Taffi Dollar - Who's The Boss? - Part 2

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So the source of man is the Creator and thus we say that the head of every man is Christ because he was made through him and brought forth to birth. The head of the woman is the man because she came out of Adam, she was taken, where? From his side. You’re not his rib, you know? No, that means side. Yeah, you know, you my rib, you know, you my rib. No, side by side. That’s because I’m supposed to be by your side. I’m not supposed to be behind you. I’m not supposed to be in front of you, but rib means side. So she was taken from the man, from his flesh, and has him as her source. The head of Christ is God because he is from him.

The man is the head of the woman since she has taken her being from the man and Christ is the head of us who believe because we are, what? Made from him. And the church said, «Amen». It’s getting tight up in here, but it’s all good. God’s not trying to take anything from us, but God wants to position us in a way so we can fulfill our highest potential. He’s not trying to set you up because you, you know, don’t have enough intelligence to be able to recognize the Holy Spirit. But I believe part of why God created man and created woman because he gave them both the articulate speech where they could commune with one another and they communicate with God. Face to face, the scripture says.

When he talks about how I would make the woman help, does not mean some slave, some kind of doormat, you know, women in the Old Testament, of course, they didn’t have any rights, they were property and were treated like minors. But under this new covenant, glory be to God, it’s a better covenant. He talks about what’s being help, which is «mecanego,» that is, face to face. And he says that he would make woman, and woman would be that strong rescue and she would be a strength. And so it took the woman being in a position she would be face to face with the man. And in some instances, it talks about opposing and corresponding to him. Think of that.

And so we, as women in the body of Christ, we must begin to think in line for how God sees us and not allow the world to dictate, not allow the world and society to dominate our thinking and to cause us to think less than what God’s Word has said concerning us. You are a powerful being, you have the strength of God on the inside of you. And so it is through that strength that God used Eve, even as they were disobedient in the Garden of Eden. It was through Mary’s obedience that he brought the Savior into the world. Jesus walked about elevating the status of women and causing them to be a reflection of the image of God. Because you know, for a long time, it was believed that only man was made in the image of God and not the woman.

But the scripture says in Genesis 1, verse 26, he says, «Let,» what? «Them have dominion». So you are just as much in the image of God as the man is. You have dominion, you have authority, you have the ability to subdue, to bring things into subjection. So we have to put ourselves in remembrance. It’s not some fight. You know, I hear oftentimes and I just say it myself, you know, we just gotta get to the table and we gotta get to the table where all the decisions are made. No, it’s about recognizing who you are in Christ. And how many of you know, God will take care of everything concerning you? He will take care of it because he is the head. And if we stay connected and we stay plugged into our source, the basis for why we do what we do, you can’t help but increase, you can’t help but grow.

You can’t help but stay healthy. You can’t help but develop. But it begins by us understanding and recognizing who we are and to stay knitted together and joined together, that we can supply and receive that nourishment from God. And as a result, that same supply that comes from the head, it comes on our life. Look at Ephesians chapter 5, I know this is a big one, Ephesians 5, hallelujah. Hope you’re catching this. We are going somewhere and it’s time for us to take our rightful place. You better look out. My God, we have taken the seatbelt off and we are going, we’re on a mission, hallelujah. I’m going hard after God for everything that he wants to do. He is the God of the surprise.

I was saying that last week to our church and then all of a sudden I got some surprises. One of them was good, but one of them was bad. I say, «O Lord, let me be specific». But you know, sometimes you just need to see stuff. So he says, and that’s what he told Mary. He said, «Mary, you don’t have anything to fear,» in The Message translation. God has a surprise for you. And I believe that. God has a prize for you that’s gonna blow your wildest dreams. It’s gonna take the top off, take the limits off. God’s gonna show you stuff that you’ve been praying for, things you’ve been believing and standing for, because he’s the God of the surprise, hallelujah. And he wants to surprise his people with good gifts and blessings being poured out and heaped upon us, hallelujah. I believe that. He’s a God of signs and wonders and confirmations of his Word and he’s faithful to do what he says. He’s faithful to his promises and his provisions, hallelujah.

Now look at what it says here in Ephesians chapter 5, as we look at this word «head». Who’s the boss? Because as we said early on, that we think this word «head» means boss. Who I get to boss today, who’s bossing me? Chandler used to tell Jeremy, «You not the boss of me. You don’t get to tell me what to do». And so we have to recognize what the scripture says, that that word isn’t about bossing somebody around, dominating. Jesus came to get rid of all male domination and female subordination. He did. He said, «This ends today». When he died on the cross, he shed his blood. It was so that they would no longer operate in a spirit of nomination over one another. He talked about in Matthew chapter 20, he said, «You know, you lord over one another».

In fact, let’s just look at that for just a second. I know I told you to go somewhere else. But Matthew 20, verse 28. He had to change some things around and redirect them because they had the wrong mindset, the wrong mentality. In Matthew 20, verse 25, this is Jesus here, dealing with this spirit of domination. And so, as we understand what biblical equality is all about, it’s not trying to dominate one another or compete with one another, but it’s us understanding the parts that we all get to play and that we all matter in the things of God. Verse 25 says: «But Jesus called them and called them unto him, and said, ' You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion.'»

So they were exercising domination, dominion, over everyone. That was patriarchy where men ruled over men, certain men ruled over women. There were all kinds of things where they were operating in domination over one another. It says: «And they that are great, exercise authority upon them». The Amplified says, verse 25: «Jesus says unto them, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them». How many of you know, it’s not about lording over? «And their great men hold them in subjection, [tyrannizing],» competing, lording over one another.

How many of you know, that’s not God? It’s not what the Spirit of God does. And so he says in verse 26: «But it shall not be so among you». He says, «It shall not be so among you». He rebuked them for that lordship and that tyrannizing and taking authority over others, unfair, disrespect, mistreatment of one another. He says, «It shall not be so. You shall not treat one another in that way. You take the man out of the bed, you don’t stone him but you stone the woman? It shall not be so». He says, «Who is he that accuses her? Neither do I condemn thee». He says, «Woman, drop your stone, go and sin no more».

So there is this rearranging and establishing things in a different type of way that Jesus came to do, so that he could deal with that spirit. And it says, «But it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister». Let him be your servant, which is how Jesus modeled, «And whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant». The boss is the one who gets to serve. Don’t tell me you’re the boss and all you wanna do is command folks around and you don’t wanna serve anybody. I don’t wanna see your title. I wanna see your life.

How many of you know you can lead without a title, you can serve without a title. So Jesus says, «If you wanna be great, if you wanna be chief, serve somebody». Somebody said, «You don’t need a college degree to serve». I’m not gonna get into all of that. For, verse 28, «Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but,» what? «To minister, to pour out his life». And we are beneficiaries of him pouring out his life. «Just as the Son of Man came not to be walked on,» think of that, «or to be waited on». He didn’t come to, you know, be served.

«Disciples, get over here and serve me. Don’t you know who I am. I’m the great Son of God. I came from heaven thousands of years ago. Wait on me, get my…» No, he says he «didn’t come to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [the price paid],» look at there, «[to set them free.]» Phew, man, that blesses me. The price to set us free. Because he knew that you didn’t need somebody telling you what to do. You needed the Holy Ghost to come on the inside of you so you can hear him for yourself. So you can be led and you could be directed from the inside out and you could be changed for the better from within.

Now, look over to Ephesians chapter 5, let’s look at this as we want to look at the word «head» in this context of who is the boss, hallelujah. I won’t take the time to read all of this. But verse 14 says, «Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise». He says, «Look carefully then how you walk! Live on purpose, accurately». That means knowing the Word, knowing where your worth comes from, understanding that you have worth, and because you have worth, Jesus died for you. «Not as the unwise, witless, but as wise (sensible),» the scripture says, «(intelligent people)».

Verse 14 says, «Arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine and make your day dawn upon you and give you light». Now let’s go down to verse 16. I know I’ve jumped around a little bit. «Redeeming the time, because the days are,» what? «Evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is». God wants us to understand, to piece together. That word «understanding» means to piece together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle where it begins to give an image, it gives a picture of an overall image, and us understanding, seeing ourselves saying the Word of God in the context of his plan and of his purpose.

So it says: «Piecing together,» as you would pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. You put this piece with that piece and, you know, you got a ways to go to connect it all. But eventually you’ll begin to see it come together and the picture will reveal and speak for itself. So it says: «Piece together what the will of the Lord is. Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit». So there’s this feeling of the Holy Ghost that God wants us to be stimulated by. He says, «Ever be filled and stimulated with the Holy Ghost. Speaking to ourselves in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, making melody in our heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ».

So in verse 21 he says, «Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord». And he says in verse 23: «For the husband is,» where? There is that word again. «Head,» someone say «head». «The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is,» what? «The head of the church: and he is the savior of the body». So to follow here, as mentioned, in verse 23, he compares the husband with Christ. He says, Just as Christ is the head of the church, he provides increase to the church, he nourishes the church, he helps the church reach its fullest potential, the husband, well, Christ helps the church to grow, that the Christ helps us to develop, to be built up. He says, even as Christ does all these things, he says, the husband is to be unto the wife.

So it’s not that Matthew 20 spirit of tyrannizing or dominion or dominating. But it’s the leadership of the Holy Spirit, being led by the Spirit in the relationship that we have with the Holy Spirit. And that just as Christ is a sacrificial servant, he says, for the husband is to be the same, in the way that he is the Savior of the body. And then he skips over to verse 25. It says: «Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also,» what? «Loved the church, and he gave himself for it». So we see that parallel again between Christ to the church, and the husband to the wife. The husband loving the wife, just as Christ loved the church.

The scripture says: «For God so,» what? «Loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life». So he says, «Husband, love your wife». The scripture says, «Go out of your way and as Christ does in loving the church and giving up himself for the church, and giving up himself for the wife in a sacrificial way, so that,» verse 26, «he might sanctify, cleanse it, that he might cleanse her and sanctify her by the washing of the water with the Word».

And so it is Jesus’s Word gets on the inside of us and it gets rid of all the fear and cleanses us and it makes us whole and sound in our thinking. And so he says: «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». And he says, «So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. And he that loveth his wife loveth himself». Father, we thank you for your Word. I pray that every person who’s here, Lord, will begin to see what it is that you desire, what it is that you desire to do in their lives. May we get a revelation of our place and our part in the body of Christ, that we receive you, that you stand first pre-eminent over our lives.

And that we recognize that we could become developed in you, developed out of insecurities, any inadequacies, and any inferiority. But that we can become what you’ve called us to be, from the foundations of the world. It gives us great privilege to be able to take our rightful place and to exercise the dominion that you’ve given over to us to bring things into subjection to your Word and that no weapon that is formed against us will prosper because we are connected unto you and we are knitted together in you. We need one another. We depend on one another so that we can be all that’s been destined from the foundations of the world. If you believe that, somebody say, «Amen». Let’s give God some praise.