God Sex and Marriage (have You Not Read)

Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] (Singing) Glory be to God in the highest. Amen. Glory be to God in the highest. Amen. For His mercies endureth forever. Amen. For His mercies endureth forever. Amen. He can never, never fail. He can never, never fail. He can never, never fail. Jesus, the same forever. He can never, never fail. He can never, never fail. He can never, never fail. Jesus, the same forever. (Speaking) We thank our God again for this opportunity to be in His presence again, for this privilege again of another marriage forum for the second Saturday in the month of August 2021. We bless His holy name for the privilege, for His mercies. We thank Him for how He has been helping us all through. To Him be glory and honor in the name of Jesus Christ. Our last marriage forum, that is the one for the month of July, we were looking at an evaluation of the life of the family of David. We saw how it all started, how hurt and grief began when Amnon raped Tamar. Absalom said nothing but was grieved, eventually killed Amnon in revenge for what had been done, how David in a way banished Absalom from Israel and how David struggled with the emotion of bringing him back, but the forgiveness was not complete and the consequences of that for the whole family, how Absalom later rebelled and the whole thing did not turn out well for David. And our major lesson from that, our major take-home from that was the need for us to be careful with how we handle hurt, grief, offenses, how we ought to handle the matter of forgiveness, that if we have forgiven, forgiveness should be genuine, it should be true, it should be real. Holding unforgiveness, holding hurt, allowing it to persist, at the end of the day, only make matters more complicated both for the offended and for the offender. And our encouragement was that for us to see that it’s so important that we handle hurt, grief, and offenses frankly, in a genuine manner so that what the family of David experienced may not be repeated in our own family. The Lord help our homes in Jesus' name. Today for the month of August, we’ll be starting what may look like a series of discussion, trusting God to take us through the series one after the other. The topic is God, Sex, and Marriage. God, Sex, and Marriage. That’s the topic. We want to look at these topics, particularly looking at what the scripture says, looking at the scriptures, trying to search the scriptures, trying to look critically at the scriptures, trusting God that by the spirit of God, we’ll be granted light to see the truth as it regards this matter. And I’m trusting the Lord that as we journey together through this series one after the other, and I want to encourage that if you have been connecting with us online, please stay connected. If you have been connecting but you have not been inviting people, please invite people. Honestly, as I look forward to us looking at this topic together and particularly also trusting the Lord that there will be seed for the sower and bread for the eater, that the Lord will Himself attend to us, grant us understanding in this matter, particularly in the light of so much confusion today that is in our society, so much philosophy, human reasoning, secular reasonings, secularization of sex, secularization of marriage, and so many things happening around us today. We want to look at this, particularly for us as Christians, to be sure that we are also not being carried away by some of these humanistic philosophy and humanistic view that don't have their roots in Christ. Our concern under this ministry, under this forum, is a biblical Christian view based on the scriptures on the matter of God, sex, and marriage. That is our burden in this forum. And I trust the Lord that as we journey together, it will be a blessing both to the hearers and to even we the speakers. And I want to encourage you, if there are questions here and there, please connect with us. At the end of every program, there is always how you can reach us. Please connect with us and let us have whatever the questions, whatever your responses are, your question or your comment are, and you can be sure we will treat them. Let us have a word of prayer as we start today. Almighty God, we bless Your name. We give You glory, we give You honor, we give You adoration. We appreciate You for Your mercies. Lord, we commit ourselves into Your hand. Lord, we are asking for our brethren who are here physically and for our brethren who are connecting with us online, Lord, across the globe. Lord, we pray that You will work in our midst in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray for the working of Your Spirit, the working of the Holy Spirit. We trust in You that You will give us light. We trust in You that there will be seed for the sower. We trust in You that there will be bread for the eater in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, our eyes on You. Let nothing prevail against Your purposes our lives and our marriages in the name of Jesus. Thank You, immortal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' most holy name we pray. Amen. Amen. Yes, I said we'll be looking at the topic God, Sex, and Marriage. And I want us to look at this matter in a way that I want to start in a way that will help give a direction to how we'll be considering the whole of the topic under this series. And I want us to do that by going to Matthew 19. Matthew 19. That was the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees. Let's see that scripture. Matthew 19, reading from the verse 3. Some Pharisees came to Him, that is to Jesus, to test Him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" That was the question. "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" I want you to see something very, very important in this question that was brought before Jesus, or that the Pharisees asked Jesus. The Bible records in the verse 3 that they actually came to test Him. They did not come to learn. They did not come to be taught. They want to trap Him. They want to see a way to outsmart Him. That was the intention with which they came. And many times, people still come with this kind of intention to scriptures. People don't come with an open heart to learn. People come with some notions, either from their culture, either from their experiences, or from their background, or from some philosophies or from some orientation towards life. And their approach in scriptures is not because they are open to God's spirit. It's not because they are open with humility, saying, "God, please teach me Your truth, teach me Your ways." Rather, the intention sometimes is just to test scriptures. The intention sometimes is even to mock scriptures, to show how wrong the Bible is, or to prove a point that the Bible is not correct. We will be coming to that much more later, but I just want you to note that in this as we begin this discussion. I told you it's a series. We just want to lay some background for how we want to journey gradually and wherever we end today, we'll pick it again from there next month and I trust the Lord to also keep us through the series all and help us to learn together. But I just want you to note something in the background, that these people came to test Jesus and how that apply to contemporary times today. The second thing I will be calling our attention to is in what Jesus responded, in how Jesus responded. And I said it is how Jesus responded that I want to set a direction for how we'll be looking at this topic of God, Sex, and Marriage. Now Jesus in responding to that said, "Haven't you read?" He replied, "that at the beginning, the Creator made them male and female." "Haven't you read?" He replied, "that at the beginning, the Creator made them male and female and said, 'The Creator made them male and female and then said, for this reason...'" He made them male and female and then He said, "because of this reason, because I made them male, it was male and female, for this reason, a man," representing the male, "will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man put asunder, let no man separate, let no man try to bring a divorce, let no man try to tear them apart." What God has joined together. And then in saying this, I want you to notice that this was Jesus' response to the question of can a man put away his wife? Can a man divorce his wife for any reason or for any other reason? Can he? And His response was that, look, when He ordained marriage, when the Creator was making, was bringing in marriage, He made a male and a female and also said, there was not only a making, there was also a pronouncement that a man will leave father and mother and be joined. There will be joined, and that joining is a joining that makes them to be practically one. It is not a mystical oneness. It is not a theoretical oneness. It is not a mental oneness. Jesus in His response was saying that He made them, they become one. So because they are one, they are no longer two, you cannot separate. So what God has so joined, what He has made one, then there is no reason, not even the person who is in it, nobody, there is no reason to separate it because God is the one who ordained it, who said so. And then we I'm trusting the Lord as we move on, we'll still come back to this to look at it more closely, comparing scriptures with scriptures. However, what I want to draw out for our direction today, because I said I just want to lay foundation for how we'll be looking at all the topics under this series. Now, I will be picking we'll be looking at that from our Lord Jesus' response to the Pharisee. Now, what I want to call your attention to in the immediate and we want to run with for today is that He said, "Haven't you read?" "Haven't you read?" "Haven't you read?" Now from this response of our Lord, it becomes crucial for anybody who claims to be a follower of Jesus. It becomes crucial for anybody whose aim in life is to become like Jesus, for anybody that we would describe as a disciple of Jesus. We're not talking of other categories of people. We're talking about people, individuals, husbands, wives, men, women, bachelors, spinsters, teenagers, boys, girls whose aim is to follow the teachings of Jesus or to exemplify the life of Jesus. Anybody that will call a disciple or a follower, because remember they were called Christians because they were living like Christ. They want to talk like Him, they were acting like Him, their teachings were like Him, the things they said, their manner of life was like Him. And in a bid to mock them in Antioch, they started calling them Christ-like, Christ-like. So the word Christian actually began as something mocking people, from mockers. Look at this one, they are acting like Jesus, they are talking like Him, they are speaking like Him, they are looking at life like Him. So when we are talking about Christians, I'm not talking of somebody who is inside one church. You might be in church and actually be a Christian. Because there are so many people today who gather inside different churches and in several other religious gathering claiming to be followers of Christ. So I'm not what I'm trying to address is that for anybody that actually is a follower of Jesus, that actually is following Jesus, it is so crucial to note what Jesus said here. The first the matter He raised with the Pharisees in this scripture was that have they not read? It means in in aligning our lives with God, it becomes crucial to know what has been written. It becomes crucial to give attention to that which has been written. It becomes crucial to particularly be concerned about what was written. Because there are so many things today happening around us and people come with all kinds of I feel led by this spirit, I feel led by that spirit, the way the spirit is operating in my life is this way, I have this conviction, I have this belief, sometimes it becomes even so difficult to relate to many of these things. And sometimes in relating to some of these things, a lot of things become so ambiguous, so complicated that the the simplicity of scriptures is somehow set aside for some humanistic, for some so-called spiritual interpretation or something I don't know. But what I'm trying to say is that for Jesus, the first issue that He felt brought confusion to this generation, the first thing that gives man confusion in life, the first thing that makes men want to test God, the first thing that makes men to grope in darkness, the first thing that makes men to be ignorant of the truth, to be ignorant of God, to be ignorant of the Creator, because He said, "Haven't you read that the Creator..." What makes men not to know the Creator, what makes men not to relate to the Creator, what makes men to be lost as to the position and the mind of the Creator, what makes men not to be able to walk with God is their ignorance of that that was written. Is their taking that which had been written for granted? Is their making a caricature of that which had been written? Is their making a fool of that which had been written? Is their not paying attention to that which had been written? So the ignorance that makes men to be asking foolish questions, what led to men coming to test their Creator, what led to men being ignorant of what to do, of of how to handle marriage? What makes men to be confused as to the matter of marriage? Is that it is either they have not read or they willing to be ignorant, wanting to display a superior wisdom by which they become they become foolish, is not to pay attention to the scriptures. And that is why when I was introducing this topic, when I was introducing this topic this morning, I said in this matter of God, Sex, and Marriage, my desire, my aim with brethren who are connecting with us on this matter, on this discussion, starting up with us and who will be connecting with us on this matter, I want us to to open to open our hearts to that which had been written. I want us to look to pay attention to scriptures. I want us to look at the matter because they brought the matter of marriage, the matter of sex, the matter of can a man put that one away and begin to have sex with another one, the matter of marriage, the matter of sex, the matter of sexual expression, the matter of sexuality, the matter of how should you know man human relationship when it come to the matter of reproduction, when it come to the matter of children, when it come to the matter of coming together as one. When it come to this matter, that was the matter they were bringing. The matter of family, the the the basic unit of society. Because all every other institution in society get their member from the family unit. The family is that unit where procreation takes place. The coming together is is so fundamental, is so basic, and that is why some some say that family is supreme. That that union, that coming together in marriage, that coming together in marriage, that marriage institution, that union between a man and his wife, is the core of human existence. And when you want to deal with the core of human existence, if you want to deal with the core of human life, you want to address the matter of order in human society, can I inform you, if you have not read or you read but you make light of that which was written, can I announce to you that you are not Christ-like. We cannot describe you as a follower of Jesus. We cannot describe you as somebody that really want to know God on this matter. Because when they brought the matter to Jesus, He said, "Have you not read that the Creator..." So the Creator actually wants you to read. The Creator actually wants you to look at scriptures. The Creator was speaking, Jesus was affirming the position of the Creator and He was affirming that position by that which had been written. I don't know whether you understand what I'm trying to say. You understand what I'm trying to say about this matter of Jesus affirming position of the Creator is that you need to I maybe I should I should I should I should take you to John, the book of John chapter 3 so that you can understand the matter I'm trying to emphasize. We'll soon be back, I'll be back again to where we are considering. I'm just trying to give a direction to why we'll be looking particularly at scriptures, that that is written, as against that which we feel, that which we think, that which we philosophize, that which we reason. Because the Bible said, God in His wisdom had made it that the world by its wisdom will not find God. The more men want to find God by their own wisdom, they will not find God. They will remain in darkness and they will grope in darkness and society is is is is is facing the consequences of that today. So much confusion about marriage, so much marriage family instability, you know, children there is thousands of research and research on the implication of this for children, children who who grew up in broken home, children who are not attached to parents, parents who cannot properly monitor and supervise children, how the situation of of the instability in marriage have become a foundational problem for children growing up in that home, and how all of this have led to diverse crisis for society today. Just because man begin to place above that which has been written, that which has been written, man begin to place above it what he feels, what he thinks, what he imagines. And the Bible says their imagination therefore become vain and their reasoning becomes darkened because they refuse to acknowledge God. I want to show you something in the book of John why I'm saying that Jesus was affirming something in that place. If you look at John chapter 3, John chapter 3, Jesus was speaking to one of the teachers of the law whose name is Nicodemus. He came to Jesus by night and He was asking Him, He was relating to Jesus on some issues. I just want to look at something that Jesus said in that place. I want to quickly take it from from verse 9. Nicodemus asked, "How can this be?" Jesus said, "You are Israel's teacher and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth. We speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people did not accept our testimony." Do you know what I'm trying to make you understand? Anytime Jesus is addressing any matter with men, when He was addressing Nicodemus, he came by night, one of the teachers too, like those teachers came to Him to ask questions, can a man put away his wife for whatever reason? And Jesus in this passage is giving helping us, because He was speaking one-on-one with Nicodemus. He is helping us to understand the background from which He as the Savior, He as God the Son, He as the Messiah was speaking. And anytime He is speaking, the basis upon which He speaks, He said He was telling Nicodemus when he was saying how will this thing be, what you have been saying that a man must be born again, he must be born by the spirit, these are you can go and read between verse 1 and verse 8. God was telling him that he must be born again, Nicodemus was asking will he have will the man have to enter into his mother's womb and then be born again or how will he how will this happen, this your born again stuff, I don't understand it, it's confusing, what are you saying about it, can you explain? So Jesus was saying, "I tell you the truth." Don't forget that Jesus is the truth. So the truth is telling the truth. If any man want to find truth, he cannot find truth outside Jesus. Any man who ignores Jesus can never walk in the truth because He is truth personified. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." That's John 14:6. So the truth is saying truly, truly, the truth is telling the truth. Are you following me? He says, "I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know." So when Jesus was saying, "Have you not read?" Jesus was not exaggerating. When He was speaking in Matthew 19 and He was telling the Pharisees, the teachers of the law that came to Him, when He was saying, "Have you not read? Have you not taken time to look at scriptures?" Jesus was speaking from the background of what He knows. And what Jesus knows is that a man must give attention to scriptures. Any man that want to walk with the Creator, any man that want to bring God into his marriage, any man that want to bring God into the matter of marriage in his life must not look beyond scriptures, must not look away from scriptures, must not look outside scriptures, must look, must look into scriptures and seek understanding and seek direction in scriptures. Jesus was speaking, He said, "We speak what we know." From what the Lord Jesus knows, when men begin to ask stupid questions, when they begin to test God, when they begin to raise matters about marriage, when they begin to talk and and say some some humanistic point of view, when they begin to say certain things that are contrary and opposed to God, the fundamental problem you need to ask them is that have you not read? It is likely they have not read. It is likely they took what was written for granted. It is likely they felt they were looking for more light apart from what had been written. They are looking for something else beyond the basic truth of the scripture. They are looking for something else outside that which had been written. They are looking for a way to maneuver, to twist that which had been written. They are looking for way not to say can I understand? No, they want to test what had been written. They came to test me. So Jesus is affirming to us that when He speaks, He speaks what He knows. Number two, He said, "We speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen." So when Jesus was bearing a testimony to them in Matthew chapter 19, He was testifying to what He has seen. Don't forget that in the beginning was the Word, Jesus is the Word. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and through Him all things were made. He's speaking from the foundation of existence. He's speaking as one who was, who is, and who is to come. He's speaking as an He's speaking from the position of Him who was, who was before the beginning. He's speaking as He who came out of timelessness to create time. He's speaking as one who created all things out of nothing by the power of His Word. He's speaking from the point of view of the Creator. He's testifying to a matter that He has seen. He saw that the Father wrote. He saw that the Father noted things down. He saw that certain things have been noted down by the Father. And if men want to go right in their life, they must pay attention to those things. They must read those things. They must seek understanding in it. They must not try to look at the matter of man and his wife, a wife and her husband, the matter of man and woman when it comes to marital relationship, once it is taken outside what is read, will lead men into confusion, will bring men into darkness. Because there was a Creator and the Creator when He was creating that thing, when He was doing the creation, He did something, He created something, and then He said something. And these are things we must pay attention to. Because this is what Jesus saw. He saw it. He's speaking to what He has seen. He's testifying to what He has seen. Anybody who is a follower of Jesus must understand this. Anybody who truly have an encounter with Jesus can never at any point relegate the scripture. The scripture become the final authority in his life. When he want to find the Creator, when he want to know the position of the Creator, the scripture is what he will read. The scripture is what he will pay attention to. The scripture is something that he cannot obviate, he cannot set aside. The scripture is the final authority in the matter. In the matter of God, in the matter of sex, in the matter of marriage. The first matter that Jesus raised was haven't you read? Haven't you read? Haven't you read? And my brother, that's what I'm asking that's what I'm raising today is haven't you read? Have you not read? That question that you are asking, that thing that is bothering you about your family, about your wife, about your husband, about your marriage, that thing that you are looking at, that matter that is looking so so so fundamental to you, that decision that you want to take, that one that you have already taken, that one you are about taking, that question that is in your mind that you are looking for answers to or answer for, the first thing I want to ask you is have you read? Have you taken time? Do you understand that what Jesus knows and what He saw is that the Creator want men to pay attention to what had been written? What had been written. There's a need for you to look at that. And why I want to still say something further from the book of John. He said, "We testify to what we have seen, but still you people did not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you did not believe. How then will you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man." Are you following the second matter I want to raise with you about that Matthew 19 in this place in this John that we are reading? May I announce to you or may I emphasize back to you again as it has been written here that nobody has seen God, but somebody came from God. And the person who came from God is testifying to what He saw. He's testifying to what He knows. No man has seen God. And that is why if any man preach another gospel, even if an angel try to lead us away from scriptures, let that man, let that angel be accursed. That's according to scriptures. You find that in Galatians. If any man try to lead us away from scriptures, if any man try to twist scriptures for us, if any man try to make us set aside that which had been written, we better set that man aside, better set that individual aside, better place them aside. When it comes to the matter of God, the matter of the Creator, what He created, He said He created male and female, we'll be coming to that subsequently, and then He said and then He made a pronouncement, and then He joined together. These are very, very serious matter because these are direct pronouncements of Jesus about the matter of God, about the matter of sex, about the matter of marriage. So the introduction that I'm raising today is for any man to catch up with the Creator, for any man to walk with the Creator, for any man to connect with God, any human being, because the person speaking who raised that matter was somebody or is someone who only is the person who has seen God. He's the person who came from Him. He is God incarnate. He came from Him and He's the one saying that if you want to connect with Him, have you not read? Have you not read? Have you checked scriptures? Have you checked scriptures? Did you pay attention to scriptures on this matter that you are asking on this issue that you are raising? He said, "Have you not read that the Creator..." Hallelujah. Have you not read? And that is where we want to leave the matter today. We are leaving the matter today about God, Sex, and Marriage. What we are leaving with you today, beloved, fellow listener, friends, if any man want to get it right, if any man truly want to get it right when it comes to this matter of marriage relationship, then that person must sit down to know what is written. That person the question will first ask the person that have you not read? If you have read, you'll not be asking this kind of question. If you have read, you'll not be doing this kind of things. If you have read, you'll not be saying this kind of things. If you have read, you'll not be acting this way that you are acting. What you are what you are displaying, even though you are you are doing it so authoritatively as if as somebody who is going somewhere, the truth is that you are ignorant. You're an ignorant person. Even though they came as teachers of their law and they were coming to raise matter to ask question to say, yes, can a man put away his wife? They want to test Jesus to know how much He knows compared to what they know. Even though they came to come and prove a point with Jesus, they were they were coming from a background of serious and complete ignorance. And anytime you see any man who come to the Bible that way, who come to scriptures, who look at scriptures from that same perspective, who is ready to turn scriptures and who feel there's something there's something we can reason out, there's something we can say, there is a happening, there is a cultural belief, there is that philosophy, there is this thing about it that we should apply, there's that that we should look at. May I announce to that person, no matter how authoritatively he may be speaking, it's just a display of the ignorance that is in them. There is a ignorance and how will I conclude that? I want to conclude I'll conclude today, I want us to look just look at the book of Ephesians. The book of Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4, let's see what the Bible says there. Just want to talk about this matter of ignorance, just to show you something Ephesians chapter 4 from verse 17. Now look at what the Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4 from verse 17. It says, "So I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking. They are dark in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to hardening of their heart." Are you following? There is something about men who are Gentiles. There is something about men who don't know the Lord. There is something about them. And the scripture is telling us in this place that I tell you this and I insist in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking. They are vain in their thinking. They are unreasonable like those Pharisees. How can ordinary mortal men come around to test their Creator? Ordinary mortal men come around to test the Messiah. Ordinary mortal men are thinking and hoping that by some some calculations they will outsmart Him in wisdom. How can foolishness come to confound wisdom with one wisdom? Do you know that so great is this wisdom that even the prince of this world if they have known they would not have crucified the King of Glory? Satan thought that he's wise and yet he was taken by his own craftiness, so that he thought by having having killed the Messiah, the deal had been done, the case had been closed, God's purpose have been frustrated, but he never understood that by reason of death, his power over death will be taken away from him. I'm talking about wisdom, wisdom, the spirit of wisdom, wisdom personified. I'm talking about Jesus. And some men came around, they wanted to test how they can outsmart wisdom. Is that not futility? Is that not foolishness in their thinking? Are they not futile in their thinking? Are they not vain in their imagination? Is it not the same way when men try to argue scriptures away, set scriptures aside, mock scriptures, make caricature of it? Is it not the same thing? They are futile in their thinking. The futility of their mind. Futility in their mind. They are darkened, it says they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life that is in God. Are you futile in your mind? Are you darkened in your understanding? Are you separated from a life that is in God? You cannot get it right in marriage. When come to the matter of sex and marriage you can never get it right. And why is it like that? Because of the ignorance that is in them. The ignorance that is in them. And every man that still act like that today, the problem his problem is the problem of ignorance. It's the problem of ignorance. So I want to plead with you, I want to enjoin you wherever you are connecting with us on this series that we are trying to start today. God, sex, marriage. I want you to know that we want to search scriptures. We don't want we don't want to display ignorance of the Creator. We don't want to display ignorance about the Creator. We don't want to be futile anymore in our thinking. We don't want our understanding to be darkened. We want to look at matters not as Gentiles, not as philosophers. We want to look at matters understanding that He who created them from the beginning, He who made at the beginning actually wrote down scriptures. He who made gave a direction, He made and He said. And the Lord Jesus said they should give attention to the scripture. They should turn to scripture to understand. They should look at what had been written. And that is what we want to do, we want to give attention, we want to check, we want to look at it one after the other. We want to check some things on this matter of God, Sex, and Marriage. We'll end here today and our focus for today is simply Jesus said, "Haven't you read?" We'll meet next month. I trust the Lord we move on to check the response of the Pharisees, the response again of Jesus, and then as we go on, we begin to go and check what actually was made at the beginning. We'll just begin to look at these things. We trust the Lord to carry us gradually as we go on in this journey checking. Did how the discussion ended in Matthew 19 and then go back to what was written, what is what was said, how it was what was made and what was said, and relate all of these to our situation today. Marital instability is not a new thing, it was in the days of Jesus. And what Jesus pointed men to in order to correct the instability is haven't you read? Let us pray. I want you to begin to bow down your head to pray. Are there areas in your own life when you have become futile in your own understanding? You begin to promote some cultural beliefs above the scripture. You begin to promote some humanistic view above the scriptures. You begin to promote some human reasoning, some philosophy, some scientific explanation, some perspective here and there, and then you begin to set scriptures aside. You begin to search it aside. Have you checked? Let him who thinks he stands, let him take heed. Can you check, can you check your life again? Can you look inward and see whether the way you are looking at relationship between you and your wife, you are looking at it from the point of what God created and what God said? From the point of what God created and what God said. From the point of what God created and what God said. Our Father, we thank You again for this morning. We bless Your holy name. We lift You high. Our God, we are asking that Lord, as we continue, we take up this series, Lord, go ahead of us. Grant us strength, grant us light, grant us grace, grant us revelation, grant us wisdom. Lord, heal our homes. Lord, bring restoration, bring reconciliation, bring forgiveness. Lord, restore homes, restore family. Bring peace again into our world. Bring peace again to society. Bring peace to family. Lord, let there be restoration for homes. Thank You, blessed Father. In Jesus' most holy name we pray. Amen and amen. Let's share the grace together. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen and amen. This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission heat. Our regular activities are: Discipleship class every Monday, 5 p.m. Adolescent and Singles Club, every first Saturday of every month at 10 a.m. Marriage Forum, second Saturday of every month at 10 a.m. Family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the First Bridge, Illere community, opposite very joyful filling station along Egere road, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you all.