THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT

PROGRAM AIR DATE – 1-15-17

LESSON TITLE: “GOD’S PLAN FOR THE HOME”

WELCOME

TODAY WE ARE BLESSED WITH A WONDERFUL GIFT FROM GOD, THE BIBLE. THIS BOOK IS GOD'S LIVING WORD. IN ITS PAGES WE ARE TOLD “FOR THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND POWERFUL AND SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD.” IT IS IN THIS BOOK OF BOOKS THAT WE FIND THE ANSWERS TO ALL OF MAN'S QUESTIONS AND NEEDS. THIS MORNING YOUR AREA CHURCHES OF CHRIST WELCOME YOU TO A PROGRAM COMMITTED TO THAT PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY. AS WE PRESENT THE LIVING WORD. NOW HERE IS YOUR HOST RAY SULLINS.

GOOD MORNING! IT IS AGAIN MY PRIVILEGE TO WELCOME YOU TO THE LIVING WORD PROGRAM, A WORK OF THE LORD DEVOTED TO DOING AND TEACHING HIS WILL, ACCORDING TO HOW HE COMMANDS US IN THE BIBLE. WON’T YOU CHOOSE TO CONTINUE WITH US THIS MORNING AS WE PRAISE OUR GOD IN WORSHIP TO HIM! AT THIS TIME LET’S GO TO THE FATHER IN PRAYER!

PRAYER: OUR GOD AND FATHER IN HEAVEN, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS DAY AND THE MANY GREAT BLESSINGS OF LIFE - THE PRIVILEGE THAT WE HAVE TO BE CALLED YOUR CHILDREN AND TO SERVE YOU. AND FATHER, HELP US - NOT ONLY TODAY BUT EVERY DAY - TO BE LIGHTS IN THIS WORLD, THAT WE MIGHT NOT ONLY BE FOUND PLEASING IN YOUR SIGHT, BUT THAT WE MIGHT HELP OTHERS TO KNOW AND OBEY YOUR TRUTH - THAT WE MIGHT ALL BE SAVED AND HAVE THAT GREAT REWARD OF HEAVEN SOMEDAY. HELP US IN THIS PROGRAM TO DO THOSE THINGS IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH WHICH YOU ASK. IN YOUR SON'S NAME WE PRAY, AMEN.

SOMEDAY IT WILL BE A WONDERFUL BLESSING TO RECEIVE OUR REWARD FROM GOD AND TO DWELL ETERNALLY WITH HIM IN HEAVEN. OUR FIRST SONG OF THE MORNING DEALS WITH THIS VERY TRUTH. SO, WON’T YOU JOIN IN WITH THE CONGREGATION AS WE SING TOGETHER, “WHEN THE ROLL IS CALLED UP YONDER.”

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU STARTED COMPLAINING ABOUT SOMETHING IN YOUR LIFE? WHAT WAS THE REASON THAT YOU GOT DEPRESSED? WAS IT CONCERNING YOUR JOB OR SCHOOL? POSSIBLY IT WAS FROM PROBLEMS IN RELATIONSHIPS, BETWEEN LOVED ONES, FAMILY OR FRIENDS? OR MAYBE IT WAS DUE TO POOR HEALTH OR PROBLEMS WITH SICKNESS? WHATEVER THE REASON IS, WE ALWAYS SEEM TO GET DOWN ABOUT SOMETHING.

I WANTED TO REMIND YOU OF WHAT THE LORD TOLD PAUL WHEN HE WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT HIS “THORN IN THE FLESH.” IN 2 CORINTHIANS 12:9, JESUS SAID, “MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, FOR MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS.” YOU SEE, PAUL HAD TO BE REMINDED THAT THINGS DON’T ALWAYS GO OUR WAY OR HOW WE THINK THEY SHOULD. IN FACT, IF YOU LOOK AT A FEW EARLIER VERSES IN THE TEXT, PAUL CLEARLY REALIZES THAT IT IS OUR INFIRMITIES AND PROBLEMS THAT KEEP US FROM BECOMING PUFFED UP OR BOASTFUL IN THE LORD. IN VERSE 7, PAUL SAID, “AND LEST I SHOULD BE EXALTED ABOVE MEASURE BY THE ABUNDANCE OF THE REVELATIONS, A THORN IN THE FLESH WAS GIVEN TO ME, A MESSENGER OF SATAN TO BUFFET ME, LEST I BE EXALTED ABOVE MEASURE.”

WHEN WE ARE CHRISTIANS AND LABORERS OF GOD, ONE OF OUR BIGGEST TEMPTATIONS IS TO BECOME ARROGANT, BECAUSE OF THE BLESSINGS AND PROMISES IN JESUS CHRIST. SOMETIMES IT IS THE TRIALS AND PROBLEMS OF LIFE THAT BRING US BACK TO REALITY SO THAT WE CAN REALIZE THAT WITHOUT GOD, WE ARE REALLY NOTHING. FOR THIS REASON PAUL WENT ON TO SAY IN THE LATTER PART OF VERSE 9, “THEREFORE MOST GLADLY I WILL RATHER BOAST IN MY INFIRMITIES, THAT THE POWER OF CHRIST MAY REST UPON ME.” FURTHERMORE, IN VERSE 10, HE GOES ON TO SAY, “THEREFORE I TAKE PLEASURE IN INFIRMITIES, IN REPROACHES, IN NEEDS, IN PERSECUTIONS, IN DISTRESSES, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. FOR WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG.”

WHERE DOES OUR STRENGTH COME FROM? ARE WE ABLE TO BE LIKE PAUL AND ACCEPT WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE HAVE TODAY? LOOK AROUND YOU IN THIS WORLD. EVERYONE SUFFERS DUE TO THE THINGS OF THE FLESH. THUS WE MUST ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT NO MATTER HOW BAD IT SEEMS TO GET WE CAN ALWAYS LOOK NEXT DOOR OR ACROSS THE STREET AND FIND THOSE WHO ARE IN MUCH WORSE SHAPE! INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING, WON’T YOU COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSING, AND NAME THEM ONE BY ONE? WE CAN ONLY HAVE THIS ATTITUDE WITH CHRIST!

TODAY, IN OUR STUDY FROM GOD’S WORD, WE WILL BEGIN A NEW SERIES OF STUDY ENTITLED, “AND THEY SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH!” OUR SPECIFIC LESSON THIS MORNING IS “GOD’S PLAN FOR THE HOME.” AFTER OUR NEXT SONG TOGETHER, I WILL BE LEADING US IN THIS STUDY FROM GOD’S WORD. NOW, WON’T YOU JOIN IN WITH THE NEXT SONG OF THE MORNING, AS WE TOGETHER SING, “WILL YOUR ANCHOR HOLD.”

LESSON

BY RAY SULLINS

WE ARE SO GLAD YOU'VE CONTINUED WITH US THIS MORNING AS WE NOW GO TO GOD'S WORD AND BEGIN OUR NEW SERIES THAT REALLY WILL BE FOCUSING ON THE HOME AS WE CONSIDER THE FACT THAT GOD CERTAINLY HATH BROUGHT MAN AND WOMAN TOGETHER TO MAKE A UNION, AND THEREFORE HAVE CHILDREN AND TO PROPAGATE THE EARTH AND THEY'RE ALSO BE THOSE AS A HOUSEHOLD WHO SERVE GOD. AND SO TODAY WE'LL TALK ABOUT REALLY GOD'S PLAN FOR THE HOME. AND TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE MIGHT ACTUALLY THINK ABOUT FOR JUST A MOMENT SOMETHING THAT WE LEARN OBVIOUSLY IN THE VERY BEGINNING OF ALL THINGS THAT IS IN GENESIS CHAPTER 1.

AS YOU TURN THERE I MIGHT ASK YOU TO CONSIDER THIS THOUGH - WHAT ABOUT THE UNIVERSAL LAWS THAT HAVE BEEN SET IN MOTION? MANY UNIVERSAL LAWS HAVE BEEN SET IN MOTION BY GOD AND STILL EXIST TODAY. BUT WHAT MAN-MADE TYPE OF LAWS ARE LAWS THAT REALLY ARE DIRECTLY GIVEN TO MEN STILL EXIST TODAY THAT HAVE ALWAYS EXISTED? WHAT INSTITUTIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED STILL EXIST TODAY - THAT HAVE ALWAYS EXISTED? REALLY THERE ARE FEW INSTITUTIONS AND NATIONS OR CONCEPTS, LAWS THAT HAVE REALLY EXISTED FOR ALL TIMES EXCEPT REALLY THE LAW OF GOD. AND EVEN WITHIN THE LAW OF GOD THERE ARE THOSE LAWS THAT ARE GIVEN THAT ARE UNIVERSAL AND THERE ARE THOSE LAWS THAT WERE REALLY GIVEN SPECIFIC TO THE AGE OF THE PEOPLE WHOM HE SPOKE TO. WITH THAT IN MIND I WOULD LIKE YOU TO THINK ABOUT THEN MARRIAGE. WE KNOW THAT, IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE HOME, THAT GOD PLANNED, EVEN BEFORE HE MADE THE WORLD, THAT THERE WOULD BE A HOME. AND WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE EVEN IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE PLAN OF CREATION, GOD DID ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO HIS ETERNAL PURPOSE. HE DIDN'T JUST COME UP WITH IT AS HE WENT ALONG OR JUST DECIDE AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. GOD IS AN ALL-KNOWING, ALL POWERFUL GOD. AND THEREFORE, HE PLANNED THESE THINGS AND KNEW THAT, NOT ONLY HE WOULD MAKE MAN AND GIVE MAN DOMINION AND MAKE THE EARTH FOR MAN, BUT THEN THAT MAN WOULD NEED A WIFE AND THAT THE TWO WOULD MAKE A HOME WITH THEIR CHILDREN.

NOW WITH THAT IN MIND, I WANT YOU TO THINK WITH ME CONCERNING WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS IN GENESIS CHAPTER 1. WE READ THERE THAT GOD MADE MAN IN HIS LIKENESS, IN HIS OWN IMAGE. VERSE 27 OF GENESIS CHAPTER 1 ACTUALLY ENDS BY SAYING, “HE CREATED HIM; MALE AND FEMALE. HE CREATED THEM.” BUT IT'S NOT UNTIL CHAPTER 2 THAT WE REALLY BEGIN TO LEARN THAT GOD'S PLAN WAS NOT FINISHED. AFTER HE HAD MADE MAN AND PLACED HIM THERE IN CHAPTER 2 IN VERSE SEVEN IN THE GARDEN, “HAVING BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS THE BREATH OF LIFE.” LIFE OR EXISTENCE ITSELF. BECAUSE HE SAW THAT MAN NEEDED COMPANIONSHIP, THAT HE NEEDED AS THE TEXT SAYS, A HELPER THAT WAS COMPARABLE TO HIM. YOU SEE, BY THIS TIME THERE WERE MANY ANIMALS CREATED AND ADAM HAD CERTAINLY MAYBE COMPANIONSHIP IN THE FACT THAT HE MIGHT'VE BEEN AROUND THE ANIMALS OR NOT BEEN ALONE ON THE EARTH. BUT HE DIDN'T HAVE COMPANIONSHIP IN RELATIONSHIP TO ANOTHER CREATION OR CREATURE LIKE HIM - ABLE TO THINK LIKE HIM, ABLE TO HAVE EMOTIONS LIKE HIM, ABLE TO RESPOND TO THE LAW OF GOD LIKE HIM. HE WAS NOT ABLE TO HAVE THAT UNTIL GOD SAW THE NEED FOR THAT ACCORDING TO HIS ETERNAL PLAN. AND SO THERE AS WE READ IN CHAPTER 2, IT WAS OUT OF THE VERY DUST OF THE GROUND, VERSE 19, THAT WE SEE GOD MADE THE WOMAN AND HE BROUGHT THE WOMAN TO ADAM IN VERSE 22. AND NOTICE WHAT ADAM NOW SAYS. HE SAYS THAT, “THIS IS BONE OF MY BONES, THIS IS FLESH OF MY FLESH - SHE SHALL BE CALLED WOMAN BECAUSE SHE WAS TAKEN OUT OF MAN.” SO WE SEE HERE COMPANIONSHIP. THE NEED FOR, NOT ONLY A MAN TO HAVE SOMEONE LIKENED TO HIM, BUT HAVE SOMEONE LIKENED TO HIM WHO EVEN LIKE WITHIN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM WOULD BE ABLE THEN TO PROPAGATE THE EARTH AND TO CONTINUE ON TO BRING FORTH CHILDREN ONTO THE EARTH.

NOW ALTHOUGH ADAM AND EVE DID NOT HAVE PARENTS, THEY WERE CREATED BY GOD, IT IS THE EXPRESSION THAT IS FOUND IN VERSE 24 THAT ALSO IS UNIQUE AND INTERESTING. BECAUSE HERE HE SAYS, “IT IS FOR THIS REASON THAT A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.” NOW THAT CERTAINLY BEGINS TO DESCRIBE FOR US THE UNION BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN WHICH BEGINS TO MAKE THE HOME - THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD. THE FUNCTIONING HOUSEHOLD THAT HAS A HUSBAND AND A WIFE, THAT HAS A FATHER AND A MOTHER, THAT HAS ULTIMATELY CHILDREN - THE HOME THAT IS DESIGNED BY GOD. AND WHAT WAS GOD'S IDEA? THAT A MAN, SINGULAR, SHOULD LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER. WHICH WOULD IMPLY THE SAME FOR THE WOMAN. SHE WOULD'VE BEEN WITH HER PARENTS - THAT SHE LEAVE HER FATHER AND HER MOTHER AND THAT THOSE TWO NOW MAKE ONE FLESH. AND THAT THAT ONE FLESH MAKE, NOT ONLY A NEW UNION, BUT A NEW HOUSEHOLD OR NEW HOME BEFORE GOD ALMIGHTY.

AND SO AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW BEAUTIFUL THAT CONCEPT IS, IT'S NOT STRANGE TO US THEN THAT WE ALSO LEARN WITHIN ONLY THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS OF GENESIS ONCE AGAIN THAT IN CHAPTER 4 THAT ADAM KNEW EVE, HIS WIFE, AND SHE CONCEIVED AND BEGAN TO DO WHAT? BRING FORTH CHILDREN; CAIN AND THEN ABEL AND OTHERS AS WE READ LATER IN THE TEXT. SO THERE WE BEGAN TO SEE, NOT ONLY THE FOUNDATION - THE BASIS, BUT THE HOME AND WAS PLANNED BY GOD THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO. AS WE WELL KNOW, ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, THE EARTH HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR SOME 6 TO 7000 YEARS. AND SO FOR ALL THAT TIME SINCE CREATION WHEN GOD IN SIX DAYS CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH AND SPOKE THESE THINGS INTO EXISTENCE, WE KNOW WITHIN THAT FIRST WEEK HE MADE MAN. HE PLACED HIM IN THE GARDEN, HE MADE A WOMAN OUT OF THE RIB OF MAN, AND THEY BECAME FOR THE FIRST TIME MAN AND WIFE. BEFORE GOD, THEY REUNITED IN WHAT WE WOULD CALL HOLY MATRIMONY. A HOLY UNION, NOT ONLY IN RELATIONSHIP TO MEET ONE ANOTHER'S NEEDS IN THE COMPATABLE SENSE OF THE DAILY CHORES AND WORK AND HOUSEHOLD THINGS, BUT ALSO IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE PHYSICAL NEEDS AND DESIRES OF MAN BUT ALSO RESULT IN THE BRINGING FORTH OF CHILDREN. AND SO THIS IS THE HOME AS GOD DESIGNS THE PLAN THAT HE HAS SET IN MOTION.

SO WITH THAT IN MIND I NOW WOULD ASK YOU TO GO WITH ME TO THE BOOK OF MATTHEW. BECAUSE NOW THAT WE HAVE MENTIONED SOME VERSES FROM CHAPTER 1 OF GENESIS AND ALSO FROM CHAPTER 2 - AS WE LOOK THERE IN MATTHEW 19 - IT'S QUITE SIGNIFICANT THAT THE SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, REITERATES; QUOTES THINGS THAT ARE ACTUALLY SAID IN THOSE VERSES THAT WE JUST REFERED TO. FOR INSTANCE, IN VERSE FOUR, AFTER THE QUESTION WAS ASKED CONCERNING A MAN DIVORCING HIS WIFE, JESUS FIRST SAYS IN VERSE FOUR, “HAVE YOU NOT READ THAT HE WHO MADE THEM IN THE BEGINNING MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.” THERE IT IS. THAT'S WHAT WE JUST READ OVER IN GENESIS CHAPTER 1 VERSE 27. BUT THEN HE SAYS THIS, “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED WITH HIS WIFE AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.” YOU REMEMBER THAT? WE READ THAT THERE IN GENESIS CHAPTER 2 VERSE 24. WHAT IS JESUS TRYING TO SAY? JESUS IS TRYING TO SAY THAT THIS IS THE WAY IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE UNIVERSAL INSTITUTIONS. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE UNIVERSAL LAWS OF GOD, THAT AS A MAN ( SINGULAR ) LEAVES HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND A WOMAN ( SINGULAR ) LEAVES HER FAMILY OR HER FATHER AND MOTHER, THOSE TWO NOW BECOME WHAT? ONE FLESH. THE TWO - NOT THE THREE - NOT THE FOUR - THE TWO BECOME ONE FLESH. THAT'S THE PLAN OF GOD. THE PLAN THAT IS DESIGNED FOR LIFE. AND HE ALSO ADDS THAT HERE IN VERSE SIX OF THE SAME TEXT, “SO THEN THEY - THE MAN AND THE WOMAN WHO HAD BECOME ONE - THEY ARE NO LONGER TWO BUT ONE FLESH. THEREFORE, WHAT GOD HAD JOINED TOGETHER LET NOT MAN SEPARATE.”

NOW THAT KIND OF LEADS US TO OUR NEXT THOUGHT ABOUT THE HOME BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT GOD DESIGNED, WHAT GOD WANTS. WE KNOW HOW TO NATIONS OF EVERY AGE AND PERIOD OF ALL THE DIFFERENT HISTORICAL RECORDS OF THE EARTH HAVE SHOWN THAT MAN HAD ENTERED INTO A MARRIAGE OR A UNION AGREEMENT. WE NOW SEE THOUGH THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT GOD ALWAYS PLANNED AND DESIRED AND THAT THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WAS FOR THE LIFETIME. THAT WAS FOREVER. AND IF YOU WILL NOTICE THAT - IF YOU'LL LOOK WITH ME THERE IN THE VERSE AGAIN HE SAYS NOT ONLY THAT GOD HAD JOINED THEM. IN OTHER WORDS, OUR UNION AS MAN AND WIFE IS A UNION BEFORE WHAT? BEFORE GOD - BUT WHAT GOD HAD JOINED TOGETHER LET NOT MAN SEPARATE. NOW WITH THAT IN MIND, HOW SAD? HOW SAD THAT WE LOOK BACK AND WE THINK ABOUT WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE IN EARLIER DAYS WHEN MEN BEGAN TO FOLLOW HIS OWN DESIRES, HIS OWN PLAN, WHEN MEN BEGAN TO DESIRE MORE THAN ONE WIFE. NOT THAT A MAN AND A WOMAN WOULD BECOME ONE; THE TWO BECOME ONE FLESH. BUT MAN WOULD BEGIN TO SERVE HIS OWN FLESHLY DESIRES BY MAYBE HAVING MULTIPLE WIVES. WE SEE HOW SAD TO AGAIN FIND THOSE WHO BEGAN TO DESIRE OTHER WOMEN AND DIDN'T EVEN WANT MULTIPLE WIVES BUT WOULD DIVORCE THEIR WIVES AND PUT THEM AWAY. AND WE SEE HOW SAD AGAIN, THAT EVEN MEN LIKE MOSES, ALLOWED SUCH TO HAPPEN. THAT MOSES ALLOWED THESE THINGS TO TAKE PLACE AND AUTHORIZED A WRITING OF DIVORCEMENT. NOW DON'T YOU FIND THAT INTERESTING BECAUSE JESUS SAYS IN THE BEGINNING THAT WASN'T THE WAY IT WAS - ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN, ONE FLESH FOR LIFE. WHAT GOD HAD JOINED TOGETHER MAN SHOULD NOT SEPARATE. WHAT'S BOUND IN HEAVEN SHOULD REMAIN BOUND. BUT WHAT DID THEY SAY? WHY DID MOSES THEN, VERSE SEVEN, GIVE A WRITING OF DIVORCEMENT? THAT'S AFFIRMED FOR US BACK IN DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 24 IN THE FIRST FOUR VERSES THERE. WHY DID MOSES ALLOW THAT? HERE'S WHAT JESUS' ANSWER TO THAT IS THERE IN VERSE EIGHT, “MOSES, BECAUSE OF THE HARDNESS OF YOUR HEARTS, PERMITTING YOU TO DIVORCE YOUR WIVES. BUT FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO.” THAT WAS NOT GOD'S PLAN. MOSES MAY HAVE ALLOWED IT. MEN MAY HAVE SERVED THEIR OWN DESIRES, THEIR OWN HEARTS. AND IT SAYS BASICALLY MOSES GAVE INTO YOUR DESIRES AND YOUR HEARTS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU WANTED BUT THAT WASN'T WHAT GOD COMMANDED. HE SAYS YOU CAN SEE IN THE SCRIPTURES WHAT GOD COMMANDED. YOU CAN SEE IN GENESIS 1:27 - IN GENESIS 2:24 - YOU KNOW WHAT, FROM THE BEGINNING, WAS REQUIRED AND THEREFORE, WHAT GOD HAD JOINED TOGETHER, LET NOT MAN SEPARATE. LET NOT MAN DIVIDE. LET NOT MAN PUT ASUNDER. THAT'S WHY AS WE BEGIN TO LOOK, NOT ONLY THROUGHOUT THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, BUT SPECIFICALLY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WE BEGAN TO SEE SOME OF THESE WARNINGS ABOUT THOSE WHO REALLY WOULD CHOOSE TO DIVORCE OR TO PUT AWAY THEIR MATES. WHETHER IT BE A MAN OR WHETHER IT BE A WOMAN. WHAT IS GOD'S ATTITUDE TOWARD DIVORCE? HOW DOES GOD FEEL IN RELATIONSHIP TO DIVORCE? WE FIND THERE THAT THE SCRIPTURE, EVEN IN THE VERSE THAT IS FOUND IN MALACHI CHAPTER 2 TELLS US IN VERSE 16, THAT GOD HATES DIVORCE. WE GO BACK TO THE OLD TESTAMENT AND WE FIND THAT THE ISRAELITES WERE OFTEN CALLED ADULTERERS BECAUSE THEY HAD LEFT THEIR HUSBAND OR THE UNION THEY HAD TO GOD AND HAD BEGAN TO COMMIT ADULTERY SPIRITUALLY WITH OTHER NATIONS. GOD HAS ALWAYS HATED THOSE WHO AGREED TO A BOND OR TO A UNION AND THEREFORE THEY WILL NOT KEEP THE AGREEMENT OF THE COVENANT THAT THEY HAVE MADE. HE HATES THEIR ACTIONS AND HE HATES THE THINGS THAT THEY HAVE DONE. BUT WHAT HAS HE ALSO DONE DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE HATES PRIMARILY THE ACT? HE'S CONTINUED TO GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO REPENT. TO CORRECT THOSE THINGS THAT THEY HAVE DONE. TO MAKE THOSE WRONGS RIGHT. AND SO THAT'S WHY IT'S SIGNIFICANT AS THE QUESTION WAS ASKED IN MATTHEW CHAPTER 19 OF WHY DID MOSES ALLOW IT? OR WHAT ABOUT DIVORCING OUR WIVES? AND JESUS SAID FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO. THIS IS NOT THE WAY GOD PLANNED. HERE'S WHAT GOD PLANNED. BUT THEN HE SAYS THIS IN VERSE NINE, AND I SAY TO YOU THIS IS JESUS, GOD IN THE FLESH, THE ONE WHO NOW IS OUR KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, “WHOEVER DIVORCES HIS WIFE, EXCEPT FOR SEXUAL MORALITY, AND MARRIES ANOTHER COMMITS ADULTERY. AND WHOEVER MARRIES HER WHO IS DIVORCED COMMITS ADULTERY.” BOY, THAT SOUNDS PRETTY TOUGH DOESN'T IT? WELL, IT IS TOUGH. IT'S TOUGH BECAUSE WHAT IT TELLS US IS THAT WE HAVE A CHOICE. WE HAVE A CHOICE WHEN WE GET MARRIED AND THE CHOICE WE HAVE IS WHO WE WILL MARRY BUT THAT CHOICE THEN IS A UNION FOR LIFE. AND THAT WE DON'T HAVE A RIGHT TO DIVORCE - EXCEPT HE SAID - THE EXCEPTION FOR DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE THAT IS PROPERLY IS SEXUAL IMMORALITY. WHY IS THAT? BECAUSE THE UNION OF THE MARRIAGE ALONE IS WHERE THE BED IS UNDEFILED. IF SOMEONE IS TO BREAK THE COVENANT, NOT ONLY IN ACTION BUT ALSO BY GOING OUT AND BEING WITH OTHERS, THEY HAVE BROKEN THE VERY DEEPEST BOND OF THE MARRIAGE UNION. AND THEREFORE, AS WE WOULD EVEN SEE HERE, HE SAYS WHOEVER COMMITS ADULTERY THAT INDIVIDUAL HAS SEVERED THE COVENANT. HAS DESTROYED THE COVENANT. AND THEREFORE, IN THAT CASE, IF THEY MARRY ANOTHER THEY WOULD NOT BE IN ERROR. BUT THAT'S THE EXCEPTION. WHERE ARE THE OTHER EXCEPTIONS? WELL, THERE AREN'T OTHER EXCEPTIONS. THE ONLY OTHER PLACE THAT WE READ ANYTHING THAT DEALS WITH SOMEONE MARRYING FOR A SECOND TIME RIGHTFULLY SO IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AFTER THE UNION IS BROKEN IS WITHIN DEATH - IN FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 7 VERSE 39 AND AGAIN IN ROMANS CHAPTER 7. BOTH OF THESE TEXTS TELL US THAT WHEN THE MATE DIES HOW CAN YOU HAVE A COVENANT WITH SOMEONE WHO NO LONGER LIVES OR WHO NO LONGER EXISTS ON THIS EARTH. THEREFORE, IT IS PROPER AND RIGHT THAT ONE REMARRY IN THAT SITUATION.

SO WHAT KIND OF HOME DO WE HAVE BEFORE GOD? WE HAVE HOMES THAT ARE LOOKING TO GOD, THAT ARE FOCUSED ON GOD, THAT ARE CENTERED AROUND HIS WORD. HOMES THAT HAVE THE LOVE THAT GOD WANTS THEM TO HAVE. THAT ARE DEDICATED, COMMITTED TO LIFETIMES. LIFETIMES ON THIS EARTH TO GIVE OURSELVES TO ONE ANOTHER THAT WE MIGHT BE PROPER IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. HOMES THAT AREN'T INTERESTED IN DIVORCE OR BREAKING UNIONS OR BREAKING COVENANTS OR DISAPPOINTING GOD. BUT HOMES THAT LOVE THE WILL OF GOD FIRST AND FOREMOST AND WILL ONLY DO WHAT HE SAYS. I'M ALWAYS AMAZED THERE IN MATTHEW 19 WHAT THE DISCIPLES' RESPONSE IS TO WHAT JESUS HAS JUST SAID ABOUT THE ONE EXCEPTION. IF YOU DIVORCE EXCEPT FOR SEXUAL IMMORALITY YOU COMMIT ADULTERY. THERE'S THE EXCEPTION. THEY THEN SAY, “IF SUCH IS THE CASE OF A MAN WITH HIS WIFE IT'S BETTER NOT TO MARRY.” DID THEY UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT THIS WAS? YES, THEY WERE SAYING, “HEY, IF THIS IS THE CASE MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T EVEN GET MARRIED. BECAUSE THEN WE KNOW THAT WE CAN NEVER DIVORCE. WE CAN NEVER CHANGE WIVES. WE'RE STUCK IN THE RELATIONSHIP.” THAT WAS THEIR MINDSET. BUT NOT STUCK IN THE RELATIONSHIP - JOINED IN THE RELATIONSHIP IN THE SIGHT OF GOD TO ACCOMPLISH THE HOME THAT GOD REQUIRES. ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL WHEN WE STUDY THE WORD OF GOD? WHEN WE LEARN WHAT HE WANTS? BUT EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL WHEN WE DO WHAT HE SAYS? WHY NOT BE A HOME FOR GOD? WHY NOT BE MEN AND WOMEN - HUSBANDS AND WIVES - THAT SERVE GOD FIRST ALWAYS - KNOWING THAT YOU'LL BE BLESSED, NOT ONLY IN THIS LIFE, BUT BLESSED AS WELL IN THE LIFE TO COME.

LET ME THANK YOU AGAIN FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING AND FOR SHARING IN THIS TIME OF OFFERING TO GOD. IT IS OUR HOPE AND PRAYER THAT YOU WILL JOIN US EVERY SUNDAY MORNING AT 7:30, AS WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO DOING THE THINGS OF GOD ACCORDING TO HIS WORD!

NOW, LET ME ASK YOU IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT TODAY’S LESSON? MAYBE, YOU WOULD LIKE A FREE TRANSCRIPT OR CASSETTE TAPE OF THIS PROGRAM? POSSIBLY, WE COULD ASSIST YOU WITH FREE BIBLE MATERIALS OR CORRESPONDENCE COURSES? NO MATTER WHAT YOUR NEED IS, PLEASE CONTACT US AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:

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MAY WE ALL FOLLOW THE PLAN OF GOD IN RELATIONSHIP TO OUR HOMES, THAT WE MIGHT BE FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS TO ALL BEAUTIFUL LAWS. THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS CLEAR AND PERFECT PLAN FOR THE GODLY HOME!