“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:27 NIV)

There is a lot said in this passage of Scripture about mankind

• First, God makes mankind in His own image which is the image of God. He did not say this about animals.

• Secondly, mankind means male and female. Today, there are some who say they are “transgender” or “gender neutral” among other gender designations, but God makes it abundantly clear that He only created two genders, male and female.

A man’s helper and companion

God created a woman so that man would have a helper and companion.

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” (Gen. 2:18 NIV)

Marriage turns a man and woman into one flesh

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

God has an order for things within a marriage

“But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Cor. 11:3 NIV)

A man must love his wife as Christ loved the church

Men are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Eph. 5:25 NIV)

“However, let each one of you love his wife as himself…” (Eph. 5:33a NIV)

Women are to love, submit to, and respect their husbands

“And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” (Titus 2:4-5 NIV)

“... let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Eph. 5:33b NIV)

“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” (Col. 3:18 NIV)

Men and women are equal in God’s sight

Because God has an order to things in marriage, people sometimes conclude  that men are more important, or better than, women. Nothing could be further from the truth! Yes, men and women have different rolls within marriage, but one isn’t better than the other.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

 “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.” (Psalm 3:5 ESV)

Your sleep will be sweet

“If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” (Prov. 3:24 ESV)

He gives to his beloved sleep

“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” (Psalm 127:2 ESV)

Sweet is the sleep of a laborer

“Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.” (Eccles. 5:12 ESV)

Come to God for rest

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30 ESV)

Do everything by prayer with thanksgiving

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”(Phil. 4:6-7 ESV)

And He will give you rest

“And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exo. 33:14 ESV)

 “Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy…” (Psalm 78:41-42 NKJV)

We do limit God!

It’s hard to believe that we could actually limit God in any way, because He is, well, God! But according to Scripture, we can and do limit Him. How is this so? God has set some self imposed rules (limits) in place that He follows. For instance, He limited himself when He became God in the flesh. Jesus said there were things the Father knew that He didn’t know, such as when He would return some day (Matt. 24:36). And Jesus could do very little in His own home town because He was limited by their lack of faith (Mark 6:5). Yes, we can and do limit God in many ways!

We can limit God because of fear

God wanted the Hebrew children to enter in and live in the promise land. But, they “limited” His blessing for them out of fear of giants that were in that land! Therefore, they died in the wilderness instead of entering in and enjoying the promise land’s abundance!

The Bible says 365 times, “do not fear.” That covers every single day of the year!

Stop limiting God! Trust Him for immeasurable things that He is able to do!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (Eph. 3:20 NIV)

Jesus said…

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10a ESV)

Ask God to teach you to profit and to lead you the way you should go!

“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.” (Isa. 48:17

“And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” (Isa. 58:11 ESV)

“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 24:41-42 ESV)

You don’t hear many sermons about hell these days

There is a move among some prominent religious leaders (not mentioning names here) who say,  “hell is not real and a loving God would never send people to a place like hell.” But, Jesus warned us about hell and spoke about it more than He did about heaven. He warned that hell is a place to be avoided and He died on the cross to prevent people from going there.

Hell is a place of everlasting destruction shut out from the presence of God

“They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” (2 Thes. 1:9 NIV)

Hell is a place of punishment and eternal fire  

“In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:7 NIV)

Hell is a terrible place with weeping and gnashing of teeth

“They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:42 NIV)

Hell is for the wicked and those who have forgotten God

“The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.” (Psalm 9:17 NIV)

Hell is for those who are cursed, the devil and his angels

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matt. 25:41 NIV)

“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8 NIV)

There are two paths, choose life!

“The path of life leads upward for the prudent to keep them from going down to the realm of the dead.” (Prov. 15:24 NIV)

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matt. 25:46 NIV)

Only those whose names are written in the book of life are saved from hell

“And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:15 ESV)

God sent Jesus as a free gift to keep you from perishing

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23 ESV)

Avoid hell, receive Jesus and believe in His Name

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”

Confess Him with your mouth

“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9 NKJV)

“Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.” (Rom. 6:13 NIV)

You were bought with a price

“you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.” (1 Cor. 6:20 NIV)

Offer yourself in obedience which leads to righteousness

“Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16 NIV)

Present your body as a loving sacrifice

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1 NKJV)

Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of sin

“Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.” (Rom. 6:23 NLT)

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1 NASB)

There are deceiving spirits

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Tim. 4:1 NIV)

There are false prophets and teachers among you

“Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies that even deny the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.” (2 Peter 2:1 NASB)

You can be lied to so be very careful!

“He said to him, "I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.'" But he lied to him.” (2 Kings 13:18 NASB)

Some only speak a vision of their own imagination

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD.” (Jer. 23:16 NASB)

“Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:20 ESV)

“For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream.” (Jer. 29:8 NASB)

They are wolves in sheep’s clothing

“Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” (Matt. 7:15 NASB)

Don’t be a simpleton

“Only simpletons believe everything they're told! The prudent carefully consider their steps.” (Prov. 14:15 NLT)

Examine the Scriptures carefully to see if things are so

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17 11 ESV)

“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.” (1 Thes. 5:21 NASB)

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Tim. 3:16 ESV)

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you.” (Isa. 26:3 NKJV)

Set your mind on things above

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:2 ESV)

Take refuge and trust in Him

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” (Psalm 118:8 ESV)

Trust with all your heart

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Prov. 3:5-6 ESV)

You will abide under His shadow

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1 NKJV)

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Prov. 15:1 ESV)

A wise person uses words with restraint

“The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” (Prov. 17:27-28 NIV)

Speak using gentleness and respect

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15-16 NIV)

Show perfect courtesy towards all people

“To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” (Titus 3:2 ESV)

Be silent and the Lord will fight for you

“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Ex. 14:14 ESV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 15:15 ESV)

His commands are not burdensome

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (2 John 5:3 ESV)

Obey God rather than men

“But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29 ESV)

Choose the way of faithfulness

“I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.” (Psalm 119:30 ESV)

You shall abide in Him and He in you

“Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” (1 John 3:24 ESV)

You shall eat the good of the land

“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” (Isa. 1:19 ESV)

You shall be blessed

“Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!” (Psalm 112:1 ESV)

You shall prosper

“And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.” (2 Chron. 31:21 ESV)