Marriage Matters

VIDEO: “Rethink Marriage” (Worship House Media)

I believe that our culture's definition of marriage and what it really takes to last a lifetime is much different from God’s definition. We live in a world today in which marriage is seriously over looked, downplayed, and even avoided by many. It’s sad that many view marriage as a simple contract for legal purposes and never truly see it as an institution from God.

When I perform a wedding ceremony I always open up what God has for us found within the book of Genesis Chapter 2:

7 The Lord formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into him the breath of life and man became a living being. 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then the Lord took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib, which He had taken from the man and brought her to the man.

23 And the man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. 24 For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh.

Today, I want to take a look at some of the keys to a healthy marriage. I would like to invite those of you who are married today to reflect on your relationship with your spouse. If you have never been married, I invite you to file away some of this information and refresh your mind and heart when that special guy or girl does come along. And to you who have suffered the pain of divorce, I hope you will add these keys to some hard lessons already learned and discover a wonderful new relationship someday.

I. Marriage first of all is a divine work of art!

A. God said, “It is not good for man to be a lone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

1. The institution of marriage is ordained of God. It was God who noted our need for one another.

2. Adam had a perfect environment – no ecological problems there.

- He had a creative genius and all of the responsibility that he could handle: even unbroken fellowship with the infinite God.

- But God, not Adam said, “it is not good that man should be alone.”

3. We are incomplete without each other. Before God created the woman, He created all of the other animals of this world and Adam named them, but only the woman satisfied, for she came from man himself.

4. It takes God to make a marriage meaningful and fulfilling. He created it. Who knows the book better than its author; and who knows the creature better than its Creator?

5. Marriage is a product of a divine plan. Andre Maurois defined a happy marriage as a long conversation that always seems too short.

B. Perhaps one of the greatest reasons for failure in a marriage is seeking guidance from the world rather than God.

In the movie Fireproof, there is a scene where Caleb and Catherine discuss with their friends why their marriage isn’t working.

VIDEO: “Incompatible”

Illustration: If you have ever seen the movie, you would realize that Catherine ends up filing for divorce while Caleb ends up fighting to save the marriage. You see, Catherine receives guidance from Non-Christian friends while Caleb receives guidance from his Christian father and his Christian friend.

1. If you are dealing with issues in your marriage, be very cautious as to where you seek guidance. We as humans find it extremely easy to be one sided when it comes to our friends and more times than not, this usually sways us into being totally biased when giving advice to a friend.

2. There is nothing wrong with going to a friend when we are in need but we must understand that God is our only true friend when it comes to godly living that we can truly rely on.

3. The next time you seek advice from a friend on any issue, you must ask yourself two questions.

a. Has God led you to this person for advice?

b. Is this person living with Christian values?

4. Too many times in life we get sucked into friendly relationships with the world and before we know it, are living our lives away from God’s guidance and accepting bad advice that God would not agree with.