That being filled with the Spirit occurs in our human spirit, the part of us in communication with God, rather than being a general state of being. It explores husband-wife relationships, urging wives to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord, while also stressing that obedience to God supersedes human authority, citing the apostles' example. The message further details the husband's responsibility to love his wife sacrificially, akin to Christ's love for the church, and encourages both partners to prioritize mutual benefit and giving in their intimate lives, reflecting God's balanced design for pleasure and procreation. It concludes by highlighting the importance of godly living, sober-mindedness, and mutual love within marriage, drawing parallels to the early church and the instruction given in Titus.
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Those areas that describe husband-wife relationships. There was that great, marvelous truth of being filled in spirit. I want to suggest to you what the Spirit of God is bringing before us in verse eighteen. Because that our sixteen eleven translation says be filled with the Spirit, I believe the passage has been misunderstood for many, many years. Now, I do believe that we are to be filled with the Spirit. So let me say that at the outset. I have no problem with that doctrine. Matter of fact, I believe that with all my heart. I feel convicted because so often I'm not controlled by the Spirit of God, but I'm convinced that the verse is telling us where the filling takes place.
According to First Thessalonians chapter five, in verse twenty three, we are spirit, soul and body. Here God is emphasizing with tremendous emphases that where the filling is to take place. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled in spirit. That's where it takes place. In is the Lakatitha sphere. That is to say it's the place where the filling takes place, in our human spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that we're to be filled with. But at this particular point, that's not what he's saying there. He's talking about being filled in spirit. That is to say, it is that part of our being that's in touch with or in communication with God.
We're sensitive to and conscious of God by our human spirit. As the proverb writer could say, the spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord searching all the inward parts of the belly. Paul could say inspired by the spirit, the spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons or children of God. You know why it says itself, don't you? And you know why that's correct. Some people have put the King James Version down at that point, Romans age sixteen. But may I say it's very clearly and accurately translated. If your translation says be not drunk with, I mean, the Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit. Remember, it's not a correct translation.
It's correct theology. The Holy Spirit is a person. And so we would refer to him as himself. But the translation is absolutely accurate. Here's the reason. Numa, translated spirit, is a neuter gender word. And the translators in sixteen eleven followed the absolute Greek text. So the pronoun, you notice, has to be, the antecedent of Numa, the pronoun has to be in correct order with the noun. Seeing it has to be in the proper gender, number, and so on. So seeing that Numa is neuter in gender, The pronoun must be neuter in gender, but we learn from other passages, and that's why we have to go to all of the Bible, we learn from other passages that the Holy Spirit is a person, not an it.
Therefore, either way you have it, you come to the wonderful conclusion that we have the great person of the Holy Spirit in view. So here, be filled in spirit. Now, the obvious filler is the Holy Spirit. And you remember, he goes on after we see the three areas of indicators that a person is filled, verses nineteen, twenty and twenty one. He jumps right into husband, wife, relationship. Wives, notice what he says there. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the assembly, and he's the savior of the body. Therefore, as the assembly is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
And we evaluated that. everything last night in view of divine authority. Now there are authority structures throughout the world, but may we always remember, brothers and sisters, with great reverence, that God must always be submitted to. God's authority is supreme. Now we better make sure when we do not go along with the human authority, when we violate a human authority, that it is in fact and indeed in compliance with the Word of God, not just as we perceive the Word of God. Because, you see, many a person has made shipwreck or his or her life because they felt they were doing the will of God and they were not.
A friend of mine, a dear Christian lady in another state, was hauled off to jail, carried bodily to the police car and jailed because she obstructed... a pathway into an abortion clinic. Now we're not here to battle over that tonight. I'm just going to say something that I think is very pertinent to this matter of our husband-wife relationships. She felt that she was doing right. She tried to enlist me, knowing something of my nature, tend to want to be a scrapper and get involved. But I said to her, this is not God's way. And she had tapes that she sent me, men that were blowing their trumpets and getting on their band boxes and making their speeches.
But the truth is, when Pilate was mingling the blood of the Jews with their sacrifices, that is, human blood was flowing with animal blood because of the animalistic character of Pilate, the Roman governor, during the days of the Lord Jesus. Notice what Jesus had to say. He didn't say, let's go out there and get him and stop this thing. You remember what his answer was. Except you repent, ye shall all likewise perish. He did not run up there and stop such a massacre. Pilate was a wicked guy. Don't ever think he was a good guy. He was a wretch. Absolute wretch. However, that's not the Lord's way.
Peter whips out a sword. You may believe that he had such accuracy that he could take a certain ear off of a man's head. But may I say to you, I don't believe you. I believe Peter aimed for the sinner. He was going to make two out of Malchus, but for some reason other God had him to move his head or whatever, and he only got the ear and the Lord Jesus healed it. Put up that sword into its place for all they that take the sword perish with the sword. On another occasion our Lord could say, my kingdom is none of this world. For if it was, he said, then would my servants fight? Beloved, it's a spiritual kingdom. Now, God is angry with the wicked every day, we read, and he's angry about the murder of all these thousands of little babies.
And somebody's going to pay. Judgment is coming. The difference between us and Sodom and Gomorrah, basically, as I see it as this, they had no Bible, and we do. That's the difference. They were judged, and I believe we're going to be judged. Our nation is in great decline. Say what you will. It's going down. I'm not happy about that. I'm saddened. I'm thankful for our nation, but I see it going down and down and down. And I frankly, prophetically don't see us in the end-time prophecies as one of the superpowers of the world. All right. We can see then that there is an authority. A husband should be able to dictate to his wife.
When a wife says, no, this is the right thing. I've got to do this because otherwise it's a violation of the principle of God. We better search the scriptures carefully. We went to two passages last evening, Acts chapter four, Acts chapter five. Both chapters give us the response of the apostles because the highest authority, being our Lord Jesus, he said, all authority has been given unto me in heaven and in earth, Matthew twenty eight, and he exercised that. So he is the highest authority in the universe. And believe it, having made that statement that he did, all authority has been given unto me. Then when he sent his disciples out, he said that repentance and remission of sins was to be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
They were doing exactly what he said. And you remember the authority said that you're not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. What was their response in Acts four? Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you, more than unto God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we've seen and heard. And then, of course, when they're apprehended a second time and abused and jailed and God gets them out and they go out on the streets preaching and the authorities thinking they're still in jail, find out they're out on the streets and they bring them back a second time. Did we not severely charge you that you should not do this? And now you fill this area with your teaching and suppose to bring this man's blood upon us. Now, you remember they had asked for it, hadn't they?
Didn't they at his trial say his blood be on us and on our children? And it still is. Peter could say in response, we ought to obey God rather than men. Now, dear wives, if your husband asks you to do a certain thing, do it, for the Lord's sake, as long as it does not violate this wonderful book. Whatever. If he says he wants percolated coffee instead of instant coffee, percolated. He wants biscuits from scratch instead of the whoop. Make biscuits and scratch. Eat the chokes on them.
I mean, make them. Do whatever you can. And who for? First and foremost for our Lord. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Then of course the passage in Colossians, do heartily as to the Lord and not to men. So first and foremost, whatever we think, say or do is to be to the Lord. And then of course... to your spouse because you love him. And wives, remember this, not all husbands are obedient. And of course, the word of God is clear in first Peter chapter three in that connection. Likewise, you wives be in subjection to your own husbands. That if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be one with the conversation of the wives.
Father, behold, you're chaste conversation with fear. Who's adorning? Let it not be that outward adorning of plating the hair and wearing of gold and of putting on of apparel. Now, some expositionists, some expositional teachers have taught that a woman could not have any ornate things on her body, because after all, he says, not plating of the hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on of apparel. Any consistent exposition shows that if it's negating the gold, it's negating the clothes. And we can't have that. That's very simple. I mean, just look at the verse.
Putting on of apparel. Can you imagine women not wearing clothes? Beloved, nothing could be so dreadfully wicked. Nakedness has been a sin since the Adam and Eve days. And yet it seems from time to time that fashion seemed to take clothes off of people. In Mr. Spurgeon's day, this is what he said according to a quote. I didn't hear Mr. Spurgeon, obviously, even though I looked that old, I'm not quite that old. He said that the women of America get their fashions from London. It's got London on it. Well, that's a big thing.
And the women of London get their fashions from Paris. And the women of Paris get their fashions from hell. You think about the fashions that have come along. God designed men. We're talking very freely from Scripture. God designed men to be super sensitive to sight. Please give me a verse. Thank you for asking. In the book of... In your Bible, in the book of Second Samuel, you will notice carefully that when David did not go out to battle with joy of the general of the army, but he stayed home at the time when armies go out to fight, he had spent an evening tied on his bed, rose off of his bed.
He's likely on the patio. The patio in Israeli architecture is up on high. And you remember the Lord said about the battlements. of Deuteronomy twenty-two. I had a chance in the city of Jerusalem when, not Jerusalem, but Bethlehem one day, to preach to a whole group of people that was standing around the battlements of a building there in Bethlehem. I remember there were about three or four persons, adult persons standing there and I thought, my, just like Deuteronomy twenty-two says about the battlements. And boy, I just, a verse came to my mind. I thought, well, I'll quote the verse. And when I did, a bunch of more faces appeared. So I began to get more verses. First thing, you know, I had a gospel meeting going. Well, I gave it a, you know, in street preaching, if you've had any experience, be brief.
Be very brief. Okay? Because you're going to lose your crowd usually. So I tried to give a very brief gospel message. And as soon as I closed out my gospel message, I noticed that a young fellow, and not much younger than me, but a young fellow came up. He was a small, Arab-looking fellow. Olive-complexed, kind of darkly olive-complexed, and he walked up, and he just gave me old Billy Thunder. I mean, he said, you know, he said, get out of here. We don't want that, blah, blah. He was really giving me a hard time. But I didn't get all that scared because he was small looking. I'm glad he wasn't a great big guy. Just as soon as he had walked away, and he couldn't have gotten as far up here as... is the stand that Brother Lacey used in the Sunday school class over here.
He couldn't have gotten any farther than that away. Another fellow about the same size, not quite as dark-skinned as he was. Nice-looking fellow walked up, and he reached up, and you never know what those Arabs are going to do. He reached up and hug my neck, says, thanks for preaching the gospel in Bethlehem. Now, I got both response. Well, anyway, I thought of those battlements. So, think of the patio not as on the ground level like we have in Texas because, you know, we're about half Mexican over there, and our architecture flavors that part of the world. And so, think of the patio as being up high. And so, David is up on the roof of the king's palace, and he notices a woman washing herself. And it says that... that she was of a beautiful countenance and beautiful to look upon.
So he looked and he saw. He saw a woman washing herself and she was beautiful to look upon. So the key words are look and saw. We as men are super sensitive to sight. And so fashions are very important. And this passage is telling the woman she is not to allow overt things to be that which really attracts her husband. but a godly life, something of Christ in her face. Then he goes on in verse four, but let it be the hidden man of the heart, and that which is not corruptible, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God a great Christ. For after this manner, in the old time the holy women, also who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husband, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters he are, as long as you do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
Back to our passage now in Ephesians. Ephesians chapter five, we're down to the part of the husbands. Verse twenty-five, husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly and gave himself for it. Now this is not saying husbands run out and get killed for your wife. We're to live for them in that sense, in the sense that God is presenting it. But he's saying that our love for our wives is to be the kind of love that the Lord had for the assembly. And so if there's going to be an assembly, the Lord was called upon to die.
If he had not have died, there would have been no assembly. Now, whatever it takes, and of course I think the picture is clear. Hopefully it is. It took his death to bring us about as an assembly, his body. And whatever it takes, men in our love, giving ourselves to our wives to make it that kind of marriage that's the picture reflecting Christ in the assembly. I believe that's what he's teaching there. Husbands, love your wives. Love suffers long and is kind. Love envies not. Love wants not itself. Is not puffed up. Does not behave itself unseemly. Seeks not her own.
Is not easily provoked. Thinks no evil. rejoices not in lawlessness, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, love never fails. And then for another one in the book of Romans chapter thirteen, love works no ill to its neighbor. And brethren, if we would love our wives like we ought to love our wives, let me tell you this, I think it would produce better wives. You say, well, I, my wife, Donald, you just don't know my wife. Probably I don't. But the Lord does, and he says, love her.
But Donald, she's a second cousin to the woman of Proverbs. You remember that one? It's better to dwell in the corner of the rooftop than in a wide house with a brawling woman. They're first cousins. God says, husbands, love them. He didn't say if they're good, if they're nice, if they're beautiful. He just says, love them. Now in that connection, notice how that he gives us an additional thought from the Colossian letter. Verse nineteen, chapter three. Verse nineteen, husband, love your wives and be not bitter against them.
That has stood as a puzzle to my mind for a number of years. And I certainly admit to you, I don't fully understand that. I'm going to share my thoughts. Okay, so often the wife being the one that tends to lean toward the emotional side, making their decisions through intuition and emotions, and we toward the intellectual side having battles with pride... It seems that they can draw up in their shell of their emotion and do things and kind of put it this way, sort of get by with it. And men tend to resent that and get bitter. But the Lord says, be not bitter against them.
So what I'd like to suggest is this. Our love to our wives is to be like the Lord's love to us in that unconditional sense, period. It's never to be a bargain counter-love. If she'll do this, I'll love her. That's not the word of God. We are to love our wives, notwithstanding. What I said the other evening at the outset, that the prime reason two people get married as Christians, as I see it, is not because they love each other. For the same word that the Lord is giving here in Colossians chapter three and Ephesians chapter five, that the husbands are to have for the wives is the same love we're to have for one another as Christians.
Agopi. Brother Johnny's wife is right here. I've stayed in their home, enjoyed a week of meetings a number of years ago, and enjoyed their fellowship. God gives me that command to love her, Mrs. Gordon, with the same love that I am to love my wife. The word is exactly the same. The sphere is different. She's my sister. She's my wife. So love itself is not the prime reason that two Christians come together in marriage. if we can determine and ascertain from the Word of God and through circumstances of life in which God leads us by His Spirit and His Word, that we are to marry a certain person, that it's the will of God.
Then, my beloved friend, that will never change. The will of God really doesn't change. Our love may fluctuate up and down, sadly enough. It shouldn't. God help us not to be so, but the tragic truth is, and reality tells us that sometimes it does. Alas. And it'll wonder that the apostle could say in the Thessalonian letter, that you're a law of bound yet more and more. And we read in Philippians chapter one that law was to abound more and more. So that in case that it does vary, and hopefully it's always on the abounding side, but alas, sometimes it declines or even diminishes. Let us go back, if we will, to our passage in Ephesians.
Noticing there... where he says, husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with a washing by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious assembly, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Now, I want to get to an area that brings in the children. Love demands, as we were saying the other night from First Corinthians chapter seven, the wife has never the authority to tell her husband when it comes to physical intimacy. No, honey, I've got a headache. or whatever. It doesn't matter. Nor does the husband ever have the right. We're talking about rights now. Not biblical ethics. We're just talking about rights.
Nor does the husband ever have the right to say to his wife, no, honey, I'm tired. We just don't have those rights. We renounce the sovereignty of our bodies to our mates, beloved. But just a little bit of gumption. I mean, just a thimbleful will let us know that sometimes These things are not appropriate for the time. And all I'm trying to say is love should dictate because love is never to hurt anyone. Remember that verse? Love works no ill to his neighbor. And so it's very clear that the kind of love that we're to have is the kind of love that seeks to give to meet the beloved's need, whatever it may be, notwithstanding, period.
And so when it comes to children, so often, so often we don't think about these things. We planned one and had six. That's just the way it worked. But I hold my hands up and say, hey, look, I was ignorant. I'm not boasting about that. I'm really not. I can assure you that. I hope my wife understands that as well. Not boasting about that. I wish that had been... You know, I wish I had known three times as much as I even know now at that time, but I didn't. But I am saying that our love affair so often produces children. Lo, children are inherited to the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. Half of the men have this quiver full of them. These are things that should be sought out, sought out, and wrought out. The woman has the heavy load when it comes to the bearing of children. How much pain do we go through, brethren? None. It's a matter of that which brings about conception is physically an enjoyment, a pleasure, according to Genesis. And may I say, and I want to just try to correct something that's been a concept around a long, long time, that sex is for men. Anybody ever teaches that is an error. And anybody ever believes that.
It's just ignorant of the word of God. May I say that the sexual drive is placed clearly in both sides. God is a God of balance. And so that when things are proper, there's as much enjoyment in the physical intimacy that God has designed for the woman as there is for the man. And anybody with their head halfway on straight knows that. I've had over the years, about thirty years of experience in trying to give help in marriage counseling. There was a case where there was a lovely couple. Now, I'll make this one so super brief, I'll have to leave out part of it because it would go on.
But just to point out, here was a couple that had been married for over two years, a lovely Christian couple. He had been a university, one of the states universities, had been a superstar in basketball. Tall, handsome, fine young fellow. Love the Lord. His wife was a college graduate as well. She was a school teacher, a very attractive young lady, very small. When I learned of their case, I had met them, and then finally one day she called crying, saying that her husband, to a mutual friend of ours, her husband that morning after they had their Bible reading after breakfast and their prayer at the close of his prayer, he said, Oh God, take my life. Amen. Kissed his wife and walked out.
Let me tell you, that's a shocker. She was just about out of her mind. She had to go into school, but during her break or sometimes she called this elder's wife and said, I've got to have some help. So to make that story super short, I got with her right away. This lady arranged it. I got with her right away. And what do you ask of them? She's only got about thirty-five minutes of lunchtime that she's sacrificing to get for counseling. And what do you say first? And you don't even really, you hardly know the woman. You just met her once before and now you remet her. What do you say? Well, here's what I said. I said, Miss so-and-so, how's your sex life? And let me tell you, it about takes your breath out. You're just, you're in fear and she froze up and didn't say a word.
Well, what you do is you're reaching your pocket and you open up your little book, says, what's the second step? You ask it a second time. Miss so-and-so, how's your sex life? Because I know that the big three are sexual financial inlaw in that sense. And then she started crying, and I knew for sure I was on target. You see, the problem was this. Though the man felt he had a love for his wife, he had missed that portion in First Corinthians chapter seven. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence. And in their intimate experience from day one, she had never got a benefit. Love demands that she benefit first and foremost.
He'd fail to see that. When she started crying, I said, well, tell me, what is the problem then? I think I'm on target. Can you tell me? And after she kind of cleared up and crying, she said, well, I got a yeast infection. I said, well, did you go to the doctor? She said, yes. I said, did he diagnose the case? She said, yes. I said, did he prescribe medication? Yes. What else are you saying? I wasn't going to quit. My bulldog tenacity said, Don't quit. I said, tell me, did you take the medicine? She said, no. She didn't want to get cleared up. But she desperately loved her husband. She was about to go out of her mind. She loved you so much. What's happening on the other side? Why did he pray this prayer? Oh, God, take my life. He's a junior executive in a big insurance corporation. And in their archives, it's a big vault where a lot of people have to work occasionally.
He's surrounded by a whole group of young ladies super attractive, and that was the days of many skirts. And I hope you're listening, some of them didn't wear underwear. It's a wicked crime. Here is a godly man, imperceptive yes, but godly. He said, I'd rather try than to violate a divine principle. and sin against God and my wife. I thought, what a giant. I looked up to him as a giant. I said, Miss so-and-so, I need to talk to your husband. So she arranged it. Now, let me tell you, if you think it's hard to ask a woman that kind of question, and sometimes it has to, brethren, has to be asked.
It's ten times as hard to say, sir, you're not doing things right. You see what I'm saying? Mercy. I wanted to run. Besides that, he was a big guy. He was big. I said to him, sir, let's look at the scripture. We went to First Corinthians chapter seven. And as we went over those verses, verse by verse, word by word, I said, I'd like to suggest something. I'm a little bit older, and I've been down the road a little farther. I'd like to suggest something. And we're coming to the ladies in a moment in Titus chapter two. I said, what I'd like you to do is when the Lord that stirs your hearts and however he works in your lives and brings you together like that, what I want you to do, I want you to think about plowing the garden. Overhauling the tractor, sowing the field with corn, whatever you can think about.
But whatever you do, you make sure that that object of your love benefits. And then there'll be all kinds of benefits for you. And you know what? When three weeks of gospel meetings were up, that couple, though they were not in fellowship in that assembly, they were outsiders in that sense. Lovely Christian, but they were in fellowship coming to place. They came the closing night. The people filed out of the building that night. That particular elder and his wife that had been so close to that couple and arranged me to talk to her and him were there. And they waited. Everyone left. They stood over kind of to themselves. Came over to that couple. Then walked up to me. And the little woman came up and grabbed my neck and fell on me and started crying in tears of joy.
God had resolved the problem. And it was this blessed book, beloved, the word of God. It's sufficient for every marriage problem. Don't you ever let anybody think or suggest to you this book is inadequate. You need other books. I'm saying you may benefit from other books, but beloved, this one is complete. This way is yes. Second Timothy chapter three, all scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the men of God may be perfect. thoroughly furnished. Don't ever let anybody tell you otherwise our intimate experience is an experience of righteousness.
It's never to be looked at it in any other way. That doesn't mean that you go to your intimate place or bedroom or whatever, singing Amazing Grace. But listen, let me tell you, brothers and sisters, it's just as righteous a deed as anything you can do in your life. And I want to say I'm declaring war against anybody that's putting any other light on it. when it's according to the word of God. It's a righteous act. And we shall give an account even of that. Notice, if you will, in Titus chapter, pardon me, Titus chapter two, where Paul is inspired to say these words concerning the older sisters. Verse three, the aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as become of holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chase keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blaspheme.
Now notice as we analyze this, their older sisters, they've been down the path of life, they've learned the workings of God in their lives as they live with their husbands and learn how, in Godly response, to respond to their husbands that the home might be the picture of Christ in the assembly. Now here are younger ones that do not have that experience. As they come along, older ones can take them aside and help them to see various areas of life. Every department, the kitchen is a good one. The living room, the dining room, the bedroom. Every department of our lives, these older sisters in godly and godly experience can relate to these younger ones so they can learn and not go through some of the mistakes that some of us may have made that could have been avoided if we had just had better.
teaching in our life. Notice also, he says, to be sober, first of all, that has the idea of sober-minded. That's not sober versus being drunk on wine. Different words. Here, it's the idea of sober-minded. Now, that doesn't mean long-faced. Oh, dear, Christian friend, God doesn't want us to run around with a long face. The scripture teaches that we should have a very happy countenance. A merry heart, make of a cheerful countenance. No one on earth really has the right to be merry-hearted with us, those of us in the Lord. And so, Sober minded. Then notice secondly, to love their husbands. What was ahead of the children? The husband. Children are the response. They're the result. They're the heritage of the Lord of the husband-wife relationship.
And I believe it's nonsense to think that we just, you know, sort of close our eyes. Don't even think about children or a number of children. And just whatever hatches, that's okay. Beloved, that's stupidity, in my opinion. That's stupidity. I heard people say, well, say, you know, it's up to the Lord. We're just going to leave that to him. How about your supper? You leave that up to the Lord? You do a little planning? Come on now. Amen or oh me. Boy, you froze up on me. I'm going to, I about can feel them coming. Beloved, this is serious. I'm not saying, I'm not saying.
No children, because the aspect that I want to touch tonight. You see, there are some philosophers of our day that are teaching that the sexual side of life is simply for the pleasure with no thought of children ruling out the fact of children. Then there's the other side that's saying it's just for children, no thought of pleasure. But may I say, God is the God of balance. And everybody's quiver is going to vary in size and number. And so I would suggest... Get before the Lord. Think about these things. Do some praying and planning. Use a little wisdom. And I'm sure God will lead you in those things.
I do not agree with anything that totally in concept leads children out. I do not agree with anything that says there's to be no thought of pleasure. I think that they're both marvelously and wonderfully blended together in the Word of God. Now, God has the power to overrule, no question about that. I would suggest that many times folks don't think about that. We knew of a case in Bowie, Texas when my wife and I lived there, of a man, and he really, I think, professed to be a Christian, worked for the little city. Now, you imagine a little country town of five thousand people and working for that municipality. The wages are going to be pretty slim. Isn't that right? I think you understand that.
And his wife... was not right at the par. I mean, there was just about one loaf out of a dozen missing somewhere. A dear person, but you know, it just didn't all get there. And they had so many kids. Let me tell you what, it was a hatching factory. It's sad to say, and those little kids, and my wife and I have stood at the front door there on Willbarger Street and watched them come right down the sidewalk when the snow was about that deep, barefoot. It was, it break, you'd weep. Now tell me, is there not to be some sense about these things? I think so. I really believe that. I'm not telling you what to do. That's between you and the Lord.
But I am saying there are things we need to think through carefully. And so when we look at the intimate relationship, and it's through that that we see children born, let's make sure, let's make sure that when we come together in an experience like that, we're giving of ourselves to each other. My intimacy with my wife should be an expression of my giving of myself to meet needs in her life, and her matter of coming toward me and to me should be an expression of her love toward me meeting needs in my life. And when it's that way, as we said earlier, no one lacks. There's always benefit. And I believe that's the picture that the Lord gives us in that area.
Now, we have a lot more to cover. We've got to cover the area of discipline in the home. and who the disciplined persons are and who those who are disciplined actually. And who is the Supreme Leader, the headship. We didn't get to that tonight. Our time ran out. But we hope, Lord, willing to cover those things tomorrow night. Headship and then discipline and rounding out how that the Lord shows that we're to function as a family unit coming down to the local assembly. I hope we have time for that part to bring it into the assembly. But seeing that our time is up. Brother Paul has just stepped out, so I guess it's time to give thanks for the refreshments, and then we hope you can come back for our third chapter tonight of the Book of Philippians.
Shall we pray? Father, we pause once more to give thee thanks. Thy love has been so evident and so clear. Help us just to appreciate thy word. The Bible is a clear expression of God's love to us. It's a love letter from heaven directing us here on earth that we may enjoy life. to the fullest. Remembering our Lord could say, I'm come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. Oh, that we might enter into that abundant life and that our marriages may reflect a good relationship not only with the Lord, but with one another for Christ's sake. Receiving our