Victory In True Submission by Brother Duke Hansen

         This week I have seen God put obstacles in different people's way. I know often, people pray for God to remove an obstacle or help aid in overcoming one, but sometimes, God will place one in front of you where your walk is not a straight line up the middle, but, it's one with lefts and rights. The reason he places an obstacle in your way sometimes is that he wants to know your dedication. He wants to know the true intent of your heart and wants you to understand that intent.

        Our scripture reading will be in a few places this morning. We will be in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 21 to begin with.

        21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

        Now, I know there are many of you who hear the word of submission and you immediately think about control. I am here to say that it is not about control. Ask yourself this, do you want help or do you want to whine? Submission is actually the opposite of control. Go and turn to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 16.

        16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

        After the original sin in the garden, God tells Eve what her curse will be as well as Adam. Both are cursed with a hinderance. There was no submission in the garden of Eden when temptation occurred. We are still viewing submission as control. Who allowed the snake in the garden to tempt Eve? It was God. Man has dominion over the earth as well as the animals, yet because of their absence of submission, both Adam and Eve were guilty and punished.

        Submission is about boundaries, trust, and love. We live in a society where love is cheapened, trust has been eroded, and boundaries are completely absent. We live in a society that avoids to face and prepare for death. Why? It's because many of us know we aren't in the right spot spiritually and would rather try to live longer to fix it. When there is no praise in your life, there is no surrender to God in it. Turn back to the book of Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11-13.

        11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

        12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ;

        12 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, into the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

        The five fold ministry was established in the church to provide the structure for the perfection and edification of the saints. It was not established to just provide someone with a born again moment. Have some confidence in your church leaders when decisions are made and be joyful in doing so. Quit griping and complaining to the leaders on every little thing that bothers you. Go to the next chapter there in Ephesians and look at verse 21.

        21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

        22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

        Culture today of the world is poison to a Christian life. God set up boundaries in a people to be followed still today. It is with wives, husbands, children, and even servants.

        23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.

        Every person who professes to be a Christian or have been married in a Christian church are a representation of not only God but of the church. This is why marriage is also known as holy matrimony.

        24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

        25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 

        26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.

        27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

        28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself.

        29 For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church.

        People struggle in relationships with one another because of many things is it shouldn't be surprising that they also have problems in their relationship with God.

        Submission is not about control or even obedience but it is love. Go to chapter 6 of Ephesians and verse 1.

        Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

        2 Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

        What is the promise in verse 2? The promise is in living longer. If you are a parent you have to keep in mind all that is against your child out in the world, especially if they are called by God at a young age. God lifts up who he will as well as take down.

        3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

        4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

        5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

        A master has power and dominance over you. Some people have been placed in positions of power in the workplace and think of themselves as a master. You are free to leave on go work elsewhere.

        Let's look at correction. Correction is not about control. It is about loving and trusting in the relationship. There are people who have prayed for you and to see the truth that goes back generations deep and you don't even know them. Some of you are discovering things about your character that many already knew about you. We have to learn to relinquish carnal control to God.

        Submission on a personal level exposes your demons. Hopefully you find some people in your life that will tell you no. Submission exposes your flesh. You're fighting things that has been plaguing and attacking your bloodline for generations. The Holy Ghost dwelling within you is activated and stirred by submission to help you overcome your issues. You don't see these things in how the enemy views your life in the spirit realm. It's taken down things and people you don't know, and you're foolish enough to think you can control it. How many of you think you're really good in manipulating outcomes in your life by working others to your advantage?

        God is the churches covering. God loves you. He died for the righteous and the unrighteous both. How does God keep you? Every man in his house is set to be the man of God. He guides the house and guards the door. Take initiative and get involved with your children. Pastors and the five fold ministry pray over the flock. They provide the covering and intercession for the flock. 

        Who covers the pastor and the five fold ministry? The church does with their prayers. God does not speak in vague generalities, but in specific detail. Let your prayers be specific.

        There are armor bearers in the church. These people fight alongside the king in the trenches of battle. They are also known as soldiers. We also have angels with and among us. There are intercessory prayer warriors who are fighting for others, calling upon angels. God knows already that we are half blind in a dark world, providing and delivering hope that will enable and empower us, causing the enemy to quake at the sight of even a sliver of hope. 

        Women cover their children with the word of God. The women nurture and strengthen their home. Every person is valuable. You cannot benefit in this walk if you are not submissive. If you want control, a desire to be in charge, there's no submission in your life. There lies iniquity with this stance. Your past with others and situations you have been through mold and craft this change. You will take those walls down with God's change.

        Manipulation, deceit, lies are present where submission should be. Iniquity makes discontent in your life. If you think this is about you, you need to sit down and shut up and pray for people for six months. Some people who manipulate and lie are living a phony life. They are trying to hard to fit in by being something they are not, because they don't know who they truly are.

        Walls and boundaries are not bad in principle, but there are right ones and wrong ones to build from. Let's touch on the power of no. The power of no builds the house of God in your life. The more you tell your flesh no, what sustains and pacifies your flesh no, the more building your house receives. Enjoy where you are in the process. Savor the moment. Are you looking for the truth or merely a version of it? Are you looking for Jesus' way or your own way abusing and twisting the scriptures to self justify your sins?

        God loves you. This is not an emotion, it's a principle. You just don't know your value. Look where you came from, where you were and where you are now. God is revealing that to you for a reason. It is to encourage you. Take this week and ponder, reflect, study, build yourself up in Jesus. There are three things to do in order to remain plugged into God. 1) Pray 2) Read the Bible and study and 3) Come to church.