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Sep 20, 2024 · 48 minutes

Be still my beating heart. The Mrs. has returned.

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0:00 - 15:00. Matthew 28:18-20. The Great Commission is still the mission. 15:00 - 31:00. Be still my beating heart. The Mrs. has returned. 31:00 - 48:00. Marital unity is central to the mission. www.afaaction.net/life To donate call : 877-616-2396

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Transcript

7,956 words, in two-minute parts. Made by machine, so a few words may be off.

0:0045:08

  1. 0:00

    Darkness is not an affirmative force. It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light. This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio. It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite. Delivery people out of the bondage of mainstream media. And the philosophies of this world. God has called you and me to be his ambassador. Even in this dark moment. Let's not miss our moment. And now the Hamilton Corner. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Hamilton Corner here on American Family Radio. I am your host, Abraham Hamilton, III, broadcasting live this evening for the third and final evening of the program here at the Sheraton Music City Nashville Hotel where we are attending the homeschool legal defense association's national leaders conference. has been an amazing event. The conference actually doesn't end today. There's some more events tomorrow. I will be speaking again tomorrow. Someone asked, I meant to put this to share this whether or not this conference is being recorded. It is being recorded, but I don't know how soon the recordings may be available and they may only be available in a limited fashion. So I wanted to give that update because I learned that information. Thank you so much for tuning into the program Abraham Hamilton the third is my name. I am host the host of the Hamilton corner joined by the corner contingent right to my right produce extraordinary often imitated never duplicated and you all have to forgive me but I do believe the best producing the business. Mr. J. Mack ladies and gentlemen and back at the home base running the controls not literally but figuratively on the ones and twos, my man a hundred grand, Mr. Bobby Roosa, and enabling us to deliver the video imaging. So if you wanted to watch the show in addition to listening to it, today bringing that to you is none other than our friendly, perpetually recovering neighborhood with a haulik, none other than Mr. Marty Sparks, ladies and gentlemen. And we are ready to rock and roll with today's edition of the program. At this very moment, of you if not most of you are making your moves from your part time jobs where you generate an income to your full time jobs where you cultivate an outcome and as you do so I want to encourage you to focus on this outcome cultivation as an externalization of your vertical personal commitment to the Lord it is impossible to love the Lord without loving what he loves and hating what he hates frankly I know a lot of people don't like to think about that wait a minute you say God hates something read the scripture. Read the scripture. There is such a thing as a righteous indignation and righteous indignation should be something we share in appropriate measure at appropriate times.

  2. 3:05

    We are at a critical juncture in our nation's history. Among the things, I'll say this now, I know we're in elections season. A lot of times people focus on the top of the tickets, the presidential races, every four years unfortunately, but we need to make sure we understand far more than just the presidential races. One of the major things that is significant in this election cycle is the down ballot races, particularly in the United States Senate. The U.S. Senate is vitally vitally important as well as all of the down ballot races are all the way down to your local level. And when I say down, I don't say down because it's lesser in significance. In fact, the government closest to us is the government that has the most consistent ability to impact our daily lives. And so we need to make sure we are directing what is happening at the local level. As usual, we begin the program by turning to the word of God. And I wanna go here because it is a great reminder to us, this conference has been a great reminder of what is the main thing. This is something that I point out on this program regularly. That disciple making is not a, you know, a pyatistic suggestion. It's not like Jesus was, let me get a suggestion box and see what wouldn't may fit you well, but it's actually a command of God that his people are to make disciples. Every single believer is called to participate in the disciple making function. Every single believer, much of what has befallen our nation can rightly be described as the refusal or the lack of disciples being made generationally in our country. I can give you data, show you statistics, I support that. But that truly is a story of what has transpired in our country. So I want to begin the Word of God by revisiting Jesus' articulation of the Great Commission from the scripture Matthew 28 is where we're going to begin the program today.

  3. 5:08

    Matthew 28 verses 18 through 20, Matthew 28 verses 18 through 20, and this is Jesus conferring with his disciples after his resurrection prior to his ascension, immediately prior to his ascension. This is prior to Matthias filling Judas's empty spot on the roster so to speak. But in verse 18 this is what Jesus says, And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. It is instructive for us to remember that the bases or the authority upon which that we make disciples is not our own. Jesus says all authority in heaven and earth is mine. Therefore, verse 19, go there for. So when we respond to Jesus' instruction, Jesus' command to make disciples, we are not responding humanistically our own whims. We are not responding. We're not looking at, well, look is going on in the world. Oh man, we want to make the world right. So let's go and make disciples know. We are operating in the authority that Jesus wields. We are obeying in the capacity that Jesus has instructed the authority to do the duty, the do the task to execute the mission is Jesus' authority. This is why We don't have to look to see have some type of humanistic externalized mechanism for evaluation You know, we don't look at success and failure the way the world does Successful the believer is in the obedience and the confidence for the For the fruit that is born from the obedience is what we place in the one who has the authority and summoned us to obey According to his authority Then the Lord says go therefore The scripture says, go. The going instruction is a direction to the fact that this is not a passive enterprise. This is not something that you expect to occur at random on its own, that this is something, yeah, oh, I'm on my way really to go and consume a little bit of soccer and in the process if and when maybe perhaps that there might come a pop on us the opportunity for some Christ-filled conversation, then we'll partake of it at that point.

  4. 8:00

    That is always so good. No, the instruction, go, is an affirmative command. Go. It's an affirmative pursuit. It is something that the believer, the disciples of Jesus Christ, the children of God, the members of the eternal family of God that we are to affirmatively engage in. Affirmatively engage in. I want to underscore for you that God knows very well when he blesses us with children, those of us who have children still in our homes, that the margin, the capacity, the ability that you have, if you're in a season of life where that disciple making function is focused on your children, don't feel bad about it. Don't allow the world or anybody that calls you to think, well, I'm not doing enough. Man, God knows the seasons that you're in. God knows the stage of life that you're in. And many of you are listening to me year at the grandparents stage or or you may be empty nesters, you know Better than I can even say it Man that time is gonna fly by The time is gonna fly by My wife and I was talking today. We were at lunch Merci, hey, look it look look at Christian's mustache. His mustache is getting thick Stashed starting to get thick. I told y'all the story already when I thought there was somebody in my house And it turned out as my son who after one day his voice went over like this to like this in the day. And we were like, hey, have you seen this boy mustache? Like, man, this dude here got a stash and it's thickening. The time flies, man. And guess what? After that season, should the Lord tear you and he continues to give you his oxygen, that's not the end of your life. There's more work to be done, more fruitfulness. I was talking yesterday about the fact that the common understanding of retirement is not a biblical notion. In the body of Christ, we don't retire. We refire, man. fire, man, because the calling to execute the Lord's commission, and it's not my opinion, look back at the Word of God.

  5. 10:04

    Verse 20, just get right to the end and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So if you give me... Ayo-wee. You know, cuz at one time, I had a conversation, not really, with Rocky Balbo. Ayo-wee. Ayo-wee. How long am I supposed to do this? That's the disciple-maker thing, eh? You know, following I was talking and we're going to continue making disciples. This is what we do until there is no more time for us. This is what we're about. We know retire. We were fired. I'm not saying that you have to stay on the stand in the employment sector for the entire day of your days. No, if God has blessed you, you have enough money to change the way you function in your life. You don't have to stay employed in a particular capacity, naturally speaking. but guess what we are remaining in? The disciple making occupation. I found that some of the most fruitful life in times for believers in ministry is during the commonly understood retirement years. Why? Because you have more money you have had before and you have more time than you have had before. So you have more resources, more flexibility and more time to invest yourself in building the Lord's kingdom than you've had before. And when I say some of the most fruitful, I'm not saying it most root when terms of being better in quality. Because when you're in that season, God knows that you're in that season of your life, just as he knows you're in the season of your life when you're in different stages. But the point that I'm endeavoring to convey is that the body of Christ must normalize this reality that we're not looking to come off the field, so to speak, back to the text. Go there for and make disciples. Some people say more money when I understand. Not everybody may have more money. I say it sometimes. But if I didn't say it, I was thinking it.

  6. 12:06

    Sometimes you may not have more money, but you may have more time. But y'all get my point. Disciples, you wanna know what the root word of discipline is? Disciples, give you an idea what discipleship should consist of. And Jesus told us we ought to make disciples of all nations. The root word for nations, there is ethnos. From all ethnicity, all nations. Baptizos, the next word, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe or to obey all that I commanded you. Whoa. One of the most enduring aspects of being disciple makers is that we are disciples ourselves. We are not merely instructed and called to teach obedience. We are called to obey ourselves. obey ourselves. Holiness is not something that is a pass-aid concept. Dude, why don't you get with the times? Dude, holiness is something we should talk about back then. That's not what the word of God teaches. Holiness is right, is still right. The Lord said of himself, the Lord said, I should say, be ye holy for I am holy. Isn't that amazing that though God knows we're in a fallen world, that we are fallen people, that we were, as David said born in iniquity. The Lord nevertheless calls us to be holy. Ain't that something? I'm reiterating this right now, because we simply have to stop using humanity as an excuse for living flesh-filled, flesh-centered, self-absorbed, self-focused lives. God knows everything about the flesh and still calls us to follow Him in holiness.

  7. 14:07

    And then just as He stated at the beginning, that the authority upon which we execute great commission is His, look at what He hits us with at the end. Hey, yo, just in case you might have forgotten, I am with you. Always, even into the end of the age. Christ following is a win-win. The only way we lose is if we quit. The only way we lose is if we allow external circumstance to lull us or invite us into being living rebels. Let us be about our father's business. We all have different stages of life that we're in, different context, different economic revenue generation capacities, but guess what doesn't change? It is not a variable to call to execute his commission. Shining light into the darkness, this is the Hamilton Corner, an American family radio. Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner, Abraham Hamilton the third here. I am joined by my absolute favorite, not one of my favorites, all right? This is a category all of her own. Y'all know who it is. Hey, hey, that's right. What's up? I'm serious. Oh, my name, my guest is none other than my lovely wife, mother of my children, co-baligerent and contesting for the kingdom of God. Apologist in her own right, I told her that the other day she said, babe, come on, man, you put too much sauce on you. But I said, babe, that's what you do. That's what you do. It is my lovely bride, Mrs. Maria Hamilton. Thank you for joining me here on the program. Thank you for having me, sir. it is truly my pleasure. Well, you have been with me for the entirety of this conference that began in earnest, that began in earnest Thursday and actually continues through tomorrow.

  8. 16:09

    Some people aren't leaving until Sunday. We're actually going to leave here on Saturday. But I want to get your initial impressions. I'm going to talk a couple of other things. What What are some of the things that are really resonated with you so far through this HSLDA National Leaders Conference? Yeah, so first is the organization itself, you know, the HSLDA as an organization and what they stand for, their mission and their work they're doing is amazing for homeschoolers. And so getting to know some of the staff and some of the people, the families, it's been awesome to see their heart and their commitment, you know, to really freedom for homeschoolers, and that's been awesome. And then also seeing different representatives from each of their states, leaders in homeschooling, it's been awesome to even get to know them because it's, they're co-laborers, you know, they're working in their respective states, not only for freedom, but also, you know, to equip families on what it looks like and how do we do this thing called homeschooling or discipleship at home the way we like to refer it to it. So it's been awesome to see their heart and just get to know who they are, connect with them and then seeing that we are like minded in many respects. Now I'm excited for a number of things and for someone who may not know, the layout for this conference is that you have as Marie just mentioned leaders and it's commonly described as home schooling but we call it discipleship in the home all across the country. And HSLDA is an organization that exists for one major purpose. And that is to provide legal heft for families who may find themselves crossways against the government frankly and to provide the legal muscle to empower, or should I say to allow the continued facilitation of parents to take their leadership in discipling their own children. So it is a membership organization. You become a member of HSLDA.

  9. 18:09

    If you ever have a situation, you get a notice from a governmental entity, anything, you don't even have to respond to the notice, you pick up your phone, you call HSLDA, and there is an attorney dedicated to your portion of the country that will take the legal fight to whoever it is trying to encroach upon your function. And you know, I was surprised to learn because we've homeschooled in states that have been very welcoming and friendly to homeschooling. And of course, during a time period where a lot of the pioneers and the people that are here who've worked hard to ensure that we had the freedoms that we have in regards to training our children at home are really anywhere like just the freedom to be able to have the control over who who educate your children and how you educate them. And so seeing not only the work that they've done but really the work that is still needing to be done and the amount of cases that they still have like I was talking to a lady today whose husband is an attorney for HSLDA and she was telling me the amount of cases that they get on their desks, it's never ending. So they need even more legal help because you have families that are really being persecuted, like they're really, you know, seeing them finding themselves in those scenarios. And so much prayer for the organization and for those attorneys and also for those families. But it's also the work they're doing. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I should have mentioned that if a family finds themselves crossways against the government or entity somewhere, when you pick up that phone, HSLDA represents with no charge. So you don't have any legal expenses personally because your membership covers that and memberships are like $100 a year or something like that. You can get a lifetime membership for one static amount. I think it might be $1,500 now if you are able to afford that amount for the remainder of your lives. You have a presentation. As a homeschooling family you have that and one of the things we discussed because you know I mean some of you guys know the story Marie and I met in a law office I remember her getting off the elevator to come and watch me in trial. I feel capable sufficiently to handle any legal issue that would come our families way, but we wanted to be members of HSLD and we were members, lifetime members long before I was ever invited to join the board primarily because we wanted to make sure other people around the country would have that legal support. So if there were concerns about navigating governmental difficulty, rare table, whatever, that concern could be laid aside because you know if you run a teeny issues you have attorneys who are excellent in this particular discipline that will have your back and doing that.

  10. 20:36

    So if you're listening right now, you might be thinking, well, I may not have children in my home or how maybe on those years, still consider joining HSLDA because you could help provide that freedom and that clarity of heart and mind for another family or other families all around the country and HSLDA actually is now expanded internationally where the organization as a presence in other countries around the nation. The world? I'm sorry, around the world. Man, you know I said that earlier in the week I've been meant around the world. I'm saying nation. My bad, Joe. Now, I wanted to also ask you because I mentioned that I'm excited about this. And some of you know this because y'all asked me, when is Maria coming back on all the time? And is when we talk about the full time job, it's real. It's a full time job. So we have to navigate our own family, but as she's available and able to come on, she comes on. But my wife is doing the something I wouldn't necessarily say she seeks. No, I know for a fact she doesn't. She doesn't necessarily enjoy this. But if God calls her, she's willing to obey. You, babe, are speaking tomorrow at the conference, at the Women's Luncheon. Would you share with our audience here in the Hamilton corner just a little bit about what you plan to encourage the ladies attending this conference with tomorrow at the Women's Luncheon? Yes, so you are correct. That is not something I seek at all. No, I know. I remember the president of HSLD, I said, hey, what do you think you know your wife doing this ladies lunch? And I was like, no, no, no, no. You give the mic to Abe, not to me, thank you. But in the moment, I just felt like though it was like, come on, like you know what I want you to tell them type of thing, right? And so I prayed about it. And the Lord really just wants us as not only homeschoolers, but even homeschool leaders, those who are training other families and who have the influence and the impact to uphold the mission and not allow themselves or the families that they kind of oversee or help or serve to drift from that mission.

  11. 22:40

    And the mission really is discipling the heart of the child in the home. And so yes, we fight for freedom legally and we, you know, and politically and all these things and we lobby and all the things that we need to do to ensure that we remain free to do this. But we have seen in the homeschool world many families who have removed their children from the system, which praise God for that step, right? That's a big step. That's difficult to make. But they removed their children from the system and then they just keep them away from the system. And they are at home and so it's a safer place in comparison. Safe or physically? Yes, physically in comparison, right? But there is something that gets lost in it is first, kind of like Peter says, right? To sanctify Christ as Lord first. And then, that's right. And then to be able to really defend. And so we are wanting to raise up soldiers. That's what we're wanting to do. I feel like the Lord has really stirred us up lately to really do His work. And His work is to shape the hearts and minds of children to be soldiers in the army of the Lord. And so they have to have roots that are deep. They have to understand who He is, who God is, and have a relationship with Him first and foremost to uphold the scriptures as they should be. And to be able to stand in this culture, I don't see another way. There is no other way. And so a lot of homeschoolers I have seen have drifted from that. And so I'm just here to encourage, really, the Lord wants to encourage all of us to have that perspective, to have that heart, to really understand why do we even do this? Like, why are we homeschooling? Is it Harvard or is it really that we want them to serve God and to really be steadfast in their commitment to the Lord. And so just an encouragement for all of us that this is what the Lord desires of us, that we would exalt Him in the heart and minds of our children and that the daily grind, the daily work at home, the opening of scripture, the shaping the character, the discipline, those things are not small, you know, and so we have to do that. We have to shape them and we have to equip them, we have to train them so that when they go out into the world, whether it's high school, college, wherever, work, they are ready.

  12. 24:50

    They're ready for this culture. We're not going to change anything if we just keep them from it without the heart and commitment to discipleship. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's good not only for attendees at this conference and those who have already made the decision to disciple their children in the home. But even those who are listening, you're considering what's going on, recognizing that God established parents for that very purpose. You know, a brother who I'm growing to love and getting to meet and hear minister in many different times, Dr. Renton Rathbun. Amazing. The director of world view above university. He says often the reason why children who grow up in the church end up abandoning their faith is because they find themselves defending their parents faith. Man, right. It's a faith that they've never really had and taken ownership of personally, but it's just what they've been. It's kind of the social milieu in which they've been, right, the culture they've been in. They've gone from prepubescent to post-pubescent in a church-friendly environment, but they've never been disciples themselves and then a bit of physical liberty has given them room to express what it is they really believe or don't believe. And what you're saying is vitally important because we all as human beings, we all have the capacity to drift in mission. You know, those who, who we're discipling in the home is very easy to become so focused on this curriculum, so focused on this is our organizational schedule and this is today we need to turn in this paper and this is we need to have this and we need to have this course and we can allow this centrality of Christ to drift ever so slightly. And if we're not intentional about keeping the main thing, the main thing, we could find ourselves, because you and I say this all the time, homeschooling is not selfish. Just because we take them out of the government school system doesn't mean they automatically become, ta-da Christian. It don't work like that at all.

  13. 26:51

    And the Lord has ordained us as parents to be the first line in evangelizing and teaching and training and making disciples of our own children. And so I'm looking forward to the Lord really ministering to attend these here through you in this regard and really to see how the Lord continue to glorify himself through you. Praise God. No, I, you know, as you were talking, I was thinking, what are we doing this for? Like, what is the goal? What is the purpose? Are we not in election year? And are we not wanting to see better results? Do we hear it all the time? We want, you know, the culture that is so wicked and our nation is going in the wrong direction. And here comes socialism and communism and Marxism and all these things and those are real and they're literally knocking on the door, if not already here, really in some respects. So how are we gonna attempt to do anything about that? Are we just gonna lobby, which is good, we need that? Are we just gonna run for office, which is good we need that too, as believers? But if we do not raise a generation of believers and you can picture him five years old, you can picture him seven years old, you can picture him 12 years old and 18, but they're believers if they're believers, right? So are we gonna raise a generation of believers that when they get to our age, those of us are nice and young, right, Jeff? We're young. Those of us that are young. If you can't see the video, my wife stroked her. Grace, that I have many. One of the peppered blocks. And though she may be chronologically younger than me, I have not yet been blessed with the salt to accommodate the peppermint. Not one, you hear me like, I'm like, what's happening? However, she has. That's right. We'll call them natural highlights. That's right, lovely. Okay, so but here's the thing, right? Those of us that have grown up, maybe in church, maybe not, but we've walked with the Lord a certain time in our lives. Do we really have roots deeply rooted? Have we, has he captured us? The way that Paul says? Is he our passion? Do we love him? Are we willing to live for him and die for him?

  14. 28:54

    Are we willing to daily die? When the government is knocking on the door or when the CPS is or when whatever it's, whoever is, knocking on our door, are we gonna say for Christ, I'll let for Christ, I die, are we those soldiers? And if we're not, let's get in prayer, and let's get in his word, and then let's raise up a generation that can do that, because nothing is going to change in this country if we don't do that. We have, we need all of it, but if we don't do that, then we can do it work and we can labor, labor, labor, labor, and the next generation is gonna lose it all again. We have to raise them up to be steadfast believers, to be able, like Dr. Rathbun said today, to be able to love Christ so much that then you can give a defense, then you can understand what it is that the Bible says and how it can be trusting, why it's true, and then advocate for it and then stand fast. Because you know it's true, because you're certain and you're convinced. We have to do that. That has to be the mission. So very well said. So very well said. And understanding, and this is gonna carry us over into the next segment I know, because we only have a few minutes left in this segment, but it's obvious to me. I don't think it's obvious necessarily everywhere else, but when you consider the centrality of the family to God's plan and how I say it on this show almost daily, the first institution, the first human institution to God established was the family with marriage at the center because of the centrality of marriage and the family to God's plan for his kingdom. So if you stop and think about it, many of us, we've had to overcome deficiencies in the home. We've had to overcome negligence from our experiences with our fathers and not being loved in certain ways, just to get to some level of stasis. And then we can, oh, this is what this is supposed to look like, which is why, what I'm saying, is obvious to me why Satan attacks marriage in the family so aggressively is because he doesn't like to continue full-grown oppositions, right? You don't have to worry about the potency of the Lord's church.

  15. 31:03

    If you can destroy the family, yes, if you can have young men in perpetual adolescence, regardless of their age or their musculature, having the bodies and the stature of men with the minds, the emotional capacity of boys, having young ladies with the physicality and the stature of women, but with the minds and the hearts, the emotional instability of little girl, it is, it is so wicked and so devious, it's obviously demonic. Yes. But we as members of the body of Christ have the wherewithal to refuse, as as the scripture says, we're not ignorant to Satan's devices, to refuse to allow Satan's devices to continually impede the work of the body of Christ. And so I want to ask you and talk a bit about the reality of marital unity being necessary for the fulfillment of marital mission. Hamilton Quarter Podcast and One-Minute Common Terrets are available at aFR.net back to the Hamilton Quarter on American Family Radio. Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner Abraham Hamilton the third here my guest. And y'all have to excuse me if my heart skips would be not getting a little short of breath because she still takes my breath away. It's my wife, Mrs. Maria Hamilton, thank you, babe. So, before we went to the break, I was setting up the question about the necessity of marital unity as the Lord brings spouses together because I think sometimes the tension that may occur in marriage, we have the wherewithal to only endeavor to assess it naturally, not recognizing, wait a minute. Could it be that the enemy of our souls is attempting to throw a rock and hide his hand. You know, I taught a series at our church one time, I mentioned a guy's name and asked anybody, does anybody know who this guy is? Jonah dad, from scripture, you know, and a lot of people know about Amnon and Tamar, but a lot of people don't remember, wait, wait, because Amnon ended up physically overpowering and taking advantage of his half-sister sexually or his sister sexually. But we don't often remember who who planted the seed for that whole scheme.

  16. 33:26

    It was Jonah dad. None of us remember Jonah dad usually, but Jonah dad was the one and just set up the fact that sometimes we have the difficulty that arises. We don't recognize, man, who, where did that seed come from? She don't listen to me or he never does. What, did that come from the Lord of the thing? I come in and the next thing you know, you beeped out, you ain't talking to one another, you want to sleep in separate rooms and all these other places, not realizing man, that's the enemy that's coming in. mentioning that because we should never be surprised that when we're endeavoring to follow the Lord, when difficulties arise, we should never be surprised by it, but we should make sure, make sure that we're always taking stock of you in ourselves personally. And if if we are married, that we refuse to allow any day like to come between us. And so Maria, I wanted to ask you in light of what we're doing here, what we have been doing in our lives and ministry together in our own family and what you're planning to present tomorrow, how How would you describe the necessary importance for spouses to remain unified as the endeavor to follow the Lord of fulfilling the mission He gives to that marital unit? So God doesn't make mistakes. He doesn't make mistakes. He's not surprised when He joins people together. And I understand that sometimes we marry people that either we weren't ready or they weren't ready or whatever. God is not surprised by who he joins in marriage. And if they're unbelievers, we already know scripture, it supports us, if they're unbelievers and then they get saved, the Lord does a work in the lives of people. So in all of it, he's sovereign is my point, right? And however we got together, God is sovereign. The reality is that God has made me a certain way and made you a certain way and given us both gifts and talents and character traits and there's shaping in rough corners, I have many of those, and they need to be silt out and you to too. And so God transforms us, but He gives us a mission together. He gives us our mission. And He reveals it to you and He reveals it to me, and we know exactly what it is, and we're doing this together. The enemy does not want that mission to come to fruition. He doesn't want us to accomplish what God has called us to as a unit and as a family. And so He does it.

  17. 35:50

    There was a rock and hide to sand. But in reality, God has perfectly knitted us together with my strengths and your strengths, my weaknesses, even in your weaknesses, to build the mini force, if you will, as we lock arms with other believers and other families within the kingdom that mini force to be able to accomplish exactly what he's called us to. And I'll tell you really quickly, kind of, some information here. So when I met Abe, he was holy, just bottom line. the man new scripture left the right. And I was like, I don't know about that. So he said he wanted to have a wife. I didn't know that I could live up to that. Like, you know, I was like, I don't know. So he prayed, he told me, yeah, I've been praying, you know, and I want my wife to be able to run with me in the things of God. And I was like, sir, sir, I'm like this deep in the word. Like, oh my God. So I was so intimidated by that, just that reality. And the years have gone by and really, I just praise God. He's so good. The reality is that God will transform you. Like he changes you from the babe, the unpolished, non-biblically literate person to know him. You know what I mean? I know him. And I'm not saying that from a braggadocia, please. I'm talking about I want to know him, right? I want to know him and he makes himself known to me. And so we study his word together and we know who he is and we've been transformed and I've been transforming you, grown and continually transformed. Amen, continuously, there's no like we arrive, but the more the transformation, the more that we are effective in the mission. If we are not transformed at a heart level, we will never be able to do what God called us to. When it once upon a time was very intimidating to me to do, to be, not necessarily just be your wife, but like, you were very like learned. And to be able to like say, let's do this. It was like, nah, he got it. I'm a viewer here, you know? And that's this unity. And so, but the Lord had a plan. Wait, say that again, because I think people might miss that. Go ahead, you could say it because you probably could. No, you were saying that if your perception is, well, you run a, when I'm a B over here on the side, that could present disunity.

  18. 37:58

    Yes, okay, yes, yes. So if you have more to add there, go ahead. But yeah, what I'm explaining in that, what I'm thinking at that time is the reality that because we have different strengths and different, I don't know, makeups of how we are, like you, you're a words person and you can articulate and you can express yourself very clearly and all that. And so I'm always like, give him the mic. Like I don't even, you give him the mic, I don't need the mic and I don't need the mic. But I understand that God has put us together for a mission bigger than ourselves individually. So I can very easily say, I'm gonna be here, which for the last couple of years, I've been in my home with my children, which praise God, that is not something to be little at all, but that's where I've been. The Lord lately wants to stretch me for us to do things somewhat together. And I'm freaking out, but the Lord is faithful and he desires for his work to be done. And so we, I have seen even more so the last eight years, or so where the Lord has really brought us together, where we understand that we are both equally, but with the right roles and the right order. Okay, so don't hear me, I'm not saying something that I'm not saying, right? With the right roles, but equally advancing the mission that God gave us. It includes what I do in the home. It includes what you do for AFA, for example, and it includes what we do when we travel as a family, includes those speaking engagements. All that you do is intertwined with what I do, and that's the mission that God called us to, and none of it is like smaller or less significant than the other. All of it is encompassing what the Lord is calling us to do. One of the major things that we talk about this before, off air, you and I talk about this all the time, one of the major things, and I'm gonna be very clear in specific that I know that Christian couples fail to recognize many times is that the major, the major undergirding underlying cause of lots of the difficulty is a personal submission to the Lord by one or the other spouse.

  19. 39:58

    Or if not both. Like there often is an inappropriate expectation placed upon the other spouse to do something that only God himself can do. And that the unity is not a unity that is humanistic in its origin. Let me be clear, when I say humanistic, it's not just, come on Maria, can't we all just get along? The unity that is provided the same way the scripture says, for preserving the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. It is a unity that manifests itself horizontally because there's a unity verdant. There is a equal reciprocal investment in following the Lord personally that superimposes a unity between you and I because we both have our eyes focused on the king of kings and are running after him that he forges in us a unified commitment to doing that together. Because the humanistic way, the way it manifests itself is that you try to force me to be you and I try to force you to be me. And whatever mission that we feel like or whatever mission I feel like I have in my life, you get with it and come do it with me because if not, or then vice versa, you want me to be like you and do what you do. And in reality, well, the best case scenario in marriage is like that, honestly, we've seen it, is that I'll do me and you do you. And we are two ships, I've said this so many times, two ships sailing in the same direction as, you know, in the same direction praise God, but still separate. But separate, but separate, and that's not the will of God. And I don't become him and he doesn't become me, But we complement each other so well that the mission is then fulfilled continuously, because we're always growing and there's always, you know, God has a work. So the reality is that humanistically we cannot just come together and say, we're going to do this, because at best it's just impossible to do that, because we're so different. Period. Just husbands and wives, not just you and I. We have to have the Spirit of God be what governs and we obey. And in that obedience, not only are we obeying an action and in doing, but we are obeying in character transformation. we are open to be transformed and be changed and be stretched.

  20. 42:00

    Man, one of the most enduring necessities is a display, not the verbalization, but the display of humility within marriage. And that display of humility includes living the lifestyle of repentance. And I know what I can hear right now. I'm telling you, I get so many emails about this. What do I do with my spouses and saves? I won't do this. I can't tell you the number of communications that get all. I just desperately want my husband to be the spiritual head of our family. And I understand the natural frustration, things that can occur. But let me just tell you plainly, you will never accomplish the will of God by fleshly means. Amen, that's right. You will never nag your way into a God honoring marriage. will never intimidate your way into a gone out or in marriage. You will never lead your way. Take the reins of your marriage and lead into making him who he needs to be. Yes, yes. And vice versa. I've talked to men. I just want my wife to be submissive. My wife needs to be submissive. My wife needs to be submissive. And often tell the guys, are you leading in the love of Christ? Yeah. Because one of the major things about who post also Ephesians 5's, why submit yourself to your own husbands. It's a military term, but it's a voluntary submission. It's not one that can be compelled. It's not one that can be compelled. And so I'll have to say, if you have to announce and pound yourself the leader of this family, it often reveals that you may not be leading. Because leadership is an action word. It's not an adjective. It's not really a description. It's an action word. People ask me, remember we had this conversation, hey, how did you get really submissive? And I say, I didn't. I never got her to be. I was born to be the via a doormat. I'm just playing. And submission is not a doormat. I didn't her submission is a voluntary submission because she submits to me as unto the Lord as a head of our family.

  21. 44:03

    It's not because she doesn't have her own will, her own opinion, own thoughts. But she is endeavoring to honor the Lord. And because that is such a precious reality, man, I am accountable to God for what I do with that. And I referenced the Lord too much to take advantage of his daughter. to abuse his daughter in pursuit of my life as a rebel. It don't work like that man. That's why the twain components, wives, submit yourselves to your husband's ass unto the Lord. Husband loves your wives and give yourself for your wives as Christ does for the church. It's a self-sacrificial leadership. It's not a domineering lording over somebody. That belies the fact of what we're doing. And so to come full circle to the unity in the lack thereof, first and foremost, if we're talking about spouses who are Christians, the foundational need for these Christian spouses, the husband and the wife is to hunger and thirst after righteousness personally. Amen. Amen. It'll come with human.

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