Male and Female Created He Them
I have some notes but I’m going to hold them for just a moment. Please turn with me to Proverbs 14 and we’re going to look at verse 12.
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Why are the ways of man the ways of death? When the ways of man don’t agree with the ways of God then they are the ways of death. I don’t think many Christians understand that when we do things that are in opposition to God’s word we are producing death in our lives. It may not seem like that is what we’re doing but slowly and surely the more we stand in opposition to God’s word the more we open the door for the enemy to come in and sow death into our lives.
There was an article on Christian News about a commercial that’s promoting same-sex marriage and it includes President Obama, former First Lady Laura Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. I’m going to read a portion of this to you. The advertisement is produced by the Respect for Marriage Coalition and, I quote, features clips of past comments from various political leaders in an attempt to demonstrate that both Democrats and Republicans support homosexual “marriage.”
Let me read Proverbs 14:12 again – “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
“None of us would want to be told that we can’t marry the person that we love,” the ad begins, showing men and women embracing each other. “That’s why a growing number of Americans believe that it’s time to allow marriage for gay and lesbian couples.” If this is true, I know where the growth is coming from. It’s coming from those 18 to 30 years old who never had prayer or bible reading in their schools.
Let me continue. “When couples are committed, then I think they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has,” former First Lady Laura Bush states. Now listen. I want you to hear what she said. “When couples are committed THEN I THINK.” Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” When the former first lady said “I think” she was stepping away from what God says.
“Allowing them to live together with the protection of law – it seems to me to be the way we ought to be moving in this country,” says former Secretary of State Colin Powell. “It seems to me.” There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
“Freedom means freedom for everyone,” comments former Vice President Dick Cheney in a snippet lifted from his speech at the 2009 National Press Club.
The advertisement concludes with President Obama’s address during the inauguration. “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” he declares. I know I’m being redundant. Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
President Obama, former First Lady Laura Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, you are on the wrong side of this issue. I have no disrespect for any of you, but you are on the wrong side of this issue. The word of God clearly states that God created them male and female. The title of tonight’s message: “Male and Female Created He Them.”
This morning there was an article on Yahoo titled “Corporations urge Supreme Court to embrace gay marriage”. It says more than 200 businesses will urge the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a federal law that restricts the definition of marriage to heterosexual unions. The companies include Microsoft, Google, Starbucks, Pfizer, Amazon, Citigroup and Reuters. The companies want the Supreme Court to strike down a key provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Many of these companies operate in states that have legalized same-sex marriage as well as states that have not. They want a single law to follow. Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Turn to Ephesians 6. In this chapter I’m going to answer the question: “How did we get to where we are with the issue of same-sex marriage?” Look at verse 12.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Do you see the word “principalities”? A principality is a direct report to Satan. If Satan were a president then a principality would be a vice president. A principality, ladies and gentlemen, have responsibility for a region. He’s responsible for pushing an agenda that he received from the throne room of hell. The agenda that has been pushed on this country for the last 50-plus years has been same-sex marriage and homosexuality. That has been the agenda that this principality has been pushing on this country. And you see that it doesn’t matter to the principality how long it takes. He just wants to see it done. So over a period of time he has been able to push the agenda into our country where we are now more tolerant of the homosexual lifestyle than we have ever been in my lifetime and I’m only 56 years ago. When I was growing up, if a person was considered a homosexual that was not a good thing. But now you have Christians who don’t think it’s a big deal.
Here in this country, same-sex marriage and the homosexual agenda is an all out assault on our souls. When you listen to the prophecies that have come forth in this church you’ll often hear the phrase “enemy of the soul” because Satan feeds your minds with his lies with the hope that what he had fed you will take root in your heart. It’s in the heart that the believing takes place. So, he is doing an all out assault on our souls, our minds.
Do you remember the parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18? In that parable a widow has gone to the judge seeking justice for a wrong. At first the judge dismisses her but she comes back with her evidence over and over again until the judge finally gives in and grants her request. Many have interpreted the unjust judge as being a reference to God. It is not. There are only two logical explanations for the unjust judge. It’s either going to be God or it’s going to be us. Ladies and gentlemen, we are the unjust judge. Okay Barry, why am I the unjust judge? Remember the widow continued to present her evidence over and over to the judge until the judge finally gave in and said “I agree with you”? That’s how our minds work. Our minds will work on what it is fed the most. Our minds will believe what it is fed the most. So if you continue to feed your mind “same-sex marriage is the way to go” regardless of what God’s word says, and if you do it long enough, you’re going to start considering it. And once you start considering it you’ll eventually step over that line and agree with it. That is what the unjust judge does. Your mind will take evidence and it does not matter if the evidence is Godly or ungodly. If you continue to feed your mind with ungodly evidence, at some point, you’re going to believe that ungodly evidence. That’s why it’s so important to feed your mind with Godly evidence. That’s why I said this principality is engaged in an all out assault against our souls – against our unjust judge. It’s because he knows that if he can get our unjust judge to agree with him and not God’s word then the battle will be won.
In your notes I have included a word that I received from the Lord on July 20, 2009 that is relevant to what I have shared so far in this message. The Lord said “The heart of man is a fragile thing. It believes what the mind feeds it over and over again. … The heart gets conditioned by repeated messages. … The heart does not question. The heart soaks in and believes.” So the more evidence you feed the heart, Godly or ungodly, that will be what the heart eventually believes. That’s why Romans 10:10 says “with the heart man believeth.” And man, with his heart, will believe either those things that are righteous or those things that are unrighteous.
Why is all of this important? Again, something the Lord shared with me in 2009. This is from September 18. “Your enemy understands the importance of words. He understands that words have life and they are a creative force. He understands that words are used to bring into existence what is not presently seen in the natural world and that’s why he works so hard at getting people to speak his words and not My words. … The enemy is using a spiritual principle against the Body of Christ that the Body of Christ should be using against him.”
When you understand that what we are going through − this issue of same-sex marriage and homosexuality – it’s spiritual in nature. That’s the first thing to understand and, and secondly, that you have a principality working behind the scenes who is aggressively pushing this agenda. Keep all of this in the context of Ephesians chapter six and the warfare that we’re in.
In Proverbs 16:25 we see the same verse again about the ways of man. When we begin to substitute what we believe In place of what God believes that’s when we’re on the road to death. This may surprise you but God actually believes what he wrote! He actually believes that what’s in the bible is true. How many of you believe that what’s in the bible is true?
Let me go back to Proverbs 14. I’m going to read that verse one more time. Look at verse 12. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” What happens when you begin to substitute your ways for God’s ways? I’m going to make this clear and simple and the answer is going to be brief – two words. You die.
There are many examples.
Adam and Eve. God told them plainly that not to eat of the fruit in the garden. He said if you eat, you’ll die. Did he not say that? What happened? Adam and Eve substituted their ways for God’s ways and they died.
Aaron’s sons. Do you remember the record in Leviticus 10 about the strange fire? God commanded the fire for the altar be offered at a certain time but they decided to offer the fire when they wanted to offer it and that’s why scripture calls it a “strange fire.” What happened? They died.
The Ten Spies in Numbers 13. They went into the Promised Land to find out if what the Lord had said was true. Everything was as God said it would be. But 10 of the 12 spies said Israel could not win against the inhabitants of the land. Scripture called that an evil report. God’s judgment fell on the 10 spies. What happened? They died.
King Saul. Remember Samuel gave him a commandment: “I want you to kill all of the Amalekites.” That was the way of God. Saul’s way? “I’m going to keep King Agag alive and all of the best of the cattle and oxen.” What happened? Saul died.
The rich young ruler in Mark 10. He asked Jesus what he must do to be saved and Jesus told him to “honor the Lord with all your mind and your strength.” The young ruler said “I’m doing all of those things.” Then Jesus replied “Go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor and follow me.” Scripture says the young ruler walked away very sad because he had great riches. When he walked away from Jesus he walked away from eternal life. He chose his riches over Jesus.
Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. They sold some land and came to Peter and he asked them “did you sell the land for so much?” Ananias said he had. Peter then asked him why he was lying to the Holy Spirit. Ananias died instantly. Sapphira came in a few hours later and Peter asked her the same question and received the same answer. She died instantly.
Ladies and gentlemen, the ways of man always lead to death. The good thing for Ananias and Sapphira is that they made it to heaven.
I prayed for our President and I prayed for our leaders because I know that the ways they are leading us right now, if we continue down that road, will lead us to death. That’s scripture. When you start promoting an agenda that is against scripture, you are walking into death. That’s why scripture tells us in I Timothy chapter two to pray for our leaders. Listen, if we don’t use our authority to pray for our president, to pray for our congress – no one else has the authority to allow God to intervene. We are the ones God is depending on to be selfless, forgiving, loving and to pray for our president, Laura Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and everyone else who are making decisions that are against God’s word. If we don’t pray for them, they no one with God’s authority will be praying for them and that door that the enemy has open and accessible to them stays open. We really don’t appreciate what it means to have someone who knows God to pray for someone else. If we did we would understand that “I can make a difference in this person’s life” if I just do what God has asked me to do.
My purpose for reading this article was not as a slam at all but simply to acknowledge that this is what’s going on and that this is what we need to do as men and women of God.
Now what does the word of God say about same-sex marriage? Let’s begin in Genesis 1. We’re going to look at why God is not in favor of same-sex marriage.
Genesis 1:27 – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” God created them male and female. In verse 28, he tells them what he wants them to do. Verse 28 – “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…” Who did God bless? He blessed the male and female. Do you see this? What was the first thing the male and female were supposed to do? Be fruitful. Multiply. Have children. He wanted their family to grow. What do we see in this verse? God wants us to produce life and you can only produce life when you have a male and a female. Do you see this? If God wants us to produce life what does the enemy of the soul want produced? Death. What is a way to produce death? Having two people of the same sex together. They cannot produce life. The thief cometh not but for to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus says I am come that they might have life and have life more abundantly. Many folks when they talk about this subject want to go to Romans chapter one. God takes care of this in the first chapter of Genesis. God tells Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. That was not a suggestion. It was not a recommendation. That was what God wanted to happen. So, God wants us to be fruitful and multiply.
Look at Genesis chapter seven and verse 2. Let’s begin with verse 1. “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” Now look at verse 2. I want you to hear what God says in this verse. “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female ....” Jason and Sharon, stand up. Jason and Sharon are married. Jason, the male, and Sharon, his female. Sharon cannot be Lee’s female. Do you understand what I’m saying? God is saying even in the animal kingdom there is a “marriage type” relationship. He does not say “male and female” in this verse. He says “the male and HIS female.” And what book are we in ladies and gentlemen? Genesis. Let’s read verse 2 again. “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.” Do you see this? Now verse 3. “Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.” If you have male and male, there will be no seed kept alive. If you have female and female, there will be no seed kept alive. God, in the very first book of the bible establishes the pattern: he created male and female.
Some of you may not like what you have heard. You don’t have an issue with me. You have an issue with God. You can intellectualize it all you want. You have an issue with God. You can rationalize it all you want. You have an issue with God. But you say this is the way this country is going. You have an issue with God. I hope I have been clear. It does not matter what the laws of this country say. If they go against God, you will have an issue with God. And I’m going to tell you something ladies and gentlemen: scripture says it’s a fearful thing to be in the hands of an angry God.
Look at Matthew 19. Are you seeing what God says about same-sex marriage? It’s really simple and he shows you in Genesis “I have established it male and female.” You don’t have to go to Romans to understand this. You can understand this in Genesis if you want to understand this. Jesus says in the gospel of John that my meat is to do the will of him that sent me. He also says I speak the things the Father gives me to speak. Matthew 19, verse 4. Let’s start in verse 1. “And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?” Even the Pharisees recognized it is the man and his wife. Now verse 4. “And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.” What did Jesus do? He pointed them back to scripture. Jesus says the same thing in Mark 10:6.
Turn over to Malachi and we’re going to read verses 11 through 15. “Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts. And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. (Do you see this? The “wife of thy youth” and the “wife of thy covenant.”) And did not he make one? (What is he referring to? Marriage. Did he not make one? When a man and woman marry they become one. Keep it in context.) Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? (And wherefore did he make them one is the question Malachi is asking. Why did God make the man and the woman one?) That he might seek a godly seed.” (I am about to step on some toes, as if I have not already done that. For those of you out who believe that marriage is not primarily for procreation – you’re wrong. Scripture says that it is. God’s wants godly seed and that’s why you get marriage. And if you don’t agree, you need to talk with your heavenly Father. There are some you who don’t believe this is important in your relationship. I’m telling you it is otherwise God would not have put it in his word. God wants godly seed so he can use their authority in this world.)
Let’s finish up in Proverbs 18. Look at verses 20 and 21. “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” What “fruit” are you producing with your mouth? Are you producing fruit of life or are you producing fruit of death? When our president, the former first lady, the former vice president and the former secretary of state went on record saying they were in favor of same sex marriage, they were satisfying their mouths with death. They’re filling themselves up with death. Now, why would they do that? Look at verse 12 of this chapter. “Before destruction the heart (not the soul, not the mind but the heart) of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.” A person just does not all of a sudden have a haughty heart. It’s a process. Over time what you believe becomes governs your life more than God’s word. And once your heart is haughty you will begin to speak death into your life because you are speaking against God. And that’s why, I know I have said this several times tonight but I’m saying it again: we need to pray for our president and we need to pray for those in authority because we’re giving God permission to go after them.
I want to close with Psalm 19 – one verse – because this is my prayer for each one of you, for our president, and everyone in authority. This is David. He says in verse 4, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”
President Obama, let the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart be acceptable to the Lord, who is your strength and your redeemer.
Former First Lady, Laura Bush, let the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart be acceptable to the Lord, who is your strength and your redeemer.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney, let the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart be acceptable to the Lord, who is your strength and your redeemer.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, let the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart be acceptable to the Lord, who is your strength and your redeemer.
Now, let’s say it. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you my strength and my redeemer.
Amen!
