Home Work Pt. 1

Hey, y'all, welcome to Zion Church, everybody. It's great to have you, hun. What are they about to experience? Homework. We have homework to do. Everybody has homework to do. You have tuned in for a great sermon. You're gonna love it. Take notes, just like you would do in the classroom because you're gonna have some homework to do. Wow. All right. And please don't forget to comment, like, share, and subscribe. We'll see you after service. And we're gonna be focused on the work we need to do in our homes. To build our homes. Whether you live in it with people who are in your family or whether you live in your home alone, we need to do some work in our homes. All right? And so, be open. Be open to God's instruction. It's very important. I've subtitled today's message, Do Your Part. It is important that you don't become an expert in today's message about what somebody else needs to be doing, but you focus on your part. Somebody say, do your part.

In fact, look at somebody near you and say, do your part. Cause you really wanna say that to them anyway. Amen. All right, let's stand. And we're gonna get into this word. Thank you, We Are Zion Music, so much for that. Appreciate it. I'm using Colossians chapter three, verses 18 to 21 as our foundation passage. And it says, these words, I'm using the Amplified Bible. I like its elaboration on the passage. It says, wives, be subject to your husbands. And about five people clutched their purse cause they can't really walk out right now. Amen. We want God's standard, not the world's, not our flesh, not the culture. Give me what God says, even if it hurts my feelings. Amen. Wives, be subject to your husbands out of respect for their position as protector and their accountability to God, as is proper and fitting in the Lord. Verse 19, husbands, love your wives with an affectionate, sympathetic, selfless love that always keeps the best, that always seeks the best for them. And do not be embittered or resentful towards them because of the responsibilities of marriage. Verse 20, children, obey your parents

as God's representatives in all things for this attitude of respect and obedience is well-pleasing to the Lord and will bring you God's promised blessings. And then finally, verse 21, fathers, do not provoke or irritate or exasperate your children with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive, nor by favoritism or indifference, treat them tenderly with lovingness so they will not lose heart and become discouraged or unmotivated with their spirits broken, or as the Amplified Classic Bible translation says, fathers, do not break your children's spirits. Amen, you may be seated. I wanna open this series up with a statement that I want to frame our conversation around this subject of the work we need to do at home or our homework, and it is this. In order for you to do effective work in your home, it's gonna require tools and skills. To effectively work on your home, it's gonna require both tools and skills. Now, that's true to do work on your home in a natural sense. If something's broken in your home, it usually requires some sort of tool to fix it. If you don't have the tools, it's gonna be hard to fix. You may have to call somebody else in from the outside to fix it.

Well, the same is true when it comes to spiritual tools. If you don't have the tools, you can't make your home better. You can't repair things that are broken, and for the sake of analogy, the word tools, let's consider that to be knowledge because what you don't know can hurt you and what you do know can help you because when you know better, you can do better. It doesn't necessarily mean you will do better, but you can do better if you know better. That's where skills come in. Skills is the proper application of knowledge. That's how you become skillful at something. You learn how to do it. You were taught it or you caught it. You were around it and observed it or you were instructed to do it, and then you develop skills by practicing. it in your life or, you know, having habits around that particular knowledge. So application comes with knowledge and gives you what we call skills. Now all of this is important because you can know and not change. The Bible says in James chapter 4 verse 17, it says, if you fail to do what you know, it's a sin. The Bible says when you don't do what you know you're supposed to do, that's a sin. It's called a sin of omission. And so we want to make sure that we're practicing what we're learning. Now everybody has a part. Every verse that I'm going to look at today, you know, you're a part by the opening word in the verse, like verse 18, it starts out with wives.

That means if you're a wife, this is your verse. Don't take it personal, but make it personal. Don't take it personal and get defensive, but make it personal and say, okay, I need to apply this to my life. There's a difference. If you're single and you're not married, but you aspire to be married, take this verse to heart because this will give you some framework on what is expected of you as a wife. Verse 19, the next verse tells you who it's talking to. It opens up first word husbands. If you're a husband, this is your verse. Don't take it personal. Don't get defensive, but make it personal so that you can apply it to your life. If you're not a husband and you want to be a husband, then pay close attention to this verse because it's going to be telling us some things that are required to be a husband. The next verse, there's something for everybody. Everybody say, do your part, children. How do you know if that's you? You say, well, here's one thing I don't understand. It doesn't matter how old you are. You're always somebody's child. Even when you have your own children or grandchildren, you are still somebody's child. But for definition, for the sake of this series and understanding biblical truth around this, a child is somebody who is still dependent upon parental fiscal support, which means even if you're up in age, if you still have your cell phone bill, you're still on your parents' insurance, they still help you pay your bills, you're a child. You're still a child, but you're a child who is supposed to obey your parents because they're still financially footing the bill for you. Now, if you've grown and really on your own and you don't have any financial support from your parents, then now obeying them is not a requirement, it's a choice. That's just how it goes, right?

But if you are still getting financial support from your parents, you're supposed to obey them. And the last group is fathers mentioned in verse 24. I went backwards, not forwards. Let's go to the last verse, which is fathers. If you are a father, this is your verse. Don't take it personal and get defensive, make it personal and apply it to your life. And if anything you find from God is in collision or conflict with what you believe and what you practice, then make sure God's truth always trumps yours. Amen. Because sometimes what we need to learn is we need to unlearn some stuff that has been toxic in our family lives and in our homes. Now, before we go into these verses and unpack them, I want to say one more framing statement, and that is this. When it comes to difficult relationships in your life, the most difficult relationships in your life will always require a higher version of yourself just to manage that relationship. I'm going to say it again. When it comes to the most difficult relationships in your life, it requires a higher version of yourself, not even to make the relationship great, just to manage it. How many people understand what I just said? And what that means is if you're not the kind of person that's wanting to grow and to mature and to evolve, you will be perpetually frustrated in difficult relationships. Because in your mind, the other person needs to change. And if he stopped doing that, and if she start doing this, I would be happy. Well, what that does is it shows that you are placing your contentment on the change of another person. And if you eavesdrop in on your prayers about your difficult relationship, you'll find yourself praying for change in their life. And that's not unfair because some people need to change. But if you're waiting on them to change to find contentment, you might pick up a vice

in your life. And that vice could be overeating. It could be using drugs. It could be pornography. It's all kinds of vices you can pick up in your life while you're waiting on this person to change. And you didn't even know you picked this up, but you picked it up because you instead of Instead of working on yourself and doing your part, you kept your attention on the person who keeps making things difficult for you. Did that make sense to you? So when you keep in mind these two things, one is having effective work in the home is gonna require tools and skills, and when you realize that, hey, it's gonna require a higher version, the best version of myself, just to maintain the relationship that I'm in, you need to come to this series and say, God, I need help, I'm open. Develop me, work on me. You shouldn't come into this series with a level of arrogance and like, I don't need anything. You gotta come because you gotta be better. You're gonna have to be better because any relationship you have that frustrates you, disappoints you, ticks you off, makes you go to 10, that's a sign that you gotta have a better version of yourself for that relationship.

Anybody understand what I'm saying? It got a kind of dark in here, I'm just trying to see y'all, all right? Now, let's walk through the verses and see what God says to us in this service. First of all, let's start with the wives where it says, wives, be subject to your husbands. Be subject to, what does that mean? The word for be subject to in the Greek language is a word, hupotasso, and it's a combination of words. The word hupo means under, and the word tasso means to arrange. So hupotasso means to arrange under something or someone. So the Bible says, if you're a wife, you're supposed to arrange yourself under your husband. It is not coerced, it is a choice. You arrange yourself, you fall in line under your husband, realizing he is God's authority over your life. It doesn't matter what culture says, that's your covering. That's the head of your life from a natural standpoint. That's your job to arrange yourself under him. Watch this, out of respect for his position as your protector and his accountability to God, that's God's son. Now, even if he's not a follower of Jesus Christ or a believer, you're still supposed to arrange yourself under him because that's God's divine order.

So you do it in that sense, not because he's accountable to God, you do it because you're accountable to God. And God, this is how you set this up, this is how you structured it, and this is my covering in my life. And watch this, maturity knows how to respect the authority of others. I don't care who you are, you're immature when you can't respect the authority that somebody has over your life because you don't think they deserve it or anything. Listen, when you hupotasso, that doesn't mean the person is better than you, it means the position is higher than you. They're in a different position. Same human intrinsic value, a man and a woman are equal in value, but in that position in a marriage, that man who you're married to, you're supposed to arrange yourself under. Woo, y'all looking at me like you ain't never heard that in your life. And you do this submission, hupotasso, as is proper and fitting in the Lord. In other words, watch this, you don't make your husband a God, God is the only one on the throne. He's not your Lord, he's your leader. There is difference, he's not to be revered,

but he's to be respected. And men are very sensitive to disrespect. I said men are very sensitive to disrespect, just like a woman is very sensitive to being unloved. It is important to understand that, right? So if he tells you to do something, but if he tells you to do something that's immoral, that's illegal, that's criminal, you don't arrange yourself under that. That means he's abusing his authority. But if he's not telling you to do something that's immoral, or illegal, or unethical, then you're supposed to arrange yourself under him and follow him. But you're supposed to follow him as he follows Christ. Now let me see the hands online, in the chat, and in this room. Every single woman, let me see your hand. I got something to tell you today. Now, if indeed a wife is supposed to subject herself to her husband and follow him, not always knowing where that will lead her, it would make sense to me that you would take the decision of who has that position in your life very seriously. And it can't just be on, does he have good hair? And does he smell good? And does he dress good? And does he have a good personality? And all that stuff. All that stuff won't matter.

Here's the thing, here's the thing. All that's nice, but can you follow him? I said, can you follow him? Is there a pattern in his life that makes him trustworthy to be followed? That's very important. And if you are a follower of Christ as a single woman, here's what you need to understand Do you have enough confidence in his walk with Christ that you following him will not derail your relationship with Jesus? And he won't have you spiritually Abducted and often some kind of chanting Sitting in front of a tea tree lighting incense and drinking milk and almond Now you're walking barefoot and everything is pierced on your body and you took your perm out and everything See you got to make a decision is this somebody I can follow is this somebody I can follow or or am I so pressed To get married. I'll marry a good man Even if he's not God's man, and I'll just trust God that after I marry him. I'm gonna pray him into the kingdom I'm gonna pray him into the church. I'm gonna let him meet my pastor He's gonna follow one of my pastor and he's gonna start coming to church. No, that ain't how it work He's already shown you in his life while you've been dating him that church ain't that important to him He's not gonna stop doing that I'm gonna start doing that because you get married you gonna come to church by yourself Pushing a stroller by yourself and you're gonna sit in church by yourself And then you're gonna stop coming to church because your head is off I said your head is off and whatever has got the head is controlling the body and you're gonna follow your head and because he Doesn't come to church. You're gonna stop coming to church, too So you better beware the devil is a liar. You better beware. Can I really follow this person? Because because guess what if I do once you in you in that's my head that's my head I'm Ready to make you my head Based on what ah Based on what I'm ready to follow you Now, let me say this to single women to let me say this is single ladies, I'm a single ladies

If you are living on your own and you're a single woman you are the head of your house You think I wouldn't have to say this but trust me I do you are the head of your home If you are on your own you are the head of you Jesus is the head of your life But with his help and guidance you are the head of your home And even if you have a boyfriend, he is not the head of your home And some of y'all need to understand that because you keep giving these boyfriends husband level status in your life But he is not the head of your home give me something to drink I'm gonna get it out. Amen. Yeah rebuke him. Amen Now think about this If you are in a relationship with somebody and you For whatever reason you're not married to the person You're not married to the person And you're For whatever reason you're not married to the person You're not ready. He's not ready or you don't even want to bring it up because he getting He's not acting funny when you bring it up But you're not married stop playing house I said stop playing house This is a real this is real house right here. This is the real housewives of colossians So Stop acting like a wife when you're not really a wife stop operating like a wife What am I saying? Stop making him your head stop letting him tell you what to do with your money Stop ironing his clothes. Stop washing his clothes. Stop cooking them dinner. And you know what else? Huh? You playing house you playing house high five somebody say stop playing house you playing house you playing house You playing house you acting like when I was a kid we played house That was a game you played house and I remember I always wanted to be in charge when I played house We're playing house. I'm the father I'd be doing my pain like hey, shut down I pulled my belt off like i'm gonna beat somebody i'm six years old, but i'm the father and the husband of the house

And I can have a nine-year-old cousin. I said sit down do your homework because we playing because I was perpetrating like I was really that And that's okay when you're six But not when you're 40 And you're 50 and you're 60 and you're still playing house And you're still giving somebody the kind of authority over you that they ain't supposed to have That's why it's a big mistake for you to have somebody Dating that's living with you because you confuse the order you confuse the order when you try to make when you try to turn this Into a shack up situation that's out of order and the Bible says be not deceived God is not mocked whatever man sows that silly also reap you can't so a fake marriage and get a real one and You want a real one, but you keep sabotaging it playing house. I don't care if you're mad you playing house And if you want it once you're gonna put a ring on it, that's a God be a spirit of Beyonce's on Don't settle and let me just say this to the real wives some of these Girlfriends are out here treating their fake husbands better than you treating your real one Y'all was clapping a minute ago, I don't know what just happened to the claps People were standing up. Where did the support go? You didn't pray for a husband you prayed to be a wife and now you got to act like you're grateful and do your part The problem with marriage marriage is a naturally atrophying relationship because soon as people get in it they start chillin All that day. Let me tell you why let me tell you why this is so hard I said that one of the reasons one of the reasons why one reason why your most difficult Relationships are usually in your immediate family is because several reasons one is because you didn't pick your immediate family You inherited them. I know that sounds harsh, but it's true You think of your best friends in life your best friends is your best friend because you picked them That's my friend right there. You spend time with him. We got to know him. You trust them That's a friend. You didn't pick your siblings. You didn't pick your parents You inherited that and even when you pick your spouse, you didn't really know all that you were picking Nah Can't nobody say nothing on that because you might get in trouble But the truth is the truth is you will experience things about your spouse that you didn't even you ain't know it came with all

that Why because they always put their best foot forward The bet they was always did we always on a date? The whole thing was a date the whole thing was it was it must have been a dream It was just a dream where you walk now You walk now Yeah, so so now it's hard. It's a difficult relationship because you see reality now you see each other at your worse multiple times and now you've seen them at their worse and they've seen you at your worse and then because it's legally binding and it's Lawfully binding and it's G G G. What is the thing genetically binding? It's not something you can just block or just reject and cancel and get out of it's it's a difficult relationship But I like the fact that you can't get out of it easy because good or bad right or wrong. It's your family and Even if you leave to go to another family, you're just getting new problems Amen, let me go to the next verse. I can see you're not happy. Let's go to verse 19 and husbands love your wife That word love is the word Greek word agap. Oh, we call it a gap a Husbands a gap a your wives And then the Amplify Bible goes into definite defining it. It's an affectionate. That's not sexual It's affectionate Sympathetic selfless love that always seeks the best for them husbands What would it feel like to our wives if we are got bait them? If we didn't if we didn't if we didn't judge them and point out their flaws when we have them ourselves If we weren't bitter towards them as it says here and resentful towards them And here's the here's what I love about this when Jesus when that same word that same word a godpa Agap. Oh it right here in Colossus 319 is the same word and he in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 25 which describes Jesus's love. It says love your wife like this like Christ. I got paid to church and then it says what he did What did he do for the church? He laid down his life for the church and died for it And I believe that a lot of marriages are dying because a lot of husbands aren't willing to You're not willing to lay down your life for your wife And we live in a culture that says I need a ride-or-die chick, but the Bible says the husband is the one supposed to die How's the chick the one for the husband's the one supposed to lay down his life?

You ain't gotta do all that. We just starting to fight Do whatever you want. It's good. This is the thing. This is the thing and maybe in fairness This is a you're supposed to lay down your life for your wife You took a vow that you will stay in it for the rest of your life and I'm trying to figure out how did you get out you're alive. You're Houdini. I was at a retreat one time and this man, I won't say his name or the retreat but I remember being there and I was speaking at this couple's retreat and he stood up and I mean, he hadn't been married a year. I don't think they've been married a few months and he said, you know what baby? I'd die for you. I thought of that Prince song. I would die for you. It was such a powerful moment. I went up to the wife's sister and said, he didn't last 1 year. He left alive. And he said, alive. Saying I'll die for you and dying is real. What would it be like if you laid down your life instead of laying down the law? It's going to be empty in here and I'm just going to be here. I'm just going to walk around

the chairs and I'm going to still preach it. Part two. He says, this is the way you should love her. Don't be bitter and resentful. Those two words there comes from a Greek word that means to be pointed or sharp and it really defines how a man acts when he's disappointed. He gets angry and he says, and I love how to amplify Bible attaches it to this point. It says he's in bitter and resentful because of the responsibilities of the marriage. You know what that means? He's mad that she's not doing what he wants in the marriage. She don't cook. She don't clean. She don't have enough intimacy. So you know what? She going to get this hard, harsh version of me. Now it's no longer watch this. It's no longer selfless love. It's now a performance love. And here's where I could, you could take this to the bank. If a man doesn't love like this part of the verse, he will act like this

part of the verse. I'm going to say it again because it's true. If a man doesn't love like this part of the verse, affection is sympathetic, selfless love. He will act like this part of the verse and bitter than resentful. How many people know I'm telling the truth right there? And I'm saying the goal is it's not perfection is to get better. I'll tell you what else a man would do. He will get, he will get, he'd get out of relationship or he gets somebody on the side or he'll leave the relationship because it's not performing at his level. That's not how this works. That's not how this works. Amen. And I, you know, I love you whether you do it right or not. We just, the standard is the standard. The standard is the standard. Let's go on to the next verse and talk about children. That's easy. That's, I didn't went backwards again, hitting the wrong button. Let's talk about children. Children. Obey. Here's another

beautiful word. The word obey and he, in the Greek language again, the word hoopoe, but this time it's not hoopoe Tasso, which means to arrange under. This is the Greek word hoopoe Akuo. And it means again under, but Akuo is where we get the word acoustics from. And it means to hear children here under your parents. It gives the posture which, which you should listen to the authority in your life. You know what this is saying? We ain't on the same level. Wake up. It's going to be all right. Give me five more minutes. We ain't on the same level. I ain't your boy. I ain't your homie. I ain't your girl. That's why it's careful. It's good to have a friendship with your child. Be careful that you call him your friend. Don't call him your enemy. Don't call him your enemy. Don't call him be careful that you call him your friend. Cause you might have to be a parent and throw them off. We're not on the same

level. I'm an authority. You taller than me, but I'm still the authority. You know what I'm saying? This is, this is, this is you need to hear children need to hear under their parents as God's representative. You are God's representative as a child and part of your representation of God means I listened with respect to those who were in authority over me. And I don't just do it when I agree, I do it in all things, in all things. There are people now that there's children now to be like, yeah, I agree with that. I can see that. Yeah. I'm with that. Like, like that's selective obedience. This is a new world now. You can call a child and say, huh? What? If two generations ago, if you, if a parent called you and you said, what did they even have child protective services back there? Yeah. I didn't know the number to it. Cause I sure could have called somebody. I

was in environments where you couldn't just say what or huh? You had to say, yes, sir. The inflection says I hear under Yes, ma'am. People don't say stuff like that now. We just, we just cool. They call us by our first name. They just, just chilling. And I'm saying you're setting the pattern for your life because it's, what happens is you'll get a blessing if you hear under your parents in all things. It's your responsibility. In fact, it's not just when you agree, it's with whatever you say, as long as it's not illegal or immoral or dishonoring to God. If your parents are telling you to do something out of respect for them, yes, sir. And try to do it, try to do it rapidly. Like not when you get around to it. That's just respect, amen. It's respect and hearing under. Now, in the Bible, in the Old Testament, they didn't have a problem with disobedient children. And the reason why, because they had a system for that. I'm gonna share the system with you. It's gonna disturb you, but I'm gonna share the system with you. It's in Deuteronomy chapter 21.

Let me show you how they dealt with disobedient children in the Old Testament under the law. Now, I tried to get the softest version I could. This is the good news translation of this. This is the softest I could find. Suppose someone has a son who is stubborn and rebellious, a son who will not obey his parents. He will not obey his parents. He will not obey his parents, even when they punish him. Verse 19, his parents are to take him before the leaders of the town where he lives and make him stay in trial. Verse 20, they are to say to them, our son is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey us. He wastes money and is a drunkard. Stop right there. He wastes money and is a drunkard. Go back. So you would think they would say, well, let's try to talk to him. Let's try to talk some sense into him. Let's let him stay over my house a little while. Nope. Verse 21, the men of the city are to stone him to death. They will play the song, we will, we will rock you. That's what they did. Why? So you will get rid of this evil and everyone in Israel will hear what has happened

and be afraid. Well, you say, well, they're going to just be killing all the kids. Nope. You ain't gonna do this one time. One kid on TikTok that got rocked. Everybody said, shawty, you see what happened to Jarmonte in there? Hey, yo, they, hey, yes, ma'am. All you gotta do is one, one for the whole neighborhood. You say, that's pretty cruel. It was the law. That's the law. It was the fourth commandment. Honor your father and mother, period. You break the law, there are consequences. They didn't put you in timeout. They put you in your time is up. That's it. Now, contrast that. Second Timothy chapter three. And Paul says, this is what it's going to be like in the last days. Listen to this contrast. Can you see anything familiar here? You should notice Timothy in the last days, there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents,

disobedient to their parents, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. Know anybody like that? They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving, unforgiving. They will slander others and have no self-control. They'll be cruel and hate what is good. Verse four, they will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that can make them godly. Stay away from people like that. And let me ask you a question. Would our culture, would our culture be like it is right now if we operated in Deuteronomy 21? Or is it like that now because we don't? And I'm not saying, you know what, I'm not for the death penalty, killing kids over disrespect, but here's what I'll say to every child. Even though society is rampant with disobedience to parents, make sure that's not the case with you. Do better. Do your part. Honor your parents. Okay, what society is doing. Because this promise will give you a blessing. It's a promise blessing. Go to Ephesians six.

There's a blessing attached to this. I'm almost done. Ephesians six says, children obey your parents because you belong to the Lord. Whether they belong to the Lord or not, you're supposed to obey your parents, but this is the right thing to do. Honor your father and your mother. This is the first commandment with a promise. Here's the promise. When you honor your father and mother, things will go well with you and you will live long on earth. You will go well with you and you'll live a long life on earth. You'll have a great quality of life and a great quantity of life. Do you not know that your disobedience can shorten your life and cut it off? Do your part. One more verse we're done. Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or exasperate your children. Now, you wonder why he didn't say anything in the past about mothers and I'm telling you, he got the right one right here. It's us. Provokers. What'd you say? Say it again. Following people around the house. Riding people. That's us. Not tender. Not love. Get out of my chair. What you doing? Who dropped this? You don't clean up? Just on it. So much stress from work, we just take it out. No patience. I mean, trivial stuff demands. Unreasonable. Humiliating. Abusive. It's us. Treat them tenderly and love. We ain't never love. Where do we learn that? To be tender and loving as a father. See, even if it doesn't come natural to you, if you're a man of God, it can come supernaturally through you. We have to let God do it. We have to let God do it. Son. And you know what? Our sons get it the worst. As fathers, our sons get it the worst because we're so busy

trying to prepare them for a real world. And we're hard on them and we push on them and we, you know, do all this tough stuff because we really raise our sons out of fear. Fear what's going to happen if they ever get pulled over by the police. Fear what happened in these streets and all that. And so instead of raising our children out of fear and taking out our fear for them on them, instead speak life over them. Speak hope over them. Speak a future over them. Don't let the devil's thoughts, there's something bad going to happen. The devil, you're a liar. Ain't nothing bad going to happen to him. He's going to be all right. He's going to live and not die. He's going to be successful. Speak life instead of speaking down and out of fear. Am I making sense? This is God's plan for us. And he says, do it so that you don't break them. A father can break a child. Another reason why it doesn't mention mothers here is because this is a highly patriarchal time in the first century. The fathers ran the home. They ran, they were in charge of the wives, the children, the servants, the animals. The father was in charge of everything. So God gave the strictest warning to the one with the most authority. To whom much is given, much is required. And the person with the most authority is most likely, Pastor Lewis, to abuse it. So we're not going, we're not going to just skip this with you. I'm going to tell you what you have the power to do and what you need to do to avoid destroying and and discouraging your kids. Amen. Be loving and tender. Doesn't have to be normal, doesn't have to be natural, but it needs to be right. Let's stand. I'm out of time. If you're in a family and you ride home with a family today, or you don't ride home to family, please don't be going home on the phone or talking to somebody and say, I hope you listen today. You missed the whole point. Do your part. Do your part. I promise you there's enough in that passage for you to work on. Amen. Lord, fix me. Do a work in me. And it has to start in your heart. It has to start in your heart. So when God pulls on your heart and say, I want you to, it's time for you to accept me as your Savior and follow me as your Lord. And the day you hear his voice, harden not your heart. Before it comes out in your mannerisms, before it comes out in your messaging, before it comes out in your movements, it's gotta happen in your heart. God work on my heart. If he's pulling your heart and saying, I want you to be a better father. It's not about perfection. It's about improvement. I want you to be a better father. I want you to be a better husband. I want you to be a better wife. I want you to be a better son and daughter. You can do better. And I want to help you. And sometimes better just means you need to stop. You need to stop being 10 toes down on

everything. You, because when you find out you're 10 toes down on something, that's not even the truth. You need to get your feet off of that. Or you need to stop saying I hold on to my reputation. I'm a no nonsense, tough person. People don't need you to be tough. The world is tough. The world is already hard. We don't need it. Bunch of hard fathers that are hard all the time. Sometimes the children need a safe place to come and it can't just be their mom. You can be more than one thing with God's help. Amen. We can do it with God's help. But it all starts in your heart. What is he telling you in your heart? Is he telling you to join the church? Is he telling you to get baptized? Is he telling you to get in a small group? Is he telling you to be accountable to someone? Is he telling you to apologize to somebody in your family? Is he telling you to shut up? You know, some of us just need, we would, a good dose of shut up. If you don't let everything that comes up, come out. Just because I think it don't mean I need to speak it. Ooh, thank you, Lord. When I was a child, I thought as a child, I understood as a child, I spoke as a child. Give me that 2 Kings 2 Corinthians chapter 11 if you can. When I was a child, I thought as a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. It doesn't say when I became a man, I became a man.

It says the childish things disappeared. When I became a man, I had to put childish things away. Childish things don't leave you. They had to be put away. But watch what he says. When I was a child, watch how I operated. I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, and I understood as a child. I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I understood like a child. Listen to this again. I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, and I understood like a child. Do you see what I'm saying? That's how children do. They speak without thinking and without understanding. Ooh, you just missed that. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I understood like a child, because children speak without thinking or understanding. When I become a man, you got to understand first before you open your mouth. You got to think before you open your mouth, and you should pray too before you open your mouth. Some of you could do a good job of just having a shut up ministry. That's progress. I may not be able to say nothing nice, but I ain't going to say something nasty. Amen.

Amen. Starts with your heart. But it's your move now. I'm going to turn the service over to Pastor Larry now. I want our altar counselors to come up to the front. They don't come up to the front if you need to come up to the front. Do both. Now, why are these men and women here? They're just human, just like you. But what they provide for you is a personal point of contact to say, I'm here to make myself accountable. I want you to know God touched my heart today, and he told me there's something I need to do, and I'm here to connect with somebody to pray with me, and I'm making myself accountable. That's my next step. That's my next step. Don't stay where you are. Don't stay in neutral. Move forward in Jesus' name. That was awesome. Like I said, we have homework to do. Do you have homework to do? Did you take notes? Yeah, this was a challenging message for all of us, but remember, do your part. Don't worry about anybody else. You have enough work to do for yourself.

Focus on your part, do your part, and we'll see you back here for part two next week.