Well, good morning, Saints of God, how are you today?
I was, I said, happy New Year to the folks in Sabbath School
because this is my first time in the pulpit in this new year,
because I had taken time to spend that time with the Three
Angels Church, because they are indeed of some attention on
their finishing their basements. They've been in that situation
for about 15 to 20 years and just wanted to hit the new year
right with them. So I really appreciate your
patience and not and allowing me to be over there.
And for Daryl and Jermaine, who took the pulpit during my
absence. Today's message is titled A
Match Made in Heaven and we want to welcome our online audience.
You can hear more messages like this at our website,
middletownportlandsda.org. We're also on YouTube, Facebook,
Instagram, and this new platform called Threads.
I don't know what that's all about, but it's out there.
And so Kyle got us on there. And so hopefully we're not going
to get in trouble over there. But nonetheless, that is where
we're at. And I want to, before we have
prayer, I want to just start with our introduction here.
That is a picture of my bride by my side and that picture is
taken at Andrews University. We brought our son Andrew over
there a few years ago, two years ago now to start his freshman
year at Andrews University. And that's where my wife and I
met at Andrews University. And the the location of the
picture is not that flattering. It's not beside a rose Bush or a
waterfall or something romantic like that.
But that location has a particular story behind it.
You know, they say a picture is worth 1000 words.
And my wife and I met on the campus of Andrews University and
it was our first meeting. Our first introduction was by a
mutual friend and it was done more more out of courtesy.
It was on a Friday night Vespers at the Pioneer Memorial Church,
and I just happened to be talking to a friend that he also
knew, which was Sandra. And then he, out of courtesy,
just introduced us. So there was nothing, at least
to my knowledge, there was nothing conspiratorial that was
more courtesy and he wasn't trying to get us together.
However, as time went on, he began to encourage my wife,
because he was friends with Sandra, to get together with me.
And then some friends of mine were encouraging me to get
together with her, but I didn't know who she was, even though we
had already been introduced. But like I said, it didn't enter
my radar. And but then again, we met again
on these staircases right here. And what was happening how we
met was that we didn't really meet.
We were just passing like ships in the night.
I was going up the stairs just right behind us that you can see
there, and I was going up for breakfast in the morning and she
was coming down from just having had breakfast and when she came
down she smiled and we were the only ones on the staircase.
So my thinking was, she smiled at me, right?
But she really wasn't smiling at me.
She was just happy because a friend had bought her breakfast.
I later found out that's the truth of the story.
She really wasn't smiling at me, but her smile nonetheless gave
me the courage to call her. Because that was.
I think that encounter on the staircase was either Monday or
Tuesday. And by Thursday I had the
courage by, through the encouragement of a friend, to
call her up. And so the rest, as they say, is
history. OK, but here's the thing,
ultimately, yes friends did play a part, but God played a part as
well. And here's how.
You see, Sandra's parents began praying for her future spouse
when she was about in her early to mid teens.
And it was right around that time when I started going
through my conversion experience because I was not raised as a
7th Day Adventist and I would have never gone to school at a
7th Day Adventist school, let alone go to school for ministry.
That just wasn't in my cards. And so I thought.
But when we did the math together later on, we found out
that that was right around the time that my conversion happened
when she was in her teens. And then on top of that, my
parents were praying for me because this encounter that we
had on the staircase was in the month of January, January of
1994. And I had just gone back for
Christmas break to my parents house in Arizona.
And when my parents took me to the airport and they were with
me at the gates. This was before security, the
time of security that we live in now with airport security.
But as they dropped me off and they were waiting for the plane
to depart and before I was supposed to embark, they said,
we just want to let you know we are praying for you, that you
meet someone. Amen.
Yes. So was ours a match made in
heaven? Well, you can decide that.
But I'm happy with my bride by my side.
And this year we're celebrating our 30th anniversary.
Amen. Yes, so.
But listen, we truly live in a world that is longing for
heaven. We just discussed it in Sabbath
school this morning. But too often the cry of our
heart is, how can I bring a little heaven into my marriage?
Does that sound reasonable? That is a question that we often
ask. We're looking for a little bit
of heaven into our marriage. And so today's message is a
match made in heaven. And I'm going to try to answer
that question. OK.
But before I answer that question, I want to preview that
answer by sharing a few high points is that we want to take a
look at the elements that went into Heaven's match that was
made in Heaven. And that's found in our
scripture reading today #2 we want to find out why marriages
breakdown, OK? Because marriages do from time
to time breakdown. And then #3 what we want to
discover is what is truly at stake when we make that
commitment to marriage. OK?
So those are the some 3 high points that we're going to cover
before we answer that question. How we can bring a little bit of
heaven into our marriage. So let's pray.
Father God, we thank you for your goodness and your tender
mercies. We pray that the grace and the
power of your Holy Spirit would be with us as we explore this
very, very important subject of marriage and how we can have a
little bit of heaven, just a little bit of heaven while we
wait for heaven to come to us in Jesus, that we have a little bit
of heaven in our marriages and in our home.
So we pray that your blessing would be with us.
And we thank you for hearing and answering this prayer in Jesus
name, Amen. Amen.
So I got to first of all, find my cursor because my clicker
didn't work on that one. But heaven's first marriage was
made in heaven. OK, when we go to the Genesis
Record Scripture meeting that Joe read to us just moments ago,
when we go to our Bibles, we will discover that indeed,
heaven's first marriage was a match that was made in heaven.
Now, why can we say that with such confidence?
Well, it's right there in Scripture, and we want to go
there in our Bibles. Genesis chapter 2 Genesis
chapter 2, beginning in verse 18, and here's what it says.
And the Lord God said it is not good that man should be alone.
I will make him a helper comparable to him out of the
ground. The Lord God formed every beast
of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam
to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each
living creature, that was its name.
So it was God's decision number one, to make man.
And when God made man, God saw that it was not good that man
should be alone. And so God solved this problem
by doing the following. The passage continues.
So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air,
and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found
a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep
sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept.
And he, God took one of Adam's ribs and closed up the flesh in
its place. So after all the animals were
brought before Adam, he was able to see them and he was able to
identify them by name. It was essentially God's way of
not only it was really God's way of checking to see if the
hardware was working on Adam. And once that was able to all
this was able to compute with Adam that he was able to name
them, that then God was able to then put Adam to sleep and
perform surgery on him. And so the Bible says that
because after Adam had done that inventory check of the animal
Kingdom, it was then that Adam realized, wait a minute, the
animals are matched up pair by pair, male and female, but there
is no one comparable to me. And it was at that time that God
put Adam into a deep sleep. And then the text goes on.
Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, he made into
a woman, and he brought her to the man.
And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh. She shall be called woe man,
because she was taken out of man.
So here's something that I'd like for you to think about.
While Adam and the animals were formed from the ground, Adam was
formed from the what as well. He was formed from the earth.
OK, but Eve was made from Adam's rib.
She was not made from the ground like Adam was, nor the animals,
because she was not to be of a different species altogether.
She was to be made from Adam's side, OK, Adam's side.
Here's what patriarchs and prophet says.
Page 46 God himself gave Adam a companion.
He provided a help meet for him, a helper who was to correspond
to him, one who is fitted to be his companion and who could be
one with him in love and sympathy.
Ladies, do you ever find yourself needing sympathy at any
time from your husband? You don't need sympathy from
your husband. Yeah, Yeah, I was over.
Yeah. I was wondering why it got Stony
quiet there. Little crickets there I was
starting to hear. And, gentlemen, do we need
sympathy from our wives? You don't sound too happy about
that. You seem kind of kind of grumpy,
right? Yeah.
Because of course we do. We need love and sympathy, both
of us. And when God combines us
together, we can have a sweet bond.
Amen. The passage goes on.
Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam,
signifying that she was not to control him as the head, nor to
be trampled under his feet as an inferior, to stand by his side
as an equal, to be loved and protected by him.
Do you hear that, husbands? We are to be loving towards our
wives, and we are to protect them.
Amen. Oh, you guys sound a little dull
this morning. Oh my word, you do not sound
excited about this message, I'm telling you.
Well, it goes on. A part of man, bone of his bone
and flesh of his flesh, she was his second self.
Showing the close union and the affectionate attachment that
should exist in this relation. A part of man, bone of his bone
and flesh of his flesh, She was his second self.
OK, I just read that. I guess I just didn't do my
editing. Here's the point.
Now, let's be fair. When God created Eve for Adam,
he didn't have much of A selection.
It was just her, right? But we let's give pause here.
She's our first mother, and our first mom must have been
spectacular. Amen.
Because Adam just wanted her and her alone, OK.
And, and from that all of us descend, Amen.
All of us. We have a common parent, OK, a
common parent. The passage goes on to say that
then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, he made into
a woman, and he brought it to the man.
And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh. She shall be called woman
because she was taken out of man.
Now I want to point out something here.
And this is a fundamental key to having a successful marriage.
You ready? It's not going to answer the big
question that we had at the that I raised at the beginning, but
it's going to give you a little bit of, of something to, to go
on. OK, the fundamental key to a
successful marriage. I have the two passages up on
the screen here, Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 and Genesis chapter 2,
verse 21 and 22. I want to focus first on Genesis
chapter 2 and verse seven. OK?
And I want to prepare you because I do not.
I want you to think, what does Pastor Tom want you to do?
I want you to think, OK, so I'm going to read Genesis chapter 2,
verse 7, it says, and the Lord God formed man of the dust of
the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and
man became a living being. OK, now you can.
You're more than welcome to look at the verse either in your
Bible or on the screen, whatever you need.
This is an open book test. OK, but Pastor Tom wants you to
think so. Here's the question.
What according to Genesis chapter 2, verse 7, when God
brought Adam to life by giving him mouth to mouth
resuscitation, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
what was the first thing that Adam saw when he was brought to
life? The the face of God.
That's right. Yeah.
Because remember, God formed Adam out of the dust of the
earth. So God had to get on his hands
and knees and form Adam out of the dust of the earth.
And then he breathed into his nostrils, into his, into Adam.
And Adam came to life. And immediately when his eyes
opened and and the light from the sun shone on everything
around him, the very first thing that he saw was none other than
the face of God himself. Amen.
Yeah. That's exciting.
That's really exciting. OK, now let's go to the next
passage right across the screen there.
And here's what it says. Genesis chapter 2, verses 21 and
22, it says. And the Lord God caused a deep
sleep to fall on Adam. What kind of a sleep, a deep
sleep he went to. He wasn't just taking a little
cat nap. He was undergoing surgery,
right? He was undergoing surgery.
He was having rib surgery. And so it says, he fell into a
deep sleep and he slept, and he took one of his ribs.
God took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its
place. Then the rib which the Lord God
had taken from man he made into a woman, and he brought her to
the man. Now so God formed Adam out of
the dust of the earth, breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life. The first thing that Adam saw
when he came to life was the face of God.
Now he puts Adam to sleep and takes a rib out of his side, and
then he goes over here because Adam is over in post op now he's
recovering. He's still under anesthesia, and
so he's over there. But God is now working with this
rib and he takes that rib and he forms it and he makes it into a
woman. And then how do you think she
gets the breath of life into her?
How do you think? Same way.
Yeah. This isn't magic.
He doesn't snap his fingers on this one.
No, he hovers over her and he breathes into her nostrils the
breath of life. And what do you think?
The first thing that she sees when she comes to life?
The face of God. Yeah.
Very simple, very elementary, very basic.
So both for Adam and Eve, here's the key to the fundamental key
to having a successful marriage. OK, Both based on this telling
of the story and how life came to our first two parents, who
are we to have a relationship with first before we enter into
marriage? That's right, God, that's right.
If you are to, if you are trying to enter into marriage and
you're the one that you are seeing dating, whatever you want
to call is not in a relationship with God.
You should not marry her because it's not of God.
It's right there in the Scriptures, OK, It's right there
in the Scriptures. When we are in a relationship
with God and with our spouse in marriage, our marriage can be a
living reflection. Listen carefully.
A living reflection of the law of God.
How so? Let's review Exodus chapter 20,
beginning in verse one. And God spoke all these words,
saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land
of Egypt, out of the House of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before me.
Now in the Adam and Eve story, sin had not entered the picture
yet, OK? And God had created them.
The first being that they saw when they came to life was God.
And then, and only then did God bring them together.
OK. In this particular story of the
Exodus story where the law of God is given, God had brought
the children of Israel out of Egypt before He gave them the
law of God. He didn't give them the law in
Egypt. He brought them out of bondage
1st and then He introduced His covenant law to them.
OK. And it says it right there and
clear. The text goes on.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them.
For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and 4th
generation of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands,
to those who love me and keep my commandments.
OK, that's the second commandment.
It goes on. You shall not take the name of
the Lord your God in vain. For the Lord will not hold him
guiltless who takes His name in vain.
You see, God's name is holy, and because His name is holy, it's a
reflection of who God is. And so when we use God's name,
any of His names, in a casual, common or flippant way, that is
unholy conversation, unholy conversation, the passage goes
on. Remember the Sabbath day to keep
it holy. Six days you shall labor and do
all your work. But the 7th day is the Sabbath
of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you
nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your female servant, nor
your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle,
nor your stranger, who is within your gates.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens, and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, and rested the 7th day.
Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and handled it.
Passage goes on now to from our relationship with God to how we
are to relate to our fellow man. Here's what it says.
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be
long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
God has a promise for those who honor their parents.
Amen, the text goes on. You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbors house.
You shall not covet your neighbors wife, nor his male
servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor
anything that is your neighbors. You see, friends, the observance
of God's law is merely an indicator that you are in a
right relationship with God and your fellow man.
On the other hand, the breaking of God's law is an indication
that you are not in a right relationship with God and your
fellow man. OK, so when we come to the
Genesis record, it says, therefore this is how the first
marriage took place. Therefore a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh. And they were both naked, the
man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
So the Genesis record is very clear that what God envisioned
for our first parents was truly a match made in heaven.
Their their home was a garden home with every type of fruit
and food available to them. OK, but here's the question.
If marriage is supposed to be a match made in heaven, then how
come it often feels so broken down?
Is that a fair question? If marriage is supposed to be a
match made in heaven, how come it often feels like it breaks
down so quickly? Well, let's let's be honest.
Marriages do not come with a warranty.
OK? Marriages do not come with a
warranty. Yes, in this life after sin has
entered the world, marriages do break down primarily because we
are broken people. It's not God's fault, it's our
fault. We have to take responsibility.
The hard sobering truth about marriage is that there are no
guarantees to their success. OK, now here's a question.
Is there an advantage to having a Christian marriage?
Listen to this well, Christians reportedly have a lower divorce
rate, often cited around 30 to 35%, whereas the rest of the
population has a divorce rate of around 50%.
OK, so Christians have a slight advantage, but that does not
mean that Christians are better people.
It just means that if the principles of Christianity,
which are taught to people who profess to be Christians, are
followed, your marriage stands a better chance at having success.
That's all it means. The principles for a successful
marriage are found in this book. The question is, are we going to
follow it? It doesn't matter what
denomination you are. OK, you could be of any
denomination in the world that doesn't guarantee you're going
to have a successful marriage. What guarantees the success of
the marriage is if you're willing to follow what's in this
book. Does that make sense?
If you choose to ignore it, well, you stand a greater chance
of having a failed marriage. But if you choose to follow
what's in this book, you stand a better chance of having a
successful marriage. And that's why I shared that
point in the very beginning, when Adam was created, when Eve
was created, when they were both created, the first thing they
saw was God. They developed a relationship
with God first. And once they had that
relationship, then God brought the two together, OK.
Is there an advantage to having a Christian marriage?
Well, non Christian marriage, as I said this tend to have a
higher divorce rate than Christian marriages, OK.
Is there an advantage? Well, couples who engage,
listen, couples who engage in regular religious practices
together report a higher satisfaction in their marriage.
OK. So if you want your marriage to
succeed with your partner, get into this book.
OK, Get into this book. Not only that, studies show that
a shared faith can enhance communication and conflict
resolution skills. OK.
Because these principles to have good communication and conflict
resolution are found where? In this book.
Yeah, the answers are in here. OK, the answers are in here.
And then lastly, Christian. Oh, second, lastly, Christian
couples often emphasize commitment and forgiveness,
which contributes to marital stability.
OK, one of the pieces of advice when my wife and I walked down
the aisle, my mother said my advice to you is do not go to
bed angry, OK, I'll talk about that here in a few moments.
But Christian couples often emphasize their commitment and
the the understanding of the grace of God.
Forgiveness helps contribute to marital stability.
OK, if you're not committed to one another and you're not
forgiving, you stand a very good chance of having a failed
marriage. OK?
But but commitment and forgiveness are principles that
are found in this book. And then lastly here, the impact
of community support in religious settings can
strengthen marital bonds. So in other words, if you belong
to a faith community, you again have a better chance of having a
successful marriage because you can get support.
So if you have trouble, you need to reach out.
Do not be proud and say it won't happen to me, it won't happen to
me. You need to reach out in order
to get counseling. And if the counsel is given, you
need to take that advice. OK, now here's the question.
How do you avoid the marital breakdown?
OK, so there's a slight advantage to having a Christian
marriage, but how do you avoid the marital breakdowns?
Well, what is the definition of a marital breakdown?
OK, let's define our terms now. Having a disagreement over what
restaurant you should eat at? He likes Italian, she likes
Chinese. That doesn't constitute A
marital breakdown, OK? That's just a disagreement, OK?
Having a lengthy discussion about what should be the color
of the new carpeting does not constitute A marital breakdown,
OK? We have to understand God allows
for variety. Amen.
God loves variety. If you don't believe me, go
outside and, and, and count insects in the grass and you'll
start finding a bunch of different insects.
God made them all and they're all different, OK?
So God allows for variety and that's what contributes to a
happy marriage. OK, It may very well be that
point that he likes Italian and she likes Chinese.
Is what you found initially attractive in your spouse in the
1st place? OK?
But when there are lengthy or how shall we say heated
disagreements about restaurant choices, carpet colors, or whose
turn it was to clean up after dinner, when those types of
discussions rise up, one has to remember the biblical principle.
Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, OK?
Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
That's what my mother essentially was saying.
She may not have known the chapter and book chapter and
verse, but she says before, if you get into a dispute, make
sure you forgive before going to bed, OK.
And that's been good counsel for us.
And I think my wife would agree. OK.
The point is you have to learn to be humble and both have to be
willing to ask for forgiveness and be willing to forgive.
Be willing to forgive. Why?
Because God in Christ forgave you Sinner.
And if you were forgiven by God and you don't dispense that same
grace to your spouse, then God will not forgive you.
He will still hold you guilty. OK, and here's the other point.
If you don't forgive, yes, you may have gotten into an
argument. Just heated discussion about the
color of carpeting. OK, but if you don't forgive,
then here's what happens. Here's where the breakdown
happens. If you don't resolve those
little foxes that eat the grapes, that's when bitterness
sets in, OK? And if left unchecked,
bitterness takes root. And when it takes root, it bears
rotten fruit. Does that make sense?
You can. You can have a disagreement
about Chinese and Italian food or color of carpeting and all
these types of things, but it's those little things.
If they're not resolved, they accumulate.
They accumulate, they accumulate.
And eventually you try to pay out of your account and you find
that there's so much bitterness there that you're paying out in
more bitterness costs than you are in forgiveness.
And you have nothing left in that account.
And then you just end up giving up.
OK, the definition of a marital breakdown is not having a
disagreement over where you eat. OK, the definition of a marital
breakdown is when marriage vows begin to crack and break and it
starts by a marriage partner coveting something outside of
their bonds of marriage or should we say someone outside of
marriage and when confronted the partner instead of being
confessing about it, embraces dishonesty.
This is why I said the 10 commandments play a huge role in
a healthy marriage, because if you are bearing false witness to
your spouse, then you have cracks in the foundation, OK?
And if they're embracing dishonesty to cover up their
desires and intentions when the council of friends and family is
ignored, that partner strays from their marital fidelity and
chooses ultimately the path of adultery, OK?
We need to remember that when we take our marriage vows, they are
for life. They're not for 10 years.
They're not for 15 years. OK, you may remember these
words. And now, solemnly promising
before God and in the presence of these witnesses, will you
have this man or this woman to be your wedded wife or husband,
to live together after God's ordinance in the sacred estate
of matrimony? Will you love her or him?
Will you comfort him or her? Will you honor them, cherish
them, in sickness and in health, in prosperity or adversity and
forsaking all others, keeping yourself only unto her or him,
so long as you both shall live? Do you so declare?
Do you ever recall these words being said?
Yeah, we should. We should.
Yeah, we do. Amen.
Listen, the success or the
failure of a marriage has eternal consequences.
Eternal consequences. It doesn't just the, the
decision that you make in marriage doesn't just expire
after six months or or whatnot. No, the decision that you make
has has eternal consequences. How so?
Well, let's take a look. I didn't want to.
I'm just going to read this here.
I have it referenced here, Matthew chapter 19.
I'm not going to put it on the screen other than the reference
here, but Matthew Chapter 9, a question came up from the
Pharisees, the religious people, OK, And it begins in verse one.
It says Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished these sayings
that he departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea
beyond the Jordan, and great multitudes followed him and he
healed them there. The Pharisees also came to him.
These are the religious people testing him and saying to him,
Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any
reason? And he answered and said to
them, Have you not read that he who made them at the beginning
made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man
shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his
wife, and that two shall become one flesh.
So then they are no longer 2, but one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.
They said to him, why then did Moses command to give a
certificate of divorce and to put her away?
He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your heart
permitted you to divorce your wives.
But from the beginning it was not so.
In other words, Jesus is saying that was never God's intention.
OK, verse 9 and I say to you, whoever divorces his wife except
for sexual immorality and marries another commits adultery
and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.
So if the marriage, if an initial marriage has failed and
people or they file for divorce on it, unless it is for marital
infidelity that that person was in the, you know, behaving in an
adulterous relationship outside of marriage, there's no grounds
for divorce. And how do we know this?
Well, because we say, well, let let's interpret that a little
differently. Watch what follows, verse 10.
His disciples said to him, if such is the case of the man with
his wife, it's better not to marry.
Because the, the reasoning back then was that according to the
Pharisees, if the, if the husband said I divorce you, I
divorce you, I divorce you 3 times, that was it.
And he could divorce her for burning the toast.
And Jesus calls him on and says, no, that Moses only wrote that
certificate of divorce because of the hardness of the human
heart. OK.
And when his disciples who were there listening to this little
discussion that was taking place, they responded this way.
If this is the case of the man with his wife, they said it's
better not to marry. And here's how Jesus responded.
He said to them, All cannot accept this saying, but only
those to whom it has been given. Watch what he says, verse 12.
For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's
womb. What is a eunuch?
A eunuch is a person who cannot father children.
OK. They, they don't have, how shall
we say this in a presence of children?
They don't have all the equipment available to them to
function in that capacity. OK, So they were born like that,
from their mother's womb. And then Jesus goes on.
There are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men like Daniel.
Daniel was made a eunuch, OK, because he was working in the
King's court. And there were eunuchs that were
described and mentioned in the book of Esther.
They took care of the the queen and the king wanted to make sure
that they weren't going to mess with the queen.
So he says, OK, here we're going to do a little surgical
procedure on you. You're going to work for me.
But this is what's required. So they are eunuchs made by men.
And then the third is there are eunuchs who have made themselves
eunuchs for the Kingdom of heaven's sake.
In other words, they say, you know what?
I'd rather work for God than start a family.
And that's their own choice, OK, but that is a choice that's not
a should not be a church dictate as some churches do.
And they say, no, if you want to serve God, you can't get
married. And then these churches end up
with all kinds of problems, OK. And Jesus concluded, he said he
who is able to accept it, let him accept it.
In other words, marriage is the second most serious decision you
can ever make in your life. The 1st is, am I going to follow
God or just do my own thing? Because that determines where
you're going to spend eternity. But then the second is like the
first, because if you're not committed or that person is not
committed to God, you could end up having a ripple effect
throughout eternity because if you bring children into the mix,
that creates all sorts of challenges.
In fact, this shows us the divine inspiration of Scripture.
OK, look at this, what appears next, verse 13.
It says Then little children were brought to him, to Jesus,
that he might put his hands on them and pray.
But the disciples rebuke them. But Jesus said, let the little
children come to me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the
Kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them
and departed from there. It is no accident, friends.
It is no accident whatsoever that this conversation about
marriage takes place. And immediately after is this
story about these little children, Jesus, and wanting to
be blessed. Because guess how children come
into this world? Well, it they can come into two
ways, through marriage or through unmarriage.
But it's supposed to be done through marriage because it is
that institution that is to protect and nurture children and
bring them up in the fear of the Lord.
But when things happen outside. In fact, we we just saw the sign
on the way to church this morning, the Billboard on 91 S
it said abortion is legal in Connecticut.
Make sure you know your rights. And I commented to my wife and
we finally had to back away from the from the conversation.
Jonathan was the one who said mom, dad, let's change the
conversation because the whole discussion was on this billboard
on the way to church that imagine that that a parent has
the right to kill their child. Now in in some places we would
call that murder, right? But the laws of man have have
twisted the laws of God and say, no, we can change the law of
God. And that's what we attempt to do
it when we do this with our marriages.
And what happens is that, you know, we, we, you know, have big
conversations about the Sabbath Sunday issue as 7th Day
Adventists, and rightly so, because what we say is we call
out the papacy and we say, listen, you cannot change the
law of God. But when we enter into marriage
and the divorce for any other reason, like the Pharisees gave
excuses, you know what we're doing?
We're no better than the papacy because we're trying to change
the law of God. We're trying to change the law
of God just like the Pope did. And so we have no room to talk
when we're doing the same thing. And it goes on and on.
In fact, I'll take one further. Or Our son Andrew is out at
Andrews University. He's studying business finance,
OK. And in his class, he was telling
us last week in a phone conversation, he says, yeah.
And I later saw this in some sort of a report or something
like this. But the textbooks that they have
say that it is from a business practice point of view, business
practice says it's OK to, you know, bend the rules of whatever
the government does because all they will do is they will have
you pay a fine. And, and so the idea is that it
is cheaper to do business that way by cheating on these laws,
because what's in it is that your profit will be able to
cover that loss and you will still be able to maintain it.
And so I saw it, I heard it from Andrew in what the business
class is, what they teach in. This is what common amongst all
business schools, OK, But then it's put into practice, for
example, and I may get into trouble with our online friends,
but in the Pharmaceutical industry, OK, because they may
make $20 billion on a particular product that they sell and they
know that it's bad. And so they may end up paying $2
billion in fines, but they're OK with it because they're making
$18 billion profit. So it's no loss for them.
There's no real laws. And so on and on and on and on
it goes, where the law of God is just trampled in the dust.
And we make up our own rules as we go along.
And then we wonder why we have problems.
Then we wonder why. It's because we're not following
what God had originally ordained.
It's as simple as that. Now, yes, I know we don't live
in a simple world. I recognize that.
OK, how do you think I got all these Gray hairs?
OK, here's the question. How do you have a marriage made
in heaven? Right, that's the question.
How do you get a marriage made in heaven?
Well, listen to this Genesis chapter 1 beginning in verse
one. Here's what it says.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void and darkness was on the
face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the
face of the waters. Then God said, let there be
light, and there was light. You see friends, when God
created, the Bible says he was hovering over the face of the
waters and you know what was there?
There were no pine trees there. There were no beach fronts.
There was no Mountain View over the valley with a beautiful
sunset. There was no animals and and
beautiful tropical fish. There was nothing.
It was without form and it was a void.
It was empty. And there are some who are in
their marriages even today and feel like, yeah, that's my
marriage, empty and void. But here's the good news.
The Bible says in that creation account, the Spirit of God was
hovering over the face of those waters.
In other words, you may have a marriage that is feeling empty
and void, but I want to tell you that God is hovering over you
waiting for you to call upon Him.
But if you never call on Him, He can't bring light into the
darkness that you're experiencing in your marriage.
It's impossible and here's more good news though.
John chapter 1 verses one and three.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and
the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God
and all things were made through him and without him nothing was
made. Not one thing was made that was
made. The text goes on in verse 14.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Two things that the world
desperately needs today is grace and truth.
Grace and truth going over there and John just a little bit
further and I know I'm I'm wrapping things up here, but
listen to this. These are promises that are for
us and we need to claim them because Jesus shed his blood to
make these promises come true. John chapter one verse 16 it
says and of his fullness we have all received and grace for grace
in the Greek pastor go to your Greek New Testament and I know
he can't maybe not be able to understand me right now, but
I'll tell him afterwards or Renata, you can tell him or
mommy can tell him in the Greek of this verse, it says Caritas
anticaritas grace, auntie meaning in place of grace.
So it says grace in place of grace.
Here's what God does for us. He gives us grace and you know
what he replaces it with grace. And when you at the end of the
day, you say, Lord, I need grace.
And you know what he gives you in place of grace, Grace, grace
in place of grace. That's your promise.
That's my promise. That's our promise.
God gives his grace and his grace is his power, the power of
the Holy Spirit to bring life. That's what came about in
creation. And so here's what's at stake.
This is what's this is what's at play in this whole big operation
that we call life. OK, Ephesians chapter 3, verses
8 and 10, Paul said, me who am less than the least of all the
Saints. This grace was given, remember,
because Paul wanted to kill the Christians.
And God says, no, I'm calling you to be a preacher is what?
Yeah, that's what God does. He takes things that aren't
working and he makes them working in his ways.
And he says I was this grace was given that I should preach among
the Gentiles the how many riches of Christ, the unsearchable.
In other words, you will never end finding out the riches of
Christ. You'll just keep discovering
more grace and more goodness of God saying that, and This is why
God has to give us eternity, because we'll never be able to
search out the riches of God's grace.
That's what I'm after. Is eternity.
OK? And my wife and I are committed
to that journey. OK?
Right now we're fixing up bathrooms and kitchens and got
nasty green colored paint on our kitchens because we bought a
house this past summer. And as soon as people come in,
they say, Oh my word, you know, you like that.
And no, of course not. This is why we bought it, so we
can change it. But that's our journey.
We're on a journey. We're going to the promised
land. Amen.
And you got to make that same journey too, and that same
commitment. But Paul says the unsearchable
riches of Christ and to make all see what is the fellowship of
the mystery which from the beginning of the ages has been
hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ.
So Paul's talking about this amazing, Amazing Grace.
The passage goes on to say though that, and here's the
kicker to the intent, that now the manifold wisdom of God might
be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in
the heavenly places. So here's how it works.
God gives his grace. He gave it to Paul and calls
Paul to preach to the Gentiles. But now this wisdom of God, this
grace that God gives is being manifested amongst us, the
church, the ones who are called out from the world.
Because you know, you can go out in the world and you behave.
But the problem is, is when the world starts creeping in, the
principles start creeping into here.
But God gives these standards. No, this is, these are my
covenant standards. OK, but here's what's happening.
Here's what's happening to the intent that now the manifold
wisdom of God might be made known by the Church to the
principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
In other words, there are others who are watching, and we're not
talking about your neighbor or your children.
Bible is indicating to us that there are principalities and
powers in heavenly places, other worlds, even out there who are
watching this daytime drama called Planet Earth.
And they're watching how things are being played out here in
living color. You know, we watch things like
the Super Bowl and we watch the Evening News.
The rest of the universe is watching us.
And what they're asking is how does this wisdom of God play out
in the lives of John and Susan? How does the wisdom of God play
out in this board meeting? How does the wisdom of God play
out in this? And they're watching because God
has made such a promise and such a commitment that he said, I'm
willing to send my son to die for these people who have
rebelled against me. And they will even put my son on
a cross. But I'm willing to bring them
into eternity to be with you folks.
And the rest of the universe is saying, you're going to do what?
You're going to do what? You're going to let them live
with us forever when they put you on a cross.
He says watch because my grace is sufficient for them.
And that means God's grace is sufficient for your marriage,
too. I didn't hear an Amen on that.
Just checking. Just checking.
But that's the sobering truth. You see, folks, I'm about to
wrap up, but I saw this passage last night.
We're reading in our family worship the book of James.
James chapter 4. It's not on the screen.
I don't have a slide for it. I've debated whether to put it
in this morning, but I had other things.
But here's what it says. James chapter 4.
I'll. I'll start.
Yeah, I have to start in verse one.
Where do wars and fights come from among you?
Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that warn
your members you lust and do not have?
You murder and covet and cannot obtain.
You fight in war, yet you do not have because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you
may spend it on your pleasures. You see, folks, God is not going
to answer our prayers if it's all about us.
He answers our prayers because we're willing to submit our will
to his. That's what Jesus prayed in the
Garden of Gethsemane. He said, Lord, if it's possible,
let this cup pass from me, but not as I will, but as you will.
He was willing to be betrayed into the hands of sinful men,
beaten, stripped naked, not with a little lion cloth.
That's not how they did it. They they took everything off
and the soldiers also would molest the prisoners.
You didn't think I was going to go here today, Folks, I know
it's Valentine's Day, but the scriptures tell us these things,
OK? You ask and do not receive,
because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship
with the world is enmity with God?
Whoever, therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the
Scripture says in vain? The Spirit who dwells in US
yearns jealously, but he gives more grace.
Listen God, this is the good news.
God gives grace. Therefore he says God resists
the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Amen. If we would but humble ourselves
in the sight of God, He will resurrect our lives.
He will resurrect our marriages. He will save us.
He will deliver us. Therefore, the passage
concludes, Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. You have power over the devil.
You have power over these temptations to wander.
You have you have the ability to bring God's glory into that
sacred institution called marriage.
Amen to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be
made known by the Church to the principalities and powers in
heavenly places. What's at stake in our marriage
is none other than the reputation of God.
Stop thinking that it's about you and think about God.
It's God's reputation that is at stake.
Can God be trusted? Can God be trusted to bring
these people into eternity? God is banking on it that He
can't. There are other worlds watching,
but they are watching to see how we respond to God's Amazing
Grace. When we allow God's Amazing
Grace into our marriages. Guess what happens when we allow
God's grace into our marriages? We will have a little bit of
heaven on earth. That's how it's done because as
John chapter one verse 16 says, and of his fullness, we have all
received and grace for grace. Friends, go to God for his
Amazing Grace. Do you want God's grace to have
a successful marriage? Amen.
Let's pray, let's pray.
Father in Heaven, we thank you for your goodness and your
tender mercies. We thank you for your amazing,
Amazing Grace. We thank You for Your Word,
which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
Lord, I pray that You would forgive us of our sins.
Forgive us for where we have rebelled against you, where
we've gone our own way, where we've thought our own thoughts
and not your thoughts. Forgive us.
And yes, Lord, even restore us. Restore unto us the years that
the locusts have eaten, and that your character would be
reflected even in our marriages. And we pray this in the
wonderful and the holy name of Jesus, Amen and Amen.