All For The Glory Of God - Relationship Goals

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a man, there's never been a king like this.

He is the king of all Kings, the name above all names and That

name is Jesus. Awesome.

Welcome to Real Life Church. Everyone.

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All right. Love it.

I love it. Do you guys know today is a very

big Sunday. We've had a lot of big Sunday's

the past few weeks but today is time change Sunday, how about

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Well if you are new here, this morning, first off, welcome.

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Just for being here this morning, Well, Real Life Church

is a church on Mission and that mission is to see people far

from God, discover their real life and purpose in Jesus

because we truly believe that every soul in this room and

outside this room matters to God and was designed for a specific

purpose to serve him. And so we just want to help

people connect to that to lean into that.

And we're finishing up, a series that has really helped us.

You know, think about our relationships, you know, in

person, but Also spiritually. And so as we conclude our A ship

Gold Series this morning. We're actually going to invite

our first lady. I realized Church up to the

stage and she kind of concludes the series about how we can

further lean into our relationships with each other,

professional personal romantic marriage, whatever might be.

And so, let's give it up for Diane and she makes her way to

the stage. Thanks Brandon will hey. hey, I

did about what God damn it, man. I love that new song and I'm

really excited that we get to sing in.

I'm excited to see that. Maybe there's some faces out

here that I haven't met. There's some faces, I haven't

seen in awhile and so just welcomed.

Like, if you're new with us, if you're returning, if you're our

guest today, we are so excited to be with you.

And so if you hadn't had a chance to jump into our

relationship Series, this is kind of the final week the

ending of this and I'm very excited to be able to speak to

you today. So I don't know about you but

man, God has been moving like his power and his presence in.

Relationships through this series and I know about you, but

there is no better time than time change Sunday to let God

change your relationships, right?

So I'm just, you know, pumped about it.

So this last week God's been challenging me through the last

few weeks to be strengthening my marriage.

Strengthened, my relationship with Sean, and I know many of

you have shared that you've started, you know, like, putting

God back into the center of your marriage adding in time to pray

with each other, maybe adding in time to do other things with

each other that Sean's like, hey, we'll have a baby.

You know, in about nine months here real life church because

this relationship serious when I said he's like, please say that

joke. That's so funny in the sun like

okay, I did Seth it's for you babe but you know, but it

honestly some of you maybe have gotten honest with each other

may be brutally. Honest and come clean about some

things that need to be stripped away, some habits and need to

change for your marriage to thrive.

Maybe some of you are doing the hard work of forgiveness, that

is not an easy Road. Letting go of that, bitterness

and the things that are holding you back in there.

And I've even Talk to some people who say, you know what,

this is really open some conversations that we can kind

of manage our expectations about how we can best serve each other

in our relationships. And so it's been so encouraging

to me to see and just hear feedback about how God is moving

in relationships through this. Because let's be real, like,

relationships are hard, aren't they?

It's it doesn't just magically fall from the sky that you have

this, you know, beautiful god-honoring thing.

Like it takes work and maybe today, you're like, you know

what, I've never been in a healthy relationship.

I don't What that looks like? Or maybe you've never been in a

relationship or you're just looking for that mr.

Or mrs. Right.

And you haven't found them yet, or maybe you did find mr.

Or mrs. Right.

And now you find yourself in the middle of an ugly divorce.

It's just not going the way that you thought it was going to, you

know, I see a lot of people who spend a lot of time looking at

other people's grass too much time, letting comparison steal

their joy and letting what somebody else has take away from

what they have themselves. Maybe you've been in or you're

in an abusive or controlling. This is a painful Topic in time,

maybe you're married, but you've just given up altogether that.

It's even going to work out or that God can use your marriage.

We know globally that like 50% almost 50% of marriages end in

divorce and that doesn't matter if your Christians are not,

doesn't matter if you go to church or not, there's no

difference in those statistics at all which gives us a clue

about, just how hard it is. You can't just apply a sticker

on top of something and oh that's magically going to make

it easy or better. But I think for so, so many of

us, the key that has to kind of flip and especially, you know,

some of us been married a longer time as you have to turn

marriage from something into that.

You just do and remember back to the reason why you said I do in

the first place. Why did God bring you together?

Why are you together and how can you use that to find the purpose

of God in that? And so I believe that God wants

your marriage, your relationship, you to exist, all

for the glory of God. We've been talking about that

over the last few weeks. So the first move, Talked about

Adam and Eve and how God really wants us United together, for

the things of God in our marriage, a couple weeks ago,

Shawn shared through a fusions 5 and the foundation of marriage

and that picture of Christ in the church and how we have that

together to be with God, this the reality is this.

And today we're going to talk about that.

Marriages are hard but marriages, that are based on

ourselves are even harder. So how do you build a

relationship that lasts that's all for the glory of God?

And so we're going to dive in today to the story of A new

testament. Power couple, I'm calling them

for the glory of God to see how we can build our marriage, not

only on ourselves but for God's glory.

So we're going to jump into acts. 18 is where we see a lot

of the story of this couple and we're going to start in verse 1

and it says this, then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth and

there, he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila born in

pontus who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife

Priscilla. They had left Italy, when

Claudius, Caesar deported all Use from Rome, it says Paul

lived and worked with them for. They were tentmakers, just like

he was and every Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to

convince Jews and Greeks alike. So we meet our power couple

here, this is Priscilla and Aquila or Aquila and Priscilla,

they are always named together in scripture.

The order changes all the time which I think is just really

fascinating. But first, it says that they met

Paul in the marketplace, they were tent makers together and

then he lived with them and worked with them.

Now, I don't know what that might have been like, If you can

imagine living with Paul, it's probably a pretty Rowdy time

between by this point in Acts 18, like Paul's been, you know,

Stone and imprison all this kind of stuff.

So like, hey Paul, come stay with us, right?

So during the day, there in the marketplace, their tent making,

they're doing this trade of work together and they were probably

making like linen type tense. It had to be woven for like

awnings or sales or something like that.

And then like all the rest of the time, like, 24/7, they're

ministering together. Like I don't think Paul probably

had pretty clear divisions of like oh work hours are done.

Now, we're going to go into Ministry time.

I guess, just like it's who he was and by Nature, if Paul was

with them doing this, that's who they were two, they were

together United in that. So they're ministering together.

They were growing together in their faith.

They were challenging each other and they were on Mission

together. But it's interesting to look at

the duo of Aquila, and Priscilla in light of that because they

had to be building a relationship that lasted on the

glory of God, to be able to let Paul come and live with them in

that moment. Like and so, it's just really

incredible to see. So the first thing that we see

here is that to build a relationship that lasts, you

have to be matched together for the glory of God.

So Aquila and Priscilla were together, some use this term

equally yoked. You may have heard of or like

match together for the things of God and they were together they

were in Ministry together doing work together, all those things.

So if we think about their timeline, they were persecuted

and deported from Rome for their faith.

So essentially they were refugees for God move to a

different part. Of the world.

And so they're refugees. They have nothing there hanging

out here in Corinth and they meet Paul.

And the first thing there is like, yeah, let this guy come

and move in with us, right? Homeless guy missionary Paul,

who has nothing but the shirt on his back and Jesus, it's like,

okay, yeah, come live with us, come stay with us.

And it's just this simple Act of taking him in and then all of a

sudden they become co-workers and co-laborers, together to the

call in the mission of what God is doing in the world at that

time. And who knows sometimes the will

of God in our life is just that simple.

It's like you know what hey we're Going to take this guy in

because something cool is happening here.

It wasn't just what I want or what's comfortable.

It might not be the best idea to have, you know, missionary Paul,

staying in the dinner, you know, whatever that looked like at

that time, period. But Aquila and Priscilla were on

Mission together saying not just you and me, let our will be done

but the third person in the relationship wasn't Paul.

It was Jesus. They had already invited him

into say whatever you want. Jesus.

We want to be obedient to that. We want to be matched Together

For Your Glory, in our marriage, but it Begs the question.

What do you do when you and your spouse aren't equally yoked or

matched up in that way? When you can't accomplish what

God's calling you to together in this time frame?

And so I want you to look at Second Corinthians 6:14.

2 Corinthians 6:14

This is where this idea of this equally yoked comes from.

It says do not become Partners or the Greek word.

Actually means mismatched with those who do not believe for

what partnership is there between righteousness and

lawlessness or what Fellowship does light have with Darkness.

So Paul's giving the Corinthian Church a warning there basically

to say, hey you don't want to enter a partnership or a

marriage with somebody who doesn't believe in Jesus who

doesn't have Christ at the center and Foundation of

themself. But here's the thing that I've

seen, just because somebody goes to church and calls themself a

Christian doesn't necessarily mean that they are matched with

you, with what God is calling you to do in your life, after 15

years of ministry. I've seen this happen time and

time again, where you have two people who are coming together.

There and it's not always the case.

But sometimes the case where one person is being called of God to

do something. And the other one is not a

believer in there and then they have that hard work of trying to

figure that out, but it's not that they were an unbelieving

spouse. But what's often times more the

case is that they had an unwilling spouse.

So it's not the unbelieving spouse that holds you back from

and what God wants you to do. But it's the unwilling spouse

who's not entered into the call of God in your life.

In that case then it's not you have to both believe, yes.

But you have to both be willing to say yes to the things of God

to be equally matched in yoked up for the glory of God and I

can tell you what this looks like for me.

So when I was 19 years old I surrendered to God.

I had a moment where I was like you know what, I want to use my

life to serve God. I had no idea what that was

going to look like. I had all kinds of ideas.

Obviously God has different plans and past but at that time

that I made that decision, God whatever you want.

I want to be obedient to your call.

I'm going to go where you lead. I was single.

I was not dating, I was not engaged, I was not married.

And so what happened was, then this guy comes along and I'm

like, okay, and so, then he says, you're welcome, then when

I started dating Shaun, there's like what I call this season of

determining like, is this guy? First of all, you know, the

normal dating stuff, you think of you're trying to meet those

criteria. Of course, he's a Christian, you

know, he knows God, he's going to Bible college, but the

question I really have to determine and ask myself and

you're in that period of dating or engaged and thinking does

Does this person's passion for God?

Match? Mine does the way that this

person follows God is that going to match me or even exceed me in

a passion to move forward? Is this person going to

encourage me to follow the call of God on my life?

Are they going to hold me back from the things that I know that

God is calling me to do? Is marrying Sean going to bring

me closer to God? Or is he going to push me

farther away from him in that moment?

Because if this person is not able to help me answer the call

of God in my life, then it Matter if that person is the

nicest most church-going Christian person, you know that

persons not for you because they're not able to match

together with what God is calling you to do.

The sole purpose of dating in that realm is to determined as

our character. Does our passion, does our heart

is our humility to those things aligned with what God is calling

us to do. If the answer to that is, yes,

then we can say, okay, great. This is all for the glory of

God, but if not, there has to be some of those serious

conversations to say. Where are we going?

What are we? Doing with this, you know?

And so Sean and I are both really driven people in

different ways and different Realms sometimes and so when we

were dating and as we entered into marriage, you know I have a

lot of personal goals. A lot of things that are on my

heart, to follow God, to do Big Dreams that he's called me to

and passions, he's giving me that you don't ignore just

because your together he's wired, you passion to you for

certain things. But what happened is when we

entered into this Covenant of marriage, I can easily push

towards those goals, but what had to happen Instead, as I

can't just move myself forward without regard to our united

calling. All of a sudden entering into

that together, I can't just be like, well, God called me to go

live and hunt in Africa, to be a missionary, sorry about your bad

luck. You know, I have to say like God

called us together to reach people for the gospel.

What does that look like with us using our gifts together?

And so, when I married him as a wife and entering into this

Covenant, with Sean, it's this, you know, one of the ways that I

bring glory to God in my personal life, is By putting

myself in a position to help him putting myself in a position to

yield to his leadership in our life to say.

And some of those really big hard decisions.

Hey, I don't necessarily always know a God wants us to do, but

I'm trusting that you were leading and guiding Us in that

way. And as of wife, there is a

submitted part of me that yields to that based on the order that

God has given us. When I said, I do, it's more

than just like a legal contract that I have signed.

It is a covenant to be together matched.

On mission for the glory of God. And so we're United, I yield to

his leadership, and that doesn't change as opportunities or

circumstances or things. Come along.

Our way that desire to be United together in on Mission doesn't

change. Even if our roles change or

different seasons make that different.

So we are not just, you know, believing in God together and

following him and serving him which is great and are good

things. But together were willing for,

as God, speaks to us, to do whatever it is that he calls us

to in whatever. Season that that looks like and

I determined that as we were dating to say if I'm United to

that guy, then my life and my relationship can be all for the

glory of God and decision that you have to make along the way.

So we're going to continue with our friends Aquila and Priscilla

here, it says, in chapter 18, verse 18 through 21.

It says, Paul stayed on in Corinth, for some time, we know

from verse 11, actually the he was there for about 18 months.

It says then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed

for Syria accompanied by And Aquila.

So he loaded those guys up and said, we're continuing on this

missionary journey before he sailed, he had his hair cut off

at Centre a because of a vow, he had taken and they arrived at

Ephesus which is modern-day turkey.

Sometimes, it'll be called the churches in Asia in the Bible.

And it says, that's where Paul left them.

So he left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself, though.

Went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews, and they

asked him to spend more time with them there.

They had questions, they wanted to know more about this Jesus

and he declined. Find.

But as he left, he promise I'll come back.

If it's God's Will, and then he set sail from Ephesus.

Cool, is it, that Paul found so much value in Aquila and

Priscilla and they're passionate Pursuit Of God that he could

say? You know what, we're going to

sail together to go on this missionary journey and I'm going

to leave you here with these people who are eager to learn

about God, who have these questions?

You know, they were begging Paul to stay, please come back to the

synagogue. Tell us more about this.

Jesus, we want to know and he's like, I've got one better, I'm

leaving you this United couple who is excited?

I'm passionate about the things of God, leaving them here

because they were willing to leave everything.

They had to come here just to share the gospel with you, like

there on that missionary journey together with Paul and they

would go on to plant more churches in that area.

There's a whole cluster of churches in the area around

Ephesus. And the next time, Paul writes

back to them, it's cool because it wasn't just that they were in

the synagogue, talking to the Jews.

By that point, they were having a church meeting in their house.

Their synagogue was no longer their place of worship it.

Is Aquila and Priscilla has living room who they once again,

opened up their house to be used by God.

And really, the pattern that you see throughout here is that they

were simply willing to be used. But to build that relationship,

that lasts that's open to whatever God has for you, you

have to be matched for the glory of God.

And so, the second thing that we see this power couple for Jesus

doing is that you have to be passionate about the word of

God. So let's take a look at how

passionate Priscilla and Aquila worry about the word of God as

we continue. Acts 18 24 through 26 is here

says, meanwhile a Jew named a policy, an eloquent speaker.

Who knew the scriptures? Well, had arrived in Ephesus

from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of

the Lord and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic

spirit. And with accuracy, man.

Wouldn't that be a good one? Like who?

She's got this going today? However, we he only knew about

John's baptism, he says. Okay, so catch this when

Priscilla and Aquila heard him boldly preaching.

In the synagogue, only the baptism of John.

They took him aside and what's it say they do.

They took him aside and Explain the way of God more accurately.

This couple was so passionate about the word of God, that they

saw this young bright preacher in the synagogue and they

recognized that he had so much potential but he was missing a

few things. So what they did is they pulled

the preacher aside, right? Can you imagine next week?

Sean's up here preaching and your over like that's not what

it says you know. Come on.

Give me a mean. That's pretty bold to go up into

the synagogue and these people are preaching the word of God.

But they're like, hey, good news.

They pull him aside and they're like, we know the whole story

like we've been hanging out with Paul for the last year and a

half and he hung out with Jesus for three years before that in

the wilderness. Like, we know the whole story of

God is this and the baptism was John was just leading the way

into this incredible work, that Jesus was going to do and now he

rose again like so excited, like they had.

But what I love about this is they weren't just like, oh man,

I got he just, you know, only John what an idiot.

He doesn't even know the whole story of Jesus and he's

preaching the synagogue. Ugh.

Like they pulled him aside, they saw that and you know that I

can't even think of words right now, they saw the potential that

he had and said we want to take this young man and we want to

make him better and as a couple they poured into him to say you

have great potential for the power and the ministry of god,

let's make this even better. So hey, you know, go back up

there and get him and tell him the whole story.

Now, but as a couple's, as relationships as people who

follow God, we have to know the word of God.

Well, enough to encourage people when we hear it, you know, not

being spell. I've been thinking about going

to a cafe. And so the brothers and sisters

in Ephesus, his church was like, Hey, if God's calling you to go,

let's go. Send you out to do this, to

preach the word of God and so they encouraged him to go.

They actually wrote a letter to the Believers there in aquella

asking them to welcome him, like Hey we're sending our guy

appalled as he's coming and so when he arrived there it says he

proved to be of great benefit to those who by God's grace had

believed he this is a palace. He refuted the Jews with

powerful arguments in Like debate using.

What does it say? He used, he used the scriptures,

he explained to them. That Jesus was the Messiah.

How cool is it? That just a little bit later in

the story? We see that them pouring in the

word of God, into this young man.

Now he is going out and because of the fruit of their marriage

and their Ministry together is now reaching people across the

world for the gospel because they cared enough to step in and

show somebody the word of God, the effective and fruitful

Ministry that Apollo's was able to have, was because they poured

into Him and so there's people in your life that God has called

you to pour into in some Seasons.

It is your kids. It's your life group.

It's people that God has put in your path at work.

God has put people in the path of your marriage to reach with

the word of God. And so we have to be passionate

about that word of God. I want you to see one more

person is even really cooler. Eventually God would raise a

policy up as a great leader over all of the church.

So in First Corinthians 1:12 it says this, it says, what I mean

1 Corinthians 1:12

is this One of you says I follow Paul another, I follow a policy

another, I follow cephas or Peter and still another I follow

Christ. So what's happening in this

verse here? Is it Paul's writing a letter to

the Corinthians and he's kind of calling them out because they're

getting really tribal and they're arguing with each other

about which great leader of the church.

You know, that they follow like, which Mega pastors your

favorite, you know, kind of thing that they're doing and

they're arguing about it. But look at the company that a

policy is keeping in this list. He comes from as this young guy

who doesn't even know the word of God and now it's like Paul.

Apollo's, Peter. Jesus, like that's some pretty

significant company to show you that.

He's been a great leader in the early church.

There that Paul is writing that letter and so it's just cool to

see how God is using Aquila and Priscilla to make a difference

in the whole Church of God and the Believers of Corinth have

that pretty impressive list there.

What's truly remarkable also about Aquila and Priscilla is

passionate about the word of God is that says that they were

actually willing to die for it to move forward.

So if we move to Romans 16, 3 through 5, It says this is Paul

again writing to a different Church in Rome, give my

greetings to Priscilla and Aquila my co-workers in the

ministry of Jesus Christ. In fact, they once risked their

lives for me. Now I know that they were good

friends and close to Paul but risking their lives so that he

could live risking their lives so that the gospel could go

forth. He says, I'm thankful for them

and so were all the Gentile churches also.

Give my greetings to the church that meets in their home again,

how far are you willing to risk? Your life risk yourself risk,

your comfort even so that the word of God can go out to others

really of everything. Our marriages our positions, our

professions our families, our possessions, everything, that we

have Really for the glory of God, God's given it to us, to

further the gospel. And so Priscilla, and Aquila are

an awesome example of saying, how can we use what God has

given us to let the word of God? Go out in that way, when we're

together, equally pulling for the things of God in our

marriage. It starts with a passion, for

God's word. And so, excuse me, in the last

thing we see for healthy lasting relationships.

Is this, is that the mission of God Is Bigger Than yourself?

So let's see again what Paul wrote back in his letter to the

Corinthian Church? Which is the church where he

first met Aquila and Priscilla it says in 1619 in First

Corinthians the churches in the province of Asia so that is the

church at Ephesus. Send you greetings Aquila and

Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord and so does the church

that meets at their house? When we first met this couple in

Corinth they were working in living with Paul, he was living

in their home. We follow that timeline again,

they were kicked out of Rome moved to Corinth and they Paul

there, he took them to Ephesus and left them there to plant

churches many churches. And then eventually they ended

up back in Rome. What had kicked them out of Rome

had, you know, that a died and they were able to come back to

Rome. And again in that place they had

a church meeting in their home everywhere.

They went along the way they had opened up a God gave them for

the gospel. We see this passage in Romans 16

3 through 5, again to highlight a different part of it says,

give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila my co-workers in the

ministry of Jesus. In fact, they once Risked their

lives for me, I'm thankful for them and so were all the Gentile

churches. Give my greetings to the church

that meets in their house living on Mission together in this way

for them looked like opening their home to the word of God in

multiple cities, opening their home for the Church of God

across the area and just being in tune and being obedient to

the call of God. It's so much so that I love this

line in there that all the Gentile churches were thankful

for this couple. There are some like theologians

and historians. Ian's that actually proposed

that outside of you know like the work of Paul and Peter and a

few other key people that their willingness to be open and

obedient to God multiplied. The early church far beyond what

it could have been because they were willing to go and willing

to be used for the glory of God. It's incredible.

How God blessed that obedience and their commitment to follow

him. No matter what.

Because, you know, it's really one thing to have that common

denominator of faith. We both believe we both love

God, we go to church, we serve God.

But the reason that God brings us together in marriage is

because he wants us to know him. Sean and I knew and that season

of determining and coming together that we can do more

together for the gospel than we can do a part.

We know that together we can accomplish more for the kingdom

together. We can be a force to fight back

against Darkness together. We could be a power couple for

Jesus one day, right? Like, how cool it would be to

look back and be like, because of your obedience, God has done

great things, that's the heart, and what It doesn't mean is that

you have to have to be on Mission together.

You don't have to have the same gifts, we do not have the same

gifts, we do not have the same personality.

As a matter of fact, even within the mission of God, we have

different passions and things that God has put on our heart

that we can move in the same direction towards does it mean

that we look identical in that way?

And honestly in a lot of ways we couldn't be more opposite in the

way that we communicate, the way that we see things, the way that

we look at the world and really kind of You know, in a side note

I don't need God to give me somebody, that's just like me.

Because what I need is God to give me somebody who's going to

sharpen me in the process of sanctification that God gives us

through a marriage. If you say there's nothing,

that's not painful about sanctification in the Bible,

it's, you know, it's sandpaper rubbing off rough edges, its

iron sharpening iron, it's burning away.

The things that don't need to be there.

It's not for me to be comfortable.

God has given me Shawn so that I can be closer to God and God has

brought us together so that we can be on mission for his glory

in the world. He didn't give me a spouse.

Oh, so I would always feel good, always feel happy or get to the

end of my life and be like, what a fun time we had, you know,

like there's just there's such a bigger picture of what God is

doing behind the scenes in his glory, is more important than my

happiness. That doesn't mean that I'm not

happy doesn't mean that we don't have a lot of fun together and

they God has given us so many blessings.

And we enjoy our life, our they're not fulfilled because we

are but what it means is that the priority of our marriage has

never been on happiness. I don't get to come to the end

of the 15 years from now and say, oh well I'm just not really

happy with you. Because that's not why we're

together. If I'm unhappy with you today,

then I get to talk to you about it.

I don't get to say like, well, I'm unhappy and that's a deal

breaker. Today, the glory of God and the

call of God, on our life is the most important priority of our

marriage. And when that is at the

foundation, then we can be on Mission together a couple of

weeks ago. Shawn walked us through a

fusions 5 is a model of Christ, in church in the marriage, the

foundation. And it starts with verse 21.

It says this in 521, it says in submitting to one Another out of

reverence for Christ and who knows?

Maybe Paul was reflecting back of that wonderful, couple Aquila

and Priscilla that this church would have known to say.

Remember how well they modeled that for us submitting to each

other out of reverence for Christ.

You know, you guys remember when you met and their home and you

saw that because Paul wasn't married, so maybe God gave him a

special couple to be able to instruct about marriage.

But it's interesting that the original Greek word here used

for submitting actually would have been understood as a

military term and it means to put oneself in rank.

Somebody else submitting to one another, but if you're

constantly submitting on one another, in the military,

there's always a head, right? There's always a boss and in

this case it would be Christ. So Sean and I are constantly

trying to under rank each other under the submission of Christ

in that way. And I can be honest with you

today, our culture doesn't like that word submit very much

because I have far too many preferences and my own selfish

ambition. And my own rights that I have to

keep right. Right?

I got to keep up with all that stuff because that's important.

But you don't find that modeled in scripture anywhere that my

rights and my happiness, and my comfort is more important than

what God has called me to do. Because the meaning of the word

submit here, really implied to these Believers, that it was

taking on the mindset of a servant where instead of

expecting others to cater to you and your needs, you get to look

out for and seek to meet their needs.

We've talked about, it's not a 50-50 kind of relationship where

Shawn does his 50%. I do my 50%, this is like a

hundred hundred kind of relationship.

We're 100% of the time. I seek to meet his needs.

I seek to serve him 100% of the time.

I am trying to raise up and Champion the call of God in his

life. One hundred percent of the time,

I'm his cheerleader and greatest Defender when somebody else

isn't 100% of the time, I'm trying to serve him.

Because when I'm really 100% of the time, submitted and yielded

to Jesus, that's just an outpouring and outflowing of my

already submitted self to Christ, and I can model that

submission to shine because he's put him there in my Life.

And it's pretty powerful because we don't see our own rights in

the Bible very much. But we see a really clear model

of how to serve others with the mindset of a servant.

I want you to look in Philippians 2, 1 through 8

because I think that the life of Jesus has given us a pretty

clear recipe for how to follow God in our marriage.

That says, therefore, if you have any encouragement from

being united with Christ that already sounds pretty familiar,

doesn't it? If any comfort from his love?

If any common sharing in the spirit If any tenderness and

compassion than make my joy complete by being like-minded,

having the same love being in one spirit and one mind that

already sounds like a pretty clear recipe for a marriage

relationship, founded on the glory of God, right?

But of course, Jesus goes on, and Paul goes on about Jesus

says do nothing out of selfish ambition, or vain conceit,

rather in humility value, others above yourselves, not looking to

your own Interest. But each of you to the interests

of the others in your, what's it say?

Help me out in your relationships, with one another.

Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

That's it. That sentence right there.

How do you build a marriage that lasts for the glory of God in

your relationship? You have the same mindset of

Jesus. What does it say that he did?

Who being in the very nature? God did not consider equality

with God, something to be used to his own advantage and I'll

stop and pause right there because that's where we The hard

time with the word submit because maybe there's a leader

in Authority, that's taken advantage of that.

And they are in a position Over You for their own selfish,

ambition, and vain conceit. But in my world and the world

got intended for us that leadership, the headship of our

family is Sean who is not leading me out of his own

selfish ambition or vain conceit.

He's leading with the responsibility of Loving Me Like

Jesus and just like he is the head of our family.

Then Christ is the head of our relationship.

We have this headship here in this lordship.

God has created this Order for our good to have this.

And so, can I submit to leadership in my life?

That is seeking for my best good and needs, guess I can in that

way, then we get to seek to serve each other so didn't use

that to his own Advantage. It says, rather he made himself

Nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made

in human likeness and being found in appearance.

As a man, he humbled himself being obedient by becoming

obedient to death, even In the death on a cross.

Me. And if we started with that at

the foundation of our marriages, I think we would be a lot closer

to everything being centered on. The glory of God Jesus gave us

the perfect picture of submission showed us exactly in

modeled how to love each other to the fullest.

And we're called to submit to each other, to be equally

matched in purpose and calling to serve over any personal

ambition. And I can tell you that this

recipe E4 relationships is not easy.

This takes work, it can be hard, it can be challenging.

And if it's screwed up, that's okay.

God can fix anything. He can restore anything that he

wants to, and I believe that he can provide healing that today

if that's not where you're at. But the reward for this recipe

is a life well-lived that when you get to the end of your life

or even beyond that into the next life to look back and say

because we were matched and because we were passionate about

the word of God. Because we were on a mission

together. People can say because of the

faithfulness of Sean and Diane man we came to Jesus because you

were obedient to the call of God, we came to your church and

we got saved because of The Obedience of you, your children,

grew up in the Lord and they helped lead me to Christ like

because you were faithful to share the word of God at your

work together. I came to know Jesus that reward

at the end for the life focused on.

Jesus is so much more than what's happening in the here and

right. Right now.

The last time that we see the mention of Aquila and Priscilla

in the scripture, is at the end of 2nd Timothy.

This book would have been written about 15 years after

Paul first methane, and Paul knows that the end of his life

is really near. This is kind of his last goodbye

letter and it's small. It's simple.

And second Timothy 4:19 says, greet, Priscilla and Aquila, and

2 Timothy 4:19

the household of one of citrus. He wanted to say goodbye to the

people. He loved and cared for so much.

What's interesting here though, it actually doesn't me to

mention a church meeting in their home.

This time period and that is probably because after they had

moved back to Rome and how the church in their house, their

there was a great fire in Rome in ad 64.

They actually think that the emperor Nero who was a terrible

and ruthless ruler actually started the fire burned down his

City, just so he could blame the Christians.

So at this point Aquila and Priscilla had probably, again,

lost everything their home, their possessions, the church

meeting in their home. And not only that, they probably

face pretty regular fear and persecution, just being in Rome

under this kind. Of terrible leadership.

But who knows? It does it takes more than

Burning Down the city of Rome. The stop the work and the

ministry of God, because the influence that they had in the

lives of those young preachers in the life of Paul.

In the way that these letters and this influence of the church

was going across that area. It lived on far beyond anything

that they had that they could physically intangibly hold the

fruitfulness of their Ministry lasted through all of that.

And so I can say that I even in the hardest season of your

marriage, maybe your health, Feeling, maybe you have a lot of

unknowns right now, your kids are going off the deep end.

You don't know what to do. You're facing some of the

biggest challenges that you've been in the house is on fire.

Maybe you're being forced to flee for persecution of your

faith, leaving a job, whatever that looks like in the hardest

season, what we get to hold onto is that Jesus is the Cornerstone

of our marriage, whatever circumstances changed he is.

There he is our Rock, he's our foundation, he's the

Cornerstone, he holds it all together.

It says by he binds everything together in Love no weapon that

is held against us can stand because Christ is in us and

Christ is for us. There's nothing we can that can

stop him and so we hold tightly to the Cross.

So today, I just want to leave you with a challenge to have

that imagine that Vision, put your mind forward into the

future to say what if what if our relationship was all for the

glory of God? What if we were matched together

in God's purpose? What if we were so passionate

about the word of God and we're on Mission together so that in

the future people We'll look back and say I'm thankful that

you were together for God because my life was changed.

I know for Sean and I like, what could be, that's the desire.

Why do you come do this every week?

Why do you know, why do you give these things at forgot?

It's like, it doesn't even feel like, giving up for God, it's

not a surrender when the reward is, so great of seeing people

come to know Jesus. I hope that one day to be like

me and what a picture that you guys were matched to the Church

of Christ. You modeled that so well like

people were sent out, churches were built.

Has were made like our heart is to see that happen that even the

world tries to smoke you out and it can't be done.

You can't burn down the house of God because it exists in us.

His glory is to go out for all people.

And our job is to be a reflection of that light for the

glory of God. Let's pray God, I pray that you

would start a fire in our hearts, a Revival in our homes,

through our marriages that, we Stand up today and say, God,

it's not me, it's not myself but it's your glory is a desire of

our hearts today. God and so we just submit

ourselves to you to say that we are all in for the glory of God.

I'd like to talk to a first group of you today.

Maybe that you're struggling for you're hurting our you're

looking into your marriage or into yourself today and saying,

you know what, my marriage is not centered on the glory of

God, I've been about Myself, I've been stressed, I haven't

been focused on you know, who God is or how I can use my life

to mean more for him. If that's you today and you're

struggling, you're hurting that you you raise your hand, I would

just love to pray for you today. To say, God, I need you at the

center of my marriage. God, I need you to be all in

God. I want my life to be all for

your glory. God, I pray for these people

raising their hands today to say, I want to be all in for the

glory of God today. I to set a Revival in my heart

on fire for you. God help me to see past myself

to see to a bigger vision of who you've called me to be.

Help me to have the mindset of Jesus, in my marriage, the mind

of Christ. And I want to pray for a second

group of people today as we just continue in prayer, maybe you're

saying today, you know what, my foundation for my life isn't

Christ. It's just me it's my anxiety.

It's my fear, it's my pride, it's my worry.

And today, I don't have Jesus in the center of my relationship

because I don't have Jesus in the center of my life.

He's not a part of me. So, maybe today you'd say, you

know what I need Jesus, my marriage is not going to be

healed until I am healed until I'm saved me before.

So maybe today, if that's you, I need Jesus.

If you'd raise your hand, I would love to pray with you.

Today is how you can start that formation.

So, if that's you, I need Jesus today.

Just lift up your hand. I would love to pray with you.

I won't call you. You out.

Just want to pray along with you.

You need Jesus today. Raise your hand and then pray.

This prayer with me in the prayer.

Doesn't save you, but it opens up your heart to God and pray

something like this to say Jesus today.

I wasn't here by accident. I know I've messed up.

I can't do this on my own. I believe you died on the cross

for my sins. God, and I trust you today to

Save Me From Myself, save me from my sins.

So I can walk forward a new life in newness and you God, I trust

in you, trust in your healing. And I just thank you for giving

me life, take my life and use it.

However, you see fit in Jesus name.

Amen. Hey, let's give it up to

everybody who has trusted in Jesus today.

Come on. What a word huh?

That's what I say for you get out here, really?

Really? I don't know.

We don't God. Did this outside relationship

with Jesus? This is the greatest gift I got

right and I encourage you guys in your marriage has to go all

in for Jesus for the glory of God.

Right. I know a lot of you're like oh

man I wish I had that. What they got, whatever.

Hey the grass ain't Greener. Come on somebody, right it is.

Look at what God has given to you, right?

It will be faithful what's in front of you.

So, thank you for sharing the word today.

Come on somebody, give for Diane again.

And That's problem right there. So I would encourage you guys

for the glory of Jesus few today made that decision.

So they mean I'm all in for Christ today.

I'm following him. I would encourage you guys still

us know, we'd love to help you on your journey.

I'm your next steps to follow him and we got a gift for in a

way out. There's a red bat bags, got a

Bible in it, it's got some next steps.

Some resources, most important thing to do though is let us

know. We have the privilege and honor

of partner with you and just pulling the Jesus and we have

all the answers. But if you let us know, let us

celebrate with you and encourage you on your journey of Jesus and

invite you in and say welcome home really to the family of

God. Amen.

And so I would encourage is less know, you can text them on the

screen to RL next. Another thing, that'd be just

amazing this season a couple access for everybody to go into

the Gulf of the glory of Jesus. We got a lot of come by things

coming up, but the first thing is we got baptism coming up on

April 9th, on Easter Sunday and know some of you guys have made

a decision for Jesus. God, just blessed our church.

We reached a lot of new people. People we traditionally baptized

about 10% of her church every year and assume you guys missed

their last opportunity to do this.

We're portable. So we don't do that often.

We do it twice a year and so if you made a decision for Jesus,

you put Jesus in your life. Maybe you have not been baptized

into Jesus. Be baptized before he knew Jesus

were baptized outside the faith. I would encourage you to

consider to get baptized on Easter Sunday.

Now, Easter Sunday is probably the greatest Sunday you can ever

get baptized, come on somebody, right?

It's a picture, which Just did for us on Easter, Jesus had died

and then rose again. And so, when you're baptized the

picture of you dying, your sin of your dead to Yourself Dead to

sin, in your raised to New Life in Christ, Jesus resurrected

from the dead. And so it's just a simple

picture. It's called a Believers baptism

and I would encourage you to let us know maybe of questions.

What baptisms about? Maybe you're not sure it's for

you. Maybe really want to do it as

some of you guys want to last time and missed it and some of

you guys here today, so, just get signed up and we're going to

connect with you, okay? So We step of the way you're not

on your own, you'll just sign up and then just show up that

Sunday. And it's like, what am I doing?

Sorry. Walk through all the process and

cellular big and so for the glory god, we're having a big

celebration of Easter last year. We had about 450 plus people

than Mother's, Day was about 100 more.

So it's just packed. And so we're doing something

very special this Easter. We're going to just take a step

of Faith. We're going to make some extra

room, really for the glory of God to move.

And so we're going to add a third Gathering Especial.

Third gathering on Easter and Mother's Day.

Come also Body because they all know about that you're nervous.

Ha ha ha. I love it.

And here's the realities are space is pretty limited.

We had 57 kids in one of our programs last year in one class

on Easter Sunday now in about you.

But that sounds a little crazy, right?

And so we're doing is making more space for more people and

if you serve on the Dream Team, I would encourage you.

We're not going to ask you to get overloaded.

We're asking those either call real life, home to kind of step

up to the plate on this one. Maybe you call real life home

you come on Sunday. As you're not on the serving

team on our Dream Team, I would encourage you to step in for the

glory of God and to serve on Easter and make a way for more

people to come to our church. And so we're going to have three

identical, Gatherings, we have an amazing Easter egg hunt.

That's going to happen. All three Gatherings, you can

see the thing on the screen with goodie bags and toys and prizes

for people. Invite people and new guests and

stuff like that. But the reality is this, we do

all this because we know it's a great time of year to advise

somebody out who wouldn't normally go to church if you

invite somebody Easter there. Likely to come.

A lot of people don't go to church.

I've got tons of neighbors, don't go to church.

So he talked about coming and so on your seat, I would grab those

cards. You got a pack of five on there

and out invite somebody. I would just invite them, I'll

bring them. There's a big difference because

you bring somebody you're like, hey, I'm saving a seat for you.

Hey, you want to sit with me? Hey, I love to meet you in the

parking lot or, you know, hangout comes with new good

lunch afterwards. I mean, be a part of their life

and their story is start playing those seeds.

We got just under a month and I just know God's do something

really big in our house. The screw you guys weren't even

every single week and what Sons very special this year we

haven't done this really since launch to this tal is rescind

out 20,000 piece mailer across our community.

And so it's going to go from 150 all the way through South to

through all of bailed Oliver a Moroso.

The word of God is going out people to know where existing

and we're here for them and our doors are open to welcome people

and my prayer is that God just brings us people.

That will know Jesus that Sunday.

Amen. And we get to play a part of

that story. And so I would encourage this

next month, we launched into a series that's really going to

lead into some evangelism. And I would encourage this guy,

Leads me and play a part of the story of what God is going to do

and just say all for God's glory.

Amen. Maybe invite somebody over the

next few weeks that needs Jesus and just invited me Easter,

we're going to preach the gospel.

We do that here in this church. We love people knowing Jesus and

so I would encourage you guys last thing.

Really about Easter is to reserve your spot.

We're do a little different this year, we're actually giving out

tickets through Eventbrite and the reason we're doing that is

because we're trying to figure out if we're people are going to

land. Now, our staffing, we're trying

to go. 03 obviously. So how many people may come to

the 8:30 or the ten eleven thirty?

And so it's a free event obviously but it's great for us

to just kind of where people stand.

So I would encourage you get on there, you can use a QR go

online, it's awesome landing page and just let us know.

We're going to go on that. If God leads you to serve, let

us know. Let your team know or like a

person or church or just let us know.

There's lots of emails on it and we're excited.

If you hear from her team and they call you just say, yes,

come on somebody, you say yes blue glory god.

You can do it. I will say this.

Say, thank you for you guys to generosity really to be able to

give a mailer out at that magnitude is because you guys

have given and I don't know about you.

But who is the result of a seeing or maybe a flag in the

community, a sign out, or a mailer and made say they come to

her church because they've had that kind of promotion.

There's a few guys have done so long but so many people come to

our church because they see a flag likely just dry by Sunday

morning. I had a guy that showed up, it

was three years into our launch and he had showed up and said,

hey, I got this mailer from three years ago and I've kept it

on my fridge and it show up to her church.

And so I would encourage you if that played a part of your

story, if you seen Us online or some kind of promotion, when you

give here, that's giving back to those things.

Because so many people don't know, churches exist and they

kind of cut that off. And we're just really praying

for God to have a movement or church and to really see the

glory of God go out. And so when you guys give this

is what you're giving to in this season to make a difference.

So encourage you guys to be faithful their stories to give

as our Usher's come forward, you can give online.

Anytime, you can give any amount to eight four, three, two, one

text in or through the giving boxes, The back or the buckets.

They come to the aisles so I'm going to pray and invite dirty

come up here in a second. He's got a few more things for

you guys to hang tight. We're going to pray for God to

use this. This offering probably come

before you gotta pray. You just use this offering For

Your Glory God, that you just change lives through it.

You gotta pray, you multiply or generosity guy that we give not

out of really out of just the excess guy, but we give out of

want you'll be, we give out of need the weed sacrificially.

Give for the glory of God, that we know that we have to lay our

lives down for the mission to go forward.

And I pray that Be kind of church that the world had to set

the set, the city on fire to try to stop us.

We kind of church. That was so passionate for you.

That people would thank God for us.

Don't people look back to say thank God, that this church was

in this community that lives are changed as cities were changed

because of these people's Faith. So God call us out into The

Fray. Call us into the uncomfortable,

got push us into the future on mission for you.

God, we give the glory for a chicken, do all the glory to

Jesus. And I pray in his name and

everybody said, amen. N.

Man, what an awesome day. Hey, I'm the bearer of good news

and bad news. You guys ready for the good

news? Real life is going on a missions

trip this summer. Back to Bogota Colombia you guys

excited. That's right.

You guys don't know what the bad news is.

There's only a couple spots left.

You guys better hustle up and jump on because we are getting

ready to fill this team up. So immediately after the second

Gathering, if you're interested in any level doll, come hang out

with Diana, she gives you the information on what's going on.

If you can't make the meeting, Eating for some reason, please

call her this week as soon as possible.

So we can get your spot reserved, you do not want to

miss out. If you never been to another

culture to see how God Moves In Another Part Of The World, it

will drastically and radically change your life.

So take this opportunity, the price doesn't get better than

what you're going to get on something like this, in your

hearts and your lives will be changed.

So check out the meeting. Get a hold of Diane.

You guys do not want to miss it. Last thing is this next week.

You're kicking off a new message, series called bring

Pastor. Sean is going to bring the house

down. It really what?

We're Do is we're going to talk about what it's like to tear off

this roof to bring people to the feet of Jesus.

There's people around you every day, whether it's at work school

just throughout life that are hurting their broken and they

need something, they don't know what it is, and God's put you in

their path to deliver the hope of the gospel and their life.

Sean's gonna bring this awesomeness.

The series just to help us be equipped to bring people to the

feet of Jesus. So, don't miss that either.

Next week at 9:30 to 11:00. Hey, as always, there's somebody

up here, if you need to pray, we would love to pray with you for

any reason. And lastly is always remember

whoever finds Jesus discovers real life and purpose.

See you guys next week.