We're taking the text from that passage of scripture. And it's one of those, this is one of those chapters where I wish I could preach on every verse. It's so wonderful. There's so much there. There is depth in even the utensils and the plans and so forth. But the Lord has a message for us, I believe, that he had been working on our hearts for. And here's the message from verse 20. It's entitled, be strong courageous and do it and the subtitle would be strength and courage to carry out stewardship's call and from verse 20 i'm going to read it again then david said to solomon his son be strong and courageous and do it do not be afraid and do not be dismayed For the Lord God, even my God is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. That's the word of the Lord. And he'll most certainly add his abundant, gracious and magnified blessing to the reading of his holy truth. And I know that brother Steve has read the whole chapter as we follow it along and he's prayed, but let me pray again so that I may be able to deliver what the Lord would have for all of us. Our most blessed and gracious Father in God, in Jesus' name and for his sake, we have a text that is before us that is mighty and ministers in the providence of your grace that you've brought forth messages that are specifically for us as a congregation. That minister unto us that we may be the light in the Nilchik and Lord, by your grace, may be even the light for the whole peninsula. that we may, that our lives being gospel displays in eating and drinking and breathing and whatever we do, that we may see the gospel move advanced to all that we meet and through all that we encounter. We ask you, Father, that as we worship you in the word today, that you'll minister unto us, that Christ will be exalted, and that we may apply this to our lives in everyday situations and circumstances so that your gospel reigns supremely in our lives, that Christ is the focus and attention of all that we think, say, and do, and that you are glorified even by the very works of our hands. We love you, Lord, and thank you in Jesus' name. For his sake we do pray, amen. We see a blessed progression, or at least we've seen a blessed progression since the ordering that David has done in chapters 23 to 29. He's finished the race. by living faithfully to this point, as we see in Chronicles. However, there's still work to be done, and he puts the divisions or courses, divisions in the English Standard Version, courses in the King James Version, but he divides up, as we saw last week, 12 is significant. chapter 23 through 27. The number 12 because it represents governments. There were 12 tribes of Israel, there were 12 apostles, and this 12 represents an orderliness in how we are governed. It presents a truth of the gospel. We see the Levites organized in courses of 12 12 times 2 for 24, David's life is full of days in organizing the Levites because they are now no longer carrying temple instruments in a tabernacle. So they are going to assist the priests in their service. And in chapter 24, the priests, the sons of Aaron, when the temple is built, Even though David's not waiting for this, he's organizing them 12 times two. And we see that 12 times two, again, as the 12 tribes of Israel, Old Testament, 12 apostles in the New Testament. So there's that 24 and the courses thereof. And we'd seen even the prophetic blessings that even the seventh course, excuse me, yeah, the seventh course of Abijah or Aviyah, my father is Yah, which was Zachariah, his lineage that when Gabriel spoke to him and John the Baptist was born of him and his wife, Elizabeth, that in chapter 24, we also saw that the Lord Jesus would come. And in fact, Jesus' name, Yeshua, is in 1 Chronicles 24, following the course of Abijah, or Aviyah. David's life was filled with love to organize the priesthood, because we are kings and priests. when the Lord Jesus saves us. Spiritual kings and priests, we believe in the priests that are believers. We saw how powerful praising Christ is through the organization of the musicians in chapter 25, and what a privilege it is to praise God in Christ. by that organization there, that by organizing it, we see that God has called us to worship in a particular way. And through David as a prophet king, that we have an orderliness in our worship. Certainly we have some fun as far as, you know, you got servants like Brother Mike and myself leading us in worship. There can be a chuckle or two because we're goofs saved by God's grace, really. And then last week, we saw the blessing bestowed on, or the week before last, we saw the blessing bestowed on Obed-Edom, a insignificant Philistine from Gath. But that represents the truth of the gospel that we are also, who are we that God should look upon us to save such as us. And then in chapter 27 last week, organizing the military and tribal leaders, but in there also, there was a section of stewardship of David's property, which represents the stewardship or the ownership, the responsibility we have to Christ and his gospel because Him dying on the cross and shedding His blood and suffering God's wrath, if we're saved by God's grace, He owns us lock, stock, and barrel. The gospel is His. The inheritance, though it's ours, He has paid it all. And so we have a responsibility. And we saw that last week in chapter 27. In chapter 28, we see in verse one, David now, after organizing everything, we have it recorded in Chronicles. And in chapter 28, David gathers all whom he has appointed as leaders and organized them into courses. While the multitudes of Israel were also gathered, we recognize, because in verse eight, it says, now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, just that first part tells us that though he brought all those that he called his leaders and appointed in those courses and called them together to speak to them, many of the people, the multitudes of all the tribes in Israel, they came to Jerusalem because David is bringing a charge to Israel's leaders as well as to Solomon. So in verses two through seven, he explains why Solomon must build the temple and to Solomon, We saw that he had already done that in 1 Chronicles 22, verses six through 16. He gave them specific instructions. And this is why we know that the Lord God had named in chapter 22, he had named Solomon. He said, shlomo in Hebrew means peaceful, and he's going to build a temple. And so when David had a son, he says, okay, well, you're gonna be named Solomon. And we saw that in 1 Chronicles 22. And in verse eight, he begins charging Israel's leaders to observe and seek all God's commandments. And in verses nine and 10, David charges Solomon to serve Yehovah God. And in verses 11 through 19, we see David gives Solomon plans for the temple. And I want you to note this here in verse 19. As I mentioned, verse 19 would have been a great verse to preach on as well. All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, all the work to be done according to the plan. Now in the King James Version, it says, all this said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. And Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon on this on August 7th, 1890. On this particular verse, he said this, quote, you will notice that David here says that he received the designs and the details of the temple from God, who wrote them not on tables of stone, but on his servant's heart by his own hand. Now it was very necessary that everything should be arranged and planned for the temple and that it should be built according to a pattern. For it was to be a type, an eminent type of Christ, and also a type of his church, which is a temple for God's own indwelling," end quote. Now John MacArthur of this verse says this in the John MacArthur Study Bible, quote, David wrote down the plans under the Holy Spirit's divine inspiration, non-canonical written revelation, end quote. In other words, that he wrote it but it's not given in scripture. He wrote down the plans that he received and he gave them to Solomon. So which one of these guys is correct? Is it Spurgeon or John MacArthur? And you know what my answer is, right? Yes. Both of them are correct because God placed it in his heart. He was a prophet of God and then he penned it and we see in verses 20, excuse me, in verses leading up to verse 19, he hands all these plans over to Solomon. And this is why it would be wonderful for me to go through that because of the weight specific weight and the gold and the silver and of all the implements and how the vestibule, the entryway, is to be made. And he gave those instructions to Solomon which are a type of the worship that we have, the temple that we are, and also Christ who is the perfect embodiment of the indwelling of God when he walked upon earth. And so, verses 20 and 21, it concludes with David's encouragement to his son in this monumental prophetic task. He's going to build the temple that David so desired to build, but he was a man of war, a man who shed blood, because David was, as we saw last week, that he was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ in that. He went to war with Satan, he crushed Satan's authority, and he shed his own blood. spilled for our salvation. So what a blessing is the Lord Jesus Christ. We see a model of the authority in David's charge. We see the model of the authority in David's charge, because first he's the King. And we see that by his gathering everyone together. He gathers them together to speak to them. And therein, he is again, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is King of Kings, as we see in Revelation 17 and verse 14, and Lord of Lords. Revelation 19 and verse 16, he's the King, capital K. of kings, of all kings, and the Lord of Lords. But he's also a father. which is what we see particularly in verse nine, and also again in verse 20, as he gives charge to his son. And we see this in a type of Jesus Christ as well, the reflection of who the father is. We see the authority of a father saying, this is your charge to a son that should be obedient to his father. Jesus, remember that when he was talking of the Father for three and a half years to his disciples, on and off for the first year, but after the first year to about a year and a half, that's when all of his disciples, the ones that were called apostles in particular, they followed him. They dropped their nets and followed him. And so here he tells them, remember that when he's speaking of the father and then Philip says, show us the father, that's enough for us, show us the father. And remember what Jesus said in John chapter 14 and verse 19. Have I been with you so long and you still do not know him, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the father. How can you say, show us the father? Come on. When you've seen Jesus, you've seen the Father. And with our spiritual eyes, we see the Father as well. Everything that Jesus is, was, and evermore shall be, that is Jehovah God. That is the Lord God. and we see the Father in Him. But from this, this authority, it really matches up to what we had looked at last week in chapter 27, when we saw that we were stewards and we went through all these things that our very lives, the gospel, our worship, it belongs to Christ and therefore we're surrendered and submissive unto those truths. We have a responsibility to those truths. in actuality. And there are blessings in carrying them out. But how are we empowered to do that? That's what today's message is. And so the second part of this, we see a mighty stewardship in the authorities gospel applications. Now we know that Christ Jesus has died for us, how do we put this into practice? And how are we empowered to do so? That's the last two points of this. So that basically, that's my 14 minute introduction. 15 minute introduction. Okay, let me say this at the start. Jehovah God, Father God, has ordained authority roles to bless us in our responsibility to display the gospel in our obedience in them. I'll say that again, because I'm not even sure I've said it right, just thinking about it. The Father, Father God has ordained the authority roles to bless us in our responsibility to display the gospel in those authority roles. So that we can see the gospel in them. I want you to open with me if you will. If you want to, please keep your place in Ephesians if that's possible. And I want you to open to Ephesians chapter five. Keep your place, excuse me, in First Chronicles chapter 28. Or you really don't have to, because the key verses is right there in your handout. If you have a handout, we have the key verse, verse 20, and we'll touch on that. But I want you to see some things very particularly in roles that God has ordained from the beginning because of the gospel. And I've preached this before, taught this before in Sunday school, and mentioned this, and even in conversations, and many of us know this, but I wanted to, or at least I believe the Lord wanted us to have this, and I'm grateful that we have an opportunity to look at it from the scriptures, open it up, and see the gospel, why it is what it is, and how those rules relate to us in our practical application of it. In verse 22 it begins, I trust that you're all there, if you're there say amen. If you're not, say amen, I'll wait for you. Amen, okay. In verse 22 it says, wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. So we have that submission there, but we recognize that the husband has a responsibility to act as much as like the Lord, to act as much like the Lord as a sinner saved by grace is able by his grace, he has a submission responsibility too. I must submit to the Lord and to be much as he makes me more like Christ so that I could be a loving husband to my wife. And then, wow, submission almost is the foregone conclusion. Well, if you're acting like Jesus, then heal me of my sin. that I may submit to you. But we see this as he brings about this example because Paul actually has been talking about the church and individuals in the church from earlier in chapter five. And that was the context earlier he's talking about the church. And in fact, he'll close it with the context of being the church. However, there's a practical application as well. How we live our lives to show the gospel in our individual lives. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Verse 24, now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. This is why we don't ordain women pastors. Because the model of the gospel is broken, if Christ is the head of the church, which he is, then for the women to take a role in leadership in the home and also within the church, it would be like us as the church telling Christ what to do. And that can't be, that's not the gospel. The gospel is Christ tells us how to live, he shows us how to live, and then he empowers us to live that way. Verse 25 says, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. So there's another caveat to wives submit to your husbands is unto the Lord. We are to love our wives as Christ loved her. Well, I can't do that, Lord, because you gave yourself for her. It says here in verse 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word. Verse 27, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church. Verse 30, because we are members of his body. And before I get to verse 31, you see men that Christ loved the church and gave herself for her. So what we do as husbands, we treat our wives in such a way that they sin less. We minister to them so that when they have temptations come to them, that those temptations may be snatched by our leading and our teaching so that we may be as Christ unto our beloved brides. as Christ is to us. And so when temptation comes to me, as I see a living example of I help out my spouse where she is having difficulties and so forth, then I can see it also in my life that this is how I must be unto my Lord. The temptation comes and I say, Lord, you must help me through this. And he brings me right to the cross. And I see his shed blood. I see the wrath that he has suffered and so forth. Verse 31, therefore, man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This unity that is there, Christ is united with his church. He's not separate from us as if we're worshiping a God that's far away. Spiritually speaking, Jesus Christ is right here with us. The Holy Spirit is indwelling each one of us that are saved by God's grace. In verse 32, it says, this mystery is profound, And I am saying that it refers to Christ in the church. However, let each one of you love his wife. It says in verse 33, however, let each one of you love his wife and let him, his wife, see that she respects her husband. Keep your place there in Ephesians five. We're going to Ephesians six next. This is the blessedness of this, the great mystery concerning Christ and his church, which correlates to the temple in today's chapter. And so when we see this, we see a responsibility as well, which we'll carry on in the next section when we look at Ephesians 6. Because when we don't learn this authority, that this gospel truth that is there. See, even in unbelievers who get married, the gospel is there. So they are without excuse when it comes in that day. The gospel is presented and it's so powerful there because God ordained it from the beginning. that this is how it should be, not because, well, this is a good idea. It's not, you know, it's not good that man should be alone. When God said, it's not good for man to be alone, he's making a prophetic statement. This was his plan from before the beginning. He was going to make woman from Adam's side. It doesn't say rib, it's his side. And so he puts him to sleep, does the actual surgery that pulls something from his side, closes him up. with perfect surgery, because he was able to get up like that from spiritual anesthesia. It never does say that Adam woke up, though. Once he got married, he was asleep forever. Like most of us men, right? That's why in the Bible, that's why the women have to call out to their husbands twice, Abraham, Abraham. Or God does, because they're still asleep. That's why he gave us wives, so that men, we could wake up. Yeah. So in that, God is ordained as a blessedness. And so within the marriage, there is a gospel presentation without question. So much so that the gospel must come forth by preaching. It's foolishness to the world, but this is what he has ordained with an exception. With an exception, right? 1 Peter 3, verses one and two says, it says this, likewise wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word, in other words, they're either unbelievers or they're backsliding and not doing their duty as believing husbands. Even if they do not obey the word, they may be one without a word by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct. There's so much of the gospel in that relationship, in that authority submission structure that God has ordained that he might even be saved by God's grace through it. But the gospel witness is there. He'll be brought back from backsliding. Now, the salvation itself is in God's hand. Only God can save. It's not that action or that behavior that saves them. However, the gospel witness is preached, even silently, through that relationship. When it comes to marriage, let's talk about divorce. Now here's a place, I love the English Standard Version. I believe Brother Steve, you read the English Standard Version today. And I love the English Standard Version, but this is one place where the King James Version trumps the English Standard Version. Malachi 2, verse 16. The King James Version says, for the Lord, the God of Israel saith, that he hateth putting away. In other words, he hates divorce. In Hebrew, it says, he senei shelach amar Yehovah Elohi Yisrael. Now, that might mean nothing to you, but the King James is more particular. I would translate it, and the Lord God said, I hate divorce. He hates divorce. The English Standard Version just does not translate it very well. It's just outright dumb. I love the English Standard Version, but it messes up right there. But see, Jesus himself said in Matthew 9, verses three through nine, you don't have to turn there, but they were testing him, they were questioning him, they asked him, they said, is it okay to divorce for any reason? They said to him in verse three, is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause? And he answered, and he says, and if you're a note taker, you wanna write that down and look it up later and make sure I'm saying this right. And so he says, have you not read what he created them from the beginning, male and female? In verse five, he says, therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his life and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Well, therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. And Jesus is saying, well, you know, Malachi chapter two, verse 16 says, don't put her away. And then they said to him, well, then why did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away? And verse 80 said to them, because of your hardness of heart, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. But from the beginning, it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality and marries another commits adultery. See, even in that. quote-unquote allowance, the gospel is preached because when God has ordained this structure of marriage, husband to wife, to show Christ and the church, that in the divorce it shows how sinful we are, that our hearts are hardened to the truth of the gospel apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It still preaches the gospel. Paul himself even adds to it in its scripture. And again, you don't have to turn there. And I believe I got it here somewhere. You don't have to, you yourself don't have to turn there. And I don't have it somewhere. I'm gonna open to it, I guess. Keep your place in Ephesians. Paul himself said, well, in 1 Corinthians 7, verse 10, if you're a note taker, you wanna jot that down. Like I said, you don't have to turn there, but I'll sum it up for you. In 1 Corinthians 10, in verse, excuse me, 1 Corinthians 7, not 1 Corinthians 10. 1 Corinthians 7, in verse 10. I might've said it right three times and then said it wrong four times. But I mean, 1 Corinthians 7 in verse 10, it says, to the married I give this charge, not I, but the Lord. The wife should not separate from her husband. What he's saying is that the Lord already said this, which is recorded in Matthew 19. In verse 11, he says, but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And the husband should not divorce his wife. Verse 12, to the rest I say, I, not the Lord. In other words, the Lord didn't say this, but I'm telling you this. And Paul isn't giving his opinion here. This is still inspired scripture. So now the Lord is giving us something that hasn't happened before because when, Jesus was addressing divorce. He's dressing it to people supposedly that have the scriptures. They are religious Jews who live in Jerusalem or live in Israel and when he addresses their questions to try to trap him, he's addressing people that should know the law and should know the Lord and understand that they have been given the oracles of God in the gospel. But now as the church is spreading and the gospel's given unto Gentiles, there'll be situations where, by God's grace, a wife is saved, or a husband is saved. And now they're with an unbeliever. And God wants peace and joy within that relationship. If they're content to stay with you, that's what Paul is saying here. He says, to the rest I say, I not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. Okay, she's an unbeliever. And I know situations that are like that. And verse 13, if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if unbelieving partner separates in verse 15, let it be so. What does that say? Well, if they wanna go, let them go because it's by God's grace that they would be saved or whether he's going to save them or not. And what is that holiness thing? Does it mean that they're saved just by staying with the believer and that they will see him in heaven? No, they're still unbelievers and still unsaved. The holiness is the gospel. Do you get that? The holiness of the family, even with an unbeliever there, because the gospel is in the marriage relationship, is in that model that that family has a holiness built into the house because the gospel is proclaimed even by the believer that's there, whether the dad or whether it's the mom, so that the children wouldn't be apart from the gospel. And that's where that holiness is. It's not necessarily the sanctification of the individual. It's the holiness of the truth of God. And the truth of God has its holiness as well. And so now that you understand that, Ephesians chapter six, the hardness of the heart is what Jesus said as far as for divorce and it preaches the gospel. Paul brings a blessing that provides that the salvation is by the hand of God. However, the gospel in that relationship that has been ordained from the beginning is that very important, so very important. Because it's the gospel, Christ is the gospel and it's most important. Here, children, Ephesians 6.1, many of our children actually have this memorized. Thank you, parents, for doing that. Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise that it may be well with you and you'll live long upon the earth. Ephesians chapter six, verses one through three. And here is that blessing. Children, you're given this duty to honor and obey. Now you can obey, but if you go away spitefully and think, I don't want to do that, but I have to do it because they're my parents. Well, that's not honoring, is it? God saw it, even if they didn't. So you honor and obey. But I promise you this, young people, if you do not obey your parents, when it comes to a place where you are a parent, where you're a father or you are a mother, And in fact, let me read this. Fathers, verse four, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Young people, if your parents are doing that, as messed up as they may be, sinners that they are, saved by God's grace and they're making all kinds of mistakes, I promise you that when you become a parent, that your children will not obey you. Because you've broken the gospel model. You're only given to obey and honor, and obey with honor, and honor to obey. So that when you did not do that, that you will have difficulty as a husband with your wife, if you were disobedient as a child. If you did not honor your father and mother as a husband, you will have difficulty in your marriage relationship because you broke the gospel model. It's not because God is digging you, it's just because that discipline did not carry on. But if you're obedient to it, There'll be a promise from it so that when you become a father, men, young men, that your wife will be submissive to you because you've already learned obedience and honor. Young ladies, same thing, that you will not be able to know submissiveness to a husband if you're disobedient to parents. Well, is there an exception to that? Yes. Let me read this on. Well, let me get to this. Is there an exception to that? Yes, there is. Acts chapter four, verse 19. There's only one exception. But Peter and John answered them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge. When it breaks, blemishes, or brings shame to the gospel model and thus dishonors God's glory in Christ. That's the only exception. As a parent, if I tell my child to do something that opposes God's law, that They have a right, yeah, it says this in scripture. Young people, this is why you should read scripture. You can be rebuked, you know, gently rebuked. How do I know this? Because Jesus did it. In John 2, you don't have to turn there, but in John 2, verses one through nine, the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, the first recorded miracle that Jesus did was at a wedding feast, and they ran out of wine. It wasn't Jesus's wedding because the bridegroom was supposed to bring the wine, and his mother came to him. She says, they're out of wine. He says to her, woman, what do I have to do with you? Do you not know that it is not my time? In other words, his marriage is to the church. That's his bride and he'll supply the wine for that. That's why when he initiated the communion at the Lord's table, he says, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. Because the wine that he was providing for there, however, did it cause a problem? He was pointing to her the truth of the gospel. He was not supposed to provide the wine. And then she says, whatever they say, whatever he says, do to the servants, which is the last recorded words of Mary, which are terrific because she had told everyone, the servants, listen to him. And that's what we should do. But what did Jesus do? He turned the water into wine. Though he pointed out the truth of the gospel, He still obeyed his parents. He still honored his mother. He didn't want her to be brought to shame because she came to him, the eldest son. And when does that stop in your life? Well, you know what? I'm on my own. Like in the case of men or women, it says that when you come to your wife or come to your husband, that you leave father and mother. But when is the obligation, just because you're married, now that you are submissive wives to your own husband, or now you're husbands with a responsibility to your wife, does it give you permission to still dishonor your parents? No. Do I have proof? Yes. I have it in the Gospel of John again. You go 17 chapters through the history of the ministry of the Lord Jesus, and he's hanging upon the cross, remember? And he says, woman, behold thy son, as he's hanging there. Look, and you know, he's dying. Then he turns to the disciple who is standing there, which is John. He says, behold your mother. Jesus is the oldest son of his mom. Dad's probably, you know, Joseph is probably gone. and he wants his mother honored and taken care of. And so even on the cross, the Lord Jesus, does the most honorable thing, he makes sure his mother is taken care of. His brothers didn't believe him at that particular time until he was resurrected, James and Jude, Simon and Joseph, we don't know, but James and Jude certainly did, because his two books were penned by their name. But he said, behold your mother, and it says from that day, he took her home and took care of Mary, John, the beloved disciple that wrote that gospel. When does it end? Never. Because it's a model of the gospel. We are children to our Heavenly Father when we are saved. And so that model of the progeny of children coming forth from parents shows the blessed truth of the gospel witness therein. So there are consequences to violating the gospel order. Husbands, if we don't love our wives as Christ loved the church, there will be gospel consequences to it. Will you lose your salvation? No. If you're not saved, you've already lost, you never had it in the first place, but there will be consequences therein. Wives, if you are not submissive to your husbands, your children won't be submissive to you. That's just how it works, because the gospel is that powerful in our lives when we live it out. Ephesians 6, verses 5 through 9, it doesn't just stop there in the family order. It says, bond servants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ, not by way of eye service, in verse 6, or as people pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart, verse 7, rendering service with a good will. as to the Lord and not to man, verse 8, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or free. When I was a bivocational pastor at the last church I pastored down in Alabama, and I worked in this store, same store Lisa worked in, I was security, and I would see these folks at the registers just kind of lounging around or just down. like a bull rusher, a wilted rose, which we had. I had to throw away the roses like this. I thought, oh, they're hanging down. I said, come on, let's put smiles on our faces. Let's act like we're getting paid for this. Oh, wait a minute, we are. But the Christian, when we go to work, God has given us a job, and I get paid for this. And what a joy that it is to be able to do something, to work, to actually work. I was sick for so long on crutches, thinking that when they thought I had Lou Gehrig's disease, now that Lisa's nursed me back to health with a lot of home remedy, I can't even say the word, but concoctions, And I still fall down, and I still have the problems, and I still cut my finger, almost cut my whole hand off, and things like that. But I'm alive, and I can mow the lawn, and I feel so good that I could do it for the Lord. Employees. Oh my goodness. Well, we're not slaves. Well, you're an employee. That's where the bond servant thing comes in. And here's another thing. If you're not doing that at home, you won't do it at work. Or if you're not an obedient employee at work, doing it isn't to the Lord. There'll be problems at home. And we've seen that in families. I've had to counsel it for families. That the areas that we fail mostly is in that responsibility, that stewardship of authority and submission. Think about it, that's the root of the problem in the garden. Adam did not come under the authority of God's command. Don't eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. And that's the root of it. Self-idolatry. Making something more important than Christ. Now the last one, verse 9. Masters do the same to them. Masters do the same to them and stop your threatening knowing that he who is both their master and yours in heaven, and that there is no partiality in him. That is a command unto the most severe employment condition, owners to slaves. So if it exists there, then it must exist in the workplace, bosses to employees, and likewise both. If you're a good boss to your employees, it probably reflects to being a good husband or father or good parent to your child. And likewise, if that's happening at the home, it's going into the workplace. But if there's a schism in either place, because the gospel model is broken. That's how important the gospel is. How do we get empowered to do this? Well, it's in our text, as I've already gone so far. But where do you have to go? This is the words of eternal life. So let me go through this quickly. The will of God in Christ. This is the premise for everything. Well, does God have a permissive will I can kind of do what I want? Because I sinned the other day. And then I asked forgiveness of my sins and I was cleansed. God's will, God doesn't say, well, I'll let that slide. God's will is perfect. Why? Because of the, it starts with a G. What is it young people? Gospel. It's because of the gospel. God has a perfect will because of the gospel. Isaiah 53 verse 10, the first part of it says, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. The Old King James Version says, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. In other words, this is the will of the Lord for Jesus Christ to go to the cross. God's will is always perfect because it's premised, premised, young people, it means that the very foundation of it. The very foundation of it is the truth of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Everything that He does, so His will is always perfect. Does it look like it's perfect to us sometimes? No, that guy sinned. That believer lied. They'll get what God has put in place so that the gospel will be promoted however it works out. Does God have a permissive will? To suggest God would do something He'd rather not is what that says. And worse, it implies a weakness in the Almighty and a flaw in the Perfect One. God is perfect. And so what we see as maybe a permissive will, it's His perfect will to bring about the gospel because He works all things together for good to them that love Him. The truth of Christ and Him crucified is everything. That God became a man. In Jesus Christ, He walked the earth. perfectly to walk the life that you and I can't possibly walk. You went to the cross, paid the perfect sacrifice, suffering God's wrath for sins that you've committed against the holy God when he sinned not, paying a debt he did not owe for a debt that you and I owe and cannot possibly pay. He died as a man, truly and physically, buried three days and three nights and rose again. Before he was buried, he had his side pierced with a spear. His heart punctured in the pericardium, the water and blood coming out. There is the truth of who he is. He rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven with a promise of coming again. and this is the empowerment that we have. So it's not just David telling his son be strong and of good courage and do it, it's... Jesus, through David, telling you and me, be strong and courageous and do it, in the first part. Because we have Ephesians 6.10, which is in your handout, but we've been open to Ephesians. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. I would love to go on to all those others, but I'll just give you one basic truth in the truths of these things. I provided you the words there, strong is the word, chesakh. You don't have to try to pronounce that, chazak. I even spelled it wrong, it should be Z-A-Q, chazak. It means to fasten upon or hence to seize from strong's exhaustive concordance, but it should remind us of John 9, verse four, because in the letters, the letters have meanings as well. It's like the dividing of time when you look out on the horizon and the sun is setting. Jesus said, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. And even before he raised Lazarus from the dead in John 11 verse 9, Jesus answered his disciples, he said, are there not 12 hours in the day? See, dividing the time, seize the day. To be strong is actually to take the truth of the gospel, seize it and make it yours. That's what being strong in the gospel. Jesus is our treasure and our inheritance. We seize it with whatever strength that we have, we possess. And the weakest man, the most handicapped person, The youngest, saved by God's grace, can seize enough of Christ to make Him as strong as heaven itself. To seize. To be courageous. It's the Hebrew word amatz. It means to be alert. And in Strong's Concordance, it says physically on foot. And Ephesians 6, verse 15 provides us an insight for that. It says in verse 15, and as we put on the armor of God, because we fight a spiritual warfare, but it says, and as for shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel peace, the King James Version says, have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel peace. We stand upon the truth of the gospel. So to be courageous is not the bravery that we see in Hollywood movies. Bravery, spiritually speaking, is seizing the truth of our inheritance in Christ that the gospel is mine, and then standing firmly upon it. Standing firmly upon the truth of the gospel. And therefore, these words in 1 Corinthians 28 will make much more sense to us, because it says, do not be afraid or be dismayed. When we stand upon the truth of the gospel, even the presence of Christ becomes manifest to our minds and our consciousness. Even if it's not, by faith we stand upon it. And though we have no warm, fuzzy feeling, Jesus has made this promise. Do not be afraid or dismayed. Jesus said this to his disciples the night he was betrayed. He said, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. We're promised that as believers. And don't we have that? We see this all around the world. The sin that is so rampant. just everything that there is but Jesus continues he says in the world you will have tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world that's being strong and courageous that's taking the gospel is yours seizing it and standing upon it by faith what a blessed truth to be do not be afraid or dismayed because he's overcome the world that's his strength That though it's going wrong and we do everything that we can to live the gospel in our lives, it's Jesus' job to fix those things. For the Lord, it says in verse 20, for the Lord, even my God is with you. For the Lord God is with you. And we know this, it's quoted in Hebrews chapter 13, verse five. And here's all of Hebrews 13, verse five. It says, keep your life free from the love of money. And we discussed this in Sunday school. Money is just a measurement of value. If anything that you value is equal to or greater than Jesus Christ, it's an idol. So keep yourself from the love of money, which is, as he tells Timothy, the root of all kinds of evil. We need money to buy clothes and eat food and pay rent and whatnot. However, knowing that we need those things, that's fine. But those things don't own us. He says, keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. What do you have? What you have is what you seize, Christ and his gospel. That's being strong. What you have as courage is standing upon the truth of that gospel firmly. Because he says, I shall never leave you nor forsake you. You know how many times that's presented in the scriptures? Deuteronomy 31 verse 8, Joshua chapter 1 verse 5. It's right here in First Chronicles chapter 28 verse 20. It's also in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5. God wants you to know that if he has saved you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. That is something to love. Amen, sister. Something to definitely love. The last thing is and do it. And do it. And now here, this is the blessed thing. And this is often people do the and do it without being strong and courageous. And if you do it too much, you'll become a legalist. But if you stand upon the truth of who Christ is and what he has done, this is the Hebrew word asah. Asah. Young people, say it with me. Asah. It means to do, yeah. It almost sounds like a video game, doesn't it? Asah. Somebody wins a token. It means to do or to make or to execute. And so until, how do we do this? We do it until all the service is finished. Asah is a great word. It says until all the service is finished. He will not leave you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. So that tells us two things. It tells us our responsibility, the things we have to do, but also it tells us that the work will be finished, what God is doing, a sovereign God will bring to pass. And so what we see with this is in James 2, verse 12, the word Esau would come to mind. In the Old King James Version, it's interesting because it actually says in do. It says, speak ye and so do in the Old King James Version. In the English Standard Version, James 2 verse 12 says, it says, so speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. Now we're judged under the law of liberty. In other words, we're saved. So what are we speaking about? Well, Brother John, I'm not called to preach the gospel. I'm not supposed to do what you're doing. Well, what was I just talking about? You don't have to do what I'm doing. If you are saved by God's grace, you are a living gospel just where you are. Are you a husband? Are you a wife? Are you a child? Are you a father, a mother? All those proclaim the gospel. Are you an employee? Are you a boss or an employer? All those proclaim the gospel. And so when they do, when we speak, it's talking about, well, we've made a confession of faith. Romans chapter 10. We are saved and we speak forth from the truth that we have been saved. From the heart, we speak. With exceptions, yes, if somebody is mute or whatever, they certainly are not speaking. Or infants died, Well, infants that are murdered in the womb, obviously they're not speaking and they're sure going to heaven. But as far as this goes, we have a responsibility of our confession to faith unto action in faith. And then Sunday night, we're studying the book of James and we'll end up seeing that the difference from what the world looks at as faith and what biblical faith is about. There is an evidence of it. For it proclaims the gospel first, the first time, and interestingly, Asah is used in Genesis chapter one, verse seven. Because verse six says, and God said, let there be an expanse or a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters from the waters. And then it says, and God made the expanse. The word made is the Hebrew word Asah. It says, vayasa Elohim et Harakia, it's God made this expanse. He did it and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse and it was so. And so he is, by the gospel, allowing us to be made more like Jesus, because Jesus created the heavens and the earth. And he said that he is making us more like Jesus in Romans 8, verse 29. 28 says that he works all things together for good to them that love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. And then those he predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son by those things that he's working. So he's making us more like Jesus. So when we do it, and standing upon the truth of the gospel, seizing the gospel, it's a gospel witness all by itself. And finally, until all the work of the Lord is finished, it tells us in Philippians 1 and verse 6, I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ. God's sovereignty is to bring the gospel to pass in our lives. I'm going to end it with this. I know I've been going for an hour, and hopefully your lunch isn't getting cold. You might not want to eat after the feast that I've given you. My favorite quote from John Bunyan said, That's from his book that he wrote in 1662 called Christian Behavior. And what he's saying is, is that the truth that you've been saved by God's grace, that when we proclaim it to one another, and in this case, proclaiming it to one another in who you are and who God saved you. right where you are, as a young person that is obedient and honorable to parents, or as a husband loving wives, or as a wife submissive to husbands, or an employer to an employee, employee to employer, etc. That gospel truth, that gospel truth spurs our selves on and it spurs others on to live for the truth of the gospel. And my favorite quote from Spurgeon exemplifies the truth of the gospel in this, quote, This is from All of Grace, a book that he had written. Quote, the law of God was more vindicated by the death of Christ that it would have been had all transgressors been sent to hell. For the Son of God to suffer for sin was a more glorious establishment of God than for the whole race to suffer, end quote. The gospel is everything. Christ in him crucified is all we are, and if we just be who we are, do it, then we are proclaiming that which the angels desire to look into. Let's pray. Our most blessed and gracious Father in God, in Jesus' name and for His sake we thank you Lord for the truth that you have given us. We ask, Father, that the message was as long as it was supposed to be, I believe, because of you, Lord, and what you've given us to feed upon. May we be nourished by it. May we be challenged by it. And may we glorify God through the exaltation of Christ in it. In Jesus' name and for his sake we do pray. Amen.