The Ministry of Marriage

Mark 10:1-12

The Ministry of Marriage

Would you open the Bible to Mark 10, and when you have found it I want you to look up here. Today I would like to speak to you on a subject that for many has lost its luster. The subject marriage.

Now if you are here and you are married this message is for you, and if you are here and aren’t married this message is for you as well. Now understand, marriage from the beginning was designed by God.

But marriages are under attack. And the enemy is gaining ground even among Christian homes. Well, it is time for us to take back what has been lost to the devil. It is time for us to allow the Lord to be front and center in our lives.

And if there is going to be victory in the home we must take marriage seriously. Because when a marriage falls apart, there is devastation that is left in the wake.

Now I take preaching the word of God seriously. It is the ministry that God has called me too. And I believe you would take it serious as well, if you were up here speaking to people about Christ. Well, in like manner, we need to take our marriages serious, because your marriage is a ministry. You may not realize it, but you are preaching to your kids, friends, neighbors, and other Christians, what marriage is suppose to look like.

Now the Bible speaks to the subject of marriage here in Mark 10, and I want you to listen closely to what it says.

(Read Scripture)

Now the Pharisees are speaking to Jesus here, and they are questioning (really tempting him) in regards to marriage. And the Lord responds and he tells them exactly what marriage is about. Now remember marriage is a ministry your apart of.

The comedian Henny Youngman once said that the secret of a happy marriage remains a secret. Well, I don’t agree with that statement. Because I believe the secret to a happy marriage isn’t a secret at all. It is told to us right here in the scripture.

And if we are going to have happiness in the home, if we are going to have a successful marriage ministry. Then friends, Jesus has to be the priority.

And we must take the marriage ministry seriously. So, let me draw your attention to these three things when it comes to marriage.

The Purpose of Marriage

Let me ask you this question, why did you get married? And for those who may want to get married, do you know why you want to get married?

There needs to be a right purpose in why you want to get married. Now some people get married for the wrong purposes. And maybe you got married for the wrong reasons.

But just because your marriage started out for the wrong reasons, doesn’t mean it is doomed to fail. In fact, Jesus specializes in fixing broken things.

And if we are honest, everyone of us at some point, were broken. Now the scripture tells us the purpose of marriage and there are three main elements for marriage. The first one…

· Relationship

o The first element for marriage is relationship. What did Jesus share in this passage? He said a man shall cleave to his wife.

o Cleave means to stick together.

o I mean you are like Velcro. You stick together. I mean think about it, you are better together than you are apart.

o Well, that is what marriage does, it solidifies that relationship, it sticks you together, because you are stronger together.

o Now understand, relationships must be nurturing. Caring and loving. There for the better and worse.

o That we are together to exercise what the scripture tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another...”

o Your marriage should be stronger now than when it began. But if it isn’t, it is likely that Christ is not the focus of your marriage anymore.

· Reproduction

o The second reason purpose for marriage is for reproduction. Now understand this, children should come into this world with married parents.

o Reproduction outside of marriage is sinful and wrong. Now today, we have couples who have children together, but they aren’t married.

o That is not the design of God. God wants and designed it from the beginning that marriage should be the place for reproduction.

o Now if you are married and you don’t have children, don’t be discouraged. Sometimes people are just unable to have them. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be fruitful in other ways.

o The scripture tells us in Genesis 9:7 “Be ye fruitful, and multiple, bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.”

o Now understand this God loves multiplication not division.

o Marriage should be a ministry that brings forth fruit.

· Reflection

o And there is the third thing, marriage is a reflection of God.

o You see, it was the Lord who made marriage, and when you come together man and woman, you are reflecting the work of God.

o In ministry, the purpose of it is to reflect the Lord to others, and that is what your marriage should do as well.

o Now it is not where one person should reflect and the other distort. Marriage should be where both the man and the woman reflect together Jesus Christ.

o Understand, a Christian should not marry a non-Christian. Because that marriage will not reflect the image of Christ like it should.

o The scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?

o You see, the purpose of your marriage is to shine for Christ. Now for some of us to shine the brightest for Jesus, we need a partner to help us do that.

o Think about a flashlight, I put one battery in it, it doesn’t really shine, but when I put another battery in it, it shines with a bright light. Well, that is what Christ is in your marriage.

o You both have the Lord in you, and when you come together you shine the glory of Christ.

The Perception of Marriage

Now we have seen the purpose of marriage, let me draw your attention to the perception of marriage.

The Pharisees come to Jesus, and there perception of marriage was messed up. They were looking more at how to get out of marriage than to stay in it.

Now this same mindset exists today. And we have this messed up way at looking at marriage. First some look at it as a…

· Mistake

o Two people got married and somewhere along the way, one of them feels like their marriage is a mistake.

o They might would say, we should have never got married. And what has happened, is one of the spouses has taken their eyes off the purpose.

o There was a husband who asked his wife why she kept reading their marriage license. She replied, I’m looking for an expiration date.

o Listen, we should not look at our marriage as a mistake. We all hit bumps, we all have tough times, but that doesn’t mean that what God brought together was a mistake.

o One of the biggest problems of why people think their marriage was a mistake is Social Media.

o We look at other couples and we see the pictures and we think that their marriages are perfect, and we look at ours and think we made a mistake. Don’t be deceived by what you see on the surface.

o The marriage ministry you are apart of is not a mistake, it is the greatest opportunity to show Jesus Christ to the World.

· Materialistic

o Now others look at marriage just for the materialistic aspect. It reminds me of the woman who was married four times in life.

o The first man she married was a wealthy millionaire, the second man she married was a movie star, the third man she married was a preacher, and the fourth man she ended up marrying was an undertaker. When asked about the men she had married in life her answer was, one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go.

o Sadly, there are many people who get married just for the material gains they might get out of it.

o Listen love for money is not the reason why you should marry someone. Money will never bring happiness, in fact the Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

o You know what is one of the top reasons of divorcement? Money.

o Yet, so many people get married to get more of it. Let me ask you, are you telling your kids to find someone that has lots of money or loves the Lord?

o Friends marriage is not about materialism, the marriage ministry should be focused on the Word of God.

· Meaningless

o Now the third perception about marriage is that it is meaningless. That getting married really doesn’t matter.

o That we always have the escape hatch, and that we can just get divorced if we want too.

o Listen, Jesus told the Pharisees here that it was not God’s will for a man and woman to get divorced, but Moses put that in because of the hardness of their hearts.

o Your marriage is not meaningless in the eyes of God. In fact, it is serious business.

o I mean think about it this way, if God called you to be a Sunday School teacher, is teaching that class suppose to be meaningless? No!

o But what happens? That teacher starts to think that what they are teaching doesn’t really matter, they are not listening, so, I am just going to quit.

o People do that in their marriage, they think it doesn’t really matter and they just quit. Listen, when you quit, there are usually those who suffer because of it.

o Don’t look at your marriage as being meaningless, every marriage has the opportunity to mean something for Christ.

The Perfection of Marriage

Now we have seen the purpose and perception of marriage, now I want you to pay close attention to this last one and it is called the perfection of marriage.

Now you might be here today, and your marriage seems to be falling apart. That it is in shambles and that there is no hope for it.

Well, let me tell you that just because you may think it is beyond repair, that God has a different view on it.

You see your marriage can be repaired and perfected, and even if it seems impossible in your eyes, doesn’t mean it is in God’s eyes.

Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible”. Now the Lord shows us in the word how the marriage can be perfected and the first way is…

· Forgiveness

o I read in a magazine the five most essential words for a healthy and vital marriage – I apologize & You are right.

o Let me tell you something, there are going to be marriages that at times, one of you is going to mess up. You are going to say or do something that the other may be offended by.

o Or maybe you are the one who is offended. Now the flesh is going to tell you to walk away from the marriage, to quit on them. But what does the Lord tell us to do?

o Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

o Listen, you may have had a spouse that has done something horrible, but ultimately, a marriage is strengthen and demonstrates Christ with forgiveness.

o Wait a minute brother, my spouse cheated on me. Does God want me to take them back? I am suppose to forgive them? That is what Christ wants more than anything.

o Have you ever read the book of Hosea? It is about a man that God told him to marry and he married a woman who constantly left him and cheated on him.

o And Hosea, continued to take her back. Now I know it is hard for us to take someone back after they have cheated on us, but let me tell you, God desires that your marriage be saved.

o Now for your marriage to be perfected, you must learn to give forgiveness to one another. Don’t go to bed angry. Ephesians 4:26 “Be ye angry , and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath”

o Learn to forgive and to say I am sorry.

· Fellowship

o Now the second way for your marriage to be perfected is to fellowship with each other.

o Throughout the scripture, we see the Lord emphasizing the need for fellowship. Even in the very beginning, we find the Lord sharing this with us.

o Genesis 2:18 “And the LORD God said, It is not good that man should be alone, I will make him an help meet for him.”

o Listen, for your marriage to be what it is meant to be, you need to spend time with one another.

o Spend time getting to each other better. Spend time doing things together. Spend time coming to church together. Spend time praying together. What is this? It is fellowship!

o We think fellowship is about eating. Well, that is a start. Eat together. I heard one fellow say that his wife cooked for him like he was God, she placed burnt offerings before him each night.

o Friend, God wants you to know your spouse. Have fellowship in the kitchen, have fellowship outside the home, have fellowship in the bedroom, have fellowship with your spouse.

o Make time in your marriage to fellowship with your partner. I like what Adrian Rogers once said – the goal for marriage is to be completely known and still be loved.

· Faithfulness

o Now here is the last thing to have your marriage perfected. Faithfulness.

o I mean, make it clear who it is you are faithful too. When your marriage is faithful to God, you will be faithful to each other.

o I heard it once said, it you truly love someone, being faithful is easy. You know God is always faithful to us because he loves us so much.

o When we are faithful to God, you will be a faithful husband a faithful wife.

o Perhaps one of the biggest struggles for marriages is the lack of faithfulness, that our priorities are skewed. Take the focus off yourself, and put it back on Christ.

o When you are both looking at the same goal, that being Jesus, then you have a marriage that walks in harmony.

Conclusion

· You know marriage is perhaps one of the greatest ministries we are apart of today. It gives us opportunity to show the world what it means to be the children of God.

· Perhaps your ministry is struggling, it is a simple fix. Make Jesus the priority once again. Be willing to forgive and fight for your marriage.

· Jesus didn’t quit on you when He went to cross, don’t quit on what he has brought together. The ministry of marriage matters!!