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To Be Like Jesus · Enjoying the Journey

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  In our busy world, family time is frequently
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  neglected. It is vital that we give attention
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  to our families while we can, and it is especially
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  important to give attention to what God says in his
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  word about our homes. For the next few moments, let's join Scott
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  Pauley as we open the scriptures and and find God's message for
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  your family.
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  What should our greatest goal be as followers of Jesus Christ?
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  Now, the answer to that is to be like Jesus.
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  God Almighty is working in every one of us, the Bible says, so that we
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  would be conformed to the image of his Son. He wants every
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  one of his children to look like, to act like,
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  to think like the well-beloved Son, the only
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  begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the last time we studied,
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  we were in Ephesians chapter 5 talking about being filled with the
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  Holy Spirit. And I think there's a beautiful progression of truth here because why
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  did the Holy Spirit come? Well, the Holy Spirit came to lift up Christ.
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  The Holy Spirit came so that Christ would be formed in us.
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  And when the Holy Spirit has his way in our homes, in our families,
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  guess what happens? The Holy Spirit begins to help each one
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  of us become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll know the Holy Spirit is
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  at work in a big way when the Lord starts getting out
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  of you all the things that don't look like Jesus and putting into you all
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  the things that do look like Jesus. Let's pick up in Ephesians
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  chapter 5 where we left off. Verse 21 says, submitting yourselves one
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  to another in the fear of God. And then it begins a very practical
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  section dealing with every person in the home. In verse 22,
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  wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands,
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  as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as
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  Christ is the head of the church, and he is the Savior of the body.
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  Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives
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  be to their own husbands in everything. Then verse 25,
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  husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also
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  loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify
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  and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present
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  it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
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  thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish: so ought men
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  to love their wives, as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife
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  loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth
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  and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church. For we are
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  members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause
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  shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife,
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  and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery,
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  but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let every one
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  of you in particular so love his wife even as himself, and the
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  wife see that she reverence her husband. And then you come to chapter 6,
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  verse 1, and it begins this way: Children, obey your
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  parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and mother, which is
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  the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with thee
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  and thou mayest live long on the earth. So he deals with wives,
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  he deals with husbands, he deals with children. Then he goes on
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  to deal with fathers, with parents' responsibility in
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  chapter 6, verse 4. And you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring
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  them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It's beautiful, isn't it?
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  God has a word for everyone. He has an application for every
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  person. All the parts make the whole. Wives are
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  to submit. That grows out, of course, of a mutual submission But
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  they, for order's sake in the home, submit to the leadership, the headship of the
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  husband. The husband is to love. For the record,
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  wives will submit when husbands love like they ought to love.
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  It's easy to submit to someone who loves you like Jesus loves you. When you
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  know they're full of sacrifice and want your best,
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  well, then it's easy to follow. So wives submit, husbands love,
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  children obey and honor. There's a word of action and a word of attitude
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  there. And then fathers provoke not. That's the, that's the
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  negative side. And the positive side is they bring up. You can't bring your children
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  up when you're always putting them down. So there's a word for everyone.
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  But here's the point I want to bring you to today, and it is this:
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  if you look at the passage in the book of Ephesians,
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  the great emphasis is this, that each
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  one of us is to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. I must tell
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  you, I'm so far from being like Jesus. I want to be more like Christ.
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  When I look in the mirror of God's Word, all too often I see my
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  first father. I see Adam, that old sin nature in me,
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  and too often I do not see the image of Jesus Christ.
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  Oh, Lord Jesus, I want to be more like you, more what I ought
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  to be. You see, each member of the family is called on to follow Christ's
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  example in some way. Every one of us is to represent the
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  Lord in some way in our home. So let me show you what I mean.
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  Wives submit. How do they submit? They submit like
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  Christ submitted to the will of the Father. 1 Peter chapter 3,
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  immediately after talking about Christ's submission and sacrifice,
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  it says, likewise, likewise, you wives,
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  be in subjection to your own husbands. Let me ask you
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  a question. Was Jesus any less God because he submitted to the will
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  of the Heavenly Father? Absolutely not. Co-equal,
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  co-existent, co-eternal. And yet he submitted. Why?
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  For the will of God to be done. When wives submit, that is
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  not them saying that they are less in value. It is them
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  realizing their value and their place in God's
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  great economy in the home. So wives are to submit with the same beautiful,
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  sweet spirit of submission that our Lord Jesus had to the will of
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  the Heavenly Father. And then what about the husband? How's he to love? He's not
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  to love like he wants to love. He's to love as Christ loved
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  the church and gave himself for it. This is Calvary love.
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  It's not a taking love, it's a giving love. Oh, husbands,
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  we're to love like Jesus. Ponder that a moment.
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  Children, how are you to obey? How are you to honor?
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  You're to obey and honor exactly like the Lord Jesus, the perfect Son,
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  honored both his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph here
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  on earth and his heavenly Father. There was perfect obedience.
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  There was perfect honor. His spirit was right in all
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  things. He, he did all things well. This ought
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  to be our goal for every young person to say, I'm not just trying
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  to please my parents. I want to please Jesus. I want to be more like
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  the Lord Jesus Christ. Fathers, how are we to lead? We're to lead
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  like our heavenly Father leads us, like our great Lord and Master guides
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  us with tenderness and with wisdom. Do you see how in every individual
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  there is to be this image formed? What is the image?
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  Not our own image, not the image of someone we admire, but the image of
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  the one we worship, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our greatest desire
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  should be one thing: to be like Jesus. I remember years ago
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  as a young husband and father driving down the road,
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  we were on a road trip somewhere and my wife was asleep. I think we
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  only had Morgan at the time. She was asleep in the back seat,
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  and I was driving along in silence, just pondering the responsibility
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  I had been given. Suddenly, out of nowhere,
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  it hit me. I should have thought about it before. Perhaps I'd heard
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  it before, but it never really dawned on me— the seriousness, the soberness of
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  this. I looked at my wife, and I realized that in the home, according to
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  Ephesians 5, I represent the Savior of the
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  body, the one that is to love and sacrifice. I represent the Lord Jesus.
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  What she knows of Christ's love, she ought to see
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  in me. Then I looked at my daughter and I realized, wait a minute,
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  I've been given the same, the same title that God has for us—
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  Father. He has allowed me to have children and to
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  rear these children for him. What my children grow up knowing of the
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  Heavenly Father, they ought to see reflected in me. And I thought to
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  myself, how on earth can I represent the Lord Jesus in the right
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  way? How on earth can I represent the Heavenly Father in the right way and
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  then This thought came to me only by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
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  Do you see the connection to our last study and today's? As we are
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  filled with the Holy Spirit, we become more like the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we reflect more the character of
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  our Heavenly Father. Oh, ask the Lord God to put
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  more and more of his character and nature in you and to sever
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  from your life anything that would take away from that beauty,
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  anything that would take away from his glory in your home.
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  Let's all agree on one prayer today. Dear Lord, we want to
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  be like Jesus. Peter said we're to follow in his steps. May the Lord help
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  us to do just that this day and every day.
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  For more resources for your marriage and family, visit us
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  at etj.bible and click on the Take the
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  Next Step link where you'll find many Bible resources that
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  will strengthen your marriage and equip you to raise your
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  children in the ways of the Lord. We highly recommend
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  Scott's book, New Testament Marriage. In it, you'll discover timeless
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  biblical principles from the husband and wife team Aquila and
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  Priscilla, and these principles are very applicable
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  to your marriage today. From all of us at
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  Enjoying the Journey, Thanks for listening today, and until next
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  time, we pray that you will enjoy the journey.