Ephesians 5: 31-33
Building A Solid Marriage
Part 5 Unbreakable Love
C) In fact statistics tell us that the
American family is in trouble !
Breakdown of the family is a leading cause in the
break-down of a nation
Feb. 1995 Time
Mag. report Cover " For better .....
Worse "
A) Reported 2.3 million couples
went to the altar same yr. 1.2 mill.
ended in divorce !
1) Divorce
rate is at 1 out of 2 or 50% / close to
that in the "church!"
The United States leads the world in the proportion of marriages ending
in divorce. In 1991 there were 21
divorces for every 1,000 married women in the population. By contrast, in the United Kingdom there
were only 13. Japan had only six per
1,000 married women, and Italy just two.
--American
Enterprise, May/Jun 1996 (page 21)
Among Americans in the 18-24 age bracket, 22%
consider the lack of family structure and guidance to be the nation's biggest
problem.
, according to a study by the American Journal of Public Health
Children of divorced parents don't live as long. When parents divorce before their children reach age 21, the risk
of premature death for those children is increased by 44%. --Perspective,
Sep 28, 1995
Divorce rate
is almost as high within the church today
The Christian family is under attack - mike Mac. -
Stewardis in his Church -
Fasting for
the Break up of Christian marriages
Satans strategy now & in the very Beginning
Here in v.31
Paul quotes from Gen. 2:24 -TURN
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his
wife, and were not ashamed.
C) In using
this verse from Gen. Paul reveals 4 distinctives for having an
unbreakable love & building harmony in marriage!
1)
Break this down tonight
1st Severance " for this cause a man shall leave
his .....
A)There must
be a leaving : to leave father & mother is to break the
parent child bond!
A) As kids we are totally
dependent upon our Parents needs to be a breaking away
1) We develop our outlook on life from our Parents Often times the marital views are established watching our parents
B) For
instance in one home the Mom cooks the meal and after it is over she cleans
up the mess / Men watch the game ( Just
what mom does )
1)
Guess what that gal who gets married be a lot
like that and that young man will be the same
Quote : Ortiz Pg. 74
Now leaving
Doesnt mean you ignore your parents or the ideals & values and Traditions
established in your family
A)But it does
mean establishing your own traditions might be similar own priorities
B) Instead of
clinging to a PATTERN established in your family upbringing You seek the Lord
Establish new ones for You & your Bride
c) What is His Plan for you?/ Parenting /
Traditions What is great about this is
it causes you to be dependent on the Lord!
/ not others
D) It causes you to be seeking the Lord
& not be relying on past
traditions / methods ( Parents wisdom)
1) There needs to be a severance/ not in
relationships but
in
the area of dependence & in the emotional bond!
1 Peter 3: 7
7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with
understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being
heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
1st:
LIVE W/ YOUR WIFE - Hey I do - come home every night; live at same address: eat same table
- sleep same bed!
A.) Not all Peter is
suggesting. The word dwell
speaks of being completely
at home!
B.) Word
that speaks of a close comfortable
relationship!
1.) Some relationships are
always on egg shells - tension do nothing
Right
C.) This
speaks of a close companionship and deep down togetherness A partnership together
2nd thing Peter lays out is we are to know our wives - "Live w/ them in understanding /
A.) Lifelong project! - challenge: Lit. expression is to dwell
together
according to knowledge
B.)Knowing your wife includes knowing things about
her that others don't
1.) fears and cares;
disappointments, expectations; thoughts; dreams; desires; likes; dislikes
The 3rd thing Peter exhorts is for husbands to honor their wives: grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace life!
A.) Grant =
assign: husbands assigning wife a place of honor!
B.)Our kids - driving in car wanting to sit in front
seat - tell them - mom's place!
C) That is what Peter is saying
in essence is giver her place of honor - at
your
side - one w/ you - not just in car but life!
C.)Wives shouldn't have to compete w/ kids - they
should know she has
that
place of honor!
D.)To give her that place of honor is to value her
above all else
(aside
from the Lord)
1.) Guys we need to let them know it too!
A.)Guys we need to treasure our wives! Jesus taught - "Where your treasure
is there your heart will be also"
B.) Aside
from Jesus - wife is to be our treasure - pour into her - heart
will follow!
1.) Lawyer on divorce!
C.) Truth in that story: If your
treasure is your wife your heart won't drift from her - treasure
D) But Treasure is something else - potential is there!
2nd distinctive Permanence Cleave to His wife -
A) Word cleave = to clue together / it speaks
of a binding
that cannot be broken !
B) It refers to the Closets & most inseparable of
bonds, like the layers of wood that make up a sheet of Plywood
1) Which are joined together to provide greater
Strength
C)Now if you tried to
separate those layers of the Plywood you would only Destroy it !!
A relationship that is
marked by a Commitment David Livingstone
The Phrase joined together means to fasten to
one Yoke or to Yoke together
A)The Picture is of Two OXEN which have been yoked
together to pull a plow they are no longer two but one yoke of Oxen !!
B)To separate them would be to Sabotage all that their
owner has planned for them
1) To separate them is to Sabotage the greater Purpose
of God who has brought them together
C)
Another thing that this picture
illustrates is that if one of the Oxen tries to do that which is going to harm
the other
1) He cannot do
so w/ out hurting Himself
SO Paul describes
a contrast Leaving & cleaving / loosen & secure/ A Departure from parents & attaching to your wife
A) Permanence / binding
Marriage
should be like going into a room ,locking the door
behind you & throwing
away the key!
B) But Too many enter into marriage w/ an idea that
maybe it might
not
workout
During
the Ht. of WWII in late 1930's bombs had devastated blocks in England .
Buildings crumbled, Bridges fell,
A)But the country was held together by W. Churchill
( a pudgy cigar smoking /unimpressive looking
man )
B) AS England was being bombarded by the Nazi's
Churchill refused to budge His Philosophy ?
Wars are not won by evacuations !
C) Sound words because
/ giving up is not an option if you want to win a war or succeed in
marriage!
D)The enemy would love nothing more than to see - your marriage end - his original attack in the garden
involved the family
1) Been attacking the family
ever since !
So Cleave - speaks of a
bond that cannot break - That is how we are to approach marriage.
A)Divorce is to not be a part of our VOCABULARY IN
marriage -
( What are you cleaving to? Work Hobbies / Friends Family
B) GROW UP - PART OF THE LEAVING & CLEAVING IS
FACING THE RESPONSIBILITY !
3rd Distinctive is Unity They shall become one flesh.
A) In Mark Ch. 10 Jesus gave us
some further insight into this Unity
6 "But from the beginning of the
creation, God 'made them male and female.'
7 'For this reason a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife,8
'and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two,
but one flesh. 9 "Therefore what God has joined
together, let not man separate."
B) Now Jesus expands the
Picture by mentioning a couple of
things that Paul & Moses dont-
C) "From
the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'" He made them to be distinct
and different sexes
1) And This was no
afterthought.
D) The whole creative process,
beginning with the very first day of creation, was aimed at that one great
fact.
1) God intended to have a race of humans that was divided into two
recognizable sexes -- male and female.
E) Biologically and
psychologically
different one from the other.
But through which He desired to make them one.
A godly
marriage is a remarkable thing because God takes two people who are totally
diff. & brings a oneness.
A)There is a transformation that is taking place /
so that these two who are so different are being made like each other
1)
Although the ultimate goal is to make us more like Christ
Marriage
is the Bringing together of two people w/ diff. goals
&
purposes, personalities , & Insights Joined as one!
PETER
MARSHALL It is the fusion of 2 hearts the union of 2 lives ,
Now spiritually speaking - in Gods eyes this oneness is
instantaneous - The two become one!
A) but practically it is a life long process of the father molding &
shaping
a man & wife into one .
B) In good marriages it really starts to Shine /
think alike/ talk alike
act
alike , some cases look alike / Brother
& Sister
1) The unity He is describing is a process of
Him working in 2
lives
that are submitted
/ yielded to Him!
C) And
taking those 2 lives from diff. backgrounds , families ,
diff.
personalities , temperaments ,scars, feelings,
1) Educational
backgrounds , gifts , & talents!
D) And
blending their lives together under His direction - His
leadership
to enhance & complete each other!
4th Distinctive we see Intimacy
" The 2 were NAKED &
not ashamed!
A) The intimacy described here speaks of a mutual love & respect &
commitment to each other . Results in security & intimacy!
B) It is no
accident that intimacy is at the end of this description
because
in order to achieve it
1) severance ,
permanence, & unity need to be in operation
essential
if a mutual love respect & caring are to be developed!
C) Also
note when intimacy was lost / When sin
entered into the
garden / into their lives
1) covered up naked ashamed ! Hid themselves !
D) Sin destroys Intimacy & you can cover up you can try
& hide it
but
it is seen your spouse can tell / noticeable in conduct
1) Know this: Your sin will find you out ! (
Story of couple)
Now we are Told
in the book of Mal. concerning Divorce
- God hates it ! HEAVY - SHOULDNT MAKE
LIGHT OF IT
A)The fact that God hates it Jesus identified the
Cause of it as being a hardness of heart
What is "hardness of heart?"
A) Well, it really means a
stubborn willfulness, a refusal to listen to what God has to say and a
determination to do it your own way.
B) That is a hardened heart. A
soft heart is one that is open to instruction, one that is willing to listen to
what God is saying
1) and seeks thru the Power of the H.S. to
obey it and to walk in it
expecting God to help fulfill what he has asked.
C) That is a softened heart. A hardened heart is exactly
the opposite.
1) It is one partner or the
other, or both, determining that he or she is
not going to pay any attention to what God has said.
D) They want their own way; they want it the way
they have chosen, and
they
want it now. That is a hardened heart.
1) Couple at Jack in the box
We need to guard our hearts from
ever coming to that place of allowing our hearts to drift from each or from the
Lord & become hard
A)How many times do we make issue over Non
essential things !!!