WHAT MALE LEADERSHIP SHOULD LOOK LIKE WITHIN THE FAMILY UNIT

Ephesians 5:22-28 (NASB)

• Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the
• 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
• But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
• Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,  that He might  present  to  Himself  the  church  in all her glory, having no spot or  wrinkle  or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.

MESSAGE GOAL

• This sermon will help people understand what male leadership should look like within the family unit

INTRODUCTION

A man one day was on an airplane next to a fellow traveler.

The fellow traveler began a conversation with the man. The man happened to have his wedding ring on his right hand instead of his left hand. The fellow traveler noticed the wedding ring and asked if he has married. The man said yes. So the fellow traveler asked why he wore his wedding ring on the wrong hand. And the man answered, “Because I married the wrong woman.”

A lot of men feel like they have married the wrong woman, just like Adam who blamed God for the wife He had given him.

Adam said, in essence, The woman You gave me has gotten us into all this mess  (Genesis  3:12). But that’s where the kingdom concept of what it means to be a man and what it means to be a husband comes in. Remember, when God came looking for the couple He had created, God didn’t call for Eve or the couple as a whole, He called for Adam. Why? Because at the heart of God’s kingdom agenda for the husband is bearing responsibility for the family regardless of who is at fault.

Taking ownership as a husband is critical if a man wants to be who God created him to be. God created Adam and instructed him to live life under the divine rule and to lead his family to do the same.

SERMON POINTS

1. MEN, RECOGNIZE THAT GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOU. (EXODUS 34:23)

God called all the men of Israel to present themselves before the Lord three times each year.

God told the men in Israel that if they would submit to His rule, He would protect their land from invaders.

Our culture is in the middle of a crisis of manhood and we’re experiencing God’s curse as a result.

2. HUSBANDS, LEAD YOUR FAMILIES IN SUBMISSION TO GOD’S

(1 Corinthians 11:3)

God’s covenant order places God the Father as the head of Christ, Christ as the head of a man, and man as the head of a woman.

Throughout the Old Testament, God referred to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not as the God of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel.

God always starts with the man because man bears the responsibility of preserving His image and passing on His blessing to the family.

To be kingdom men, husbands must lead their families and operate in submission to God’s rule.

3. WIVES, REMEMBER THAT GOD HAS ESTABLISHED YOUR HUSBAND AS THE HEAD OF YOUR FAMILY. (Ephesians 5:2)

Biblical headship can be defined as governing authority. Husbands have been authorized by their authority, Jesus Christ, who was authorized by His authority,

God the Father, to bear the responsibility for their families.

Headship does NOT allow the husband to abuse or make selfish or arbitrary decisions that don’t benefit his wife and family.

Headship DOES mean that the kingdom husband maximizes the gifts God has given His wife and that he accepts the responsibility for the wellbeing of his marriage and family.

4. HUSBANDS, SACRIFICIALLY LOVE YOUR WIVES AND FAMILIES

Husband as Savior: Just as Jesus Christ sacrificed His life on the cross to save people, the husband should sacrifice his selfish desires for the good of his wife and family (Ephesians 5:25).

God commanded Adam to protect the garden from the Serpent.

Likewise, husbands must protect their families from the schemes of Satan.

Husband as Sanctifier: Husbands must set their wives apart and make them feel unique, special, and one-of-a-kind (Ephesians 5:26).

When kingdom husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church, the family becomes a transforming environment for the wife.

Husband as Satisfier: Husbands must love their wives as much as they love themselves (Ephesians 5:28).

When kingdom husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church, the family becomes a transforming environment for the wife.

When men don’t live as kingdom husbands, their prayers are hindered (1 Peter 3:7).

SERMON ILLUSTRATIONS

A HUSBAND’S   RESPONSIBILITY: Why do football team owners fire coaches when their team isn’t doing well? The coach isn’t the one who fumbles the ball, makes bad passes, or misses games. But they fire coaches because coaches bear the responsibility for their teams. Likewise, when a family gets out of spiritual alignment, God will hold the husband accountable because God has given him responsibility for the family.

A HUSBAND AS SANCTIFIER: Many people have two kinds of dishes—everyday dishes and special use dishes. We keep the everyday dishes in the cupboards along with all the other eating utensils and baking dishes. We run the everyday dishes through the dishwasher and toss them back into the cupboard when they’re clean. But we often keep the special-use dishes, the fine china, in a separate, locked cabinet. We have set them apart, literally, and sanctified them for special occasions. We treat them with care and we wash them by hand when they’re dirty.

Then we carefully place them back in the locked cabinet until the next Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. In the same way, the husband is to play a role in setting his wife apart, to make her feel special, unique, and precious to the Lord.

QUOTES ATTRIBUTED TO DR. TONY EVANS:

“Taking ownership as a husband is critical to you being the man you were created to be.”

“We have a crisis today and it’s a crisis of manhood.”

“You can’t be a savior unless your willing to pick up a cross. But when you pick up your cross, you draw people to redemption.”

“Maybe your wife is waiting to see her savior so that she can respond to biblical submission and follow you as you follow Christ.”

“Being a kingdom man means that the woman you live with knows she’s in a class by herself.”

“Your wife won’t mind you leading her as God’s kingdom representative if she knows she’s being considered in the decision making.”

 

BY DR. TONY EVANS