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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] On the first. Oh, in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior, waiting for coming day, Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave he arose, with the mighty triumph for his home. He rose up in the morn of glory, and he lives forever in the safe to reign. He arose, he arose, Hallelujah, Christ the Lord. And, uh, Cece, go ahead. 215. This will be the last one this evening, 215. 215, let's go ahead and sing this one now. Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful day, day I will never forget. After I'd wondered in darkness away, Jesus my Savior, I beg. Oh, what a tender, compassionate friend, He met the need of my heart. The shadows are swelling with joy, I'm telling he made all the darkness to come. Heaven came down, and all we had was hope. When at the cross he said, Oh, baby, you are mine. My sins were washed away, and my knife was torn today. Heaven came down, and all we had was hope. Heaven came down, and all we had was hope. Amen. Good singing. Amen. We want to welcome you to the Sunday evening service here at Verity Baptist Church. We're so glad you're with us. I like to think of the Sunday night service as the most exciting service of the week. The Wednesday night service is the most encouraging service of the week, and Sunday nights are the most exciting, I think. If you need a bulletin, raise your hand. One of our ushers can get one for you. If you don't have a bulletin, just put your hand up and we'll get one for you. The verse this week, Joshua 24, 15. And if it seemed evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. That's a great verse there. We like that. If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning, service 1030 a.m. And we had a wonderful service this morning. Well, at least I did, but it was a good service, I think. Praise the Lord for that. And then the Sunday evening service, all you brave souls who came back on Sunday night. There are some things you don't usually announce you're going to preach on. And preaching a sermon about wives submitting is one of those. So it's a testament to your spirituality that you came back. And I praise God for that. Wednesday evening Bible study, 7 p.m. Sowing times. Our main sowing times on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. And then we have additional sowing times on Thursdays and Fridays and Sundays at 2 p.m. So we'd love you to join us for that. We of course are a family-integrated church. Children and infantoids welcome in the service. We don't separate children from their parents for any reason. We do have mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, we are going through a series called Happily Ever After. We're going to get back to our Journey with Jesus series at some time, Lord willing, sometime soon, on Sunday nights. But this Happily Ever After thing has been taken over Sunday mornings and Sunday nights. That's not my plan, but it's just how it's been working out. So we're just doing whatever the Lord leads. But tonight I'm going to finish my sermon from this morning. We dealt with the husbands this morning. Tonight we're going to deal with the wives on the subject of leadership and submission in the home. And then of course if you look at the announcements there, I want to remind you that this coming Sunday, March 13th is Daylight Savings. So don't forget to move your clock forward if you do that. And you're going to lose one of our sleep. So make sure you are not late to church on Sunday. And then there is a funeral service for Ms. Tara Barrett, and that is on Monday, March 14th. That's not this Monday, but next Monday. The service begins at 10 a.m., and the doors open at 10 a.m., and there will be time for viewing. And then the service will begin at 11. The address is there for you at Skyline Funeral Home in San Mateo, California. And I realize it's a little bit of a drive, and it's on a Monday. But if you're able to go, they have invited the church family. Anybody from the church family is welcome to come. And I think it would be good for us to show our support for Ms. Brandi and for her family. So if you can make it, we'd love for you to make it to that. And then of course we have the teen activity coming up on Friday, March 18th. It was supposed to be this Friday. We have to push it back to next Friday. So please make a note of that, Friday, March 18th, 7 p.m. Vision offering, we want you to be thinking about, praying about how the Lord may lead you in regards to that. You should have one of these in your bulletin. And make sure you look at that and pray about this vision offering. We want to continue to support our church plants in Manila, Pampanga, and Bicol. We want to support our missionaries, our evangelists, Matthew Stuckey and his family, and our missionary, Dave Kabuntala. Of course we have the seventh annual Red Hot Preaching Conference coming up in July. But the big thing is we're saving money towards the down payment of a future building. And we want to be ready to take that step if the Lord would allow us, if the Lord would open up the opportunities. So just be thinking about on Sunday, March 27th, you can bring a one-time offering for the vision offering. Or you can make a commitment towards the vision offering for April, May, and June. Or you can do both. You can obviously give online at our website, readybaptist.com. And we're asking the Lord to do something big. I'm asking the Lord, I'm asking you to pray with me that the Lord would allow us to raise $100,000 at this year's vision offering. Last year our church raised, I think it was $82,000, something like that. So it's not too far off, but far enough to... Sometimes it's good to just kind of set a goal that makes you stretch your faith a little bit, you know? And ask God to step in and ask God to do something big. So I'd ask that you pray for us in regards to that. Pray with us. And that you would consider sacrificing and stretching yourself in regards to that nine chapters a day challenge. You can go by and check for your name if you've not done that yet on the clipboard. Next, the orchestra had practice today. Next Sunday, the choir is going to begin to practice for Easter. So practice begins at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 13th. Homeschool group, they've got PE class on Thursday, March 17th. You can check for your name there if you're part of the cleaning crew. Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off. Place them on silent during the service so that they're not a distraction to anybody. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of March. This week we had brother Eli's birthday on March 2nd. And also Miss Denise Anderson had her birthday on March 4th. Little Naomi Noltezco had her birthday yesterday on March 5th. And brother Scott Sweeten has a birthday on March 10th. Miss Casey Taylor has a birthday on March 11th. And my mother, Guineas Jimenez, has a birthday this week on March 12th. Praise the Lord for that. Praise report, money matters. All those things are there for you to look at. And I think that's it for all of the announcements. So we're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of the week. And we'll sing the wonder of it all as we prepare to receive the offering tonight. And let's go ahead and sing it with some power. On the first. There's the wonder of sunset at evening. The wondrous sunrise I see. But the wonder of wonders that trails my soul. Is the wonder that God loves me. The wonder of it all. The wonder of it all. Just to think that God loves me. The wonder of it all. The wonder of it all. Just to think that God loves me. Good. Sing it out on the second. There's the wonder of springtime harvest. The sky, the stars, the sky. But the wonder of wonders that trails my soul. Is the wonder that only be gone. The wonder of it all. The wonder of it all. Just to think that God loves me. The wonder of it all. The wonder of it all. Just to think that God loves me. Good. Sing it out on the last. There's the wonder of God's revelation. The Word who dwelt amongst men. But the wonder of wonders that trails my soul. Is that Jesus is coming again. The wonder of it all. The wonder of it all. Just to think that God loves me. The wonder of it all. The wonder of it all. Just to think that God loves me. Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads. And have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do come to you tonight asking that you bless the offering. Lord, we pray that you bless the gift and the giver. Pray that you'd meet with us as we open up your word and sit in the Bible together again. Lord, we ask that you'd speak to our hearts draw us closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let's open up to 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy chapter number 2. If you need a bow, put your hand up and I'm just going to bring you a Bible. 1 Timothy chapter number 2. If you need a bow, keep your hand up and I'm just going to come by. 1 Timothy 2. We read the entire chapter as our custom. 1 Timothy chapter number 2 beginning in verse number 1. I exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men. For kings and for all that are in authority who may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Who will have all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Who gave himself ransom for all to be testified in due time. Where into I am ordained a preacher and an apostle. I speak the truth in Christ and lie not. A teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. And like men are also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shame face innocence sobriety. Not with voided hair or gold or pearls or costly array. But which becometh women profess in godliness with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed then Eve. And Adam was not deceived but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. Let's pray. Heavenly Father thank you for this evening. God I thank you for your word Lord and for our church. For everyone that's here. I say please give us the tender hearts of the message Lord. I say please be the pastor to strengthen him and fill him with his spirit. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Alright we're there in 2 Timothy chapter number 2. And of course we are going through a series on the subject, the series entitled Happily Ever After. And we're learning about dating and marriage and having children, raising children, the establishment of a Christian home. We've been going through this series the last several weeks. And if you remember we started with a sermon several weeks ago on the subject of the institution of marriage. We just looked at a general, did a general Bible study on the subject of what marriage is and what the Bible teaches about marriage. Then last week we spent both Sunday morning and Sunday evening service on the subject of singles. And I preached two sermons called Are You Ready for Marriage? And we did part 1 and part 2. This morning I began a sermon entitled Leadership and Submission in Marriage. And we're going to, I did part 1 this morning. We're going to do part 2 tonight. And really I focused in on the husbands this morning. We talked about leadership in the home and how the husband is to be the leader. And I'm not going to re-preach that sermon tonight, of course. But I do want to say this. These two sermons go hand in hand. And if you weren't here for this morning's sermon I'd encourage you to go back and listen to it, especially if you're a man. We talked about leadership in the home from the ones that are supposed to be leading, the man we talked about leading from a position of moral authority, leading from a position of personal achievement, leading for the benefit of others. Tonight I'm going to continue this idea but we're going to shift gears a little bit and talk about leadership and submission in marriage and focusing in on the wives. And you're there in 1 Timothy chapter 2. And I'd like you to look down at verse number 9. The Bible says, And like men are also, and Paul says here, And like men are also, because in the verse before that he's referring to men. He says, I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. Talking about the fact that men need to be spiritual, love the Lord, be men that pray. And then he says, And like men are also, meaning that it's not just the husband's job to be spiritual, but the wife should be spiritual as well. And like men are also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shame, faith, and sobriety, not with broidered hair, gold, or pearls, or costly array, but which becometh women professing godliness with good works. Notice verse 11. Let the women, we saw this verse in the morning, Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. You see that word subjection there. It's the same word that we see in other passages that means to submit or submission. This is the biblical teaching in the Bible when it comes to the Christian home, is that the husband is the head of the wife, and the wife is to submit unto her husband. And by the way, this is not just in the home, because context here personally too is within the church. In the church, God has ordained male leadership in all the institutions that God ordained. Whether it's the home, whether it's the church, whether it's government, God has ordained for men to lead. He says that let the women learn in silence with all subjection. I want you to notice here in verse 12, he says, But I suffer not a woman to teach. The word suffer means to allow. We talked about that this morning. He says, I allow not a woman to teach. He says, nor to usurp authority over the man. And against the context here is that if a woman were to stand up behind this pulpit and begin to teach and preach in a crowd like this where there's both males and females, that that would be a usurping of the authority. The word usurp means to illegally or unlawfully take someone's position of power. Paul says, I don't suffer. I don't allow the woman to teach. Nor to usurp authority over the man, he says, but to be in silence. I want you to keep your finger right there in 1 Timothy, and I want you to cross-reference this just by way of introduction to a passage in the book of Revelation. Keep your place there in 1 Timothy chapter 2, and go with me if you would to the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter number 2. The last book in the New Testament should be fairly easy to find, Revelation chapter 2. And I want to highlight this name for you just like I said by way of introduction, this female name that you find in the Bible, and it is a name that has become a byword in the Bible. The word byword is when you take someone's name and that individual was such a terrible person or a terrible individual that their own name took on the definition of that person and their name has become an adjective or a byword for that person. Here's an example, Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold was the name of an actual man, but because that man famously became a traitor, his name has become a byword where someone might refer to someone and say, oh, he's a Benedict Arnold, referring to the fact that they're a traitor. Here's another example, Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot was an actual man who betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ, but his name, people say, oh, that's a Judas, and his name has become a byword. It's a negative thing. It's a negative connotation. Well, we see this in the Bible in regards to a female character, and that name is the name Jezebel. Throughout the Bible, you'll find this name Jezebel, and it's a negative thing. It's a byword. You don't really see, nobody's naming their little baby Jezebel. We just had this beautiful daughter. What did you name her? Jezebel. If that ever happened, you might be like, have you ever read the Bible? Jezebel is not a good name. The word Jezebel, the name Jezebel has become a byword for a negative thing. In Revelation chapter 2 and verse 20, we have the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to these churches in Asia, and he's speaking to these churches in the book of Revelation. It's John's time that he's speaking to these churches that are there physically, literally. And in verse 20, he says, Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee. This is Jesus speaking to the church in Thyatira. He says, because thou sufferest. Now, why don't you say that word, sufferest? Remember, the word suffer means to allow. He says, because thou sufferest. He says, you allow that woman, notice Jezebel. Now, was there a woman whose literal name was Jezebel? Probably not. There was a woman he's referring to here, but he calls her Jezebel because she's personified the same things as the Old Testament character Jezebel has. He says, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel. Now, why don't you see, you see the word sufferest? Remember 1 Timothy 2-12, But I suffer not a woman to teach, but I suffer not a woman to teach. Here we're told, notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess. Notice these words, to teach. So in 1 Timothy, Paul says, I suffer not a woman to teach. In Revelation, God, Jesus is saying, thou sufferest thou woman to teach, and he calls her Jezebel. Why? Because there's a personification here. Who's a Jezebel? What's a Jezebel? A Jezebel is a godless woman, a wicked woman. She's a bossy woman. She's a woman that usurps authority. She's a woman that does not submit to her God-given authority. And I just want you to understand that throughout the Bible, whenever you see these bossy women, these angry, wicked women, they're never highlighted in a positive light. They're referred to as Jezebel. They're given this name of this wicked woman in the Old Testament. So the name Jezebel has become a byword. And this idea of a woman usurping the authority of her God-given spiritual authority of her husband or her father or the man that has been placed over her, it is a wicked thing. And God looks down at that type of woman, and he says, there goes a Jezebel. Thou sufferest thou woman Jezebel, which callest thou a prophet, is to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication and to eat things, sacrifice them to idols. I'd like you to keep your place there in 1 Timothy, if you would, and go with me to the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter number 5. If you start at 1 Timothy and you go backwards, you go past 2 and 1 Thessalonians, past Colossians, Philippians, into the book of Ephesians. Keep your place in 1 Timothy and go backwards past 2 and 1 Thessalonians, Colossians, Philippians, and Ephesians. And let's talk about this idea of submission, the submission of the wife. This morning we talked about the leadership of the husband, and I think I thoroughly beat up on all the guys. So none of these women should walk out of here today saying, Ahish was preaching out, women ain't never say anything about men. Well, I preached for like an hour and 10 minutes at the men this morning, but we don't want the ladies to feel left out. Let's talk about this idea of submission, the submission of the wife. What does it mean? Number 1, and maybe you can write these statements down, let's talk about what it means for a wife to submit. What does that mean according to the Bible? Ephesians 5-22, the Bible says, We saw these verses this morning. I want you to notice that when we talk about submission, the wife submitting to her husband, what does that mean exactly? Submit or to submit means to come under the authority of their husband. That's what the word submit means. You notice the first three letters of the word submit or submission or subjection. It has that word sub meaning to come under, like a submarine would go underwater. Here, the idea is that when a wife submits herself, she's coming under, she's placing herself under the authority of her husband. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, the Savior of the body. Let me just point this out real quickly. It's interesting to me that God, over and over in the Bible, when you see these verses, he says, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, unto your own husbands. You see that and you think to yourself, whose other husband are you going to submit yourself into? The problem is, or the idea is, that today, this sermon, me preaching this sermon was going to get a lot of negative thoughts and maybe emails or whatever. People will hear this sermon and say, I can't believe you're preaching that today. They'll say, you shouldn't preach that wives should submit to their husbands. In fact, you should teach that wives should go out and work. My response to that is, why? So they can go and submit themselves to somebody else's husband? Nothing wrong with a woman going out and submitting herself unto the authority of her male boss, but don't ever tell a woman to submit herself to her husband and that's a terrible thing to teach. No, the Bible says submit yourself unto your own husband. 1 Peter chapter 3, if you would, 1 Peter chapter 3, if you kept your place in 1 Timothy, from 1 Timothy you got 1 Timothy Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter. 1 Timothy Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 3. Let me just teach you this idea of submitting in the Bible. What does it mean? It means to come under the authority of your husband. It means to willingly place yourself under the authority. 1 Peter chapter 3, look at verse 1. 1 Peter 3 and verse 1. Likewise ye wives, notice, be in subjection to your own husbands. Put yourself under the subjection. Bring yourself under the authority. Submit yourself under the authority of your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wife. And again, I'm not preaching about this necessarily, but here it says even if your husband is not saved, you still have to submit yourself to the authority of your husband. Look at verse 5. For after this manner in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves, notice, being in subjection unto their own husbands. So what does it mean to submit? It means to come under the authority. It means to place yourself under the authority. It means that you realize, if you think of the word subject, you think of a kingdom, you might have a king or an emperor, and that king has subjects. What does that mean? It means that there are individuals who are citizens of his realm, and they bring themselves under the authority of that king. They're called subjects because they're under the authority of the king. A wife is to submit herself or to subject herself under the authority of her husband. What does that mean? That means there's one boss in the home. That means there's one head. The Bible says that the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. But no, today, what's being taught today by our modern society is, oh no, there's nobody that leads the home. It's just a 50-50 deal. It's just 50-50. The husband makes half the decisions. The wife makes half the decisions. It's just 50-50. We split the bills, 50-50. We split the decisions, 50-50. No one's in charge of anybody. Nobody's over anyone. No one's under anyone. We're just equal. It's 50-50. Here's the problem with that. That works great until there's a disagreement. So somebody's got to make a decision. So somebody's got to decide and say, well, I think we should do this. Well, I think we should do that. Well, who makes the decision? And today, our society and many of these feminist women, they'll say, oh, no, no, no. I'm not going to submit myself under the authority of some man. No, no. We're equal. We're the same. There's no head of this household. Well, let me tell you something. Something that has no head is dead. And something that has two heads is a monster. And if you say, well, in our marriage, there's two heads. That's why you've got a monster of a marriage. Because when you've got a being with no head, it's dead. And when it's got two heads, it's a freak of nature. God has ordained that someone must be in charge. Someone must take the lead. Someone must be the head. We talked about that this morning. And wives, the Bible says, are to submit. They are to come under the authority. They are to realize that my husband is the God-given leader, and I am going to submit myself, subject myself, come under his, and submit myself to his authority. You say, well, what does that look like exactly? Well, you're there in 1 Peter chapter 3, look at verse 6. We're talking about what it means for a wife to submit. Submit means to come under the authority of their husband. Here's the next point in that idea. Submit means to obey their husbands. You say, well, what does it mean exactly to come under the authority of? Well, here's what it means. It means that you obey him. That when a decision is made and he makes a decision, you obey him. 1 Peter 3, look at verse 6. Even as Sarah, notice, obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters he are, as long as you do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. If you kept your place there in 1 Timothy, go to Titus. If you kept your place in 1 Timothy, right after 1 Timothy, you have 2 Timothy. After 2 Timothy, you have Titus. 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Titus chapter 2. It's interesting to me how women, Christian women and good independent formal Baptist churches, you'll ask them, hey, do you believe in biblical authority? They're like, oh, yeah. Do you believe the husband is the head of the wife? Oh, yeah, my husband's in charge. My husband's the authority. I submit myself under the authority of my husband. And then you ask him, well, do you obey what he says? They're like, well, sure, I don't do that. Let me tell you something. If you're not obeying your husband, you're not submitting yourself under the authority of your husband. If the subject is subject under a king, but they don't do anything the king says, they're not a subject. They're not submitting. Submit means to come under the authority. To come under the authority means to obey, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham. Titus chapter 2, look at verse 5. Titus chapter 2 and verse 5, the Bible says to be discreet. This is a reference to the elder women teaching the younger women. These are the things that the older women are supposed to teach the younger women. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good. Notice, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. What does it mean to submit? It means to come under the authority of. What does it mean to submit? It means that you obey, to be obedient, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. Go to Ephesians chapter 5, if you would. I'd like you to keep your place in 1 Timothy, and I'd like you to keep your place in Ephesians. I'm not sure if I said that to you, I meant to say that. Ephesians chapter 5, keep your place in 1 Timothy and Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 5, wives are to obey. You say, how far does that go? The Bible says that wives should obey their husbands in everything. Ephesians 5, 24, notice the Bible says therefore, Ephesians 5, 24, therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let, is the church obedient to Christ, or is the church supposed to be obedient to Christ in everything? The answer is yes. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in some things. Is that what it says? In most things, is that what it says? In anything that the wife agrees with, is that what it says? So let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. The Bible teaches that a wife is to submit herself, come under the authority, is to obey her husband in everything. In what things? Everything. In every situation, wives are to submit to their own husbands. Go to Colossians, are there any Ephesians? After Ephesians, we have Philippians and then Colossians. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Now let me just say this. Remember this morning I talked about the fact that husbands are to lead, husbands are to make decisions, but husbands would be wise to listen to their wives. Not to listen to them in the sense that they're taking direction, but to get their input. Why? Because God gave you a wife to be your help meet, to help you, to be there to help you and to support you, so you would be wise. Sometimes you'll listen to your wife and you'll say, wow, I didn't think about that. That's a good point. And sometimes you may take the input and make a decision against it anyway, but you would be a wise man to listen to what your wife and her opinion in those things. And let me just say this. When it comes to wives submitting themselves in everything, I believe that. The Bible teaches that. I think that's true. I think that's biblical. And I'll back any man who's having an issue with that, if you come to me and say, is the wife supposed to submit in everything? Yes, the answer is yes. But let me just explain something to you guys. You'd be wise to just leave some things alone. Sometimes, guys, they take this, what the Bible says, and they take this idea a little too far. Well, let me rephrase that. They're not taking it too far because it's their God-given right. But sometimes I look at some guys and I just shake my hand and think to myself, really? You know, when it comes to our home, I'm in charge. I make decisions. We do whatever I say we're going to do. But you know that I could not care less what's in that kitchen. You know that I could not care less how my wife decorates the house. You know that I have no opinion and or care as to how my wife dresses the children. There's some things that I just, you know, you say, well, pastor, isn't it your responsibility? Aren't you in charge? You know, I am in charge, but there's some things that I've just delegated to my wife. And if my wife wants to have certain things in the kitchen, have them in certain places. Look, I don't cook. Whatever she wants to do, I'm fine with it. I've got no problem with it. If my wife wants the couch on that side and wants the table on that side, I don't care. And if I show up, you know, and if I show up back home from a long day of work, from a long day of ministry and dealing with things, and I walk into the door, and the couch used to be here, and the table used to be here, and now the table's there, and now the couch is there, I say, what are you going to do, pastor? I'm going to go sit on the couch. Because I don't care. And some of you guys, you know, you have all these marriage problems, because every little thing's a fight. Every little thing's a issue. Well, why did you? The picture used to be there, and now it's there. Why did you do that? I'm in charge of this homeless God. You're an idiot. Look, you ought to make decisions. You ought to lead. You ought to be strong. But there's some things that just don't matter. And look, this isn't just marriage. This is everything. You know that as a pastor of the church, I run this church, and I run this church, and some people don't like it when I say this, and that's your problem. I run this church as the ruler, as the authority. I make the decisions. But you know what? There's some things that those guys do in that sound room that I just don't care about. There's things that musicians do that I don't know and or care. I show up, and it sounds great. It sounds great to me. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. You realize how stupid it'd be for me to show up and be like, Bless God, I'm the pastor of this church. I don't know how to play no instrument. I don't know anything about music. But bless God, I'm the pastor, and you're going to do it this way. Now, if I did that, should they submit themselves into my authority? Yes, they should, but that would make me a big idiot. Because there's some things as leaders that we just have to realize, you know what? It's running well. Let me delegate that. It doesn't matter. Just let it go. Now, you make decisions, God's going to hold you accountable, and there's things that you've got to decide that are important, that you need to make decisions in. But this idea, the Bible says, hey, you have to make, and listen, you say, well, I don't understand. Look, wife, if you married a husband, and he just wants it done a certain way, he just wants the toothpaste on this side and the toothbrushes on this side, and I don't know why you keep switching them. Everybody knows. My mom always put, if you married that guy, you ought to submit yourself to his authority because you're supposed to obey him and everything. I want the toothbrush on the right, and I want the toothpaste on the left. Bless God, I'm running this show. Well, submit yourself to him, wife. That's what you're supposed to do. But do me a favor. Plug your ears for a second. Let me talk to your husband. You're an idiot. Some things are not worth fighting about. And when it comes to things in the home, when it comes to decoration and things like that that have nothing to do with me and I'm not going to deal with, I'm not cooking, I'm not sewing, I'm not cleaning, I'm not doing any of that. So let your wife do whatever she's going to do. That's my opinion. You can take that or leave that or do whatever you want. Have your messed up marriage if you want. Colossians 3. Wives are to submit themselves unto their own husbands in everything. But husbands would be wise to not just start being a control freak in every little thing either. There's one caveat, though. One biblical caveat. Colossians 3.18. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands. Here's a caveat. As it is fit in the Lord. What does that mean? Here's what it means. That wives should obey their husbands in everything except for when obeying your husband goes outside of the boundaries of what the Lord would have you to do. If your husband asks you to sin, then you are not to obey your husband because the Bible says that we ought to obey God rather than men because there are higher authorities. So look, your husband, is it a sin that your genius of a husband wants a toothpaste on one side of the sink and a toothbrush on the other side? Is that a sin? No, it's not a sin, so you ought to obey him. But when your husband is asking you to do something, it's not fit in the Lord. Your husband's asking you to help him kill his boss or something. You don't have to submit to that. You don't have to obey. Your husband decided he's going to start a side hustle. He's going to start selling crack cocaine. He'd like you to help him. You don't have to submit yourself to the authority of that. That's not fit in the Lord. That's not something God would want you to do. You ought to obey God rather than men. So look, when it comes to areas of life, and I feel like one of these days I'm going to preach a whole series on this because I feel like there's so much misunderstanding. People need to understand just boundaries. Here's a boundary. Wives, do everything your husband tells you to do unless your husband's asking you to sin. That's a boundary. Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands and everything as it is fit in the Lord. When they ask you to go outside of the boundary of what the Lord would have you to do, we ought to obey God rather than men. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Colossians, Philippians, Ephesians, Galatians, 2 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Number one, we're talking about what it means for a wife to submit. It means that she is to come under the authority of her husband. It means that she is to obey her husband. Do you understand this? Sometimes people ask me questions, and the answer is, you know, I look at the wife and I'm like, you're supposed to do everything it tells you to do, and I look at the husband and think to myself, why do you care about that? You're supposed to do everything it tells you to do unless it's a sin, but you really have to just be in control of every little thing? As leaders, sometimes we have to make decisions. We have to delegate things to the people that follow us and allow them to make decisions. The Bible says that a wife is to come under the authority, and a wife is to obey in everything as is been the Lord, unless her husband asks for your sin. Number two, submission, and I'm going to get into some very specific examples here from the Old Testament, but I want to lay this foundation. Submission has no relevance to value. Oftentimes the big problem people have is they'll say, well, if I submit myself to my husband, does that make me less than my husband? I'm less of a human being, or I have less value, or I'm less equal. Here's what you need to understand. Submission has no relevance in regards to value. You say, prove it. 1 Corinthians 11, look at verse three. But I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ. And by the way, let me just say this. Oftentimes, you know, women, they get all angry. I don't want to have to submit to my husband. Well, let me tell you something. There's areas where your husband's supposed to submit, not to you. But you know what? Your husband goes to work, and he's got a boss, and he's supposed to submit to him. The same way you're supposed to submit to your husband or to the Lord, he's supposed to submit himself to his boss as unto the Lord. So every human being has areas in which they have to submit themselves to the God-given authority that God has given them. Here the Bible says, but I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ. And look, I want to make this point, because when it comes to the chain of authority, the head of every man is Christ. You say, as opposed to what? As opposed to the pastor. People get this idea like, oh, okay, you know, the wife submits herself to her husband, the husband submits himself to the pastor. Well, let me tell you something. Every church member ought to submit themselves to the pastor within the realm of ministry. Anything has to do with this church. The Bible says you ought to obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your soul. In regards to this church, what does that mean? That means that if I say, hey, we're going to do soul-winding a certain way, you ought to not criticize that. You ought to submit yourself to it if you're going to be a member of this church. But I don't lord over God's heritage. I don't go to your house and tell your wife, hey, she needs to have dinner ready at this time. I'm not the head of your home. Christ is the head of the man. But I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ. Now, can I help? Can I counsel as a pastor? As a pastor, can I come alongside some men and say, man, stop being such a knucklehead and do it this way? Yeah, I can help you, but the head of every man is Christ. Notice, and the head of the woman is the man. But I want you to notice this. You say, I don't like that. The head of the woman is the man. That means that I'm less than he is or I don't have the same value. Okay, well, how about this? And the head of Christ is God. See, submission has no relevance to value. You say, well, what's the proof? Here's the proof. Jesus, the son, submitted himself unto God the Father. In the same verse where it says that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is the man, it says, and the head of Christ is God in reference to God the Father. Jesus submitted himself to the authority of God the Father. There is an order. There is a chain of authority between males and Christ and between males and females and between Christ and God in the Godhead. There is a chain of authority. Jesus submitted himself under the authority of the Father. Go to John chapter 6. You go backwards. You're there in 1 Corinthians. You're gonna go past Romans, Acts, into the book of John, John chapter 6. John chapter 6. Women will say, well, if I submit myself, then I have less value. Well, did Jesus have less value than God the Father? We believe in the Trinity. What does that mean? That means that there is one God that exists in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And I'm here to tell you something. God the Son is just as much God as God the Father. God the Holy Spirit is just as much God as God the Son and God the Father. They're all equally, eternally God. Not one is any more God than the other. They're all equal in the sense that they're all God, but yet in that equality, in that value, God the Son submitted himself and brought himself in subjection under the authority of God the Father. Did that diminish his value in any way? Not at all. John chapter 6, verse 38. Notice what Jesus said. He said, for I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again the last day. Go to John chapter 8. Look at verse 29. John 8, 29. And he, John 8, 29. This is Jesus speaking. And he that sent me is with me. Notice, the Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Does that diminish Jesus' value? Does that make him any less deity? See, submission has nothing to do with the value of an individual. And the great proof of that is that Jesus, the Son of God, God the Son, submitted himself to the authority of God the Father. He said, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. The Father's will which he hath sent me. He said, this is the Father's will which he hath sent me. He said, and he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Go to Philippians if you would. If you get your place in Ephesians, right after Ephesians you have Philippians. Philippians chapter number 2. Philippians chapter number 2. Philippians 2 and verse 5. See, the Bible teaches that Jesus is equal in deity to God the Father. Philippians 2, 5, Let this wine be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. He did not think it robbery. He was not usurping authority to make himself equal with God. Why is that? Because he was equal with God. Why is that? Because he was God. He was 100% man, 100% God. He came down to this earth, became a man not ceasing to be God, yet as God he submitted himself under the authority of God. God the Son submitted himself under the authority of God the Father. So when we talk about a wife submitting herself to her husband, it does not diminish her value. She has equal value and importance as a human being. Just like Jesus is just as much God as God the Father is, the wife is just as much a valuable human being as the husband. But look, there must be a leader. There must be a leadership structure. Jesus was equal to God the Father. You're there in Philippians, stay there. Let me just read to you from John 5, 18. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Jesus was equal with God, yet he submitted himself. Look, in the position of husband and wife, a wife who is equal in humanity and value to her husband, and yet she chooses to subject herself under the authority of her husband is really the most Christ-like position in that marriage. It's just like Christ submitting himself under the authority of the Father. So I said, number one, what does it mean for a wife to submit? It means that she comes under the authority. What does that mean? It means that she obeys her husband. We talked about the fact that submission has no relevance to value. Let me say this, submission requires humility. That's why you won't submit. You know why you won't submit to your husband? Because of pride. It's pride. Philippians 2, verse 7. Jesus, who is God, 100% God, equally God, the Bible says, See, Jesus humbled himself. What does submission require? It requires humility. It requires that you humble yourself. Go back to Ephesians 5, if you would, Ephesians chapter 5. I'd like you to look at verse 22 again. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands. Ephesians 5, 22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands. Ephesians 5, 22. Wives, I want you to see it. Submit yourselves unto your own husbands. Here's the key phrase. Underline it. Highlight it. Memorize it. As unto the Lord. You say, pastor, you don't understand. My husband's a dirtbag, and I have no respect for him, and he doesn't do this, and he doesn't do that, and I can't submit myself. You know, no woman should ever say those words. You say, why? Here's why. You married him. You chose him! You weren't forced to marry him. You made a decision. You chose him as a partner for life, as a leader for life, and if you chose a dirtbag, then that's who you chose. But you know what the Bible says? The Bible says that you're supposed to submit yourself unto him, not when he earns your respect. Now, should he earn your respect? Yes, he should. We talked about that this morning. I preached a whole sermon on that, so don't come out to me and say, well, you're teaching us to submit ourselves to dirtbags and losers. No, no, look, I talked this morning about the fact that they need to walk in moral authority. They need to earn your respect. All those things, but let me tell you something. If he doesn't do it, if he doesn't earn it, if he's a loser and a dirtbag and he doesn't do any of that, you're supposed to submit yourself because the Bible says you're supposed to submit yourself to him as unto the Lord. And when you rebel against your husband, you're rebelling against the Lord. You say, he doesn't deserve the right for me to submit to him. Okay, let me ask you this question. Does God deserve the right for you to submit to God through your husband and his ass? I can't respect my husband. Can you respect God? I have no love for my husband. Do you love God? I don't think my husband has the best interest in my... Do you believe that God has his best interest for you? Because God says, you submit to me through your husband. So don't ever tell me, well, I can't submit to him until he... Look, he ought to get those things ready and got to get those things done, and we talked about that, and he ought to work on those things. Even if he doesn't, even if it takes him a lifetime to get those things, the Bible says that you are to submit yourselves unto your own husband as unto the Lord. And if you can't respect your husband, you respect the Lord. And if you can't love your husband, you love the Lord. And if you can't submit to your husband, you submit to your husband as unto the Lord. That's what the Bible says. That's what the Bible teaches. Now, guys, you make it easy on your wife. You go back and listen to this morning sermon and apply those things. But whether your husband lady ever does those things, your job is to submit yourself to the Lord, unto the Lord, because the Lord asked. I'd like you to go to the book of Exodus, if you would, Exodus chapter number 4. Genesis, then you have the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 4. This morning, I asked your husbands four questions. I asked them four questions in regards to identifying, how to identify whether you are in charge. Tonight, I'd like to ask those same four questions of you ladies. But flip the question. Apply it to you. This morning, I asked these questions, how to know whether you're in charge. I asked the questions to the husbands. Tonight, I'd like to ask the same questions to you wives, how to know if you're submissive. How do you know if you're submissive? Ladies, you ought to ask yourself, well, you know, I'm supposed to submit myself unto the Lord, and I get all those things. I'm supposed to be obedient. Okay, you've taught those things from the Bible. So here's the question, ma'am, are you submissive? Well, how am I supposed to know that? Well, let me ask you some questions. How do you respond when your husband says no, or when he corrects you? How do you respond? When you say, I think we should do X, Y, and Z, and your husband says no, we're not going to do that. I don't think we should do that. I don't think that's a good idea. Guys, I think you ought to be careful how you word those things. But when it comes to time of decision, because remember, something with no head is dead, and something with two heads is a monster, at some point someone's got to take the lead, make the choice, make the decision. When the husband steps up and he says, no, no, we're not going to do that. When he disagrees with you, or when he corrects you, when he says, no, that's not right. No, that's not what we should do. No, that's not what we should say. No, that's not where we should go. No, that's not what we should drink. No, that's not how we should look at this decision. When your husband corrects you, or when he says no to you, lady, how do you respond? How you respond tells us a lot about your submission. Do you just go crazy every time he says no? Get all angry and upset and stomp and upset? Exodus chapter 4. In Exodus chapter 4 and verse 24 we have a very interesting story. I think one of the most interesting stories in the Bible. It's thrown in the Bible, and it's thrown in without any context. There's no context to the stories. It's kind of thrown in there. And I think God did that because he just wanted to highlight this episode in the life of a great man, a great man of God by the name of Moses. Exodus chapter 4 and verse 24, the Bible says this, And it came to pass by the way in the inn that the Lord met him. Now just to give you the context of what's happening, God has commissioned Moses to go back to Egypt to bring the children of Israel out of bondage. Moses is on his way to Egypt, and while he's traveling there, he comes to an inn, and it came to pass by the way in the inn that the Lord, you see a capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, Lord God, Almighty God, the Lord met him. Met who? Moses. Look at it. And sought to kill him. God met Moses at the inn with the intention to kill Moses. Sought to kill him? The him that was referring to Moses. You say, what in the world? What is this about? Look at verse 25. Then Zipporah, that's Moses' wife, took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet. She's flinging the foreskin. I just want to say that. I thought about making the title of the sermon. And said, surely a bloody husband art thou to me. You say, what's going on here? Here's what's going on. Here's what we can take from the contents. Is that God sent Moses to Egypt to bring the children of Israel. But when God sent Moses, he said, hey Moses, by the way, before you go, I want you to circumcise your son. And the Bible doesn't tell us this. This is just what we gather from the story. Is that Moses went home and said, hey Zipporah, we're on our way. We're going to go, you free the children of Israel? You know what? God wants us to circumcise our son. And she did not agree. She must have thrown a fit about it. She must have got angry about it. She must have got really upset about it. In fact, she must have got so upset about it that Moses decided to obey his wife and not God. And when Moses got to the inn and his son was not yet circumcised, the Lord showed up and sought to kill him. The Lord showed up and he said, Moses, listen, we got to get, we got to understand something here. You need to be more afraid of me than you are your wife. You're going to obey me, Moses. If there's a decision that needs to be made, Moses, whether you're going to obey the Lord or you're going to obey your wife, you're going to obey me or I'm going to kill you, Moses. So Moses goes back home and says, hey Zipporah, we're going to circumcise the boy. She's not happy about it. Verse 25. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he, the Lord, let him, Moses, go. It's almost like God had Moses. You're going to circumcise the son, Moses. You're going to obey me, Moses. And she takes a stone, circumcised the boy, cuts off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet. But she's not happy about it. Surely she's yelling at Moses. Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. Verse 26. So he let him go and she said, A bloody husband thou art because of the circumcision. Here, God forced Moses to force his wife to obey. But I want you to notice how she obeyed. She's angry about it. She's upset about it. She's throwing stuff. You know, it's not a good fight when you're flinging foreskins. It's not a good fight. You say, why do you keep saying that? Because I want to highlight. You say, why do you think God added this story in the Bible? I think to highlight how ridiculous God feels about a woman that won't submit to her husband. Let me explain something to you, ladies. The only time you and the only time your husband will ever truly know whether you are a submissive wife or not is when he makes a decision you don't like. That's it. I mean, if every time your husband makes a decision, you're like, what are we going to do, honey? And he's like, I'm going to do this. And you're like, that's what I would have done. Well, you haven't proven you're submissive. He's doing everything you want. And I hope that most of the time your husband and you are on the same page. I hope most of the time you guys are following the Lord and doing what God tells you to do. And you're in agreement. But let me tell you something. Every once in a while, you're not going to agree. Every once in a while, a decision is going to have to be made. And you may not agree with it. And he may be right or he may be wrong. That's beside the point. The point is this. He's the boss. And how you respond, the fact that you throw stuff every time he says no, the fact that you throw a fit every time he says no, the fact that you get angry and get upset and raise your voice and cause and yell, all those things prove one thing. You're not submissive. Because the only time we know whether you're submissive or not is when a decision needs to be made and it goes against what you think it ought to go. And at that moment, we will truly find out whether you've submitted yourself unto the Lord. Or whether you only submit when he's doing what you want anyway. And let me just help you out with something, ladies. Go to 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel 6. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel 6. Some of you ladies are like, man, this morning's summer is a little better than this. Often, ladies create this false narrative. Over the years, we've counseled so many marriages. My wife and I have counseled so many marriages. And what I've noticed is that wives, they create this false narrative. They'll go to these two extremes. One extreme is, I can't say anything to my husband. He's just a dictator. I can't express anything to him. I just have to silently suffer. And then the other extreme is, I scream and yell and fling foreskins and throw fins and get angry. And they create this false dichotomy that either I suffer quietly for the Lord or I just have to take charge and take control. And they ignore the fact that there's this third option. What's the third option? Where you could, in a meek and quiet spirit, express to your husband your opinion without screaming and yelling and flinging foreskins. You know what's an option, too? You can say, hey, honey. Hey, sweetie. Hey, big guy. I know you're in charge. But I just thought that you should know, I think X, Y, and Z. But whatever decision you make, I'll submit to you. Because you're my husband and I love you. Some of you wives might find that your husband starts listening to you a little more if you quit throwing foreskins at his face. I don't understand why my husband won't listen to me. Because every time he gives, he tells you you're going to do something, you throw something at him. You scream at him and yell at him and try to put him in a headlock. You've got these two extremes. I've got to suffer silently or I've got to throw a fin. Why can't you just speak like a human being? You say, well, I don't know. Okay, how about you pretend you're talking to your boss at work? You're not going to yell at him. You're not going to kick him in the chins. I mean, you have enough respect to speak to your boss at work when he makes decisions you don't like. You may think all these bad things about him. You say, hey, sir, listen, I understand. I don't think we should do that, but it's your choice. Why don't you talk like that to your husband? Why don't you decide that there is actually a third option. It's called the godly option, where you actually just have a meeting with the white spirit. And you express, because you're the help meet, you express your opinion to your husband. But you do it in a respectful and a loving way. And you may find that he starts listening. And maybe he might say, oh, I haven't thought about that. Second salmon, chapter number six. I don't I don't do this. And I don't do this because I don't need to do this. But I heard a pastor advise one time he gave this advice that husbands and I. Let me give this disclaimer, guys. I want to give this disclaimer because you may try this and might not work out for you. And I'm just telling you, I don't do this, but I don't need to do it. That's why I don't do it. But I heard a pastor one time advise that every once in a while you should just say no to your wife for no reason. He's like, you know, every once in a while, just say no, just for no reason. And this is what he said, just to show who is in charge. Some of you guys, you know, maybe you should say no to your wife just to see how she responds. You're not the boss if you can't say no. That's why I guard this very carefully at church as a pastor. I guard this ability, this authority to say no, because the only thing that really makes you the leader is the ability to say no. And if you're just always doing what the people following you want to do, you're not leading. So why? How do you respond when your husband says no? How do you respond when he corrects you? In fact, the next time your husband says no and disagrees with you, you got to look at that as an opportunity. The next time there's a decision to be made and you think something should be done and your husband decides against it, you got to take that as an opportunity to say, I'm going to submit to my husband as unto the Lord. And you got to say, sure thing, honey. And when he, you know, wakes up after fainting, he might be like, I want to take you out for dinner. Can I buy you some flowers? How do you respond? Here's number two. I'm just asking you questions. This is a test on your submissiveness. How do you respond when your husband says no? How do you respond when he corrects you? Number two, does your husband have to be careful around you because of how you may respond? Because there's already been too many foreskins flung at him. Or does he have to walk on eggshells around you? Let me give you an example. Second Samuel chapter six, look at verse 14. Second Samuel six, 14. Second Samuel six, 14. And David danced before the Lord with all his might. Now I don't have time to develop this, but let me just say the Bible nowhere indicates that David has done anything wrong here. He's not at a nightclub dancing. He's dancing before the Lord by himself. There's nothing sensual or worldly about this. He danced before the Lord with all his might and David was girded with a linen ephon. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of a trumpet. And again, I don't have time to develop this, but if you remember, the ark of the covenant had been lost to the Philistines. They had brought it back, but they had not brought it back to Jerusalem or brought it back to the house of God, the tabernacle, excuse me. David is bringing it back, but if you remember, he brought it back in a wrong way. And as a result, a man by the name of Uzzah was killed by the Lord. And now David has gone right with God. They went back and read the Bible and figured out how they're supposed to bring the ark back. And now they're doing it right. They're doing it with God's blessing. And as they're bringing the ark of the Lord back to its proper place, David is rejoicing and he's dancing before the Lord with all his might. Look at verse 16. Well, actually look at verse 15. And so David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of a trumpet. And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michael, Saul's daughter, looked through a window. The question I've got for Michael is why are you looking through a window? Why aren't you at church with David? And Saul, King David, leaping and dancing before the Lord, look at it, and she despised him in her heart. Look at verse 20. Then David returned to bless his household. David walks in and says, honey, I'm home. We had a great day at church today. He returned to bless his household. And Michael, the daughter of Saul, by the way, Saul, in another passage, told us that he married David to Michael, his daughter, to be a snare unto him. This lady already has a bad reputation. And David returned to bless his household. And Michael, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said, notice how she says, remember she despised him in her heart. She looked through a window. She's all envious and angry and irritated. I mean, get the picture. David returned. He's been dancing before the Lord with all his might. He's rejoicing. They've had a great victory. Things are going well. The Bible says when David returned to bless his household, he comes in, he's happy, he's rejoicing. And Michael, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said, how glorious was the king of Israel today who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovered themselves. Look, let me tell you something. No human being wrote the Bible. This is too real to be made up. This is how some of your marriages are. Honey, I'm hungry. Yeah, yeah, let me tell you something. You're saying, oh, amen, a little too much, and that's her man. Does your husband have to be careful around you? Does he have to walk on eggshells because of how you'll respond? If so, if so, you're not submissive. Let me give you a third one. Go to 1 Kings. 1 Kings 21. 1 Kings 21. 1 Kings 21. Here's a third one. Do you boss your husband around? Or does he have to get permission from you? Here's the namesake we started with, started the sermon with. 1 Kings 21, look at verse 4. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased. Now, let me just tell you something. Ahab is a bad guy. He's a dirtbag. He came to his house heavy and displeased. Why was he heavy and displeased? Here's why. Because the word which Naboth, the Jezreelite, had spoken to him. For he said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid them down upon his bed. I mean, just look at this. I just want you to see this. Here's the story. Ahab wants Naboth's vineyard. Why does he want Naboth's vineyard? We don't know. I'm assuming because it's better to dwell in the wilderness than with an angry and contentious wife. I'm assuming that's why he wanted it. But he goes to Naboth and he says, hey, Naboth, I would like to buy your vineyard. And Naboth says, it's not for sale. And he says, how about I give you a better vineyard? And Naboth says, nope, I don't want to sell it. So Ahab goes home. This is how some of you guys go home after work. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because the word which Naboth, the Jezreelite, had spoken to him. For he said, I will not give the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid down. Look at this. Man, this should not be you. And he laid him down upon his bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread. Throwing a little fit. Verse 5. But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said unto him, why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest no bread? Look what she says. Look at verse 6. Then he said unto her, because I spake unto Naboth. I mean, this is the type of guy. I spake to Naboth the Jezreelite and said unto him, give me thy vineyard for money. Or else if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. That's how some men go home and talk to their wives. I asked my boss to give me the vineyard for money. He was mean to me. Verse 7. And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, does thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Look at it. She's rebuking him. And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, does thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat bread and let thine heart be merry. Look what she says. This is a bossy woman. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. You know, here's the thing. Ahab's a little punk. But at least he wasn't willing to cross any lines to get this vineyard. But here we got bossy Jezebel. Leave it. Leave it to me. I'll give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. Look at verse 8. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in the city dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote in the letter saying, Proclaim a fast and sent Naboth on high among the people and sent two men, sons of Belial, before him to bear witness against him saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king and then carry him out and stone him that he may die. Jezebel comes up with this plan where she gets two sons of Belial, which are reprobates, which are the sons of the devil, and she gets them to lie about Naboth and say, We heard him blaspheme God. They stone him and kill him unjustly. And then, we won't take the time to read it, she presents the vineyard of Naboth to Ahab and Ahab just takes it like, Oh, this is so great. When his bossy, conniving wife killed a man unjustly to do it. You know, you said, Well, what should have Ahab done? He should have told his wife no. First of all, he should not have thrown a stinking fit the way he did. Listen, guys, I get it that your wife is your help me and she's supposed to encourage you and all those things and sometimes it's good to speak to your wife about your trials and all those things, the things you're dealing with and I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I don't do that because I definitely talk to my wife about things I'm going through and things that we're dealing with and vent to her and all those things. There's nothing wrong with that. But you better not be throwing a stinking fit like a baby or wife. Your wife's like, You need to get up and act like a man. You crossed a line. I want you to notice this bossy woman, Jezebel. Go to 1 Kings 21, go back to 1 Kings 19. Jezebel was just known as this bossy, angry woman and everyone was afraid of her. I mean, look, even Elijah the great prophet. When Ahab was threatening to kill Elijah the prophet, Elijah didn't care because Ahab's a little pansy. Ahab's like, I'm going to kill Elijah. Elijah's like, So? But when Jezebel threatened Elijah, 1 Kings 19, look at verse 22. Then Jezebel sent the messenger into Elijah saying, Because remember, Elijah crossed a line. He killed 400 of her prophets. 1 Kings 19, 2. Then Jezebel sent the messenger to Elijah saying, So let the gods do to me and more also if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. She said, I'm going to kill you like you killed my prophets. And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life and came to Beersheba, which belonged to Judah, and he left his servants there. But he himself went on his journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree. This is Elijah. This is a great man of God. He came and sat down, and he requested for himself that he might die and said, It is enough now, O Lord. Take away my life, for I am not better than my father's. You see this bossy, angry woman just usurping her authority over her husband, over Naboth, over Elijah. Go to Genesis, Genesis 27. I'm going to say something to you, and you ladies might get offended at this, but I'm an hour into this sermon, I'm pretty sure I've already offended you, so I don't think it makes much of a difference. Let me explain something to you. You know that 90% of the problems that we deal with at Verity Baptist Church? And it's not just a problem with our church, because it's 90% of the problems that are dealt with at any church. But I can tell you it's true at Verity Baptist Church, 90% of the problems that we deal with at this church are bossy women, or their husbands who won't control them. In fact, one day I'm going to preach a sermon called Bossy Women and the Men That Love Them. Because 90% of the problems we have in this church are just a bunch of bossy, loudmouth women, and the husbands that won't stand up to them. The husbands that won't. When I was in the Air Force, when I was in boot camp, we were divided into these, what were called, flights. Our group that we were in was called a flight. And every flight had a flight commander. And the flight commander was one of us, a guy that was in boot camp with us. But they would seek out a guy that maybe had some leadership skills, that kind of stood out as a leader, and they would make him the flight commander. I was not the flight commander when I was in basic training. But I remember that the flight commander would always, as we set up as a flight and we began to march, he would always be in the back, all the way at the right. And he would be the one that would call cadence, and cause us to tent hut, to go, to march, all those things. And he was in charge of the flight. He was one of us, but he was given the position of authority, and he was in charge of the flight. And sometimes we'd be sitting there waiting, or waiting to go into some appointment or whatever, and our flight would be there, and we'd just kind of be at ease. And sometimes, you know, as you get guys together, especially as you get comfortable in boot camp, you know, guys would begin to talk and mess around, and maybe start getting a little rowdy or too loud. And the TIs, the drill instructors, I remember would often walk up to the flight commander, and they would get their face right in his face, and just scream and yell at him and say, Control your flight! Because he was in charge of the flight. And they were getting a little too rowdy, the guys were getting a little too loud, and they would walk up, they wouldn't walk up, they wouldn't say much to us, they'd always go to the leader first, say, Control your flight! And then he'd sit down and say, tent hut! You know, and get everybody to start yelling, make sure everybody's in order. Sometimes I want to walk up to some husbands and just say, Control your wife. Your wife's out of control. And the problem that we find, that I often find at Verity Baptist Church, is that you have these women who have just walked over their husband their whole lives, led their husband on a leash their whole lives, they act like they're submissive, I'm just doing well with my husband. They're like, listen, we all know who runs the show in that house. And they've just been controlling their husband their whole life, and then they show up to Verity Baptist Church, and they think they're going to control Pastor Jimenez. But let me tell you something, sweetheart. You're not my wife! Let me introduce you to a real man. Leg on his hair, hair on his legs and everything. And sometimes women show up to here, and they're like, Well, I'm going to control the pastor just like I control my husband. Well, let me introduce you to a real man. The answer is no. No, you're not going to do that. No, we're not going to say that. No, I am going to call you out when you make wrong decisions, when you do things that are not okay. I'm a leader! Sorry you didn't marry one, but you went to a church with one. And 90% of the problems that we have in church have to do with bossy wives and the men who love them. So here's a question for you, Jezebel. Do you boss your husband around? Does he have to get permission from you? Because if so, you're not submissive. Go to Genesis 27. Genesis 27. We're almost done, I promise. Look, I'm a nice guy. To my wife. My wife and I were recently talking. She said, you know, talking about the fact that she's spiritual, she loves the Lord. She said, you know, obviously I love the Lord and all that, but she said, but you know, you're nice. She was telling me, I feel bad for some of these guys. They're mean to their wives, and I think to myself, Yeah, that's true. And some of these wives are mean to their husbands. Genesis 27. Here's question number four. Do you do things, lady, I'm asking you, checking your submission, do you do things behind your husband's back? Do you make decisions without asking him? Genesis 27, look at verse five. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau. Remember, Isaac spake to his elder son Esau about the fact that he wanted to bless him. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son, and Esau went to the field to hunt for venison and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau, thy brother, saying, Bring me venison and make me savour in me, that I may eat and bless thee before the Lord. And before my death. Now therefore, this is Rebekah speaking to her son Jacob. Now therefore, my son, notice what he says, Obey my voice. She's about to instruct her husband to go against the wishes of her husband and his father. By the way, you say, should he have obeyed his mother? He should obey his mother, but at this point he should have not obeyed his mother because this goes against what the Lord says because he should have obeyed his father. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats, and I will make them savour in me for thy father, such as he loveth, and thou shall bring it to thy father that he may eat and that he may bless thee, Jacob, instead of Esau, before his death. Now notice Jacob asks a very good question. Verse 11. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. I came to him as a deceiver. That's because you are. And I shall bring a curse upon me and not a blessing. Notice what she says. Verse 13. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son. Only obey my voice and go fetch me them. Let me tell you something. If you're making decisions behind your husband's back, not allowing him to make decisions, sneaking around behind his back and doing things he's not aware of, you're not a submissive wife. You're not submitting yourself to the authority of your husband. Here, Rebekah was working with her son Jacob to deceive their God-given authority, her husband and his father. And it was wrong. Go to 1 Peter chapter 3. It's the last place we'll go to. 1 Peter chapter 3. We're talking about the submission of the wife. What does it mean to be submissive? It means that you come under the authority of your husband. Someone has to be in charge. You can't have two heads. That's a monster. You can't have no heads that's dead. Someone has to be the head. Someone has to be in charge. What does that mean? You submit yourself. It means that you obey your husband in everything as it is fit in the Lord. Submission has no relevance to value. It doesn't diminish you as a person. Just like it did not diminish Christ and his deity to submit himself to the authority of the Father. However, it does require humility. It requires humility to say, I realize that God has placed this man under. He is my God-given authority. And I'm going to submit to him as I submit to Christ, to the Lord. Hopefully he'll earn your love and he'll earn your respect. But even if he doesn't, you should have enough love and respect for the Lord to submit to your husband. We talked about how do you know if you're submissive. Well, how do you respond when your husband says no? How do you respond when he corrects you? We talked about how to know whether you're submissive. Does your husband have to be careful around you because of how you may respond or does he have to walk on eggshells around you because of how you may react? Does your husband, do you boss your husband around or does he have to get your permission? Do you do things behind your husband's back or do you make decisions without asking him? In 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 1. And by the way, when it comes to this idea of do you do things behind your husband's back and all those things, you know what the Bible says about the virtuous woman, that her husband doth safely trust in her. He can trust her. She's not lying to him. She's not making decisions without bringing it before him. You know, when it comes to ladies, ladies often focus on beauty and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think it's good for a lady to try to look her best and look nice. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But that should not be your main focus. The Bible says that beauty is vain. In 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 1, the Bible says this, likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands. If any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation. The word conversation means the conduct, the lifestyle of the wives while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning, let it not be of plating the hair, and of wearing of gold, and of putting on of apparel. That's what we normally focus on. That's what maybe worldly ladies focus on. They focus on that outward adorning of plating the hair, and of wearing of gold, and of putting on of apparel. God says in verse 4, For you, he says, but let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible. Notice this. Even the ornament What's an ornament? It's something that ordains you. It's like a piece of jewelry. You say, I like to put on nice jewelry, and I think it's nice for ladies to put on nice jewelry, nice earrings, and those things to try to ordain yourself and try to look nice. There's nothing wrong with that. But here he says, you know what? It should really be the way that you ordain yourself. He said, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is the sight of God of great price. For after this manner, in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God, notice, adorn themselves being in subjection unto their own husbands. You say, I want to look nice for my husband. I hope you do. But you know what will make you truly beautiful to your husband is when you reverently submit yourself as unto the Lord. For after this manner, in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorn themselves being in subjection unto their own husbands. Why don't you decide to put on? I think you ought to, you ladies, I think you ought to get up in the morning and look nice and get dressed and comb your hair and do whatever you got to do. You know, all those things, nothing wrong with that. But don't forget, don't forget, when you're putting your hair and you're putting your makeup on and you're putting your nice clothes on and you're trying to look nice for your husband and trying to look presentable, praise God for that. Praise the Lord for all that. I think the Bible teaches that in Proverbs 31 for the virtuous woman. But don't forget, while you're doing all that, don't forget to put on the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit because that is what will truly help you. Lord, we thank you for these principles in the Bible. And Lord, I pray you'd help us to have marriages where husbands would step up to lead and wives would submit as unto the Lord. And here's what I know. The Bible works. The Bible works in everything. The Bible works in anything. We can truly lead lives that are happily ever after when we enter into the God-given roles that you've given us. I pray you'd help us to learn that. Help us to have that. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. Just don't forget about the nine chapters of the day chart if you've not yet gone by there. And then, of course, we have service on Wednesday night. We'd love for you to join us. We're going to be in 2 Corinthians 8. If you want to read it ahead of time, be ready. And then if we don't see you on Wednesday night, I just want to remind you that next Sunday is Daylight Savings. So make sure you set your clocks back or just be ready to lose an hour. Don't be late to church. Make a point of being here on time for that. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. Song 41. Song 41. Sing it out on the first. There's a land that is fairer than day And by faith we can see it afar For the Father waits over the way To prepare us a dwelling place there In the sweet by and by We shall meet on that beautiful shore In the sweet by and by We shall meet on that beautiful shore We shall see on that beautiful shore The beloved songs of the past And the spirit's song of love Not a sign for the blessing of the past In the sweet by and by We shall meet on that beautiful shore In the sweet by and by We shall meet on that beautiful shore Good, sing it on the last. To our bones and for Father we love We will offer our truth and our praise For the glorious gift of His love And the blessings that allow in our days In the sweet by and by We shall meet on that beautiful shore In the sweet by and by We shall meet on that beautiful shore Amen. Good. Sing it before the leaf. If anybody has questions about salvation, church membership, or baptism, the pastor will be at the door. We would love to talk to you or direct you to someone who is trained to talk to you about that. Brother Johnny, would you close a prayer for us? Thank you Father God. Thank you for your service. Thank you for our church. Thank you for our salvation. Thank you for our pastor. God, help us build our marriages upon the Bible. Father, help us to be good leaders, men, our wives, and our families. Help our wives to be committed to their husbands. And Lord, help us to follow you in all we do. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.