A Covenant Relationship

Marriage is the union of man and woman as husband and wife, which becomes the foundation for a home and family. Marriage is designed to be a paradise, a Garden of Eden.

1. God Created The Institution Of Marriage: This is the first institution created by God. Marriage is the foundation which everything else is built upon and was instituted by God when He provided man with a wife.

Genesis 2:18 A help to man‘s mental, spiritual, emotional, social and physical need.

The institution of marriage was approved and sanctioned by Jesus. Matthew 19:4-6

Jesus turning water into wine, put his stamp of approval on marriage. John 2:1-11

God’s Ordained Marriage is:

1. To heal and redeem one another.

2. To Cultivate the passion.

3. To be each other’s best friend.

4. Make it the Garden of Eden God created it to be.

5. You are to connect to your spouse’s feelings.

6. You are to honor the priority of marriage by putting it second to God.

7. You are to disconnect from everyone else out of respect for each other.

8. Train others outside the relationship to respect the marriage and wait their turn.

2. GOD GAVE MAN A WIFE: (So He Would Not Be Lonely)

Genesis 2:21-23 God took something out of man and form his wife (his companion) especially for him.

2.1. The woman was taken from under man’s arm to symbolize his protection of her.

2.2. She was taken from near his heart so he would love and cherish her.

2.3. Man should recognized his wife as being his equal.

2.3.1. She was not made from a head bone for him to rule over her.

2.3.2. Nor was the wife formed from his foot bone to be trample on or degraded.

2.3.3. Like the man, the wife reflects God image.

2.3.4. God fashioned the man’s wife and brought her unto him.

2.3.5. Together they form the blessed pair needed to replenish and subdue the earth.

3. God took something out of man and put it into his wife, for unity and oneness.

Only the God given wife can fill the void, that since of frustration, that since of incompleteness within man. Ephesians 5:30

3.1. Genesis 2:24 God commanded the man to leave his father and mother (family) and to cleave unto your wife (and make your family). Mark 10:6-8

3.2. God expects the man to keep the marriage together.

God created the institution of marriage and put the responsibility on the man’s shoulders to keep the union together. (leave father and mother and cleave unto - stick to your wife) the union is indissoluble (and they shall be one flesh). Deuteronomy 24:5, Proverbs 5:18, Malachi 2:14, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Mark 10:6-12, Matthew 5:32, 1Corinthians 7:11, Ephesians 5:25, Colossians 3:19, Ephesians 5:26-33, 1Peter 3:7.

3.3. “And they shall be one flesh” means UNITY AND ONENESS. Genesis 6:12, John 17:23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Ephesians 5:31

4. MARRIAGE AND VOWS, A GIFT FROM GOD:

Man’s Covenant (VOW) to God and his wife:

4.1. I promise to Love, Honor, and Cherish my wife, I promise to forsake all others as long as we both shall live.

4.2. God, I show you my appreciation for my wife (the gift you gave me) by performing my vows and duties as a husband. Proverbs 18:22, Ecclesiastes 9:9-10

4.3. The marriage vows is a covenant that is a permanent arrangement and covers the person’s total being where you surrender your rights. Covenant Love - means I will never leave you nor forsake you.

5. Communication provides the foundation for relational growth.

5.1. You cannot establish a superstructure on a weak, too small, thin or too weak foundation.

5.2. Communication must not be secondary, it must be primary in the marriage.

5.3. Foundational problems usually shows cracks in other places in the marriage.

5.4. Take the time and energy to communicate; it will transform your marriage on every level.

5.5. The more you learn to communicate, the stronger your marriage will be.

5.6. Turn the TV off and talk about your day.

5.7. Lay in bed and talk.

5.8. Pray together before going to bed and when you get up.

6. We are all designed for intimate love and a happy marriage. It is in our DNA and the dream lives inside of us regardless of how we might try to deny it or kill it.

7. We must set goals and have dreams for our marriage.

8. Also realize there will be challenges along the way and enemies we must face and overcome.

9. It is on the journey that we learn to depend on each other, trust in each other, pray together and become close friends and intimate lovers. There are no shortcuts.

10. Agape Love (God’s Love) - is a decision to do what is right regardless of how you feel. It’s not about your feelings, because emotions constantly change. Love gives, love get joy from giving to the other. God wants us to live in a state of love.

11. Suggestions / Tips:

1. Have a date night at least weekly.

2. Do something special.

3. Work hard on that night to keep your romance alive.

4. Commit to having a retreat each year, where you can get away for a few days to pray and plan.

5. Be creative and energetic in meeting each other needs.

6. Have “His” and “Her” date nights where the desires and needs of one spouse become the focus.

7. Brush up on your manners.

8. Recommit to appreciating each other; honoring each other.

9. Husband open doors for your wife and hold the chairs for seating.

10. Wife appreciate and honor your husband.

11. Go to marriage seminar at least yearly.

12. Read at least one marriage but together.

13. God created you and marriage for greatness, don’t settle for less.

Grace means we get what we don’t deserve.

God’s

Riches

At

Christ’s

Expense

Mercy means we don’t get what we deserve.

Gal 3:13-14

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