I said last week in my sermon, that there was just too much information to expound the whole passage of Genesis 2. My intent was to point us soley to the Beauty of Jesus Christ without getting us off course with all of the details of the passage. The two that I had in mind was the Man and the Woman. SO I want to use this blog and another= to discuss what the Role of Husband and Wife is. As I said in the sermon, I do believe that God created man and woman to marry. I am not ruling out that God calls some to celebacy. However, I do believe that this calling to singleness is a result of the fall and part of God's sovereign plan. But, it is still God's creative design for man to marry a woman, that is GOOD! (Prov 18:22, Gen 2:18) The differences between male and female are duly noted before the fall. The distinctions between male and female are distinguished as a result of the fall. The distinction in being and role and functions were created as such. The CURSE of the Fall only brought about difficulties in fulfilling these roles. But the roles are there before the Fall. What I want to do is give several Different Functions of Men and show how men should fulfill these functions biblically honoring God and how men fail in the fall to do these roles. What we shall see is that Jesus had to come for our sake to restore our Manhood to a God honoring, biblical manhood. So we’ll see that everything points to Jesus! Men are to Lead/Guide, Teach and Preach Jesus, Protect the family both physically and spiritually, Provide for the family. LEAD/GUIDE: Men are the Leaders of the family! All men are leaders of the family to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not all men are good leaders and not all men are preaching the gospel biblically. If you are a good leader for the family you preach a true biblical Gospel. If you are a bad leader than you preach a false Gospel because you lie about who Christ is. What I mean is that men lead no matter what the family looks like. And if the family doesn’t point rightly to Christ then the family is a lie-not the truth. When men lead badly they lie about who Jesus Christ is. Men, you are a leader in your home over your wife and children no matter what you act like. The question is are you going to be a good leader or a bad leader? Men, we have to lead in our homes. This doesn’t mean that we don’t take input from our wives. In fact, good leadership will. WE should recognize the difference between us and woman/wife and use their abilities to help in making decisions. But when that decision proves to be a bad one- WE TAKE THE ULTIMATE BURDEN! IN fact, you will find that woman don’t want that burden. Even when they say they do, they won’t really take the burden in good leadership because that is not how God made them. ILLUSTRATION: When a football team is faced with 4th and 4 from their the fifty: the QB and the other team members push the coach. GO FOR IT. Come on go for it! SO the coach says- We’re going for it! And the team falls short. The Coach has to bear the responsibility for the fall! WHY? Because of Responsibility! The Coach bears that Responsibility! The Second thing that men need to be and do as the Pastors of the Home is to Teach and Preach Jesus: Men it is our Responsibility to teach and preach Jesus to our families. Ephesians 5: 22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; 26 that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each individual among you also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see to it that she respect her husband. Again Paul connects creation to the order and function of things. The man is to love his wife the way that Christ loves the church his bride! HOW? By sacrificing himself for his wife in order to cleanse her by the washing of water with the word! Men, our roles as men/husbands is to teach our wives scripture. Now, some women might have a better grasp of scripture than their husbands, that is okay but they still need to submit to their husbands teachings. The Husband is the Doctrine setter for the family (unless the husband goes completely against scripture). Men we need to be men of the book. God will enable you as you labor in scripture, to teach and exhort your wife. This is our role! Eph 6: And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Men, we are the primary teachers of the family! Namely with our lives! How you live teaches your wife something about Jesus- it is either true or a lie. And we’ll be responsible before God for how we taught our families! The third thing men need to be and do as Pastors of their home is Protect the woman and family: Now, woman will want to protect the family also, especially children, this is natural. However, Men should be protective of the family both physically and spiritually (especially spiritually). We see this when Adam gives the woman instruction to stay away from the forbidden tree. WHY? Her protection. Now, as soon as sin enters in, notice that Adam no longer felt this great duty to protect. Men, we should not aspire to protect like Abraham or Isaac. We should protect our wife and children from physical and Spiritual harm. If a man and woman are walking down the street and a assailant comes with a weapon, the man should take the responsibility of placing himself between the thug and the woman. Why? This is biblical manhood. Jesus was a great example of this by dying on the cross. We need to follow His example. Men are protectors. Protect from harm, protect from bad doctrine. This means that as men we should be suspect of strangers to the degree that we protect our families. My two year girl, will not let mom kill a bug! The bug is not really dead unless Dad kills it! WHY? because Dad is the protector of the family. (Just a note- my wife is an excellent bug killer) THE FOURTH THING MEN NEED TO BE AND DO AS PASTOR OF THE HOME IS TO PROVIDE: Men are the providers of the home. The main providers by God’s design. For the feminist movement this is implied in the female function to be “Keepers at Home”. However, the scriptures are clear that it is primarily the man’s responsibility to provide for his family! 1 Timothy 5: 8 But if any man does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. This is how God created us. Adam was to cultivate the land- that is what Adam was created to do. Men are cultivators. I am sure that Adam and Eve had daughters, cause that is who their sons married. But we don’t see the women out cultivating the land do we? We don’t see the women out taking care of the animals. You don’t hear about women killing bears and lions protecting sheep. The man was to cultivate the land to take care of the woman. Now, the Curse of the fall made this more difficult, but this was always God’s design. Men are to provide for the families. This means that men should be providers, problem solvers. This is a good man. Manly men, are handy guys, or fighters, or know how to get things done. Men provide. When men provide for their women and children, they show Jesus Christ to be the Great Treasure that He is. When a man doesn’t, he lies and says that God is not generous. This means that a man should do what is necessary to provide for his family. This may mean working two jobs or lots of overtime. It may mean getting less sleep. It may mean giving up something so that he can provide for his family. Duties of Men as Husbands and Fathers: Be personally devoted to God with a Deep Authentic Relationship with God Be the Vision caster for the Family Be the Teacher/Preacher of the Home Be the Lover of your wife and children’s soulBe the Primary Disciplinarian especially when both parents are present Be the Biggest Exhorter/Encourager your family knows Take the incredible Burden of final say in major decisions while not always saying my way or the highway. Be willing to do all that is necessary for your family to stay afloat spiritually and physically. STRONG LEADERSHIP> Women here is a good way for you to encourage your husband in being the man God desires. ENCOURAGE,SUPPORT, HELP your husband be the man God wants him to be! Be careful: more next week! How can you pray for your husband or future husband or dad? What things does your husband do well? Praise him for it! Be thinking ahead to next weeks sermon as to how you can support him? This blog is taken from a sermon series on biblical men and women from last summer. This is a lenghthy blog:) The next one will cover the wives. Until then Jesus is the Supreme treasure, let's enjoy HIM! BE EXCELLENT= I'm out

Psalm 135:3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; celebrate his wonderful name with music.5 I know the greatness of the LORD-- that our Lord is greater than any other god. 6 The LORD does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths 7 He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses. Sensational! What an incredible God I have. “Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you (God).” (1 Kings 8:27) The universe known and unknown is a tiny puddle of spill over from the glorious infinitude of the Majestic God. John 1:1-3 gives an extraordinary glimpse into the creative work of God. “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was face to face with God in perfect pleasurable intimacy. And the Word was very God. He, the Word, was before the beginning in perfect relationship with God. The beginning was of creation, not the word. And all things that came into being (not the Word-for He never came into being, but always existed) came into being by the Word-Jesus! And there is nothing that ever came into being that did not have its beginning in Him the Word.”- What a picture. God the Father in perfect harmony, beautiful intimacy, with His Son, the Word. And the overflowing effect was creation. The creation speaks in finite (although we would think it is infinite in our finite brains) terms of the glory of God. But it screams and shouts of God’s glory and beauty and wisdom and power and majesty. “The Heavens are shouting with all their being of the Beautiful Glory of God. The Skies proclaim the awesome work of God’s hands” (Ps 19:1). The amazing thing is that the creation speaks all languages so that there is no one on this puny planet who has not heard or seen or smelled, or tasted, or touched some creative communicator of God’s glory. Creation is all about God! The creation has its original and final purpose in pointing to the Beauty of God. This means that there is not one thing, not one word, not one meal, not one drink, not one deed, not one object, there is nothing, that is not meant to draw our attention to the Creator of this vast (vast to us- Tiny to Him) universe. This means that we are meant to spend our lives glorifying (show as most glorious) God the Creator by delighting in Him as the most enjoyable being. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says that “whether you are eating or drinking, really, whatever you do-do all for the glory of God!” This is to be our life. Have you ever noticed how much the godly writers of the bible use creation to speak of God? In the Acts the preachers often pointed people to the Christ by pointing to Him as Creator…. 14: 15 and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you in order that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them. 17: 24 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they should seek God… Other authors use creation to point us to Christ and living for Him: Isaiah, James, Jude and many more. Creation exist to declare the glory of God! We exist to declare and enjoy that glory! Everyday of our life, every moment, it should be our joyous work to see God in all of Life and to point others to Him. This is what we do with Genesis 1! Next time it's a clear sky at night, go out and look to the starry sky and sing praises to God or talk to Him and about HIm to others. Next time you are nailing a board at work, deliverying a baby at the hospital, eating a meal, playing golf, fishing= look around and see the work of the fingers of God, and remember that the work points to the fingers and the fingers point to the face of God-JESUS CHRIST!

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