MARRIAGE

Marriage is the start or the beginning of the family, and is a lifelong commitment. It creates an environment for growth in selflessness, as you welcome another person into your life and space. It is much more than a physical union; it is also a spiritual and emotional union. Biblically this union mirrors the one between Christ and His church. Jesus said what God has joined together, (male and female, lifelong) let no man separate, and this is monogamous (a man and his wife). In Genesis 2:24; Also in Eph.5:25-31, “husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it,” and verse 28 says, “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.” According to verses 33, “Nevertheless, let everyone of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

A study of Proverbs 18:22 will teach you that, “Whosoever findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.” God instituted marriage from the beginning, with Adam and Eve, not with two or three Eves. Also it was not Adam and James but Adam and Eve. Marriage is like Christ and the Church. The church is called the bride and a bride is not a male or a groom. When a man finds a wife, the Bible said it is a good thing and obtaineth favor of the Lord. Let us examine the facts and see:

For a man to find a wife he needs divine help because all that glitters is not gold; also marriage is a long time of commitment and only God knows the future. To find a wife a man needs to seek the face of God for guidance and good counsel. Marriage is like a forest and you never know what you may find in it. Sometimes we think we know ourselves so well; but marriage situations may bring out the ugly and better parts of you. That is why you need to involve the Lord in this journey from the beginning, so that in those ugly and good times you can equally call on the Lord. Marriage is a long journey and always a new thing to learn; it is like continuing education in work environments. What are you looking for in a spouse? There are qualities you may have in mind, but let me tell you, you can never find a perfect partner, because you are a bundle of imperfection yourself. Christ in both of you is where you find perfection, which is the grace that God gives in a loving and God fearing marriage. As you start your married life, changes begin to occur after a while. The teeth make fall off, the head may become bald, the skin wrinkled, sicknesses can change the dynamics in marriage, we put on weight and shapes change and some of us snore in our sleep. Several things can happen because marriage is both a forest and a long journey. When the honey moon is over, the stresses of life will test our marriage’s resolve. But the Lord will guide and be with you if you call Him into the marriage from the start and in faith.
Marriage is a fantastic weapon in the hand of the Lord if yielded to him. Let us examine it this way. If the marriage is committed to the Lord, then we can claim his word in the following scriptures. 18:19 states, “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” Also Matt. 18:20 reads, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” These two examples show the power of God in marriage. Except two be agreed how can they work together. God is looking for a place of unity, holiness, purity peace and joy; these can be found easily in a marriage committed and yielded to God. It is easy and faithful to have a family altar in a marriage, yielded to Christ Jesus; have one now.
He that findeth a wife findeth a good thing. A good thing here has to do with the intrinsic qualities that are hidden in her and are made manifest in marriage. She is a treasure of God. She is a co-heir with you of the kingdom of God. According to Proverbs 31:10-31, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates.”
He that findeth a wife obtaineth favor of the Lord. Favor is something that comes from the Lord; that is why it is important to commit your marriage to the Lord. When you think about Abraham and Lot at the time of their parting from one another, you begin to imagine what favor had to do with it. Abraham told his young nephew, Lot, to choose (Genesis 13:8-13) between the lands before them. Lot may or may not have prayed before choosing which way to go. Ideally favor works better in humility. Lot looked at the fertile and watered plains of Jordan and chose that direction. He could have in humility told Abraham as his uncle and older than him, to choose first. In the end it is easy to see and to know how much favor Lot had going towards Sodom.
In marriage according to brother William M. Branham if a man marries a bad wife it means God’s favor is not with that man. This statement calls for serious thinking. Prayer and full surrender to the Lord is absolutely important as to obtain favor of the Lord. Favor means God is watching out for you through your obedience and love for Him and his word.

Christ paid a great price as the bridegroom; not in silver or gold but with his own blood. He made the faithful promise to his bride that He was going to prepare a place, and will come back to get her (John 14:1-3). A man must be prepared for his bride and give her his word like Jesus did. Remember that a man must give his life for his wife, like Christ did for the church. Keep in mind what Christ went through to save man. All who return his love through salvation accept his invitation to be his bride. According to Hebrews 12:2-4, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith: who for the JOY that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus Christ sacrificed a whole lot to pick his bride, but the question is, who is happy to be his bride? The time for his wedding is fast approaching and every earthly marriage between believers is a reminder of the coming marriage supper of the Lamb. It is going to happen very soon and all who are part of the bride must be saved, prepare for the wedding in holiness and purity, full of expectancy because the Bridegroom will come suddenly for his bride (Matt. 25:1-10). Be ye sober and ready.

The marriage journey has expectations; you are welcoming a new person into your life and must be considerate. No matter the different backgrounds, the focus should be their relationship with Jesus Christ. Every believer must not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever (2^nd Corinthians 6:14). We as believers live our lives to please he who gave his life on the Cross of Calvary for us. If you are not saved there is still the opportunity to be part of the bride. All you need to do is to accept that Jesus Christ was of virgin birth; God came in the form of man and died on the Cross of Calvary for you. He said in Mark 16:16, “whosoever believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he who does not believe shall be damned.” All you need is to believe that Jesus Christ shed his blood to pay for and wash your sins away. Just confess you are a sinner and ask Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins and become your Lord and Savior. Get baptized by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and find a small bible believing church for fellowship. Start reading your bible daily or better twice daily starting from the book of John. Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to baptize you with the Holy Ghost and share your salvation with your family and friends and whosoever will listen to you; it is called evangelism. Then continue to get ready for the translation and marriage supper of the Lamb. Read 1st Corinthians 15:51-58 and 1^st Thess. 4:13-18 and Rev. 19:7-9. Let a husband learn to talk less and practice to be a good listener for the good of them both.

Marriage takes courage and commitment, and most important is, God’s leading and blessing. The man will leave father and mother (comfort and protection) and go unto his wife and they two shall be one flesh. The man now takes his bride as his best friend and confidant. Start immediately to be the pastor of your house. Some of us may not have done well in this and learned the hard way. Be the pastor and delegate responsibilities, recognize individual strengths and weaknesses and turn them to the family advantage. Start early to frame your home spiritually, to ensure your family participation in the translation and the marriage supper of the Lamb. Start now to establish a family eating and fasting pattern. Start now to discuss your finance and who is a better money manager. Everything you do should be with moderation, eating, spending, sex and relationship with other family members. The Lord takes the first place in your lives, and your spouse is second. Always take your problems to the Lord in prayer, discussions and searching the scriptures together before going to any human being for help. Both of you should avoid stress and always spend time praising God. Be a comedian to your spouse and learn to make each other laugh. Never use negative words on your spouse no matter what. Remember Christ is the head of the man and the man is the head of the wife. Practice good communication.

Before I forget, never refuse your wife’s food out of anger and never allow the sun to go down on your anger. Let none be too big to say to the other I am sorry, I apologies; bear in mind that a soft answer turneth wrath (Proverbs 15:1). Remember 1^st Peter3:7, “Likewise ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayer be not hindered.” Rev.19:7&9. “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen, is the righteousness of the saints. Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb —– These are the true saying of God.” Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, (Hebrews 13:4). Are you likely to be part of the bride? If so make yourself ready, the Bridegroom is soon to arrive. Let peace, love, gentleness, joy, longsuffering, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance reign in your lives. LET A SOFT ANSWER TURNETH AWAY WRATH BE YOUR WATCH WORD IN MARRIAGE.