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CHEW ON THIS: Love Is a Battlefield – Part 6

March 19, 2012 in Chew On This, Love Is A Battlefield, Video with 0 Comments

“What is my purpose in my relationships?”

Genesis 1:26a-27 26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us….” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, “it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

ULTIMATE PURPOSE…OUR RELATIONSHIP W/ GOD

PURPOSE: The reason for which something is done or created or exists. Intention. Aim. Goal.

John 3:16-17 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.NLT

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

GOD IS TO BE OUR FIRST LOVE

Jeremiah 32:38-40 They will be my people, and I will be their God 39 And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. NLT

If Christ is not FIRST, then all my relationships are a cheap substitute at best and a destructive force at worst.

Romans 5:10-11 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. NLT

MISGUIDED PURPOSES
Need-driven
Fear-driven
Feeling-driven
“My kingdom”-driven
Boundary driven

Mark 12:31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these. NLT

Matthew 19-20a 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you…

Our Ultimate Purpose in Relationship with Others: LOVE THEM & ENCOURAGE THEM TO LOVE JESUS

James 1:16-17 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

Jeremiah 17:5, 7
5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. 7 “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.

God may call you to a one-way friendship.

1 John 3:16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Real question: “which person are you?”

Matthew 22:39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matthew 5:43-44 “You have heard the law that says love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 but I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” NLT

Galatians 5:13-14 13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.

I Peter 4:10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.

Psalm 1:1-3
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.

Proverbs 1:7 NLT “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

Proverbs 28:26 NLT “Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.”

Ecclesiastes 10:2 NLT “A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.”

What kind of friend are you?

1 Peter 3:1b-2 “ …Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over 2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.” NLT

Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Hebrews 12:14-15 14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

CHEW ON THIS: Love Is a Battlefield – Part 5

March 13, 2012 in Chew On This, Love Is A Battlefield, Video with 0 Comments

Genesis 2
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and
mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are
united into one.

Ephesians 6
1 Children, obey your parents because you belong to
the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. 2 “Honor
your father and mother.” This is the first
commandment with a promise: 3 If you honor your
father and mother, “things will go well for you, and
you will have a long life on the earth.”
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by
the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with
the discipline and instruction that comes from the
Lord.

LEAVE

CLEAVE

1+1= ONE

LOVE!

Ephesians 4
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh
words, and slander, as well as all types of evil
behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God
through Christ has forgiven you.

CHEW ON THIS: Love Is a Battlefield – Part 4

March 5, 2012 in Chew On This, Love Is A Battlefield, Video with 0 Comments

Genesis 2
18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the
man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right
for him.” 19 So the LORD God formed from the
ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the
sky. He brought them to the man to see what he
would call them, and the man chose a name for each
one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the
birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still
there was no helper just right for him.
21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a
deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took
out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening.
22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib,
and he brought her to the man.
23 “At Last” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and
mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are
united into one.
25 Now the man and his wife were both naked,
but they felt no shame.

SEX LIES
SEX: A THIRST to be QUENCHED
SEX: the NECESSARY EVIL
SEX: the ultimate SELF EXPRESSION
SEX: Marriage is a KILL-JOY

1 Corinthians 7
3 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs,
and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The
wife gives authority over her body to her husband,
and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.
5 Do not deprive each other of sexual relations,
unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy
for a limited time so you can give yourselves more
completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come
together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt
you because of your lack of self-control.

Before SIN there was SEX

God gives good sex

MAN ➞ WOMAN ➞ MARRIAGE ➞ LIFETIME

GOOD SEX is COVENANT SEX

COVENANT SEX is SAFE SEX

1 Corinthians 6
15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually
parts of Christ? Should a man take his body,
which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute?
Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins
himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body
with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united
into one.” 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord
is one spirit with him.
18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly
affects the body as this one does. For sexual
immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t
you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you
with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

Sex a PRIVATE ACT with PUBLIC IMPACT

There’s a difference between PRIVACY and SECRECY

Step 1: Confession & Repentance

Ezekiel 36
26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a
new spirit in you. I will take out your stony,
stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive
heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that
you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey
my regulations.

Be VERBALLY GENEROUS with your spouse

Song of Solomon 4
Solomon:
3 Your lips are like scarlet ribbon;
your mouth is inviting.
Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
behind your veil.
4 Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David,
jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of
a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
6 Before the dawn breezes blow
and the night shadows flee,
I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
beautiful in every way.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Come down from Mount Amana,
from the peaks of Senir and Hermon,
where the lions have their dens
and leopards live among the hills.

Sex begins OUTSIDE the bedroom

Be VISUALLY GENEROUS with your spouse

Song of Solomon 6
Young Woman:
13… Why should you look upon the Shulammite,
as upon a dance before two armies?

Song of Solomon 7
Solomon:
1 How beautiful are your sandaled feet,
O queenly maiden.
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of a skilled craftsman.

Be CREATIVE with your spouse

Song of Solomon 7
Young Woman:
10 I am my lover’s,
and he claims me as his own.
11 Come, my love, let us go out to the fields
and spend the night among the wildflowers.
12 Let us get up early and go to the vineyards to
see if the grapevines have budded, if the
blossoms have opened,
and if the pomegranates have bloomed.
There I will give you my love.
13 There the mandrakes give off their fragrance, and
the finest fruits are at our door, new delights as well
as old, which I have saved for you, my lover.
Proverbs 5
18 Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you.
Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 She is a loving deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts satisfy you always.
May you always be captivated by her love.
20 Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral
woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous
woman?

CHEW ON THIS: Love Is a Battlefield (Part 3)

February 27, 2012 in Chew On This, Love Is A Battlefield, Video with 0 Comments

Matthew 12
33 “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

Luke 6
45…What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Jeremiah 17
9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,  and desperately wicked.  Who really knows how bad it is?

Colossians 3
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Re-define the WIN

QUICK – SLOW – SLOW

James 1
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

Aim for ACCURACY

Proverbs 15
28 The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.

Proverbs 10
 19 Too much talk leads to sin.
      Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.

Proverbs 21
9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. (ESV)

Redeem your relationship… one word at a time

CHEW ON THIS: LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD – PART 2

February 20, 2012 in Chew On This, Love Is A Battlefield, Video with 0 Comments

Genesis 3
16 …And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

Ephesians 5
21 And further, submit to one another out of
reverence for Christ.
22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands
as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his
wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the
Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church
submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your
husbands in everything.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26
to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing
of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to
himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle
or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and
without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to

or a man who loves his wife actually shows love
for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but
love their wives as they love their own bodies.
feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the
church. 30 And we are members of his body.
31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his
father and mother and is joined to his wife, and
the two are united into one.” 32 This is a great
mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ
and the church are one. 33 So again I say, each
man must love his wife as he loves himself, and
the wife must respect her husband.

Colossians 3
18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for
those who belong to the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them
harshly.
20 Children, always obey your parents, for this
pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate your
children, or they will become discouraged.

Titus 2
4 These older women must train the younger women
to love their husbands and their children, 5 to live
wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do
good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then
they will not bring shame on the word of God.

SUBMISSION SUSPICION

There are MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITIES to ONE ANOTHE

WOMEN: loyally LOVE

What does this look like?

How you follow the ROLES will REVEAL what you think about God

Matthew 26
39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face
to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let
this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I
want your will to be done, not mine.”

1 Peter 3
1 In the same way, you wives must accept the
authority of your husbands. Then, even if some
refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives
will speak to them without any words. They will
be won over 2 by observing your pure and
reverent lives.

The husband is AN authority, but not the ULTIMATE authority

MEN: lovingly LEAD

1 Peter 3
7 In the same way, you husbands must give
honor to your wives. Treat your wife with
understanding as you live together. She may be
weaker than you are, but she is your equal
partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you
should so your prayers will not be hindered.

FOLLOW THE ROLES!

1 Peter 3
8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind.
Sympathize with each other. Love each other as
brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a
humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t
retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead,
pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has
called you to do, and he will bless you for it.

CHEW ON THIS: LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD – Part 1

February 13, 2012 in Chew On This, Love Is A Battlefield, Video with 0 Comments

Genesis 2
15 The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of
Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the LORD
God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of
every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you
are sure to die.”
18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the
man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right
for him.” 19 So the LORD God formed from the
ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the
sky. He brought them to the man to see what he
would call them, and the man chose a name for each
one.20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the
birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still
there was no helper just right for him.
21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a
deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took
out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening.
22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib,
and he brought her to the man.
23 the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and
mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are
united into one.
25 Now the man and his wife were both naked,
but they felt no shame.

Genesis 3
16 …And you will desire to control your
husband, but he will rule over you.”

Romans 5
18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for
everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness
brings a right relationship with God and new life
for everyone.19 Because one person disobeyed
God, many became sinners. But because one
other person obeyed God, many will be made
righteous.

Will my marriage be a BATTLEFIELD or a BLESSING

Matthew 19
5 And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves
his father and mother and is joined to his wife,
and the two are united into one.’ 6 Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what
God has joined together.”

First, embrace Covenant Love

Ecclesiastes 4
12 A person standing alone can be attacked and
defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and
conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-
braided cord is not easily broken.

Choose covenant love… It has already chosen you!

MEN: lovingly LEAD
WOMEN: loyally LOVE