Taking Marriage Seriously

Dr. Tony Evans talked about the trouble we run into when we think of marriage is very.

This is the alternative Tony speaker Pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas Texas and president of the alternative when married life falls short of happily ever after. The results can range from disappointment to divorce, but today Dr. Evans explains that when that happens more than just marriage valves get broken.

Let's join them in Malachi chapter 2 as he begins Malachi's theme is very simple for God seriously as opposed to taking God casually, cavalierly says we ought to take God seriously because God deserves that begins this section of verse 10 do not have one father I have not one God created us, he wants us to be introduced with the unity of God. One father one he wants the unity of God to be emphasized for very real reason he says because you don't treacherously against his brother so as to profane the covenant of this unified God has been profane how verse 11. Treacherously, an abomination has been committed in Israel and Jerusalem for Judah has profane the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter going to get into the dicey subject of men were divorcing their wives and nine women and women would bring God into the sanctuary because they had a different belief system so they would leave the why else who brought their theology with any says and you are profaning the sanctuary, the Chicago was on his way to catch a flight and saw this pretty lady started talking to Ethan about where you going to so I'm going to go so I'm going to Florida. Why don't we fly together, the answer is because you're going into different directions singles. The reason why God says that Christian should not marry a non-Christian is because there is a spiritual conflict. There is a conflict of God's, and those God will conflict with each other. There will be a clash of God make marriage is hot enough when you have the same God when you wind up with a conflict of God. He says not only do you have this conflict with the unity of God because you asking a unified God to be in this unified scenario.

He says you profane the same. That is you doubting up the house of God. When you knowingly and intentionally hook up with those who do not share this one God because they have their own God.

In other words, what he says is that the marriage is a spiritual issue not merely a human issue not merely social issues.

The Bible says be not equally together with the nonbeliever hook up with somebody you share your faith because there's going to be a conflict of God's what was bothering this people in Malachi is a God was not answering their prayers, he says, for example, in verse 13.

This is another thing you cover the altar with tears and weeping and groaning, because he no longer regards the offering and accept it with faith coming to church and just singing the coming the church in appraising coming to church and you are prophesying your coming to church in Europe, giving the same time the says you profane the sanctuary.

Stick with me.

You are not God's house and I do not receive your offering. In fact, he says even more strongly in verse 12 as for the man who does this. May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob, strong language speaking out of illegitimate divorces, he says. May God that man off legitimately divorces his mate. God takes his covenant seriously. Remember, a covenant is a spiritually binding relationship between God and his people and has legal status in the spiritual realm covenant is a legally binding relationship in the spiritual realm that God has another was operates by the rules of his covenant all right and we get something straight here this. You don't want to miss says she is your wife by covenant so you look at it. We use the word marriage is covenant. Guess what covenants are designed to do in the Bible limiting within not first and foremost designed to do and that is make you happy.

Most people many people get married to be happy. Okay, let's get this straight. Happiness is the result not the purpose. Once you make happiness. The purpose and you are no longer happy.

You want to trade the car you like the person said I was looking for the ideal. It has become a ordeal so marijuana the purpose of God's covenant hospice is always to expand his kingdom and his we may believe he said I could be created out of the need male and female he created them and then he said, and let them have dominion be fruitful and multiply spread image across the earth that is spread like kingdom in history that the purpose of the covenant is the expansion of the rule of God in history. Most couples never get around that purpose. They still stuck on happy get stuck on happy.

Satan's got you pretty know how to make you unhappy. He knows just what is the push to make you unhappy if you start with complement you want.

Most people stop the covenant. That is the purpose of marriage is the relational expansion of the purposes of God in history through what he calls verse 15 seeking a godly offspring. No other words he don't want to have children. The family likes to want to have children to raise up a godly seed who sprang out and spread the image of God. Why happiness comes off of the purpose of covenant being put down but if you're stuck in a happy and never get around the covenant happy will die because happy is not enough to hold the purpose for which the covenant was established in confidence were designed to expand God's purpose in history we have one God, one father one size 1 because he wants the unity of the relationship unity different persons, but unified place that is covenant the first ingredient of a covenant all confidence transcendent. That is overseen by God, transcendent means he sits over it.

He transcends it is overseen by God.

You need to know that because you want to see in just a few minutes, God said, let not man put asunder what God has joined together, so he said the charge for me to marry you and go to a judgment in the decree you divorce so you brought me on the front end but you leave me out on the back you messing with my transcendence. The second aspect of a covenant is hierarchy or chain of command, all covenants have a chain of command in order to all covenants have an order Lord says in prescriptive 11 three every man is underpriced since Christ is on the God Everyman is on the Christ woman is undermanned the children and parents.

You write all that you check out the company was you mess with that on and stop flipping and tweaking and doing all that stuff. Covenant disintegrates and it's a mess that aligns roles government guidelines things that you were responsible for him to leave him to get these two rules get out of every other one falls on these tools, love and respect is manageable.

The Robinsons woman disposal hold in high esteem, respect people who thought her heart. She supposed massages.

Both the legitimate end of Ephesians 5 says men love your wives, wives seek to it that you reference your husband that is holding the highest because of those two things operating under God.

Of course, that harmony becomes normal and not sanctions that is consequences.

Dominion is experience or dominion is not experienced why because if Satan can get you are you he can keep God away from you. That's why little foxes become gargantuan sites.

You cook the bacon to the boss from bacon because Satan was able to create disunity and once it creates this unity. He keeps God and die because first Peter three Simon says with a hot little wife in conflict. Don't pray God finally definable the fit area is inheritance covenants always meant to be multigenerational because a godly offspring it was to work itself out in the generations. The reason why everything we dedicate children.

The devil wants to split up families is so we can get the kids. He wants to get the kids.

But in order to get the chance and have in getting the kids got to try to mess up mom and dad. What's the problem, verse 15, but not one is done so as a remnant of the spirit. He says what's missing is the spirit. Dr. Evans will have more force in a moment, including a look at the three essential parts of every healthy relationship that today's lesson is the first in Tony's message compilation marriage matters.

This 14 lesson series takes an in-depth look at God's blueprint for families.

She can build better relationships with the most important people in your life. Along the way you learn how to break down communication barriers rekindle romance and solve problems that are so serious they become strongholds because this information is so important. Remaking both volumes of the complete collection available as our gift and appreciation for your contribution toward Tony's ministry here on the station and around the world.

As an added bonus will also send you a three booklet bundle including the very popular marriage matters for married men. Only and for married women only. This is a limited time offer to visit Tony Evans.org right away to get the details and make all the arrangements.

Again, that's Tony Evans.org or let one of our resource team members help you, day or night at 1-800-800-3222 that's 1-800-800-3222. I'll have her contact information for you again after part two of today's message and this mountain taking place soaring over Wales reaching the surface of the ocean.

Since example, our creator continue, you place evidence God's creative, like the stunning will to coastal and you can experience it with joints including Evans and other friends at the ministry together we discover the glory of God's spectacular creation, unforgettable Alaskan cruise to take in the splendor of God's creation along with the wonders we will enjoy great teaching Dr. Tony and other gifted instructors as well as life-changing worship and special musical performances is spiritually uplifting.

Give us time to refresh complete we take a journey through Scripture else around awesome creation is Alaska. Find out more about the urban alternative Alaskan Tony Evans.org today relationships for Christian should happen on three levels. All three critical relationships. First of all physical levels.

We see each other.

We like what we see. So there is the visual then there is the soul level you people talk about. I found my soulmate.

You start living with one living with. So if you find your soulmate glad you click drive, but is not is also affected by sin and circumstances. He says what is a remnant of the spirit third level is the physical that is the sole English connection. But then he says the spirit, the spirit is the God of peace.

That's the spiritual peace the spiritual. It will not impact windows so please those last and go please get old or fat. Whatever is nothing to grab onto. Most people are getting the lost soul issues going haywire.

Because you don't like him anymore. Get this feeling about divorce and he does not flinch or 16 I divorce, says the Lord God of Israel and him who covers his garment with wrong company dominant to get married with wrong so to keep your spirits that you do not deal treacherously. Okay, let's get this straight. God is made and it extremely clear. I hate divorce which means if you're Christian you should hate it to turn with me to Matthew chapter 19, some Pharisees came to Jesus asking him trying to trick him, saying, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all, let me put it another way, can I get a no-fault divorce laws for irreconcilable difference. What does he say have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female back to Genesis.

He made a male and female, and say… For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh, and the two shall become one flesh, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh.

What God has joined together, let no man separate divorces occur because the two never become one with the two become one. They produce something new.

All marriage is one question asked.

That is commonality of purpose not sameness of being men don't stop being men and women on stopping when they come together to produce something new that did not exist before.

The reason why you know that's important is because when you move to become one.

You now have God invested in the relationship as long as you stated to you do not have God invested in relationships, no matter how much church you go to, so they have a question number seven. Why did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away.

Not supposed to be in a divorce. God let Moses come up with a bill of divorcement per se because of the heart of your heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been this way because industry God said let Moses come up with a bill of divorcement not. That word was command that no one was command.

It was a permission God never commanded divorce under certain circumstances in order to maintain order in society today permitted he said because of the hardness of your heart you refuse to submit to God's way and that's why divorce exist divorce exist. Jesus says because one party or both parties rip to submit to God's alignment. God's covenant God's wife. That's why divorce happens somebody somebody using to submit to God's way. God does give a second reason given to Paul in first Corinthians and seven. Second reason against the divorce is abandonment.

Abandonment can take two forms.

It can take typically leaving walk away from the relationship.

One law vacating your role.

These abandon his role as provider for husband beats his wife. These abandon his role as protector safe so you can you can abandon your well let's say Jesus is a drug addict he's stealing stuff from the house and selling it for his drug habit.

These abandon his role. So God says to Paul person leaves their leave the premises or leaves the role of the church can recognize that and grant a decree of divorce, but the point is given.

If you have to get it. You still should hate that you got it because God hates divorce, so you should hate it hate it when your offspring for your children for your life so avoidable if I'm in this situation, commit adultery: went to commit adultery because a person married her to commit adultery and God's standard okay if the strain can't be around children and it now you got stepchildren and now you guys. They can be unraveled. What you do is you come facet now that you recognize and you go Winston, you don't keep repeating this thing go and you begin to operate, mentally because God recognizes some things get so twisted that you can't you cannot punch with them. So what you do is use if you are separated, but you're not divorced, then the finger bill before you move forward with the divorce is the answer. Upon are you willing to relocate our roles and become of the Jesus Christ, God's way. Or maybe your divorce and nobody remarries are you willing to come on the God, mental guidelines relationship. That's the best you can do with that and you already divorce then you're in a situation that may not be able to be fixed. But what I'm saying is, at least, you take that position. If you are in the relet marriage but nobody in performing the roles that you learn what you will.

That's why well for married mentally for married women only know what their will is and you follow your well when you file your well, God begins to heal the wounds and restore the relationship, but only if you're on the covenantal name stop when you and you rebuild from the serious so that we can see God restore his church by healing that covenantal rule doesn't start with a list of do's and don'ts. It begins with a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If you're not 100% sure you know what that means. Drop by Tony Evans.org today and follow the link that simply says Jesus there. 20 will explain it clearly, and walk you through what to do next will also find some free resources to get your new life started off right. Don't wait. Drop by Tony Evans.org today no longer there.

Consider requesting a copy of the 14 lesson compilation which includes the full-length version of today's message. The series is called marriage matters.

And when you make a contribution to help keep Tony's teaching on this station will send you both volumes of this complete set as our thank you gift you can get them on CDs or instantly downloadable MP3s and right now will also include that popular three booklet bundle marriage matters for married men only and for married women only. This offer won't be around for long, so be sure to contact us right away.

All the details are waiting for you@tonyevans.org you can also call her 24 hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 that's 1-800-800-3222 a divided home can be a miserable place to live, but Dr. Evan says that's only the beginning of the trouble when a husband and wife don't work together under God's authority. I hope you'll join us for that tomorrow and until then you looking for opportunities to show kindness to others for the benefit of our culture. Your community and the glory of God the alternatives with Dr. Tony at rock you fighting made possible by the generous contributions listeners like