1 00:00:09,510 --> 00:00:12,110 So we're increasing 2 babies in two weeks. 2 00:00:12,430 --> 00:00:15,590 Well, God's adding to our numbers every day. 3 00:00:16,070 --> 00:00:22,230 Blessed be his name, mate. We are going to continue in 4 00:00:22,230 --> 00:00:27,950 Malachi and we're going to, I'm doing Malachi 210 to 16. 5 00:00:30,190 --> 00:00:34,150 I find with Malachi, or what we're hearing in Malachi is, is 6 00:00:34,150 --> 00:00:37,960 pretty tough. They've really gone quite 7 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,400 astray. We've heard from Ben when they 8 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:45,320 said at the beginning how the priests were actually just given 9 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,800 substantial sacrifices. They weren't given their all. 10 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:55,120 And that is a challenge that we all, can we give our all, you 11 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,800 know, do we try to skimp? Do we try to evade? 12 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,320 And Malachi 2/10/16 is no different. 13 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:07,480 And Malachi, three and four are no different as well. 14 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:12,400 I think we're in for a real sort of like heart, sort of searching 15 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:18,040 time in how we come to the Lord. Are we putting him first? 16 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,640 So I will pray and then with no further ado, I will go on. 17 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:27,960 Lord, your word is food to our souls. 18 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:34,520 It is it is the thing that can thirst that I can quench our 19 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,200 thirst, Lord, It's the thing that can keep us online. 20 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:40,480 It's the thing that connects us with you. 21 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:46,280 It's in there we find your word, the revelation of your heart and 22 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,440 for your your your plan for humankind. 23 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,600 And Lord, today is no different. So will you be upon this word? 24 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:58,040 Will you be upon our hearts as we seek to know where we should 25 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,120 go with this and what we should do with it and ask is in Jesus 26 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:08,400 name, Amen. So let's get straight on Malachi 27 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,240 2/10/16. Do we not all have fathers? 28 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:17,400 Did not one God create us? Why do we profound the the the 29 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,800 covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another? 30 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:26,280 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been 31 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,080 committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. 32 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:34,400 Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by 33 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:38,680 marrying women who worship foreign gods as them. 34 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:43,440 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord 35 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,520 remove him from the tents of Jacob, even though he brings an 36 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:54,080 offering to the Lord Almighty. Another thing you do you flood 37 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:59,000 the Lord's altar with tears, you weep and you well, because He no 38 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,800 longer looks with favour on your offering, or accepts them with 39 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,400 pleasure from your hands. You ask why. 40 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,680 It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife 41 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,680 of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her 42 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,080 through though she is your partner. 43 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:23,240 The wife of your marriage covenant has not the one God 44 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:27,840 made you. You belong to Him in body, in 45 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,280 spirit. And what does the one God seek? 46 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,320 Godly offspring. So be on your guard. 47 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,040 Do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. 48 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:46,040 The man who hates and divorces his wife says the Lord, the God 49 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:54,080 of Israel does violence to the one sorry, there's violence to 50 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,360 the one he should protect, says the Lord Almighty. 51 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,640 So be on your guard and do not be unfaithful. 52 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,120 Unfaithful was mentioned five times there. 53 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:08,080 We need to understand that although we're talking more 54 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:13,800 about these men who are actually like doing their own thing, 55 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,079 unfaithfulness comes from a lot of areas. 56 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,440 We can be unfaithful to God in many ways. 57 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:23,720 See, God is the God of the covenant. 58 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,760 We are God's chosen covenantal people. 59 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:34,280 And a covenant is solemn vow initiated by God to guide 60 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:40,360 humanity to a righteous way of life, to rescue, to restore, to 61 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:44,400 redeem a people to Himself as a family. 62 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:50,760 It is built on a very intimate relationship of trust, of love, 63 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,560 of forgiveness, of sacrifice and promises. 64 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,840 Just name a few. With a determination that the 65 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:01,840 agreement, the relationship comes before 1's own personal 66 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:05,320 self. Both parties commit to staying 67 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,280 faithful to each other for a lifetime. 68 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:15,520 God is faithful to all His promises in which we proclaim 69 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,480 and are fulfilled in the yes and Amen in Jesus. 70 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:22,560 Agree. Yeah. 71 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:30,880 God made marriage a beautiful covenant between one man and one 72 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:36,520 woman that God initiated, blessed and witnessed. 73 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,880 You know the first thing, if you go back to Genesis 2, that's 74 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:48,600 when we see the first marriage. God creates the man he sees it 75 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,200 is not good for him to be alone. So then he creates and of his 76 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:55,800 rib. He creates woman Eve and then he 77 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:02,080 takes Eve and he picks her up as the father and also has as the 78 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:05,600 the husband and he takes her or the you know, he takes her to 79 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:09,440 Adam. What a beautiful sight that is 80 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,000 here. But what what's a bit weird. 81 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,000 I don't think Mellie, you would go to this sort of wedding, but 82 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:20,680 what God has got in his hands is 2 naked people and he's got to 83 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:25,360 say you're going to get you. 2 are together forever as 2 become 84 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:27,240 one. But the lovely thing about this 85 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,640 nakedness is the purity. They've got nothing to hide. 86 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:35,000 They've got no shame on them. This is before the fall. 87 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,880 This is before the fall. And there's a glorious day for 88 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:44,920 us coming in this world his way. Well, we the church are going to 89 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:49,480 be the bride, the bride of Christ, and we are going to be 90 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:55,160 stood before the Father spotless in white, in our white robes of 91 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:59,120 righteousness. We are no our shame has gone, 92 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:01,880 our sin has been washed away through his blood. 93 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:07,520 So we got 2 glorious wedding pictures here, one at the 94 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:09,640 beginning that God set out in motion. 95 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:14,280 And the whole theme of marriage and being a husband goes all the 96 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,880 way through the Bible until the day in Revelation when we will 97 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,320 meet him again and we become his story's bride. 98 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:27,160 So heaven, God, in God's eyes, marriage is a sacred and holy 99 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:31,640 value. Marriage is is is a design to 100 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:35,520 reflect God's faithful love as a father and a husband to his 101 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,640 people. It is a stable, loving place for 102 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:44,040 children to thrive, grow and know who God is through their 103 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,640 parents. It's the picture of Christ's 104 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,960 intimate relationship with His church, His faithful, 105 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:57,440 unconditional and forgiving love for those who call on His name. 106 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:04,880 It is a holy covenant meant meaning a God has has ordained 107 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:09,960 it to be set apart. Is a great example to all 108 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:16,080 mankind of how a relationship established in love, grace and 109 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:20,360 devotion, united and fulfilled in Christ can overcome the 110 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,680 toughest challenges. And marriage is not a simple 111 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:26,560 route. It is ups and downs. 112 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:33,360 But as Christians, remember what God is talking, who's talking to 113 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:37,240 here are A, to the men. So I'm talking to men more 114 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,559 today. And B, he's talking to those who 115 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:45,440 have actually signed a covenant or agreed to the covenant like 116 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:47,800 we are. Our covenant is through Jesus 117 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,000 Christ. Theirs is through the the law of 118 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:56,120 Moses, which say said as one people, we agree we will do what 119 00:08:56,120 --> 00:09:00,960 the Lord asks us to do. So there's no like, oh, hiding 120 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:03,040 away. It's not a there were people 121 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,960 outside this room today who do not know God. 122 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:08,640 This will not apply to them because God's speaking directly 123 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:14,000 at his people here. Marriage, stable marriages are 124 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,960 good for establishing, I believe stable communities. 125 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,520 If you can actually, if you get a load of Christians in one 126 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,200 particular spot and they can interact with their with their 127 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,640 their neighbours, I am positive there will be a change. 128 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:33,080 There will be a great change. So marriage as say God is using 129 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:40,000 it as a picture, as an example and also bring glory to his name 130 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:52,600 because that's the ultimate race here. 1979 we got married and I 131 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,280 suppose you could say then we've got, I've got a little bit of 132 00:09:55,280 --> 00:10:00,120 knowledge about marriage. And the bit of wisdom I can give 133 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:04,280 you in one sense is you don't know much as a husband because 134 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,160 you have to know what your your wife is thinking. 135 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,320 You have to know what her needs are. 136 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,360 You have to know when to shut up, when to when to. 137 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,320 You have to know that that shelf needed to be put up. 138 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:22,800 You have to know these things. But I can tell you that from 139 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,200 that day, we had a big wedding cake, didn't we? 140 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,960 I did not know that's a big wedding. 141 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:30,640 Kate. June. 142 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,880 Yeah. Anyway, from that day until this 143 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:44,920 day, I have not loved Julie more than I can and ever would. 144 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:49,960 She has stayed the focus of my attention. 145 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:52,560 I'm speaking love. You're supposed to be listening 146 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:55,040 to me as well. I'm giving some good compliments 147 00:10:55,040 --> 00:11:02,000 here and a good marriage. The first thing we we learnt in 148 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:08,480 marriage was the oneship. And I think mine is not mine 149 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:10,160 anymore. Mine is ours. 150 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:15,080 What we do is ours. And if you start off on that 151 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:19,240 thought, yeah, I, I shouldn't be looking at my wife. 152 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:26,280 Now that's finances, our time and our friends. 153 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,120 Believe it or not, if if you've got sadly, when you come 154 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:33,040 together, you may not enjoy certain friends that your 155 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,880 partner hangs back with. Well, the thing about it is 156 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:40,760 those friends are not helping your marriage if there's a wedge 157 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:43,640 there. So sometimes you have to give up 158 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:45,480 friends which are not beneficial to you. 159 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,320 Sometimes you have to give up time. 160 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,480 Now, one thing that I've learned, I try to be considerate 161 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,720 most of the times, but you know, I play a little bit of golf when 162 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:57,720 I can. Now I'm retired, I can play a 163 00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:59,320 bit of golf. It seems to be the, the thing to 164 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:04,480 do so, but every time I know golf, it's going to take about 165 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:08,760 5:00 to 4:00 to five hours. Well, I go to Julian and I make 166 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:13,920 sure that she's OK with it because if I if, if she, if she 167 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:16,880 says, actually, I, I thought we were going to go to AB or CI 168 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:22,000 rather give up that because she is my devotion in the sense she 169 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,200 is the one I want to serve properly. 170 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:28,120 So I will give that up. But it's normally she'll say, 171 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:30,840 no, I'm OK. And now I go so I can play 172 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,680 around the golf thinking I have not been unfaithful to my wife. 173 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,960 I am OK if I went down the golf line even more and said I 174 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:43,160 started to buy my golf clubs and I started to go to the, the, 175 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,920 the, the clubhouse and I started to just spend money and I did 176 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,360 not consult my wife again. I am being a bit unfaithful to 177 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,680 her because it's not my money, it's our money. 178 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,600 And we have to decide. We just moved, as you know, in 179 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:02,960 1920, some of you don't know it, but in 2020 we moved up here and 180 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,800 we, we, we moved into an old house that needed renovating. 181 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,840 And that means a lot of decisions had to be made on, you 182 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,240 know, what furniture we were going to do, what colour the 183 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:14,640 walls were going to be, how we furnished the house. 184 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,640 Julie, I always have this thing. We we get something in our 185 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:20,400 heads. She says, I like this, I say, I 186 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,240 like this. And, and we come to a degree. 187 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:25,040 If I said, well, I'm not sure about that. 188 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:26,600 That'll go on the the side burner. 189 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:28,680 If I say I don't like it gets down the drain. 190 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:32,760 If she says the same, stand until we come to a point where 191 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:37,880 we totally say, yeah, that's it. So none of us, we cannot hit one 192 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:41,760 another in the future and say, hey, we've got this because you 193 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,520 wanted it. No, we got it because we wanted 194 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,400 it. And we need to understand that 195 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:51,880 marriage is like that. And that's the same sometimes 196 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:57,560 our industry with God, we tend to not sort of like communicate 197 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:03,360 the way we should. Do you see, marriage is 198 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:07,400 sacrificial as well. That means you have to give up 199 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,960 something as Jesus gave up his life for us. 200 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:16,080 We should never take one another for granted because marriages 201 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:20,520 that do not last quite often, it doesn't happen overnight. 202 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:24,000 It's a slow fade. Suddenly you realise that you've 203 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,920 not, you're not talk to one another, you've not asked one 204 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,280 another how you are, you've not felt, you've not been intimate 205 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:34,240 with one another. It can all just simply fade 206 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,400 gradually until you get to a point where you say there's I've 207 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,400 got nothing to say. A lot of people put their if 208 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:46,240 they do not make the wife or the husband your priority, and I 209 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:52,960 mean behind Jesus Christ up here and your your your wife or your 210 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:55,080 husband, your children come here. 211 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,400 If you have children and your parents come down below them. 212 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,720 That's the healthy order of things. 213 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:05,200 You are to leave your mother and father. 214 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,720 They are not to have an input. You honour them and you stay 215 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:14,480 close to them, but they should not be dominating your marriage 216 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:15,880 life. Your marriage life has to be 217 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,440 worked out between the man and the woman, not anything else. 218 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,840 Your children come along, they're a blessing, but as soon 219 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,480 as you can get them out the door, please do. 220 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:30,800 Out they go, all right, but then they start their life. 221 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:35,040 You can support them, but they are you're then you're left on 222 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,520 your home own again. This is why I'm trying to get to 223 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:39,680 the point is you get back to the point there. 224 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,760 Now it's just you and your wife. You've had your children, you've 225 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:45,560 you've moved away from your parents, you've had your 226 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:49,160 children, they've grown up. If you do not keep your 227 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,840 relationship alive through those years, you will end up with what 228 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,240 they call empty nest syndrome. And you don't want an empty nest 229 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,760 syndrome. So Julie and I, we talk, we 230 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,560 laugh together. We have to say sorry to one 231 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,320 another more often than I would like. 232 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:15,320 It is lovely to say to tell her I love her without any. 233 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,160 I want something right. It's just nice to say it. 234 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,200 Men, say this to your wife. You love them. 235 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:26,600 Do little things that they don't ask you to do. 236 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,160 You don't put your dish as I would probably do. 237 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:32,840 You don't put your dish in the sink. 238 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:38,080 You can put it in the dishwasher if it's by the sink, it's a, you 239 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,200 just go open and put it in. So there's little things, but 240 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,120 little things you say. It's those little things that 241 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,680 creep in to any relationship. And there's those little things 242 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:49,720 that creep into our relationship with Jesus. 243 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:56,200 The same things we let things slip, we ignore him, we don't 244 00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:00,960 talk to him. And suddenly we realise I'm, 245 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,880 I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, where's God in my life anymore? 246 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:08,520 So just one more little picture, I thought. 247 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,920 Now if you can read it, Falling in love. 248 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,800 Falling in love is easy, but staying in love is something 249 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:22,160 very special. And love does. 250 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:27,359 No, I can't remember that. Love does not count. 251 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:33,920 Consist of gazing you got back at each other, but in looking 252 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,200 towards outwards together in the same direction. 253 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:44,880 Yeah, I just thought. But anyway, move on, move on 254 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:48,920 waffling bit yes. So in this passage is no wonder 255 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:52,200 God is not happy. They have desecrated the 256 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,000 sanctuary the Lord loves and that is marriage. 257 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,880 Their actions show contempt towards the name of the Lord, a 258 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:03,920 willful disobedience and open disrespect to the covenant made 259 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:09,680 between God and Israel. A holy covenant of marriage was 260 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:14,640 being abused and dishonoured. God's families were being 261 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:18,720 weakened, destroyed and torn apart by divorce actions taken 262 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,800 by many unfaithful husbands in Jerusalem and Judea. 263 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,800 And God sees these actions and He calls it out as it is. 264 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:32,440 You notice in the middle bit of what I was reading, they came to 265 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:37,000 God in tears and weeped. They were weeping. 266 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:42,480 They weren't repenting, they weren't giving up these wives 267 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,480 that God says do not take. No, they were weeping that God 268 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,400 was not answering their prayers. So there's consequences 269 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:53,160 sometimes when we do something that is not in line with what 270 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:56,760 God wants us to do. So we can't cry to God. 271 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,080 We have to sort that out. We have to sort it out. 272 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,840 And then we have to come to God and say, Lord, I am sorry. 273 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,920 And we have such a graceful God that there is nothing that he 274 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,800 cannot do or will not forgive if we just bring it to him. 275 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:14,440 What a glorious God. So God sees, So what? 276 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,200 What were they doing? They were marrying women who 277 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,520 worship the foreign God. They were divorcing wives of 278 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,520 their youth and they were denying what God is seeking from 279 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:33,280 the marriage godly offspring. It's quite interesting if most 280 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:35,880 there's a lot of people here with children grown up, there 281 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:39,880 are a lot of them right there and the world's going to be a 282 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:45,080 battle for anybody with youngsters now because if 283 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:50,080 there's a passage that says do not marry a non believer, if 284 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:54,760 there's a passage that says do not in Two Corinthians 614, it 285 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:58,400 says do not be unequally, unequally yoked with an 286 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,280 unbeliever. It is this particular passage 287 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:06,960 because when we go back to Deuteronomy, we read God's in 288 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,160 his laws of what he told them to do and not do. 289 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,880 One of the rules was they were not to because they were going 290 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,000 into the promised land. They were going to meet a lot of 291 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,400 different tribes and different countries. 292 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,200 But God said do not intermarry with them. 293 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:27,920 Do not give your daughters their to their sons or take their 294 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,480 daughters for your sons for they will turn your children away 295 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:34,440 from follow me to serve other gods. 296 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:39,720 There is a it's it it it will happen. 297 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,640 And I know that there are many people who I've seen who have 298 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,760 married a non believer, their heart, and it's a good heart is 299 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:52,720 to say, yeah, but maybe I can bring them and they will, you 300 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,880 know, they'll get saved through me bringing them along for me 301 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,600 doing this. But sadly or not, the norm is 302 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,840 it's the other way round. The non believer will take you 303 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,400 away from your faith. It will weaken your faith. 304 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,560 So it's a tough call in a world where you may find somebody 305 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,320 really love you really think they're special. 306 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,560 I tell you, if they if they are somebody who really loves you 307 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:24,600 back and they're really special, they will think of what you like 308 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:30,240 and what you do and they will surrender to God before they ask 309 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:32,960 you to marry them. That's what I would say. 310 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:36,480 They won't hold you and what your desires are. 311 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:44,240 So you see that it causes a problem. 312 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,280 I say God was trying to say I want godly offspring. 313 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:56,000 Well, again, you come down to a situation where who will teach 314 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,920 the children in God's ways when one on a Sunday says I'm going 315 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,560 to church and the other one says I'm going to golf or I'm doing 316 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:09,920 something or I want to give my money to to the church and the 317 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:11,320 other person says, but it's our money. 318 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:15,480 So I don't want you to do that. You see that at the beginning it 319 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,760 may all be quite nice, but eventually a crack will appear 320 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:22,440 and eventually a chasm will appear. 321 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:26,880 So God's trying to warn us. This is how great God's word is 322 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,760 to all of us. It's not to say I want to take 323 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,880 away your joy. It's not to say I, you must do 324 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,760 exactly what I say. God is give us the freedom, but 325 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:41,040 he knows that certain choices that we make will end up with us 326 00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:46,120 taking that real rugged Rd rather than the, the, the, the 327 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:50,400 slightly smoother Rd in the, in what he caused us to do. 328 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:55,000 I, I, I think the divorcing the wife of the youth. 329 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,440 That's interesting. I could go back to Julie and I 330 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,920 now some of you may remember you come from a family. 331 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,560 You just go to the larder. This is what your parents house 332 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,000 is. You go to the larder. 333 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:07,800 You just take through what you like. 334 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:12,080 You eat, use their electricity, you use their water or their hot 335 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,600 water normally. And you, you just walk away and 336 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:19,080 your money's yours to spend. You in the court in days are 337 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:23,320 just simply you and her and you go out and you just enjoy and 338 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,240 you spend your money and then you wait for your next wage 339 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:26,960 packet. But now you've just been 340 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:29,200 married. You've just been married. 341 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,240 Now the struggles come in because now you got to pay the 342 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,800 bills, you got to pay the electricity. 343 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,000 It is your food. You got to go to the shop, not 344 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,160 to your mother's or father's kitchen. 345 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:47,040 So getting married is tough at the early stage. 346 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:50,320 I believe what God's saying here, divorcing the wife of 347 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:55,360 youth. These men, these men had young 348 00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:58,440 wives when they got married. They went through all the 349 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:02,000 struggles of getting themselves together, maybe getting to an 350 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,480 affluent situation. Now maybe Middle Ages come 351 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,640 along, maybe the children has left. 352 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:11,360 And the man in this situation is not content. 353 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:14,920 He looks around, he sees what else he can get. 354 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,560 And sometimes in this day and age, we were talking about 355 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,720 dowries. So to marry a woman you could 356 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,240 get money. So maybe some of them did it for 357 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:29,160 money, some of them may have done it for a younger model, who 358 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,280 knows what they did it for, but it was not good reasons. 359 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,960 There are reasons in the Bible that God says are reasons that 360 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:41,600 you can divorce, but there are many reasons that are not 361 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,240 applicable and we must be careful. 362 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,880 And in any reason, as an elder of this church, if there was a a 363 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:54,600 issue within a marriage, our first thing is to try to bring 364 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:01,960 reconciliation. But if that does not work, then 365 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:08,560 we would try to counsel in a way that they they feel that they've 366 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,120 not let God down. It's a tricky situation because 367 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:17,800 divorce really is messy. In fact, that's what God says. 368 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:21,360 I believe it does violence to the one he should protect. 369 00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:28,040 This woman is left unprotected now and she thought she had a 370 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:32,960 covenant with a man for life and he's just give it away and the 371 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:39,120 passage ends with so be on your guard and do not be unfaithful. 372 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,280 We are called men. Lead the way. 373 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:51,760 Do not be unfaithful. Show grace, show mercy, but 374 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,760 Jesus is our faithful Lord and husband. 375 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:01,760 So let us be encouraged with some promises of our faithful 376 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:05,040 God has declared over us. And that's what I'm going to do 377 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,920 now. I'd really have to lift us up 378 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,520 and say there is a husband out there for all of us. 379 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:19,200 We are all married to the one Jesus Christ who is ever 380 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,120 faithful. So that we're going to Chuck 381 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:25,800 away. We're going to fight against 382 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,320 that, but we are going to live in the promises. 383 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,360 So I've just put up. I'm, I'm just put up. 384 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:34,320 Here's some promises. We're talking about them in 385 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:38,600 worship. For I am convinced that neither 386 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:43,360 death nor life, near angels or demons, neither the present nor 387 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:48,000 the future, nor any powers near height nor depth, or anything 388 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:51,760 else in all creation will be able to separate us from the 389 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:56,360 love of God, That in that is, in Christ Jesus our Lord. 390 00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:02,080 Do you hear that Church? Nothing can separate us from the 391 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:06,440 love of God. If you feel that you're not 392 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:12,680 loved, stop it. Know that you are loved. 393 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:15,880 The Word of God tells us we're loved. 394 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:19,520 John. John 11213 says Yet to all who 395 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:23,880 did receive him, through those who believed in his name, he 396 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,240 gave the right to become children of God. 397 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:30,600 Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision 398 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:35,320 or a husband's will, but born of God. 399 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:42,080 We have been born again Church. We are children of God. 400 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:47,280 We are heirs to the King. We have a future and a hope. 401 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:53,640 It's not a hopelessness, it is a hope, a secure hope, not a fairy 402 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,680 hope. We are children of God. 403 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,960 I hope you feel loved in that way that you are protected. 404 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:06,880 Deuteronomy 31, eight says the Lord himself goes before you and 405 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,680 will be with you. He will never leave you nor 406 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:12,080 forsake you. Do not be afraid. 407 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:16,120 Do not be discouraged. Stick your chest. 408 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:17,360 Thanks. Stick your chin out. 409 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,560 Do not be discouraged whatever you're facing. 410 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:26,840 We are supposed to be joyful because we have a joyful God. 411 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:28,720 We have the joy of the Lord in our hearts. 412 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:41,200 He is our strength. When John 189 says if we claim 413 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:46,200 to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not 414 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:50,600 in US, but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, 415 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:55,000 then we'll forgive us our sins and purify us from all 416 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,120 unrighteousness. This is what I mean about God. 417 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,960 He's not your two strikes and you're out. 418 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,480 We can turn around and come back to Him every day. 419 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,320 His mercy's on you every morning. 420 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:13,080 He is a God of forgiveness and we are unfaithful people. 421 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:17,480 We are sinful people, even though we have the blood of the 422 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:21,560 lion, we still live in this world and the world contaminates 423 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:24,680 us. And how hard we try, how hard I 424 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:26,600 try to be the best husband for Julie. 425 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:30,640 I let her down day and day. Our God doesn't let Julie down 426 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:37,360 in one way. And when I muck up, I say sorry 427 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:41,200 to God, say say Gary sorry to Julie, but I need to say sorry 428 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,680 to God as well because I have hurt a child of his. 429 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,920 When I when we hurt one another, we are hurting God. 430 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:54,840 We are all in the same family as one part of the body hurts, then 431 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:59,440 the rest of the body hurts. So never forget that that don't 432 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:01,840 just keep us. Oh well, I said sorry to them. 433 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:03,440 No. Have you said sorry to God? 434 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:10,360 Have you said sorry to God? No. 435 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:13,840 Therefore, that the Lord your God is God. 436 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:19,960 He is faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to 1000 437 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,480 generations of those who have loved him and keep His 438 00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:25,960 commandments. We are here today on that 439 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:30,280 promise. Thousands of generations have 440 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:35,640 gone before us, declaring the word of the Lord, taking the 441 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:40,960 gospel out, what we receive, what we heard, and what we now 442 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,520 speak out for the next generation. 443 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:50,600 So we need to be faithful to God in speaking out His message of 444 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:56,840 love. And Romans 5758 says, But God 445 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:02,120 demonstrates his own love for us in this why We were still 446 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,560 sinners. Christ died for us. 447 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:10,400 Wow, that's a tough call, isn't it? 448 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,520 How do you how, how do you love somebody that just doesn't want 449 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:19,080 to have anything to do with you? How do you reach out to somebody 450 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:22,560 that that's ignoring, you know, really hurt you? 451 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:29,840 He's tough, but Jesus did the people on that cross that put 452 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,000 him on that cross, he still looked down and said, God 453 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,240 forgive them. They know not what they do. 454 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,120 Every human being is an image bearer of God. 455 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:45,440 That means God loves them all and it's God's desire that 456 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,080 everyone and and nobody should perish. 457 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,720 And that's why we have a faithful God, because we are the 458 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:58,920 product of His faithfulness to His word that says all who 459 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:03,480 believe in Jesus Christ and puts our faith in Him. 460 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:10,360 By His grace we are saved. He is the faithful husband that 461 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:13,520 we will meet and be married to in heaven. 462 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:18,320 He is the faithful one that we follow, not the world. 463 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,560 The world will say it's yours. The world will say, get a new 464 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,200 model. The world will say, you know, 465 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:30,520 it's boring, it's dull. You say, I have a glorious God 466 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:36,880 that seized all my needs. So really in conclusion, let's 467 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:41,760 take heed of God's warning to be on your guard and do not be 468 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:49,640 unfaithful. Remember Christ and what Christ 469 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:56,600 has done maybe challenge all of us needs to challenge our 470 00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:02,600 commitment and effort to become to to stay faithful to Jesus and 471 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:08,440 that means putting him first, being content in Jesus. 472 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:13,360 He's all we need. Stop chasing what the world says 473 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:15,680 or tempts us to believe you need. 474 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:21,880 He is all we need. Remember his words and promises 475 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:27,680 are trustworthy and true. Hebrews 13 five says never will 476 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:33,320 I leave you or forsake you. So even when you feel it, God's 477 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:35,120 promises are still there with you. 478 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:40,120 It's not what we feel, it's what we know. 479 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:45,160 It's what He declared over us as his children and his bride. 480 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:50,640 He is not unfaithful. And I'm just going to end here 481 00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:54,800 in Revelations 19 Six. I said about it. 482 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:58,520 Now I'll read it. Then I heard what sounded like a 483 00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:04,280 great multitude, like the roar of a rushing waters, and like a 484 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:11,400 loud pearls of Thunder, shouting Hallelujah, Hallelujah for our 485 00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:15,880 Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and 486 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:19,120 give Him glory. For the wedding of the Lamb has 487 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:23,080 come, and His bride has made. He made herself ready. 488 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:27,920 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear. 489 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:33,159 Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy 490 00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:37,440 people. We Everything we do from that 491 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:42,960 small word of kindness or the word of encouragement is an act 492 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:47,480 of righteousness which would clothe us in the royal robes of 493 00:34:47,639 --> 00:34:50,639 Jesus Christ as the groom, as the bride. 494 00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:57,440 It is fantastic news from the beginnings of these men who are 495 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:00,760 seeking their own way, seeking what they wanted out in life, 496 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:05,040 forgetting who God was today. My message really in this word 497 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:10,120 is do not forget who God is. Remember His faithfulness goes 498 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:11,960 through generations and generations. 499 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:16,080 Commit yourself, challenge yourself. 500 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,160 How can I be faithful this week to God? 501 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:23,440 How can I stay true? What can I do as an act of 502 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:29,160 righteousness in His name? You are great, yo, Lord, you are 503 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:31,080 great. You are fantastic. 504 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:37,560 We surrender to you, Lord. It's hard, but Lord, you uphold 505 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:41,200 us when it gets hard. So I, I believe you there. 506 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:45,640 I believe you, Lord, when you say that the plans that you have 507 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:51,480 for me are good plans, even though sometimes I think why my, 508 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:54,080 why do I feel rotten? Why is this happening to me 509 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,680 today? Lord, I have to look about, look 510 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,840 above it. I look to you, the King of King, 511 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:03,200 the King of glory. So Lord, will you bless us all 512 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:09,600 this week to just grab hold of who you are to to invite and sit 513 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:14,880 down with you to confess what needs to be confessed to move 514 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:22,120 forward in, in determination and commitment to making you first 515 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:25,240 and first only in the in our lives. 516 00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:29,680 Lord, Lord, will you help us? Will you send your Holy Spirit 517 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:33,640 today throughout the week? Will you continue to fill us in? 518 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:36,960 You? Lord, I submit this message to 519 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:41,040 you. Work on us, work on our hearts, 520 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:45,000 work on our lives, in Jesus name, Amen.