Transcript “…we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Ephesians 4:15

“…we are to grow up in every way into him
who is the head, into Christ.” Ephesians 4:15
 Emphasize God's use of your efforts to lead
your wife and family to grow YOU
-or How will God change ME as I attempt to lead
my family
 Ephesians 2:1 And I was dead in my trespasses
and sins
 Ephesians 2:2a I formerly walked according to
the course of this world
 Verse 2b according to the prince of the power of
the air, of the spirit that is now working in the
sons of disobedience
 Verse 3 lived in the lusts of my flesh, indulging
the desires of the flesh and of the mind
 Verse 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of
His great love with which He loved me,
 Verse 5 even when I was dead in my
transgressions, made me alive together with
Christ (by grace I have been saved)
 Verse 6 and raised me with Him, and seated me
with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
 Verse 7 so that in the ages to come He might
show the surpassing riches of His grace in
kindness toward me in Christ Jesus.
 Verse 8 For by grace I have been saved through
faith; and that not of myself, it is the gift of God;
 Verse 9 Not as a result of works, so that I may
not boast.
 Verse 10 For I am His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand so that I would walk in them.
 We are working for God & He will reward us
 The objective or ultimate desire can be a great
motivator to spur us to work
 Hard work is required to achieve results
 God gives us the ability to do the things He wants
us to do
 We must not give up when the going gets tough
 Our good works bring glory to God by impacting
others
 The “Boss Mentality”
 My way regardless of biblical importance
(preferences vs. convictions)
 I was not gentle and kind but displayed anger and
impatience. I was not following James’ admonition
to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger
 The “Boss Mentality” was not achieving the
righteousness of God.
 My sin of pride resulted in:
 A Critical Spirit
 Hypocrisy
 Lack of a Prayer Life
 I did not display a love that was patient and kind;
not arrogant or rude. I insisted on my own way
and was irritable when things did not happen the
way I had envisioned
 I did not focus on what was honorable, just, lovely,
commendable, worthy of praise
 My spirit was critical not kind and tenderhearted
 I did not cover others’ sins but stirred up strife
 I was not consistent in the way I treated people. I
did not treat my family the way I treated others.
 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you are like whitewashed tombs, which
outwardly appear beautiful, but within are
full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.
28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to
others, but within you are full of hypocrisy
and lawlessness.
 Someone said – “Yet in our pride, we cut ourselves
off from the only means of grace to which we
literally can avail ourselves at any waking
moment, the one which we have greater access to
than any other. Our empty prayer closet, the
silence of our hearts, and the dead formalism we
muster up on Sunday is the chief evidence of pride
in the Christian life. It is saying to God, I do not
need you.”
 Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in
everything give thanks; for this is God’s will
for you in Christ Jesus
 Following are truths about God that continually
anchor me to Him as He teaches me.
 God loves me
 God wants to teach me
 God wants to grow me
 God wants to help me
 God wants me to do everything for His glory because
He is worthy of all my praise
 Engrained sinful patterns
 Counterproductive to leading my family
 Result of my hard heart
 Included an unbiblical view of leadership
 The root problem was PRIDE
 Manifested by a critical spirit, hypocrisy, and lack of a
significant prayer life
 God cares for us and wants to “grow us up into Him”
 God wants us to do everything for His glory
 Oswald Chambers – Sanctification
 Sanctification means intense concentration
on God’s point of view
 Sanctification means every power of body,
soul, and spirit is chained and kept for God’s
purpose only
 Sanctification will cause an intense
narrowing of all our interests on earth, and
an immense broadening of all our interests
in God
 Critical People
 Spiritual Leadership
 Scripture Memorization and Meditation
 Preaching / Prayer
 The Power of the Holy Spirit
Someone said: The Bible may be abused by those who read
it selectively, but it was not written to cater to our wants or
our perceived “needs.” It was written to challenge us to
evaluate, and in many cases, to renounce our fleshly
“needs.” It calls us to “take up our cross” and to crucify the
flesh. It declares a whole new system of needs, needs
which are primarily spiritual, and which can only be
met in God. We are assured that these needs will always
be met because of the sufficiency and faithfulness of our
God, who has promised to provide for them.
 Memorize, Personalize, Amplify Scripture
Ephesians 4 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore
you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with
which you have been called,
with all humility [opposed to pride]
and gentleness [disposition of soul, which makes men
unwilling to provoke, and not easily provoked or offended],
with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,
being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace.
 Meditate on Scriptural Principles
An unknown author wrote about meekness :
Meekness is the fruit of the spirit." And it is
listed in Galatians 5. "Meekness is a fruit of
the spirit, which is found on the soil of
spiritual poverty, contrition, and mourning. It
is a noble flower which grows out of the ashes
of self love, on the grave of pride.
 Meditate on Scriptural Principles
Kindness is action that reveals compassion,
action that arises out of a sense of sympathy. It
can take many different forms—a smile, a kind
word, a pat on the shoulder, an invitation to
lunch, an offer of help. We are to put on
compassion and kindness as we start our day
and continue to do so throughout the day.
 Meditate on Scriptural Principles
Patience is the enduring of another's
exasperating conduct without flying into a rage.
It is a negative term. It is holding back,
restraining yourself from becoming upset or
speaking sharply or shrilly to another such as
your mate, your child, whoever’s conduct you find
difficult and exasperating.
 Preaching on Prayer
Heavenly Father, Your Word says that I am to be holy as You
are holy and that He who began a good work in me is faithful
to complete it. Your word says that He who is in me is greater
than he who is in the world, and that by Your divine power
You have granted to me everything pertaining to life and
godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called me
by Your own glory and excellence. You have granted to me
Your precious and magnificent promises, so that by them I
become a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world by lust.…Heavenly Father,
based on Your character and the promises You have made,
work in me that I may be holy as You are holy and that I may
grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.
 We are to “Press On”
 We are to “Set an Example”
 My Wife
 One of My Daughters
 Another One of My Daughters
“I am not what I ought to be, I am not
what I want to be, I am not what I hope
to be in another world; but still I am
not what I once used to be, and by the
grace of God I am what I am”
 Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has
appeared, bringing salvation to all
men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and
worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously
and godly in the present age, looking for the
blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of
our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who
gave Himself for us to redeem us from every
lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people
for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.