The most important things to remember in a marriage.

“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, (5) And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? (6) Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matthew 19:4 - 6

One of the most important steps that a man and woman will do in life is to enter the bonds of wedlock. This is a bond with vows to one another promised before God, and therefore the importance of it is astronomical. First, marriage is a lifetime commitment promised before God to love and keep each other “until death do you apart”. God said when a man and woman enters these bonds “they are no more twain, but one flesh”. In marriage there is a moral and physical union, so that two people become virtually one being. The only real object that should keep two people from becoming husband and wife is their Christian status, a believer should never marry a non-believer, it’s not going to work because God said it would not. A true believer will never be able to become one with a non-believer because God said they would not. God calls it being unequally yoked together, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14 However, the more you can agree on before marriage the less concern of learning to agree on after marriage. True love between two people can fill a lot of holes in a relationship, but marriage truly takes two believers willing to boldly satisfy each other in Lord together. Just a caution and a warning here, also marring outside of your biblical faith is also dangerous, a husband and wife belong in church together. God and His word must be put front and center in a marriage, with both partners agreeing that the scripture will dictate the relationship. God said, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church…” Eph. 5:23 But notice here without reservation God said “…as Christ is the head of the church…” Everything Christ is to His church husbands are to the wife. God also said, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church…” V. 25 Husbands need to understand this “tall order”, that we are to be to our wives as Christ is to the church, never treat your wife anyway that Christ would not treat His church. The love that a man is to have for His wife is the willingness to give his life for her. The roll of a husband is one of authority as the “head of the wife and family” but one of pure love as Christ loves His church. Here is the roll of the wife, “Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” The word “subject” means - to subordinate; reflexively to obey – or to live under submission to her husband. This is a relationship built under our relationship in God with Him being the Supreme authority by His word. Therefore, the subjection is not to be violated by disobeying God’s word. We always obey God over man! “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Act’s 5:29 Any man who abuses his wife is not worth the dirt on the ground, you cannot mistreat your wife and expect her to be obedient to you because you have violated the bonds of matrimony and the bond that God ordered. The only thing that will make a marriage work is to obey God and His word. God to church, learn what God desires of you as a couple and family. Grow in the teachings together, loving one another unconditionally as the Lord loves us. If we do this in our relationship, we will always be happy and satisfied, until death do us part. Cleave to one another, become one flesh, and do not allow anyone to interfere with what God has joined together. “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”        

     

“haughty”

God said, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 The word haughty means - "showing oneself above others" which is the opposite of humility which means lowliness of mind – God said this about humility, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” Philippians 2:3 When a Christian becomes “haughty” it is the next step after pride that “before their fall” from honoring God. A God honoring believer is full of humility and love for other believers, and especially for the Lord’s house. The Chinese say, "Who flies not high falls not low;" and "A great tree attracts the wind." As Christians we do not want to fall low, nor do we want to attract the winds to blow us down. As Christians, we must keep ourselves reminded of God’s grace, always remembering as the Apostle Paul that without grace we are nothing, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” 1 Cor. 15:10. And without grace we will become prideful and haughty and fall into apostasy. As Christians and especially learned believers and Ministers of all kinds and even as churches we need to read this very closely, "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD." Obadiah 1:3 - 4 The Lord promised that if we fly to high, He (God) will bring us down. We do not have our own strength to fly on our own nor to fly above everyone else, our flight in this flesh is by God’s grace. I am not talking about money, I am talking about haughtiness and pride, if we as Christians lose our true humility we will fly to high and fall on our faces, God will assure us of it. God said to us, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Romans 12:3 God has given us grace to fly in His ministry and He can take that grace away if we fail to walk in the humility of His grace. We need to remember that Christians are God’s elected children and Churches belong to God and God has given both to Jesus Christ for His possession, and Jesus loved both so much He died for both. As Pastors we better handle with much care and love and not prideful or haughty as though we fly above them. So please let me remind us all as Paul did in his letter to the church at Rome, “Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God,” Romans 15:15 That we walk in the love and grace of God, and we need to continue that Christian walk in that love and grace not in pride or haughtiness. None of us are such a large tree with so much strength that the wind cannot blow us over. Listen very closely to this verse, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2 If a man functions outside of love and grace he is NOTHING! “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.” Galatians 6:3 If the wind blows over a high tree it is worthless!

“The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work”

2 Timothy 4:17 - 18 “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

This is another beautiful set of scriptures, anytime we read about how God works in our life through His Sovereignty it is a beautiful read. It is such a sad thing when some Christians lack the true understanding of God’s sovereign work in our life. I could write about this for hours because in the last several months I have been preaching about the deep sovereign work of God in our life. Please understand, we are not alone in this world, God has us, He holds us in His blessed metaphorical hands, and He is never turning us lose to fall. If we fall it is because we have disobeyed the Lord and refused to obey His word. Our work in this life is to walk in the Spirit of God’s word, to read it, study it, and follow it. If we do it is called “walking in the light of His word” and if we do our fellowship is sweeter with God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. There are basically two kinds of Christians in this world, “working Christians” and “lazy Christians”. When you are a working Christian, you are working hard to learn of God in His word and walking in the truth that you have learned. Lazy Christians just really do not care, they let others study for them and then listen to what they have to say and walk as they think they should. God said, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 Our fellowship with God is when we are walking in His light, not in our own light. The closer we are to God; the closer God is to us and the more blessing we are receiving from God. The Lord said through Paul, “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me…” Our life is in the Sovereign hand of God, and He will deliver us from the lion’s mouth. Paul wrote “and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion” by the Sovereign hand of God. Paul went on to say, “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work”. Now understand that God will not keep bad things from happening to us, but He walks with us through them. Evil things happening to us are part of His predetermined plan for us. Rom. 5:1 – 5 These evils in our life strengthens us in our faith in God. Beloved we never walk alone, not even in death, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me…”.  Psalms 23:4 God promised to never leave us nor forsake us. God went on to say, “will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom” We are preserved by the Sovereign power of God, and God will never fail us, EVER! It is so sad when some Christians cannot understand that every detail of our life is in the hands and under the strength and power of God. So, God is not going to keep evil out of our life, He is going to carry us through them. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13