Slideshow image

Imagine if God came to you for advice....
(perhaps we sometimes think prayer is our opportunity to offer God some helpful suggestions - ha!)
Imagine him asking you to figure out the best way for this world to be full of His blessing & His glory. 
What would you suggest? 
Start a church?Maybe a ministry or mission of some kind?
How about a political mandate? 
Or perhaps an aesthetic and compelling promotion campaign would get it done. 
When we look at the book of Genesis we see how God wants to do it. God's first and best idea for advancing His purposes of filling the world with His blessing & glory is relationships. How do we know this? Well, when creation was nearly complete and it was time for His purposes to begin to commence, He did not put a church or a ministry in Eden, he pioneered a family. God put Adam & Eve into His garden and commissioned them to multiply His blessing & glory. God's blessing and glory best fill the earth through family, marriage, and relationships. 
This is why our Jesus in the bedroom series is so important. We must look to the words and ways of Jesus that offer help to strengthen our relationships. Not for our own fulfillment alone, but for His purposes. By the way, this is why the enemy works overtime to bring destruction to people through brokenness and separation in relationships, thus attempting to thwart God's purposes.  
God offers important words to the marrieds and singles alike in Hebrews 13.4

Marriage should be honoured by all and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 


Three observations: 

  1. Marriage should be honored by all. Why? Marriage reflects God's covenant. Marriage is one of the important relational vehicles for multiplying His blessing & glory globally. 
  2. Purity matters. It matters for people who are single. It matters for people who are married. In the absence of it destruction finds us, and God's image is disfigured. We talked about this at length last week. 
  3. God sees God knows, God will make things right. God is a good judge and His heart is for justice, mercy and healing. Each of us needs all three: justice, mercy, and healing. 

Last week as I concluded the message I shared links to two helpful resources. I want to make sure you have them: 

Porn Proofing Your Child - www.imbetween.org/episode110/
Your Healing & Support - www.puredesire.org


Care for your own wellbeing and invest in your relationships this weekend - for God's glory! 
Pastor Mike