WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.320 We'll go with that. 00:00:02.780 --> 00:00:04.179 Good evening, church. 00:00:06.459 --> 00:00:12.220 Let's turn to Mark 10, verses 1 to 16. 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:22.120 In the words of the priest from the princess bride, 00:00:24.179 --> 00:00:28.800 marriage is what brings us to Geza tonight. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.320 It's page 845. 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:48.560 And it goes as follows. 00:00:49.820 --> 00:00:54.439 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:57.100 And crowds gathered to him again. 00:00:57.100 --> 00:01:00.600 And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 00:01:01.620 --> 00:01:03.100 And Pharisees came up. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:05.400 And in order to test him, asked, 00:01:06.019 --> 00:01:09.120 Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:10.760 He answered them, 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:13.260 What did Moses command you? 00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:14.760 They said, 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:19.439 Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away. 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:21.659 And Jesus said to them, 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:25.700 Because of your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. 00:01:26.539 --> 00:01:30.579 But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:36.239 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 00:01:36.700 --> 00:01:39.159 and the two shall become one flesh. 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:43.640 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 00:01:44.539 --> 00:01:49.759 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:54.799 And in the house, the disciples asked him again about this matter. 00:01:55.479 --> 00:01:56.459 And he said to them, 00:01:57.199 --> 00:02:03.019 Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:08.460 And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:12.919 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them. 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:15.579 And the disciples rebuked them. 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:19.780 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 00:02:20.019 --> 00:02:21.439 Let the children come to me. 00:02:21.859 --> 00:02:22.900 Do not hinder them. 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:25.740 For to such belongs the kingdom of God. 00:02:26.539 --> 00:02:27.979 Truly, I say to you, 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:33.199 Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:39.120 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. 00:02:41.019 --> 00:02:41.679 Let's pray. 00:02:44.899 --> 00:02:48.679 Heavenly Father, I thank you for this time that you have allowed us to gather in worship. 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:53.120 Lord, I ask that as the word goes forth that you bless it, 00:02:53.219 --> 00:02:56.259 that you soften the hearts of the hearers. 00:02:56.259 --> 00:03:01.239 Lord, by your spirit, continue to shape each of us into the image of your son. 00:03:02.179 --> 00:03:05.479 As we seek to obey what you tell us to do, Lord. 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:08.179 I pray these things in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:09.599 and by the power of your Holy Spirit. 00:03:10.340 --> 00:03:10.639 Amen. 00:03:12.859 --> 00:03:14.399 So, in going through the book of Mark, 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:17.479 we've been keeping an eye on who Christ is 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:19.500 and what it means for us to follow him. 00:03:20.299 --> 00:03:21.199 In these few verses, 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:23.039 we get some specific teachings 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:24.859 and some specific guidelines. 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:27.300 Not only what it means to follow him, 00:03:27.760 --> 00:03:28.700 but how to do it. 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:32.580 He does that in chapter 10 by reversing expectations. 00:03:33.300 --> 00:03:33.920 Two statements. 00:03:34.820 --> 00:03:36.120 The two shall become one, 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:39.360 and adults are to be as children. 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:42.580 When we dive into chapter 10, 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:45.760 we see the Pharisees trying to trap Jesus. 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:47.320 Verse 2. 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:50.680 And the Pharisees came up in order to test him, 00:03:51.239 --> 00:03:52.000 and they asked him, 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:54.840 is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:56.959 So, what is this trap? 00:03:57.819 --> 00:03:59.479 The first thing we're going to have to learn about 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:02.959 is what Jewish people were talking about 00:04:02.959 --> 00:04:04.519 in this divorce issue. 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:06.139 There are essentially two camps. 00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:09.319 One would say that a man can divorce his wife 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:10.759 for any cause whatsoever, 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:12.199 even if she burns his food. 00:04:13.679 --> 00:04:15.439 The other would say 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:18.740 that divorce can only take place for a serious offense. 00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:21.500 Specifically, premarital sex would be one of them. 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:24.180 So, Jesus seemingly has two options. 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:26.420 He could answer yes, 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:27.860 but if he answers yes, 00:04:27.980 --> 00:04:30.680 he's going to be vocally aligning himself with one party, 00:04:30.840 --> 00:04:33.040 and members of the other party could stir up opposition. 00:04:33.980 --> 00:04:35.300 But if he says no, 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:38.560 he could be accused of trying to negate the law of Moses, 00:04:38.900 --> 00:04:40.800 which is not on the list of best things to do 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:41.939 in front of Jewish authorities. 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:44.420 So, all things considered, 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:46.600 the Pharisees have got him. 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:48.500 Jesus is backed into a corner 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:49.720 with nowhere to turn, right? 00:04:50.780 --> 00:04:51.300 Oh, no. 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:54.079 Jesus does not fall into that trap. 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:56.740 Instead, he digs right to the heart of the issue. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:00.139 What the Pharisees meant as a political maneuver, 00:05:00.860 --> 00:05:02.439 Jesus uses as an opportunity 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:05.600 to reveal to us the divine intention of marriage. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.199 As with all of Jesus' teachings, 00:05:08.660 --> 00:05:10.800 we get a glimpse into the mind of God. 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:12.579 What does he say? 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:16.399 Well, he begins by turning the question back on the Pharisees. 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:16.819 He says, 00:05:17.139 --> 00:05:18.759 What did Moses command you? 00:05:19.660 --> 00:05:22.560 They respond with their understanding of Deuteronomy 24, 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:26.839 that Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce 00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:28.379 and to send her away. 00:05:29.339 --> 00:05:31.319 But why did Moses allow that? 00:05:32.019 --> 00:05:32.920 According to Jesus, 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:35.420 it was because of their hardness of heart. 00:05:37.420 --> 00:05:39.899 Note Jesus' consistency in tone and focus. 00:05:40.180 --> 00:05:41.620 The questions posed are general. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:44.660 Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:48.380 Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce 00:05:48.380 --> 00:05:49.439 and to send her away. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:51.680 But Jesus' response is personal. 00:05:52.280 --> 00:05:53.720 What did Moses command you? 00:05:54.420 --> 00:05:57.540 He gave this commandment because of your hardness of heart. 00:05:58.280 --> 00:06:00.160 You can feel the Pharisees squirming. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.840 First of all, he's saying 00:06:02.840 --> 00:06:05.780 that the general teaching on divorce 00:06:05.780 --> 00:06:07.240 is neither ideal 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:10.760 nor is it indicative of God's purpose for marriage. 00:06:11.700 --> 00:06:13.300 Like much of the Mosaic law, 00:06:13.440 --> 00:06:15.060 while it is good and holy, 00:06:15.840 --> 00:06:18.600 it's not the fullness of God's will for his people. 00:06:19.580 --> 00:06:21.340 In essence, the talking about divorce 00:06:21.340 --> 00:06:23.100 is an allowance made 00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:27.260 because of Israel's and our sinful hardness of heart. 00:06:27.259 --> 00:06:30.639 Too often we, like the Jewish people 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:32.699 of Jesus' time and before, 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:35.800 see divorce as an unfortunate occurrence, 00:06:36.139 --> 00:06:37.219 but one that is necessary 00:06:37.219 --> 00:06:38.620 when we fall out of love 00:06:38.620 --> 00:06:41.699 or find ourselves having irreconcilable differences. 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:45.219 But that's not the paradigm that Jesus is setting here. 00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:48.000 His teaching is clear from the next few verses, 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:49.060 starting in verse 6. 00:06:49.899 --> 00:06:51.899 But from the beginning of creation, 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:54.539 God made them male and female. 00:06:54.540 --> 00:06:57.840 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother 00:06:57.840 --> 00:06:59.540 and hold fast to his wife, 00:06:59.760 --> 00:07:02.160 and the two shall become one flesh. 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:06.560 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:09.480 What therefore God has joined together, 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:11.379 let no man separate. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:14.860 One can imagine Jesus hitting the Pharisees 00:07:14.860 --> 00:07:15.540 with this statement 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:17.600 and dropping the proverbial microphone. 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:21.720 What began as an attempted trap 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:23.600 actually results in an accusation 00:07:24.280 --> 00:07:26.560 and the invoking of divine authority. 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:28.939 I want us to catch what he's just said. 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:30.860 The central idea of Christ's statement 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:33.600 is that marriage is a divinely ordained institution. 00:07:35.280 --> 00:07:37.480 The agent in these verses is God. 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:40.360 God created us male and female. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.500 When it says that the man shall hold fast to his wife, 00:07:43.820 --> 00:07:45.220 that's a passive verb. 00:07:45.220 --> 00:07:47.860 The man will be joined to his wife, 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:49.780 presumably by God. 00:07:50.640 --> 00:07:52.920 In saying that the two are no longer two, 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:53.940 but one flesh, 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:56.700 Christ declares God's intention 00:07:56.700 --> 00:07:58.520 for marriage is permanence. 00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:01.640 The divine pairing of the vows 00:08:01.640 --> 00:08:03.940 and sexual consummation in marriage 00:08:03.940 --> 00:08:05.220 seals the deal. 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:07.820 This is not a thing that you just get into 00:08:07.820 --> 00:08:10.300 because, well, we've been dating for a while 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:11.740 and it's the logical next step. 00:08:11.740 --> 00:08:13.900 If you're going to get into this, 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:16.280 you better be good and sure you're in it for life. 00:08:17.280 --> 00:08:20.280 Till death do you part. 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:23.560 Christ puts the lid on this in verse 9 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:24.139 when he says, 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:26.259 what God has joined together, 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:28.199 let not man separate. 00:08:28.900 --> 00:08:32.139 The contrast made here is between God 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:33.740 and what God has done 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:36.080 and man and what man seeks to do. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:39.600 Seeking to separate what God has joined? 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:42.360 Do we see the perversity in that? 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:44.720 Do we see that this is literally 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:46.960 the tearing of a one flesh union? 00:08:48.540 --> 00:08:50.960 This is why the halls of divorce courts 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:53.680 are the most miserable halls of a courthouse. 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:55.779 This is the scriptural reason 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:58.580 for the fact that the three most stressful events 00:08:58.580 --> 00:08:59.600 in a person's life, 00:08:59.920 --> 00:09:01.740 according to the American Institute of Stress, 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:04.160 are the death of a spouse first, 00:09:04.460 --> 00:09:05.860 which is God breaking the union, 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:08.399 and divorce and marital separation 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:09.800 in spots two and three. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:12.800 What takes place in a divorce 00:09:12.800 --> 00:09:15.039 is not that two people disagree 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:16.940 and peacefully go their separate ways. 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:19.220 What God has joined, 00:09:19.940 --> 00:09:21.259 man has sought to separate. 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:23.360 And chances are, 00:09:23.460 --> 00:09:24.060 we have all, 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:26.019 in one way or another, 00:09:26.180 --> 00:09:27.860 suffered the effects of that trauma. 00:09:27.860 --> 00:09:31.220 Desiree and I, 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:32.440 over winter break, 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:33.620 got into watching 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:35.120 My Strange Addiction on TLC. 00:09:36.779 --> 00:09:38.200 It's a show where individuals 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:39.680 suffer from strange, 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:40.620 often dangerous, 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:41.680 compulsive behaviors, 00:09:41.940 --> 00:09:43.419 like eating couch cushions 00:09:43.419 --> 00:09:44.539 or drinking gasoline 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:45.779 or bathing in bleach. 00:09:45.899 --> 00:09:48.200 Just all kinds of ridiculous things. 00:09:48.940 --> 00:09:50.720 But there are three major reasons 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:52.539 why these behaviors started. 00:09:53.500 --> 00:09:54.200 It could have been 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:55.379 the death of a family member. 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:57.460 It could have been sexual 00:09:57.460 --> 00:09:58.659 or physical abuse. 00:09:59.419 --> 00:10:00.919 But the most common one 00:10:00.919 --> 00:10:03.059 was divorce of their parents. 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:05.740 As children witnessing 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:07.019 the breaking of a covenant, 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:10.120 something inside them snapped. 00:10:11.580 --> 00:10:13.379 Witnessing what is essentially portrayed 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:15.899 as decapitation scripturally, 00:10:16.539 --> 00:10:18.820 the separation of the husband as head 00:10:18.820 --> 00:10:20.200 from the wife as body, 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:22.399 is not something that anyone 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:24.620 walks away from without scars. 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:26.779 Of course, 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:28.200 this does not elevate divorce 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:30.500 to some kind of unforgivable sin level. 00:10:30.659 --> 00:10:31.799 In all such situations, 00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:33.279 Christ reaches out 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:35.179 when we turn to him in repentance. 00:10:36.139 --> 00:10:37.500 When he met the woman at the well 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:38.279 in John 4 00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:40.460 and referred to her past five husbands 00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:42.120 and the current man that she lived with 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:43.279 who was not her husband, 00:10:43.460 --> 00:10:45.939 he still offered her living water. 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:48.539 But I hope we see from this 00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:51.139 that divorce is not to be taken lightly. 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:52.559 Ideally, 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:54.799 it ought not even be a Christian option. 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:57.840 But how in the world do we do that? 00:10:59.059 --> 00:11:01.500 When the disciples hear these words in Matthew, 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:02.580 they respond saying, 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:04.960 if such is the case of a man with his wife, 00:11:05.299 --> 00:11:06.419 it's better not to marry. 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:09.080 How can married couples, 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:10.740 specifically Christian married couples, 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:12.279 uphold that standard? 00:11:13.460 --> 00:11:14.539 And no remarriage? 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:17.200 Doesn't that seem unnecessarily restrictive? 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:18.759 Not just that, 00:11:18.820 --> 00:11:19.820 what about single people? 00:11:19.820 --> 00:11:21.140 All this talk about marriage 00:11:21.140 --> 00:11:22.700 seems to be leaving them out, right? 00:11:24.379 --> 00:11:24.820 Well, 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:28.040 let's see why this leads into a discussion of children. 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:31.300 Verses 13 through 16. 00:11:31.299 --> 00:11:37.379 And they were bringing children to him 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:38.500 that he might touch them, 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:40.639 and the disciples rebuked them. 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:42.539 But when Jesus saw it, 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:43.939 he was indignant and said to them, 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:45.519 let the children come to me, 00:11:46.099 --> 00:11:47.079 do not hinder them, 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:49.459 for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:51.019 Truly I say to you, 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:52.719 whoever does not receive the kingdom of God 00:11:52.719 --> 00:11:53.519 like a child 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:54.859 shall not enter it. 00:11:54.860 --> 00:11:58.360 So after saying these things about divorce, 00:11:58.899 --> 00:12:00.680 people are bringing their children to Jesus, 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:03.100 and the disciples shoo the children away. 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:04.940 After all, they're children, 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:06.180 and this is the Messiah. 00:12:06.700 --> 00:12:07.360 I mean, Jesus just, 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:09.240 two chapters ago, 00:12:09.500 --> 00:12:11.220 Jesus just came down off of a mountain, 00:12:11.500 --> 00:12:12.300 having been transformed 00:12:12.300 --> 00:12:14.500 with radiant, blazingly white clothes. 00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:17.039 Surely Jesus has better things to do 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:18.779 than deal with snot-nosed kids. 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:21.940 As Pastor Greg pointed out last week, 00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:23.080 children are helpless, 00:12:23.659 --> 00:12:24.039 needy, 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:25.459 and they make a mess all the time. 00:12:26.579 --> 00:12:28.759 Surely Jesus doesn't have time for them, right? 00:12:29.980 --> 00:12:30.879 Again, wrong. 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:33.599 Jesus got mad at the disciples 00:12:33.599 --> 00:12:34.819 for pushing them away. 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:37.059 And he got mad because the disciples, 00:12:37.579 --> 00:12:38.699 as is often their problem, 00:12:38.819 --> 00:12:40.120 especially in the book of Mark, 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:41.379 don't get it. 00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:43.039 And they don't get it 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:45.139 in the same way that we often don't get it. 00:12:45.860 --> 00:12:46.959 They don't understand 00:12:46.959 --> 00:12:48.759 that to enter into the kingdom of God, 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:50.199 in order to be able to do 00:12:50.199 --> 00:12:51.539 what Christ tells us to do, 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:53.319 what he desires us to do, 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:56.520 we must receive the kingdom of God 00:12:56.520 --> 00:12:57.720 as a child would. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:12:59.980 We must be like children. 00:13:00.980 --> 00:13:02.080 So what does that mean? 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:04.460 I can tell you what it doesn't mean. 00:13:05.100 --> 00:13:06.560 It's not a reference to innocence. 00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:08.780 We've got a cultural understanding 00:13:08.780 --> 00:13:10.340 of children as innocent creatures 00:13:10.340 --> 00:13:11.320 that's unhelpful 00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:12.780 and unbiblical. 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:14.820 And I'm sure that anyone here 00:13:14.820 --> 00:13:15.540 who has children 00:13:15.540 --> 00:13:17.000 can back me up when I say, 00:13:17.560 --> 00:13:18.379 well, 00:13:18.680 --> 00:13:19.620 just from, you know, 00:13:19.680 --> 00:13:20.920 studying the habits of babies, 00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:23.440 that babies are little selfish monsters. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:26.460 Gifts from God, of course, 00:13:26.540 --> 00:13:27.880 according to Psalm 127, 00:13:28.140 --> 00:13:29.100 a heritage from the Lord, 00:13:29.900 --> 00:13:30.660 but from birth, 00:13:31.160 --> 00:13:34.820 we know their and our sinful nature. 00:13:36.060 --> 00:13:37.940 Crying and whining to get what you want, 00:13:38.780 --> 00:13:40.040 willful disobedience, 00:13:40.540 --> 00:13:43.240 no care for whether the parents are sleeping, 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:45.340 or the fact that it's four o'clock in the morning 00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:46.460 and the baby's woken you up 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:47.600 every 45 minutes. 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:50.019 That doesn't sound innocent to me. 00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:53.820 So what is Christ saying here? 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.220 He's saying that we, like children, 00:13:58.180 --> 00:14:00.659 must act in continuous dependence 00:14:00.659 --> 00:14:02.100 on our loving Father. 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:05.279 This goes back to what Greg said last week 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:05.820 about children. 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:08.000 They're helpless, needy, 00:14:08.040 --> 00:14:09.560 and they make a mess all the time. 00:14:10.420 --> 00:14:11.639 Is that not us? 00:14:12.660 --> 00:14:14.960 Are we not helpless when we face situations 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:16.700 that we can't control and don't understand? 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:19.420 Are we not constantly needy? 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:21.759 Do we not make constant messes, 00:14:21.940 --> 00:14:23.040 whether in our relationships 00:14:23.040 --> 00:14:24.620 or in our personal lives? 00:14:25.259 --> 00:14:26.800 But the advantage that we have 00:14:26.800 --> 00:14:28.040 is that, as John says, 00:14:28.280 --> 00:14:29.780 to all who received Christ, 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:31.259 who believed in his name, 00:14:31.560 --> 00:14:34.900 he gave the right to become children of God. 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:37.960 To receive the kingdom of God as a child 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:39.140 is to live a life 00:14:39.140 --> 00:14:41.400 where you consistently remind yourself 00:14:41.400 --> 00:14:43.580 of your dependence on the power, 00:14:44.040 --> 00:14:45.259 love, and support 00:14:45.259 --> 00:14:46.580 of your heavenly Father. 00:14:47.500 --> 00:14:49.620 To go back to this portrayal as children, 00:14:49.800 --> 00:14:52.660 when we soil ourselves in sin, 00:14:53.920 --> 00:14:56.379 it is the Father who cleans us up. 00:14:57.340 --> 00:14:58.400 As a matter of fact, 00:14:58.460 --> 00:14:59.780 that's why he sent his son. 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:02.640 His son got down and dirty, 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:05.340 sharing with us our experiences of pain, 00:15:05.660 --> 00:15:06.600 hunger, and thirst, 00:15:06.780 --> 00:15:08.860 and ultimately being brutally tortured, 00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:10.660 humiliated, and killed. 00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:13.100 But he did that to save us. 00:15:13.839 --> 00:15:15.259 He did that because we were helpless 00:15:15.259 --> 00:15:16.459 to save ourselves. 00:15:17.379 --> 00:15:18.439 And by that sacrifice, 00:15:18.439 --> 00:15:19.459 he reminds us, 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.240 as he says in John 15, 5, 00:15:21.339 --> 00:15:22.399 apart from me, 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:25.120 you can do nothing. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:28.320 So how does this help us 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:29.639 with the preceding scripture 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:31.060 about marriage and divorce? 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:33.399 Well, it's a reminder 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:34.679 of our dependence 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:35.840 on our loving Father 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:37.480 for the strength and resolve 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:39.299 to consistently do 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:40.440 what he wants us to do. 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:42.980 When you get two sinful people 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:44.320 into a marriage, 00:15:44.820 --> 00:15:46.299 which is every marriage, 00:15:46.299 --> 00:15:48.899 a deep, profound, 00:15:49.059 --> 00:15:50.740 and intensely personal relationship, 00:15:51.699 --> 00:15:53.159 stuff gets real complicated 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:54.919 and real messy real fast. 00:15:56.099 --> 00:15:57.479 But this is at its core 00:15:57.479 --> 00:15:59.059 a question of discipleship. 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:01.139 We need to consistently 00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:02.039 remind ourselves 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:03.439 of the grace and forgiveness 00:16:03.439 --> 00:16:04.899 that he shows us 00:16:04.899 --> 00:16:05.859 when we repent 00:16:05.859 --> 00:16:07.399 so that we can show 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:08.599 that same grace and forgiveness 00:16:08.599 --> 00:16:09.319 to our spouses. 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:10.959 We must remember 00:16:10.959 --> 00:16:12.799 the love that he showed us 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:14.359 so that we can show 00:16:14.359 --> 00:16:16.019 that same love to our spouses. 00:16:16.299 --> 00:16:17.459 We must remember, 00:16:17.659 --> 00:16:18.199 believe in, 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:19.759 and meditate on his death 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.000 so that the husband and wife 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:23.139 in Christian marriage 00:16:23.139 --> 00:16:25.279 can die continually 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:26.479 to themselves 00:16:26.479 --> 00:16:27.679 for one another. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:30.240 We don't get married 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:31.399 for self-actualization. 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:33.279 We don't get married 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.120 to foist our own selfishness 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:35.959 on another person 00:16:35.959 --> 00:16:37.859 demanding that they satisfy us 00:16:37.859 --> 00:16:38.859 or we roll out. 00:16:40.339 --> 00:16:40.899 Therefore, 00:16:41.099 --> 00:16:42.759 they are no longer two, 00:16:42.979 --> 00:16:43.579 but one. 00:16:44.079 --> 00:16:45.299 What God has joined, 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:47.139 let no man separate. 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:48.959 Christian marriage 00:16:48.959 --> 00:16:50.120 is meant to exemplify 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:51.599 Christ's relationship 00:16:51.599 --> 00:16:52.740 with the church. 00:16:53.939 --> 00:16:54.559 Permanent, 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:55.859 uniting, 00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:57.859 divinely ordained, 00:16:58.120 --> 00:16:59.219 and beautiful. 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:01.839 And that's where 00:17:01.839 --> 00:17:02.740 I want us to end. 00:17:03.359 --> 00:17:04.000 The beauty. 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:06.299 Paul calls marriage 00:17:06.299 --> 00:17:06.899 a mystery 00:17:06.899 --> 00:17:08.319 that refers to 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:09.180 Christ's relationship 00:17:09.180 --> 00:17:09.960 with the church. 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:11.200 Now, 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:11.660 when we hear 00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:12.660 the word mystery, 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:14.140 we think a whodunit 00:17:14.140 --> 00:17:14.880 or something that's 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:15.400 mysterious, 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:16.220 inaccessible, 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:17.460 out in the ether somewhere 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:18.900 and we'll never figure out 00:17:18.900 --> 00:17:19.380 what it's about. 00:17:20.180 --> 00:17:20.700 That's not, 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:21.720 that's not how mysteries 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:22.720 function in scripture. 00:17:23.420 --> 00:17:24.620 When we see a mystery 00:17:24.620 --> 00:17:25.480 in the New Testament, 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:26.620 it refers to something 00:17:26.620 --> 00:17:27.620 that we couldn't have 00:17:27.620 --> 00:17:28.319 figured out 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:29.620 but something that God 00:17:29.620 --> 00:17:30.319 had to reveal. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:31.900 In many cases, 00:17:31.980 --> 00:17:32.940 it's something hinted at 00:17:32.940 --> 00:17:33.700 in the Old Testament 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:35.340 and more fully revealed 00:17:35.340 --> 00:17:35.779 in the New. 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:37.839 The meaning of marriage 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:38.899 is just such a mystery. 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:40.259 So, 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:41.039 married people, 00:17:41.819 --> 00:17:43.000 how is your marriage 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:44.339 to image Christ's 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:45.700 relationship with the church? 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:47.519 The constant 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:49.319 self-sacrificial love 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:50.519 that is the cornerstone 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:51.420 of your relationship 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:52.200 with Christ, 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:53.799 the fact that he died 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:54.319 for you 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:55.039 when you were still 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:55.660 his enemy, 00:17:56.579 --> 00:17:57.680 that is to be 00:17:57.680 --> 00:17:59.139 the defining factor 00:17:59.139 --> 00:18:00.319 of your marriage. 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:01.899 That dynamic 00:18:01.899 --> 00:18:03.480 empowered by the Holy Spirit 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:05.079 is the glorious glue 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:06.379 that holds you together. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:09.240 It has its unique challenges 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:11.079 but it also has 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:12.240 its unique rewards. 00:18:12.980 --> 00:18:14.579 The world needs to see that 00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:15.980 and our church 00:18:15.980 --> 00:18:17.039 needs to see that. 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:18.679 Now, 00:18:18.699 --> 00:18:19.220 for the single, 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:20.699 to the engaged 00:18:20.699 --> 00:18:21.379 like myself, 00:18:22.399 --> 00:18:24.439 this seems perhaps 00:18:24.439 --> 00:18:25.639 like an exaltation 00:18:25.639 --> 00:18:26.539 of human marriage 00:18:26.539 --> 00:18:27.859 above all else. 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:29.480 So, 00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:30.279 here's another secret. 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:32.519 Jewish marriage 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:33.379 came in three stages. 00:18:34.299 --> 00:18:34.759 First, 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:35.960 the couple would get engaged 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:37.259 which would be a contract 00:18:37.259 --> 00:18:38.160 to marry each other 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:39.039 at a future time. 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:40.859 The next step 00:18:40.859 --> 00:18:42.400 would be betrothal 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:43.720 where the couple 00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:44.440 is considered 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:45.480 legally married 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:46.879 but they don't have 00:18:46.879 --> 00:18:47.920 conjugal rights yet. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:49.900 The bride lives 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:50.680 with her parents 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:52.140 while the bridegroom 00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:53.259 goes to prepare 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:54.180 a place for her. 00:18:55.079 --> 00:18:55.960 Some of you can already 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:56.779 see where this is going. 00:18:57.839 --> 00:18:59.000 The last stage 00:18:59.000 --> 00:18:59.640 of the marriage 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:00.619 is the actual 00:19:00.619 --> 00:19:01.539 wedding feast 00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:02.839 after which the couple 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:04.079 consummates their marriage. 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:06.359 One could see 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:07.139 the gospel work 00:19:07.139 --> 00:19:08.379 in three stages as well. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:10.179 Christ has been 00:19:10.179 --> 00:19:11.039 promised to us 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:12.279 from the Old Testament, 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:13.179 we might say, 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:13.839 from the law 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:14.859 and the prophets. 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:16.619 In his death 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:17.459 and his resurrection, 00:19:18.179 --> 00:19:19.799 he has secured us 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:20.500 legally, 00:19:20.939 --> 00:19:22.240 but we don't quite 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:23.799 have conjugal rights yet, 00:19:24.139 --> 00:19:24.859 so to speak. 00:19:25.939 --> 00:19:26.939 Paul says in Romans 00:19:26.939 --> 00:19:28.299 3, 21 to 25, 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:30.159 But now the righteousness 00:19:30.159 --> 00:19:31.039 of God has been 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.059 manifested apart 00:19:32.059 --> 00:19:32.680 from the law, 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:33.940 although the law 00:19:33.940 --> 00:19:34.539 and the prophets 00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:35.539 bear witness to it. 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:36.779 The righteousness 00:19:36.779 --> 00:19:38.319 of God through faith 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:39.240 in Jesus Christ 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:40.440 for all who believe. 00:19:41.180 --> 00:19:42.379 For there is no distinction, 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:43.639 for all have sinned 00:19:43.639 --> 00:19:44.399 and fallen short 00:19:44.399 --> 00:19:45.519 of the glory of God 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:47.000 and are justified 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:48.059 by his grace 00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:48.859 as a gift 00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:50.559 through the redemption 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:51.859 that is in Christ Jesus, 00:19:52.419 --> 00:19:53.440 whom God put forth 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:54.440 as a propitiation 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:55.299 by his blood 00:19:55.299 --> 00:19:56.759 to be received 00:19:56.759 --> 00:19:57.740 by faith. 00:19:58.539 --> 00:19:59.619 This redemption 00:19:59.619 --> 00:20:00.799 in Christ Jesus, 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:02.339 whom God put forward 00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:03.779 as an atoning sacrifice 00:20:03.779 --> 00:20:04.680 for our sin, 00:20:05.460 --> 00:20:06.480 when we receive it 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.140 by faith, 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:08.720 we are declared 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:09.779 just. 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:11.500 That's what justified 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:12.400 means for us. 00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:14.099 By faith, 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:15.720 we are legally declared 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:16.980 not guilty, 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:18.759 not on our own merit, 00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:20.500 but on the all-sufficient 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:21.660 merit of our Lord 00:20:21.660 --> 00:20:22.420 Jesus Christ. 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:24.579 All of that is to say, 00:20:25.339 --> 00:20:26.660 as the betrothed spouse 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:27.700 is legally married, 00:20:28.340 --> 00:20:29.180 so have we been 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:30.060 legally acquired 00:20:30.060 --> 00:20:31.820 by our heavenly bridegroom. 00:20:32.860 --> 00:20:34.000 And as Christians, 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:35.960 we eagerly await 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:36.860 to be reunited 00:20:36.860 --> 00:20:37.779 to our Lord 00:20:37.779 --> 00:20:38.840 and to enjoy 00:20:38.840 --> 00:20:39.420 his presence 00:20:39.420 --> 00:20:40.160 for eternity. 00:20:41.320 --> 00:20:42.480 As single Christians, 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:45.060 we have a unique opportunity 00:20:45.060 --> 00:20:46.420 for, as Paul says, 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:48.340 undistracted devotion 00:20:48.340 --> 00:20:49.140 to the Lord. 00:20:50.019 --> 00:20:50.980 And I assure you, 00:20:51.040 --> 00:20:52.560 Christ has more for you 00:20:52.560 --> 00:20:53.400 in his person 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:55.019 than any other person 00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:55.700 on this earth. 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:57.000 You see, 00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:57.660 human marriage 00:20:57.660 --> 00:20:58.660 is meant to be permanent 00:20:58.660 --> 00:21:00.480 as long as both parties 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:01.240 are alive. 00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:02.960 But when we die, 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:04.460 that's actually 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:05.819 when the real feast begins. 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:08.220 That's the real marriage 00:21:08.220 --> 00:21:09.319 that we're a part of. 00:21:10.139 --> 00:21:11.079 As Christians, 00:21:11.220 --> 00:21:11.819 by faith 00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:13.139 and by utter grace, 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:13.740 we have entered 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:14.779 into this marriage. 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:16.859 And it's the Holy Spirit's 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:18.180 cooperative work with us 00:21:18.180 --> 00:21:19.599 that's basically 00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:20.359 just wedding prep. 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:22.919 sanctification is just that. 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:24.399 Preparing ourselves 00:21:24.399 --> 00:21:25.259 and being prepared 00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:26.659 for our wondrous bridegroom. 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:29.519 Marriage is what 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:30.419 brings us together. 00:21:31.159 --> 00:21:32.839 But not just human marriage. 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:34.759 We're talking about 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:35.559 the marriage 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:36.639 that we have 00:21:36.639 --> 00:21:37.659 with our Lord and Savior, 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:38.479 Jesus Christ. 00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:41.000 And as Christians, 00:21:41.979 --> 00:21:42.859 regardless of our 00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:43.659 marital state, 00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:45.439 that is the reality 00:21:45.439 --> 00:21:46.839 that should animate us 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:48.139 and excite us, 00:21:48.140 --> 00:21:49.300 motivating us 00:21:49.300 --> 00:21:50.600 to live the lives 00:21:50.600 --> 00:21:51.900 that God commands us 00:21:51.900 --> 00:21:53.040 to live through Christ 00:21:53.040 --> 00:21:55.280 and enables us to live 00:21:55.280 --> 00:21:56.940 by His Holy Spirit. 00:21:58.300 --> 00:21:59.160 Let's pray. 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:08.680 Heavenly Father, 00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:09.660 we thank you for 00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:11.660 purchasing us 00:22:11.660 --> 00:22:12.940 with a price. 00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:16.020 Lord, 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:17.160 all of us have 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:18.420 sinned and fallen 00:22:18.420 --> 00:22:19.720 short of your glory. 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:21.120 But Lord, 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:23.040 by faith, 00:22:23.360 --> 00:22:25.420 when we take hold 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:26.840 of Christ's sacrifice, 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:28.620 we know that 00:22:28.620 --> 00:22:30.080 when you look at us, 00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:31.279 you no longer see 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:33.340 us and all of our flaws 00:22:33.340 --> 00:22:34.259 and all of our 00:22:34.259 --> 00:22:36.300 constant sin, Lord, 00:22:36.380 --> 00:22:38.160 but we have been washed 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:39.220 by the blood of Christ. 00:22:40.620 --> 00:22:41.000 Lord, 00:22:41.040 --> 00:22:41.720 I pray for all those 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:42.240 present here 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:43.460 that you continue 00:22:43.460 --> 00:22:44.320 to wash them, 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:45.500 continue to forgive 00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:47.100 each and every one of us 00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:48.480 as we continue 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:49.119 to struggle 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:50.939 in this age 00:22:50.939 --> 00:22:51.980 that we're currently in. 00:22:53.059 --> 00:22:53.639 But Lord, 00:22:53.679 --> 00:22:54.319 I ask that you continue 00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:55.039 to prepare each 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:55.759 and every one of us 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:56.719 for that glorious 00:22:56.719 --> 00:22:57.439 wedding feast 00:22:57.439 --> 00:22:58.019 that we have 00:22:58.019 --> 00:22:58.980 to look forward to. 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:00.679 Lord, 00:23:00.719 --> 00:23:01.740 for the married couples, 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:04.519 bless their unions. 00:23:05.779 --> 00:23:06.000 Lord, 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:06.599 remind them 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:08.779 that their marriage 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:09.480 is an image 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:10.079 of Christ 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:10.779 and the church. 00:23:11.779 --> 00:23:12.740 And as Christ 00:23:12.740 --> 00:23:13.500 would not leave 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:14.139 His church, 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:15.580 I pray that 00:23:15.580 --> 00:23:16.400 that same commitment 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:16.900 is present 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:18.080 in each of the marriages 00:23:18.080 --> 00:23:18.759 here, Lord. 00:23:20.020 --> 00:23:21.160 For the single Christians 00:23:21.160 --> 00:23:21.620 here, Lord, 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:22.160 I pray that 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:24.080 I pray that our devotion 00:23:24.080 --> 00:23:24.540 to the Lord 00:23:24.540 --> 00:23:26.000 continue to grow. 00:23:27.520 --> 00:23:28.520 That for all of us 00:23:28.520 --> 00:23:29.020 our relationship 00:23:29.020 --> 00:23:29.540 with you 00:23:29.540 --> 00:23:31.040 is first and foremost. 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:32.759 Lord, 00:23:32.780 --> 00:23:33.580 I pray these things 00:23:33.580 --> 00:23:34.460 in the name of 00:23:34.460 --> 00:23:34.800 your Son, 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:35.480 Jesus Christ, 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:36.580 and by the power 00:23:36.580 --> 00:23:37.440 of your Holy Spirit. 00:23:38.360 --> 00:23:38.580 Amen. 00:23:38.579 --> 00:23:41.279 So, 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:42.819 after every 00:23:42.819 --> 00:23:43.919 sermon 00:23:43.919 --> 00:23:44.599 in the evening service, 00:23:44.699 --> 00:23:44.939 sorry, 00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:45.579 you can be seated. 00:23:45.859 --> 00:23:46.299 I'm sorry, 00:23:46.419 --> 00:23:47.000 that was my fault. 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:48.199 So, 00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:48.779 after every 00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:50.179 evening service, 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:52.559 we have 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:53.139 a question 00:23:53.139 --> 00:23:53.939 and answer 00:23:53.939 --> 00:23:54.539 portion. 00:23:55.460 --> 00:23:55.819 So, 00:23:56.139 --> 00:23:56.899 you may ask 00:23:56.899 --> 00:23:57.899 whatever question 00:23:57.899 --> 00:23:58.500 you wish. 00:23:59.019 --> 00:23:59.539 It can be about 00:23:59.539 --> 00:23:59.980 the passage, 00:24:00.399 --> 00:24:00.919 it can be about 00:24:00.919 --> 00:24:02.179 anything that came up 00:24:02.179 --> 00:24:02.779 over the course 00:24:02.779 --> 00:24:03.359 of the sermon, 00:24:04.419 --> 00:24:05.419 anything at all. 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:07.460 Yes, 00:24:07.460 --> 00:24:09.240 yes. 00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:09.340 Yes. 00:24:12.340 --> 00:24:24.200 I was commanded to, 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:24.720 that's what I, 00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:25.880 but, 00:24:26.180 --> 00:24:27.100 but second part? 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:27.459 Okay, 00:24:39.899 --> 00:24:40.019 so, 00:24:40.879 --> 00:24:41.799 first of all, 00:24:41.959 --> 00:24:42.959 why this one? 00:24:44.719 --> 00:24:45.279 As I said, 00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:46.179 I was commanded to. 00:24:47.459 --> 00:24:48.419 This was the weekend 00:24:48.419 --> 00:24:49.159 that Desiree was going 00:24:49.159 --> 00:24:49.779 to be in town. 00:24:50.719 --> 00:24:51.519 I had chosen 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:52.259 another week. 00:24:53.179 --> 00:24:54.199 I told her that. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:54.939 She said she was going 00:24:54.939 --> 00:24:55.859 to be in town this week, 00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:56.759 so I'd better be 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:57.539 preaching that week. 00:25:00.139 --> 00:25:01.039 And it just happens 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:02.039 to be the weekend 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:02.899 of Valentine's Day, 00:25:02.959 --> 00:25:03.639 which is also 00:25:03.639 --> 00:25:04.819 a sermon on divorce, 00:25:04.979 --> 00:25:05.539 so it's just like, 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:05.899 okay, 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:07.099 I guess this is happening. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:09.639 As for how it's, 00:25:09.639 --> 00:25:10.639 as for how it's affected 00:25:10.639 --> 00:25:12.079 me, 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:13.939 going into, 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:15.359 so, 00:25:15.459 --> 00:25:16.179 so going into, 00:25:16.399 --> 00:25:16.699 you know, 00:25:16.740 --> 00:25:17.899 proposing and going 00:25:17.899 --> 00:25:19.079 into the engagement 00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:19.819 and all that, 00:25:19.819 --> 00:25:22.500 my first, 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:24.000 my first emotion 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:24.859 has always been 00:25:24.859 --> 00:25:25.399 excitement 00:25:25.399 --> 00:25:26.519 and anticipation. 00:25:27.639 --> 00:25:28.619 As I've continued 00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:29.500 to do this, 00:25:29.879 --> 00:25:31.419 specifically doing this, 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:32.639 doing this kind of prep, 00:25:33.419 --> 00:25:35.019 it was sobering for me 00:25:35.019 --> 00:25:37.759 in seeing what, 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:39.039 what Christ says 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:40.139 marriage is. 00:25:41.500 --> 00:25:42.019 Ideally, 00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:42.500 in, 00:25:42.659 --> 00:25:43.039 in, 00:25:43.179 --> 00:25:44.200 in it being the picture, 00:25:44.419 --> 00:25:45.359 in it being the picture 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:46.259 of Christ's relationship 00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:46.939 with the church, 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:47.159 like, 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:47.580 that's a, 00:25:47.580 --> 00:25:48.360 that's a really, 00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:49.140 really big deal. 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:50.160 It's made me really 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:51.140 even more excited, 00:25:51.740 --> 00:25:52.060 but it's, 00:25:52.180 --> 00:25:52.560 but it's, 00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:52.820 but, 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:53.140 but, 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:54.140 but that excitement 00:25:54.140 --> 00:25:54.880 is also, 00:25:55.220 --> 00:25:56.160 it's present with 00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:56.620 a very, 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:57.580 very deep soberness 00:25:57.580 --> 00:25:59.060 about the, 00:25:59.300 --> 00:25:59.519 just, 00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:00.340 just the, 00:26:00.440 --> 00:26:02.880 just the magnanimity 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:03.420 of the, 00:26:03.420 --> 00:26:04.600 of the institution 00:26:04.600 --> 00:26:05.140 that I'm in, 00:26:05.300 --> 00:26:06.440 that I'm entering into. 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:08.080 But for me, 00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:08.940 what's been really important 00:26:08.940 --> 00:26:09.420 for me, 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:10.500 and this is what 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:11.540 initially prompted me 00:26:11.540 --> 00:26:11.720 to, 00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:12.160 to, 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:12.620 to, 00:26:12.620 --> 00:26:13.279 to propose, 00:26:13.840 --> 00:26:14.500 was essentially 00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:14.900 when the Lord 00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:15.480 revealed to me 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:15.860 that the, 00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:16.220 that, 00:26:16.340 --> 00:26:17.060 that the two of us 00:26:17.059 --> 00:26:17.960 would bring more glory 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:18.779 to him together 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:20.179 than apart from one another. 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:21.440 And at that, 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:22.639 and at that point 00:26:22.639 --> 00:26:23.079 I was like, 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:23.279 okay, 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:24.299 well I just gotta buy this ring 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:25.419 and go ahead and do this. 00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:26.179 So, 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:27.500 at that point, 00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:29.359 there it was. 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:30.460 But, 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:31.559 but, 00:26:31.819 --> 00:26:32.339 but this, 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:33.460 but this preparation process 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:33.740 has, 00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:34.259 has, 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:34.899 it's, 00:26:34.980 --> 00:26:35.859 it's sobered me, 00:26:35.899 --> 00:26:36.839 it's sobered me deeply. 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:40.039 As I, 00:26:40.119 --> 00:26:40.399 as I, 00:26:40.399 --> 00:26:41.539 as I think about the commitment 00:26:41.539 --> 00:26:42.220 that I'm gonna make 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:43.539 and 160 days. 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:50.200 Yeah. 00:26:50.579 --> 00:26:51.299 What's that? 00:26:51.299 --> 00:26:51.500 Uh. 00:26:52.759 --> 00:27:02.660 Main Wohn- 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:05.220 Mm-hmm. 00:27:05.220 --> 00:27:24.559 Does marriage have any meaning? 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:29.380 I think, and I think this comes from, 00:27:29.600 --> 00:27:32.779 it comes from, I mean, what Christ says in Mark, 00:27:32.779 --> 00:27:35.819 and also what Paul says in Ephesians, 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:39.039 but I think that we as Christians 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:41.259 must be willing to stand on the fact 00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:42.660 that marriage does have meaning. 00:27:43.339 --> 00:27:46.019 And I think we have to stand on that 00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:49.059 because it's a model of Christ's relationship 00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:49.779 with the church. 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:52.039 And so as such, that's not something 00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:53.379 that we can sacrifice. 00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:57.420 And I really think that the burden 00:27:57.420 --> 00:27:59.220 is really on us specifically 00:27:59.220 --> 00:28:03.500 because God has told us what marriage is about. 00:28:04.380 --> 00:28:08.579 And so as such, the marriages in the church, 00:28:09.539 --> 00:28:13.640 that's something that we have to be willing to commit to. 00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:16.079 A knowledge that when I enter into this, 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:17.240 I'm entering into something 00:28:17.240 --> 00:28:19.759 that is to represent Christ's relationship 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:20.460 with the church. 00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:23.900 So in that sense, yes, 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:25.539 marriage absolutely does have meaning. 00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:29.539 And I think that we as the church 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:31.620 have a unique responsibility 00:28:31.620 --> 00:28:34.340 to really be an image of that. 00:28:34.660 --> 00:28:36.140 Because, I mean, I deeply believe 00:28:36.140 --> 00:28:40.019 that it's only by the power of the Holy Spirit 00:28:40.019 --> 00:28:43.019 that marriage can be as beautiful 00:28:43.019 --> 00:28:45.100 as God meant for it to be. 00:28:45.099 --> 00:28:50.339 And so, and we as the body of Christ 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:55.039 have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. 00:28:55.619 --> 00:28:59.299 And so I think that's something 00:28:59.299 --> 00:29:02.279 that we need to consistently uphold. 00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:03.480 Yeah. 00:29:04.939 --> 00:29:05.419 Yeah. 00:29:06.419 --> 00:29:08.779 What is the best way to cut this path 00:29:08.779 --> 00:29:10.799 on people that are divorced to take this path? 00:29:11.219 --> 00:29:11.500 Yeah. 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:12.980 Yeah. 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:13.039 Yeah. 00:29:13.039 --> 00:29:13.119 Yeah. 00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:16.079 Sure, sure, sure. 00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:17.299 So what is the, 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:19.200 or what's the best thing for couples 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:23.460 who are divorced to deal with this passage? 00:29:24.639 --> 00:29:26.720 So one of the things, 00:29:27.740 --> 00:29:29.279 and this is, 00:29:29.639 --> 00:29:30.859 I mean, Paul talks about this too, 00:29:31.019 --> 00:29:33.579 but the message of it is 00:29:33.579 --> 00:29:35.299 that there are essentially two things, 00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:38.839 two things to do if you are divorced. 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:40.879 You either remain unmarried 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:45.640 or you're reconciled to your husband. 00:29:46.580 --> 00:29:48.020 One of the things that, 00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:50.380 and I think this is another thing 00:29:50.380 --> 00:29:53.720 that I think the church needs to be 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:56.260 really adamant about 00:29:56.260 --> 00:29:58.480 is that the single life is not 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:01.320 a torturous, 00:30:02.620 --> 00:30:05.720 unsustainable life. 00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:07.700 It's, 00:30:08.160 --> 00:30:08.900 and I, 00:30:08.980 --> 00:30:09.819 and I tried to, 00:30:09.860 --> 00:30:10.660 I tried to touch on this 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:11.500 a little bit in the sermon, 00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:13.420 but the single, 00:30:13.420 --> 00:30:14.860 the single person as single 00:30:14.860 --> 00:30:15.319 has a, 00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:16.579 has a unique opportunity 00:30:16.579 --> 00:30:17.940 to image Christ's relationship 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:18.620 with the church. 00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:20.279 And so, 00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:21.880 and so both options, 00:30:22.059 --> 00:30:23.660 whether it is remaining unmarried 00:30:23.660 --> 00:30:24.279 or, 00:30:24.420 --> 00:30:25.779 or being reconciled, 00:30:25.860 --> 00:30:26.240 or being, 00:30:26.339 --> 00:30:27.740 or being reconciled to your spouse, 00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:29.100 in both situations, 00:30:29.100 --> 00:30:30.319 there is, 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:31.440 there is an image of Christ 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:31.839 in the church 00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:32.600 that you are to, 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:33.120 that, 00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:35.019 that we're to shine forth. 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:37.139 And in, 00:30:37.259 --> 00:30:38.019 and in all those cases, 00:30:38.019 --> 00:30:39.199 we always seek reconciliation 00:30:39.199 --> 00:30:39.979 as the first, 00:30:40.279 --> 00:30:40.859 as the first, 00:30:40.979 --> 00:30:41.179 as, 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:42.879 as the first option. 00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:44.299 But sometimes that's, 00:30:44.779 --> 00:30:45.679 sometimes that doesn't, 00:30:45.799 --> 00:30:46.619 that doesn't work out. 00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:49.379 But our commitment to the Lord 00:30:49.379 --> 00:30:49.819 is first, 00:30:49.979 --> 00:30:50.959 is first and foremost. 00:30:51.819 --> 00:30:52.899 And so that's, 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:53.500 that's the, 00:30:53.619 --> 00:30:54.839 that's the response to that. 00:30:55.459 --> 00:30:56.019 But one of, 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:56.199 but, 00:30:56.199 --> 00:30:56.579 but, 00:30:56.699 --> 00:30:58.419 but also as I said, 00:30:58.459 --> 00:30:59.439 I don't want it to seem like 00:30:59.439 --> 00:31:00.199 divorce is some kind of 00:31:00.199 --> 00:31:01.359 unforgivable sin that like, 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:02.459 if you're, 00:31:02.460 --> 00:31:03.140 if you're divorced, 00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:04.059 we kick you out of the church 00:31:04.059 --> 00:31:05.840 and we're no longer fellowship with you. 00:31:05.840 --> 00:31:06.180 That's, 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:07.340 that's absolutely not 00:31:07.340 --> 00:31:08.319 the way that we, 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:09.900 the way that we ever want to, 00:31:10.140 --> 00:31:11.220 want to approach it. 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:14.819 As I was saying, 00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:15.000 you know, 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:15.259 it's a, 00:31:15.259 --> 00:31:16.000 it's a painful, 00:31:16.519 --> 00:31:17.059 it's a deeply, 00:31:17.180 --> 00:31:18.200 deeply painful process. 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:19.400 And we as the church 00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:20.259 should be willing to come up, 00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:21.420 to come alongside one another 00:31:21.420 --> 00:31:21.920 through that, 00:31:22.440 --> 00:31:23.079 through that pain, 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:24.079 praying for one another. 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:25.160 So. 00:31:27.120 --> 00:31:27.460 Yeah, 00:31:27.460 --> 00:31:27.579 Matt. 00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:28.980 Yeah, 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:30.000 so why don't you touch on 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:30.840 just in your answer, 00:31:30.839 --> 00:31:32.279 but our society 00:31:32.279 --> 00:31:33.639 gives us a lot of 00:31:33.639 --> 00:31:34.519 bad, 00:31:34.699 --> 00:31:34.980 I mean, 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:35.740 we have good, 00:31:35.799 --> 00:31:36.019 you know, 00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:37.159 examples like this sermon 00:31:37.159 --> 00:31:38.199 and God's words 00:31:38.199 --> 00:31:39.500 tell us what a good marriage is, 00:31:39.579 --> 00:31:40.539 but at that same time 00:31:40.539 --> 00:31:41.480 we have our society, 00:31:41.899 --> 00:31:42.439 you know, 00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:44.539 bombarding us 00:31:44.539 --> 00:31:45.139 with also, 00:31:45.419 --> 00:31:46.079 you know, 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:47.619 their own marriage 00:31:47.619 --> 00:31:48.919 of what marriage is like. 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:49.240 Yeah. 00:31:49.240 --> 00:31:49.439 For example, 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:51.139 if you see on a new television show, 00:31:51.399 --> 00:31:52.139 you look at a marriage, 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:52.980 it's usually the woman 00:31:52.980 --> 00:31:53.879 who's calling this out 00:31:53.879 --> 00:31:54.279 to the man 00:31:54.279 --> 00:31:54.899 who just says there, 00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:55.199 like, 00:31:55.459 --> 00:31:55.699 yes, 00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:55.939 David, 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:56.199 yes, 00:31:56.259 --> 00:31:56.959 whatever you say. 00:31:56.960 --> 00:31:57.340 there, 00:31:57.500 --> 00:31:57.900 you know, 00:31:57.960 --> 00:32:00.340 the law is good. 00:32:01.120 --> 00:32:02.400 And the legalistic things 00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:03.559 are not the law, 00:32:03.779 --> 00:32:05.700 but what you should expect 00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:06.039 and, 00:32:06.140 --> 00:32:06.500 you know, 00:32:06.539 --> 00:32:06.860 there's nothing 00:32:06.860 --> 00:32:07.819 to do wrong with it. 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:08.340 And then, 00:32:08.579 --> 00:32:09.519 on the flip side, 00:32:09.720 --> 00:32:10.039 you know, 00:32:10.779 --> 00:32:12.039 the church is not necessarily, 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:13.180 I mean, 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:14.620 I think it's better 00:32:14.620 --> 00:32:15.920 at doing this, 00:32:15.980 --> 00:32:16.680 but at the same time 00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:17.779 as you were just talking about, 00:32:17.900 --> 00:32:18.100 you know, 00:32:18.120 --> 00:32:18.660 the church can, 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:19.840 especially certain churches 00:32:19.840 --> 00:32:20.799 can really crush it, 00:32:20.819 --> 00:32:21.940 but if you're not married, 00:32:22.100 --> 00:32:22.779 you're somehow 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:23.880 a second class, 00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:24.960 you know, 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:27.340 Christian type thing 00:32:27.340 --> 00:32:29.400 or certain notions about marriage 00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:31.460 can be messed up as well. 00:32:32.340 --> 00:32:33.380 So, can you comment 00:32:33.380 --> 00:32:35.319 on some of those things 00:32:35.319 --> 00:32:37.100 and just how, you know, 00:32:37.660 --> 00:32:39.720 what are the lies and pitfalls 00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:41.299 that perhaps crashed through 00:32:41.299 --> 00:32:42.579 your own personal, 00:32:42.759 --> 00:32:45.120 your most commonly called 00:32:45.120 --> 00:32:46.519 religious subjections. 00:32:46.680 --> 00:32:47.160 It's up to you. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:48.680 Sure. 00:32:49.620 --> 00:32:50.039 Oh. 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:50.100 Oh. 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:55.460 Oh. 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:13.360 Traps that we are particularly 00:33:13.360 --> 00:33:13.860 parallel. 00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:20.240 Oh. 00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:20.299 Oh. 00:33:20.299 --> 00:33:25.119 No, I want to do this. 00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:26.119 No, this is, no, 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:27.539 I want to do this. 00:33:30.519 --> 00:33:30.960 Yeah. 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:34.180 It was kind of, okay. 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:35.879 Okay. 00:33:38.019 --> 00:33:41.319 I'll express an iteration of it. 00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:42.139 So, I'll say, okay, 00:33:42.220 --> 00:33:43.460 so like what is, 00:33:44.139 --> 00:33:44.619 we'll say, 00:33:44.619 --> 00:33:45.379 what's a big, 00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:46.519 what's a big danger 00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:48.440 that we'll say 00:33:48.440 --> 00:33:49.519 that the church can fall into 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:50.660 when it comes to, 00:33:52.539 --> 00:33:53.240 we'll say specific, 00:33:53.480 --> 00:33:54.039 just marriage. 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:54.619 Let's just say 00:33:54.619 --> 00:33:55.859 a danger to fall into 00:33:55.859 --> 00:33:57.359 when it comes to conceiving of it, 00:33:58.240 --> 00:33:58.700 preaching it, 00:33:58.819 --> 00:33:59.079 whatever. 00:33:59.460 --> 00:33:59.879 We'll do that. 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:00.200 Okay. 00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:01.539 So, I think, 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:02.480 so we'll, 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:03.200 I'll just, 00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:03.879 I'll just pick one 00:34:03.879 --> 00:34:05.720 because there's all this stuff. 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:08.820 One is that, 00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:10.199 that second class citizen thing 00:34:10.199 --> 00:34:10.599 that you were, 00:34:10.739 --> 00:34:11.360 that you were, 00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:12.019 that you were, 00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:13.380 that you were talking about before. 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:16.059 Because it's funny 00:34:16.059 --> 00:34:16.639 when Paul, 00:34:16.739 --> 00:34:17.539 when Paul is talking 00:34:17.539 --> 00:34:18.119 to the Corinthians, 00:34:18.119 --> 00:34:20.119 when you get all that, 00:34:20.279 --> 00:34:20.500 you know, 00:34:20.539 --> 00:34:20.679 it's, 00:34:20.679 --> 00:34:20.980 it's, 00:34:20.980 --> 00:34:21.880 it's better to marry 00:34:21.880 --> 00:34:22.500 than to burn 00:34:22.500 --> 00:34:23.179 and all that, 00:34:23.299 --> 00:34:23.719 all that, 00:34:23.779 --> 00:34:24.500 all that kind of stuff. 00:34:24.559 --> 00:34:25.460 He's speaking to them 00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:28.179 where marriage is seen 00:34:28.179 --> 00:34:29.539 as a bad, 00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:30.859 seen as a bad thing. 00:34:31.299 --> 00:34:31.559 It's like, 00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:32.519 you just don't, 00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:33.440 don't do it. 00:34:34.099 --> 00:34:35.400 To which his response is, 00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:35.659 no, 00:34:35.699 --> 00:34:36.319 it's a good thing. 00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:38.039 While I would like you all 00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:38.619 to be single 00:34:38.619 --> 00:34:40.639 because then you could be like me 00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:41.980 and you could have this 00:34:41.980 --> 00:34:43.000 undistracted devotion 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:43.519 to the Lord, 00:34:44.159 --> 00:34:45.099 I understand that there, 00:34:45.259 --> 00:34:45.400 that, 00:34:45.500 --> 00:34:46.940 that not everyone is gifted in that, 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:47.920 that not everyone is gifted 00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:48.440 in that way. 00:34:49.619 --> 00:34:51.059 Christ essentially says that 00:34:51.059 --> 00:34:52.900 in the parallel passage 00:34:52.900 --> 00:34:53.700 in Matthew 19 00:34:53.700 --> 00:34:54.940 where he says that there are some, 00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:56.700 there are some who have been eunuchs 00:34:56.700 --> 00:34:57.179 from birth, 00:34:57.280 --> 00:34:58.139 some who have been made, 00:34:58.380 --> 00:34:59.539 some who were made eunuchs 00:34:59.539 --> 00:35:01.220 by men 00:35:01.220 --> 00:35:02.920 and some who have made themselves eunuchs 00:35:02.920 --> 00:35:03.320 for the, 00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:04.740 for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. 00:35:06.820 --> 00:35:07.260 But, 00:35:07.639 --> 00:35:09.340 the thing is, 00:35:09.539 --> 00:35:09.780 and some, 00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:11.260 and something that I, 00:35:11.460 --> 00:35:11.820 that I, 00:35:11.900 --> 00:35:13.340 that I wanted to emphasize here 00:35:13.340 --> 00:35:13.840 is that 00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:15.660 the single, 00:35:15.720 --> 00:35:16.500 the single life 00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:17.500 and the married life, 00:35:17.680 --> 00:35:18.559 both of them have their, 00:35:18.740 --> 00:35:19.140 have their, 00:35:19.260 --> 00:35:20.680 have their unique challenges 00:35:20.680 --> 00:35:21.960 and both have, 00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:23.280 and both have unique benefits. 00:35:23.500 --> 00:35:24.360 There are things that, 00:35:24.460 --> 00:35:25.300 there are things that, 00:35:25.740 --> 00:35:27.360 there are things that, 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:28.539 are much easier for single people 00:35:28.539 --> 00:35:29.780 than for married people. 00:35:30.059 --> 00:35:30.800 Things that are much easier 00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:31.460 for married people 00:35:31.460 --> 00:35:32.300 than for single people. 00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:33.380 And so, 00:35:33.420 --> 00:35:34.079 one of the things 00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:34.840 that the church, 00:35:35.240 --> 00:35:36.360 one of the ways 00:35:36.360 --> 00:35:36.860 that the church 00:35:36.860 --> 00:35:37.660 can live that out 00:35:37.659 --> 00:35:42.759 is by married people offering hospitality to single people 00:35:42.759 --> 00:35:46.159 and single people offering hospitality to married people. 00:35:48.879 --> 00:35:52.420 There's a capacity of time and flexibility that single people have 00:35:52.420 --> 00:35:53.920 that married people don't. 00:35:54.719 --> 00:35:56.699 There are resources that married people have 00:35:56.699 --> 00:35:59.219 that single people don't have access to. 00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:05.119 And if we're to be truly, I mean, as the body of Christ, 00:36:05.119 --> 00:36:08.759 that's something that we should be willing to support one another in. 00:36:09.539 --> 00:36:13.239 And single people, pray for the marriages in the church. 00:36:13.819 --> 00:36:19.079 Because if this is meant to be an image of Christ in the church, 00:36:19.159 --> 00:36:21.159 this is something that requires constant prayer. 00:36:23.279 --> 00:36:26.500 And married people, pray for the single people in the congregation. 00:36:27.599 --> 00:36:32.219 Because there are deep, deep, deep, intense struggles 00:36:32.219 --> 00:36:33.799 that go on in the single person's mind. 00:36:35.119 --> 00:36:38.239 Even whether it's dealing with kind of unchecked, 00:36:38.339 --> 00:36:41.219 in some cases, just unchecked selfishness. 00:36:41.339 --> 00:36:42.579 Because when you're on your own, you know, 00:36:42.739 --> 00:36:44.920 I can do whatever I want in my apartment. 00:36:45.420 --> 00:36:46.359 I don't know, like nobody knows. 00:36:47.539 --> 00:36:50.679 And so, but that's dangerous. 00:36:52.159 --> 00:37:00.259 And so there's a support in both arenas that needs to happen, I think. 00:37:00.260 --> 00:37:02.240 Yeah. 00:37:02.980 --> 00:37:03.540 Yeah. 00:37:04.980 --> 00:37:05.760 Hi, Mindy. 00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:11.120 Why does Moses allow the Lord? 00:37:11.600 --> 00:37:12.160 Why? 00:37:12.600 --> 00:37:15.540 Why does Moses allow the Lord? 00:37:15.640 --> 00:37:15.940 Good. 00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:17.320 Good, good, good. 00:37:17.380 --> 00:37:19.080 So the question is, it's a difference between 00:37:19.080 --> 00:37:21.800 what does Moses command and what does Moses permit? 00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:25.360 So the commandment is whoever divorces, 00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:27.840 like basically, like the commandment is never, 00:37:28.160 --> 00:37:30.980 there is never a command to divorce in scripture. 00:37:31.220 --> 00:37:32.180 Never a command to divorce. 00:37:32.420 --> 00:37:34.780 Never a command, if someone does this, divorce them. 00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:35.120 No. 00:37:35.680 --> 00:37:38.320 The command is whoever divorces his wife 00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:41.180 must write her a certificate of divorce. 00:37:41.599 --> 00:37:45.680 Which is to say that it's an issue of justice. 00:37:46.140 --> 00:37:47.940 If you marry, if you marries, 00:37:48.160 --> 00:37:49.800 if a man were to marry a woman 00:37:49.800 --> 00:37:51.660 and then just put her out on the street, 00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:54.720 she would be utterly defenseless. 00:37:55.380 --> 00:37:57.500 The certificate of divorce would allow, 00:37:57.760 --> 00:38:01.860 would essentially allow her to remarry, 00:38:02.220 --> 00:38:03.580 which is like, it's a safety, 00:38:03.680 --> 00:38:04.680 it's a safety issue. 00:38:05.740 --> 00:38:08.460 And so one of, so that's kind of one of the, 00:38:08.560 --> 00:38:09.620 I think that's one of the things 00:38:09.620 --> 00:38:11.080 that Jesus was referring to when he says, 00:38:11.400 --> 00:38:12.920 he did this because of your hardness of heart. 00:38:13.900 --> 00:38:16.160 It was because it's like, why would you put, 00:38:16.160 --> 00:38:17.820 why would you, first of all, 00:38:17.820 --> 00:38:20.580 why would you divorce your wife is the idea. 00:38:20.720 --> 00:38:22.539 Because that's not what marriage was meant. 00:38:22.900 --> 00:38:25.280 Marriage was never meant to have this kind of thing. 00:38:26.240 --> 00:38:29.100 But the commandment to give a certificate of divorce 00:38:29.100 --> 00:38:31.360 was specifically, you know, 00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:34.519 to maintain that justice 00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:36.460 so that women wouldn't be, you know, 00:38:36.539 --> 00:38:38.800 left out defenseless. 00:38:39.920 --> 00:38:43.519 But what Jesus is essentially doing here is he's, 00:38:43.640 --> 00:38:45.100 I mean, he's showing us, 00:38:45.099 --> 00:38:48.000 he's showing us the way that it's supposed to be. 00:38:49.279 --> 00:38:51.599 And in that next part that we see about children, 00:38:51.699 --> 00:38:53.460 he's giving us how that's supposed to happen. 00:38:53.599 --> 00:38:54.739 He gives us the Holy Spirit 00:38:54.739 --> 00:38:56.380 so that this can be a reality. 00:38:58.139 --> 00:38:59.900 And I think that's, 00:38:59.980 --> 00:39:01.339 I think that's where, 00:39:01.400 --> 00:39:03.319 I think that's where we need to focus our attention. 00:39:04.639 --> 00:39:05.000 Yeah. 00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:07.699 But then it said in Mark that 00:39:07.699 --> 00:39:10.019 if you are divorced, 00:39:10.260 --> 00:39:12.260 you're not going to be there. 00:39:12.500 --> 00:39:13.500 In other words, 00:39:13.599 --> 00:39:15.079 if you're a certificate of divorce, 00:39:15.300 --> 00:39:18.500 doesn't make a person safe 00:39:18.500 --> 00:39:20.099 by allowing them to marry 00:39:20.099 --> 00:39:22.739 and it has to be not. 00:39:23.320 --> 00:39:23.880 Right. 00:39:24.239 --> 00:39:25.599 So this is the, 00:39:26.239 --> 00:39:29.139 and this is him dealing with, 00:39:30.579 --> 00:39:31.940 there are a number of Jewish, 00:39:32.079 --> 00:39:34.000 there are a number of Jewish schools at the time, 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:37.179 going back and forth about what this means, 00:39:37.699 --> 00:39:38.219 who can divorce, 00:39:38.340 --> 00:39:38.599 who can, 00:39:39.219 --> 00:39:40.260 all that kind of stuff. 00:39:42.059 --> 00:39:45.860 But if you look at just Jesus' response to the question, 00:39:46.519 --> 00:39:47.280 where the question is, 00:39:47.380 --> 00:39:50.340 is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 00:39:51.139 --> 00:39:53.780 It just seems that his answer, 00:39:54.039 --> 00:39:55.659 if you had to choose between yes or no, 00:39:56.139 --> 00:39:58.360 it just seems that his answer would be no. 00:39:58.360 --> 00:40:00.120 In which case, 00:40:01.000 --> 00:40:01.220 that, 00:40:01.420 --> 00:40:01.680 that, 00:40:01.900 --> 00:40:02.200 that, 00:40:02.579 --> 00:40:02.920 this, 00:40:03.019 --> 00:40:03.500 this is, 00:40:03.640 --> 00:40:05.019 this is not even a thing that he, 00:40:05.140 --> 00:40:08.280 that he wants Christians to even deal with. 00:40:09.579 --> 00:40:09.980 The, 00:40:10.160 --> 00:40:10.780 the answer, 00:40:10.980 --> 00:40:11.120 the, 00:40:11.220 --> 00:40:12.340 the question of the, 00:40:12.400 --> 00:40:13.620 the question of the certificate 00:40:13.620 --> 00:40:15.860 was an issue. 00:40:15.940 --> 00:40:16.140 I mean, 00:40:16.160 --> 00:40:16.519 that was, 00:40:17.340 --> 00:40:17.760 it was an, 00:40:17.880 --> 00:40:18.360 it was an, 00:40:18.500 --> 00:40:20.280 it was an issue for the Jewish people at the time. 00:40:21.059 --> 00:40:21.460 And, 00:40:21.620 --> 00:40:22.599 and it was, 00:40:22.900 --> 00:40:24.039 let me think of the best. 00:40:24.039 --> 00:40:24.719 Yeah, 00:40:31.039 --> 00:40:31.480 I think that, 00:40:31.559 --> 00:40:31.840 I, 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:32.199 I, 00:40:32.199 --> 00:40:32.599 I mean, 00:40:32.619 --> 00:40:33.360 I really think the best, 00:40:33.460 --> 00:40:33.639 I think, 00:40:33.739 --> 00:40:35.500 I really think the best way to approach that is just that. 00:40:35.860 --> 00:40:36.179 Christ, 00:40:36.480 --> 00:40:37.960 Christ in his statement is saying, 00:40:38.159 --> 00:40:39.340 this is not the way, 00:40:39.779 --> 00:40:41.059 this is not the way that it's been, 00:40:41.199 --> 00:40:42.119 that that it's been meant to, 00:40:42.259 --> 00:40:43.119 that it's been meant to be. 00:40:43.860 --> 00:40:44.179 All, 00:40:44.300 --> 00:40:46.360 all those things that he was saying about a certificate of divorce 00:40:46.360 --> 00:40:47.860 and all those things were allowances 00:40:47.860 --> 00:40:49.179 because of their, 00:40:49.279 --> 00:40:50.739 because of their hardness of heart. 00:40:50.900 --> 00:40:51.400 But now, 00:40:51.940 --> 00:40:52.599 in the church, 00:40:53.539 --> 00:40:53.860 he's, 00:40:53.860 --> 00:40:54.180 he's, 00:40:54.380 --> 00:40:55.480 and now that he's been resurrected, 00:40:55.680 --> 00:40:55.960 ascended, 00:40:56.120 --> 00:40:56.579 and sent the, 00:40:56.579 --> 00:40:57.820 and sent the Holy Spirit, 00:40:58.480 --> 00:40:59.400 there's a new, 00:40:59.480 --> 00:41:01.440 there's a new capacity for us to be able to do 00:41:01.440 --> 00:41:02.700 what he's, 00:41:02.860 --> 00:41:04.599 what he's commanded us to do. 00:41:05.680 --> 00:41:05.960 So. 00:41:07.860 --> 00:41:08.260 Okay. 00:41:08.760 --> 00:41:09.120 And, 00:41:09.220 --> 00:41:09.740 and I'll be, 00:41:09.820 --> 00:41:10.400 I'll be around. 00:41:10.599 --> 00:41:12.780 We can still continue this conversation. 00:41:14.440 --> 00:41:14.840 Thanks, 00:41:14.920 --> 00:41:15.059 guys. 00:41:23.860 --> 00:41:25.280 Bye. 00:41:25.280 --> 00:41:55.260 Thank you. 00:41:55.280 --> 00:42:25.260 Thank you.