Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Ephesians 5:23

Adrian Rogers says, “We can never be over those things that God wants to be under us -- until we get under those things that God has put over us.”

In order to learn how to cultivate a marriage and a healthy home, we must first understand godly authority.

Ephesians 5:23 says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Savior of the body.”

This does not mean wives are inferior to their husbands; in Christ, we’re equal. But God created us to meet different needs and fulfill different roles within the home. When the Bible speaks of the husband being the head of the home, it is not speaking of his rights; it speaks of his responsibilities.

There are three major responsibilities that deal with the husband, the first being his servant leadership.

Ephesians 5 does not call the husband a dictator. Rather, we are given the example of Jesus Christ, who is head of the Church, yet serves her and meets her needs. We are to meet the needs of our wives, who submit to our servant leadership.

Husbands are also responsible for sacrificial love, which is first passionate. It is a commitment that comes from the deepest part of our being.

It is also a purifying love, as Ephesian 5:26-27 says: “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word... not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

Husbands are to express their love through their protection. If the enemy wants to attack our homes, he has to go through the husband. Husbands are also responsible for offering loving provision, to meet our family’s physical, spiritual, and emotional needs.

Finally, husbands are responsible for showing steadfast loyalty. Jesus promised to never leave nor forsake His church. (See Hebrews 13:5.) Likewise, we are responsible for keeping the vows we made when we entered our marriage covenant. If we think of marriage as a contract, we will look for loopholes, and miss the blessing that it truly is. But if viewed as a covenant, we will cultivate something beautiful.

Apply it to your life

Are you cultivating a marriage based on servant leadership, sacrificial love, and steadfast loyalty?

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: 1 Samuel 24:1-7
King David was a remarkable man after God’s own heart. He lived by principle, not by appearance. He was a warrior who knew many victories, but perhaps his greatest victory was the one over his own spirit when subjected to authority.

In 1 Samuel 24, David is hiding in a cave after King Saul has put a bounty on his head. King Saul comes into the cave, unaware that David and his men are hiding just out of sight. David has the opportunity to kill Saul, the man actively trying to kill him. But he does not; instead, he shows us how to behave in a cave, when no one else is watching.

He refuses to take vengeance and acts as we should according to Scripture: “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

Like David, we must remember the principle of spiritual authority. David knew that he had no right to take Saul’s life because Saul was God’s chosen and anointed king. There is no king, no power, no ruler that has not been ordained of God. To rebel against them is an act of rebellion against God. We are all subject to them and must submit to their leadership.

Second, David gently pleaded for change, with reverence, respect, and reason. David relied on God to change Saul’s heart.

If the authority in question commands us to do something that is contrary to the Word of God, we should obey God rather than men. But we must be sure that even when we disobey our appointed leader, we have a warrant from Scripture. Even still, we should act in a manner that respects authority. God took care of Saul, and God will take care of our enemies as we learn to rely on the Lord.

Finally, David made a gracious promise to King Saul, that when he became king, he would protect Saul’s loved ones.

The spirit of God was in David. Adrian Rogers says, “David never won a greater victory than he won that day in the cave: a victory over self, a victory over Saul, and a victory over sin.”

Apply it to your life
Are you facing conflict in submitting to spiritual authority? Consider how David behaved in the cave. Recognize the great principle of authority and show respect to those God has placed over you.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Romans 5:1-5, 17

Any Christian who has not discovered the tremendous power of kingdom authority is living beneath his privileges.

However, Adrian Rogers says, “God will never place you over those things that He means to put under you, until you get under those things that He has put over you.”

Many of us fail to think of the Holy Spirit as a person with authority, yet the Holy Spirit has authority to rule and reign in our lives. In fact, kingdom authority is mediated by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5 reveals why we should be under the authority of the Holy Spirit.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2).

Adam was the first man created by God and was given dominion over the Earth. But Adam sinned; he forfeited his dominion to sin. And because we are his offspring, we are identified with Adam in this slavery to Satan. Through Adam, we received weakness rather than power and gained ungodliness rather than godliness. We also received wrath rather than approval, warfare instead of peace. We inherited our sinfulness from Adam: not only when we do as we shouldn’t, but also in failing to do as we should.

But Romans 5 also reveals what we receive through Jesus when we join the kingdom of light:

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5). “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17).

When we submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit, we receive justification of our sins and reconciliation with the Father. Through the Holy Spirit, we have the fellowship with God that was severed when Adam sinned. We’ve also been regenerated and made righteous to reign through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Apply it to your life

Each one of us is either with Adam in the kingdom of death, or we are with Christ reigning in the kingdom of life. Choose Jesus today; choose kingdom authority through the Holy Spirit.