Sermon Title .

The Stewardship of Family

Sermon Text.. Ephesians 5:22 - 6:4
Invocation Scripture. . Gen 2:20-23
Main Idea :

The first and most important

institutions that God created was the
family. There is a clear stewardship
responsibility from God for family.

Objective : To challenge members to realize that they

have a critical responsibility to be good
stewards of their family.

The Stewardship of Family

Ephesians 5:22 - 6:4
Point I :

The Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eph 5:22-24

Point II :

The Reverence. . . . . . . . . . . . Eph 5:25-33

Point III:

The Reward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eph 6:1-4

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The Stewardship of Family

Ephesians 5:22 - 6:4
Slide 1 Blank screen
We began last week a Series of messages that will
take us several months to complete. We are considered
the Biblical Concept of Stewardship. The 1st message
in this series was Stewardship: Foundation for
Christian Living. This was the foundational message
for 6 major considerations about Stewardship.
Slide 2 - slide will fade to black after 20 seconds
1. .
2. The Stewardship of Family
3. The Stewardship of Faith
4. The Stewardship of Talent
5. The Stewardship of Finances
6. The Stewardship of Time
I explained that in each title, I did not include the
word our, or your and this was intentional due to the
clear discoveries revealed from the Bible, explained in
the first sermon.
We considered 3 key points 1st that God was
Creator and therefor owner of everything. We own
nothing. We considered in the 2nd point that God
entrusted to us the incredible privilege of begin
Stewards of all that He owns!! What an amazing thing.
But we pondered the truth that as Human beings
somehow we get confused and begin to think that
because we make things, due to the talents and gifts He

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has given us and do things with His creation, that

somehow, it becomes ours... that gets us into trouble as
we start to fight and bicker with one another. Sort of
like to fleas on a Dog arguing about who owns the dog.
When in reality neither one does, and if theyre not
careful, he will scratch them right off his back!! So we
concluded that only the Owner has rights, the steward
has Responsibility and Accountability! but we ended
the message with the realization that being a Steward
has great Benefit and Reward, in that we get to live in
the Kings house, eat from the Kings table, even out of
the Kings dishes!! So 3 points, containing 4 Principles.
Throughout this whole series, we MUST keep these
4 Principles of Stewardship in mind, but most
importantly, the first, that God is the Creator and
Owner. Nothing will do more to help us understand
the Stewardship of the Christian life more than that one
Principle.
Slide 4 - slide will fade to black after 20 seconds
Well.. Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. It
is the Sunday that we set aside as Southern Baptist, to
reflect on the truth that human Life is precious, that it is
a gift from God, and that we must treasure every human
life. This causes us to stand against the practice of
abortion. So many woman have been lied to and
deceived into taking actions in their life, that we know
now, clearly know, have life-time consequences and
without the clear and unequivocal understanding of
Gods ability to forgive any and all sin! That truth, that

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hope, is more precious to these dear ladies than any of

us can ever fully comprehend.
But the Sanctity of Human life that we celebrate
also reminds us that the terminally ill and the aged are
also precious in Gods sight, and in the same way, we
have no right to act like God and determine that we can
end their life prematurely. Again, beloved, what an
incredible gift, the forgiveness of God, who even in
these cases promises that there is no sin that he can not
will not forgive, that any and every sin which we
confess and repent of He will put as far as the east is
from the west as the Psalmist tells us and as Isaiah says,
he will forget even, that sin!
You may recall, that we began our series on
Stewardship with the book of Genesis. I hope that you
noticed today that in our invocation scripture we are
back in Genesis, to hear from the Lord God of Heaven
that through His Son Jesus Christ, He created the first
and most important institution, the very foundation of
society and culture... the family! Lets read that again
and then we will move to our text in Ephesians today as
we consider the message, The Stewardship of Family
Slide 6
< < < Read: Gen 2:19-24 > > >
Slide will automatically transition to black screen
Slide 8 Now beloved, please note very carefully that
God created Adam and Eve, one man for one woman.
Now.. Tragically, when dealing with the concept of
Family in this day and time we must also deal with this
idea of the redefinition of the family. God did not

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create a woman for a woman nor a man for a man. In

fact, the Bible provides NO, room for this lifestyle and
in every case denounces it in the strongest means
possible.
Slide 10 We see as early as Gen 19:1-11, that mankind
had so pursued the lust of the flesh that he had begun to
practice this behavior, and God, in His loving patience
sent His Angels to confirm this reality before He acted
in judgement. But when their wickedness was
confirmed, His punishment was swift and sure. We
have a similar account in the book of Judges where this
lifestyle is exposed and condemned.
We read in Leviticus 18 and then 20 Gods clear
commandment against this practice.
Slide 10 (Lev 18:22 NASB) 'You shall not lie with a
male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.
(Lev 20:13 NASB) 'If there is a man who lies with
a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them
have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be
put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.
Now beloved, these two verses are not isolated in
their context to just this sin, but include a number of
other sexual sins which God has said are not acceptable.
We continue in the Old Testament in the Books of the
Kings to see that God denounces this life style.
But what about the New Testament... Now some
would try to contend that this was the Old Testament
but the New Testament doesnt deal with this. Well,
that is a lie. Romans 1 is clear on this matter.

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Slide 11
< < < Read: Rom 1:18-32 > > >
This is not the only passage my friends, we also find in
1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy and Jude this sin is among a
list of many others that mankind practices that alienate
us from God. But 1 Corinthians helps us to see that
even if we commit sins that are worthy of death, God
has provided forgiveness and restoration to those who
confess their sin and repent of their sin and turn back to
Him. Look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-12
Slide 13 < < < Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-12 > > >
Now beloved, I am well aware that these teachings
and these truths cut against the grain of the culture in
which we live today, and as was in the day of Lot and
his family and even as was in the day of Paul, who
wrote for us the letters to the Corinthians, these
practices are permeating our culture and touching our
families. In my last pastorate, several families were
directly impacted by this lifestyle, even the family of
one of the former pastors of the church!
When you couple this lifestyle with the ever
growing sin of divorce, of couples choosing to live
together and not making the commitment of marriage,
you can see that the Word of God, the commands of
God, the standard of God, (the one again whom we
learned last week is the Creator and thus Owner, and
thus the one who determines how all things should
operate, especially in terms of His definition of the
Family, the first institution and the most fundamental

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building block of society ) are being violated, denied

and as we noted, in the initial comments, man has come
to think that somehow he is in charge, has usurped
ownership and thus, is trying to say that god is wrong
and he (mankind) somehow knows better today.
Well... My friends... In all the love, but all the
courage and forcefulness that I can muster, I remind us
today that God is Owner and Master and He makes the
rules, it is not our prerogative to second guess Him nor
especially to change His laws, especially when they
come to the study and understanding of the Stewardship
of Family... It is the basic, Husband and Wife
Relationship that makes the family possible, and we are
here today to recognize that this is true, that God in His
sovereign ownership has set forth the pattern and the
plan for family, and we are to be good stewards of this
most precious institution of His design and making.
So with that clarification turn with me today to the
book of Ephesians and let us consider the first part of
the message, the Stewardship of Family.
Slide 15 - slide will fade to black after 20 seconds
< < < Read: Ephesians 5:22-6:4 > > >
Slide 17 - slide will fade to black after 20 seconds
Point I : The Role .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eph 5:22-24
(Eph 5:22-33 NASB) 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

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ought to be to their husbands in everything.

Wow... do you not find it interesting, in a very
tragic sort of way, that everything I am having to deal
with today, seems to be in stark contrast with the worlds
idea and standard. I am being forced to stand here
today and decry, reject and rebuke seemingly
everything that the world today has come to accept,
believe and promote!! I am being forced to be the
enemy of the world if I choose to stand with God!
Do you not see that ALL of these attacks, all of these
things that I am having to stand here and rebuke are
focused around the family.... // HELLO...
If I were Satan and I wanted to destroy what God
had put into place, if I wanted to wreak havoc with
Gods authority, rule and rights... Where would I center
my attack?.... Ill tell you friends. I would focus and
center my attack in every way and any way against the
most important and strategic entity that God created! I
would focus my deception, my attempts to deteriorate,
to question and seed doubt on the Family, for the family
is the first and most fundamental institution of the that
God created! It is the foundation to culture, the
fundamental building block of society and government,
the most critical economic entity from its need to
produce and consume. There is no place where the
emotions, feelings and thoughts in the heart and mind
of mankind run more deeply, where the foundations of
feelings, thoughts and attitudes are formed than in the

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family. And thus.. There is no place that would more

quickly and more effectively and more surely destroy
the work of God than to attack at the point of family.
( Pause )
Do you understand my friend... why we must
begin with the stewardship of the family.
Do you understand why it is SO critical that we not
only KNOW Gods heart and mind on the matter of
Husband and Wife relationship and on parent to child
relationship, but that we can defend with facts and
figures that His way is the absolute Best way and thus
should be the ONLY way?!?!
And what is it then that our text just said?...
(Eph 5:22-23 NASB) 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.
Now I know that this is not a section of scripture
that is popular in this day and time. In fact, there are
some who resent it, some who think its culturally
context, some who accept that it is there but ignore it, as
we do much of scripture, and some who actually truly
embrace it. They receive significant ridicule and
contempt from the public media today.
But may I say to you today, that it doesnt really
matter what we think concerning this passage, or the

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concept that it teaches. It is here in the Holy Bible, the

ultimate source of authority for us. Since we are not the
owners but only the stewards of everything, including
our own life, our marriage and our family, then we
remember that we dont have rights, only responsibility
and accountability to fulfill Gods call and purpose!
I am not focused today as much on the specifics of
the command set forth here as I am regarding the
overall concept presented.
What we see here in this passage is a general
pattern of roles and responsibilities that God has
established. Now, it just so happens that this concept of
roles and responsibilities permeates much of scripture
and in very real and tangible ways affects how we are to
live our lives.
As I read this and think about the introductory
thoughts, my mind races back to last Sundays sermon,
to the truths we are studying on Wednesday night from
Timothy and to the points the Lord gave me for the men
Saturday morning!! I see the threads from those
message, and they intertwine with the events of my
week, and in some cases with events that happened
months ago, or even years ago in my life, I begin to
realize the fact that they are foundation pieces to this
message today!!! They wash over me like a tidal wave
of understanding and realization... I told Penny this
morning... all of these things stick in my brain and
somehow the threads of their truth begin to form a
tapestry of understanding that awaken the very

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10

essence of the Faith that God has given me, so that I

get so excited I can hardly contain it and my hearts
desire is that everyone can feel and perceive and
understand this enormous realization...
And yet, I feel sometimes like the world is just
sitting there not really grasping it... Like that picture of
the farmer and his wife..
Slide 19
(Fold your arms, look blank and dull)
say... Martha... whats he getting so excited about?..
I dunknow Ralph, must be somein he ett this morning
This is what the preacher wrestles with beloved,
how to take hours and sometimes days of research and
reading, of God fleshing those discoverys out in my
mind, and of trying to figure out how, the fewest words
possible, and the most clear illustrations available to
move you to the same depth of feeling, the same
realization of revelation, that will move you to want to
stand with courage, conviction and love against this
avalanche of lies that the world has spawned... To look
into the faces of the young families and who can barely
keep it together with the demands and pressures of
raising children and making aliving where in a society
where the government, the state and the county takes
more than 30 to 60 % of what you earn... to see the
curious eyes of our youth and children when they hear a
message that today, sounds so radical, so in their
minds intolerant, so foreign to everything that their

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11

teachers, government officials, reporters and their

friends are saying....
My heart aches and yearns to reach into your heart
and mind and soul in order to embed these truths and
revelations, so that you can live in accordance with
Gods plan and design, and thus be able to live a full
and meaningful Christian life that He so desires!! And
yet, It is incredible... and I want so badly
I submit to you today that this passage has nothing
to do with mans or a womans worth or value...
nothing to do with their mental or even physical ability
or capacity... This is not about one being better than the
other... this is about God ordained roles that He has
determined and since He is creator and sustainer, has
the right to determine and to dictate.
Think of it like this for a moment. When I was a
FW Police Officer, I had a specific role that was
assigned to me by the City of Fort Worth. With that
role came certain authority, responsibilities and a whole
lot of Accountability!!
So if you came speeding through FW, TX and I
stopped you for speeding, when I came up to your car
and requested your DL and Insurance, you complied.
You didnt comply because I was bigger than you,
smarter than you, more educated than you a man, or
whatever label you want to assign... You complied
because of my role and because of the authority that
was vested in me in the fulfilling of that role.
We have to stop thinking of the dynamics of male -

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female roles or husband and wife roles in the context of

value, because every man woman and child has
ultimate and extreme value to God in that He was
willing to send His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ to deliver us from the bondage and penalty of our
sin! We must think of them in the context of Christian
Stewardship, what is my role and how is it that I can
best fulfill that role, regardless of how I feel about it.
What we really find ourselves faced with is 3 key
questions...
1) Do I believe that God knows best... and if so,
2) Will I obey God and fulfil my role in humble
reverence to Him and... and
3) who will I choose to marry.
Now.. The first question, for many would be easily
answered Yes.... I hope and pray that the 2nd one can
and will be answered in a resounding YES! And the
last question.... Listen to me young ladies... single
ladies... as you are dating, you need to be alert asking
yourself, Is this a man whom I could live under,
knowing that He would do right by me, such that I
could eagerly and delightfully obey God, even in this
seemingly difficult command from the Apostle Paul,
that cuts against the grain of EVERYTHING you have
been taught in this world today.
Now thats a serious question!
So we see here ladies that in this Stewardship of the
Family there is a stewardship of belief, of obedience
and of assessment.

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But would you also consider the truth today beloved

that just as the woman has a role to play so too does the
man, and dont miss this... the children also.
Each of us has a clear and distinct role that God
calls upon us to fulfill, and when we do, life goes as it
should, if we dont... well... we get something much,
much, much less than God desires for us! But hear
me... we can not choose the response of another, only
our own! We also Can Not make the choice for
someone else! We can not change them.... They have
to choose, just like you and I have to choose!
We choose whether to be a good steward of Gods
pattern, plan and purpose, or we choose to pretend that
we are God, and choose our pattern, plan and purpose...
well... actually, the worlds pattern, plan and purpose
with which we have been brainwashed!! ONLY the
truth of Gods Word can reveal to you the TRUTH!
Only God can renew your mind... Rom 12:2 says
...do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that
you may prove what the will of God is, that
which is good and acceptable and perfect.
You see my friends, the Role we are given and our
choice to embrace that role, is the first step in the
Stewardship of Family!!!
So I ask, as I did last week, and as I will each week in
this series... Who is the Owner?

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OK Then... Let us remember

The Owner/Creator is the ONLY one who has
RIGHTS! Stewards have Responsibility and
Accountability
So in the area of family, as stewards we are called to
fulfill the Owners Purpose, and the reality that there
WILL BE an Accounting of how we manage this
PRIVILEGED, RESPONSIBILITY as His stewards....
What will you choose?