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oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] again it's good to be here with everyone uh shane and becca asked specifically that i preach from or give a message from ephesians chapter 3 verses 14 to 19 i'll actually read 3 14 to 21. if you have a bible you want to follow along or just listen as i read ephesians 3 14 for this reason i bow my knees to the father of our lord jesus christ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man that christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of christ which passes knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of god now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us to him be glory in the church by christ jesus to all generations forever and ever amen well again let us seek god in prayer our father we thank you for the written word of the living and true god we know it's given by inspiration of you and it's profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness so guide our thoughts and our minds and our hearts now help us god to receive the word with thankful hearts with gladness and joy and again bless shane and becca and encourage and strengthen them and may they find great peace with the gospel of our salvation at the center of their marriage as well god may they with this chosen text reflect on it often and may they find great help and aid with reference to glorifying you in their marriage responsibilities and we ask these things in the name of the lord jesus christ amen well this particular section is a transition chapter so in ephesians chapters one and two you have the doctrinal foundation the apostle paul wrote the book of ephesians probably in about somewhere between a.d 60 and 62. the book of acts ends with the first roman imprisonment he writes the prison epistles and he writes to this church in ephesus so chapters one and two doctrinal foundation chapters four to six are the practical application in other words having believed the gospel this then is how you ought to live chapter three as i said is transition the apostle underscores his role in redemptive history as a steward of the mysteries of christ and then he uh gives us this this sort of peek into his prayer closet if you ever wondered how did the apostle pray for churches well ephesians chapter 3 14-19 indicates that for us in verse 14 he says for this reason i bow my knees to the father of our lord jesus christ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named and then he goes on to give three particular petitions that he prays for those in ephesus but because it is a transition chapter it is connected to chapters one and two and then again to chapters four to six so in chapters one and two you have the salvation that god accomplished the apostle starts the epistle this way blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ and then he details in great detail the work of the father the son and the holy spirit in the salvation of sinners he moves then into chapter 2 to show us or to underscore the power of god and how it is demonstrated in the salvation of sinners he starts with a before picture in chapter 2 verses 1 to 4 outside of christ we're lifeless we're helpless and we're hopeless but by god's grace we've been brought nigh by god's grace and the blood of the lord jesus christ we now have forgiveness we have salvation we have blessing so chapters one and two are the salvation that god himself has accomplished here in chapter three we see the spiritual blessings that god gives in verses 14 to 19. the apostle prays these things not that they are vacant in the hearts of god's people but they would be strengthened they would be built up they would be helped and as i said there are three petitions the first is found in verse 16. they're marked off by that word that so in verse 16 he says that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man that christ may dwell in your hearts through faith so the first petition is about spiritual strength now the apostle certainly would pray for you if you broke your leg the apostle would pray for you if you lost your job the apostle would pray for you if you were you know destitute and lost everything but when we look at the recorded prayers of the apostle paul in the new testament they're typically spiritual in terms of orientation he wants the people of god to be strong he wants them to be full of grace and truth he wants them to be able to persevere in a manner that is consistent with the calling of god upon their lives so he says that he would grant you according to the rich of his riches of his glory so it's not the case that paul is praying in the hopes that perhaps god may have the ability to engage in these particular requests god has riches at his disposal god is an infinite being he is most glorious he is most wonderful he is most loving and most gracious so when paul calls upon the apo upon god most high for strength for his hearers we can trust that god does give that strength the second petition is a petition for knowledge back to the text he says in verse 17 that christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and then he says that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of christ which passes knowledge now if you are a believer in jesus christ there are times and seasons i must confess in my own life and i'm sure it's true with you you have downcast days not every day is like today where the sun is shining when we're all dressed up and everybody's happy and there's a reception to come and there's going to be celebration and feasting and joy there's oftentimes sorrows in the lives of god's people there's oftentimes that downcast spirit that we see of david in psalms 42 and 43 why art thou cast down o my soul hope thou in god well with reference to this petition he wants us to comprehend he wants us to know not how much we love god because that's not comforting but how much he loves us god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son we often times focus on the what of the gospel the life and the death and the resurrection of our lord jesus god gave his only begotten son but we mustn't ever separate it from the why of the gospel god so loved the world and so the apostle wants the people of god to contemplate to ponder to comprehend to meditate upon and to grow in their understanding of that love of christ as one commentator says in another passage he wants us to be scholars in the school of christ's love and then the third petition i must confess it's very difficult to even treat in terms of exposition it says in verse 19 be that you may be filled with all the fullness of god when you figure that out please call me and let me know what he's talking about i think i have a a a a particular hint i think what he wants for the people of god is communion with god growing the grace and knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ peter ends his first second epistle with but here paul is doing that same thing he wants you to be strong he wants you to be knowledgeable and he wants you to be filled with all the fullness of god all the blessing that god has for his people he wants that to come to his people it's a most blessed way for the apostle to pray for the people of god and then he ends this particular section with a doxology so after we pray it's always good to praise and paul does that verse 20 he says now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us so he acknowledges that glorious power of a sovereign god he acknowledges that god at times and i speak in the vernacular here blows our minds with his ability his competence his his infinite goodness toward his people the fact that he brought shane and becca together is a demonstration of that providence has smiled upon these two young people today and that is a great thing to witness it is a wonderful declaration again we live in a sin cursed world you know what's happening out there you know the kinds of things that are going on in the body politic and yet in the midst of all that yahweh shows his goodness to the people of god in the church he brings them together in marriage and he gives them that great blessing and then he ends on that high note of doxology or praise he says to him be glory in the church by christ jesus to all generations forever and ever amen there was a man and he had a son and they were sitting under a sermon and the preacher said finally and the son says to the father dad what does finally mean and this the father said nothing nothing son if you thought that was it i'm sorry we got a few more observations here i mentioned that it's transition we got to think about the salvation that god accomplished in chapters one and two he chose us in him before the foundation of the world in him we have redemption through his blood according to the riches of his grace the holy spirit seals the holy spirit guarantees that final redemption so that's the doctrinal foundation we see here the spiritual blessings that god gives verses 14 to 19 strength knowledge and fullness but then we need to consider the sacrificial love that god requires so as i said chapters four to six are practical in nature chapters four to six tell the new man and the new woman in christ jesus how then they are to live you've been justified freely by grace i'll just read that section in chapter two verse four but god who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in christ jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in christ jesus he says for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of god so false religion always starts with chapters four to six do this and then you will be saved the religion of man is always about good works the religion of man is always about trying to do things to balance out the scale you've done a lot of rotten crazy things or a lot of rotten uh horrible things but if you do enough good things you can kind of bring sort of equilibrium and balance to the force there that's not how christianity operates it starts with what god has done it starts with the indicative it starts with the reality of a of a crucified and a risen savior and then it moves on into the imperative in other words you've been saved not because you do these things but you've been saved in order to do these things you see that in 1 4 just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame not because we were holy and without blame god doesn't look down the tunnel of time and say wow those people are going to be holy and without blame i'm going to choose them for salvation the bible doesn't teach that god chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should become so paul then deals with the sacrificial love that god requires and as you might imagine he deals with marriage and in ephesians chapter 5 at verses 22 to 33 he gets very practical in terms of christian ethics in the context of the of the christian home in the first place he highlights the responsibility of wives we met together and we had premarital counseling it's always good for repetition though in chapter 5 specifically at verses 22 to 24 paul tells the ephesian women and by extension the chilliwackian women the abbotts 40 and women the canadian women every woman that names the name of jesus christ has this as her marching orders if she is a married woman she needs to submit to her husband now i know that's language that we don't like today i know that's language that causes a lot of ruckus even in the church we don't like the thought of submission well christ according to his humanity willingly submitted himself to the father it's not wicked it's not evil it's not bad to submit and the apostle says that's the way it's supposed to be in marriage but it's interesting verse 22 wives submit to your own husbands not to every husband not to every man out there paul is not a muslim paul rather is a champion of dare i say it women's rights he wants women to find their blessing in what god has instituted for them so wives submit to your own husbands as to the lord that means in all things lawful if he commands you to sin then you can disobey him on the basis of acts 5. but as well verse 33 underscores respect nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband so submission and respect are the two particular uh virtues or two particular responsibilities that paul calls for here now some would say well what about love titus chapter two the apostle tells us or assumes that women love their husbands i think paul addresses those things that may prove to be a bit of a challenge in marriage in other words submission to another human being isn't always easy so that's why he addresses it here that's why he addresses it in the book of galatians now with reference to the husband verses 25 to 29 he is to first of all lead his wife when god made adam in the garden he made him upright and of course they sought out many devices in terms of transgression but he made adam as the head paul says that he rehearses that here in chapter 5. when paul wants to preach christian ethics he goes back to the creation account he goes back to genesis chapters 1 to 3. so the husband is to lead his wife he is to love and govern her in a way that is consistent with god's holy word so he is to lead her and then paul says secondly he is to love her and the standard by which you are to love your wife is found in verse 25. husbands love your wives just as christ also loved the church and gave himself for her that's why i entitled this ad the sacrificial love that god requires it's certainly sacrificial on the part of a woman to submit and to respect it's sacrificial on the part of a husband to love and lead in a manner that's consistent with the word of god now for any of you who've ever attended a wedding here you've heard me quote martin luther and i'm not going to stop now martin luther that reformer made this observation concerning the husband and wife's relationship and i think he nails it he hits the nail right on the hat and i think if you keep this in your mind whether you're shane and becca or whether you're jim and rebecca or whether whoever you are think about it this way luther said let the wife make the husband glad to come home that's good good good counsel let the wife make the husband glad to come home if shane wants to drive around the the block a thousand times or he wants to you know go to the park he wants to go visit daniel not that it's always wrong to go visit daniel or go to the park but if that is the consistent response that's not good so luther says let the wife make the husband glad to come home then he goes on to say and let him make her sorry to see him leave in other words when he leaves for work you're not throwing a sandwich at him and saying good riddance i i hope that you know you do drive around the block a thousand times and we don't see each other till friday no i think that luther nails it christian marriage husband-wife relationship again it gets a lot of bad press the bible gets a lot of bad press and a lot of misunderstanding is placed upon it but if man and woman do what god says to do that is the pathway i know this is this isn't rocket science here this is as elementary and observation as a man can make it it is the case that when we by grace do what god calls us to do we know his blessing we know his goodness we know the smile of god upon us again doesn't mean perfection doesn't mean every single day it's going to be like the honeymoon honeymoons do wear off but the grace of god is there for us to press on even when the honeymoon is over and that is a most blessed thing he then ends this section or goes to this section and and parallels or gives the analogy again from genesis for we are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh and then he says something very intriguing in verse 32 this is a great mystery but i speak concerning christ and the church this is one of the most solemn aspects in terms of what you you guys are doing here today certainly when we sign the license it's a binding contract or covenant but what you do once forward i think that's the way to say it when you leave from here you are a symbol or a representation of christ in the church you're either going to be a good one or a bad one you're either going to love her and lead her the way that christ loves and leads the church you're going to submit and respect the way that the church submits in respect to christ well you're not going to do that so you got to remember the symbolism involved that all of us as believers in jesus christ are teaching the world something about christ and his relation to the church in our marriages one to another so in conclusion that actually does mean something it's a bit different than finally in conclusion the blessings of marriage companionship now let's not underestimate that companionship there may be a case in a marriage that's lawfully contracted where one or both parties are unable for sexual intimacy or unable for procreation that does not invalidate a marriage it was not good that man was alone so god made adam uh eve and brought her to adam so that there would be this covenant of companionship sexual intimacy again proverbs chapter 5 hebrews chapter 13 god is not a prude god is not anti the sexual uh act in the marriage bed this is a blessed thing and a gift from our lord and then of course procreation children and that is one of the most counter cultural and most revolutionary things that the people of god can do today have babies produce spawn bring them up and the training and admonition of god most eye and send them out as arrows into this godless world that they may by grace shine his lights in a crooked and perverse generation and they may hold forth the word of truth and then finally with reference to chapter 3 verses 14 to 19. in order to do what paul says in chapter 5 you're going to need that strength you're going to need that knowledge and you're going to need that fullness so make sure you're prayerful that this isn't attacked simply that we heard one time and then we forget but it's something that is in our hearts and our minds and that we pray or invoke god for these gifts so that we may conduct ourselves in a manner that is consistent with his holy word and if you're not a christian here this morning or this afternoon i want to encourage you to take paul's letter to the ephesians and see what salvation is all about it's an act of god it's a work of the lord most high jonah saw this in jonah chapter 2 verse 9 he says salvation is of the lord the saints before the throne in revelation 7 they praise god most high and the lamb who sits on the throne why because salvation belongs to him it's not us that comes to god it's god that brings us to himself paul is very clear for by grace you have been saved through faith it is looking unto the lord jesus christ in faith that brings a sinner into a saving relation with god most high through jesus christ who lived who died and was raised again such that all who look to him will have everlasting life amen well let me pray father in heaven i pray again for shane and becca that they would take this exhortation to heart that they would not only reflect upon the duties in ephesians 5 but that they would indeed seek you by way of petition and prayer for the strength necessary for the knowledge necessary for the fullness of god necessary to live in a manner that is consistent with your holy word lord bless them richly and cause them to walk in the fear of the lord and in the comfort of the holy spirit and may you be glorified in this as they give a good and accurate representation of jesus christ and his love for his bride and we pray this in jesus name amen well you can now stand with me i'll ask the party to come back to the front and everybody else we can stand together as we sing a mighty fortress is our god [Music] foreign is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] yes [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] one more song though how great thou art so [Music] [Music] oh uh is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] uh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] so [Music] usually at a wedding i just lose it right when the bride comes walking down the aisle again it's a wonderful happy time a time for celebration shane is a very special man in the life and context of our local church it's been wonderful to see him smitten by becca and to see them up here now at the time of the exchange of vows so please hold your bride's hand and i'll lead you in the vows i'll give you a bit and then you repeat okay okay i shane stephen hendricka hendrickus and i in the presence of god and before for better or for worse for better or for worse for richer for richer for poorer in sickness and in health sickness until god shall separate us by death until god himself to be my married husband and i in the presence of god and before these witnesses of god and all these witnesses promise and covenant promise to be a loving faithful and obedient wife to you until god shall separate us by death amen you may exchange rings you first you can't hold hands that's fine well with reference to a wedding there's a lot of symbolism involved the ring i like to think of the ring when you do a bit of a google search on the significance of the ring and all that sort of thing you get a whole host of different answers i like to think of it in terms of ownership and identity when i look at my ring i think that i belong to another when you look at that ring you think you belong to another same with you becca as well we have the signing of the marriage license again this is a binding covenant it is a contract with solemn implications for those who break it and then the lighting of the unity candle they will in just a moment we'll all go over there for the signing of the license the unity candle symbolizes the two becoming one obviously matthew 19 5 as i mentioned earlier jesus was questioned concerning the lawfulness of divorce he says for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh and what god has joined together let not man separate so we'll now move over to the table for the signing of the license i believe that we're going to have some music while we do that [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] our father we know this is a time of celebration and joy it's also a serious and solemn time and i pray for your blessing to be upon this couple that have become one may you give them many years of joy together may they exercise their responsibilities in a loving and gracious and and christ exalting way may their home be filled with laughter and with uh joy and thanksgiving each and every day and may it be a home marked by the fear of the lord in the comfort of the holy spirit we bless you we praise you we thank you for the gospel of our salvation the reality that christ lived died and was raised again the third day such that all who look to him in faith will have everlasting life we praise you in his most blessed name amen well at this particular moment or at this particular time it is my privilege as a minister of the gospel of our lord jesus christ and as one duly recognized by the province of british columbia in canada to pronounce you husband and wife you may kiss the bride and for the first time it's my joy to introduce mr and mrs shane abby what a blessing the party's going to exit to that side of the building they'll set up a receiving line you can greet them there and then when you arrive at the reception you'll need to go down to the end of the driveway of the reception venue and park behind the the barn go ahead [Applause] foreign