Marriage Conference Session 4 — 2 Corinthians 4

0:08 What a day that will be. It's beyond their imagination. Imagine imagine when we see the nail prints in his hands for the first time. Boy, what a what an experience that will be. Well, it's been wonderful to be with you this weekend I I really do mean it when I when I say to you I I have a passion for the lord's people and to serve them, to serve them, and it's been my privilege to serve the lord in the role of an elder for well over thirty years now and it's the only vocation that's ever gripped my soul.

1:15 I went through college really not knowing what in the world I I I wanted to do with my life. I wasn't saved at the time and and it was a it was a terrible experience and and I remember after getting saved, you know, receiving Christ as my lord. Listening to his voice. Reading his word. And and and finally, looking at seeing first Timothy, if anyone desires to do the work of an elder and I thought, what's an elder?

1:56 I was stuck in the middle of Germany at that time and knew very so little about the the scriptures and beginning to study this this great work of of shepherding the lord's people and and I thought, wow. That was 21 at a time and wow, that would be great. Something in me connected with that and and be honest with you, that that never left me and and stayed with me for the next twenty years and I'll say that everything I I did from that point on was to prepare me for the work of just serving the lord as as a shepherd and I've had the privilege of doing that now for so many years and I've got a passion to see marriages grow. I, once again, last night, you heard when I look at what the lord did and our marriage. It just thrills me and I I I have such hope for anyone that that you can have what Wendy and I have enjoyed now for for for so many years and I think, boy, if if if god can can save me, he can save anybody.

3:30 If god can turn my marriage around, he can turn anybody's marriage around. So so to to see marriages grow to to help the lord's people sort out their their homes and and and to learn how to parent, how to be godly fathers, godly mothers, and and and the radical. I wanna repeat that. If if that's gonna be a reality, in our lives, and that is godly marriages, godly homes, Beloved, something radical has to happen in the way we approach our homes, our subject this morning taken home out of the world, and I have four children. I've got 21 grandchildren, I think probably 15 of my grandchildren now have made professions of faith, and they made those professions early on, and and we begin to see fruits of that profession so early that something radical has to take place if we're gonna see if we're gonna see our marriages and and our homes different than different than Not a few preferences that we have in in coming to church on Sunday and and the church being a part of our life and and incorporating some good things into our lives and...

5:27 But basically, no radical differences. And and what you're gonna hear me talk about today, there there's gotta be some radical differences in in in our lives that if if we're going to enjoy the blessings. The lord has for you, has for us. In Acts 20 and verse 20, the apostle wrote, I I I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly from house to house and what what was the apostle saying here? You know, I I tackled the real issues of life.

6:16 I didn't sugarcoat anything. I it wasn't comfortable. It it it you know, it it's not stuff that we want to think upon, dwell dwell upon but it's good. And and the word of god will make you holy. The word of God will will will steer you in the way of righteousness, and it'll change your marriages.

6:42 It it will it will build an umbrella over your homes and and and your children. Won't get won't get sabotaged. And picked off by the enemy. And end up loving this world more than than loving the Lord. And and I wanna touch on a on a few things today that that I trust will be will be profitable and and will help us in in these in these terrible times in which we are are living crucial crucial days, days of decay.

8:31 There for your sins. That's that's not a reality for you. But you're here And and and I hope that already you've sensed something good in your soul that that there is a something other than the chaos and and and the sin and the and and all that is encompassed in that out there and and you sis, there's something more. And there's a little taste of it in your in your soul. And you're you're being drawn to it.

9:17 Second Corinthians chapter four and verse four. Let's let's look at what's going on here. And we'll read verse three. If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who who are perishing. Perishing.

9:36 Your your your life is wasting away but even more importantly, you're on your way to a lost eternity. There's something beyond death, something beyond the grave. And there is judgement and there's a hell. There is a reckoning with the holy god. And god sent his son.

10:09 He loved us. He he gave himself for us. He bore our sins in his own body and if we receive him, if we believe in him, he gives us eternal life. He forgives us our sins. Gives us a home in heaven.

10:30 But if you're here this morning, if if if if the gospel is not a reality, if if there's a if there's still scales over your eyes, it is veiled to those who are perishing. Why? Look at look at verse four. In whose case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. Something's going on.

10:51 Now, the god of this work, this world is at work and we're gonna be talking a lot about that and the battle that that that even we as believers have with the god of this world. But if you're an unbeliever, then the god of this world is is is blinding and blinding and blind and and and all that we are talking about here is becoming more distant and more distant and more distant for you. That blinding process that he's capable of capable of is going on in your in your hearts right now. Why? Why is it going on?

11:31 The god of this world has blinded the minds of them believing so that that so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Why is he, how does he have the power to blind the minds of people? Well, the words right there because you don't believe. You're unbelieving. You know, when I was five years old, five years old, I remember just like it was yesterday.

12:02 And one of my playmates had had fallen. We were playing on a... Actually, I weren't... I wasn't playing. We would play on a fire...

12:43 I want you to follow me. Now, Romans chapter one talks about suppressing the truth, holding the truth back. The spirit of God is in the world today convicting men of sin, righteousness, the judgment to come. No man can be saved unless the father draw him, and the spirit of God is in the world today, and he he drew me at five. I wanna suggest every single one of us here in this room, we're old enough.

13:13 The spirit of god has drawn us. We know that there's a god and we know that we we are going to encounter him But I said no at five. I remember the same experience at the age of 13. And this time now my my life was spinning out of control. Even by by 13, I knew I was a sinner.

13:38 Ron, you need a savior. Now, once again, the answer was no. No. And boy, talking about a blinding that took place over the next, the next eight years. I'm not aware.

13:55 I'm not aware that that I had the opportunity during those years to be saved. I mean, make, pick up why? I was I was listening to the god of this world But God in His mercy spoke once again when I was 21. Run. Run.

14:19 And by His grace, by His mercy, this time, I listened And I received him. And what a difference. What a difference. Today is the day of salvation. If you hear his voice and I trust that someone here will give their lives that that that that though as we minister the word of god and all the power that is in the word of god to to wake us up and to clear our minds of of of the the the devil's lies that that that will be a reality for us today.

14:59 That we'll hear his voice and that we will have a desire to obey him. Let's turn in our Bibles now to Leviticus. Leviticus. Third book in the Bible there, Leviticus 18 and we're going to read the first five verses here. Then the lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, I am the lord your god.

16:00 You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt. Where you lived? God has always called his people out. He called Abraham out. He's called Israel here out of Egypt that an evil nation and he's saying to them, look, don't want you to bring their stuff with you.

16:36 You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you live nor you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I'm bringing you. It came from Egypt boy, even where they're going, the land of Canaan an evil, evil, godless people and and the lord is saying to them, I I don't want you to do what the Egyptians did. I don't want you to do what the Canaanites are doing where you're where you're going. And you shall not walk in their statutes. They they've got a way.

17:18 They've got a way of life. A way that they live. It's a pattern. They've got their own customs. They've got their own education system.

17:32 They've got their own set of values that they, they pursue. They've got their own portfolios and and security measures in place. And it and it all looks pretty good. But I don't I don't want you to live like that. I'm gonna give you some instruction.

18:16 As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways above your ways, my thoughts above your faults. You need info from me to negotiate alien territory. You're my people now. You're my people. I'm your God.

18:41 And we're the Lord's people. He's he's he's placed his seal upon us. He has stamped us with the seal of the Holy Spirit. More than a stamp, he he he puts his spirit inside of us and we talked about how that spirit inside of us is to empower us last night. We don't know how to be men.

19:01 We don't know how to be women. We don't know how to live godly. We we need something inside of us. We need inner gaia, we we need something inside us to to energize us. And that's the spirit of God.

19:20 And he brings to our minds, our hearts, the word of God. And so you're to perform my judgments, my statutes, and your life is to be shaped by my word. You're to live in accord with them. I'm your God. You're my people.

19:55 And and what what they heard, beloved, in reference to all that I'm saying right now was so shallow compared to what we have heard and how God has spoken to us. This, the law came through Moses and and these statues and and but fast forward, we we get to the cross. We get to to Christ and and and him dying for us and and and the sin that the sin power that is in us being broken and we're released from that. The power of sins broken in our lives and then the fullness of of of what comes after the cross. Once again, the the sealing of the holy spirit and and and the grace that is revealed to us in the New Testament.

21:08 With all the teaching comes to us through the mouth of our lord, through the apostles, and we have the New Testament, no comparison. And the charge, so you shall keep my statutes and my judgments by which a man may live. Live. I came, the Lord said, so that you could have life and and have it more more abundantly by which a man may live if he does them. This this this life, this this this newness of life, this this richness of life, why?

22:13 You'll have to obey Me. A man may live if he if he does if he does them. I'm the Lord. I'm I'm going to speak and and I'm gonna draw. And I'm gonna set my my ways before you.

22:38 You must obey and and if we if we turn over one page to chapter 20 verse 23, once again, moreover, you shall follow, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you. For they did all these things. And therefore, I have abhorred them. Oh, you you you must not allow the nation that you live in to beat the drum by which you will march by. You you've got to listen to something different.

23:59 And I've set you apart. And he did that for Israel. He did that for Israel. How much more? How much more?

24:10 For those of us who are his children And that was brought before our hearts this morning. Oh, we are the children of God. See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us that we are the children of God. Now, now let's turn to second Corinthians chapter six. Taking home taking our homes out of the world.

24:57 Verse 14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers and we can't stop in these two verses really, but simply to point out here, intimate associations, intimate associations. The people of this world are not to be our best friends. Not intimately. Now, we should be the best friends to them that they've ever had. But we're not intimate with them.

25:50 They they should never think that we're we're made out of the same stuff. Remember, the god of this world has blinded their minds Last night, ours are being opened and we see and there should be a profound difference, beloved, between the blind and those who have sight like us. We should look at everything differently and they must they must sense that. They must feel that. So do not be bound together with unbelievers in marriage business partnerships What partnership has righteousness and lawlessness?

26:58 What fellowship is light with darkness? What harmony has Christ with Belaya? What is a believer in common with an unbeliever? That's an incredible statement, isn't it? You don't have anything in common Not anything that matters What agreement has the temple of god with idols?

27:29 They've got their god. They're and it's the god of this world We, verse 16, the last part of 16, we are the temple of the living god. We have an intimate relationship with god. God lives in us. And now, here's the core section that we're look at this morning.

28:09 I will dwell in them and walk among them I will be their god. They shall be my people. Now, here's a reiteration of what god said to his people of old and and what he calls us to today. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the lord. Do not touch what is unclean.

28:50 And look at these promises. We've already seen two. The one that the the first one back in verse 16, I'll I'll I'll I'll dwell in them and walk amongst them. The indwelling of our god. I'll be their god that the one that that will watch over us in in his sovereignty, lead us, guide us, protect us.

29:18 And look at the look at the fellowship that we can have with our god and in the last part of seventeen and eighteen there. I will welcome you. I'll be your father I'll be a father to you. You'll be my sons and my my daughters. And I'll help you build a good life.

30:39 You I bought you. Do you do you remember that? We we celebrated that this morning. Right? I I bought you.

30:49 Do you remember? We can forget, can't we? That's why we we come to the table to remember and when we when we take that loaf and we hold it in our hands, we we we must hear the lord's words come to us. This is my body that was broken for you. This is is what it cost for me to redeem you and make you mine.

31:21 We must hear those words. We've got to get our our our identity in place. And we take that cup and and we must call to mind that that trail of blood that that must have existed. As as the lord was led up that that awful hill of Golgotha and and and we must see the blood that that that that flowed out of his out of his hands. His feet.

31:57 And we take that cup and this is this is a new covenant. This is what it cost me to redeem you from your sins, to forgive you. This this I've I've paid for you. You're mine, lock, stock, barrel. Our identity.

32:22 We've got to face that that we've got a problem with loving this world. It's not like, beloved, it's in us. There's something in this world that appeals to all that is in my flesh. That's just the way it is. We have to face the fact that we have a natural affinity with the world.

32:50 There's there's something in the lower part of ourselves, if you will, in our flesh that identifies and longs for and has a way of of going there. And and and so we we have to take John's admonition in in in first John chapter two and verse 15 very seriously, do not love the world. You must beat yourself down, your body down. I I I buffet my body, I make it my slave. So that my love of this world doesn't over doesn't overcome me.

33:37 And and it's got such a way of of of seeping in. We had two floods down in North Carolina, one in '16, one in '18, my old house was was flooded twice and a good friend of mine was staying in it and and the the first time the flood just rose up and and and just went through the house, but the second time, the second time and and and he thought he escaped being flooded again. And when he went to bed, you know, the the floodwaters that were there, but he thought he was safe and and he went to bed and his alarm rung the next morning and he gets up and as is his way, he began to make his way to the kitchen, there's a sunken den and he got to the the steps leading down in the sunken den and looked. And the water was seeping in, seeping in, and it rose ever so slowly, ever so slowly, ever so slowly until the house was flooded. Beloved, wanna suggest that that's exactly what this world does to us.

34:54 We leave little areas of life and little cracks in our spiritual lives and the world seeps in. Just a little. It's it... You can barely see it moving, but it's moving. And it's moving and We wake up one morning and our marriages have been flooded by the world.

36:02 You're not of the world. Come out. And that that separation must must be seen in the way we we speak, and we have to learn. We have to learn new speech, don't we? And and I'm not talking just about any any foul language that that I trust that that that we we left behind immediately.

36:42 But there should be grace in the way we speak. And our words our words shouldn't tear others down. The grace in the way we we we speak, Colossians four's sake. And our words shouldn't tear others down, especially our wives, especially our children. Fathers, don't exasperate your children.

37:13 Fathers, don't provoke your children to wrath. I need to learn how to talk to my sons, my daughters. In a way, we're not going to have time to touch on this. In in a way that that that drives out foolishness about the only code you're going to hear this morning in raising children. You've gotta drive out foolishness.

37:42 Now, a stick helps to do that. That's god's way. But the foolishness of our children has to be dealt with. And you've got a a very short window to do that by the way So, drive out fool, raising children, drive out foolishness. You've gotta build something into them.

38:09 Build in wisdom. That's why bring your children up in the fear, the admonition of the lord. Separation must be seen in our speech. Separation must be seen in the way we dress. Beloved, we have to pay attention to modesty.

38:34 And here I'm speaking, you know, the, you know, men model now as much as as women. I I think women at one time modeled more. Not now. Not now. Men have taken over and and and they're so proud of their bodies.

38:53 And and we we wear clothes that we shouldn't wear. This is women wear clothes that we that that are not modest and and men wear clothes that are not modest. That separation must be seen in our in our amusements. Ungodly, unholy amusements that that that come to us in in in the form of of music and and and and what we watch in in the internet. Beloved, this, we've got to separate ourselves from all that is unclean, the exhortation.

39:30 Don't even touch what is is unclean. Our our our friends, first Corinthians 15, don't don't be misled, don't be deceived here. The the word of God says, bad company corrupts. Every parent should monitor the friends, associations of their children. We should monitor our own friends.

40:03 But those of our children as well. Bad company corrupts. Good character. What do we expose our children to? How different from Proverbs thirteen twenty?

40:19 He who walks with wise men shall be wise but a companion of fools will be destroyed. I have to say a couple of words and I'm gonna keep you a couple of minutes longer here. Education, separation, and education. Our our our our children must not be educated in the same way that the children of this world are educated. Our children need to be educated.

41:45 It purports to equip us to live and is prescribed as a universal remedy for everything from juvenile delinquency to premature senility. Now, in all of the the only thing, the only other thing I'm gonna say here is is it doesn't have that importance. Important? Yeah. It's somewhere down the list.

42:16 But it shouldn't be our God. And and we shouldn't make every sacrifice for for education. I wanna say, I wanna mention one other cultural thing that because there's so many young people here dating. Now, let me tell you the first time I mentioned this. I just come back from Africa.

42:41 My my children were just entering the teen years and I thought, wow, boy. And of course, dating comes up. What what what, you know, what what age are you will you start allowing your your girls to date? And and I had a string of guys out there who were looking at my daughters, not my my granddaughters. They they weren't around at that time but at my daughters.

43:05 And so I began thinking about dating. And and this is a a a once again a culturally accepted practice. It's norm amongst the Lord's people. But as as I began looking at it afresh and this is way back, we got back from Africa and and thinking about, you know, how will I handle this? And then looking at it and and looking at at...

43:40 I just... And I had a good... I was gonna say a good example before me. It was a bad example that was a good example before me. All the...

43:51 In in in the assemblies that I associated with and where dating had taken place and the broken relationships, the teenage prayingesses, and there were so many in our assemblies. I've worked with four assemblies at that time and it was awful. Proverbs tells us, can a man take fire into his bosom? His clothes not get burned. Ephesians four twenty seven tells us, don't give the devil an opportunity.

44:33 Romans thirteen fourteen, make no provision for the flesh. Have we forgotten the battle that you and I had with the flesh? Youthful lust that that drove us mad? But why 16? My my my daughter should be able to go out at sixteen, eighteen?

45:03 And I could tell you so many horror stories. All I'm gonna say, I'm gonna finish off with this, you know. We've gotta examine examine everything we do as the children of God to get our homes out of the world. Radical choices have to be be made. Our our home should be an oasis in in this bleak landscape of sin where the god of this world is so rampant.

45:43 Spend time. Spend time with with our wives and and our children bring them up, teach them. Beloved, come out. That's the that's the exhortation, come out from their midst And be separate. Let's pray.

47:14 Oh god, help us to take this exhortation seriously and and come out to really look at how we are living in this present evil age and make some radical choices to be separate. Grant this we pray, that we might glorify thy son and that we ourselves would reap the benefit of of you walking with us and and dwelling with us and and blessing us in in in wonderful ways. We ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.