This is a Great Mystery

[Music playing] [Speaker 1] This morning, we're appreciating Him for His preservation. We appreciate Him for helping us again to gather for our marriage forum this second Saturday in the month of July. So, the first marriage forum for the second half of the year. And what we did with Singles' Club, which came up last Saturday, every first Saturday, we want to say again that honestly, we are grateful to God for His help through the first half of the year, looking at various topics under the marriage forum. Various topics, which are in a way, I would like to quickly highlight what we have looked at between January and now, just to see how God has helped us before we move into today's topic, which is "It is a Great Mystery." I want us to look at what we have done between January and now, just calling our attention back to some very important things, seeing how God has helped us from January till now. In the month of January, we took an overview of how indeed the Lord is calling us, bringing us to the point of the need for us to live a life void of bitter envy. If you remember, our topic in January, that was the 13th of January, the second Saturday of 2024, we looked at "Bitter Envy: A Deadly Mistake Among Couples." I'm saying all of this just giving an overview of what happened between January and now, so that in case you may want to look at any of these topics again, they are all on our website. You can go there to download them to listen to them again. Bitter envy, a mistake that is common among couples. What it is and the implication was our focus in the month of January. By the time we came to February, we started a series, which is about the tongue. The tongue. And in the month of February, we opened up the matter of the tongue by taking a reflection on James 3, where the Lord by His Spirit spoke to us categorically through our brother James on the matter of the tongue. We looked at that in the month of February, and we told ourselves that by the time we move to the month of March and April, we'll be looking at the matter of the tongue from the perspective of the wife and from the perspective of the husband. So, in the month of March, we looked at "The Tongue 2: Biblical Examples of Wives in the Bible." And in order to make it very comprehensive, we said women and wives. You are first a woman before you became a wife. So, biblical example of women and wives. That was what we did in the month of March. And by the time we came to the month of April, we looked at it again from the perspective of the husband. That is "The Tongue 3: Biblical Examples of Men and Husbands." And the Lord helped us. We journeyed through all of that. We came to the month of May. The month of May was to conclude on the matter of the tongue. So, we said "The Tongue 4: Concluding Remarks." We took concluding remarks in the month of May. And in the month of June, we looked at a very important topic: "That Your Prayers May Not Be Hindered." That was an encouragement of the Lord in His word to us in 1 Peter 3, "Husbands, live with them according to knowledge as a weaker vessel and as co-heirs so that your prayers may not be hindered." We took our topic from that place: "That Our Prayers May Not Be Hindered." That was in the month of June. And for today, which is the month of July, we want to look at "This is a Great Mystery." This is a great mystery. And that was a statement that we found in the book of Ephesians. The book of Ephesians chapter 5. "This is a Great Mystery." And the write-up that quickly followed the topic in what we sent out yesterday was indeed marriage is a great mystery. Yet, it is not a mysterious institution. Marriage is a great mystery. That doesn't make it a mysterious institution. It doesn't make it a mysterious institution, even though the Bible says marriage is a great mystery. The Bible never gave an impression that the institution is mysterious. The institution is practical. The institution, you must be real. The institution, it's not just being there and trying to hide things under some seemingly spiritual—no, you know there's a way you'll be calling malice wisdom? Just trying to handle it wisely while you are bearing malice with your spouse? There's a way you might be treating departure from first love in the name of "I'm avoiding conflict." So, it's a place that's practical, where our humanity is displayed. This is where our humanity—you see, it's the place where it comes to bare. It's the place where you realize that as you are casting out devils there, it's a man that sleeps and wakes, it's a man that can eat. So, this institution is as we dress and as we undress. That is where we are ourselves. So, it is actually an institution where we are easily vulnerable. So, it is not a mysterious institution. And it's in wanting to make it mysterious that a lot of people get into serious trouble. It's simple. It calls for humility. It calls for genuineness. It calls for obedience. It calls for forbearance, for patience, for large-heartedness. So, it's a very, very practical institution. So, it is a great mystery. But that does not mean that it is a mysterious institution. Rather, the principles that guide marriage, they can be learned. They are things that you can learn. It's either because you refuse to learn, or you're learning but you choose to forget. Bible says don't be a forgetful hearer. Or you did not forget, you chose to disobey. Any of these things. The principles can be learned. They are things that you can choose to learn. The Bible says you learn, so when you look at the life, you learn to do well. Both husbands and wives, learn to do well. Many times you won't feel like doing well. Many times what you feel like doing is not good. But you must learn that you must be doing good. You need to learn it. It has to be learned. It means you must deliberately and consciously give yourself to learn. And when you learn, deliberately and consciously make up your mind not to forget. And then, when you make up your mind not to forget, you must also be deliberate and conscious to be obedient. If you put these three things in place, marriage will be successful. That's the background I just want to create as we begin this morning. And I pray for every husband, maybe as a wife and you are having struggles in your home, or maybe you are not having struggles, but everything can be in a better state as it is for this morning. We bless Your holy name. We appreciate You for Your love for us, for mercy over us this morning, that we are together to work with You. Lord, I pray that You will help our future as we move. Lord, we pray. We will not go back the same way we came. We will not go back the same way we came in the name of Jesus. Thank You, eternal Father. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. So, let's look at the text of the Bible where we took the topic from. Ephesians chapter 5. The book of Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians 5. Paul was addressing the husband and the wife. And then, he raised that matter. Ephesians 5:32. That's where we took our topic from. "This is a great mystery. This is a great mystery. But I speak concerning Christ and the church." NLT: "This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one." NIV: "This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church." The Message: "This is a huge mystery, but I don't pretend to understand and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church." Amplified: "This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning the relation of Christ and the church." So, what is the scripture referring to as a great mystery? What is the scripture referring to as a great mystery? So, if we look before verse 32 and we look after verse 32, we will be able to have a glimpse of what the scripture is trying to say. Now, to bring that glimpse before us, I'd like to read what the Bible says from the earlier scriptures. Please listen attentively. It says, I want to begin from 22: "Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church, and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her. He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." The scripture was talking about husband and wife. That's what he was talking about as the mystery. Illustration of Christ and the church. Why is marriage a great mystery? Why is marriage a great mystery? One of these reasons for some of us, why is marriage a great mystery? Now, also the reality will help us as a husband or as a pastor or as a wife or from another perspective, because marriage will have implication for our spirituality. Please note that you can be successful in your career, successful in your business, successful in your local church, maybe gain popular in your city, but when it comes to your marriage, people tell you that they are surprised about what's happened. It is because you are not appreciating something spiritual about marriage. The appreciation of the mystery of the institution of marriage, as practical as it is, as open as it is, as transparent as it is, as humble as it is, with meekness. When you appreciate the mystery, it helps you to understand what to do. Not appreciating the mystery will run aground their marital life. In other areas of their life, we find them successful, and we'll be wondering how. "I know how I can keep friends and we are friends, but when it comes to marriage," they wonder why. And then, they will say that it's because it's as if they translated it into their marriage. There are people that are good, you are good, you are good everywhere you are. You see, it is because many times we are not seeing this work of the mystery. And because we don't appreciate the mystery, that this is a great mystery, we don't come into marriage with the commitment, with the flexibility, with the humility, with the transparency. We don't come into this thing—we come into it the way we entered our career, the way we entered our businesses, the way we entered our friends. We come into it many other ways, but not as a mystery. That's why you will note a great person in society—"Oh, that artist," "Oh, that preacher," "That this"—you'll see the great, great people who, when you now see their marriage life, you say, "Wait, what's happening?" "How did this happen?" "I didn't expect this to happen." It's because we don't appreciate this great mystery. How do we appreciate it? Just like when Isaac Watts wrote in 1707, 1708, "When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it Lord that I should boast save in the cross of Christ my God, all the vain things that charm me most I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature mine that were an offering far too small, love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all." Are you seeing something? What am I trying to make you see in that? Is that the person is appreciating something and so it is defining the kind of life that the person is living. What am I saying is that when you don't appreciate the mystery, it will not define your life. A man who cannot survey the cross of Christ will still be charmed by some vain things. It will not have implications for his life. But a man who can survey it and survey it and survey it, you see he will begin to think, "Oh, I sacrifice everything to His cross. I do this. In fact, if I give all my life, it is still too small." You know, because he's doing what? He's appreciating something. My prayer this morning for you who is listening to me, wherever the enemy has blinded your eyes from this mystery, I pray that by the Spirit of the Almighty, you will come again to appreciate this mystery and it will have implications for your life in the name of Jesus. We stand against every blindness of the devil because the Bible says if our gospel be hidden, it is hidden to those that the enemy has blinded their eyes. For we understand that there could be a working of blindness. There could be a working of blindness of men from the truth. I pray for every individual who is struggling today in relationship, in marriage, who is struggling as a result of not being able to appreciate this mystery. I pray, eyes shall be opened in the name of Jesus. Thank You, our Father. Let's move on. So, let's see what the Bible began to refer to as the matter of this mystery. And let's look at the simplicity with which it was presented. The simplicity. These things are presented in a very, very simple way. Ephesians chapter 5, from 22 where we read, we read through to 32. Now, when you look at each of those verses, it began with talking about the wife, what the wife ought to do towards the husband. It went on to talk about the husband, what the husband ought to do towards the wife. It moves on. It was in talking about what the husband ought to do towards the wife, as he was rounding that off, that he now came back again to the institution of marriage. And that is where the mystery began from. Now, in talking about the husband from that verse 28, he had been saying something about the husband. Now, he was now saying that so husbands ought to love their wives as their own body. He who loves his wife loves himself. Now, having said that, as soon as he said he who loves his wife loves himself, he now moves to something quickly. He shifted away from the husband. He shifted away from the husband. He said, "For no one ever hated his own body." He's now talking generally. He was talking about the husband and then he now begins to bring something pushing towards something that we need to quickly take note of. He said, "For no one has ever hated his own flesh. Nobody. Nobody has ever done that." But everybody—what everybody does, what everybody do—is nourishing and cherishing their body. Now, you notice having said that, the next thing is just as the Lord does the church. He had been talking about the husband and the wife as Christ loved the church. That is true. But he went into something and that is what brings marriage into this matter of a mystery. He said, "For just as the Lord the church." the next in verse 30, you notice it's the word "we." Not about the husband and the wife again. "For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones." Then, 31. He now came back again to marriage. Because we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones, he now came back to marriage in 31. What did you now see again in 31? He now said, "For this reason a man will leave father and mother and be joined to his wife." What's he trying to make us see? He's trying to make us see that marriage as an institution, you go back since Genesis. You go back to the sentence in Genesis. Let's go to the sentence in Genesis. Let's see the sentence in Genesis. Genesis 2:18. The Lord said, "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make a help suitable for him." Now, from this scripture, from this verse of the scripture, marriage is the conception of God. So, marriage is of God. Marriage is not something that government will talk about. It's just what we talk about several things. But when you talk about marriage, marriage is solely had its origin in God. It's origin, it was God. Having made the man, He now said, "Surely it is not good that he should be alone. I'm going to bring a help suitable for him." So, if you stop looking at God, you will miss purpose. Looking at God and what He did, you will miss purpose. He said I'll make a help suitable for him. Then when God was to make the help, God brought different animals out of the ground for Adam to name them. The Bible said there was none that was comparable. Then the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man and he slept. Why is God doing all of this? Why is He—does He lack anesthetics? What work God is actually doing here? You must note that God had used some shadows before. They wanted to kill the meat in Exodus, the lamb. God said every part of the lamb, you must eat everything away, that no bone must be broken. That was instruction. They are trying to kill something, they don't break the bone. They work around the bone. They just be walking around, walking around. So, everyone must develop a skill—"Who don't go and meet the person that will do it?" because no bone must be broken. It's like a serious exercise. "Wait, someone just died, what happened?" But if that bone is broken, you have negated an eternal purpose. That lamb is an illustration of Christ. And his bone must not be broken. It looks ordinary thing that they were doing. Don't break the bone. Don't break the bone. All these people are just shouting. What do you do? even if you don't break the bone, don't break the bone, all these people that are just shouting, you know some children of today? "Don't break the bone, don't break the bone," you know they are going to say, "Don't break the bone, they're going to say, we are not eating it." he said no, we are taking away. We do not break the bone. What are they doing? Why is God so specific about the way? It is because God has something that must not be contradicted in mind. Do you understand? Just trying to make you get this picture of practical things on ground and eternal purpose of God. Another one: God told Moses, "Your seed, not seeds, the families of the earth shall be blessed." It started the journey. Mind you, a woman must not give birth the usual way because Christ is not coming the usual way. The Holy Spirit will come upon Mary. So, the Holy Ghost would make Sarah to bring Isaac. The body of Sarah must first stop being any human biological possibility. Abraham too must die, the body must die. Not to be any spermatozoa. So, it will be conceived. What was God working at? And then, God said okay, Ishmael shall be against everybody, and everybody against him. Why is He killing us more? Why is he entering it today? Because God was not making sense to somebody. It was not making sense to Him. "God, you said You will bless me, You will bless me. I beg, what of this? It's like I see it will not be Sarah." and he just went to Hagar. That small shift. Look at this today. Just look at this today. You see as I'm pointing this thing about a profound mystery, I'm trying to show all of these things that were written down for our lives. And we must get this thing, we must get our hearts to begin to fear God, you will never be wise. I said and in this matter you are having with your husband, and this matter you're having with your wife, until you fear God, both of you will be doing foolishly. The fear of God is you have not begun to become wise until you fear God. That is why—look at Abraham, God will appear that I would not lie. Go in unto my wife's slave because that is acceptable. You know it was culturally acceptable then. So, he just did what was culturally acceptable and everybody said, "What's wrong Hagar?" Hagar was just everything, just was not our problem. It was somebody who shifted purpose of God. And then, when it now began to face them, "You see now, he's doing this to me. You look at all of this you are just suffering the consequences of your action." It was a profound mystery. Just a small shift in one generation. How many generations are still on that issue? That's why some small shift in your marriage, a little disobedience, a little rebellion, generations may suffer it. Children's children. It is a profound mystery. And I give you another one. It was the rock that followed them was Christ. Is that not? That's what we got to know in 1 Corinthians 10. We didn't know that the rock that followed them, that was following them, was Christ. He just said it was a rock. Speak to the rock. God said, "Why?" how can an ordinary rock offend Jesus? So, in our simple humanity, there's mystery that surrounds us. This mystery, what is it called? Humility. Humility. Am I correct? Reverence. Submission. So, it's not mysterious, rather it is serious. You can learn the principles. It's not something mysterious. Marriage is something ordinary thing. Marriage is a mystery but it's not a mysterious institution. But there's a mystery around marriage. And that's why I'm beginning to show you that God has always worked in mystery. This is how God has always been working. That is why we say again that Jesus is what? The mystery of Godliness. If you only see this mystery, God has always worked in mystery. Mystery simply means truth that is hidden. The mystery is the truth God is doing. But it is not something you can see physical. It's not something you can logically prove. It is just that you just agree that God said what we mean by that. So, these people don't mean something cannot understand so they begin to say "I don't understand the principle," that's not what I'm talking about. The mystery of God is revealed by the Spirit of God. God didn't go away from His house to come and know what I'm doing. It's not as if God is inside the room, I'm covering the thing as not power. It doesn't have anything to do with God. You see what he's doing. At the time I'm on the rock, fundamentally, it looks like ordinary stone around them. It looks like ordinary stone around them, but it was not ordinary stone. The rock that followed them was Christ. But does that make any sense? You just see one stone. I can just go and drink water there. That was just the way you felt. But there was a mystery. The mystery is that this rock is Christ. And he who fell upon this rock, church, he shall be broken. So if you look at how people fall on the rock, sorry, you only see people fall on the rock. You don't see who is inside the rock. You only see people who want to make sense out of many things about their marriage, will run out of marriage. Try to make too much sense about marriage. When you reach the profound mystery, you stop being explicit because marriage... why was God so about the way? It is because God has something that must not be contradicted in mind. Do you understand? Just trying to make you get this picture of practical things of everyday life and eternal purpose of God. And that's the way God works. It's in the ordinary of everyday life. That's what we call "in this ordinariness you are set." the grace of God that brings salvation is teaching us to be what? To be sober. You are sober. You are in the ordinariness of everyday life, you are watchful, vigilant. Be watchful in the ordinariness of every day. We are in a world, a mystery. And I'm illustrating what we meant by mystery so that some won't think "Oh I don't understand." No. So, when you look at what happened in this place, looks like Adam don't have—let there be Eve. God created Eve, just God would pick something and everything is there. No, it took time. "Oya, put on my surgery suit. Oya, let's enter into the theater. Oya, is it the surgery? Oya," the Father started tearing it, take out the bone, took the bone, molded the thing. For when the Bible says God worked and He rested and hallowed that seventh day that we should be resting, it means God actually worked. And that's why I tell people, anyone who hates work is a godless person. You see people who hate work? God worked. God did not eat. When you want to eat without working, you're a godless person. You work, you work, you work. Having finished the work, He now took time again, brought the woman. Why is God doing all of this? Is He just...? No. God was working towards something very serious. So very serious. You notice that how God did all of that, brought the person to Adam, "Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman because she was taken..." Having said that, let's go back to that verse 23. She was taken out of man. What was in verse 24? Verse 24, what followed? "For this reason..." So, listen. Listen. Because she was taken out of man, it's for that reason. Note that a man shall leave father and mother and be joined to his wife. Because she was taken—so the reason why he did all those things was that God was trying to bring out a reason. If God did not do all of that, there would have been no reason. There would have been no reason. Anybody to anybody. The way any goat can sleep with any goat. One goat can just be giving birth, sleeping with so many. And any man can just go, you call them "master key," opening up and sleeping with this one, sleeping with that one, sleeping with that one, sleeping with that one, sleeping with that one, and use one male goat and create hundred goats, hundred fifty goats, animals. But when it came to man, it's not a male and female. There was a work that made it a reason why a man will leave father and mother. That is God ordained marriage. The second thing now is that what is it? Why is He doing all of this? Why is God busy molding Eve out of the man? Why is God busy taking the bone of the man's side? Why is He doing that? Why is He doing that? For—now, for this reason. Now look at the mystery of the reason. Let's go back to Ephesians now. Look at the mystery of the reason. Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians 5. Look at the mystery of that reason. Now look at it. Go to 28, 29 and 30 now. "No one ever hated his own flesh," abey? "but nourisheth it and cherisheth it, even as the Lord does the church." Look at verse 30. "For we are..." What are we? the church, that's the church. What are we? "For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones." He now said, "For this reason a man shall leave father and mother and be joined to his wife." Go back to that place. What did God do that made God say "For this reason a man leave father and mother?" He was molding Eve out of who? God was making Eve out of Adam's bone, Adam's body, Adam's side. God was busy doing that work. "For this reason, a man shall leave father and mother and be joined to his wife." It came to be because we are members of Christ's body, of His flesh and of His bones. "For this reason a man leave father and mother and be joined to his wife." What is the mystery? The mystery is very clear. In Ephesians 1:4. Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love. Look at 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy 1. Verse 8 and 9. "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus when? Before the beginning of time." So, why was God busy molding Eve out of Adam? Because we are members of Christ's body, His flesh and of His bone before the foundation of the world. So God was bringing man, was bringing Adam and Eve to be a replica of what He had done. When? Before the beginning of time. That's why God says "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make..." He's because God had made, God had chosen and He had made them the body, the bride of Christ. So He did the same thing with Adam, took His bone, His flesh, He did all that so that what became what Adam calling his wife, is actually himself. Just as the church is Christ. Because God knew the day you got married, that you were wed to Christ. It was hidden. In eternity, it has been done. So because in eternity, it has been done, that's why marriage—that is what you need to understand every time. A man doesn't look at Christ, relating to the wife. Every time a man doesn't keep looking at Christ and the church and His relationship to that, and He shifts his attention to the woman in relating to the wife, the man misses out of a mystery. So the matter of—look at it. Look at it. Moses said, "And I did it because they provoked me." The rock should not be beaten with the staff. That was the instruction. So whatever people are doing, whatever the wife is doing, has nothing to do with what the mystery between you and Jesus. You pick the point. In relation to the husband, there's a mystery around that marriage. He looks at the cross, what's happening between Christ and the church. Take my yoke and do what? Learn of me. He looks, he begins to look into the life of the church, everywhere we have failed Christ, how Christ has to outsmart. What has happened to the church? Some have gone for some generation, for some death, for some—am I correct? But that's what a woman who is not looking at that should be expecting. Sometimes death, sometimes disappointment, sometimes that, sometimes different things happen. So the woman is not minding about what the man is doing, the woman is looking at a mystery. She's looking at a mystery. She's holding that mystery. Enter that mystery and I'm telling you, when He's being beaten, when He was being offered, when He was dying, everything. It looks like that was all. It looked like that's the end, but in the reality of it, He only set Him free to now live in the heart of all of us believing in Him. Forgiveness through death, liberated by His death. It looks the mystery. It wants to reveal. Usually turn to liberty. And that is what we don't want to agree with. That is why we normally shake off the yoke of Jesus. We shake off the yoke. We hit back. Like Moses, I am removing this, I'm going to break it, nothing will happen. We shake it off, many men shaking it off, many women shaking it off. I'm talking about those of us that are Christians. People who are—please listen. If we who are Christians, we are shaking it off, and nothing happens to us but things in the church, what else do you want to ask you? Which portion for the world? when men don't even know Christ, and women don't know Christ. Which portion do you expect? Every day there's a mystery. Why is marriage in the world today one of the most hazardous institutions? where you see husband and wife rise as wild animals? Husbands are wild animals, you see they are politicians, some use their wife for this, use their children for... you see them everywhere around us, people kill at will. Which portion do you expect? They don't even know there's a mystery. But what I now want to show you, the providence of God in doing this. Somebody might have asked me "What about those before Adam and Eve? what about those after that?" I say because you don't understand the mystery. I say go to what God says, not because they were not wicked, but because of some. To those who have embraced mystery, you see the mercy of God. But for some who have been privileged and entered into the mystery, Jesus said better it would be done in you than Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have loved the truth. That grace that you are wasting, that knowledge that you are having, if it is given to some unbelievers, some of them would have bettered the lot. That's why you see the mystery between those—that many people think they are good, people who are not Christians. It's people who are wondering, "How do they cope?" you don't understand that God is a God of justice, God who knows, God is a God who cares. God doesn't treat men, respecting them for what they don't have, He judged them. The mystery to whom He has given much. Some of them will be good. So don't ever think marriage is about you. You get the point? It's not about you at all. Let us understand that we were brought into this thing because we were brought into this. Let's understand some thing somebody was telling me something yesterday that happened and I said brother, I said when God made the first covenant when Israel broke everything, they destroyed everything, I said God did not say "what the end," he made another covenant. He said "I will not write it on the law again. I will not write it on the tablets. I'll write it on the people's heart." Even after they rebelled and rebelled, God blinded them as a consequence. It's not because God has abandoned the Gentiles. What we do again, we'll become like a husband. What I'm trying to tell you, is that any man who loves is moving to God, the picture of God. The picture of God for us women and men. Doing this thing in our ordinary everyday life, and we shake it off, "Who is this foolish husband?" "Who is this stubborn wife?" everybody will be looking at themselves. The mystery. Consequences will be going on, we'll be suffering it today. If we can look at this mystery our Lord said, "Take my yoke. Learn from me." What will happen to you at the end of the day? "You shall find rest for your souls." Let's close the meeting for today. In any case of questions, don't rush on another topic next, we may have to an overview and call for questions of this matter that we've touched. We'll be looking at that too. We'll be looking at that too. We'll be looking at that for comments, because it is a very serious matter in our life. This is a great mystery. But before we just must close, I have questions you can place the questions on the Telegram page, you can place them on our WhatsApp you can send to us. By next month, we'll be looking at the questions which should not take longer than about 30 minutes or so. We'll be looking at the answers and then we'll be closing that meeting. I want you to go home today to begin to think, in the simplicity of every day, a mystery surrounds us. In the ordinariness of every day, a mystery surrounds us. We won't be neglecting this mystery, please, in this marriage, because it is the mystery that sets us free. Mystery of our redemption, mystery of our salvation. As it is for us from darkness, as it is for us from death. Let's pray. Let's talk to the Lord this morning. Talk to the Lord, talk to the Lord, talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord, talk to the Lord. Our next meeting don't come alone, invite someone, somebody, we are still looking at this matter next month. Bring somebody, invite someone. Let's look at this thing that in the simplicity of our everyday life, there's a mystery that surrounds us. Ask the Lord to help us to take it away. Help me with every—it doesn't make sense, every confusion, every everything, deliver me from my pride. He said "anyone, let him deny himself, take up the cross, follow me." Deny yourself. Follow this mystery. Act as He did for your salvation, He's also doing in your marriage. And if you are there, you have not known Jesus as listening to us, you can see that there is so much as a mystery, you don't know your head, you don't know Jesus. Oh, you are not a marriage material. You are a wild animal. That's why you have been terrorizing your marriage. As a woman, you don't know Jesus. Oh, you are not a wife material. You are a troublemaker. You are a troublemaker. A woman who does not know Jesus can never submit to a man. If God cannot control you, is it your husband that will want to control you? That's why you have been a troubler of your marriage. That's why with your own hand, you have been tearing it down with your own hand. You have rebelled against it, you have fought back, you want to show him that you can deal with him because you are a troublemaker. A woman who does not know Jesus will be a troublemaker. She will be making trouble. She will be making trouble, trouble with her tongue, trouble with her character, trouble with the way she responds to the mistakes, the errors of the man. She will just be causing trouble, and that's why trouble surrounds that marriage. I want to beg you, if you don't know Jesus, if you don't know Jesus, give your life to Jesus. That is the beginning for you. That's the starting point for you. That's your starting point. Precious Father, we thank You, O Lord, for this time again of our marriage forum. We give You glory, we give You praise, we give You honor, we give You adoration, Lord. Lord, help us, O Lord, in our various homes, O God. Help us, O Lord, in our marriages. Help us. Those of us that are looking towards marriage, those of us that are already in relationship, those of us that are already married. Lord, help us to get it right. Thank You, eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. We'll see next month. The Lord bless you. 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 forever more. Amen. This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in enriching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission. Our regular activities are: Discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 p.m., Adolescents and Singles Club every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m., Marriage Forum second Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m., family life seminars, regular school outreach, and every day counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the first bridge, Illeri community opposite Jericho filling station along Ijera 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.