Your marriage

“prone you are to discouragement. Because the higher we rise, the easier it is for us to fall. And so discouragement is something that we deal with. Of course, there are many sources of discouragement, beginning with the four-letter word LIFE, life. Life can be discouraging. But many of us are discouraged because, well, there's a struggle going on in our marriage that we can't seem to begin to unresolve. There's a battle going on with our kids, and there's just tension”

“them, He loved them, but He delayed. And it's important for us today to recognize that even when we experience God's delays in our lives, we are not being denied because of God's lack of love for us. I'm speaking to some of you today here with me in the room, some of you today who are listening and watching, and I know today that you're struggling with the fact that marriage has been delayed in your life. You have been waiting for, preparing for a day”

“And that king is not going to be defeated, and his will is not going to be overruled. And the power of Jesus is that he is the king of all eternity, the king of kings and the Lord of lords. And my question today is, do you know the king? Some of you today are struggling, And you're thinking, my marriage is over. Some of you today are looking and thinking about your children and thinking, what a mess.”

“of control. And we've got a major issue going on in our economy today and a lot of decisions being made that are having a lot of impact on a lot of people. Maybe the struggle that you have in your life is a loss of a marriage. And what began as a wonderful hope of a happily ever after has become a nightmare. And you are struggling today because you are barely hanging on in a marriage that you do not know if it has hope. Maybe there's another dream in your life, and I don't know what that”

“2nd Corinthians verse 7 1 through 5 even talks about the importance of having a consistent sex life in marriage again don't turn there I don't want to lose you but 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verses one through five but whether you're married whether you're not no matter how good your marriage is no matter how old or young you are you have to struggle”

“The deepest struggles of life will occur in the most primary relationship affected by the fall, marriage. And it takes a lot of mercy to build a lasting marriage. It takes a lot of mercy to build a strong church. It takes a lot of mercy to fulfill God's mission that he's called us to in the world. And that doesn't mean that that mercy is without standards, our expectations, our responsibilities,”

“that point, because then we know there's no other option but to follow God. In my marriage, I've been married 54 and a half years now, 54 and a half years. We made that covenant agreement. So there's never been an option, but we're going to work through the challenges and struggles and you know, the differences and whatever it is, because we know that our marriage is on purpose and on mission. So when you're in that kind of a covenant all in agreement, you see your life as your own mission. And I think then that gives your life eternal purpose and direction every day.”

“he said that in a fallen world, marriage doesn't solve our emptiness, it exposes it. And if you don't understand that the very thing that you need most is a reconciliation of relationship with Christ, then you will spend your married life struggling to try to find how you can fill your emptiness and you simply won't do it. Being reconciled to God enables us to be reconciled to others.”

“and marries another commits adultery so is there biblical precedent and means for divorce yes but what God has joined together he doesn't desire for any man including husband or wife to separate and just think about this from a second for for a second from God's point of view of his Covenant commitment to us you see when you become a Believer and you repent of your sin and you put your life and your trust and your hope in”

“relationships in life respect and when respect is gone when respect is lost relationships suffer and struggle for survival it was Gary Thomas an author who has written over 15 books on marriage who wrote this in one of his books we are obsessed with being respected but rarely consider our own obligation to respect”

“That's the answer, not some other means in the world. And so to that end, we come to this passage that is so full of this amazing story of this huge chasm that existed in the ancient world, A chasm of separation between Jew and Gentile. And if we're going to understand the magnitude of the reconciliation that is discussed here and the peace that has come here in Ephesians 2,”

“sexual liberalization the sexual Liberation revolution of the 1960s set in motion a Cascade effect the reversal of the long-standing moral consensus around promiscuity separating sex from Marriage worked in tandem with the Advent of birth control and the legalization of abortion separating sex from procreation which moved on to the legalization of no fault divorce turning a covenant into a contract and separated sex from intimacy infidelity then to Tender and hook up culture separating”

“say it, reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are, say it again, reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. That's our word. Reconciled. Reconciliation. It's another of those R words that we are”

“and the ministry of reconciliation is not the pastor's mission. It is the church's mission. And therefore, we must live it out. As I say that, I simply say it because reconciliation is what our lives are all about once we are in Christ. The reconciling mission of God has for us in the world, but there is to become a reconciling manner in us.”

“to be accounted righteous. That is to be reconciled in a new status as he will bear their iniquities. It is the reconciling work of Christ that brings blessing in our lives. So what are some of the blessings of reconciliation? I mean, I can say it's a blessing, but what are the blessings? What are the specific blessings of knowing that we can be reconciled to God?”

“That means that our life, our manner, our lifestyle is to become about being people who help to reconcile where there is brokenness. And we can't always make peace. We can't resolve every conflict. I know that. I've had enemies, you have too. And there are things that we can't fix. But to the ability that God is working in us, we can be a part of reconciliation. And when I'm reconciled with God, I can reconcile with others. One of the things that I say at every wedding ceremony that I do,”

“That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, making his appeal through us, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin in order that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”

“cross, there is no more separation anxiety. No more separation anxiety. Now, you know what separation anxiety is, right? You know that when children are suddenly being forced to separate from their parents or their caretakers in some fashion, many times children can become very, well, vocal and very volatile in such a moment. If you've not seen that recently, just go down to our preschool area any Sunday morning, and I promise you, you can watch and hear separation anxiety on a whole new level in life.”

“We are involved in the business of reconciliation once we've been reconciled to God. Look at what it says in verse 11. More than that, we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. The Bible says we have received reconciliation because ultimately God wants us to be involved in reconciliation.”

“and that is that reconciliation implies brokenness. The very fact that there's a need to re-conciliate means that there has been a conflict that has separated. And reconciliation implies brokenness. Of course, the Bible begins with the beautiful story and the message of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, and the perfect place that God created and placed them in. And this environment that we read about in Genesis 1 and 2 is absolutely incredible. But then in Genesis 3, we read about a day and a time”

“and you begin to realize that you miss and you long for the peace and the harmony that was once present in that relationship. And as a result, the attitudes begin to soften, and pride and arrogance begin to sort of go away. And before too long, there's a moment when finally maybe you talk and apologies are made and accepted and something really wonderful happens. There's reconciliation. Conflict separates, reconciliation restores.”

“Bible says, if we were saved through his death, how much more shall we be saved through his life? And God gives his life to you in Christ because in Christ he has reconciled the world to himself. Lord, thank you today for the beautiful picture of reconciliation. And I pray that today that reconciliation would be much more than a word”

“or cultural division. It was an absolute spiritual division that separated them between God's covenant and those who were outside of the covenant. God said, I'm going to give you a land. And then he said, I'm going to give you law, which he did under Moses. And then he said, I'm going to give you leadership, which he did under David and said, I'm going to establish the throne of David forever. And that of course ultimately meant that Christ would come through”

“for if while we were sinners we were reconciled to God by the death of his son God sent him to die whether you knew it or not whether you cared or not much more now that we are reconciled we shall be saved by his life even the prophet Isaiah”

“In fact, the reality is that conflict separates. Conflict separates. You all know, because it's part of your own biography, that there's a time in life when either to friends or maybe even mates or siblings, someone in life that you know, you have a conflict. I don't know whether it's a conflict over perspectives or conflict over property or”