25/06/2023
1. Father, thank You for my marriage. Please breathe afresh upon my marriage in Jesus name.
2. Today, I decree that my marriage will fulfil God's divine purpose in the mighty name of Jesus.
3. Father, please make our home Your abode and never leave us in Jesus name.
4. Lord, You said in Your word that if two of us shall agree concerning a thing, You will do it. Please Lord, whatever my spouse and I agree on, let nothing hinder us from getting it in Jesus name.
TOPIC : CHALLENGES FACING HOMES
TEXT : Genesis 1 : 26 - 28
There we see that God made humans in his own image and that he gave them “dominion” over every living thing upon the earth.
What is a noun ?
A noun is a word that names something, such as a person, place, thing, or idea. In a sentence,
Therefore Home is a noun that refers to the place where a person or animal lives.
Home Is a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household. the place in which one's domestic affections are centered.
What is family ?
● Family is a group of one or more parents and their children living together as a unit.
● Family is a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each other in their ...
GOD AS THE ORIGINATOR OF FAMILY : Genesis 2 : 7 - 9, 21 - 25
1 John 4:8 - But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:16 - We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
So Marriage is all about God joining two people together. I say this on no less of an authority than Jesus Christ Himself. In fact, He went even further, saying, “Whom God, therefore, has joined together, no man should separate!”
God established marriage as a permanent relationship, the union of two separate people—a man and a woman—into “one flesh.”
When Adam first laid eyes on Eve he exclaimed, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Gen. 2:23,). God’s design for marriage is found in the very next verse: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).
When God ordained that the man and the woman should “become one flesh” He plainly had a permanent, lifelong relationship in mind.
The Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife, pointing out that Moses had permitted it in the law. “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female. ‘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. “What therefore God has joined together let no man separate.” (Mark 10:5-9).
Therefore, when we think in terms of marriage in these terms – “God having joined two people together” – it’s rather obvious that two independent people now being brought together in some new union are going to have a lot of adjustments to make. Through love and Submission.
Submit to each other - Love and respect - "Each of you also must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband." Ephesians 5.33
Submission is a sign of both love and respect for others.
Submission does have its limits. In terms of intimacy, one only submits to one's spouse.
For instance, here is a familiar verse, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). It’s very familiar because the wives have heard it over and over again.
It’s also very familiar to the men. Some men, who don’t know any other verse in the Bible, know this one very well, indeed. However, if we’re going to look at what Paul actually said in Ephesians 5:25, he said, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church.” You see, it’s rather like a pair of scissors – when you have a pair of scissors, you’ve got two things (blades) that have been joined to form a new whole. If the scissors are going to work, then both sides have got to be in operation and in harmony.
Love : Ephesians 5:25, says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church.” You see, it’s rather like a pair of scissors – when you have a pair of scissors, you’ve got two things (blades) that have been joined to form a new whole. If the scissors are going to work, then both sides have got to be in operation and in harmony.
These two basics truth formed the 12 challenges faced by family if not handled with wisdom :
● 1. ANTI - CHRISTIAN CULTURE
● 2. DIVORCE
But we are going to focus mainly on the first two today because of time .
1. ANTI - CHRISTIAN CULTURE :
At Family Rebirth we call this Ungodly Culture. True Christian life is built around genuine and unconditional love.
It is expected and believed that nothing short of that should be the yardstick for measuring family culture and behaviours.
The relationship between husband and wife ought to be guided right from the beginning to the end by this biblical requirement.
Same ought to be the situation in the way the couples treat and relate with their children.
Muslims also confirm that Holy Quran strongly emphasized the role of love in family relationship and interaction.
Unfortunately, this powerful principle has been abandoned. Relationships at family level are now based on materialism.
Where this expectation cannot be met relationships are abandoned with least provocation or commitments to family values great compromised.
2. DIVORCE :
Cases of divorce are on the increase today both in the rural and urban communities. Reasons for this upward swing in divorce cases are varied depending on the peculiarity of each case.
Generally, the factors include but not limited to economic, ungodliness, moral degradation, impotence, s*x denial/starvation, safety and security concerns, because of repeated violence, undue interference by external forces in the couples matters (from extended family members and friends), infidelity, etc.
Whatever the reasons for divorce may be, the negative consequences on the family cannot be over-emphasised.
This calls for concern on the part of all the stakeholders couples, governments at various levels, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), etc.
All the stakeholders should work together to ensure the rate of divorce is significantly stemmed down.
This is because the moment divorce takes place, the children automatically become victims of broken home and all the attendant negative consequences on the future of the children.
There so many homes today which are at the point of collapse or divorce. What can we do save this homes from the shipwreck of collapse or divorce. I think what we need to do first is to find the missing link. And what is this missing link ? And this missing link is KNOWLEDGE.
A successful marriage has little to do with love.
Love is not the qualification for marriage.
Love is a dangerous thing.
Love can make you think you can make it. Every divorce person was first in love with the person they divorce. So, don't tell me love keeps you together.
Love does not guarantee success in marriage.
Love brings happiness but doesn't bring what it takes to make marriage work. The only thing that makes marriage work, is knowledge.
From Genesis to Revelation the Bible often uses the word house to refer to the smallest and most basic unit of society—the family. Knowledge is critical for success and survival in anything.
If you desire a successful marriage you have to learn to operate by wisdom. Bible also says “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
”(Proverbs 2:6) “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builder’s labor in vain. (Ps. 127:1) God is the Divine Builder. “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” (Hebrews 3:4) God’s Word gives some specific plans for building a great relationship between husband and wife.
It begins and ends with God’s wisdom. Wisdom is the foundation on which a house must be built. It is the great principle on which all other principles must be founded. But what is this wisdom? Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Book of Proverbs signifying that homes are built with three primary tools:
● Wisdom.
● Understanding.
● Knowledge.
Wisdom is the ability to perceive with discernment, to view life as God sees it.
Wisdom is application.
Understanding is the skill to bring together the elements of life so that one can respond to it or live it with insight.
Understanding is comprehension.
Knowledge is learning, discovering, growing and living with an eternal perspective.
Knowledge is information. In Hosea 4:6a God says, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”
The greatest knowledge of all is the knowledge of God. God designed marriage for success, and only His counsel can make it successful. Look at Proverbs 21:30 “There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the Lord.”
Marriage is still a good idea because it is God’s idea. He created it. He designed it. He established it and defined its parameters.
Marriage is not a human concept. Mankind did not simply dream up marriage somewhere along the line as a convenient way of handling relationships and responsibilities between men and women or dealing with childbearing and parenting issues. Marriage is of divine origin.
God Himself instituted and ordained marriage at the very beginning of human history
