Pitch Your Tent

marriages made in heaven but lived on earth. And we can learn a lot from different marriages in the Bible. Uh if you're married, of course, there's much you can apply in your married life. If you're not married, there's still principles here that we'll be preaching that will be beneficial to you as well. And so, look at First Peter chapter 3. We're going to look at this marriage today as a marriage of Abraham and Sarah. In fact, God uses their marriage as an example for us in the New Testament. 1 Peter chapter 3, beginning with verse number one. Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives.

while they behold your chase conversation coupled with fear whose adorning let it not be the outward adorning excuse me of plating the hair or wearing of gold or putting on apparel but let it be the hidden man of the heart and that which is not corruptible even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price for after this manner in the old time the women also who trusted in God adorned themselves being a subjection unto their own husbands even as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord whose daughters you are as long as you dwell and you're not afraid with any amazement.

Likewise, you husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel and as being heirs together the grace of life that your prayers be not hindered. So we have Abraham and Sarah as an example of a good relationship in marriage and uh but they also had many struggles as well. And one of the things that they struggle with and I think almost every couple struggles with is this idea of subjection. And uh and I want to talk first of all about being together in subjection. To be together in subjection again if you look at verse number one likewise you wise be in subjection to your own husbands.

Now skip down to verse number five. For after this manner in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves being of subjection unto their own husbands, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters you are as long as you do well and are not afraid with any amazement. Now, subjection is a tough subject. Subjection is a tough subject to deal with. and and the idea that uh this idea of subjection. In fact, in verse number six, it says, "Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord." When my wife and I first got married, I said, "You don't have to call me Lord.

You can just call me by the first three letters of my last name." My last name is Surface. Forget it. You guys are not helping at all. But uh what does that mean to call him Lord? And and what does it the idea of this word subjection mean? If you hold your place here, I want you to look at Ephesians chapter 5 and look at verses 22 through 24. Ephesians chapter 5 and beginning with verse number 22 down through verse number 24. Ephesians 5:22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the wife is the for the husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and is the savior of the body.

Therefore, as the church is subjected to Christ, so let the wives be unto their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. And so the Bible teaches this idea of subjection. Now there's a lot of wrong teaching on this subject in the world today and even in churches today. Um you have the the modern equality movement where women are as good or as better than men and you don't need men and all the rest is taught in the world. Um, and and yet the Bible is the original equality book. In Genesis, Galatians chapter 3 28, it says, "There's neither Jew nor Greek.

There's neither bond nor free. There is neither male nor female. For you're all one in Jesus Christ." And and the Bible teaches that that that we as men and women are equal in Christ. Now, the the the church teaching for a long time has been this idea of women are be seen and not heard. and and has kind of put women into a lower class of people somehow. And that's not biblical either. And that's not this idea of subjection. And when we talk about subjection, what are we talking about? Well, first of all, in Hebrews 13 verse number 17, it says, "Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they which watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you."

The Bible says that Sarah obeyed obeyed Abraham. In Hebrews 13:7, it says to obey them that have the rule over you. It was interesting when I looked that word obey up. One of the definitions of the word is the word is is tranquilize. Uh in other words, maybe ladies, you need need to take a little bit of volume to deal with your husband. I don't know. Uh but you got to kind of chill out. We we get so upset about this idea. Well, I don't have to subject to him and he can't tell me what to do and he's not better than me and all the rest of it. And God says, "Listen, just kind of chill out here a little bit in this idea of obedience and understanding what it is."

The the word the idea of the word obey, it means to be persuaded. In Hebrews chapter 6 and verse number nine, it says, "But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak." He said, "Listen, I'm persuaded in your obedience. I'm persuaded that you are going to do what's right." And Chapter 2: Ephesians.33 that's the idea of that word obey to obey your husbands. And uh you need to be persuaded first of all if you're going to be in subjection. Husbands, your wives need persuaded that you love them and you want what's best for your family. You know, when you know somebody loves you and when you know somebody wants what's best for you and is going to put you first, it's easy to obey them because you're persuaded that they're going to always try to do the right thing.

In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 25, the Bible says, "Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave herself for it." And and husbands, you need to be a a sacrificial servant leader. It's hard for a a wife to obey her husband and subject to her husband when he's not being the leader that he should be. And as husbands, we need to be leaders, not as dictators, but like Christ. In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse two, it says, "Walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savior." And so we as husbands, we need to be the sacrificial servant leaders that when we make a decision that our family knows that that we are going to sacrifice.

It's not just you have to do this, but we are going to do this. that when we do something that we are going to be out there and taking the brunt of that decision and um and and whatever results from it as well. If if a husband decides we're going to go on a budget, then he needs to cut his budget first. If if a husband decides that we're going to get out and get more exercise, he need to be out there exercising. You know, when a dad says, "Kids, eat your vegetables," he's not eating his vegetables. He's not being a sacrificial servant leader. And so a a wife can subject when she knows that her husband loves her and he loves her as Christ loved the church and she's persuaded that he wants what's best for him her f for her and for her their family as well.

But sometimes you know we as husbands don't always do the right thing. And so what should you do in those cases? Then you need to be persuaded in God's love for you. In 1 John uh 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse number five again the Bible says for after this manner in the old time the holy one also who trusted in God adorned themselves being a subjection unto their own husbands because they trusted in the Lord they were able to be in subjection. She was able to be in subjection and sometimes when you cannot trust your husbands because all of us as husbands fail that's when we need to trust in God. In Colossians chapter 3 and verse 18, it says, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as is fit in the Lord."

And so sometimes you're persuaded that, hey, my husband is going to do the best. He's going to do what's right. He want He loves us. He wants what's best for us. But sometimes you struggle with that and he's not always doing what he should do. Then you have to trust God that God is going to work in that situation. But the Bible teaches that the wife is to be in subjection to her husband. And God says you that you are daughters of Sarah if you follow that same pattern to your life. The idea of the word subjection is is a military term means an order of rank. In 1 Corinthians chap 11 verse number three, but I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ.

The head of the woman is the man. The head of Christ is God. We have a lot of military in our church. you understand that there's a there's an order of rank and the the order of authority and the person that's in authority may not be the smartest person in the world. He may not be the best qualified person in the world. He may not be the the only one that has some answers there, but there is a chain of command that has to be followed. And and God says in the home there's also a chain of command. But the idea again in this chain of command is not just a a blind obedience but it carries the idea of this in 1 Peter 3:5.

It says, "For after this manner in old time, the holy men also who trusted God adorned themselves being of subjection unto their own husbands." Now in Matthew chapter 8 and:es 9 and 10, the same word is used. He says, "For I'm a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, go and he goeth. To another, come and he cometh. and my servant do this and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to them that follow, verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith know not in Israel. The word subjection there, the idea of that word in first Peter chapter 3, it it carries the root word of to listen to.

You see, husbands need to know that their wife is going to listen to them. That their wife is not just going to automatically uh say no. That their wife is not going to just say, "I don't want to hear what you have to say." but that they are going to be in subjection and and that they're going to be listening to their husband and and realizing that in the in order of rank what he says is important and I need to pay attention to that and and to listen to hearken. The the centurion said when I tell my servant to do something I know that I can trust him that they're going to do that. And let me ask you ladies, can your husbands trust you when he makes a decision?

Can he trust you to support him? Can he trust you to follow him? Can he trust you even sometimes to to be the opposition in the sense of like a thumb is an opposition to its fingers? My my thumb doesn't fight with my fingers. But what my thumb does is it it provides opposition so I can get a grip on things. And without the thumb, it'd be very hard for us to manipulate our phones without our thumb. And that opposition is important. And I need that same opposition. not in opposing everything that I want to do and and making it hard to do it, but in giving me opposition of an opposing point of view and and and given that opposition to help me to get a grip on on what we need to do as a family as well.

And so, a wife needs to be one that is going to listen to and understand that that uh chain of command within the marriage. In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 21, the Bible says, "Submit yourselves one to another in the fear of God." And and we need to learn how to submit to one another. You know, it's so quick. It's so easy for us as men to quote chapter 5 and verse 22, wives submits onto your husbands. But we also need to realize that we need to submit one to another. As a husband, I need to submit my rights and my desires and my wants to my family and put them first sacrificially as a servant leader.

But as a wife, you also need to submit your will uh to the leadership of your husband and and and submitting one to another in the Lord. Go over to the book of Mark. Keep a marker in First Peter, but go to the book of Mark, chapter 12, the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12. It's interesting. The Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 3 that Sarah called Abraham Lord. Um, and I I don't think the Bible is advocating that you go around calling your husband Lord so and so. Uh, but uh it was a it was a sign of respect. She understood the authority that he had within the family. It was a sign of respect. Many of you have uh uh nicknames for one another.

And you use those names as a sign of love and respect for one another and uh and doing that. My my nickname for my wife is Lady because I I I I know she acts like a lady and I and I respect her for that. A and so does the Bible expect us to call our spouse your spouse Lord? No. But what there's because there really is only one Lord. In Mark 12 and beginning with verse number 29 and Jesus answered him the first of all the commandments is it is here. Oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.

This is the first commandment. The second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There's none other commandments greater than these. You see, there's only one Lord, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's God is Lord in our life. And and we need to realize that. And and and so Sarah called Abraham Lord. But what I think is also interesting back in 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse number six, it says, "Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters you are as long as you do well and are not afraid with any amazement." Now ladies, please do not raise your hand here, but have you ever been amazed by your husband?

Not necessarily in a good sense, but in a bad sense to say, "What is wrong with that guy?" You know, uh what what is he thinking? What is he doing? You ever been amazed by your husband? I think every every couple has been amazed by one another at some point or another. And uh and and and and Abraham and Sarah were that way. If you remember the story back in Genesis chapter 12 and again in Genesis chapter 20, this didn't happen just once. It happened twice that Abraham as they were that they were traveling as sojourers through the promised land to begin with where God had told them to go, but they were strangers there and uh a lot of hostile c people around the area.

And so when they came to a new area, Abraham pulled Sarah aside, said, "Listen, I want you to tell everybody you're my sister, not my wife. Because you're so beautiful that they will kill me and take you away to be their wife because you're so beautiful." Now, that that's kind of a backhanded compliment. You know, you're so beautiful. I don't want anybody tell tell them don't want I don't want you tell anybody we're married. Now, you understand the culture of that day. the culture of that day. They could kill a guy and take his wife, but they could not do that with his sister. There was there was more he had more authority over the sister and to do that would have been wrong in the culture.

So, he was kind of protecting himself. And and um you know, that was kind of the bad thing that he did. And um I I do think however though, and again, don't raise your hand on this, but I think that every spouse here at some point in your marriage has thought, "Please don't tell anybody we're married." You ever had that happen? Don't don't don't tell them we're married. Don't don't don't let them know I even I don't even want people to know I know you you know because the way they're behaving at that time. You all know you've been in that place, haven't you? I know my wife has been there and I I've been there as well.

Uh but this is something even worse. And not only did he tell her to tell for her to say to everybody, you're my sister. He allowed in both occasions he allowed the person another man to take his wife and in one's place to take her to his bedroom. Now, if God had not intervened, he would have taken her to his bed. And it was only by God's protection and God's grace that she was protected. And and and and what a what a jerk he was. I mean, I can understand why she wouldn't want to call him Lord. I think she'd want to call him, "You jerk. What's wrong with you? Why would you let somebody take me away?

Why would you let them do that to me?" And yet, even in his failures, Sarah still respected him. Maybe not the person, but the position. And even our failures, we can still respect one another and treat each other with respect. And Abraham was rebuked strongly for what he had done. And we need to understand that God is not endorsing what he did. See, in Acts chapter 5 and verse 29, the Bible says, "Then Peter and apostles, the other apostles answered," we ought to obey God rather than men. There was some people teaching for a while that as a Christian wife, you're to do anything your husband tells you to.

If he told you go rob a bank, you should go rob the bank. If he tells you to go do something wrong, you should go do it. And that's not right. And that's not what subjection means. And that's not what obedience means. The idea of obedience is to listen and to hear. The idea of subjection is to be persuaded. But the point is, you know, God's not endorsing what Abraham did. In fact, Abraham got rebuked pretty heavily by God for what he did. And God's not Chapter 3: Proverbs endorsing what Abraham did any more than God endorses when he calls David a a man after my own heart. He's not endorsing David's uh multiple wives.

He's not endorsing his sinful nature. But God is just saying, you know, even as sinners, even with Sarah and Abraham, who who did not have a perfect marriage, who had to face struggles and problems in their relationship and and and had some pretty bad things happen, and yet they still understood the idea to have love and respect for one another. And that's what we can learn from Sarah and Abraham. It's interesting the the root word of the word subjection comes from uh the Greek word where we get our word phobia from. I thought that was interesting. 1 Peter 3:6 uh it says again, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord, that root word of that word obeyed is is phobia.

In Ephesians 5:33, it said, "Nevertheless, that every one of you in particular shall love his wife even." And the wife see that she reverts her husband. And again, the idea that word reverence is the idea of having a phobia. Now, you know what a phobia is? A a phobia is an uncontrolled, irrational and lasting fear of a certain object, situation or activity. For example, some people have phobias of spiders. You're one of those kind of people, you know, you see a spider and all of a sudden, man, you're in a panic. Uh other people, my wife has got phobias of snakes. She even sees a snake on the uh on the TV.

Uh, I remember one time I was laying and with my head in her lap and she was rubbing my head and a snake came on the TV and I thought I was going to die. I mean, she started going like this and you know I said, "I'm not the snake." You know, uh, she's got a phobia of snakes or maybe you've got a phobia of heights, you know, being up too high. You ever felt like that and feel like you're going to fall off and and you're scared of heights? Or or maybe you got a phobia of clowns. Um, and this is uh this is actually a picture. Can we get that picture up there, fellas? There it is. What? Oh, yeah. So, but maybe you have a phobia of clowns.

I don't know which it is, but um the Bible says you ought to have a phobia in this area of obedience. You see, first of all, let me say this clearly as I can. No woman should ever be afraid of their husband. Let me say it again. No woman should ever be afraid of her husband physically, emotionally, any kind of abuse, mental abuse, should never be afraid. First John 4:18 and 19, he says, "There's no fear in love, but perfect love cast out fear because fear hath torment. He He that fearth is not made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us." You need to treat your wife with honor. The Bible talks about in verse number seven of 1 Peter chapter 3.

Likewise you husbands dwell with them according knowledge giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel and being heirs together of the grace that of the life that now is and of that which is uh that your prayers be not hindered. You see the wife is to be honored and respected and valued. The word value the word honor means to value something. And when you value something you treat it differently. Years ago, we used to go to storage auctions to supplement our income. We'd buy the locker and then we'd sell the stuff off at garage sale. And one day, we got this vase in the storage. Ugliest vase I've ever seen in my life.

In fact, when we brought it home, I just kind of tossed down, let my my girls play with it. Until one day, my wife came and said to me, said, "Look at this. This vase is worth this much money." All of a sudden, we we changed our attitude towards that vase and we took it out of the toy box and we put it up on the shelf out of reach of the kids. Why? because we gave it honor. We valued it different things that you honor, you value them and you treat them differently. And the Bible says you're to honor your wife and and to value her and to treat her differently. Um it doesn't mean when it says that the wife is the weaker vessel that that she's less than you.

Uh it means that that she is to be treated with value. Uh this morning when I came in to get ready for church, we have iPads. We used to check people in. If you look at it now, uh, it's pretty badly broken in the front because I took the box out and this was sitting on top and it slid off and hit the ground. Now, this iPad has got all kinds of information and power in it. It's not weak, but yet it broke easily. And and a lot of husbands by the way they treat their wife are breaking them emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and even physically. And that's wrong. And we should treat our wives with value because she is of great value.

She's not lesser than us, but she needs to be treated with respect. In Proverbs 31 11 to 12, the Bible says, "The heart of her husband to safely trust in her so he'll have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." I often wonder how could Sarah trust Abraham after what he did. Twice he said to tell her you're my wife and let somebody take her to his bedroom. She must have struggled with that. And yet she chose to trust. And as a husband and as a wife, you need to learn to trust each other. Much of our conflict in marriage comes because we don't trust each other.

And instead of coming together to to balance each other in working on things in our relationship, what we end up doing is trying to counterbalance each other. and we go the opposite direction because I don't trust him to discipline the kids so I'm going to go the other extreme. I don't trust him financially so I'm going to go the other extreme. And we we end up not trusting each other and that what affects our marriage so badly. And I know many times I have I I have uh broken my wife's trust in me because I failed her. But I'm thankful that she still chooses to trust rather than distrust. as it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, to believe all things.

That means to believe the best in the other person, to hope all things, to hope this time is going to be different. Uh to um to endure all things when even when it doesn't work out the way you want, you're not going to give up. You're not going to quit. You're going to keep at it. And that's the kind of relationship you want to have. A relationship is built on trust. And when you trust each other, submitting to one another is not hard. It's easy. But when you mistrust each other, this is what you struggle with. So they need to we need to be in subjection together. Not just the wives, but husbands and wives.

But we also need to learn to laugh together. In Genesis chapter 18, if you'll turn over there, Genesis chapter 18, you remember the story of Abraham and Sarah. God had promised them a son Isaac. And they were now in their they were now 99 years old and still no son. and they had kind of given up hope. And in Genesis chapter 8 and beginning with verse number nine, the Bible says, "And they said unto him, where is Sarah thy wife?" And he said, "Behold, in the tent, he said, I will certainly return unto thee accord the time of life. And lo, Sarah, thy wife shall have a son." And Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind him.

Now Abraham and Sarah were old and wellstricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of woman. She had gone through menopause. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself saying after after I am waxed old shall I have pleasure my lord being old and uh and and in verse 13 the Lord said unto Abraham wherefore did Sarah laugh saying I shall of assurityity bear a child which which I'm old is anything too hard for the Lord and at the time appointed I will turn unto thee according the time of life and Sarah shall have a son then Sarah denied saying I laugh not for she was afraid and he said nay but thou did laugh.

So Sarah laughed at God when he said, "You're going to have a child your old age." If you look at Genesis chapter 17 and verse number 17, it says, "Then Abraham fell upon his face." Sarah laughed within herself. Abraham just fell on his face laughing. And it says and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born unto him that's 100 years old, and shall sh Sarah that is 90 years old bear?" You know, they they they both laughed at God when he said, "You're going to have a child." But it was God had to laugh. Look at Genesis chapter 21. Look at verse number three. Genesis 21 and verse number three. And Abraham, they had a son.

And Abraham called the name of the son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. How many of you know what the name Isaac means? Raise your hand. It means laughter in Hebrew. They named their son laughter. Why? Because they laughed at God. Now, I'm not saying you should laugh at God, but we sometimes struggle with faith, don't we? We struggle with having faith in God. In Genesis chapter 17 and and and in verse number 19, the Bible says, "And God says, Sarah, thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him."

God had promised Sarah and Abraham. He said, "I'm going to give you a son. I'm going to give you a great nation." In Hebrewsap 11 and verse number one, it says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." In verse number nine, "But without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." You know what I love about Sarah and Abraham is God calls them men and women of faith and yet they struggle just like I do. Go to Romans chapter 4. Abraham struggled with faith for salvation, but he learned to trust in the Lord.

In Romans chapter 4 and verse number one, it says, "What shall he say then that Abraham our father as pertains to the flesh hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not by before God. For that which what saith the scripture, Abraham believed God, it was counted unto him for righteousness. Brother Toer at the at the family camp talked about mark in your Bible. And if you mark in your Bible, I would underline that word counted. Then verse number four, now to him that workketh is the reward not reckoned. Underline that word of grace, but of debt. But to him that workketh not, but believeth on him that justifith the ungodly, his faith is counted, again, underline that, for righteousness.

Even as David also described the blessed the man unto whom God imputeth, same word, underline it, righteousness without works, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. And you can underline it again. And you'll find these same words later on in the same chapter. you might want to underline later on, but the point is is Abraham was a man who was saved by faith. And that word counted, reckoned, imputed, that's all the same word in the Greek. And it's an accounting term. And it means to place to account.

You see, when Abraham put his faith in God, God took his sins and put them to Christ's account. And he took Christ's righteousness and put it to Abraham's account. And that's what faith is. Faith is trusting God for salvation. You see, I I don't want to have to pay for my own sin. In Romans 3:23, the Bible says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." In Romans 6:23, it says, "For the wages of sin is death. And if you and I die in our sin, we are going to die and go to hell because we'll have to pay for our sins for eternity." Now, you say, "Well, I may not be that bad a person."

You know what? Uh, your account is overdrawn. If you just sin one time a day, 365 days a year, take that times your age. That's just one sin a day. And I know more than once a day, you have a bad thought. I know that more than once a day, you say something you shouldn't say, or you do something you shouldn't do, or you don't do what you should do. And you and I, we have many sins every day. And when you add those up over a lifetime, I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay for those sins in hell. And God says, "You don't have to because I will pay your debt in full." You see, it's not by the wage of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Abraham is not saved by what he did by his good works. He's saved by putting faith in his in Jesus Christ for salvation. In Ephesians 2:8:9, it says, "For by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves is the gift of God, not of works, lest a man should boast. And you and I are not going to heaven because we're good people. We're not going to heaven because we're Baptists. We're not going to heaven because we're religious. You're going to heaven because of Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross for you. And Abraham put his faith in God's promise of a Messiah. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, the Bible says, "For heath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

You see, when Abraham put his faith in God, God took all of his sins and put them to Christ's account. When Christ died in the cross, he paid for our sins. And he took all of Christ's righteousness and put it to Abraham's account. And that's what salvation is. Salvation is putting our faith in God and trusting him. And I wonder, have you put your faith in Jesus Christ as your savior? But God also wants to have faith in his promises. Later on in verse number 19, and being not weak of Romans 4, Romans chapter 4, being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body, now dead, when he was about 100 years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.

I I love the terminology God uses here, being not weak in faith. In verse number 20, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what he had promised that he was able also to perform. I I mean, those terms are not the person I was reading about back in Genesis. Not the person that laughed at God and didn't believe God's promise. And yet, God gives him credit for for these things. God gives him more credit than he deserves. And I'm so thankful for the testimony of Abraham and Sarah. You see, when I look at their marriage and you know, say, you know what, if God could use them as a good example of a marriage and tell me that I should follow that example, then maybe there's hope for my marriage and maybe there's hope for me.

If Abraham, after doing such stupid things, Sarah could still love him. And if Sarah after laughing at God could still be used of God, maybe yet there's hope for me in my marriage and there's hope for me in my life. And that's what I love about the word of God is we can learn to have faith even when we are not fully persuaded, even when we're not strong in the faith. And in your marriage, there's going to be times you're not strong. And your marriage, there's going to be times you're going to struggle with faith and believing in God and believing in each other. Sometimes, folks, you either have to laugh at each other or laugh with each other.

You got to make the choice. In Proverbsap 17 22, a merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dryth the bones. And in your marriage, learn how to laugh. Learn how to have fun. Learn how to sometimes laugh at each other and laugh with each other because that's what helps make a marriage strong. Sarah and Abraham, they to they were together in subjection. They were together in laughter. And then the third thing I want to show you as we close is they were they pursued hospitality together. Go back to Genesis chapter 18. Genesis chapter 18 and look at verses 1-8. Genesis chapter 18 beginning with verse number one.

And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamry and he sa sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. This talk about Abraham. And he lift up his eyes and looked and he and and lo, three men stood by him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself towards the ground. It said, "My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will fetch a mortal of the bread, and comfort you your hearts. After that, you shall pass on.

For therefore are ye come to your servant. And he said, So, so do as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes unto the upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender, and good, and gave it unto a young man. He hastened to dress it. And he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. So they practice hospitality together. And I think one of the things that really strengthens a family and strengthens a marriage is when you start reaching out beyond yourself.

You see, Abraham learned to to show hospitality to strangers. In Romans 12:13, the Bible says, "Distributing the necessity of saints, given to hospitality." You know that word given to hospitality, it can be literally translated as persecute. People ought to feel like you're persecuting them. you're so hospitable. Come my house. I want you to go for a cup of coffee. Let's get together to persecute hospitality. And if you're a couple that never has people over and never goes out with people and never goes out and does things together with others, you're a couple that's heading towards problems. You need to practice hospitality.

You need to use it. In 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 9, it says, "Use hospitality one to another without grudging." Use what you have. You say, "Well, we don't have a very big house." Then invite over smaller groups. You use what you have. We don't have a lot of money. Well, spaghetti is always good to have. It doesn't have to be a fancy meal. Use what you have to practice hospitality. The Bible says in second Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 7, "Every man is according to your purpose heart. So let him give not grudgingly or of necessity. For God loveth the cheerful giver." It should not be a have to.

It should be a want to. We want to get together with people. We want to get together with other Christians. We want to meet people and get to know them and talk to them about Jesus. We want to open our home up and and share hospitality with others around us. Now, when Abraham looked up and saw those men, he didn't know that this was the angel of God, that this was the pre-incarnate Christ. He didn't know that they were angels. In Hebrews chapter 13:2 it says, 'Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. Later on, we found out this was the angel of God.

This was Jesus. And sometimes when you have people over, you're doing in the name of Jesus to give that cup of cold water, to give that plate of spaghetti, to share a cup of coffee. In Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 34 it says, "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you. And thou shalt love him as thyself, for you are strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." Somebody once said, "There's never there's no strangers, just friends we haven't met yet." I'll tell you, if you want to make a difference in your marriage, start practicing hospitality.

Start meeting people and getting to know them, having them in your home, going out for a cup of coffee, taking time to fellowship before or after church because that really helps you to grow as you build relationships with others as well. And God blesses those who practice hospitality. And by the way, let me say this. Abraham goes running the tent and says, "Sarah, we're having company." Has your husband ever done that to you? I've done that to my wife on the way home from church sometime. We're having people over. They're on their way. But you notice what Sarah Abraham did? He didn't just tell her to go do it.

He went out and killed the calf. He got the butter and the bread. He did his part. But the point is, folks, why did God bless Sarah and Abraham? How did these two sinful people work out a relationship that God uses as a biblical example? Because they learned and understood this idea of subjection. Instead of getting all stressed out, some of you ladies, you your husband makes you want to take value, doesn't he? Instead of getting all stressed out, they begin to be persuaded that, hey, if we love each other and respect each other, we can grow together. And subjection is not slavery. It's learning to honor and value your wife and respect and obey your husband to be persuaded that that's God's plan for us today.

When we learn to laugh together, have fun. Sometimes we just take life too seriously. Enjoy some games. I'll tell you what, if you want to strengthen your family, learn to have a game night every week. Learn to go out and do things together. Don't be old fuddy duddies that just sit around and watch TV. And then practice hospitality. Find some strangers and get to know them and make them friends. Let's bow in prayer.