When a Man Loves a Woman: Love's Target

This teaching grounds love, family, and faith in covenant priorities: God first, then marriage, then legacy. It insists that God’s presence is not conditional—nothing a person does can make God run—so isolation and shame are lies designed to defeat. Faithfulness is defined around two daily practices: seeking God’s face and serving him through obedience. Financial giving is framed as an act of worship and trust, the practical fuel for the church’s mission and a discipline that trains the heart to expect God’s provision.

Turning to relationships, the teaching diagnoses a cultural crisis: marriages and families are weakening because love is being misdirected. Men are created to love deeply and directionally; when that love is rightly aimed—first toward God, then toward a covenant partner—it matures character, prioritizes responsibility, and produces a generational legacy. If that target is missed, men will substitute work, pleasure, money, status, or self, and those substitutes will sap life and purpose rather than satisfying the soul.

Practical warnings are given to both sexes. Women are urged to live in a way that makes them worthy of covenantal commitment—valued as a long-term partner, not treated as an object for immediate gratification. Men are called to reject the narratives that normalize serial intimacy or role-reversal and instead to pursue one covenantal love that shapes purpose and longevity. The comparison of fleeting pleasure to covenant depth is stark: transient encounters may momentarily gratify, but they undermine the intimacy, stability, and legacy that covenant love creates.

The teaching closes with an urgent pastoral call: repentant hearts are invited to receive God’s love, to place Christ at the center, and to allow that love to redirect every other affection. Communion is used to symbolize brokenness healed and relationships restored, anchoring the call to live in a way that produces children, grandchildren, and a faithfulness that outlasts a single lifetime. Ultimately, the conviction is clear: when a man loves rightly—rooted in God, committed to covenant, and aimed at legacy—homes and communities are strengthened and a faithful future becomes possible.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God never leaves nor forsakes The presence of God is unconditional and persistent; distance from God is never the final word. When trials make loneliness feel true, remember that abandonment is a lie that seeks to isolate and defeat. Placing confidence in God’s continual nearness reshapes fear into endurance and invites action rooted in trust rather than hiding from hope. [34:01]
• 2. Every man is built to love Men are not devoid of capacity for deep, exclusive love; rather, their love needs a proper target. When that affection is rightly aimed at God first and then a covenant partner, it matures responsibility, steadies priorities, and diminishes destructive distractions. A man’s full flourishing comes when love is ordered, not scattered. [74:33]
• 3. Misplaced love breeds substitutes If love is not directed toward God and covenant, it will find lesser satisfactions—work, status, sex, money, or self—that promise more than they deliver. Those substitutes create cycles of comparison, emptiness, and fractured intimacy instead of forming stability or legacy. Recognizing and uprooting these substitutions is crucial for real spiritual and relational repair. [83:12]
• 4. Covenant love secures legacy True marital love is more than pleasure; it is the soil for children, grandchildren, and generational faithfulness. Investing in covenant transforms selfish impulses into stewardship, producing heirs and stories that outlast the individual. A life lived for legacy chooses the long game over momentary applause. [96:43]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [33:35] - You Are Not Alone
• [34:01] - God’s Promise of Presence
• [36:14] - Faithfulness: Seek and Serve
• [38:24] - The Ministry of Giving
• [61:27] - New Series Introduction
• [64:38] - Proverbs 30: Love’s Mystery
• [73:53] - Men’s Role and Love’s Target
• [83:12] - When Love Misses the Target
• [93:33] - Covenant Love and Legacy
• [101:00] - Invitation to Receive Christ
• [102:18] - Communion and Healing
• [103:19] - Closing Prayer

Here is a Bible study guide based on the sermon summary and transcript:

Bible Reading

Proverbs 30:18-19 (New Living Translation)
"There are three things that amaze me— no, four things I don’t understand: How an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, and how a man loves a woman."

Malachi 2:15 (ESV)
"Did not he make one? [a] In the case of one who had a remainder of the spirit. And what was the one? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be treacherous to the wife of your youth."

Ephesians 5:25 (ESV)
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,"

Observation questions

1. The sermon highlights Proverbs 30:18-19, which lists four things that amaze the writer. What are the first three things mentioned, and what is the fourth thing that amazes him? [01:05:04]
2. The teaching emphasizes that God's presence is unconditional and persistent. What does the sermon say about the devil's attempts to make us feel alone? [33:35]
3. According to the sermon, what are the two daily practices that define faithfulness? [36:14]
4. The sermon states that men are built to love, but their love needs a proper target. What are the two primary targets mentioned for a man's love? [01:14:13]

Interpretation questions

1. The sermon suggests that when a man's love is not directed toward God and covenant, he will find lesser satisfactions. What are some examples of these "substitutes" mentioned, and why do they ultimately fail to satisfy? [01:08:16]
2. The teaching contrasts fleeting pleasure with covenant depth, noting that transient encounters undermine intimacy, stability, and legacy. How does the sermon illustrate the difference between mere sexual intimacy and covenantal love? [01:12:42]
3. The sermon presents a cultural crisis where marriages and families are weakening due to misdirected love. What does the sermon identify as the root cause of this crisis? [01:03:12]
4. The sermon emphasizes that covenant love secures legacy, transforming selfish impulses into stewardship and producing stories that outlast the individual. How does the sermon connect the concept of legacy to the intentionality of love and commitment? [01:36:43]

Application questions

1. The teaching reminds us that God's presence is unconditional and persistent, and that abandonment is a lie. When you feel isolated or alone, how can you actively remind yourself of God's constant presence and nearness? [34:01]
2. Faithfulness is described as seeking God's face and serving Him through obedience. What is one practical step you can take this week to be more intentional about seeking God's face each day? [36:14]
3. The sermon points out that men are built to love, but their love needs a proper target: God first, then a covenant partner. If you are a man, how can you ensure your love is rightly aimed, and if you are a woman, how can you strive to be worthy of such a covenantal love? [01:14:13]
4. The teaching warns that when love misses its target, men will substitute lesser things like work, pleasure, or money. What are some areas in your life where you might be substituting these lesser things for a deeper connection with God or your covenant partner? [01:22:41]
5. Covenant love is presented as the foundation for legacy, producing children, grandchildren, and faithfulness that outlasts a lifetime. What is one tangible way you can invest in building a legacy of faithfulness within your family or community this week? [01:33:33]
6. The sermon calls for repentant hearts to receive God's love and place Christ at the center, allowing that love to redirect all other affections. What is one affection in your life that needs to be redirected by God's love? [01:41:00]