The Rewards Of Love And Respect Series

INTRODUCTION

• Why do some couples seem so happy?

• Beware of outward appearances - they are deceiving.

• Happy couples work at it.

• They have made the tough decisions

I. WHY DO SOME COUPLES SEEM SO HAPPY?

• I Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love...always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

• All things - 4 times

• NASB - Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

• All deep relationships are built on expectations.

• And expectations will almost always get dashed.

• There is a gap between what we expect and what the person does.

• This is the reality of relationships.

• When there is a gap we put something in there.

• We either believe the best or we don’t.

• This will determine how you do in your relationships.

• What we put in the gap begins in minds and hearts and comes out of our mouths.

II. 2 KEY THINGS THAT FILL THE GAP

• What we see.

• Who we are.

• What we see determines how we think the thing through.

• Harder is who we are. We all bring baggage into the relationship.

• People who stay in love are blind!

• They learn to believe the best.

• They are generous to their partner.

• Happily married couples choose to assume the best.

• When you choose to go negative you have contributed to the demise of your relationship.

III. CREATING MARGIN IN RELATIONSHIP

• The last thing your partner wants to do is disappoint you.

• Asking them to perform higher isn’t the answer.

• Believing the best about them is.

• This creates margin.

• You express trust when you believe the best.

• Our hearts are drawn into environments of acceptance.

CLOSE

• Happy couples have decided to believe the best.

• Proverbs 24:16, “A righteous man falls seven times and rises again.” - Don’t Quit!