A Match Made in Heaven: God’s Design for Marriage (Genesis 2:18–25 Sermon)

Well, good morning, Saints of God, how are you today?

I was, I said, happy New Year to the folks in Sabbath School

because this is my first time in the pulpit in this new year,

because I had taken time to spend that time with the Three

Angels Church, because they are indeed of some attention on

their finishing their basements. They've been in that situation

for about 15 to 20 years and just wanted to hit the new year

right with them. So I really appreciate your

patience and not and allowing me to be over there.

And for Daryl and Jermaine, who took the pulpit during my

absence. Today's message is titled A

Match Made in Heaven and we want to welcome our online audience.

You can hear more messages like this at our website,

middletownportlandsda.org. We're also on YouTube, Facebook,

Instagram, and this new platform called Threads.

I don't know what that's all about, but it's out there.

And so Kyle got us on there. And so hopefully we're not going

to get in trouble over there. But nonetheless, that is where

we're at. And I want to, before we have

prayer, I want to just start with our introduction here.

That is a picture of my bride by my side and that picture is

taken at Andrews University. We brought our son Andrew over

there a few years ago, two years ago now to start his freshman

year at Andrews University. And that's where my wife and I

met at Andrews University. And the the location of the

picture is not that flattering. It's not beside a rose Bush or a

waterfall or something romantic like that.

But that location has a particular story behind it.

You know, they say a picture is worth 1000 words.

And my wife and I met on the campus of Andrews University and

it was our first meeting. Our first introduction was by a

mutual friend and it was done more more out of courtesy.

It was on a Friday night Vespers at the Pioneer Memorial Church,

and I just happened to be talking to a friend that he also

knew, which was Sandra. And then he, out of courtesy,

just introduced us. So there was nothing, at least

to my knowledge, there was nothing conspiratorial that was

more courtesy and he wasn't trying to get us together.

However, as time went on, he began to encourage my wife,

because he was friends with Sandra, to get together with me.

And then some friends of mine were encouraging me to get

together with her, but I didn't know who she was, even though we

had already been introduced. But like I said, it didn't enter

my radar. And but then again, we met again

on these staircases right here. And what was happening how we

met was that we didn't really meet.

We were just passing like ships in the night.

I was going up the stairs just right behind us that you can see

there, and I was going up for breakfast in the morning and she

was coming down from just having had breakfast and when she came

down she smiled and we were the only ones on the staircase.

So my thinking was, she smiled at me, right?

But she really wasn't smiling at me.

She was just happy because a friend had bought her breakfast.

I later found out that's the truth of the story.

She really wasn't smiling at me, but her smile nonetheless gave

me the courage to call her. Because that was.

I think that encounter on the staircase was either Monday or

Tuesday. And by Thursday I had the

courage by, through the encouragement of a friend, to

call her up. And so the rest, as they say, is

history. OK, but here's the thing,

ultimately, yes friends did play a part, but God played a part as

well. And here's how.

You see, Sandra's parents began praying for her future spouse

when she was about in her early to mid teens.

And it was right around that time when I started going

through my conversion experience because I was not raised as a

7th Day Adventist and I would have never gone to school at a

7th Day Adventist school, let alone go to school for ministry.

That just wasn't in my cards. And so I thought.

But when we did the math together later on, we found out

that that was right around the time that my conversion happened

when she was in her teens. And then on top of that, my

parents were praying for me because this encounter that we

had on the staircase was in the month of January, January of

1994. And I had just gone back for

Christmas break to my parents house in Arizona.

And when my parents took me to the airport and they were with

me at the gates. This was before security, the

time of security that we live in now with airport security.

But as they dropped me off and they were waiting for the plane

to depart and before I was supposed to embark, they said,

we just want to let you know we are praying for you, that you

meet someone. Amen.

Yes. So was ours a match made in

heaven? Well, you can decide that.

But I'm happy with my bride by my side.

And this year we're celebrating our 30th anniversary.

Amen. Yes, so.

But listen, we truly live in a world that is longing for

heaven. We just discussed it in Sabbath

school this morning. But too often the cry of our

heart is, how can I bring a little heaven into my marriage?

Does that sound reasonable? That is a question that we often

ask. We're looking for a little bit

of heaven into our marriage. And so today's message is a

match made in heaven. And I'm going to try to answer

that question. OK.

But before I answer that question, I want to preview that

answer by sharing a few high points is that we want to take a

look at the elements that went into Heaven's match that was

made in Heaven. And that's found in our

scripture reading today #2 we want to find out why marriages

breakdown, OK? Because marriages do from time

to time breakdown. And then #3 what we want to

discover is what is truly at stake when we make that

commitment to marriage. OK?

So those are the some 3 high points that we're going to cover

before we answer that question. How we can bring a little bit of

heaven into our marriage. So let's pray.

Father God, we thank you for your goodness and your tender

mercies. We pray that the grace and the

power of your Holy Spirit would be with us as we explore this

very, very important subject of marriage and how we can have a

little bit of heaven, just a little bit of heaven while we

wait for heaven to come to us in Jesus, that we have a little bit

of heaven in our marriages and in our home.

So we pray that your blessing would be with us.

And we thank you for hearing and answering this prayer in Jesus

name, Amen. Amen.

So I got to first of all, find my cursor because my clicker

didn't work on that one. But heaven's first marriage was

made in heaven. OK, when we go to the Genesis

Record Scripture meeting that Joe read to us just moments ago,

when we go to our Bibles, we will discover that indeed,

heaven's first marriage was a match that was made in heaven.

Now, why can we say that with such confidence?

Well, it's right there in Scripture, and we want to go

there in our Bibles. Genesis chapter 2 Genesis

Genesis 2 · chapter mention Genesis 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2, beginning in verse 18, and here's what it says.

And the Lord God said it is not good that man should be alone.

I will make him a helper comparable to him out of the

ground. The Lord God formed every beast

of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam

to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each

living creature, that was its name.

So it was God's decision number one, to make man.

And when God made man, God saw that it was not good that man

should be alone. And so God solved this problem

by doing the following. The passage continues.

So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air,

and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found

a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep

sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept.

And he, God took one of Adam's ribs and closed up the flesh in

its place. So after all the animals were

brought before Adam, he was able to see them and he was able to

identify them by name. It was essentially God's way of

not only it was really God's way of checking to see if the

hardware was working on Adam. And once that was able to all

this was able to compute with Adam that he was able to name

them, that then God was able to then put Adam to sleep and

perform surgery on him. And so the Bible says that

because after Adam had done that inventory check of the animal

Kingdom, it was then that Adam realized, wait a minute, the

animals are matched up pair by pair, male and female, but there

is no one comparable to me. And it was at that time that God

put Adam into a deep sleep. And then the text goes on.

Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, he made into

a woman, and he brought her to the man.

And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my

flesh. She shall be called woe man,

because she was taken out of man.

So here's something that I'd like for you to think about.

While Adam and the animals were formed from the ground, Adam was

formed from the what as well. He was formed from the earth.

OK, but Eve was made from Adam's rib.

She was not made from the ground like Adam was, nor the animals,

because she was not to be of a different species altogether.

She was to be made from Adam's side, OK, Adam's side.

Here's what patriarchs and prophet says.

Page 46 God himself gave Adam a companion.

He provided a help meet for him, a helper who was to correspond

to him, one who is fitted to be his companion and who could be

one with him in love and sympathy.

Ladies, do you ever find yourself needing sympathy at any

time from your husband? You don't need sympathy from

your husband. Yeah, Yeah, I was over.

Yeah. I was wondering why it got Stony

quiet there. Little crickets there I was

starting to hear. And, gentlemen, do we need

sympathy from our wives? You don't sound too happy about

that. You seem kind of kind of grumpy,

right? Yeah.

Because of course we do. We need love and sympathy, both

of us. And when God combines us

together, we can have a sweet bond.

Amen. The passage goes on.

Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam,

signifying that she was not to control him as the head, nor to

be trampled under his feet as an inferior, to stand by his side

as an equal, to be loved and protected by him.

Do you hear that, husbands? We are to be loving towards our

wives, and we are to protect them.

Amen. Oh, you guys sound a little dull

this morning. Oh my word, you do not sound

excited about this message, I'm telling you.

Well, it goes on. A part of man, bone of his bone

and flesh of his flesh, she was his second self.

Showing the close union and the affectionate attachment that

should exist in this relation. A part of man, bone of his bone

and flesh of his flesh, She was his second self.

OK, I just read that. I guess I just didn't do my

editing. Here's the point.

Now, let's be fair. When God created Eve for Adam,

he didn't have much of A selection.

It was just her, right? But we let's give pause here.

She's our first mother, and our first mom must have been

spectacular. Amen.

Because Adam just wanted her and her alone, OK.

And, and from that all of us descend, Amen.

All of us. We have a common parent, OK, a

common parent. The passage goes on to say that

then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, he made into

a woman, and he brought it to the man.

And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my

flesh. She shall be called woman

because she was taken out of man.

Now I want to point out something here.

And this is a fundamental key to having a successful marriage.

You ready? It's not going to answer the big

question that we had at the that I raised at the beginning, but

it's going to give you a little bit of, of something to, to go

on. OK, the fundamental key to a

successful marriage. I have the two passages up on

the screen here, Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 and Genesis chapter 2,

Genesis 2:7 Genesis 2:21

verse 21 and 22. I want to focus first on Genesis

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 and verse seven. OK?

And I want to prepare you because I do not.

I want you to think, what does Pastor Tom want you to do?

I want you to think, OK, so I'm going to read Genesis chapter 2,

Genesis 2:7

verse 7, it says, and the Lord God formed man of the dust of

the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and

man became a living being. OK, now you can.

You're more than welcome to look at the verse either in your

Bible or on the screen, whatever you need.

This is an open book test. OK, but Pastor Tom wants you to

think so. Here's the question.

What according to Genesis chapter 2, verse 7, when God

Genesis 2:7

brought Adam to life by giving him mouth to mouth

resuscitation, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,

what was the first thing that Adam saw when he was brought to

life? The the face of God.

That's right. Yeah.

Because remember, God formed Adam out of the dust of the

earth. So God had to get on his hands

and knees and form Adam out of the dust of the earth.

And then he breathed into his nostrils, into his, into Adam.

And Adam came to life. And immediately when his eyes

opened and and the light from the sun shone on everything

around him, the very first thing that he saw was none other than

the face of God himself. Amen.

Yeah. That's exciting.

That's really exciting. OK, now let's go to the next

passage right across the screen there.

And here's what it says. Genesis chapter 2, verses 21 and

Genesis 2:21

22, it says. And the Lord God caused a deep

sleep to fall on Adam. What kind of a sleep, a deep

sleep he went to. He wasn't just taking a little

cat nap. He was undergoing surgery,

right? He was undergoing surgery.

He was having rib surgery. And so it says, he fell into a

deep sleep and he slept, and he took one of his ribs.

God took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its

place. Then the rib which the Lord God

had taken from man he made into a woman, and he brought her to

the man. Now so God formed Adam out of

the dust of the earth, breathed into his nostrils the breath of

life. The first thing that Adam saw

when he came to life was the face of God.

Now he puts Adam to sleep and takes a rib out of his side, and

then he goes over here because Adam is over in post op now he's

recovering. He's still under anesthesia, and

so he's over there. But God is now working with this

rib and he takes that rib and he forms it and he makes it into a

woman. And then how do you think she

gets the breath of life into her?

How do you think? Same way.

Yeah. This isn't magic.

He doesn't snap his fingers on this one.

No, he hovers over her and he breathes into her nostrils the

breath of life. And what do you think?

The first thing that she sees when she comes to life?

The face of God. Yeah.

Very simple, very elementary, very basic.

So both for Adam and Eve, here's the key to the fundamental key

to having a successful marriage. OK, Both based on this telling

of the story and how life came to our first two parents, who

are we to have a relationship with first before we enter into

marriage? That's right, God, that's right.

If you are to, if you are trying to enter into marriage and

you're the one that you are seeing dating, whatever you want

to call is not in a relationship with God.

You should not marry her because it's not of God.

It's right there in the Scriptures, OK, It's right there

in the Scriptures. When we are in a relationship

with God and with our spouse in marriage, our marriage can be a

living reflection. Listen carefully.

A living reflection of the law of God.

How so? Let's review Exodus chapter 20,

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

beginning in verse one. And God spoke all these words,

saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land

of Egypt, out of the House of bondage.

You shall have no other gods before me.

Now in the Adam and Eve story, sin had not entered the picture

yet, OK? And God had created them.

The first being that they saw when they came to life was God.

And then, and only then did God bring them together.

OK. In this particular story of the

Exodus story where the law of God is given, God had brought

the children of Israel out of Egypt before He gave them the

law of God. He didn't give them the law in

Egypt. He brought them out of bondage

1st and then He introduced His covenant law to them.

OK. And it says it right there and

clear. The text goes on.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of

anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth

beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them.

For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the

iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and 4th

generation of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands,

to those who love me and keep my commandments.

OK, that's the second commandment.

It goes on. You shall not take the name of

the Lord your God in vain. For the Lord will not hold him

guiltless who takes His name in vain.

You see, God's name is holy, and because His name is holy, it's a

reflection of who God is. And so when we use God's name,

any of His names, in a casual, common or flippant way, that is

unholy conversation, unholy conversation, the passage goes

on. Remember the Sabbath day to keep

it holy. Six days you shall labor and do

all your work. But the 7th day is the Sabbath

of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you

nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your female servant, nor

your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle,

nor your stranger, who is within your gates.

For in six days the Lord made the heavens, and the earth, the

sea, and all that is in them, and rested the 7th day.

Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and handled it.

Passage goes on now to from our relationship with God to how we

are to relate to our fellow man. Here's what it says.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be

long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

God has a promise for those who honor their parents.

Amen, the text goes on. You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbors house.

You shall not covet your neighbors wife, nor his male

servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor

anything that is your neighbors. You see, friends, the observance

of God's law is merely an indicator that you are in a

right relationship with God and your fellow man.

On the other hand, the breaking of God's law is an indication

that you are not in a right relationship with God and your

fellow man. OK, so when we come to the

Genesis record, it says, therefore this is how the first

marriage took place. Therefore a man shall leave his

father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall

become one flesh. And they were both naked, the

man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

So the Genesis record is very clear that what God envisioned

for our first parents was truly a match made in heaven.

Their their home was a garden home with every type of fruit

and food available to them. OK, but here's the question.

If marriage is supposed to be a match made in heaven, then how

come it often feels so broken down?

Is that a fair question? If marriage is supposed to be a

match made in heaven, how come it often feels like it breaks

down so quickly? Well, let's let's be honest.

Marriages do not come with a warranty.

OK? Marriages do not come with a

warranty. Yes, in this life after sin has

entered the world, marriages do break down primarily because we

are broken people. It's not God's fault, it's our

fault. We have to take responsibility.

The hard sobering truth about marriage is that there are no

guarantees to their success. OK, now here's a question.

Is there an advantage to having a Christian marriage?

Listen to this well, Christians reportedly have a lower divorce

rate, often cited around 30 to 35%, whereas the rest of the

population has a divorce rate of around 50%.

OK, so Christians have a slight advantage, but that does not

mean that Christians are better people.

It just means that if the principles of Christianity,

which are taught to people who profess to be Christians, are

followed, your marriage stands a better chance at having success.

That's all it means. The principles for a successful

marriage are found in this book. The question is, are we going to

follow it? It doesn't matter what

denomination you are. OK, you could be of any

denomination in the world that doesn't guarantee you're going

to have a successful marriage. What guarantees the success of

the marriage is if you're willing to follow what's in this

book. Does that make sense?

If you choose to ignore it, well, you stand a greater chance

of having a failed marriage. But if you choose to follow

what's in this book, you stand a better chance of having a

successful marriage. And that's why I shared that

point in the very beginning, when Adam was created, when Eve

was created, when they were both created, the first thing they

saw was God. They developed a relationship

with God first. And once they had that

relationship, then God brought the two together, OK.

Is there an advantage to having a Christian marriage?

Well, non Christian marriage, as I said this tend to have a

higher divorce rate than Christian marriages, OK.

Is there an advantage? Well, couples who engage,

listen, couples who engage in regular religious practices

together report a higher satisfaction in their marriage.

OK. So if you want your marriage to

succeed with your partner, get into this book.

OK, Get into this book. Not only that, studies show that

a shared faith can enhance communication and conflict

resolution skills. OK.

Because these principles to have good communication and conflict

resolution are found where? In this book.

Yeah, the answers are in here. OK, the answers are in here.

And then lastly, Christian. Oh, second, lastly, Christian

couples often emphasize commitment and forgiveness,

which contributes to marital stability.

OK, one of the pieces of advice when my wife and I walked down

the aisle, my mother said my advice to you is do not go to

bed angry, OK, I'll talk about that here in a few moments.

But Christian couples often emphasize their commitment and

the the understanding of the grace of God.

Forgiveness helps contribute to marital stability.

OK, if you're not committed to one another and you're not

forgiving, you stand a very good chance of having a failed

marriage. OK?

But but commitment and forgiveness are principles that

are found in this book. And then lastly here, the impact

of community support in religious settings can

strengthen marital bonds. So in other words, if you belong

to a faith community, you again have a better chance of having a

successful marriage because you can get support.

So if you have trouble, you need to reach out.

Do not be proud and say it won't happen to me, it won't happen to

me. You need to reach out in order

to get counseling. And if the counsel is given, you

need to take that advice. OK, now here's the question.

How do you avoid the marital breakdown?

OK, so there's a slight advantage to having a Christian

marriage, but how do you avoid the marital breakdowns?

Well, what is the definition of a marital breakdown?

OK, let's define our terms now. Having a disagreement over what

restaurant you should eat at? He likes Italian, she likes

Chinese. That doesn't constitute A

marital breakdown, OK? That's just a disagreement, OK?

Having a lengthy discussion about what should be the color

of the new carpeting does not constitute A marital breakdown,

OK? We have to understand God allows

for variety. Amen.

God loves variety. If you don't believe me, go

outside and, and, and count insects in the grass and you'll

start finding a bunch of different insects.

God made them all and they're all different, OK?

So God allows for variety and that's what contributes to a

happy marriage. OK, It may very well be that

point that he likes Italian and she likes Chinese.

Is what you found initially attractive in your spouse in the

1st place? OK?

But when there are lengthy or how shall we say heated

disagreements about restaurant choices, carpet colors, or whose

turn it was to clean up after dinner, when those types of

discussions rise up, one has to remember the biblical principle.

Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, OK?

Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.

That's what my mother essentially was saying.

She may not have known the chapter and book chapter and

verse, but she says before, if you get into a dispute, make

sure you forgive before going to bed, OK.

And that's been good counsel for us.

And I think my wife would agree. OK.

The point is you have to learn to be humble and both have to be

willing to ask for forgiveness and be willing to forgive.

Be willing to forgive. Why?

Because God in Christ forgave you Sinner.

And if you were forgiven by God and you don't dispense that same

grace to your spouse, then God will not forgive you.

He will still hold you guilty. OK, and here's the other point.

If you don't forgive, yes, you may have gotten into an

argument. Just heated discussion about the

color of carpeting. OK, but if you don't forgive,

then here's what happens. Here's where the breakdown

happens. If you don't resolve those

little foxes that eat the grapes, that's when bitterness

sets in, OK? And if left unchecked,

bitterness takes root. And when it takes root, it bears

rotten fruit. Does that make sense?

You can. You can have a disagreement

about Chinese and Italian food or color of carpeting and all

these types of things, but it's those little things.

If they're not resolved, they accumulate.

They accumulate, they accumulate.

And eventually you try to pay out of your account and you find

that there's so much bitterness there that you're paying out in

more bitterness costs than you are in forgiveness.

And you have nothing left in that account.

And then you just end up giving up.

OK, the definition of a marital breakdown is not having a

disagreement over where you eat. OK, the definition of a marital

breakdown is when marriage vows begin to crack and break and it

starts by a marriage partner coveting something outside of

their bonds of marriage or should we say someone outside of

marriage and when confronted the partner instead of being

confessing about it, embraces dishonesty.

This is why I said the 10 commandments play a huge role in

a healthy marriage, because if you are bearing false witness to

your spouse, then you have cracks in the foundation, OK?

And if they're embracing dishonesty to cover up their

desires and intentions when the council of friends and family is

ignored, that partner strays from their marital fidelity and

chooses ultimately the path of adultery, OK?

We need to remember that when we take our marriage vows, they are

for life. They're not for 10 years.

They're not for 15 years. OK, you may remember these

words. And now, solemnly promising

before God and in the presence of these witnesses, will you

have this man or this woman to be your wedded wife or husband,

to live together after God's ordinance in the sacred estate

of matrimony? Will you love her or him?

Will you comfort him or her? Will you honor them, cherish

them, in sickness and in health, in prosperity or adversity and

forsaking all others, keeping yourself only unto her or him,

so long as you both shall live? Do you so declare?

Do you ever recall these words being said?

Yeah, we should. We should.

Yeah, we do. Amen.

Amen. Listen, the success or the

failure of a marriage has eternal consequences.

Eternal consequences. It doesn't just the, the

decision that you make in marriage doesn't just expire

after six months or or whatnot. No, the decision that you make

has has eternal consequences. How so?

Well, let's take a look. I didn't want to.

I'm just going to read this here.

I have it referenced here, Matthew chapter 19.

Matthew 19 · chapter mention

I'm not going to put it on the screen other than the reference

here, but Matthew Chapter 9, a question came up from the

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

Pharisees, the religious people, OK, And it begins in verse one.

It says Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished these sayings

that he departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea

beyond the Jordan, and great multitudes followed him and he

healed them there. The Pharisees also came to him.

These are the religious people testing him and saying to him,

Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any

reason? And he answered and said to

them, Have you not read that he who made them at the beginning

made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man

shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his

wife, and that two shall become one flesh.

So then they are no longer 2, but one flesh.

Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.

They said to him, why then did Moses command to give a

certificate of divorce and to put her away?

He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your heart

permitted you to divorce your wives.

But from the beginning it was not so.

In other words, Jesus is saying that was never God's intention.

OK, verse 9 and I say to you, whoever divorces his wife except

for sexual immorality and marries another commits adultery

and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.

So if the marriage, if an initial marriage has failed and

people or they file for divorce on it, unless it is for marital

infidelity that that person was in the, you know, behaving in an

adulterous relationship outside of marriage, there's no grounds

for divorce. And how do we know this?

Well, because we say, well, let let's interpret that a little

differently. Watch what follows, verse 10.

His disciples said to him, if such is the case of the man with

his wife, it's better not to marry.

Because the, the reasoning back then was that according to the

Pharisees, if the, if the husband said I divorce you, I

divorce you, I divorce you 3 times, that was it.

And he could divorce her for burning the toast.

And Jesus calls him on and says, no, that Moses only wrote that

certificate of divorce because of the hardness of the human

heart. OK.

And when his disciples who were there listening to this little

discussion that was taking place, they responded this way.

If this is the case of the man with his wife, they said it's

better not to marry. And here's how Jesus responded.

He said to them, All cannot accept this saying, but only

those to whom it has been given. Watch what he says, verse 12.

For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's

womb. What is a eunuch?

A eunuch is a person who cannot father children.

OK. They, they don't have, how shall

we say this in a presence of children?

They don't have all the equipment available to them to

function in that capacity. OK, So they were born like that,

from their mother's womb. And then Jesus goes on.

There are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men like Daniel.

Daniel was made a eunuch, OK, because he was working in the

King's court. And there were eunuchs that were

described and mentioned in the book of Esther.

They took care of the the queen and the king wanted to make sure

that they weren't going to mess with the queen.

So he says, OK, here we're going to do a little surgical

procedure on you. You're going to work for me.

But this is what's required. So they are eunuchs made by men.

And then the third is there are eunuchs who have made themselves

eunuchs for the Kingdom of heaven's sake.

In other words, they say, you know what?

I'd rather work for God than start a family.

And that's their own choice, OK, but that is a choice that's not

a should not be a church dictate as some churches do.

And they say, no, if you want to serve God, you can't get

married. And then these churches end up

with all kinds of problems, OK. And Jesus concluded, he said he

who is able to accept it, let him accept it.

In other words, marriage is the second most serious decision you

can ever make in your life. The 1st is, am I going to follow

God or just do my own thing? Because that determines where

you're going to spend eternity. But then the second is like the

first, because if you're not committed or that person is not

committed to God, you could end up having a ripple effect

throughout eternity because if you bring children into the mix,

that creates all sorts of challenges.

In fact, this shows us the divine inspiration of Scripture.

OK, look at this, what appears next, verse 13.

It says Then little children were brought to him, to Jesus,

that he might put his hands on them and pray.

But the disciples rebuke them. But Jesus said, let the little

children come to me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the

Kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them

and departed from there. It is no accident, friends.

It is no accident whatsoever that this conversation about

marriage takes place. And immediately after is this

story about these little children, Jesus, and wanting to

be blessed. Because guess how children come

into this world? Well, it they can come into two

ways, through marriage or through unmarriage.

But it's supposed to be done through marriage because it is

that institution that is to protect and nurture children and

bring them up in the fear of the Lord.

But when things happen outside. In fact, we we just saw the sign

on the way to church this morning, the Billboard on 91 S

it said abortion is legal in Connecticut.

Make sure you know your rights. And I commented to my wife and

we finally had to back away from the from the conversation.

Jonathan was the one who said mom, dad, let's change the

conversation because the whole discussion was on this billboard

on the way to church that imagine that that a parent has

the right to kill their child. Now in in some places we would

call that murder, right? But the laws of man have have

twisted the laws of God and say, no, we can change the law of

God. And that's what we attempt to do

it when we do this with our marriages.

And what happens is that, you know, we, we, you know, have big

conversations about the Sabbath Sunday issue as 7th Day

Adventists, and rightly so, because what we say is we call

out the papacy and we say, listen, you cannot change the

law of God. But when we enter into marriage

and the divorce for any other reason, like the Pharisees gave

excuses, you know what we're doing?

We're no better than the papacy because we're trying to change

the law of God. We're trying to change the law

of God just like the Pope did. And so we have no room to talk

when we're doing the same thing. And it goes on and on.

In fact, I'll take one further. Or Our son Andrew is out at

Andrews University. He's studying business finance,

OK. And in his class, he was telling

us last week in a phone conversation, he says, yeah.

And I later saw this in some sort of a report or something

like this. But the textbooks that they have

say that it is from a business practice point of view, business

practice says it's OK to, you know, bend the rules of whatever

the government does because all they will do is they will have

you pay a fine. And, and so the idea is that it

is cheaper to do business that way by cheating on these laws,

because what's in it is that your profit will be able to

cover that loss and you will still be able to maintain it.

And so I saw it, I heard it from Andrew in what the business

class is, what they teach in. This is what common amongst all

business schools, OK, But then it's put into practice, for

example, and I may get into trouble with our online friends,

but in the Pharmaceutical industry, OK, because they may

make $20 billion on a particular product that they sell and they

know that it's bad. And so they may end up paying $2

billion in fines, but they're OK with it because they're making

$18 billion profit. So it's no loss for them.

There's no real laws. And so on and on and on and on

it goes, where the law of God is just trampled in the dust.

And we make up our own rules as we go along.

And then we wonder why we have problems.

Then we wonder why. It's because we're not following

what God had originally ordained.

It's as simple as that. Now, yes, I know we don't live

in a simple world. I recognize that.

OK, how do you think I got all these Gray hairs?

OK, here's the question. How do you have a marriage made

in heaven? Right, that's the question.

How do you get a marriage made in heaven?

Well, listen to this Genesis chapter 1 beginning in verse

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

one. Here's what it says.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form and void and darkness was on the

face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the

face of the waters. Then God said, let there be

light, and there was light. You see friends, when God

created, the Bible says he was hovering over the face of the

waters and you know what was there?

There were no pine trees there. There were no beach fronts.

There was no Mountain View over the valley with a beautiful

sunset. There was no animals and and

beautiful tropical fish. There was nothing.

It was without form and it was a void.

It was empty. And there are some who are in

their marriages even today and feel like, yeah, that's my

marriage, empty and void. But here's the good news.

The Bible says in that creation account, the Spirit of God was

hovering over the face of those waters.

In other words, you may have a marriage that is feeling empty

and void, but I want to tell you that God is hovering over you

waiting for you to call upon Him.

But if you never call on Him, He can't bring light into the

darkness that you're experiencing in your marriage.

It's impossible and here's more good news though.

John chapter 1 verses one and three.

John 1 · chapter mention

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and

the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God

and all things were made through him and without him nothing was

made. Not one thing was made that was

made. The text goes on in verse 14.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld

His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,

full of grace and truth. Two things that the world

desperately needs today is grace and truth.

Grace and truth going over there and John just a little bit

further and I know I'm I'm wrapping things up here, but

listen to this. These are promises that are for

us and we need to claim them because Jesus shed his blood to

make these promises come true. John chapter one verse 16 it

says and of his fullness we have all received and grace for grace

in the Greek pastor go to your Greek New Testament and I know

he can't maybe not be able to understand me right now, but

I'll tell him afterwards or Renata, you can tell him or

mommy can tell him in the Greek of this verse, it says Caritas

anticaritas grace, auntie meaning in place of grace.

So it says grace in place of grace.

Here's what God does for us. He gives us grace and you know

what he replaces it with grace. And when you at the end of the

day, you say, Lord, I need grace.

And you know what he gives you in place of grace, Grace, grace

in place of grace. That's your promise.

That's my promise. That's our promise.

God gives his grace and his grace is his power, the power of

the Holy Spirit to bring life. That's what came about in

creation. And so here's what's at stake.

This is what's this is what's at play in this whole big operation

that we call life. OK, Ephesians chapter 3, verses

Ephesians 3:8

8 and 10, Paul said, me who am less than the least of all the

Saints. This grace was given, remember,

because Paul wanted to kill the Christians.

And God says, no, I'm calling you to be a preacher is what?

Yeah, that's what God does. He takes things that aren't

working and he makes them working in his ways.

And he says I was this grace was given that I should preach among

the Gentiles the how many riches of Christ, the unsearchable.

In other words, you will never end finding out the riches of

Christ. You'll just keep discovering

more grace and more goodness of God saying that, and This is why

God has to give us eternity, because we'll never be able to

search out the riches of God's grace.

That's what I'm after. Is eternity.

OK? And my wife and I are committed

to that journey. OK?

Right now we're fixing up bathrooms and kitchens and got

nasty green colored paint on our kitchens because we bought a

house this past summer. And as soon as people come in,

they say, Oh my word, you know, you like that.

And no, of course not. This is why we bought it, so we

can change it. But that's our journey.

We're on a journey. We're going to the promised

land. Amen.

And you got to make that same journey too, and that same

commitment. But Paul says the unsearchable

riches of Christ and to make all see what is the fellowship of

the mystery which from the beginning of the ages has been

hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ.

So Paul's talking about this amazing, Amazing Grace.

The passage goes on to say though that, and here's the

kicker to the intent, that now the manifold wisdom of God might

be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in

the heavenly places. So here's how it works.

God gives his grace. He gave it to Paul and calls

Paul to preach to the Gentiles. But now this wisdom of God, this

grace that God gives is being manifested amongst us, the

church, the ones who are called out from the world.

Because you know, you can go out in the world and you behave.

But the problem is, is when the world starts creeping in, the

principles start creeping into here.

But God gives these standards. No, this is, these are my

covenant standards. OK, but here's what's happening.

Here's what's happening to the intent that now the manifold

wisdom of God might be made known by the Church to the

principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

In other words, there are others who are watching, and we're not

talking about your neighbor or your children.

Bible is indicating to us that there are principalities and

powers in heavenly places, other worlds, even out there who are

watching this daytime drama called Planet Earth.

And they're watching how things are being played out here in

living color. You know, we watch things like

the Super Bowl and we watch the Evening News.

The rest of the universe is watching us.

And what they're asking is how does this wisdom of God play out

in the lives of John and Susan? How does the wisdom of God play

out in this board meeting? How does the wisdom of God play

out in this? And they're watching because God

has made such a promise and such a commitment that he said, I'm

willing to send my son to die for these people who have

rebelled against me. And they will even put my son on

a cross. But I'm willing to bring them

into eternity to be with you folks.

And the rest of the universe is saying, you're going to do what?

You're going to do what? You're going to let them live

with us forever when they put you on a cross.

He says watch because my grace is sufficient for them.

And that means God's grace is sufficient for your marriage,

too. I didn't hear an Amen on that.

Just checking. Just checking.

But that's the sobering truth. You see, folks, I'm about to

wrap up, but I saw this passage last night.

We're reading in our family worship the book of James.

James chapter 4. It's not on the screen.

James 4 · chapter mention

I don't have a slide for it. I've debated whether to put it

in this morning, but I had other things.

But here's what it says. James chapter 4.

James 4 · chapter mention

I'll. I'll start.

Yeah, I have to start in verse one.

Where do wars and fights come from among you?

Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that warn

your members you lust and do not have?

You murder and covet and cannot obtain.

You fight in war, yet you do not have because you do not ask.

You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you

may spend it on your pleasures. You see, folks, God is not going

to answer our prayers if it's all about us.

He answers our prayers because we're willing to submit our will

to his. That's what Jesus prayed in the

Garden of Gethsemane. He said, Lord, if it's possible,

let this cup pass from me, but not as I will, but as you will.

He was willing to be betrayed into the hands of sinful men,

beaten, stripped naked, not with a little lion cloth.

That's not how they did it. They they took everything off

and the soldiers also would molest the prisoners.

You didn't think I was going to go here today, Folks, I know

it's Valentine's Day, but the scriptures tell us these things,

OK? You ask and do not receive,

because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship

with the world is enmity with God?

Whoever, therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes

himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the

Scripture says in vain? The Spirit who dwells in US

yearns jealously, but he gives more grace.

Listen God, this is the good news.

God gives grace. Therefore he says God resists

the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Amen. If we would but humble ourselves

in the sight of God, He will resurrect our lives.

He will resurrect our marriages. He will save us.

He will deliver us. Therefore, the passage

concludes, Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he

will flee from you. You have power over the devil.

You have power over these temptations to wander.

You have you have the ability to bring God's glory into that

sacred institution called marriage.

Amen to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be

made known by the Church to the principalities and powers in

heavenly places. What's at stake in our marriage

is none other than the reputation of God.

Stop thinking that it's about you and think about God.

It's God's reputation that is at stake.

Can God be trusted? Can God be trusted to bring

these people into eternity? God is banking on it that He

can't. There are other worlds watching,

but they are watching to see how we respond to God's Amazing

Grace. When we allow God's Amazing

Grace into our marriages. Guess what happens when we allow

God's grace into our marriages? We will have a little bit of

heaven on earth. That's how it's done because as

John chapter one verse 16 says, and of his fullness, we have all

received and grace for grace. Friends, go to God for his

Amazing Grace. Do you want God's grace to have

a successful marriage? Amen.

Amen. Let's pray, let's pray.

Father in Heaven, we thank you for your goodness and your

tender mercies. We thank you for your amazing,

Amazing Grace. We thank You for Your Word,

which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

Lord, I pray that You would forgive us of our sins.

Forgive us for where we have rebelled against you, where

we've gone our own way, where we've thought our own thoughts

and not your thoughts. Forgive us.

And yes, Lord, even restore us. Restore unto us the years that

the locusts have eaten, and that your character would be

reflected even in our marriages. And we pray this in the

wonderful and the holy name of Jesus, Amen and Amen.