Family Faithfulness | Part 1

Gifts God has given us are not meant to be shameful.

Listen to Adrian Rogers. Sex is a gift when God says thou shall not commit a what God says flee fornication. God is not trying to keep us from side God is trying to keep sex or bus.

It is God's gift. So God is put some high walls to probe and preserve it. It is God's wonderful gift. Welcome to love worth finding, pastor, teacher and author Adrian Rogers said the home is the sweetest place on earth. The nearest place to heaven. It's the only part of the garden of Eden that we have left now the enemy who has waged war on the family knows this and will do everything he can to bring calamity on the home most times he uses our own sins, to bring destruction. This is why in Matthew chapter 11 Jesus discusses the importance of family faithfulness. If you have a Bible turn there now beginning in verse one as we learn more about the supreme commitment of marriage with part one of family faithfulness. Here's Adrian Rogers take your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 19 talking about family faithfulness, keeping the love alive, you know there's something very sad. In today's world what it is. Is this where so many who have what I call just throw away marriages just other work out so they just throw it away. As somebody said they get married as an idea when that ideal turns to an ordeal, then they are looking around for a new BU. Let's say I said I can remember when families really were traditional. I came from a traditional family. I married a girl who came from a traditional family mother's took care of the home fathers went off to work real meals together.

We went to church together. We fussed together. We played together. We were a traditional family that's not true anymore in America. In the typical family. Both husband and wife work another 6 million+ household have not a father and mother, but a single parent that means one out of four families had are led by single parent and experts tell us in the coming years. Half of all children will grow up in homes with a single parent, and most mothers will work outside the home now. A lot of this is caused by divorce and I was reading a Newsweek magazine, listen to this. The landscape is littered with victims of the divorce epidemic notice. This is not some preacher but is Newsweek talking about a divorce epidemic ex-wives raising their children alone. Former husband's trying to start new lives and still be good fathers to kids. They see only on specified days and the children themselves, often torn between two warring parents and this Newsweek went on to say about a study of 60 divorced middle-class families in Northern California there was a psychologist. Her name is Judith Wallerstein. She found out at least 60 couples only 10%, 10% of the ex-spouses said they had succeeded in improving their lives.

Only 10% said this divorce made things better and then she went on to say Wallerstein says this divorce is seen as a wrenching experience for every family. I have seen, and of course we know that the devastating effect on the children.

Broken homes produce broken lives which produce broken homes with produce broken lives and on and on it goes. No wonder God says in the book of Malachi chapter 2 in verse 16. I hey that's what God says God says I now we have the sophisticated intellectual suck today. Tell us why we come way past Adrian what you believe in and what you Christians believe in, so we are being told today that sex between unmarried couples is normal and acceptable.

Where told that homosexuality is just an alternate lifestyle where told that unmarried motherhood has no great shame to where told that marriage is not sacred because nothing is sacred and the only law today in America, the chief code in America is don't be judgmental. That's the way we live today.

Well let's see what God's word has to say. Matthew chapter 19 beginning in verse one and came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coast of Judea beyond Jordan and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them and the Pharisees also came under him, tempting him, that means testing him and saying to him is it lawful for man to put away his wife for every cause that is if she's not crack the park.

She cannot cook or she has mismanaged the finances are if she's irritable. Can I just put away and he answered and said unto them, have ye not read by the way, Jesus expects you to read the Bible, my friend, have you not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, let me say this one most damning things today that the devil is done is the blur the distinction between male and female he made them male and female, and said, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they claim that is made to shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder by saying to him, why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement and put her away.

He say that to them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you are allowed you to put away your wise, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication. That means sexual immorality and shall marry another committed adultery, and so married her which is put away doth committed (well, I meant to stop reading right there for moment matter.

Three things I will lay on your heart and I pray God that he will write them indelibly upon your heart.

The first thing I want you to understand is that marriage is made by heaven, marriage is made by heaven.

Look, if you will, in verse four have you not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave under his wife and they twain shall be one flesh out matters do not come from sociology. It did not come from the primordial ooze of evolution. Marriage is not some cultural innovation marriage is made by heaven is God's plan that if you could take the best carpenter in the world and give him the assignment to build a house, but if that carpenter doesn't know what a house is is no way to get around no matter how good a car.

You can take the best people in the world and say build a whole but if they don't know what a home and a family is. According God is no way possible that they can build it because they have no God. Now God gives us the guide here and in all, marriage problems, and all marriage counseling is all built around three words here three verbs number one is the one leave look at it for this cause. Verse five shall a man leave his father and mother_that, and shall cleave_that and then finally and they shall be one flesh on the score, they shall be one flash and there is leave, cleave, be one that's what marriage you leave and you claim now when God says you to leave, listen to me, that speaks of the priority of marriage making notes. Write that down. Leave speaks of the priority of marriage is what you have as a parent you want your task is apparent. Your task as a parent is to get your children ready to leave this. The Bible uses this idiom as an eagle stirs her nest know of it eagled as it has a legal it there in the nest and it has a nice place there. The mother has lined it somewhat softly with feathers and and other barked and leaves and and that eaglet there is that they are high on that Greg and that nest in the mothers bringing the little eaglet a mouse and a nice juicy worm and it just everything is fine, but there comes a time when that mother knows that little eaglet has to fly as they leave the nest and so she begins to go in there and that little bird with her wings and flap over that burden get it up on the precipice, and finally push it over and it begins to fall and tumble and tumble and scream and screech environment stretches his little wings and catches the way it was I so false, you just sweep under catch on her wings bared up on her wings and bring it back to the nest what she's doing is teaching that little bird to fly. That's the same thing you do with your children you're going to have to teach them to leave the mass know what my responsibility has been as a father, and your responsibility is if you still have children your home is really to work yourself out of a job. I am successful when my children no longer need me. You are successful as a mother when your children no longer need you, not against human nature to want to work yourself out of a job know why we have children begin with it on the biological and just about what emotional meetings we have a need to be made. God build that into as we have a need to be needed.

We want somebody to depend upon us, so we have a need to be needed and so the love that you have your child is that need to be needy when your baby is born you about that baby you've never met them before, you don't know anything about them. But you love right.

11.

That is call need to be needed love and the little baby loves mother that I see love mother because mother is charming because mother is beautiful because mother is so diligent has good sense of humor. No, the baby needs mother and so the baby has need love and the mother has need to be needed love. So you think need to be needed love and made love and there is a bonding and so there comes a time however when mother is not needed as much as she wants to be needed. There comes a time when a child will grow up and reach a particular age where they don't mean mother to make every decision into plus over them and to care for them and to guide them and say you must do this and you can't do that, that's normal.

That's natural. That's the point were trying to bring them to where they no longer need mother.

They no longer need. Father, they can get out of this world and operate on their own. As Jesus said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife but sometimes a mother who needs to be needed at that point will begin to create artificial needs to keep that child tied to the apron strings why because she needs to be needed and what will the child or the child's time on Tyler's needs because he has needs to be an individual of himself and so he's trying to break free and what apparent sometimes to they say you are a rebellious child, a child may not be rebellious at that point, but it can turn into rebellion if the parents don't understand that there is a legitimate need to be needed time and there is a legitimate need time but there also comes a legitimate time when that little evil has to learn how to fly them at right is very hard for us to work ourselves out of a job like that limitation when they get to a certain age, there like a bar, so if you squeeze them too hard to pop out your hand but you hold them gently and you understand when that right time is and you learn this while you work yourself out of a job. You don't work yourself out of a relationship and when you let them go. As children, they will come back as friends and they would be the best friend you've ever had. I tell you something there something about your family as they come back and they come back as friends is absolutely wonderful. When we learn what God is said that for this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife now. Sometimes we talk about mother law problem here.

One mother will problems often is an especially as the mother of the groom that causes the problem. Sometimes two women in love with the same man. I'm a she she is trying to control him. She still wants him to be her little boy and the daughter-in-law says Hayes, my husband and that's where that problem comes from, and commit emotional incest.

Let them go. Now listen to me marriage in physical relationship is the supreme commitment. You are to honor your parents but your parents are not your supreme commitment for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother you are to love children, but your children are not supreme commitment. May to May is a stronger commitment than children, the parents and parents to children. I would middle learn that for this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother solicit business is not your supreme commitment. Some your business memo sacrificing your family upon the altar of your business and the Corporation is just moving people around and so often that is the cause of great distress. Man sacrifices his family for the Corporation. My estimation a man is not a success when he has a divorce at 28, an ulcer 31 in the cardiac at 45 advisors but look what he did want to success is to me is not necessarily success now. First of all to leave. That is what the priority of marriage not secondly watch and to cleave to cleave that is the permanence of marriage. The word cleave means still weld out the glue when you get married friend. It is a life time contract not an optional one, usually two kids who consider divorce as an option. I'll show your family has a great potential for this immigration. You show me people who do not consider divorce as an option and I'll show your family that will hang together and stay together.

Listen to me. Those families who stick it out and those who don't have basically the same kinds of problems that have basically the same kinds of problems.

There are no problems too big to solve John's people too small to solve. If we would learn to attack the problem rather than one another. We could work it out. You see, he says that were to leave. That's the priority of marriage, leave father and mother.

We are to leave is the permanence of marriage. It literally means I say to welder to glue. Then he says we are to be one flesh. That is the purpose of fast talking about more than sexual union.

When you got married you merit a whole person, body, soul and spirit, and see you no longer an individual, you become one flesh. God's arithmetic is one plus one equals one that's God's arithmetic marriage is a romance in which both the hero and heroine die in the first chapter and the new person comes into being and that new person is one flesh that would be one flesh. Physically and sex is not dirty or impure is a wonderful gift of God. Hollywood has made sex dirty sex is a gift of God. When God says thou shall not commit adultery. When God says flee fornication when God says marriage is honorable in the bed undefiled adulterers and warmongers God will judge God is not trying to keep us from sex God is trying to keep sex for us it is God's gift. And so God is put some high walls to protect and preserve it. It is God's wonderful gift so that a husband and wife didn't know one another in the most intimate relationships as a matter fact when husband and wife would have this relationship in the Bible. The Bible would say they knew one another. It's a way of saying I love you, that cannot be put into words and the devil has tried to take this which is so wonderful and beautiful and the trivializing. What is the purpose of marriage that we might be one flesh. Physically there.

We might be one flesh. Emotion not only should we be sweethearts will be friends best friend is Jesus. In my next best friends still come behind my best friend was Joyce sure she's my friend she's a friend. She is my lover she's my sweetheart, but she is my friend because we are one flesh. Physically, where one flesh emotionally and we are one flesh.

Spiritually, because we love the same Lord, where members of the same body. His body ever knows what God wants for marriage is that unity and so Jesus says here's what marriage is marriage is made in heaven. He gives us the purpose of marriage. He gives to us the very essence of what marriage is. When I here's the segment want to look at it with me today. I want you to see that not only is marriage made by heaven, but marriage can be marred by hail marriage may be marred by hail. Look, if you will, in verses one and two and came to pass that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came to the coast of Judea beyond Jordan and great multitudes followed him, and he limped the Pharisees also came under him, tempting him, and saying him him is it lawful for man put away his wife recalls that is just as I said we can be looking for a new BU going down to verse seven. They send him, why did Moses then command to give a writing of the boss men and put away, he said unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

I sent you, that whosoever shall put away his wife accepted before fornication, and shall marry another commit adultery. And whoso Meredith her which is put away doth commit adultery.

Now God desires that marriage be a permanent union.

The only reason that Jesus allowed divorce was for immorality will fornication but in your margin Matthew five verses 31, 32 Jesus said it has been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, letting give her a writing of divorcement but I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for saving for the cause of fornication because of her to commit adultery.

And whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, commit adultery. Now let's look at this very carefully. Moses permitted divorce. He never commanded divorce.

Jesus said from the beginning it was not so.

This is not God's original intent. I marriage may be broken by the continual marital unfaithfulness of one of the partners. The word fornication is the Greek word for neon enemies sexual impurity.

But even when a husband or wife is been unfaithful and committed adultery.

Does that mean that a divorce is called for no reconciliation and forgiveness is called coming up tomorrow will hear part two of this convicting message but maybe as you listen, today you have a prayer request you'd like to share.

Maybe it's about your marriage at Leavenworth finding it's one of our great honors to come alongside you, and pray with you if you can go to our website homepage@lwf.org/radio and then scroll down to our prayer wall. Ariel find the option to submit a prayer request or pray for others.

This resource is one of our favorite ways to keep the ministry in the community praying continually for one another. We can't wait to hear from you again go to LWF.org/radio and scroll down to our prayer wall if you like to order a copy of today's message in its entirety. Call us at 1877 love God mentioned the title family faithfulness. This message is also part of the powerful and convicting series. It takes a family for the complete collection all seven powerful messages: 1877 love God or you can order online@lwf.org/radio or write us at Leavenworth finding box 38, 600 Memphis, TN 38183 oh I love these insightful words from Adrian Rogers marriage is a romance in which both the hero and the heroine die in the first chapter in the new person comes into being and that new person is one flesh.

Good word to take with us today and we hope you'll join us next time for the conclusion of family think writing on love where fine. We love connecting with you on Facebook and seeing your thoughts and encouragement. One listener wrote this. I really like Adrian Rogers he speaks the truth and really loves Jesus, I just got saved a couple of months ago and have only recently begun listening.

I've learned so much since God bless you all will. We've been blessed to continue sharing these profound messages through your prayers and your gifts and to say thank you for your generosity right now. We'd love to send you our it takes a family with collection. It takes God to build a home in this booklet collection will help you establish a solid foundation on God's word is bundle features for powerful booklets that deal with family matters from my godly perspective so that you and yours can honor God in your home. Request the bundle when you call the gifted 1877 love God will give online@lwf.org/radio again thanks for your generous support of love worth finding