allows me the privilege of just getting to look at you. And I'll tell you what I see, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, and certainly at church family night when we all come together, I have the best seat in the house. Because I get to see the people of God clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And I'm going to tell you right now, that, my dear friends, is a beautiful, beautiful thing. Your husband did that for you. He made it possible for you to be clothed that way. In fact, this might sound like a strange marriage tip, but what do you think about this? Your marriage will be better if you faithfully attend church family night. Say what? Well, because there we celebrate the Lord's table. Jesus said, do this in remembrance of Me. And as we think about His great love for us, we're free to serve and love others because we don't need from them what we already have in Him. I hope you believe that. And so if we receive love and affirmation from other human beings in our life, that's great, but that's a bonus. We don't have to have it. Did you hear that? We don't have to have it because of what we already enjoy in Him. And that's what allows us to relinquish those rights. Because we're living in awe of our husband, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in the coming weeks, Lord willing, we're going to start working through the role of the husband and the role of the wife and all those verses that I read to you earlier. Hard stuff. And a lot of it has to do with submission to the instruction God gives. And I know it's increasingly at odds with the culture in which we live. Well, where are we going to find power to function in those earthly relationships? Well, it's from our heavenly marriage. That's where it is. To the one who loves us like no other. Let's pray together, shall we? Father in heaven, Lord, it is amazing to us. We know all the things we say. We know all the things we think. We know all the things we do. It's amazing that a holy God would wish to be married to us anyway, and would make a provision through the shed blood of your Son to make that possible. And so Lord, I pray that our marriage to you, our role, our function as the bride of Christ, Father, I pray that it would give us hope. I pray that it would give us direction as we think about navigating the challenges that we have here on this earth. And we pray these things in Christ's name, amen.