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Here we find ourselves again in 
the gospel of Mark, where Jesus 

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is somewhere and you have a 
crowd flocking toward him. 

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This has become common now. 
Wherever Jesus goes, it doesn't 

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take very much time for people 
to hear about it and to make an 

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event out of it. 
This Nazarene is here that the 

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rabbi from Nazareth has arrived 
in our neighborhood. 

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We must see him, We must receive
something from him. 

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And we have read enough of the 
Bible to know that crowds were 

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always indicative of the right 
hearts. 

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Many people in these crowds did 
not want the truth Jesus 

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offered, did not want to submit 
to the radical call of 

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discipleship. 
They wanted immediate relief. 

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They wanted benefit. 
They wanted miracles. 

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And we know that. 
How much more? 

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The Son of God Even now He knew 
what was in man's heart and 

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that's why he didn't trust them.
And we have studied Mark enough 

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to know that these people were 
stubborn. 

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They were majority unbelieving 
and unwilling to submit again to

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the invitation of believing on 
the Son of God. 

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But notice this again. 
Look at verse one, look at the 

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last sentence. 
And again, as was his custom, he

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taught them despite all of that,
despite all of that, the mixed 

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motives, the lack of desired 
response. 

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Jesus still, as his custom, 
taught them. 

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I would love to use this verse, 
among many other verses, if I 

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was preaching to a room filled 
with pastors or ministry 

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leaders. 
But all of us here serve in some

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capacity. 
All of us here are transmitters 

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of truth, whether that be to our
children, our spouses, our 

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friends, our coworkers. 
So this applies. 

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Still, do you notice the model 
of Jesus as a minister, The 

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absolute patience of the master?
How compassionate. 

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How compassionate. 
Knowing, knowing that the 

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majority are not there for the 
right reasons. 

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He still teaches them. 
He still dispenses his energy 

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and time and efforts to give 
them the truth. 

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He still goes. 
Above and beyond to help them, 

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and to provide still a way into 
the truth. 

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I read that and I thought to 
myself, Lord, help me not lose 

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patience. 
Help me believe that you are 

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after faithfulness more than 
success, at least humanly 

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speaking, success. 
Help me, Help me just please you

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and honor you with what you've 
given me as a gift, what you've 

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given me as opportunities, and 
to just do it unto you. 

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Believe. 
If you're serving the Lord in 

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any capacity, and you're 
frustrated because you're not 

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seeing what you want to see, or 
because people are not 

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responding the way you wanted to
respond. 

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Look to Jesus. 
Look how faithful He is. 

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Look how consistent He is. 
Look how stable He is. 

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Do not be flimsy in your 
faithfulness. 

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Don't be tossed to and fro. 
Don't become absent or less 

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committed to something just 
because you had a timeline of 

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how things should go and they're
not going the way you thought 

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they should go. 
That's not the custom of Christ,

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and you are a follower of 
Christ. 

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So here's this crowd, massive 
crowd. 

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And Jesus, as was his custom, 
teaches them. 

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But this was an opportunity for 
another group of people, and not

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for a positive thing who comes 
out of the woodwork? 

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The Pharisees they just spawned 
on site. 

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And they saw this crowd and they
saw a different opportunity. 

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And this was their opportunity, 
It's become their custom to try 

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to discredit the ministry of 
Jesus, to try to diminish his 

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popularity and wound his name, 
his message, his ministry. 

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And up to this point, they've 
tried different things. 

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One of their go to things was to
slander Jesus. 

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And to try to claim that his 
miracles were authorized by 

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demonic powers and that didn't 
work. 

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And so they try to different 
things, like ask Jesus to do a 

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miracle on demand. 
Prove yourself do something 

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here, right here, right now. 
And Jesus doesn't budget. 

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He doesn't give in to their 
desires. 

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And so now they're going to 
resort to something else, and 

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they're going to use it more 
than once. 

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Now they're going to weaponize 
controversial doctrines. 

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And beliefs to put Jesus in a 
difficult position. 

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You can just imagine the 
calculation, right? 

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Because this was not 
spontaneous, there was thought 

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behind this question that these 
Pharisees asked. 

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How can we trap Jesus? 
How can we put him in a corner 

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that no matter what answer he 
gives, he's going to make some 

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group of people very upset with 
what he says. 

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And at this juncture, at this 
point, the topic of choice is 

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divorce. 
Divorce. 

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That should do the job, because 
a lot of people have a lot of 

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opinions about divorce, not just
in the world, even in the 

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Church. 
And you have to admit that this 

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is quite clever. 
This is quite clever, not just 

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because of the subject matter 
that they chose, but because of 

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the timing of things. 
Do you remember what was on 

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recent headlines in Israel? 
Can I remind you? 

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Well, you're in Mark chapter 10.
Go to Mark chapter 6. 

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Read here with me in verse 17 of
Mark chapter 6, and you'll see 

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another layer of the conniving 
scheme of this pursuit from the 

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Pharisees. 
Mark 617. 

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For it was Herod who had sent 
and seized John, and bound him 

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in prison, for the sake of 
Herodias, the his brother 

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Philip's wife, because he had 
married her. 

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For John had been saying to 
Herod, it is not lawful for you 

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to have your brother's wife. 
What happened to John the 

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Baptist for saying that he lost 
his head? 

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And this was in the airwaves, 
right, The scandal of Herod and 

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marrying his brother's wife. 
And the Pharisees understood 

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that John Baptist got himself in
trouble for speaking out against

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this. 
And so you can see where they're

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going with this, right? 
No matter what, surely what's 

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going to come out of this to our
benefit is that when Jesus 

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answers our question about 
divorce, this crowd is going to 

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split in half. 
And maybe maybe Pharisee #2, 

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Pharisee #3. 
Come here. 

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Maybe even if Jesus speaks out 
on this, word will get out. 

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It'll get to Herod, and he'll 
share John Baptist's fate, if 

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John the Baptist paid a high 
price for speaking about the 

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sanctity of marriage. 
Oh, what do you think might 

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happen to Jesus? 
We know he's an uncompromising 

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truth preacher. 
We know that he does not pull 

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any punches. 
We know that he'll say it as it 

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is, and that will be to his own 
demise. 

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And you can just imagine them 
twiddling their fingers. 

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They don't know who they're up 
against. 

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And I think it's safe to say 
today that divorce is still a 

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sensitive subject. 
It's sensitive for many reasons 

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because there's so much emotion 
attached to it. 

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There's history attached to it, 
There's personal experience 

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attached to it. 
And so some preachers today just

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avoid the subject altogether. 
Why? 

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Because they think like the 
Pharisees, if I speak on this 

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issue, people will be upset 
about it. 

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And so they rather hold on to 
their reputation than honor the 

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truth. 
The truth, may I remind you, 

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that no matter how hard it is, 
will set you free. 

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It will set you free. 
And the preacher's job is to be 

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caught up and preoccupied with 
the pleasure of his Lord. 

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And not to be concerned about 
how the truth will be received, 

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though it must be faithfully, 
lovingly, carefully, and wisely 

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delivered. 
And so I hope to walk in the 

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footsteps of my Lord. 
We see Jesus being concerned 

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about what God's word has to 
say. 

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Notice how Jesus answers after 
the Pharisees in verse two. 

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Ask them if it was lawful for a 
man to divorce his wife. 

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He answered them in verse three.
What did Moses command you? 

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You know why that's important? 
Because there are many schools 

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of thought in Jesus time that 
had very strong and opposing 

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opinions about divorce. 
They were like today. 

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You had conservative 
interpretations. 

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And you had very loose and 
liberal interpretations about 

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divorce. 
And if you want to look, look 

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more into this in your own time,
look up the schools of thought 

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from Rabbi Shami and Rabbi Hilal
Shami and Hilal, who are 

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prominent voices that spoke a 
lot about this issue of 

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marriage, divorce and 
remarriage. 

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So that was prominent, that was 
there, that was prevalent. 

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Everybody knew that, and many 
people held to either one and 

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maybe even some strange place in
between. 

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But Jesus doesn't appeal to an 
authoritative figure. 

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Jesus doesn't go to a camp. 
Jesus cuts through all of that. 

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And he asked, what did God say? 
What did God say? 

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What did Moses command? 
You and I love the way Jesus 

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phrases that. 
He didn't say, what did Moses 

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write? 
He didn't say, what did Moses 

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command? 
He said, what did Moses command 

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you? 
Do you know why that's 

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significant? 
I'll tell you why that's 

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significant. 
Because Moses. 

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Depend the law well over 1000 
years before Jesus and this 

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generation. 
And yet the way Jesus frames and

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relates to the scriptures is 
that it is binding on all time 

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for all people across all 
generations. 

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It applies. 
God's word is not shifting with 

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the culture. 
It's not pliable. 

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It's not subject to change. 
And not only is it binding for 

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all time, right? 
Not only is it relevant for all 

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generations, it's supposed to be
embraced personally. 

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What did Moses command you? 
You. 

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And this is clear elsewhere. 
Let me show you this. 

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This is fascinating. 
This is this will hopefully 

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rejuvenate your love and 
appreciation for the word of 

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God. 
Go to Matthew, chapter 22. 

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This is Jesus dealing not with 
the Pharisees, with the 

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Sadducees. 
And the Sadducees are also 

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trying to do the same thing as a
Pharisee. 

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They want to try to trap Jesus 
doctrinally. 

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And so they bring up this idea 
of the resurrection. 

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And what do you have when you 
have a woman who has several 

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husbands because each of them 
keep dying? 

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Whose husband will will be hers 
and the resurrection? 

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And Jesus answers something in 
Matthew 2231 after he answers 

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that dealing with the fact that 
there's no marriage in heaven. 

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He now strikes at the core of 
their belief system. 

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The Sadducees did not believe in
the resurrection. 

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They didn't believe in life 
after after death. 

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So look what the Lord says. 
And As for the resurrection of 

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the dead, have you not read what
was said to you by God? 

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I am the God of Abraham and the 
God of Isaac and the God of 

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Jacob. 
He is not God of the dead, but 

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of the living powerful. 
Powerful for many reasons. 

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One of the reasons why this is 
powerful is because Jesus, out 

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of all the texts in the Old 
Testament to prove the 

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resurrection, goes to the book 
of Exodus. 

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He could have gone to Isaiah. 
He could have gone to Daniel. 

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Very strong and obvious claims 
about the resurrection. 

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But he goes to Exodus. 
You know why? 

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Because the Sadducees only 
believed in the first five books

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of the Bible, so he met them at 
their level. 

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Even what you claim to be pure 
Scripture, the resurrection is 

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there. 
I mean, you're dealing with the 

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God who authored this book. 
But more than that, read your 

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Bibles slowly and carefully and 
with reverence. 

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Let's read again verse 31 and 
ask for the resurrection of the 

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dead. 
Have you not read what was said 

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to you by God? 
You know why? 

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That's fascinating. 
He quotes Exodus 36. 

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When? 
He says I am the God of Abraham,

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the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob. 

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God said that to Moses. 
Moses recorded a conversation 

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that he had with the Lord, and 
yet Jesus says here that 

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although this was directly said 
to Moses, he's actually saying 

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it to you. 
Even in the accounts of 

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Scripture that are narrative, 
even in the accounts of 

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Scripture that are not directly 
instructive, you know what Jesus

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saying here. 
God wants you to come to His 

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Word and embrace it and examine 
it as though He is saying 

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something to you. 
He's speaking to you through His

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Word, and that should excite you
about the Word of God. 

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Even in ancient recorded 
conversations that don't 

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immediately relate to you, that 
you might say, OK, I'm just 

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looking at this from a window 
with a screen separating me. 

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You are to believe that God 
intended to reveal something to 

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you. 
In every corner of the word of 

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00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:34,080
God, every portion, every line, 
the Lord has something to say to

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00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:38,920
you and to me, he says, What did
God say to you? 

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00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:41,320
Do you remember what God said to
you? 

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00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:42,760
It's a conversation between God 
and Moses. 

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00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:44,760
Yeah, but God wants to speak to 
you through that. 

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00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:48,120
There are principles, there are 
truths that are transcendent and

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apply today for you in your walk
with Christ. 

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Now, that's why we study Bible 
study in the Old Testament every

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00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:57,440
single Friday. 
Why? 

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Because we believe God has 
something to say to the 

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00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,640
Christian. 
Now in Exodus, in numbers, in 

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00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:06,320
Leviticus, in Isaiah and Micah, 
God wants to speak. 

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00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,520
And when you read what God has 
to say, that's him speaking, by 

244
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:15,160
the way. 
In this moment, the transmission

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00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:17,360
of the Word, the Word being 
declared, the world being 

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00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,160
expounded. 
This is God's primary means of 

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speaking. 
Are you listening? 

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00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,600
Are you in awe of that? 
That this is how he is 

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00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:32,160
prescribed to communicate with 
humanity through His word and 

250
00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:33,520
the Lord. 
Jesus provides a wonderful 

251
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,640
example of how this works when 
you read something like Exodus 

252
00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,160
36 and you look at God speaking 
to Moses. 

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00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,800
You are to say, OK, God, what 
does it have to say about me? 

254
00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,120
What are you trying to reveal 
about yourself to me here? 

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00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:49,680
Here's how Jesus interprets it. 
When God said that to Moses, I'm

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00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,080
to interpret that today in 2023,
God is the God of the living, 

257
00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:58,640
not of the dead. 
So yeah, you can open this word 

258
00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,400
and say with total confidence 
and license, Lord, you have 

259
00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:08,400
something to say to me, and 
that's from one verse in the Old

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00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,200
Testament. 
How much does God have to say 

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00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:14,480
with that giant library? 
How much does God have to reveal

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00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:16,240
to you? 
How much are you missing out on?

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00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:20,560
Because perhaps you don't see 
the relevance of some portions 

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00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:25,800
of God's word. 
It only gets better. 

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00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:28,880
You're in Matthew 22. 
Look at Matthew 19 for a second.

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00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,040
This is the parallel count to 
Mark chapter 10. 

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00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,440
But there's another insight even
in Jesus teaching on divorce 

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00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:40,520
concerning the authority and the
instrument of God's word. 

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00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:46,760
Look at Matthew 19 verse four, 
he answered. 

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00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:50,520
Have you not read that he who 
created them from the beginning 

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made them male and female? 
Question Where is that from? 

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00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,360
What book is that from? 
You can answer it, I'm not 

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00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:57,560
afraid. 
Genesis. 

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00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:01,760
Wow, all of you know it. 
Wonderful verse 5 and said. 

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00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,440
Therefore a man shall leave his 
father and his mother and hold 

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00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,880
fast to his wife, and the two 
shall become one flesh. 

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00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,360
Notice the 1st 2 words of verse 
five. 

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00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,960
What are those words? 
And said, he answered, Let me 

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00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,640
read this again. 
Have you not read that he who 

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00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,040
created them from the beginning 
made them male and female? 

281
00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,040
Who is he talking about? 
He God. 

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00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,640
And then he's continuing in 
verse 5, the same God who 

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00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,280
created male and female. 
He said something. 

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00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:33,480
He said therefore a man shall 
leave his father and his mother 

285
00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,800
and hold fast to his wife and 
the two shall become one flesh. 

286
00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:39,880
We say, OK, that's wonderful, we
know that that's what God said. 

287
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,320
But it becomes more interesting 
when you actually look at the 

288
00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:44,800
text itself where Jesus cites 
from. 

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00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,640
So look at Genesis 2, the first 
book of the Bible, and I want 

290
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,480
you to see this with your own 
eyes in verse 24 of chapter 2. 

291
00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:58,520
So when Jesus said in verse five
of Matthew 19 and said, it means

292
00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:00,480
that he's quoting. 
What? 

293
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:05,040
Apparently God said God had said
this at some point. 

294
00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:08,640
But when you look at Genesis 
224, where this quote comes 

295
00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:10,280
from, you'll notice something 
interesting. 

296
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,440
Adam spoke in verse 23. 
And then there's a couple of 

297
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,240
verses left to this chapter, and
this is the one Jesus is 

298
00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:21,880
alluding to. 
Therefore, a man shall leave his

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00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:25,000
father and his mother and hold 
fast to his wife, and they shall

300
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,880
become one flesh. 
You know what's interesting 

301
00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:29,560
about that verse? 
What is it? 

302
00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:34,240
God didn't say it directly, did 
it? 

303
00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,520
Is it a direct quote from God? 
No, he didn't. 

304
00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:40,600
Some would say that it's 
actually Adam. 

305
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:42,480
Continuing his thought from 
verse 23. 

306
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,080
Most people say this is Moses 
narrating what just took place 

307
00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,040
between Adam and Eve, the view 
to which I hold. 

308
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:55,800
So this is Moses writing and 
providing commentary and insight

309
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,320
about the institution of 
marriage being initiated. 

310
00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:05,960
And yet Jesus says in Matthew 
19, verse five, God said as 

311
00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,960
though God spoke this, but He 
didn't speak it. 

312
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,520
When you go to the original 
account, what do we make of 

313
00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:13,960
this? 
Well, even though God uses human

314
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,320
agency and human authorship, 
he's the one who's ultimately 

315
00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:22,960
speaking. 
That's what that means, so. 

316
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,600
Not only do I look at something 
like Exodus 36, where I see God 

317
00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,840
speaking to Moses and believe 
that there's something there for

318
00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,680
me, I could look at every 
portion of Scripture, whether 

319
00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,200
it's him saying something 
directly or narrator or anything

320
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:40,280
else that deals with instruction
or comments concerning the word 

321
00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:45,000
of God, and believe that God is 
speaking even there God is 

322
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,520
speaking, so all of God's Word 
is God's voice. 

323
00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:51,200
All of God's Word is God's 
speech. 

324
00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,080
All of God's word reveals God's 
mind. 

325
00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:59,600
So even in a text like this, I 
am to believe God said it, God 

326
00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,440
said it. 
And we have to remind ourselves 

327
00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,360
of that because some people make
the innocent mistake of over 

328
00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:07,760
emphasizing the human element to
the Bible. 

329
00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:11,640
Paul wrote this epistle, he 
wrote it at this time and he 

330
00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,120
probably wrote it because of 
this component and this aspect 

331
00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:16,360
or this kind of situation. 
He knew this person. 

332
00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:18,960
He knew that church and and 
that's good, that's important. 

333
00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,200
But do not forget who's the 
ultimate speaker. 

334
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,800
It's God, he said. 
He spoke, whether that be 

335
00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,000
Genesis 224, First Thessalonians
5. 

336
00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:31,240
God is speaking every single 
time. 

337
00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,480
So Jesus here is going back to 
the authority of the Word of 

338
00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:38,440
God. 
What did Moses command you then 

339
00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:44,840
in verse four of Mark 10? 
Look what he says as a response 

340
00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:47,440
to Jesus question. 
They said Moses. 

341
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:51,680
Allowed a man to write a 
certificate of divorce and to 

342
00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,880
send her away. 
So when Jesus said what did 

343
00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,880
Moses command you based on the 
context, you know what Jesus had

344
00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:03,360
in mind. 
Genesis, Genesis chapter one, 

345
00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:07,360
Genesis chapter 2. 
What the Pharisees had in mind 

346
00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:10,640
was a law in Deuteronomy chapter
24, and they summarize it the 

347
00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:15,160
1st 4 verses and based on what? 
Moses gives us instructions 

348
00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:18,120
there. 
They believed that this was a 

349
00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:22,880
loophole into sanctioning 
divorce and allowing for 

350
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:29,200
divorce, or even worse, God 
commanding divorce. 

351
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,360
And look how Jesus answered. 
We're going to go to that text 

352
00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:36,320
in a moment and verse 5, Jesus 
gives a quick explanation to the

353
00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:38,280
response. 
And Jesus said to them because 

354
00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:40,720
of your hardness of heart, he 
wrote you this commandment. 

355
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:43,680
This is not a part of God's 
desire. 

356
00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,320
This is not God's will. 
What you read there in those 

357
00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:49,680
first four verses, in fact, you 
got to read it deeper to see 

358
00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,360
what God's heart really is. 
There is a command in those 

359
00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:54,960
first four verses, but not a 
command that people tend to 

360
00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,000
think is about. 
Can I show that to you? 

361
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:00,800
Deuteronomy 24. 
Look at the 1st 4 verses. 

362
00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:11,360
With me This is what the 
Pharisees had in mind. 

363
00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:19,080
Deuteronomy 24 verse one reads 
when a man takes a wife and 

364
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,640
marries her. 
If then she finds no favour in 

365
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:27,040
his eyes because he has found 
some indecency in her indecency.

366
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:29,560
It seems vague, seems ambiguous.
It's. 

367
00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:34,680
Root meaning means shameful. 
Anything that is shameful to do.

368
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,800
Some would say that it's 
strictly about adultery. 

369
00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:42,040
But the problem with that is 
that there was a law about 

370
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:43,080
adultery. 
What was it? 

371
00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,400
And the old covenant, the old 
law. 

372
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:48,080
If you committed adultery, you 
were stoned to death. 

373
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:53,960
Some indecency in her and he 
writes her certificate of 

374
00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:56,840
divorce and puts it in her hand 
and sends her out of his house 

375
00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:58,360
and she departs out of his 
house. 

376
00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:01,040
And if she goes and becomes 
another man's wife, and the 

377
00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:04,160
latter man hates her and writes 
her certificate of divorce and 

378
00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,400
puts it in her hand and sends 
her out of his house. 

379
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,080
Or if the latter man dies, who 
took her to be his wife? 

380
00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:14,160
Then her former husband who sent
her away, may not take her again

381
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,480
to be his wife after she has 
been defiled, For that is an 

382
00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,720
abomination before the Lord, and
you shall not bring sin upon the

383
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,280
land that the Lord your God is 
giving you for an inheritance. 

384
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,400
So the Pharisees took this and 
they said, well, hey, Jesus, 

385
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:33,840
didn't Moses make a way for us 
to divorce? 

386
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:40,080
And Jesus says there is a 
command in Deuteronomy 24, one 

387
00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,240
to four. 
But by speaking about the 

388
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:46,360
hardness of heart, he already 
qualifies that what Moses is 

389
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:48,800
speaking about here is not God's
heart. 

390
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:53,000
Notice the language in verse one
when a man takes a wife and 

391
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:57,600
marries her, if then she finds 
no favor, right? 

392
00:22:57,600 --> 00:22:59,560
He writes her certificate of 
divorce. 

393
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:07,040
So in some sense, what we're 
seeing here is that there is, as

394
00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:13,160
an act of mercy, God providing a
way to assist the victims of 

395
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,760
this horrific development known 
as divorce. 

396
00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:20,800
And the primary person that he 
has in mind is the woman, the 

397
00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:23,160
woman who would be left very 
vulnerable and susceptible to 

398
00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,240
much harm and danger. 
This certificate of divorce, to 

399
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:30,600
an extent, would protect her 
reputation, and it would also 

400
00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,600
give her some kind of security 
in terms of potential events of 

401
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:37,560
future remarriage with someone 
else. 

402
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,040
But that's not even really the 
emphasis of these passages. 

403
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:45,520
If there's any command of those 
4 verses, it's the last verse. 

404
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:49,320
Look again at verse four. 
Here's the clearest expression 

405
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,960
of a command. 
Then her former husband who sent

406
00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,320
her away, may not take her again
to be his wife. 

407
00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:04,120
That's the command more than 
anything else, Knowing the 

408
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:10,320
inevitable darkness that human 
sinfulness will lead to. 

409
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:18,800
God in His mercy provides some 
instructions to limit and to 

410
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:23,960
provide obstacles for this thing
called divorce to go and run 

411
00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:28,440
rampant. 
So these people here clearly are

412
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:33,440
finding the freedom to divorce 
with with just the cause of 

413
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:39,280
indecency. 
And what the Lord is saying is 

414
00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:43,560
that if you send somebody away, 
know this. 

415
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,480
If she remarries, you can never 
have her back. 

416
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,920
That's the command more than 
anything else. 

417
00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:53,800
What the Lord is saying, even 
here in Deuteronomy, is that 

418
00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:56,400
this is meant to discourage 
divorce. 

419
00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,520
This is meant to actually 
prohibit it and limit it and not

420
00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:05,960
make allowance for it. 
He is trying to let them know 

421
00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:09,360
this decision that you make will
affect you for the rest of your 

422
00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:11,280
life, not just the person that 
you're sending away. 

423
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:16,280
Because the temptation was to 
play a game with marriage and to

424
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:20,480
swap wives, so if you didn't 
like your wife anymore, you lost

425
00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:22,160
attraction to her or whatever 
the case may be. 

426
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:26,720
She's irritating. 
You can get rid of her and you 

427
00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:28,680
can try another one. 
And if you didn't like her, 

428
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:31,320
maybe you can get the one that 
you liked before and you realize

429
00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:35,680
what you missed out on. 
And God gives this command to 

430
00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:40,480
say you can't do that because 
the hardness of heart, you will 

431
00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:42,640
send people away. 
That's not my desire. 

432
00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:44,680
That's not my original intent 
for marriage. 

433
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,040
That's not even part of the 
program at all in my mind. 

434
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:52,160
But if you do know this, you're 
making a decision. 

435
00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:57,040
That's irreversible. 
If she remarries, you know what 

436
00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:58,520
that's supposed to cause a man 
to do? 

437
00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,440
Think very carefully if he 
really wants to do that. 

438
00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:04,480
Do I really want to make this 
decision? 

439
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:10,520
Remove that and you have people 
who will again, trade wives, 

440
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,720
swap, and treat marriage as 
though it is some cheap thing. 

441
00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:23,040
And Jesus here makes it very 
very clear that. 

442
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:25,360
God's heart is not for this at 
all. 

443
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,760
There is allowance for it. 
There is permission for it, not 

444
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,200
that it was sanctioned by God. 
If anything, those instructions 

445
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,920
surrounding divorce is to 
discourage people from even 

446
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:36,280
considering it from the 
beginning. 

447
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,520
And Jesus doesn't end his answer
there, does he? 

448
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,280
For the rest of this passage he 
will go on to explain God's true

449
00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,720
heart for this holy union known 
as marriage. 

450
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,480
And I want to take the rest of 
this time to speak about through

451
00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,800
these verses. 
Why it is that God hates 

452
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:56,440
divorce? 
Because Malachi says he hates 

453
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,280
divorce. 
Why is it unlawful? 

454
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:03,080
Why is it wrong? 
Let's look at point number one, 

455
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,280
verse 5. 
And Jesus said to them, because 

456
00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:09,320
of your hardness of heart, he 
wrote you this commandment. 

457
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:12,560
Divorce is the fruit of hard 
hearts. 

458
00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:17,080
That's where it's stemming from.
That's the root. 

459
00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,200
It's the fruit. 
It's the results, the outcome of

460
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:22,240
a hardened heart, one who has 
become insensitive. 

461
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,520
What Jesus again calls hardness 
of heart and sensitive to what 

462
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:29,640
exactly? 
Primarily the will of God, The 

463
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:32,920
entertainment and the execution 
of divorce is proof that someone

464
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:37,040
has no longer become responsive 
to God's desire for their lives.

465
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,240
Someone who pursues God's 
pleasure and delight will not at

466
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:46,560
the same time tolerate a 
decision or a direction that he 

467
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:48,480
hates. 
And in this case, what he hates 

468
00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,360
is divorce. 
So divorce is the fruit of a 

469
00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:56,240
heart that's become a stone. 
It's unfeeling. 

470
00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:02,320
It's not concern anymore about 
God's lordship, Jesus's 

471
00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:07,600
lordship, the Bible's authority 
in determining what they do. 

472
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,160
Even in the case of marriage, 
they've lost all sense of that. 

473
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:15,440
And I'm aware that there is an 
exception clause that Jesus 

474
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:16,600
makes that we'll get to in a 
moment. 

475
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:20,000
But that's not what the Lord is 
speaking about here, because 

476
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,680
this hardness of heart is not 
just vertical, it's also 

477
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,520
horizontal. 
That heart is also unconcerned 

478
00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,280
about the effect that such a 
decision will have on the other 

479
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,320
spouse and on the children that 
are involved, the lifelong 

480
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,920
consequences that will come from
a decision of severing something

481
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:37,440
that was meant to last for a 
lifetime. 

482
00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:42,840
What? 
Jesus is speaking about here. 

483
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:47,680
The hardness of heart is him. 
Explain that divorce usually is 

484
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,320
like many other sins. 
A sin that focuses on self. 

485
00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:57,560
It's about my convenience. 
It's about my feelings. 

486
00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:00,240
This is irritating me. 
It's really the fruit of 

487
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,960
unforgiveness and unwillingness 
to work very hard to redeem 

488
00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:09,240
something that's been authored 
and sanctioned by God, even at 

489
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,600
the expense of other people 
being damaged. 

490
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,720
So this is really the fruit of a
hard heart. 

491
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:20,440
It doesn't come from God's 
heart. 

492
00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,680
But secondly we see here in 
verse 6 to 8. 

493
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:27,480
But from the beginning of 
creation God made the male and 

494
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:29,600
female. 
Therefore man shall leave his 

495
00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,160
father and mother, and hold fast
to his wife, and the two shall 

496
00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:33,240
become one. 
Flesh. 

497
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:35,880
So they are no longer 2, but one
flesh. 

498
00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:38,560
Why is divorce wrong? 
Why is it unlawful? 

499
00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,920
Why does God hate it? 
Because it goes against his 

500
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:46,000
original design for marriage. 
Notice that Jesus appeals to 

501
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:47,800
creation. 
He goes all the way back to the 

502
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,080
garden. 
And in this conversation about 

503
00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,640
divorce, Jesus speaks now in an 
indirect way, about divorce, but

504
00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:57,400
through the explanation of the 
holiness and the beauty of 

505
00:29:57,400 --> 00:29:58,320
marriage. 
You know why? 

506
00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:02,600
Because the fruit that leads to 
divorce is often the outcome of 

507
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:04,360
those who don't see marriage the
way God does. 

508
00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,120
Why do people divorce? 
Because they don't view marriage

509
00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,680
the way the creator of marriage 
sees it. 

510
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:21,160
And so Jesus quotes Genesis 127.
As a pattern for us to apply as 

511
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:23,240
a principle for us to apply in 
this conversation. 

512
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,000
Right. 
He made the male and female as 

513
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:27,960
it was then. 
So it is today. 

514
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,800
What was it then? 
One man, one woman brought 

515
00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:35,600
together for life. 
All right, so people say Jesus 

516
00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:37,680
didn't speak about 
homosexuality, didn't speak 

517
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:38,760
about polygamy. 
He did. 

518
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:40,400
He did. 
Right here. 

519
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:46,160
One man, one woman for life. 
But he's teaching about divorce 

520
00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,440
here. 
And so, in the same way, think 

521
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:53,600
about it in the same way that he
gives a snapshot of the garden 

522
00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:59,640
where you had one man, one woman
in that paradise, was there any 

523
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:01,520
alternatives there for Adam and 
Eve? 

524
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:06,680
Was there any other options? 
No, there wasn't. 

525
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:12,600
Likewise, when God brings you 
together with someone else, 

526
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:17,600
there are no other options. 
So you know what you said, my 

527
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,600
brother at that altar? 
You know what you said, my 

528
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:25,000
sister on that altar. 
My commitment to you, my 

529
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,880
faithfulness to you, my 
affections for you, my duty to 

530
00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:37,000
you, my body for you, above all 
other human relationships, until

531
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:42,400
death does us apart. 
Until death determines that this

532
00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:47,720
covenant is nullified. 
That's what he's saying here. 

533
00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:52,160
That's what it's supposed to be.
Male and female, together 

534
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:53,920
forever. 
No other alternatives. 

535
00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:58,640
No other options. 
You and that love of your youth.

536
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:02,280
You and that person that you 
believe God brought you together

537
00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,360
to begin with. 
And Jesus goes on to say 

538
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:06,880
something so amazing about 
marriage. 

539
00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:10,480
It creates a bond between people
unlike any other human 

540
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,840
relationship, closer than a bond
that a mother has with her 

541
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:16,120
child. 
Closer than that, mothers, Can 

542
00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:20,920
you imagine the love that you 
feel, the sacrificial ambition 

543
00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:23,000
that you have for that baby of 
yours, fathers? 

544
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:24,800
You might feel the same thing 
for your son or daughter. 

545
00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:27,880
And what Jesus saying here is 
that when God brings together a 

546
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:33,600
man and a woman, that bond is 
closer than that of a parent and

547
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:37,160
their baby. 
And what's so amazing is that. 

548
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,160
When one chooses to be wedded to
another, notice the language 

549
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,080
verse 7. 
Therefore, a man shall leave his

550
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:44,960
father and mother and hold fast 
to his wife. 

551
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:49,720
This union calls for a 
separation from dependency and 

552
00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:51,760
priorities from all other 
relationships, including that of

553
00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:56,840
your mom and dad. 
Emotionally, physically, you are

554
00:32:56,840 --> 00:32:59,680
withdrawing yourself from every 
other relationship and you are 

555
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,200
clinging to that person out of 
the billions in this world. 

556
00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:06,600
You know what's so sad today? 
That what we're seeing more and 

557
00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:07,720
more. 
Happening is that there are 

558
00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:11,080
people abandoning the one union 
that was never meant to be 

559
00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:13,760
forsaken. 
The one relationship that you 

560
00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:16,560
are not meant to abandon is what
people are abandoning today, 

561
00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:18,680
sometimes because of fathers and
mothers. 

562
00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:24,520
May I had, you know, I was 
reading something years ago in 

563
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:28,640
Exodus, years ago in Exodus. 
It's a simple observation, but 

564
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:31,200
it warmed my heart and it came 
to mind when I was preparing for

565
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:33,440
this. 
I want you to see in Exodus 18, 

566
00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:38,920
it deals with Moses, 
father-in-law and hopefully this

567
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:40,280
will bless you as much as it 
blessed me. 

568
00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:47,160
Go to Exodus 18, verse two. 
At some point between Moses 

569
00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:52,000
leaving the wilderness to go and
initiate his mission to deliver 

570
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,200
the people out of Egypt, there 
was some problems between him 

571
00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:56,520
and his wife. 
You get it. 

572
00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:59,640
You get that impression early on
in his ministry. 

573
00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:04,400
And we're told here, according 
to Exodus 18, that at some point

574
00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:07,320
Moses sent back his wife and his
two boys with her. 

575
00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:09,600
You got to go. 
All right. 

576
00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:11,920
I got a lot to do here. 
I'm, I'm, I'm dealing with 2 

577
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:14,080
million people. 
And so you got to go. 

578
00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:18,360
And so there's something that 
happened there, and for some. 

579
00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,120
Reason. 
The Holy Spirit saw it necessary

580
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:22,520
for us to read about the 
reconciliation. 

581
00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:24,880
I'm not talking about divorce. 
There's just a problem. 

582
00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:27,840
Like there are many problems in 
marriages today and the one who 

583
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:29,760
is initiating this is Moses 
father-in-law. 

584
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:32,679
So look at this in verse two of 
Exodus 18. 

585
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:38,159
Now Jethro Moses father-in-law 
had taken Zipporah Moses his 

586
00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:42,639
wife after he sent her home. 
Look at verse 5. 

587
00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:46,719
Jethro Moses father-in-law came 
with his sons and his wife to 

588
00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,480
Moses in the wilderness where he
was encamped at the mountain of 

589
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:51,800
God and when he sent word to 
Moses. 

590
00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:55,239
I, your father-in-law Jethro, am
coming to. 

591
00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:57,680
You with your wife with her, two
sons with her. 

592
00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:04,560
Did you notice it? 
Maybe not verse 2, verse 5, 

593
00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,920
Verse 6. 
How is Zipporah referenced 

594
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:15,000
Moses's wife, even himself. 
When he speaks and sends word to

595
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,920
Moses, he says I am coming to 
you. 

596
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:21,360
He didn't say with my daughter. 
Did he say with my daughter his 

597
00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:22,960
daughter? 
But he didn't say with my 

598
00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:28,720
daughter. 
He says with your wife, she 

599
00:35:28,720 --> 00:35:31,200
belongs to you. 
She doesn't belong to me. 

600
00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:35,560
She's your wife. 
She belongs to you. 

601
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,760
You are her head. 
So even this gentile, even this 

602
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:43,840
Pagan, understood the principle 
of Genesis, leaving father, 

603
00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:47,520
mother clinging to your spouse. 
And I saw that. 

604
00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,440
So that's amazing. 
Moses's wife. 

605
00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:54,400
Not my daughter, not my baby 
girl, not my Princess. 

606
00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:00,520
She's yours. 
And I've come to give you what 

607
00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:03,800
belongs to you. 
So you guys got to figure this 

608
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:08,080
out. 
I like Jethro for many reasons, 

609
00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:11,520
including this one. 
When you go back to Mark 10/7, 

610
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:15,080
the word Jesus used when he says
that one will leave his father, 

611
00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:17,520
mother and hold fast. 
If you have a older translation,

612
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,880
you'll have the word cling or 
cleave. 

613
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:24,200
You know what that translates? 
Literally in the Greek you ready

614
00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:30,880
for this glue upon? 
You'll leave Mommy and Daddy and

615
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:33,480
you're going to glue to another 
person. 

616
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:38,720
Now I have a feeling Jesus is 
talking about strong glue. 

617
00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:42,080
Very strong. 
And he's like really tight glue,

618
00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:44,440
right? 
Some of you contractors know 

619
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:46,960
really tough glue that can stick
material together. 

620
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:51,320
And I've seen material come 
together with glue, and for 

621
00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:53,840
whatever reason if you try to 
separate those materials, it's 

622
00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:56,960
not pretty. 
You know what the result of it 

623
00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:58,240
is? 
Often times there's some kind of

624
00:36:58,240 --> 00:37:01,000
destruction that happens, not 
just destruction. 

625
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:06,480
It's not a beautiful picture. 
Is there any different with 

626
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:08,920
divorce? 
Is it ever clean? 

627
00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:20,560
Something rips, some pieces are 
shredded. 

628
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:24,080
And it's not just between two 
people. 

629
00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:28,760
Many people feel the effects of 
it and look at this language 

630
00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:31,560
again, this metaphor. 
The two shall become one flesh. 

631
00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:33,040
That's true and physical to 
intimacy. 

632
00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:38,160
There's there's again this 
unique union and fusion that 

633
00:37:38,720 --> 00:37:40,760
you're supposed to not have with
anybody else. 

634
00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:43,600
But if you take that metaphor 
further, in light of divorce, if

635
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:48,200
I become one flesh with someone,
if now we're the two become one 

636
00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:53,200
thing, what happens in 
separation, amputation, 

637
00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:57,360
amputation. 
You're cutting off something of 

638
00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:00,800
you. 
This is not just a legal 

639
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,120
contract. 
There's something significant 

640
00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:06,400
that takes place in marriage, 
and there's something that's 

641
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:08,400
significant that takes place in 
divorce. 

642
00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:11,600
There's something that's 
amputated, there's something 

643
00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:14,160
that's separated, there's 
something that's damaged and 

644
00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:17,160
what God intended to be a 
beautiful picture and reflection

645
00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:20,960
of Christ in the church. 
Is now marred and Satan loves to

646
00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:22,480
do that. 
Do you know when the serpent 

647
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:24,560
came in the garden? 
Now, when Adam was alone, it was

648
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:28,320
after their wedding. 
When did the serpent appear on 

649
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:31,040
the scene in Genesis Genesis 
chapter 3, after the two became 

650
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:34,400
one. 
And I use that often to tell 

651
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:36,120
young people who get married. 
Hey, be careful. 

652
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:38,400
If you think that now you've 
come together and there's less 

653
00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:41,280
temptation and less warfare, you
got another thing coming to you.

654
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,400
This snake is waiting right 
there, even at the beginning of 

655
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,040
your marriage. 
To tear it apart. 

656
00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:55,640
That's when Satan appeared in 
the Bible in Genesis 3. 

657
00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:57,600
You know what's so funny? 
If you look at the context, 

658
00:38:57,600 --> 00:38:59,960
you're still in Mark 10, right? 
Look at the last verse of Mark 

659
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,760
nine. 
We talked about this last week. 

660
00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:05,400
Remember when Jesus said this? 
Salt is good. 

661
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,120
But if salt has lost its 
saltiness, how will you make it 

662
00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:10,960
salty again? 
Have salt in yourselves and be 

663
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:13,440
at peace with one another. 
Isn't that fascinating how 

664
00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:15,400
that's in the context 
immediately after this? 

665
00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:18,040
We're talking about divorce. 
Why? 

666
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:20,320
Because there's something about 
not just union among believers, 

667
00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:25,120
but among two believers coming 
together in marriage That is so 

668
00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:29,280
needed in our society. 
That has a testimony, that has 

669
00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:34,760
healing, that has hope generated
and motivated by Christ, Word 

670
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:37,320
and lordship and love moving in 
their hearts. 

671
00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:39,800
And it's spilling over into the 
relationship with one another. 

672
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:43,840
And Satan will love to destroy 
the saltiness of your marriage. 

673
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,560
She's your partner in the 
gospel. 

674
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:54,600
It's better for you to be with 
her. 

675
00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:56,640
It's better for you to be with 
him. 

676
00:39:56,640 --> 00:39:58,880
If you're a serious follower of 
Christ, you know what God's done

677
00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:05,120
in your life by providing that 
person a very near and ever 

678
00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:11,920
present sanctifying tool, right?
Who's going to call you out more

679
00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:13,640
than her? 
Yeah. 

680
00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:16,800
Who's going to? 
Who's going to make sure that 

681
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:20,720
you don't go out of line more 
than him as he supervises you 

682
00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:24,760
and as he follows the example of
his Lord, I'm here to sanctify 

683
00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:27,920
you. 
And you also as a helpmate, I'm 

684
00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:33,640
here to help you. 
Satan hates that you're going to

685
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:35,160
be more sanctified in your 
marriage. 

686
00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:36,880
You're going to be even saltier 
with her. 

687
00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:38,600
With him. 
I will not let it happen. 

688
00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:40,440
No wonder the all out war on 
marriage. 

689
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:44,680
And that's why in this church, 
every single Wednesday, we pray 

690
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:48,160
for the marriages of this church
every single week. 

691
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:53,800
And we pray for the single 
people of this church that they 

692
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:56,160
would find somebody who has more
than anything else, more than 

693
00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:58,640
the good looks, more than the 
charming personality, more than 

694
00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:01,000
the letters beside their name. 
A fear of God. 

695
00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:07,080
Because when you have no 
motivation, humanly speaking, to

696
00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:08,520
love that person, forgive that 
person. 

697
00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:10,280
Work for that person. 
Work with that person. 

698
00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:13,720
You know what will help you God 
and your love for him. 

699
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:22,400
So Jesus here says that 
indirectly. 

700
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:28,880
Divorce is something I hate 
because it was not even closely 

701
00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:32,880
a part of my plan, not even at a
distance. 

702
00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:38,120
Lastly, it's unlawful because 
it's sever as an institution 

703
00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:40,240
that was divinely inspired. 
Look at verse 9. 

704
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:45,400
But therefore God has joined 
together, let not man separate 

705
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:47,760
again. 
The Pharisees, the way they 

706
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:50,360
approached even Deuteronomy 24, 
even though the way talking to 

707
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,000
Jesus about marriage, they saw 
us merely as a legal contract, 

708
00:41:54,720 --> 00:41:57,560
like they approached the word of
God to try to find loopholes. 

709
00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:01,160
Didn't Moses allow this? 
And what Jesus saying in verse 9

710
00:42:01,160 --> 00:42:04,400
is no this is a spiritual 
institution. 

711
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:09,560
Primarily because God is 
involved. 

712
00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:14,600
Look what he says. 
What therefore God has joined 

713
00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:19,800
together. 
Your marriage. 

714
00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:22,120
I want you to think of it this 
way now. 

715
00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:23,840
I hope you never forget what I'm
about to say. 

716
00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:33,160
Your marriage is an act of God. 
Your marriage is a work of God. 

717
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:37,320
He and his great Providence 
took. 

718
00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:40,920
You took her, joined you 
together. 

719
00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:47,920
You know why he hates it. 
Divorce interferes with 

720
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:51,960
something that he's trying to 
work with, something that he 

721
00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:54,840
created, and something that he 
longs to use to glorify his 

722
00:42:54,840 --> 00:42:57,440
name. 
So what you're dealing with here

723
00:42:57,600 --> 00:43:00,360
is not just two people and 
families and assets. 

724
00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:05,320
You're dealing with a God who 
put these things together, who 

725
00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:07,800
put these people together, and 
me. 

726
00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:13,720
You mere creatures would dare to
interfere with that. 

727
00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:19,320
Isn't that profound? 
Don't you feel the heaviness of 

728
00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:22,720
it? 
Well, if there was anyone who 

729
00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:27,080
felt the heaviness of it, it was
the disciples. 

730
00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:30,240
Look at Matthew 1910. 
You want to know the reaction 

731
00:43:30,240 --> 00:43:31,520
disciples? 
Maybe it's the reaction that you

732
00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:35,520
have right there sitting in that
Pew this afternoon. 

733
00:43:36,240 --> 00:43:38,840
Look what the disciples said 
after Matthew 19. 

734
00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:46,480
Is a more complete picture of 
this conversation, The disciples

735
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:49,400
said to him, If such is the case
of a man with his wife, it is 

736
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:54,960
better not to marry. 
Don't you appreciate the honesty

737
00:43:54,960 --> 00:44:00,360
of the word of God translation, 
if that's the standard of 

738
00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:04,440
marriage, If you're saying that 
when a man and a woman come 

739
00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:06,200
together, they're stuck like 
that? 

740
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:11,320
It's probably better not to 
entertain it to begin with. 

741
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:14,240
Maybe this marriage thing is 
really not for me. 

742
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:23,320
Maybe singleness is Our Calling.
Imagine after a brief sermon on 

743
00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:27,040
marriage, everybody's like, I 
think I'm called to singleness. 

744
00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:34,440
And Jesus and the rest of that 
portion of scripture explains 

745
00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:37,120
this is not, this is not for 
everybody. 

746
00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:38,120
And he's talking about 
singleness. 

747
00:44:38,120 --> 00:44:39,280
And he goes on to talk about 
eunuchs. 

748
00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:43,640
It's better to marry than to 
burn with passion and lust. 

749
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:45,480
If you're able to. 
People want to. 

750
00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:47,000
How do I know if I'm called to 
singleness? 

751
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:49,400
How would I know? 
Listen, do you want to be 

752
00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:50,880
single? 
No, I want to get married. 

753
00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,240
You're not called to singleness.
Isn't that profound? 

754
00:44:54,680 --> 00:44:57,360
Do you desire to have a husband 
or Yes, because Jesus explains 

755
00:44:57,360 --> 00:44:59,520
there that there are some who 
will refuse to be married and 

756
00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:03,120
have the grace to not be in a 
sexual relationship for the sake

757
00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:04,840
of the Kingdom. 
Some are made eunuchs by birth, 

758
00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:07,600
some are made eunuchs by man, 
Some are made eunuchs by their 

759
00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:12,440
own will and volition desire. 
I want to stay single so that I 

760
00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:14,000
can dedicate myself more to the 
ministry. 

761
00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:16,120
I'm not limited by these worldly
affairs. 

762
00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:17,840
Paul uses that language 
concerning marriage. 

763
00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:21,440
So if you desire to be married, 
OK, you're not called the 

764
00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:27,280
singleness. 
Simple as Jesus says, no, 

765
00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:33,200
listen, not everybody can accept
this and I'm sure there's so 

766
00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:34,480
many things that are coming to 
mind. 

767
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:39,160
So many scenarios, so many 
cases, and especially the 

768
00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:42,600
exception clause that Jesus 
makes clear. 

769
00:45:42,600 --> 00:45:44,800
Matthew 19, verse nine. 
Look at the verse before and I 

770
00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:47,920
say to you, whoever divorces his
wife, except for sexual morality

771
00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:49,640
and marries another, commits 
adultery. 

772
00:45:52,240 --> 00:45:55,520
So, so honorable, so high is 
this view of marriage that Jesus

773
00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:57,680
explains when he says what 
therefore God has joined 

774
00:45:57,680 --> 00:46:01,280
together. 
Let no man separate that he 

775
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:04,960
gives one single exception 
clause to divorce and that's 

776
00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:07,760
sexual morality. 
Paul adds to that by saying if 

777
00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:09,800
you're married to an unbelieving
spouse and that unbelieving 

778
00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:12,760
spouse chooses to walk away from
you, be at peace. 

779
00:46:12,760 --> 00:46:17,640
Let him walk away. 
And Jesus here spells out sexual

780
00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:19,240
morality. 
The word pornea. 

781
00:46:19,240 --> 00:46:25,960
There is not just adultery, it 
speaks about the vast spectrum 

782
00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:31,080
of sexual sin. 
So that goes to show how serious

783
00:46:31,080 --> 00:46:34,760
sexual sin is. 
There are some, maybe even here,

784
00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:36,760
who don't believe that this is 
what Jesus meant. 

785
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:42,800
And in order to provide no open 
door for there to be divorced, 

786
00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:46,400
there are some who even teach 
that no, even if somebody does 

787
00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:51,080
commit adultery or some gross 
sexual morality, you're not free

788
00:46:51,080 --> 00:46:56,640
to remarry if you divorce. 
I don't want to Personally, as I

789
00:46:56,640 --> 00:46:58,920
come to the word of God, I don't
want to deny somebody something 

790
00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:03,240
that Jesus doesn't deny them. 
And when you actually look at 

791
00:47:03,240 --> 00:47:06,240
Matthew, chapter one, you read 
about Joseph who is trying to 

792
00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:15,800
understand how his young fiance 
got pregnant, and engagements 

793
00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:17,800
then we're much different than 
engagements today. 

794
00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:20,760
Engagements. 
Then we're almost like marriage.

795
00:47:22,880 --> 00:47:23,880
You know what it says there in 
Matthew. 

796
00:47:23,960 --> 00:47:29,040
Read it on your own time. 
The Bible calls Joseph a just 

797
00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:32,040
man, and some translations are 
righteous man. 

798
00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:36,040
And in that very same breath we 
are told that Joseph, in order 

799
00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:39,520
not to shame her, sought to 
divorce her quietly. 

800
00:47:42,480 --> 00:47:45,240
You know what that says? 
That if there are grounds for 

801
00:47:45,240 --> 00:47:51,560
divorce, you can be righteous 
even in that pursuit. 

802
00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:54,400
Does that mean that even 
something as painful and as 

803
00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:58,120
betraying a sexual sin means 
that that marriage should be 

804
00:47:58,120 --> 00:47:59,320
ended? 
Absolutely not. 

805
00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:04,160
Absolutely not. 
We should fight for our 

806
00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:07,520
marriages even after something 
like that takes place. 

807
00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:13,840
We should fight for our 
marriages and so understand the 

808
00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:19,880
heart of the Lord here that this
is not about finding the reasons

809
00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:23,480
to divorce. 
This is a teaching about trying 

810
00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:26,160
to fight for our marriages more 
than anything else. 

811
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:32,320
Not to result to divorce as a 
way out. 

812
00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:38,320
Even in the face of sin like 
this, that's not what the Lord 

813
00:48:38,320 --> 00:48:41,240
is getting at. 
At the same time, He 

814
00:48:41,240 --> 00:48:43,960
understands. 
He understands what a covenant 

815
00:48:43,960 --> 00:48:45,600
is. 
He understands what can nullify 

816
00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:48,280
it. 
He understands the human 

817
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:53,960
hardness of heart, and so he 
speaks clearly, undeniably. 

818
00:48:55,200 --> 00:48:58,040
There are a lot of people, a lot
of people on both ends of this 

819
00:48:58,040 --> 00:49:02,480
issue that do Hermenegal 
gymnastics to make their case. 

820
00:49:05,160 --> 00:49:06,720
Just stick with what the Bible 
says. 

821
00:49:07,560 --> 00:49:10,120
Just see what the Bible says. 
And I know, I know, I know, I 

822
00:49:10,120 --> 00:49:13,600
know, I know. 
There's so many other shades of 

823
00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:18,400
problems in between that might 
cost a couple to say. 

824
00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:22,160
I don't know if this is going to
work, and I don't have enough 

825
00:49:22,160 --> 00:49:25,000
time here to describe those 
hypothetical scenarios, but I 

826
00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:30,000
would say, come to the word of 
God, please seek the counsel of 

827
00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:31,720
your church. 
If it's a biblical church and 

828
00:49:31,720 --> 00:49:35,280
you trust your elders, get 
before them with your spouse. 

829
00:49:35,560 --> 00:49:39,720
Talk open, be honest, plead, 
pray, cry weep. 

830
00:49:39,840 --> 00:49:48,000
Fight and trust of the Lord and 
His grace and wisdom and spirit 

831
00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:51,000
will lead and lead and lead and 
lead. 

832
00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:58,200
But don't give up, don't give 
up, Jesus says in Mark 10/10. 

833
00:49:58,200 --> 00:50:04,120
I already said it but I'll say 
it again and just to honor our 

834
00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:05,920
text. 
And in the house the disciples 

835
00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:07,160
asked him again about this 
matter. 

836
00:50:07,480 --> 00:50:09,680
So after Jesus spoke to the 
Pharisees in front of the crowd,

837
00:50:10,720 --> 00:50:13,120
the disciples in a private 
session come to me and say Lord,

838
00:50:13,120 --> 00:50:17,320
we got to know more about this. 
And I wonder based on Jesus 

839
00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:19,280
answer, if their question was 
about remarriage. 

840
00:50:19,280 --> 00:50:22,120
He said to them, whoever 
divorces his wife marries 

841
00:50:22,120 --> 00:50:24,760
another and marries another 
commits adultery against her. 

842
00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:27,400
And if she divorces her husband 
and marries another, she commits

843
00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:28,800
adultery. 
You know that means what that 

844
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:31,080
means. 
Humanly speaking, no matter what

845
00:50:31,080 --> 00:50:34,960
efforts you go through to try to
dissolve a union, if it's not on

846
00:50:34,960 --> 00:50:41,720
the grounds, the righteous 
grounds for divorce, then it's 

847
00:50:41,720 --> 00:50:43,360
still seen as marriage in 
heaven. 

848
00:50:45,320 --> 00:50:46,680
So do whatever you need to do 
here. 

849
00:50:46,760 --> 00:50:50,000
You divorce somebody else for 
unrighteous reasons, for selfish

850
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:52,360
reasons, for whatever reason, 
except for the reasons that the 

851
00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:54,720
Bible presents, and you go marry
somebody else. 

852
00:50:54,720 --> 00:50:57,520
Jesus says it's as though you 
are still married to that person

853
00:50:57,520 --> 00:50:59,760
that you think you divorce from 
and you're now with somebody 

854
00:50:59,760 --> 00:51:00,560
else. 
That's adultery. 

855
00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:05,960
And what happens for a person 
who might be that situation? 

856
00:51:06,120 --> 00:51:08,400
What happens for the person 
who's hearing this message thing

857
00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:10,680
saying? 
I blew it with my marriage. 

858
00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:16,120
Or I am on the other end. 
I didn't want this to happen, 

859
00:51:16,200 --> 00:51:19,560
and now here I am. 
Well, again, there are many ways

860
00:51:19,560 --> 00:51:23,000
to approach this, but let me say
something here. 

861
00:51:23,600 --> 00:51:26,400
Let me say something to those 
who might disagree with me, 

862
00:51:26,920 --> 00:51:31,520
maybe more on the liberal side, 
that regardless of the reason 

863
00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:36,480
for divorce, I should be free to
remarry because I am lonely and 

864
00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:39,360
I am burning and I need 
companionship. 

865
00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:43,840
Here's what I would say. 
You know what God's heart would 

866
00:51:43,840 --> 00:51:48,520
be if there was an illegitimate 
divorce and each party is not 

867
00:51:48,520 --> 00:51:51,480
remarried? 
The priority is not to find 

868
00:51:51,480 --> 00:51:53,040
another spouse that's more 
compatible. 

869
00:51:53,120 --> 00:51:54,480
That's not God's priority. 
You know what? 

870
00:51:54,480 --> 00:51:58,960
It is reconciliation. 
And this is, this is, this is 

871
00:51:58,960 --> 00:52:02,120
what kind of hurts me because 
there are some who would say, 

872
00:52:02,120 --> 00:52:04,160
yeah, this is an illegitimate 
divorce and. 

873
00:52:04,160 --> 00:52:07,840
You know, in the name of 
whatever mercy and compassion. 

874
00:52:08,520 --> 00:52:10,040
Find somebody else. 
Find somebody else. 

875
00:52:10,040 --> 00:52:12,320
You know what that does? 
That cancels out the possibility

876
00:52:12,320 --> 00:52:13,960
of those two people coming 
together again. 

877
00:52:16,680 --> 00:52:22,200
Because if even after a 
dishonorable and ugly split, if 

878
00:52:22,200 --> 00:52:24,920
you are with somebody else, if 
you even made that decision, the

879
00:52:24,920 --> 00:52:28,360
decision that Jesus condemns 
here, that marriage now is a 

880
00:52:28,360 --> 00:52:31,720
standing marriage before God, 
now you have to honor that 

881
00:52:31,720 --> 00:52:32,720
marriage. 
And you're saying, what do you 

882
00:52:32,720 --> 00:52:34,280
mean by that? 
I'm saying, years ago I received

883
00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:38,880
an e-mail from somebody who. 
Divorced. 

884
00:52:40,120 --> 00:52:44,600
Not for a legitimate reason. 
Remarried, adultery and was told

885
00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:47,400
by other Christians, you need to
divorce that person now and get 

886
00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:48,960
back with the original your 
original husband. 

887
00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:55,080
That's not right. 
Now that marriage is recognized.

888
00:52:55,080 --> 00:52:56,640
Now that marriage is standing 
before God. 

889
00:52:56,640 --> 00:52:58,840
Now you have to honor that 
marriage and from that place 

890
00:52:59,240 --> 00:53:02,200
seek the Lord in repentance and 
seek to honor him in this new 

891
00:53:02,200 --> 00:53:05,440
union. 
You don't divorce and then go 

892
00:53:05,440 --> 00:53:06,440
back. 
That goes against what even 

893
00:53:06,440 --> 00:53:13,920
Deuteronomy is speaking about. 
So then what if, again, you're 

894
00:53:13,920 --> 00:53:18,240
in that place and you're 
wondering, I don't know what to 

895
00:53:18,240 --> 00:53:23,320
do here. 
I'm still trying to put all the 

896
00:53:23,320 --> 00:53:25,520
pieces together on my own, 
thinking in my own heart. 

897
00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:30,800
Believe that even if that 
decision was made, even if you 

898
00:53:30,800 --> 00:53:35,080
went to that courthouse, even if
things seem to be set in stone, 

899
00:53:35,080 --> 00:53:39,240
God can do a miracle. 
Do you know how I know that 

900
00:53:42,480 --> 00:53:47,600
There is a story that my father 
told me if somebody he knew, not

901
00:53:47,600 --> 00:53:53,360
even a believer, not even a 
believer and seeking my father 

902
00:53:53,360 --> 00:53:56,800
mother for help concerning their
marriage, his marriage with his 

903
00:53:56,800 --> 00:54:02,280
wife who was sold on divorce, 
sold on divorce. 

904
00:54:04,720 --> 00:54:06,680
And she ended up making that 
decision. 

905
00:54:06,680 --> 00:54:11,120
He didn't want it. 
That decision was made, and my 

906
00:54:11,120 --> 00:54:13,760
dad lost touch with this 
individual years ago. 

907
00:54:13,760 --> 00:54:15,520
By This individual connects with
my father. 

908
00:54:15,520 --> 00:54:17,880
Again. 
Still not a believer. 

909
00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:20,040
But you know what? 
I told my dad I'm back together 

910
00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:27,680
with my wife. 
I never remarried. 

911
00:54:27,680 --> 00:54:29,240
She never married. 
She just realized what a stupid 

912
00:54:29,240 --> 00:54:32,280
mistake that was. 
It took years, but she realized 

913
00:54:32,280 --> 00:54:34,640
it. 
You know what stirs me in my 

914
00:54:34,640 --> 00:54:36,560
heart? 
If that could be true for an 

915
00:54:36,560 --> 00:54:39,400
unbelieving couple, how much 
more for us who claim Christ? 

916
00:54:42,640 --> 00:54:47,520
If that could be true for the 
world, how much more us who has 

917
00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:53,560
believers believe that God can 
restore anything and reconcile 

918
00:54:54,120 --> 00:54:57,240
anyone? 
I'm fully aware that this is a 

919
00:54:57,240 --> 00:55:00,360
heavy message, not an easy 
message. 

920
00:55:01,400 --> 00:55:04,520
But here's my desire, and I end 
it here in preparing this and in

921
00:55:04,520 --> 00:55:07,960
praying for this and preaching 
this for those who are married 

922
00:55:07,960 --> 00:55:11,240
in this place, that you would 
feel a fresh appreciation for 

923
00:55:11,240 --> 00:55:16,000
the union that you're enjoying. 
And God, I want you to look at 

924
00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:18,000
your spouse after this. 
I want you to get in that car, 

925
00:55:18,000 --> 00:55:21,760
not argue about where you're 
going to go and eat, but to hold

926
00:55:21,760 --> 00:55:24,440
her hand and say God joined us 
together. 

927
00:55:26,080 --> 00:55:31,640
God brought you into my life. 
God brought you and I to walk 

928
00:55:31,640 --> 00:55:33,880
this journey hand in hand to 
glorify him. 

929
00:55:34,240 --> 00:55:36,560
I'm sorry, honey, if I lose my 
temper sometimes. 

930
00:55:37,400 --> 00:55:38,680
Honey. 
I'm sorry if I don't listen to 

931
00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:44,480
you sometimes and let the word 
of God fuse you even closer 

932
00:55:44,480 --> 00:55:46,440
together. 
And for those who might leave 

933
00:55:46,440 --> 00:55:49,040
this place heavy hearted because
maybe you have a history of 

934
00:55:49,040 --> 00:55:56,840
divorce, maybe right now you are
in a limbo not understanding 

935
00:55:56,840 --> 00:56:00,080
what to do with your marriage. 
And divorce is on the table. 

936
00:56:01,120 --> 00:56:02,840
Well, if you have a history with
divorce, know this. 

937
00:56:03,680 --> 00:56:06,960
If you've repented about your 
past, today is a new day. 

938
00:56:08,680 --> 00:56:11,280
If you are not remarried, 
reconciliation is possible. 

939
00:56:11,280 --> 00:56:13,440
If you have remarried, honor God
in this marriage. 

940
00:56:13,440 --> 00:56:19,000
Now. 
If you are struggling in your 

941
00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:25,080
relationship with your husband, 
with your wife, I beg you, take 

942
00:56:25,080 --> 00:56:29,760
that thought of the divorce and 
throw it in the trash if there 

943
00:56:29,760 --> 00:56:33,400
is grounds for it. 
Talk with your elders. 

944
00:56:34,320 --> 00:56:37,960
Talk with believers. 
Get wisdom on this. 

945
00:56:37,960 --> 00:56:41,240
Pray about this. 
Not to dismiss your emotions or 

946
00:56:41,240 --> 00:56:44,520
the pain, but to have God's Word
govern your next steps. 

947
00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:49,840
If there's no grounds for it, I 
want you to hear me very 

948
00:56:49,840 --> 00:56:53,720
carefully. 
Satan is at your front step. 

949
00:56:55,880 --> 00:56:59,800
He's waiting for that to happen,
and he will rejoice when it 

950
00:56:59,800 --> 00:57:01,400
does. 
Don't give him a chance to 

951
00:57:01,400 --> 00:57:04,240
rejoice. 
See this as a trial. 

952
00:57:04,240 --> 00:57:07,120
See this as a test, and see this
as an opportunity to be 

953
00:57:07,120 --> 00:57:10,120
triumphant and to prove that 
Satan could not get your 

954
00:57:10,120 --> 00:57:13,720
marriage and you will honor God 
no matter what. 

955
00:57:14,400 --> 00:57:33,990
Let's pray, 
Lord, you know how hard our 

956
00:57:33,990 --> 00:57:39,400
hearts can be that we can even 
look at something as holy and 

957
00:57:39,400 --> 00:57:44,640
pure and heavenly as marriage 
and have disdain for it and 

958
00:57:44,640 --> 00:57:48,080
despise it and be unresponsive 
to it. 

959
00:57:48,720 --> 00:57:52,040
Forgive us though. 
We pray that for the every 

960
00:57:52,040 --> 00:57:57,160
believer in this place, we would
see the high call marriages the 

961
00:57:57,160 --> 00:58:00,120
great responsibilities, but also
the great delight, the grace of 

962
00:58:00,120 --> 00:58:05,560
life that marriage really is. 
Lord, For those who are married,

963
00:58:05,560 --> 00:58:07,000
bless them, strengthen them, 
empower them. 

964
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:09,920
For those who are struggling in 
their marriage or rescue them, 

965
00:58:11,720 --> 00:58:14,160
rescue them with truth. 
Lord, if there's an innocent 

966
00:58:14,160 --> 00:58:15,640
party involved, Lord, strengthen
them. 

967
00:58:15,640 --> 00:58:19,440
If there's a guilty party 
involved, convict them and bring

968
00:58:19,440 --> 00:58:24,440
them to their knees to see the 
gross sin that unfaithfulness 

969
00:58:24,440 --> 00:58:32,720
really is for those that are 
just not getting along and they 

970
00:58:32,720 --> 00:58:37,480
want to tap out. 
May they hear your voice for 

971
00:58:37,480 --> 00:58:43,120
them today, and may they find 
fresh motivation to keep 

972
00:58:43,120 --> 00:58:45,800
fighting for those who have a 
history. 

973
00:58:46,880 --> 00:58:50,440
Oh Lord, our prayer is not that 
they would be guilty or 

974
00:58:50,440 --> 00:58:54,320
condemned, that they would still
praise you in light of your 

975
00:58:54,320 --> 00:58:58,400
word, and they would see 
wherever they are today as a new

976
00:58:58,400 --> 00:59:02,040
day with a new opportunity to 
love you and worship you. 

977
00:59:02,040 --> 00:59:04,360
And thank you, Lord, that first 
John 5 tells us that when our 

978
00:59:04,360 --> 00:59:07,440
hearts condemn us, God is 
greater than our hearts. 

979
00:59:09,080 --> 00:59:14,200
Lord, as heinous and as 
destructive as divorce is, it is

980
00:59:14,200 --> 00:59:18,600
not a sin that you are willing 
not to forgive. 

981
00:59:19,320 --> 00:59:22,440
You will forgive. 
And so, Lord, we just pray that 

982
00:59:22,440 --> 00:59:26,080
every person who might have had 
that past would be secure today,

983
00:59:26,080 --> 00:59:33,600
knowing that you love them. 
Lord, we do love you and we 

984
00:59:33,600 --> 00:59:38,440
thank you, Oh God, that even 
with David and Bathsheba, even 

985
00:59:38,440 --> 00:59:41,240
though the beginning of the 
relationship was based on 

986
00:59:41,240 --> 00:59:45,000
immorality and unfaithfulness, 
when all was said and done it 

987
00:59:45,000 --> 00:59:48,800
was a new day. 
And you gave them Solomon, and 

988
00:59:48,800 --> 00:59:51,280
you name Solomon, Jedediah, 
beloved of the Lord. 

989
00:59:52,760 --> 00:59:54,600
And so for those who might be 
struggling, do I still have a 

990
00:59:54,600 --> 00:59:58,960
future? 
Do I still have a future with 

991
00:59:58,960 --> 01:00:01,720
God because of my past failed 
relationships? 

992
01:00:01,720 --> 01:00:07,520
May they remember that you gave 
us Solomon through a very, very,

993
01:00:07,520 --> 01:00:12,120
very interesting relationship. 
And so, Lord, no matter where 

994
01:00:12,120 --> 01:00:14,960
we're coming from, we see the 
hope in this. 

995
01:00:15,560 --> 01:00:17,760
We see your mind in this, your 
heart in this, and we want to 

996
01:00:17,760 --> 01:00:20,120
rejoice in you. 
And so we pray that we would do 

997
01:00:20,120 --> 01:00:22,960
that now by your grace, in Jesus
name. 

998
01:00:23,440 --> 01:00:23,760
Amen.