April 2-3, 2005, Genesis 2:18-25

DESPERATE HOUSE LIVES!
MARRIAGE BY DESIGN!

THE FOUNDATION IS FAULTY
THE STRUCTURE WILL CONTINUALLY BE UNSTABLE!

*** Genesis 2:18 “The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." [New International Version]

*** Genesis 2:20b-25 “But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” [NIV]

MAYBE GOD CREATED MARRIAGE FOR:
A. PROCREATION!
B. TO END LONELINESS!
C. HAPPINESS!

WHAT IF GOD DESIGNED MARRIAGE TO MAKE US HOLY
MORE THAN TO MAKE US HAPPY!”

HOW CAN MY MARRIAGE MAKE ME MORE HOLY?

1. BY LEARNING TO LOVE!
*** Genesis 2:23 “Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." [NIV]
*** Genesis 24:67 “Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her….” [NIV]
*** Eph. 5:25, 28-29, 33 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…. [28] In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it…. [33] However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” [NIV]
*** 1 Jn 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God—for God is love.” [NLT]

THE ROMANTICISM SYNDROME!

“The beauty of Christianity is in learning to love, and few life situations test that so radically as does a marriage!” Gary Thomas, SACRED MARRIAGE

MY SPOUSE SEES GOD-LIKE LOVE IN ME ______% OF THE TIME!

2. BY CREATING GODLY COMMITMENT!
*** Genesis 2:24 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” [NIV]

THREE KEYS TO CREATING GODLY COMMITMENT:

A. GRACIOUS FORGIVENESS!
*** Eph. 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” [NIV]

B. ABSOLUTE PERSEVERENCE!
*** Lam. 3:23 “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.” [NLT]

C. TOTAL EXCLUSIVINESS!
*** Genesis 2:24 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” [NIV]
*** Matthew 19:3-6 “Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." [NIV]
*** 1 Cor. 7:14 “For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage.” [NLT]

I AM COMMITTED TO THE THREE KEYS!

YES _____ NO _____

3. BY INSTRUCTING IN INTIMACY!
*** Genesis 2:25 “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”
*** Genesis 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” [NIV]
*** Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” [NIV]

BY SEEING THE BLESSINGS OF INTIMACY I AM

MORE ______ LESS ______

MOTIVATED TOWARD IT!

“Your marriage is more than a sacred covenant with another person. It is a spiritual discipline designed to help you know God better, trust him more fully and love him more deeply.”
Gary Thomas SACRED MARRIAGE

“Marriage should be honored by all….” Hebrews 13:4 [NIV]