Sam and Penny Devotion

Introduction:

Just want to say congratulations to you. We are happy for you that you are going to be joined to Sam in the covenant of marriage, but are also sad that you won’t be around as often, but still serving the Lord in another local church.

One Christian author tells us:

Marriage gives us the shape of the gospel.

So we are rejoicing with you two. Excited to see how the Lord will use both of you to bring Himself more glory as you two become one. And in our brief time, I just want to share three obvious truths about marriage.

1. Marriage is good.

2. Marriage is hard.

3. Marriage is glorious.

I. Marriage is good.

After God created all things, He declared everything good. From the land, the sea, the animals, the plants, and Adam. But there was only one thing that He said that was not good.

Genesis 2:18 ESV

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

M

Sam you know your Hebrew. What is the word for Adam? Ish. What was the word for Eve? Issha. Eve was made from the rib or side of Adam meaning that she shared the same likeness, but was also different from him.

Proverbs 18:22 ESV

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.

Adam would be complete with His Helper. It is a strong word that is also used of God.

Sam, Penny is a gift to you so that you would display the image and glory of God in your marriage.

God is trinune and in relationship. And He has given marriage as a gift to give us a glimpse of what it means to be in relationship with Him.

Praise God for such a gift. And never take that for granted. View your wife as a gift who is sharing in the grace of life with you.

1 Peter 3:7 ESV

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Peter is not saying woman are mentally weak or deficient, but saying that God made man as a protector and provider so that you would cherish your bride as a fellow heir in the grace of life.

Transition: Marriage is good because it is a gift from our wonderful Creator to get a taste of what it means to be in relationship in the most intimate and meaningful ways.

But Marriage is not only good, marriage is hard. Can all the married people say amen?

II. Marriage is Hard

If you are married long enough, you will encounter difficulties in marriage. Soon cupid’s arrow will eventually wear out and the things that made you attracted to your spouse will sometimes annoy you because reality hits.

Marriage takes work. And work until you die. Whether it is planning a wedding, or it is washing dishes, or changing diapers, or even one day where one spouse can’t walk and you need to help them in a wheel chair.

The fundamental problem you will deal with in marriage is not finances, not communication, not about romance, not kids, but our own rebellion and sin against God.

Communication problems, finance problems, problem with kids, are ultimately external symptoms of an internal problem: our sin.

We fail to communicate lovingly to our spouses because we don’t heed to God’s counsel to be patient.

We deal with financial problems when we don’t learn how to steward our resources properly before the Lord or not content in the Lord.

Every married person knows that most marital problems come because of our own sin, and we start blameshifting others because we are only thinking about number one.

I have learned and continue to learn in marriage that often I blame my own spouse for my own selfishness and sin.

That is what Adam did. And that’s what Eve did.

When my heart is not right before the Lord, my relationships with others will be put in jepordy, which includes the closest person to you, which is your spouse. And you will think other people are the problem, including your spouse, when in reality most of the time it’s our own problem. It’s our own sin problem. It’s because we ultimately have a worship problem.

So Penny and Sam, recognize marriage will be tough because both of you are sinners, including everyone in this room. And because God is a Holy God, God opposes all evil and punish sin. And sin we know leads to death.

III. Marriage is glorious.

Marriage is good and it is hard. But marriage is also glorious because it points to a greater reality.

Even though we deserved to be punished and deserve to die because we choose to go our own way, what makes marriage glorious is that it points to God’s covenant and committed love.

Ephesians 5:32 ESV

This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

The Bible began with a marriage. Their marriage went wrong because of their sin. Yet God sent Jesus Christ into the world to rescue Adam and Eve from their Sin by punishing His own Son for their sin and our sin. And three days later rise again so that all who repent and trust in the Son will have a seat in the future wedding of the lamb and his bride the church.

Marriage is glorious because it gives us a picture of the gospel. As one Christian author writes,

Marriage gives us the shape of the gospel.

Marriage never existed just for you two. But it exists to point to our Maker and His love for us in Jesus Christ.

And we get to give people just a appetizer or preview of the celebration to come when we seek to exalt Christ in our marriages.

A. Love Sacrificially

Ephesians 5:25 ESV

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

The way you love Sam, is the way Jesus loved. It is cross shaped. It is an act of self-denial. And it is an act of sacrifice to make your bride beautiful

Proverbs 18:22 ESV

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.

To quote or paraphase Keller

You are not promising in present love when you say I do, but you are promising a future love.

Not love discovered, but love declared till death do you part.

B. Submit Willingly

Ephesians 5:22–23 ESV

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.

Proverbs 12:4 ESV

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

Proverbs

It is a voluntary submission. It is an attitude that yields to the loving leadership of your husband so that Sam can be all that God has made him to be.

Summary:

Marriage is good. God gave us marriage as a gift to give us a taste of what it means to be in relationship just like the Trinity.

Marriage is hard. Marriage is hard because it is two sinners saying I do.

Marriage is glorious. It points to a greater reality. God’s covenant committed love to people who don’t deserve it so that we can be made right and beautiful because of what Jesus has done.

So may God bless your future marriage. We are happy for you. May God use you both to draw others to Himself. May God provide for you as you seek His kingdom, whether it is here serving his people, or whether it will one day be on the mission field.

As you seek God above all else, may you both love one another better than you ever imagine because you love God with all your heart soul and mind.

Prayer

Father in Heaven,

Thank you that marriage is a good gift from you. Precious gift from you and thank you for bringing these two together in your loving and wise providence. We pray that we would not take your gifts for granted by mistreating our spouses, not idolize your gifts by making marriage everything.

But we pray that you would give us a realistic picture of who we are as sinners still wrestling against our own sin and selfishness, but sinners who are now saints because of what your Son has accomplished for us.

We pray that Sam and Penny’s marriage would just be a pointer to a greater reality and greater love that we have found in Christ alone. Our great Savior who has loved us eternally so that we can be one with Him to forever enjoy you and give you praise.

Bless them. Provide for them. Keep them. And give them the peace that comes from your Spirit through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

III. Glorify Joyfully