United

What does it take to have a marriage that is fully united? 

Can you and your spouse honor marriage and keep your vows? 

Can God help you through all kinds of valleys and difficulties? 

The answer is YES!

Make Jesus your Savior and Lord.  Receive his forgiveness for your past sins.  Ask for his help to live a new and better life each day.  Learn from the mistakes of others.  Memorize the promises of God found in his Word.  When a couple stands with the Lord, they will stand the test of time and trial.  God's Holy Spirt, and his powerful and living Word, will be your guide if you will allow him to lead.

We focused on the united couple that has been healed this Sunday.  As I shared a brief message and we heard a testimony of a couple that went through divorce and then reconciliation, it was amazing.  I was reminded of several other couples that were present in the room that had overcome great trouble and even separation to become a healed, holy and healthy couple!  God is still working!

I skipped the end of the sermon so that we could pray for couples.  Here is what I skipped.  I have copied this directly from my sermon notes.

What Heals?

        Commitment – Believers should follow Jesus' command - “Let not man separate.”  (Matthew 19 and Mark 10:9).  When at all possible, avoid separation.  Don't get mad and walk out.

        God’s power – God can do miracles in people.  Even if you are separated, let's pray for miracles in people.

        God’s instructions - Ephesians 4:32 says,  "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."  What if we obeyed the Scriptures about how to treat other believers at church?  Better yet, what if we applied those instructions to the treatment of our own family at home?!?!

        Kindness – Ephesians 4:32

        Tenderness – Ephesians 4:32

        Forgiveness - Matthew 6:14-16  ^"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵ but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." 

        Humility - Ephesians 5:1 says," Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

        Relationship with Jesus – Malachi 2:15 encourages the couple to be "one in spirit."  1 Cor. 6 says, "You are not your own," but "bought with a price, honor God with your bodies. " 1 Cor. 7 says, "The husband's body is not his own and the wife’s is not her own," but we yield to each other.  Ephesians 5:28 says that husbands ought to "love their wives as their own bodies… "  A united couple is going to be growing spiritually together.  A united couple will learn that they literally belong to each other in every way.  A daily relationship with Jesus will change your marriage.

Jesus is our peace and has broken down the wall of separation.  Paul was speaking of separation between Jews and Gentiles, but he can bring down a wall of separation in a couple too.  As believers, we are given the ministry of reconciliation (guiding people to be reconciled to God through Jesus).  If that is our ministry to the world, how much more should it be our ministry in our home?