Welcome to Marriage in God's Hands. 00:00:31.22\00:00:34.51 My name is Willie Lee and I'm your host, and our co-host, 00:00:34.54\00:00:39.75 of course, is my wife Wilma Lee. 00:00:39.78\00:00:43.82 Welcome, and today we're going to talk to you about 00:00:43.85\00:00:47.29 marriage, "The promise". And as we begin this day we 00:00:47.32\00:00:51.30 would like for you to join us in prayer. 00:00:51.33\00:00:55.31 Heavenly Father, we thank You for this opportunity, 00:00:55.34\00:00:58.94 and we thank You for this promise 00:00:58.97\00:01:00.78 that You've given us with marriage, and we ask that You 00:01:00.81\00:01:03.94 would join us here and now as we join our hands together. 00:01:03.97\00:01:09.20 And knowing, dear Lord, that You created marriage as You 00:01:09.23\00:01:14.16 created man and woman, we want to follow Your plan, 00:01:14.19\00:01:18.89 make it clear to us today, in Jesus' name, amen. 00:01:18.92\00:01:25.02 We welcome you back to Marriage in God's Hands so that we might 00:01:25.05\00:01:31.03 be able to share some more about the marvelous things that God 00:01:31.06\00:01:35.57 has planned for our marriages and for our families, and we 00:01:35.60\00:01:39.34 must know that a good marriage is a good foundation for 00:01:39.37\00:01:44.86 an excellent family. So let's pay attention to a few things, 00:01:44.89\00:01:48.90 I guess, as we roll along today and see what has happened 00:01:48.93\00:01:53.80 to marriage because marriage is not what it was 00:01:53.83\00:01:59.35 when God made it. 00:01:59.38\00:02:01.49 Yes, and I guess that we can rejoice because God doesn't make 00:02:01.52\00:02:06.35 a promise that He does not keep. So when we think about marriage, 00:02:06.38\00:02:11.02 the promise, we can look forward to what God has to say 00:02:11.05\00:02:14.85 - about marriage. - Well, if you have your Bibles 00:02:14.88\00:02:18.28 ready to turn to Genesis, the beginning of all things, 00:02:18.31\00:02:23.51 let's look at Genesis 3, and we're very familiar with going 00:02:23.54\00:02:29.47 through some of the issues that the marriage ran into because 00:02:29.50\00:02:34.82 God had given instructions in the garden, and man and woman, 00:02:34.85\00:02:38.82 Adam and Eve, were to spend their time with God and with 00:02:38.85\00:02:43.89 each other, and the 2 were not to be separated. 00:02:43.92\00:02:49.28 But something happened in the garden. 00:02:49.31\00:02:51.79 Yes, somehow or the other Adam and Eve got separated, 00:02:51.82\00:02:57.12 and with that, created some problems. 00:02:57.15\00:03:00.89 Oh? What kind of problems did it create? 00:03:00.92\00:03:03.84 Well, there was a third party introduced who wasn't supposed 00:03:03.87\00:03:08.27 - to be in the marriage. - Oh, well this leads us into 00:03:08.30\00:03:12.09 some discussions then that have some implications that marriage 00:03:12.12\00:03:17.16 between 2 people, with God in the center, is great, but when 00:03:17.19\00:03:21.75 someone else comes in between that relationship it begins 00:03:21.78\00:03:25.88 to distort God's plan for marriage immediately, 00:03:25.91\00:03:28.41 - doesn't it? - Immediately! And so when 00:03:28.44\00:03:30.93 you have a marriage that doesn't include God, and includes 00:03:30.96\00:03:37.30 somebody else, you have a problem. 00:03:37.33\00:03:40.07 Well, we can understand and appreciate that because many 00:03:40.10\00:03:42.81 things can come in between a man and a wife because they do come 00:03:42.84\00:03:46.92 - from families, don't they? - Definitely! 00:03:46.95\00:03:49.34 And those families have been an intricate part of your 00:03:49.37\00:03:53.14 relationship, my relationship, for years and then all of 00:03:53.17\00:03:56.81 a sudden God had said in chapter 2 that when you are 00:03:56.84\00:04:01.85 married you should leave mother and father and then cleave 00:04:01.88\00:04:06.75 to your spouse, and when that doesn't happen quite like that 00:04:06.78\00:04:12.50 usually some things begin to distort the marriage 00:04:12.53\00:04:15.86 - relationship. - And you notice God had a plan 00:04:15.89\00:04:18.74 and an order, you leave and then you cleave. 00:04:18.77\00:04:22.56 Ok, no cleaving before leaving. 00:04:22.59\00:04:25.11 Yes, and it doesn't always happen that way, in fact, 00:04:25.14\00:04:31.30 today's statistics say that more than 1 of every 3 children 00:04:31.33\00:04:36.43 is born to a never married mother. 00:04:36.46\00:04:39.68 Great day, that is quite a statistic, what was that 00:04:39.71\00:04:43.29 - number again? - 1 in every 3 children. 00:04:43.32\00:04:47.09 1 in every 3 children is not in a complete relationship of 00:04:47.12\00:04:52.99 - marriage - Exactly. 00:04:53.02\00:04:55.02 That can create quite a few problems, and we've seen 00:04:55.05\00:04:58.13 the kind of challenges that parents have with children 00:04:58.16\00:05:01.57 today when they don't have a spouse. And I heard someone 00:05:01.60\00:05:06.56 say, for instance, that they're the new poor when there is 00:05:06.59\00:05:10.62 a divorce, or when there is a separation, and there's not 00:05:10.65\00:05:13.85 a mother and a father leading that family, and with children 00:05:13.88\00:05:18.43 in it, there's poverty, there's a lot of things that are missing 00:05:18.46\00:05:22.64 - in that child's life. - Exactly, and you can't really 00:05:22.67\00:05:26.51 have healthy children unless you have a healthy family, 00:05:26.54\00:05:30.84 which was God's intent when He said "Don't cleave before" 00:05:30.87\00:05:35.46 - "you leave". - Yes, because He did say 00:05:35.49\00:05:38.13 that He wanted them to be fruitful and to multiply, 00:05:38.16\00:05:42.91 - not divide. - Exactly. 00:05:42.94\00:05:45.65 And division causes a problem, and that division, of course, 00:05:45.68\00:05:48.34 came from the evil one, from Lucifer, and as you read in 00:05:48.37\00:05:51.17 chapter 3 you will find that there is a very, very exciting, 00:05:51.20\00:05:57.88 but deadly encounter, that takes place. Whatever Satan brings 00:05:57.91\00:06:01.71 into the picture is usually exciting, so don't expect it 00:06:01.74\00:06:04.66 to be boring and dull when Satan makes his claim upon 00:06:04.69\00:06:09.64 the marriage, because he will do anything to divide, 00:06:09.67\00:06:13.01 and he can make it sound great, he can make it feel great, 00:06:13.04\00:06:16.51 and he will do his best to lure you into the possibility of 00:06:16.54\00:06:21.70 being without God, and being without your spouse in 00:06:21.73\00:06:25.62 - a marriage. - But I'm so glad that we serve 00:06:25.65\00:06:28.36 a God who has a promise, and that His promise is of such 00:06:28.39\00:06:33.65 that His promise is also exciting, and it is true 00:06:33.68\00:06:39.69 - and sure. - Well, they needed that promise 00:06:39.72\00:06:43.54 because almost immediately, not too long after the encounter 00:06:43.57\00:06:47.07 in the garden, what we see happening is that, as you 00:06:47.10\00:06:51.40 can imagine, God comes looking for His normal encounter 00:06:51.43\00:06:56.94 with Adam and Eve, the married couple, and this time He can't 00:06:56.97\00:07:01.55 find them, and He starts calling for them. And immediately their 00:07:01.58\00:07:07.90 response to Him was that they were naked. Now, what changed? 00:07:07.93\00:07:15.31 Weren't they naked before? You see, there's an unclothing 00:07:15.34\00:07:21.25 of your self worth and your values, and sin undresses 00:07:21.28\00:07:26.21 you in the presence of God and everyone, and undresses 00:07:26.24\00:07:30.19 the marriage relationship because almost immediately 00:07:30.22\00:07:33.14 when He talks to Adam, Adam wants to pin it on the woman, 00:07:33.17\00:07:37.14 he says "Well, this woman You gave me is part" 00:07:37.17\00:07:39.99 "of that encounter". All of a sudden this loving relationship 00:07:40.02\00:07:44.07 is distorted and begins to break down. 00:07:44.10\00:07:46.37 Yes, the woman who a chapter before, who was "wow", is now... 00:07:46.40\00:07:53.25 [makes negative face]. But the Scripture says they 00:07:53.28\00:07:56.76 were naked and ashamed, so sin brings shame and blame. 00:07:56.79\00:08:03.03 Yes it does, and that always creates a very, very difficult 00:08:03.06\00:08:08.25 moment for the family, for any couple, anything that you go 00:08:08.28\00:08:12.86 through where there's division or distortion of 00:08:12.89\00:08:15.52 that relationship in which people are not feeling good 00:08:15.55\00:08:19.01 about each other, or about their relationship, 00:08:19.04\00:08:21.95 you begin to feel ashamed, very self-conscious, and that's 00:08:21.98\00:08:25.85 something that sin brings into the life, and God is in 00:08:25.88\00:08:31.37 the picture, but at the same time things were not like they 00:08:31.40\00:08:36.67 used to be. And it might be that you are experiencing 00:08:36.70\00:08:39.43 a marriage that is not quite like it used to be, and we want 00:08:39.46\00:08:43.68 to assure you that God has a plan for that, and we're going 00:08:43.71\00:08:45.92 to discuss that in just a few moments. 00:08:45.95\00:08:49.10 You know that, unfortunately, in our society today nearly 45% 00:08:49.13\00:08:59.23 of the marriages end in divorce, so there may be a lot of 00:08:59.26\00:09:03.54 people who are looking today who are hurting, who are suffering, 00:09:03.57\00:09:08.24 who may be in that shame and blame position, but we are 00:09:08.27\00:09:12.74 so happy to share with you that God has a promise, God has 00:09:12.77\00:09:18.98 a solution for shame and blame. 00:09:19.01\00:09:22.38 - He didn't wait long, did He? - No, He didn't. 00:09:22.41\00:09:24.95 He didn't want to leave them hanging out there with that 00:09:24.98\00:09:26.92 - difficulty. - And I like the part that God 00:09:26.95\00:09:29.92 didn't wait for them to look for Him, He came looking, 00:09:29.95\00:09:35.22 He came calling, He knew where they were, but He came calling 00:09:35.25\00:09:41.25 - anyway. - That's unconditional love. 00:09:41.28\00:09:45.84 You must experience unconditional love from God. 00:09:45.87\00:09:49.64 We don't normally know how to provide unconditional love for 00:09:49.67\00:09:54.04 those within our spousal circle, our wife, our husband, 00:09:54.07\00:09:59.70 or sometimes not even our children, because we become 00:09:59.73\00:10:02.78 upset, we become embarrassed, we become ashamed, and we 00:10:02.81\00:10:06.02 want to separate ourselves from them, but God never separates 00:10:06.05\00:10:10.20 Himself from us, and this is something that we must begin 00:10:10.23\00:10:15.05 to understand, and through our faith in God, expect Him to do, 00:10:15.08\00:10:19.38 He's always waiting to make a difference for us. 00:10:19.41\00:10:21.82 And a lot of times we don't experience unconditional 00:10:21.85\00:10:24.74 love because we're hurting, and when you're hurting, 00:10:24.77\00:10:29.20 sometimes I've been in that position, 00:10:29.23\00:10:31.84 it's difficult to share unconditional love 00:10:31.87\00:10:35.44 when you're hurt and wounded. And because we serve a God 00:10:35.47\00:10:40.11 who understands us, He made us, after all He did form Adam and 00:10:40.14\00:10:44.53 Eve from the dust of the ground with His own hands, and breathed 00:10:44.56\00:10:49.71 into them life with His own breath. So He knows us better 00:10:49.74\00:10:55.09 than anybody else, He can then know how to share that love 00:10:55.12\00:11:00.61 and provide that love unconditionally because He made 00:11:00.64\00:11:04.76 us, and He understands us better than anybody else 00:11:04.79\00:11:08.67 - possibly could. - Well, it's too bad that Eve 00:11:08.70\00:11:12.81 didn't know that because she had to go through this experience 00:11:12.84\00:11:16.51 of having this little debate with God because when He 00:11:16.54\00:11:20.89 turned towards her her statement was to Him 00:11:20.92\00:11:24.98 "He tricked me, the serpents tricked me. I was tricked" 00:11:25.01\00:11:29.44 "into doing this, I didn't want to do it. " 00:11:29.47\00:11:32.10 But no matter how it happened God had His promise, and this 00:11:32.13\00:11:35.03 is what He said: "So the Lord said to the serpent, Because" 00:11:35.06\00:11:37.94 "you have done this you will be punished, you are singled" 00:11:37.97\00:11:40.32 "out from all the domestic and wild animals of the whole earth" 00:11:40.35\00:11:44.33 "to be cursed. " This is in Genesis 3:14. 00:11:44.36\00:11:49.35 And in Genesis 3:15 is the promise: "From now on" 00:11:49.38\00:11:56.17 "you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring" 00:11:56.20\00:11:59.25 "and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your" 00:11:59.28\00:12:02.79 "head and you will strike his heal. " What a promise! 00:12:02.82\00:12:08.38 God says he may trip you up for a while, but if you claim 00:12:08.41\00:12:12.66 the promise God says "I will take care of the one who" 00:12:12.69\00:12:16.87 "tricked you, and who got you into the dilemma of" 00:12:16.90\00:12:19.92 "brokenness, and ashamed, and feeling naked and exposed. " 00:12:19.95\00:12:26.46 God is taking care of the problem for us, and that's His 00:12:26.49\00:12:30.20 promise, but there's more to this promise that we're going 00:12:30.23\00:12:33.19 to talk about, but first of all, isn't it great the God gave 00:12:33.22\00:12:37.29 the promise, did not wait, and immediately after sin 00:12:37.32\00:12:40.88 assured man that He was there for Him. 00:12:40.91\00:12:43.65 Definitely, and you know it is true, women are afraid 00:12:43.68\00:12:46.86 - of snakes. [Hosts laugh] - Okay, that's true. 00:12:46.89\00:12:50.12 Well, we're going to have to be very much aware that Satan 00:12:50.15\00:12:54.71 - has got to be afraid of God. - Oh sure. 00:12:54.74\00:12:57.38 Because the Creator has now put in His word on him and said 00:12:57.41\00:13:02.44 "You're on going to get away with this", and I'm so glad that 00:13:02.47\00:13:05.15 God is ready to rescue the marriage, and to present 00:13:05.18\00:13:09.69 the marriage once again as a restored relationship to reflect 00:13:09.72\00:13:15.10 God, and the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost in unity. 00:13:15.13\00:13:20.81 I can't wait to get into the rest of this, how about you? 00:13:20.84\00:13:23.52 - I'm looking forward to it. - You make sure that you're 00:13:23.55\00:13:26.37 here right after this break. 00:13:26.40\00:13:29.09 There are many "How to" books available, but there's one 00:13:39.00\00:13:41.80 that's free, and perfect for every couple: 00:13:41.83\00:13:44.42 "How You Can Build a Better Marriage". 00:13:44.45\00:13:47.20 Bible-based matrimonial advice is given in a light 00:13:47.23\00:13:50.11 hearted, easy to read manner for those contemplating marriage, 00:13:50.14\00:13:53.76 newly weds, couples in their golden years, and everyone 00:13:53.79\00:13:56.94 in between. Simply call or write for your copy of this amazing 00:13:56.97\00:14:00.77 little booklet, a handy little tool to help build a better 00:14:00.80\00:14:04.44 marriage. 00:14:04.47\00:14:06.38 Welcome back to Marriage in God's Hands. 00:14:19.00\00:14:22.70 We've been discussing "the promise", marriage, the promise. 00:14:22.73\00:14:28.71 And as we were leaving the break we want you to know that we 00:14:28.74\00:14:36.10 are excited about not only what has happened, but what God will 00:14:36.13\00:14:40.88 do, because the experience that we've all had is brokenness, 00:14:40.91\00:14:45.44 we've all had some kind of distortion in our relationships, 00:14:45.47\00:14:48.81 in our marriages, that we've had to fight through, and with God's 00:14:48.84\00:14:52.36 help we've been able to come through. If you have not been 00:14:52.39\00:14:55.54 experiencing that it is because that is the result of sin 00:14:55.57\00:15:00.79 entering in. It's not your fault as a person that sin is here, 00:15:00.82\00:15:05.49 it's not your spouse's fault that sin is here. 00:15:05.52\00:15:09.64 A lot of times we want to blame each other for the problems 00:15:09.67\00:15:12.29 in our marriage, but I think we have to recognize that sin 00:15:12.32\00:15:16.46 increases, or as Paul says "it abounds", but grace much 00:15:16.49\00:15:20.18 - more abounds. - And I'm glad that with God's 00:15:20.21\00:15:23.58 promise He didn't promise all distress and pain, granted 00:15:23.61\00:15:32.02 women do bear children in pain... 00:15:32.05\00:15:34.55 And He said that, didn't He? Right here in the 16th verse. 00:15:34.58\00:15:38.18 Yeah, that's a part of the problem of sin, we'll have 00:15:38.21\00:15:42.93 to talk to Eve about that in the kingdom, I'll have to have a few 00:15:42.96\00:15:46.38 words with her about that, but He did tell Adam that he'd 00:15:46.41\00:15:50.60 have to sweat a bit to gain the rest of the labor. 00:15:50.63\00:15:56.63 Before all they had to do was tend the garden, he didn't 00:15:56.66\00:15:59.30 have to sweat, but you know, when you look over into 00:15:59.33\00:16:02.59 the Song of Solomon, which is also a part of the Bible, 00:16:02.62\00:16:07.32 not a whole lot of people like to read that, I don't know why, 00:16:07.35\00:16:10.21 it's always exciting to me. There's a courtship for you. 00:16:10.24\00:16:13.92 Alright, and there's 2 sides to this, and we have to know that 00:16:13.95\00:16:18.80 God has provided us through the promise with such great 00:16:18.83\00:16:22.97 opportunities to meet the challenges of sin, 00:16:23.00\00:16:27.01 and the recovery and the forgiveness that takes place 00:16:27.04\00:16:29.29 that God provides is what we really need to understand, 00:16:29.32\00:16:32.94 and if forgiveness has not happened in your relationships, 00:16:32.97\00:16:36.17 maybe you are to be a little bit more attentive to God's plan 00:16:36.20\00:16:39.51 because we need to understand that God wants to take care 00:16:39.54\00:16:44.15 of sin. It reached such a point, as a matter of fact, 00:16:44.18\00:16:48.19 within just a couple thousand years, and there was a great 00:16:48.22\00:16:52.98 flood, and part of the reason for the flood, it said, that sin 00:16:53.01\00:16:56.67 was multiplying, and that men and women were marrying 00:16:56.70\00:17:01.24 and giving in marriage. That means marrying, and divorcing, 00:17:01.27\00:17:03.77 and separating, and distortion had already taken hold in 00:17:03.80\00:17:07.72 the Antediluvian world to the point that marriage was 00:17:07.75\00:17:11.03 no longer being honored, that it was distorted, even as you have 00:17:11.06\00:17:14.19 mentioned, it's happening today. 00:17:14.22\00:17:16.79 Yeah, and when you think about it, 60% of children in the US 00:17:16.82\00:17:22.52 don't live with their own biological married parents. 00:17:22.55\00:17:27.07 - That's a lot. - That is a whole lot of 00:17:27.10\00:17:30.43 children who are experiencing pain as they grow. 00:17:30.46\00:17:36.49 And that causes a whole lot of distortions of personalities, 00:17:36.52\00:17:41.22 and temperaments, and difficulties for them just 00:17:41.25\00:17:43.87 becoming wholesome in their approach to marriage themselves, 00:17:43.90\00:17:49.04 or even as adults living in this world. 00:17:49.07\00:17:52.18 It's interesting to me when you talk to a lot of young adults 00:17:52.21\00:17:55.73 who say "I can't imagine being married because I don't know" 00:17:55.76\00:17:59.17 "anybody in my circle who's happily married". 00:17:59.20\00:18:03.04 In fact, I have heard some other young people say 00:18:03.07\00:18:07.28 "Well, I'm not sure I want to get married because" 00:18:07.31\00:18:10.12 "in my home... ", they experienced a lot of distortion, 00:18:10.15\00:18:14.45 there were a lot of arguments, and a lot of discussions that 00:18:14.48\00:18:17.22 were heated, anger, conflict, and the level that happens 00:18:17.25\00:18:22.43 in homes just creates distress for the children growing up 00:18:22.46\00:18:27.14 in the home. It is not a good thing for children to have 00:18:27.17\00:18:30.35 to experience that kind of distress because then they have 00:18:30.38\00:18:33.80 no hope for the future for their own relationships. 00:18:33.83\00:18:37.46 And I think that we need to realize that a lot of times 00:18:37.49\00:18:40.99 we're talking to Christian young people, so we need to go back 00:18:41.02\00:18:46.58 to talking about God's gift - God is love - and that in 00:18:46.61\00:18:51.17 Christian homes that has to be manifested in Christian 00:18:51.20\00:18:54.69 - marriages. - You know, what was so 00:18:54.72\00:18:57.09 marvelous about this, God started out after the flood, 00:18:57.12\00:19:02.29 there were only 8 people, but from what we can see in 00:19:02.32\00:19:06.26 the Word of God, as we look throughout the book of Genesis, 00:19:06.29\00:19:10.46 it started with 4 couples, Noah and his wife, 00:19:10.49\00:19:15.13 and their children and their spouses. So He created 00:19:15.16\00:19:20.12 a wholeness, the promise was already taking hold, 00:19:20.15\00:19:25.43 and the result of that promise is that God started again with 00:19:25.46\00:19:29.19 whole couples to create a whole marriage, and to create a good 00:19:29.22\00:19:33.81 foundation for the families after the flood. 00:19:33.84\00:19:36.61 And again with a promise "I do set My bow in the clouds". 00:19:36.64\00:19:41.39 That's right, God keeps His promises, and that's a wonderful 00:19:41.42\00:19:44.65 thing. Now, when Jesus came here, and we're going to talk 00:19:44.68\00:19:48.88 more about what happened after the flood with many of 00:19:48.91\00:19:51.05 the families of the promise, and that will probably happen 00:19:51.08\00:19:54.35 in the future, but if we look what happened when Jesus came. 00:19:54.38\00:19:59.44 He began His ministry at a wedding feast, showing how 00:19:59.47\00:20:05.99 much He cares about the relationship of marriage. 00:20:06.02\00:20:10.37 And even though He was sort of goaded into creating that 00:20:10.40\00:20:15.85 happy moment for that couple when the drink ran out 00:20:15.88\00:20:20.74 and there was no more to serve the guests, and it was His 00:20:20.77\00:20:23.79 mother who said "Jesus, please do this for the couple so that" 00:20:23.82\00:20:27.90 "their wedding celebration will not be spoiled. " God does not 00:20:27.93\00:20:32.51 want our celebrations of marriage to be spoiled, and He 00:20:32.54\00:20:36.32 will work miracles in our relationships to guarantee that 00:20:36.35\00:20:40.88 the promise takes hold, and that the evil one will not have his 00:20:40.91\00:20:45.15 way in bringing brokenness into our families. 00:20:45.18\00:20:48.35 Well, I like the fact that His first miracle was at a family 00:20:48.38\00:20:52.29 event because He was there because that was family. 00:20:52.32\00:20:56.14 I think that that's always significant, and that Jesus 00:20:56.17\00:20:59.83 came to this earth as a part of a family, because we often 00:20:59.86\00:21:05.77 forget that part that He was a member of a family, and that 00:21:05.80\00:21:10.08 families are important, and that that too is a part of 00:21:10.11\00:21:14.13 the promise that we are all connected as family. 00:21:14.16\00:21:19.56 And I like His promise because then He becomes the elder 00:21:19.59\00:21:24.76 - brother, not only Saviour. - Wow, you know, His plan was 00:21:24.79\00:21:30.42 very easy to see as Jesus taught on the earth, He brought 00:21:30.45\00:21:35.65 the promise in Himself. So it wasn't enough for Him 00:21:35.68\00:21:40.75 to just tell us what to do, but He appeared and He taught, 00:21:40.78\00:21:44.94 and He shared those important family occasions and encouraged 00:21:44.97\00:21:49.29 marriage. In fact, He said it may have been, as He talked 00:21:49.32\00:21:52.42 in Matthew, it may have been so back in the old days 00:21:52.45\00:21:56.93 where you could have a divorce and just get rid of your wife, 00:21:56.96\00:21:59.77 but He says "Not so when I come". When Jesus comes at 00:21:59.80\00:22:03.13 a house, we don't talk about divorce, we don't talk about 00:22:03.16\00:22:06.33 separation, we don't talk about maintaining the brokenness, 00:22:06.36\00:22:10.30 we talk about the promise being fulfilled in Christ in order 00:22:10.33\00:22:14.58 to maintain and build healthy, wholesome, spiritual 00:22:14.61\00:22:19.88 relationships with God, because that's the way He started it, 00:22:19.91\00:22:24.00 and we must talk about that spiritual component. 00:22:24.03\00:22:26.70 And I find it interesting that today if you turn on the TV, 00:22:26.73\00:22:32.17 if you read the newspaper, if you turn on anything, 00:22:32.20\00:22:35.99 everybody's talking about the marriage, and the family as 00:22:36.02\00:22:40.00 being the underpinnings of our society, of our communities, 00:22:40.03\00:22:44.68 everybody's talking about "What do we do to strengthen" 00:22:44.71\00:22:48.16 "marriages and families? " Because suddenly people are 00:22:48.19\00:22:53.75 realizing that if we don't get that right then we can't do 00:22:53.78\00:22:57.89 anything else, and it's back to God's Word, this is where He 00:22:57.92\00:23:02.09 started in Genesis, this is what He continues throughout 00:23:02.12\00:23:05.74 His Word, it's the marriage and the family that 00:23:05.77\00:23:09.52 strengthens and underpins everything else, and this is 00:23:09.55\00:23:13.10 what God said from the beginning, and His Word 00:23:13.13\00:23:16.33 continues to be true. He promises that "if you do it My" 00:23:16.36\00:23:21.48 "way, then you can be successful", and in the end when 00:23:21.51\00:23:27.80 you look at the back of the Book, He says "I'm coming for" 00:23:27.83\00:23:31.04 "My bride, the church", the promise. 00:23:31.07\00:23:34.41 Wow, that is exciting. 00:23:34.44\00:23:36.85 God wants to take whole families and whole marriages into His 00:23:36.88\00:23:41.16 kingdom, and even if your family, or marriage has been 00:23:41.19\00:23:44.85 broken or distorted, God does not leave you out. 00:23:44.88\00:23:48.28 If you are not married and watching this program, 00:23:48.31\00:23:51.18 God still speaks to single people because there is 00:23:51.21\00:23:54.30 wholeness and completion even in singleness, because in this 00:23:54.33\00:23:58.65 world not every time can a person find the right kind 00:23:58.68\00:24:03.06 of relationship to have a whole, or wholesome marriage. 00:24:03.09\00:24:08.01 So don't be discouraged just because yours happens to be 00:24:08.04\00:24:12.02 a single relationship. There's redemption both for 00:24:12.05\00:24:16.12 - singles and for couples. - And God says in Psalms 00:24:16.15\00:24:21.15 that He puts the lonely in families, so He intends that 00:24:21.18\00:24:26.68 among His people there is no one alone, but that they are 00:24:26.71\00:24:31.99 encompassed in the healthiness of families. 00:24:32.02\00:24:35.48 Well, God provides redemption, just as He did to Adam 00:24:35.51\00:24:39.89 and Eve, the promise was for redemption, redeeming love, 00:24:39.92\00:24:44.16 and that's what He wants marriages to be composed of: 00:24:44.19\00:24:46.84 redeeming love, and He wants to redeem you, He wants to redeem 00:24:46.87\00:24:51.02 your marriage and your family. And if you look into Matthew 20, 00:24:51.05\00:24:55.95 write these verses down, read them through, verses 26-28, 00:24:55.98\00:25:00.80 or Galatians 3:28, and also Ephesians 5:21-31. 00:25:00.83\00:25:10.64 You can see very clearly that God's plan for marriage is to 00:25:10.67\00:25:15.86 redeem the people in the marriage and to make 00:25:15.89\00:25:20.20 the marriage a place where redemption takes place, 00:25:20.23\00:25:25.78 because if you look into 1 Peter you'll see also where 00:25:25.81\00:25:29.30 He says, if you're willing to stay with a rough marriage, 00:25:29.33\00:25:32.32 if you stay committed, He says "I can actually allow you" 00:25:32.35\00:25:37.13 "to become the cause of the consecration of that marriage" 00:25:37.16\00:25:40.37 "and the consecration of your home". Don't give up 00:25:40.40\00:25:42.88 too easily, let God have His way in your marriage 00:25:42.91\00:25:46.84 - and in your life. - And the practical 00:25:46.87\00:25:49.28 application of that is just that living with somebody that's not 00:25:49.31\00:25:52.80 you every day means that you have to give and take, 00:25:52.83\00:25:58.80 you have to forgive and that you have to hang in there 00:25:58.83\00:26:03.10 because that's the only way that it works. 00:26:03.13\00:26:08.42 And God will bring healing to your marriage, to your 00:26:08.45\00:26:10.95 relationships as well. Why don't we pray now. 00:26:10.98\00:26:16.86 We know, dear Lord, how much You love us, and that Your 00:26:16.89\00:26:20.50 willing, and have already provided for redemption 00:26:20.53\00:26:24.74 in our homes, in our relationships, in our marriages. 00:26:24.77\00:26:29.29 We ask for You to come in in a powerful way and make 00:26:29.32\00:26:32.48 that difference for us now, and no matter what the problem 00:26:32.51\00:26:37.08 has been, dear Lord, we know that you have the solution and 00:26:37.11\00:26:40.68 will provide it to us according to Your promise, in Jesus' name 00:26:40.71\00:26:45.02 we pray, amen. 00:26:45.05\00:26:50.77 We thank you for the times you've spent with us. 00:26:50.80\00:26:53.89 We enjoy sharing God's promise with you about marriage, 00:26:53.92\00:26:57.88 and we know that if your marriage is in God's hands 00:26:57.91\00:27:00.78 there can be no better hands for you to be in because we know 00:27:00.81\00:27:04.72 that God's love is boundless, it's exhaustless, it is more 00:27:04.75\00:27:09.42 than you can ask or imagine. And when God's love spreads 00:27:09.45\00:27:14.34 in your heart it can't help but touch everything and everyone 00:27:14.37\00:27:18.40 with whom you come in contact. Knowing that, we look forward 00:27:18.43\00:27:22.73 to coming again to share God's love with you again, and to know 00:27:22.76\00:27:27.64 that God's love and His joy will be in your heart and your home. 00:27:27.67\00:27:33.72 Love and marriage in God's hand is what we hope to share 00:27:33.75\00:27:37.18 with you another time. We share again that the time 00:27:37.21\00:27:41.21 we'll be with you, and God's joy will abound in your love 00:27:41.24\00:27:44.90 and home, thank you. 00:27:44.93\00:27:47.64