Marriage: A Divine Covenant Reflecting God's Glory

In today's gathering, we explored the profound and sacred nature of marriage as a covenant relationship designed by God. We delved into the biblical foundation of marriage, emphasizing that it is not merely a contractual agreement or a piece of paper, but a divine assignment intended to reflect God's glory and advance His kingdom. The world often presents a skewed view of marriage, portraying it as a temporary arrangement based on personal happiness and fulfillment. However, God's vision for marriage is counter-cultural, rooted in unity, love, and a commitment to live out His word daily.

We examined the biblical definition of marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman, highlighting that a covenant is a divinely created relational promise and bond. This covenant is significant because it outlines how we are to operate within the marriage, reflecting God's love and grace to the world. The enemy despises marriage because it represents unity, a powerful testimony of God's love and a reflection of His relationship with the church.

We also discussed the roles within marriage as outlined in Ephesians 5, where mutual submission and love are key. Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loved the church, sacrificing and nurturing them, while wives are encouraged to respect and honor their husbands. This mutual respect and love create a foundation that withstands the challenges of life.

Furthermore, we emphasized the importance of building our marriages on the word of God, not on cultural norms or personal desires. By doing so, we ensure that our marriages are not only fulfilling but also serve as a testament to God's eternal love and purpose. We are reminded that marriage is a gift from God, and it is our responsibility to nurture and protect it, always seeking to glorify God through our union.

**Key Takeaways:**

1. **Marriage as a Divine Covenant:** Marriage is a sacred covenant designed by God, not just a contractual agreement. It reflects His glory and advances His kingdom, standing as a testament to His love and unity. This divine assignment requires that God and His word remain at the center for it to thrive. [48:35]

2. **Counter-Cultural Vision:** The world often presents a distorted view of marriage, focusing on personal happiness and fulfillment. However, God's vision for marriage is counter-cultural, emphasizing unity, love, and a commitment to live out His word daily. This perspective challenges us to view marriage through the lens of eternity. [55:50]

3. **Roles and Mutual Submission:** Ephesians 5 outlines the roles within marriage, where mutual submission and love are key. Husbands are called to love their wives sacrificially, while wives are encouraged to respect and honor their husbands. This mutual respect and love create a strong foundation for marriage. [01:06:12]

4. **Building on the Word of God:** To ensure a fulfilling and enduring marriage, it must be built on the word of God, not on cultural norms or personal desires. This foundation allows marriages to serve as a testament to God's eternal love and purpose, impacting the world around us. [01:03:43]

5. **Marriage as a Gift and Responsibility:** Marriage is a beautiful gift from God, and it is our responsibility to nurture and protect it. By speaking life over our marriages and aligning them with God's word, we can experience the fullness of His plan and purpose for our lives. [01:23:31]

**Youtube Chapters:**

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [03:51] - Opening Prayer and Worship
- [39:27] - Honoring Visioneers of the Month
- [46:04] - Introduction to the Sermon
- [48:35] - Defining Marriage and Covenant
- [50:52] - The World's View vs. God's View
- [55:50] - Marriage as a Covenant Relationship
- [57:20] - Biblical Foundation of Marriage
- [59:22] - Unity in Marriage
- [01:00:35] - Reflecting God's Glory
- [01:01:52] - Importance of God's Word in Marriage
- [01:03:43] - Building on a Solid Foundation
- [01:06:12] - Roles and Mutual Submission
- [01:09:01] - Loving and Respecting Each Other
- [01:23:31] - Marriage as a Gift and Responsibility
- [01:29:01] - Closing Prayer and Invitation

**Bible Study Discussion Guide**

**Bible Reading:**
1. Matthew 19:4-6
2. Genesis 2:23-24
3. Ephesians 5:21-33

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**Observation Questions:**

1. According to Matthew 19:4-6, what does Jesus say about the nature of marriage? How does this passage define the union between a man and a woman? [57:20]

2. In Genesis 2:23-24, what is the significance of the phrase "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh"? How does this relate to the concept of unity in marriage? [57:20]

3. Ephesians 5:21-33 outlines specific roles within marriage. What are the instructions given to husbands and wives, and how do they reflect Christ's relationship with the church? [01:06:12]

4. How does the sermon describe the world's view of marriage compared to God's vision? What are some examples given of how culture distorts the concept of marriage? [54:55]

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**Interpretation Questions:**

1. How does the concept of marriage as a divine covenant challenge the modern cultural understanding of marriage as a contract? What implications does this have for how one views their marital commitment? [55:50]

2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that marriage can serve as a testament to God's love and unity? How might this perspective influence the way a couple approaches their relationship? [01:00:35]

3. Ephesians 5 emphasizes mutual submission and love. How might these principles be practically applied in a marriage to reflect the relationship between Christ and the church? [01:06:12]

4. The sermon mentions the importance of building a marriage on the word of God rather than cultural norms. What are some practical steps a couple can take to ensure their marriage is grounded in biblical principles? [01:03:43]

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**Application Questions:**

1. Reflect on your own view of marriage. How has it been influenced by cultural norms, and what steps can you take to align it more closely with the biblical concept of a covenant? [50:52]

2. Consider the roles outlined in Ephesians 5. How can you actively practice mutual submission and love in your marriage or future marriage? What challenges might you face, and how can you overcome them? [01:06:12]

3. The sermon emphasizes the importance of speaking life over your marriage. What are some specific ways you can speak positively and encourage your spouse this week? [01:15:34]

4. How can you ensure that God's word remains at the center of your marriage? Identify one specific action you can take this week to incorporate scripture into your relationship. [01:01:52]

5. The sermon suggests that marriage is a gift and responsibility. How can you nurture and protect this gift in your daily life? What changes might you need to make to honor this responsibility? [01:23:31]

6. Reflect on the idea of marriage as a reflection of God's relationship with the church. How can this perspective change the way you approach conflicts or challenges in your marriage? [01:00:35]

7. If you are single, how can you prepare yourself for a future marriage that aligns with God's vision? What qualities or habits can you cultivate now to support a future covenant relationship? [01:20:06]

Day 1: Marriage as a Divine Covenant
Marriage is a sacred covenant designed by God, not just a contractual agreement. It reflects His glory and advances His kingdom, standing as a testament to His love and unity. This divine assignment requires that God and His word remain at the center for it to thrive. In a world that often reduces marriage to a mere legal contract, it is crucial to remember that marriage is a holy covenant established by God. This covenant is not just about two people coming together but about reflecting God's love and unity to the world. It is a divine assignment that requires both partners to keep God and His word at the center of their relationship. By doing so, they can truly reflect His glory and advance His kingdom. The enemy despises marriage because it represents unity and a powerful testimony of God's love. Therefore, it is essential to nurture and protect this sacred bond, always seeking to glorify God through the union. [48:35]

"For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called." (Isaiah 54:5, ESV)

Reflection: How can you actively keep God at the center of your marriage or future marriage, ensuring it reflects His glory and advances His kingdom?


Day 2: Counter-Cultural Vision
The world often presents a distorted view of marriage, focusing on personal happiness and fulfillment. However, God's vision for marriage is counter-cultural, emphasizing unity, love, and a commitment to live out His word daily. This perspective challenges us to view marriage through the lens of eternity. In today's society, marriage is often portrayed as a temporary arrangement based on personal happiness and fulfillment. However, God's vision for marriage is radically different. It is a counter-cultural perspective that emphasizes unity, love, and a commitment to live out His word daily. This vision challenges us to view marriage not just as a means to personal satisfaction but as a lifelong covenant that reflects God's eternal love and purpose. By embracing this perspective, we can build marriages that withstand the challenges of life and serve as a testament to God's love. [55:50]

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you transform your view of marriage to align more closely with God's counter-cultural vision, focusing on unity and love rather than personal fulfillment?


Day 3: Roles and Mutual Submission
Ephesians 5 outlines the roles within marriage, where mutual submission and love are key. Husbands are called to love their wives sacrificially, while wives are encouraged to respect and honor their husbands. This mutual respect and love create a strong foundation for marriage. The biblical model of marriage, as outlined in Ephesians 5, emphasizes the importance of mutual submission and love. Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loved the church, sacrificing and nurturing them. Wives, in turn, are encouraged to respect and honor their husbands. This mutual respect and love create a strong foundation that can withstand the challenges of life. By embracing these roles, couples can build marriages that reflect God's love and grace to the world. It is a call to live out God's word daily, ensuring that the marriage serves as a powerful testimony of His love. [01:06:12]

"Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior." (Ephesians 5:21-23, ESV)

Reflection: How can you practice mutual submission and love in your marriage or future marriage, ensuring that it reflects the biblical model outlined in Ephesians 5?


Day 4: Building on the Word of God
To ensure a fulfilling and enduring marriage, it must be built on the word of God, not on cultural norms or personal desires. This foundation allows marriages to serve as a testament to God's eternal love and purpose, impacting the world around us. A marriage built on the word of God is one that can withstand the storms of life. It is not swayed by cultural norms or personal desires but is rooted in the eternal truths of Scripture. By building on this solid foundation, couples can ensure that their marriages are not only fulfilling but also serve as a testament to God's eternal love and purpose. This foundation impacts not only the couple but also the world around them, as their marriage becomes a powerful testimony of God's love and grace. It is a call to live out God's word daily, ensuring that the marriage reflects His glory. [01:03:43]

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matthew 7:24, ESV)

Reflection: What steps can you take to ensure that your marriage or future marriage is built on the word of God, rather than cultural norms or personal desires?


Day 5: Marriage as a Gift and Responsibility
Marriage is a beautiful gift from God, and it is our responsibility to nurture and protect it. By speaking life over our marriages and aligning them with God's word, we can experience the fullness of His plan and purpose for our lives. Marriage is not just a legal contract or a social arrangement; it is a beautiful gift from God. It is a sacred responsibility to nurture and protect this gift, ensuring that it aligns with God's word. By speaking life over our marriages and seeking to glorify God through our union, we can experience the fullness of His plan and purpose for our lives. This requires intentionality and commitment, as we strive to reflect God's love and grace to the world. It is a call to live out God's word daily, ensuring that our marriages serve as a powerful testimony of His love. [01:23:31]

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24, ESV)

Reflection: How can you actively nurture and protect your marriage or future marriage, ensuring that it aligns with God's word and reflects His love and grace to the world?

With this life of mine. Hey, won't stop and we won't go. Can't quit till we let y'all know. Hey, this love and peace I found, it never ends and it won't come down. Hey, I had a great idea. A world with no hate and no fear. All grace, love, and all cheers. Families, hugs, and no tears.

Hey, let me just bask for a minute. Brand new with no windows tinted. Party in the street till the sun come get us. And tell the whole crew they can all come with us. And we ain't gotta lock the doors. And we don't need cops, of course. And we don't care about your skin. We just want an all-out win.

They tell me it's illogical, but anything is possible. If God be for us, we can overcome all obstacles. They say love covers a multitude of sins. So I'm here to put some love in the wind. Tell a friend.

I woke up, well, good morning, good morning, good morning. Let me listen. How are we doing this morning? Good, good, good, good. I know some of us are making our way in. I am excited for service this morning. This Sunday, we have Ms. Tara that's going to be leading us in worship. She is family. You guys know her. I'm excited to get started.

If this is your first time here, I want to say good morning. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for choosing Limitless Church to be a part of this morning. I know that everyone is excited. We got an extra hour of sleep this morning, so we are excited and ready to worship.

If this is your first time, do me a favor. There's a QR code on a seat pocket in front of you. You will see. It is one of my favorite things. Simply open your phone, and we have a visitor's card there. We would love for you to fill that card out. Or if you're not tech-savvy, and you say, "Hey, I'm not that guy," please come and meet me outside at our connection table. After service, I will be out there, and I would love to find out how you found out about our church. I would love to talk with you and hear your story.

If you could do me a favor, I'm excited for what God is going to do this morning. I would challenge you to set your level of expectation higher, and let's begin to press in and see what God has for us this morning. Would you stand? Would you stand for me? Let's stand. Let's worship together as a family.

Now, you're going to see some people with their hands lifted. You're going to see some people jumping. You're going to see some people excited. Don't worry. That's how we get down here at Limitless.

Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. We declare that this is the day that you have made, and we make a conscious decision to rejoice and to be glad. You are worthy to be praised, God. We take this opportunity to lay aside the distractions. We are present here in this moment to honor, to worship, and to glorify your name. God, thank you for allowing us to be here. We declare that this is your house. Have your way. You are worthy to be praised. We love you. We honor you. We praise you. In Jesus' name, we pray.

Hey, new Limitless family, I want to have the opportunity to have lunch with you. That's right. If you've been here within the past three months and you said, "Hey, I would love to get to know more about this church. I would love to know more about the vision, the mission, and why they do the things that they do and what is coming up," and possibly make a decision to be a part of the church in a bigger way, then this is for you.

It is called the Limitless Lunch. This is where you'll have an opportunity to meet with the pastors, our staff, the leaders here, and hear all about what Limitless Church is all about. We would love the opportunity. Please sign up at the QR code or in the seat pocket in front of you or anywhere around or at the connection table. Come and have lunch with us.

Hey, Limitless, I have a great opportunity that I wanted to bring to you. We are partnering with the YOLO Food Bank on November 12th through the 15th. Limitless Church is a great opportunity to be a part of the church. Limitless Loves Woodland is the outreach arm of Limitless Church, and we have an opportunity on the 12th, the 13th, the 14th, and the 15th to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Whether it's packing groceries, making holiday packages, or handing out food, we want to invite you to be a part of this. So please do me a favor, sign up at the connection table. We have slots that are available, and we would love for you to join us, showing the city of Woodland that Limitless Loves Woodland.

Good morning. Good morning, everybody. All right. So I have two things. But before I do those two things, I want to acknowledge our visioneers of the month. So we have two visioneers this month. The first one is Miss Julie Medina. Is she here? Is she hiding? Miss Julie, come on.

This first service, Miss Julie. You're supposed to be up here already. Dad, grab me my iPad while we're waiting on Miss Julie. It's right here on the floor in my Bible, please, would you? Come on, Miss Julie. Let's make some noise. Miss Julie is amazing. We honored Miss Julie first service. We're going to honor you again.

Miss Julie is amazing. We can make some noise for her. Miss Julie serves in our experience team, and she has been here. So Limitless will be turning four in April. I believe Miss Julie has been here all four of those years, right, Miss Julie? Yes, Miss Julie's been here from the beginning. And she has served faithfully, faithfully and diligently everywhere she's asked.

She's been an usher. She's been in our coffee team. She's been a greeter. She has been everywhere. And the thing about that makes Miss Julie special is Miss Julie is just a, let me tell you something, we call her Mama Julie because when we see Mama Julie, it is going to be a smile on her face. She is going to be excited. She is going to be happy to serve.

I get the pleasure of seeing Miss Julie every single day. Miss Julie picks up her kid, her grandchild, excuse me, from the same school. Every morning when I drop off my kids, Miss Julie's right there, and the boys jump out the car, and they run and say, "Mama Julie!" And then less than eight hours later, as she's picking them up, the kids run out again, "Mama Julie!"

But she's been a blessing to us, just serving. She has a gift of giving. She loves to give, and she loves to sow in people, and she has just been a blessing to the life of this church. And on behalf of my wife and I, you have been a blessing as well. Thank you. We love you, and we want to honor you this month, and so we wanted to say thank you. I appreciate you.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. So please, if you see her, show her some love. And then second, he had to go home, but our Visionaire of the Month is Felix Cano. Yeah, he serves in our setup team. Thanks, Dad. He serves in our setup team, and the thing that I love about Felix is Felix is... He is willing to come, and he is willing to be here to get the things done, no matter how much, no matter how often, he is here.

And what I love is, like, if he's like, he's like, "Hey, Pastor, do you want it like this? Do you want it like that?" And I'm like, "Yes, I appreciate the diligence that he takes." And the reason that you don't see the things that you don't see is because he's here. So the reason that y'all came in this morning and those gates were open and you didn't run into a closed gate is because Felix was here.

The reason the trash cans... The reason the trash cans are where they're supposed to be is because he is here. When the chairs are where they need to be and things need to get moved, him and along with his team, they are here and they're serving. And so we appreciate them and we honor them. And so we wanted to make sure that we honored him.

And we honored both of them at first service and gave them a token. And so we wanted to make sure that we had the opportunity to do that here. So when you see Miss Julie and when you see Felix, just say thank you. Just say thank you. Amen?

All right. We got two things. I got two things. And so the first of my two things I want to talk about is our outreach that is happening. We have an outreach happening November 12th through the 16th. Limitless Loves Woodland is a part of Limitless Church and it is our outreach arm.

And so from the 12th through the 16th, we are going to be in different places partnering with the YOLO Food Bank to serve them. We have a couple of people that we need for Thursday the 15th. So if you are available on Thursday the 15th, please sign up. I will be out there serving. And if you have already signed up, this is very important. I need you to go to the connection table to grab your waiver.

We want to make sure it is important to them that you sign a waiver. So we want to make sure that you get that. So please, please, please, Thursday the 15th, we have people. We need people. And if you've already signed up, please come and sign a waiver.

The second thing that I have for you, let's put that up, is our Limitless Lunch. All right. So Limitless Lunch is going to be on Sunday, November the 10th. Now, what is Limitless Lunch? If you are new to this church, if you have not had a chance to sit down and have lunch with us and you want to hear about the vision of this church, what God has called us to do, the mission of this church, hear our story about how we got started, and hear about all the things that are going on at this church, we would love for you to have lunch with us.

And this is specifically for those of you who've made Limitless Church your home within the past three months. We want you to sit down and have lunch with us, please. So that is November the 10th. You can sign up outside in the lobby or at the QR code.

And lastly, we have baptisms coming up in two weeks. So if you have not taken this next step in your faith, what is baptism? Baptism is the act of a public declaration of the inward confirmation that you have made in your relationship with Jesus. So when you came and said, "Hey, you know what, I want Jesus Christ to be Lord of my life," and you're ready to take the next step, that next step is baptism.

And so we'll be celebrating that in about two weeks. We would love for you to participate. We encourage you, invite your family, invite your friends to celebrate with you because we want the opportunity to celebrate that as well. Amen?

Amen. All right. I got two Bibles. I'm just going to keep this one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Both clips today. All right. All right. Let's dive into this word.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to hear from you today, God. You are worthy to be praised. We acknowledge your presence in this place, God. We honor you in this place, God. We set aside this moment to hear from you. God, open our ears so that we can hear what you have to say and open our hearts that we would be able to receive the words that you are saying.

God, we need to hear from you. Nothing else matters but this. We need to hear from you. It is only you that can speak to each and every one of us individually and know exactly what we need to hear and yet speak to us all at the same time. God, your word is already anointed. We thank you for what you will speak into the hearts of your people today. Amen.

Amen. All right. So we have been in a series called Home Improvement. And if you haven't been here or maybe this is your first time, I would encourage you, please, wherever you get your podcast from or our Facebook, Limitless Life TV, you can go and watch the past sermons as it pertains to this series, Home Improvement.

We're looking at all the different areas of our life and assessing our foundation. Okay. So the first week, we talked about making sure that our foundation is solid. Week two, we talked about the importance of community and relationship. We said that God has an importance that he has placed on community and relationship.

Week three, we looked at how important it is to parent according to the word of God. What does it mean that our parenting lines up not with culture, but with the word of God? And today I want to close out our series talking about the covenant of marriage. We're talking about the covenant of marriage and how important it is that every area of our marriage is a covenant of marriage.

And we're talking about the covenant of marriage. Every area of our marriage is based solely on the word of God. Every area of our marriage is based solely on the word of God. Let's define what marriage is and let's define what a covenant is. I want to be very clear about this so that there is no ambiguity and that we know as we go into this what we're talking about.

All right. Let's define marriage. Marriage is defined as a relationship established through covenant between a man and a woman. Okay. Marriage is a relationship that has been established through covenant between a man and a woman.

Next question would be then what is a covenant? I'm glad you asked. I got the answer for you. A covenant is a divinely created relational promise and bond that outlines how one another will operate. Okay. A divinely created relational promise and bond.

Okay. Relational promise and bond that outlines how one another will operate. God is big on covenants. We look all throughout the Old Testament and even in the New Testament. He talks about covenant. He talks about covenant. He talks about covenant. He talks about covenants. It's bigger than a promise. This is a big deal.

Okay. A covenant is a big deal. And in the covenant, we see God outlining how he will operate in this promise or bond that he has made. Okay. Gives very specific instructions. When he made a covenant with Abraham, he gave specific instructions. When he made a covenant with the children of Israel, he gave specific instructions.

And this is no different. Marriage is a covenant. So when you look at your marriage, when you look at your spouse, if you're not married and you're here today, even how you look at your view of marriage, the question is, what is it based on? What is that based on?

If you're not married, you're looking to be married. What things have culminated in your marriage? What things have culminated in your marriage? What things have made your view of what marriage is or it isn't? And whether you are married or unmarried, where your view came from matters.

And let me tell you why. It matters because the world hates marriage. Yes. The world hates marriage. Satan hates marriage. Hates it. So being that the world hates marriage and Satan hates marriage, if your view of marriage is influenced by anything other than the word of God or the examples of marriages that are rooted in the word of God, then your view of marriage is skewed and founded on a foundation that was created to fail.

Our culture has no regard for marriage. It has no respect for marriage and it has no honor for marriage. So if you get it from the world, it's skewed. I remember when I was younger, I would watch television and I had to watch whatever my mother was watching. So, you know, Days of Our Lives, As the World Turns, General Hospital, Young and the Restless, Oprah.

One of the things I watched was Entertainment Tonight. The young people are like, "What are these things? Are these YouTube shows?" No. One of the things I watched was Entertainment Tonight. And I remember when Entertainment Tonight would come on because I would feel like, "Oh, okay, I can relate. I can find out what's going on."

Entertainment Tonight, I remember when I was younger, they would come and they would announce whenever a star or someone would get divorced. And I remember we would be done when they would say that somebody that we watched or somebody that we looked at as a star got divorced. And we were like, "They look so good together. They were just so happy."

Here's what we were like, "I hope they get back together. This can't be it, right?" That's what we would say. We would be invested in the success of their marriage and we would be distraught when they got divorced. And then we would see it again. It's another one.

Another one would get divorced and we would be, you know, I just felt like the last couple of times we saw her, she was unhappy. Yeah, like when you saw her on a red carpet, you felt like, anyway. I just feel like the last couple of times we saw her, she was unhappy.

And then we would say, "You know what, I just hope they get back together." And then what would happen is we would continue to be told of these marriages. Marriages that didn't make it. And we will continue to be told until the point where we no longer, next time it comes up, we're like, "I knew they wasn't going to make it. I knew that they wasn't going to make it. I knew it was false."

Why? Because they keep showing us, because the world is doing everything they can to show us that marriages don't work. That marriages are not important. And then what did they do? They say, "You know what, we're going to come up with a television show. And what we're going to do is, we're going to put people together. We're going to get about seven or eight of them. And we're going to have one person talk to them for an hour and spend some time with them for a little bit about an hour for about eight weeks. And at the end, they get to decide if they want to marry that person or not."

And we watched it. We was on the edge of our seat. Who is he going to give the flower to? Who is it? Who is she going to give the rose to? Which one is it? And then at the end, they would have this huge wedding and a beautiful dress and a beautiful gown. And then maybe two weeks later after that, they would be divorced.

And we would be like, "Well, yeah, they only spent an hour together for eight weeks. And then they got married. I don't think that that would be enough." And they keep showing us marriage doesn't work. We'll even make a show out of it and make a whole game show out of it to show you that marriage doesn't work.

And then at the end, they would have a wedding. We'll even make a show out of it and make a whole game show out of it to show you how non-important it is. Because the world hates marriage. Marriage is not just a contractual agreement. It is not just a piece of paper. Marriage is a covenant relationship designed by God intended to reflect his glory and advance his kingdom.

Marriage is a covenant relationship designed by God intended to reflect his glory and advance his kingdom. That is what marriage is. Marriage was God's idea. He is the originator of marriage. And God's vision for marriage is profound. It is sacred. And it is counter-cultural.

The reason that the world has a problem with marriage is because it doesn't align with what they think and how they feel. And it doesn't let them do what they want to do and rules. No, no, no, no. Marriage is counter-cultural. And although culture has redefined what marriage is, the Bible has not. The Bible has not.

Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter 19. Let's go. Let's go to verses 4. Matthew 19 verse 4. He replied, "Have you never read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?" We already counter-cultural right there.

And said, "For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined inseparably to his wife, and the two shall become one." So they are no longer two, but one. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together let no one separate.

Counter culture. Two becoming one. "No, I'm my own person and I do what I want to do." Okay, I'm going to keep going if I get in trouble. Genesis chapter two. Genesis chapter two, verses 23 through 24.

Then Adam said, "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and that they shall become one flesh."

One flesh, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. What God has joined together, let no one separate it. This is why the enemy hates marriage. This is why the enemy hates marriage. This is why they will do anything and the enemy will do anything to cheapen marriage, to belittle marriage, to destroy marriage.

Why? Because marriage is an example of unity. Marriage is an example of unity. If you were here last week, we did. We dug deep into unity, right? Unity. We closed John 17, 23.

Then the world will know. Look at that. He says through the unity, Jesus is praying. He says, "Then the world will know that you sent me. Then the world will know that you love them as much as you love me." He says, through unity, the world will know Jesus.

Through unity, the world will know that they have a God that loves them just like he loves Jesus. This is why the world hates marriage. This is why the enemy hates marriage, because it represents unity and it represents an opportunity for then the world will know.

See, marriage just isn't about the people who are involved. No, marriage is about this opportunity to show. To show the world the love of God and the grace of God and to show them what unity looks like. Somebody can see your marriage and come to Jesus.

I know, I know, I know, I know. You thought it was about being happy. You thought it was about a soulmate. You thought it was about a picket fence and having kids and holding hands and somebody to lay in the bed when it's cold outside. No. No.

It's not just about that. Contrary to what the world has fed us, marriage isn't about us. If you can't say amen, say ouch. Okay? It is about reflecting God's glory and God's love to the world. That's what marriage is about.

It is a divine assignment that God and his word have to remain at the center in order for it to work. I did not like your amen. So I'm going to say that again. Marriage is a divine assignment that God and his word have to remain at the center of in order for it to work.

Thank you. This doesn't work without this. It's real simple. This does not work without this. If you try to separate them, this will fail because this is going to remain the same. They go together hand in hand and it has to remain at the center.

It will not be second place. It will not be third place. You cannot put it in a corner just because you have it in your house in a bookshelf just because you have it on a pretty table in your room. That does not count. If this is not at the center.

If this is not at the center of your marriage and the way that you view your marriage, the way that you behave in your marriage, the way that you talk about your marriage, the way that you think about your marriage, then your marriage will fail. Very simple. Don't get mad at me. That's what the word says.

This has to remain at the center of your marriage. It is a divine assignment. But God and his word have to remain at the center of it for it to work. The world says that marriage is just a sheet of paper. God says that it's a covenant relationship.

The world says marriage is to make you happy and to make you whole. God says happiness is circumstantial and marriage is to make you more like Christ. The world says that when you fall out of love, just get a divorce.

But God shows us that love is not a feeling. It's not a feeling to be chased, but a commitment to be lived out every single day. So when we look at our view of marriage, who have we been listening to? What foundation have we been building our marriage on?

Have we been building it based on a foundation, based on the word of God, or have we been building a foundation based off of our culture, based off of our traditions, and based off of the world? When you look at it, and you've been building this, and you've been walking in this, and you've been operating in it, based on what? Based on what?

Based on what? Ephesians chapter five, verse 21. Ephesians chapter five, verse 21. There we go. And let's start. Yeah. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. We already, right there. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it right now.

Said the S word, right? Here we go. We ready? Submit to one another. Submit to one another. That means two people mutually submitting. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Okay? He says that we are to submit to one another, then he's going to outline what that looks like. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husband. I didn't even know this was a thing until I read this.

Submit to your own husband, not submit to, anyway. Submit yourselves to your own husband. Here we go. As you do to the Lord. Submit yourself to your own husband as you do to the Lord.

So, pastor, if you're saying, are you saying that if I have a problem submitting to my husband, that I should probably see if I have a problem submitting to the Lord? No, no, I am not saying that. The word is saying that, but I am not saying that.

This is what the word of God said. I don't want you coming to me because I'm going to point you back to the book. Submit yourselves to your own husband as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, his body of which he is savior.

Now, as the church submits to Christ, wives should also submit to their husbands in everything. Here we go. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. He sacrificed his life. He laid his will down. He laid what he wanted down. He laid his life down for the church.

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water, through the word. And present her to himself as the radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

In this same way, husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church. Husbands, excuse me. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.

Let me tell you something. I love me some me. I ain't going to hold you. I ain't going to hold you. Men, we love our bodies. Whether it's feeding them or going to the gym, we love our bodies.

We're going to make sure that we look nice, smell nice, that our hair is done, that our shoes, well, most of us, that we shower and that we smell good and that we're going to make sure we're right. Why? Because we love ourselves.

We're hungry, we're going to feed ourselves. We're tired, we're going to go to sleep. We love ourselves. He says that we are to love our wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed, here we go, and care for their body just as Christ does the church. For we are members of this body.

For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery. I read that. I was like, see, you get it. You get it.

He says, but I am talking about Christ and the church, not you guys. Christ and the church is a profound mystery. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

In the beginning of the scripture, he speaks once to the wife. He speaks to the man four times. Well, most of that is because we need, you got to keep telling, we need repetition.

But he's telling and he's giving. Why? Because we are the head as men. We are the responsible party as men. We are the leaders as men. So be reminded as a leader, how you are to operate, to love your wife as Christ loved the church, to honor your wife and love your wife as your own body.

I'm going to read verse 33 in the amplified. It says, "Each man among you without exception is to love his wife as his very own self with behavior worthy of respect and esteem."

With behavior worthy of respect and esteem. How do I treat my wife? With behavior worthy of respect and esteem. What if I feel like she ain't treating me right? With behavior worthy of respect and esteem.

What if I feel like she ain't doing what she's supposed to be doing? With behavior worthy of respect and esteem. There is no caveat. With behavior worthy of respect and esteem, always seeking the best for her with an attitude of loving kindness.

And the wife must see to it that she respects and delights in her husband, that she notices him and prefers him and treats him with loving concern, treasuring him, honoring him, and holding him dear.

Here's the thing. Here's the thing because we like to say, "Well, if I'm not getting it, then I'm not doing it." If I feel like she's not fulfilling her marital duty, if I feel like he's not doing what he's supposed to do, then I'm not doing my part.

That's not what it said. Another scripture said, "Don't add or take away from the word." That's not what it says. Yes, he gives each one of us an outline of how we are to respond to one another.

And here's the thing, man. Here's the thing. When this isn't working, it is important that you remember that there's still another connection. I've said this before. I said this last time we talked about marriage. It's a triangle.

Okay? It is a triangle. There is the husband on one side, the wife on the other side, and God. It is a three-way connection. So if this connection right here ain't working, I'm going out of the way. I'm going up. I'm going to talk to the Lord.

And here's the thing. I'm not going to talk to the Lord about her. "Yeah, Lord, you see it. Fix it. You're going to have to fix it, Jesus. You better wake her up or something. Lord, you need to talk to her. Get your girl, Lord."

You might want to go don't go like that. Why? Because that's his child, first of all. So you ain't finna talk about his daughter any kind of way because you don't want to talk about his daughter any kind of way.

You don't want to be talking to him. Lord, he's like, "You better keep your mouth off my child. That's my daughter." You might want to clear that up. You don't want to hear that. That's humbling. That's humbling. Don't do that.

So then how am I going to go? First of all, let me reassure you that the Lord understands and feels your frustration and your emotions, right? But they are emotions, okay? So the Lord understands that.

So you don't need to rehash that over. Now you have to begin speaking life over your marriage. You have to begin speaking life over your spouse. Here you go. You have to begin speaking things that be not as though they were.

"Father, I thank you. I thank you for my spouse. I thank you that he is whole. I thank you that he is the leader of this house. I thank you that he is strong. I thank you that he is confident. God, I thank you that you've called him. I thank you that he is anointed. I thank you that he is anointed to lead. Thank you that he is a provider, that he is able to bring provision for everything that we..."

I'm beginning to, y'all better take notes. "God, I thank you for my wife. God, I thank you that she is whole in every area. God, I thank you that she is walking in the calling that you've had her call. God, I thank you that she is, she walks in joy. God, I thank you for the grace on her life. God, I thank you for..."

Here we go. "I thank you that you have given me the ability to communicate in a way in what, oh, I bet you won't. I bet you won't. I bet you won't."

"I thank you, God, that you will allow me to communicate in a way that comes across in a manner of peace. I thank you that you allow me to identify my emotions so that I might be able to respond with love."

Y'all better watch this back. "God, I thank you. I'm speaking life over my marriage. I'm speaking life over me. I'm speaking life over my spouse because as I continue to speak it, as I continue to pray it, then I will be able to see it."

That's how that works because you've been trying to be mean for the longest and trying to get, yeah, thank you, baby. Fix it for me. Get good results. You ain't getting no good results with that attitude.

You ain't getting no good results with just being mean and vindictive and, and, and, and no, it's not going to happen. We ought to walk in grace. We ought to walk in peace. We ought to be peacemakers. Hallelujah.

We ought to. Ruben told me to say it again. We ought to be peacemakers. We're to be peacemakers. And the Lord will give you and guide you as you pray to him. He will show you and tell you what you need to do.

Oh, man. Okay. So we was having a not-so-nice moment. It's very brief. And I'm like, "What is going on? What, woman?" I didn't say that. I didn't say that, though. I didn't say that.

I've been married 11 years. You ain't finna get me like that. I can say it here, just not anyway. I was like, "What's going on?" And I'm getting frustrated because I'm like, you know, you start checking. Like, "What is that? I do, right?"

And I'm never forgetting. I've said this before. This is nothing new. But I said, I said, "I was just wondering what's going on." And the Holy, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me and say, "Ask her, is she struggling? Is she feeling depressed?"

A couple of things here. As African-Americans, we don't really talk about depression. Okay? That's not a word we bring up. We don't really talk about that. That's not a thing. We strong. So we don't really be talking about that, number one.

Number two, I don't know how this is going to turn out once I say it out my mouth. Because once I say it, it's over. Once it's out, you're done for. So I'm like, I got to make sure it's Jesus. Because if not, this is going to elevate to a whole nother level of, right? Right.

So, but I felt that it was, and I wouldn't say that. So I felt like it was the Holy Spirit asking me to ask her. And we came home, parked in the park. I'll never forget this. Parked in the parking lot, put the car in park. I looked at her. I said, "Baby, do you think you're dealing with some depression?"

And she begins to bawl crying. And she was trying to identify within herself, trying to identify what was happening. And after that, we prayed. We talked. We sought some counseling. We did some, all of the things. Things that needed to be done. And she came out of that moment.

But if I would have just been mad because she mad. If I would have just been upset because she upset. Or if I just would have been being vindictive and being angry or being upset. And it would have, it could have destroyed our marriage.

But taking the time to recognize where I'm at. Taking the time to recognize what's going on. Is it a stressful environment? Do I need to just take a nap? Am I hungry? These are basic things. Recognize what's happening.

Here we go. Do I feel like I'm being attacked right now? Do I feel an emotionally sensitive place that I haven't dealt with? That maybe they weren't attacking me, but I feel this way.

Because I'm dealing with my own insecurities. And now I want to, it's identifying these things. Instead of just looking at the other person. No, I'm going to speak life over my marriage. I'm going to speak peace over my marriage. I'm going to be a peacemaker. I'm going to walk in love. I'm going to lay down my life. Lay down my wants. And honor God.

And here's the thing. Like the devil said, when you do that, your spouse has no. Yes. Admit. Yes. What you need, baby? You want some dinner? You want some? What you want? Huh? You hungry? I already made. I already made dinner. What you need? Huh?

Oh, you need your foot rub? Just put your feet right there. Because we have no problem reciprocating when it's already there. It's already. I got to go.

All right. So when we look at our marriage. When we look at our thoughts. When we look at the concept of a future marriage, for those of us who are single, does it look like what Ephesians is saying? Does it look like this?

And you can say, "Well, that was then and that's old school and nobody lives like that anymore." But here's the thing. The word of God. God says he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has not changed. He has not changed.

His idea for marriage. His idea for marriage has not changed. Here's another thing. We have not changed. We have not changed. We are the same then as we are now. We are a sinful people who live in a sinful world.

And we are easily distracted and pulled aside away from the will of God and from God's plan for our life. We have not changed. Whether it's 2024 or 20 AD. And here's another thing.

God's ability to empower us and walk with us to see the marriage that he desires for us hasn't changed either. His ability to walk with us and say, "Son, let me help you. Daughter, let me help you. Let me show you. Let me talk to you. Let me show you in the word. Let me guide you."

His ability to do that has not changed. He is the originator of marriage. He is the originator of marriage. He is the originator of marriage. He is the originator of marriage.

So it makes sense that if you got an issue, you will bring it to the originator. It makes sense. You get to heaven. And God says, "Hey, son. Hey, daughter, how you doing? So glad that we're finally together. You know, I had this gift that I gave you.

And I mean, I knew you were going to love this gift. I knew you were going to love it. But I created it before you were even born. I was making it. I was molding it. I was adjusting it. I made sure it had this. It had that. I made sure it had the bells and all this, that.

Oh, man. I could not wait to give you this gift. And this was one of the most amazing gifts that I ever created. And I gave it to you, son, daughter. What did you do with the gift that I gave you?

Some of y'all be like, "What gift? What gift are you talking about? Lord, what gift are you talking about?" And he would say, "The spouse that I gave you, the husband that I gave you, the wife that I gave you."

And some of us would say, "Well, God, I think that if you gave me, it didn't work. You need to look back at that." It's funny, but then he will respond to you. "Well, if it didn't work, then why didn't you bring it back to me? Then why didn't you talk to me about it if it didn't work? Since I gave it to you. It's my gift. Why didn't you bring it to me?"

Marriage is beautiful. It is a beautiful gift that has been given to us by God. Since it was given to us by God, since it was his plan and he originated, he has set ramifications on how we should walk in it and how we should do it.

He has given it to us for a purpose. Regardless of what the world thinks. The world says marriage is bigger than a sheet of paper. It is bigger than our likes. It is bigger than our wants. It is bigger than just our desires being fulfilled.

We have to view marriage with an eternal perspective. The way we honor marriage, the way we honor our spouse has eternal implications. When we realize that, and we understand that the way we move in our marriage change, we have to understand that it's not just about what's happening right now, but it's about what's going to happen in eternity.

What's going to happen in eternity? 2 Corinthians 4 says, "Look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4, 18.

We have to see marriage through the lens of eternity. I often think, I desire for people to walk in the fullness of what God has called them to do. And my job as a husband is to make sure that my wife walks in the fullness of God for what she's called her to do.

So the Lord has given me a gift to see it. So guess what? I'm going to support it. I'm going to encourage it. I'm going to pray over it. I'm also going to protect it because I realize that the enemy desires to steal it. That is our calling as husbands.

And as wives, my wife encourages me. When I'm feeling at my lowest, she is the one who is hearing from the Lord. Let me tell you something. Ain't nothing better. I got to get out of here. Ain't nothing better than when your wife is praying over you.

You could be mad as you want to be. You could be upset, angry. You can feel anything. Once that hand hit that bat. "Father in the name." It's over. It's over. We done.

Why? Because there is an anointing on her life specifically for you. So encourage. Encourage you to lift you up, to speak into your life. Nobody can do that but your spouse. Y'all better pray over each other. Y'all might be a little happier if y'all.

Let me get out of here. I got to get out of here. Whether you've been married for four years or 40 years, it's never too late to begin rebuilding the foundation of your marriage on the word of God. Don't matter.

Even if you're engaged or you just like it. It's never too late to begin building the foundation of how you see marriage on the word of God. If today you recognize and this word hits you right in between your eyes, you say, "Pastor, I recognize that there is an area of my marriage that has not been built on the word of God."

Maybe it was built on tradition. Maybe it was built on culture or on the word, but not the word of God. Then the first thing we do, we identify the areas of our life. Excuse me. Identify the areas of our marriage that don't align with the word and the will.

We identify those things. We recognize those things. We see those things and we remove them. Remove those actions, those thoughts, and those mindsets that are anti-Christ and that are destroying your marriage.

And remove them and replace them with mindsets and actions that edify and build up your marriage. Remove and replace with things that align with the word of God. What we said this whole series. New soil. New seed. New foundation.

New soil, new seed, new foundation. Here's the thing. Building a foundation isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. It takes a while. It takes persistence. It takes grace. It takes love. It takes time.

Each day is a new opportunity to build a new foundation or to build on a new foundation so that you could have the marriage that God intended for you to have. My prayer today is that we would allow God's word to be the foundation of our marriage, trusting in his grace to restore and renew.

Glorify God with our unions. Reflect his love. Then the world will know. Then the world will know.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for speaking to us today. Thank you for speaking to us in regards to our marriages and how we should respond, how we are to honor our marriages, honor one another, and honor the covenant that is marriage.

God, today, for those of us who identify that we need a new foundation, that we need to remove and reassess and replace, God, would you give us the strength to do what needs to be done? Would you empower us to love like you've called us to love, to persevere like you've called us to persevere, to walk how you've called us to walk?

Would you give us the strength and honor to do just that? God, I thank you. I love you. Thank you for victory in marriages. I speak to every marriage in this room and those are online, victory in marriages in Jesus' name.

I speak to those who are engaged and even those who are dating, God. I thank you that even that portion of their courtship will be built on the foundation of the word of God. We honor you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Did y'all get some out of that today? Hallelujah. I'm going to have our offering team come forward at this time. If you're new today, there are three ways that you can give.

We have our QR code that will be on the screen. The buckets will come past. If you're watching online, you can text the word GIVE to 833-879-0161 or you can give at limitlesswoodland.com.

As always, I am grateful to come up here and tell you the goodness of God and what God has done in the areas of our giving. And this week is no different. Yesterday, I had the distinct opportunity to be able to speak to one of our missionaries.

And he began to tell me about how salvations were breaking out is the best way that I can put it around him. And how he, there were people, excuse me, there were athletes on college campuses who initially said that they had no interest in talking about Jesus.

And within a week or two, they were saying the prayer of salvation. Athletes on college campuses accepting Jesus. This is why supporting our missionaries like DCF and AIA and these things matters.

We have a saying here that says, "He gives seed to the sower." He gives seed to the sower. And the opportunity that we have to sow is a great one. It is only God that can take a seed that we sow and be able to grow that seed and multiply it past anything we could ever imagine to take something that we put in a bucket and allow it to give somebody have an opportunity for somebody to receive Christ.

Because we decided to be generous. He gives seed to the sower. And when we sow, God does amazing things.

Heavenly Father, thank you for this opportunity to give. Lord, I thank you for who you have been in the area of the finances. God, I thank you that as we give today, that we do so out of gratitude. We do so out of a grateful heart.

God, we speak to our seed and we command that seed to go and to grow in Jesus' name. We thank you that it will multiply and do exactly what you called it to do. God, we trust you into the area of our finances. Speak to us, Lord. What would you have us to give?

We give our tithes, we give our offering, God, but what would you have us to give so that we wouldn't give out of compulsion or just because somebody told us to or out of habit, but that we would be generous givers?

We want to honor you in this area, God. Thank you for the job. Thank you for the finances. Thank you for the miraculous increase. Thank you for the seed. And we take this opportunity to give. We take this opportunity to receive the seed and to sow it. We thank you for it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you could do me a favor, as the buckets are going by, would you stand for me? And we're going to sing just a little bit and then I'll be right back.

I'm going to have our altar team come forward at this time. If you're here today and you have never made Jesus Christ your Lord and personal Savior, I want to offer you that opportunity.

Let me tell you how big God is on relationships. He's so big on relationships that he sent his son to die because he wanted to be in relationship with you. He wanted to be in relationship with you.

And then he said that if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, you shall be saved. So if you have not made Jesus Lord of your life, then I want you to be saved. I want to offer you that opportunity today.

I would love for you to come down. We would love to pray with you and walk you through this process of salvation. Secondly, if you're here today and maybe you've made Jesus Lord of your life, but you haven't lived like he's been Lord of your life, then we want to offer you the opportunity to recommit your life to him.

Say, "Hey God, I, hey Pastor, I made him Lord, but I made him God. But I just haven't been living like it. And I've been running from him. But today I want to come home. I want to recommit my life to Jesus." And we want to offer you the opportunity as well.

And lastly, if you're here, you say, "Hey, Pastor, I just need somebody to pray with me. I'm believing God for something or I'm in need of something and I need to partner with someone to seek God." Then we want to pray for you as well.

We believe in prayer at this church because we continue to pray for you. We continually see God do miracles. The fact that you are standing here right now in this building is a miracle. God continues to be God.

And we would love the opportunity for him to be God in your life. So if either one of those things apply to you, if you would like to receive salvation, to recommit your life or in need of prayer, to my left, your right, our prayer team is ready and ready and willing to pray with you.

Or if you say, "Hey, I want to take that next step of baptism," please meet us outside. We would love to celebrate you and what God is going to do.

Heavenly Father, I pray over everyone under the sound of my voice, those in this building and those that are watching online right now. I thank you that the word will be hidden in their heart. God, all this week that you will begin revealing the areas of new foundation, that you will begin revealing the areas to build on the foundation that is already there.

God, I thank you for visible victories in the lives of your people. I thank you for visible victories in the lives of your people. Continue to do what you've always done, God. We acknowledge you and we honor you in this place. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

God bless you. I love you. I'll see you next week. And don't forget, live what? Live with us.

All right. I'm not letting go, I'm not letting go. I'm not letting go, I'm not letting go. I'm not letting go, I'm not letting go. I'm not letting go, I'm not letting go. I'm not letting go, I'm not letting go. I'm not letting go, I'm not letting go. I'm not letting go, I'm not letting go. I'm not letting go, I'm not letting go.

1. "Marriage is not just a contractual agreement. It is not just a piece of paper. Marriage is a covenant relationship designed by God intended to reflect his glory and advance his kingdom. Marriage is a covenant relationship designed by God intended to reflect his glory and advance his kingdom. That is what marriage is. Marriage was God's idea. He is the originator of marriage. And God's vision for marriage is profound. It is sacred. And it is counter-cultural." ([00:55:46] (50 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


)

2. "The world says that marriage is just a sheet of paper. God says that it's a covenant relationship. The world says marriage is to make you happy and to make you whole. God says happiness is circumstantial and marriage is to make you more like Christ. The world says that when you fall out of love, just get a divorce. But God shows us that love is not a feeling. It's not a feeling to be chased, but a commitment to be lived out every single day." ([01:02:56] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


)

3. "Whether you've been married for four years or 40 years, it's never too late to begin rebuilding the foundation of your marriage on the word of God. Don't matter. Even if you're engaged or you just like it. It's never too late to begin building the foundation of how you see marriage on the word of God." ([01:26:48] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


)

4. "Marriage is a divine assignment that God and his word have to remain at the center of in order for it to work. Thank you. This doesn't work without this. It's real simple. This does not work without this. If you try to separate them, this will fail because this is going to remain the same." ([01:01:29] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


)

5. "Marriage is beautiful. It is a beautiful gift that has been given to us by God. Since it was given to us by God, since it was his plan and he originated, he has set ramifications on how we should walk in it and how we should do it. He has given it to us for a purpose." ([01:23:31] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


)

6. "When we realize that, and we understand that the way we move in our marriage change, we have to understand that it's not just about what's happening right now, but it's about what's going to happen in eternity. What's going to happen in eternity? 2 Corinthians 4 says, Look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." ([01:24:37] (31 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


)

7. "If today you recognize and this word hits you right in between your eyes, you say, Pastor, I recognize that there is an area of my marriage that has not been built on the word of God. Maybe it was built on tradition. Maybe it was built on culture or on the word, but not the word of God. Then the first thing. We do. We identify the areas of our life. Excuse me. Identify the areas of our marriage that don't align with the word and the will. We identify those things. We recognize those things. We see those things and we remove them." ([01:27:00] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


)

8. "Building a foundation isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. It takes a while. It takes persistence. It takes grace. It takes love. It takes time. Each day is a new opportunity to build a new foundation or to build on a new foundation so that you could have the marriage that God intended for you to have." ([01:28:08] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


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9. "My prayer today is that we would allow God's word to be the foundation of our marriage, trusting in his grace to restore and renew. Glorify God with our unions. Reflect his love. Then the world will know. Then the world will know." ([01:29:31] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


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10. "I often think, I desire for people to walk in the fullness of what God has called them to do. And my job as a husband is to make sure that my wife walks in the fullness of God for what she's called her to do. So the Lord has given me a gift to see it. So guess what? I'm going to support it. I'm going to encourage it. I'm going to pray over it. I'm also going to protect it because I realize that the enemy desires to steal it." ([01:25:05] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


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