A Covenant, Not a Contract: Navigating a Spiritually Mismatched Marriage

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:07:08] So glad that you are here joining us for worship this morning. My name is Emily.

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:07:12] And my name is Terri, and you know the drill. You know the first thing you need to do is share the church. One click. Do it.

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:07:20] Do it. It's super easy. You can do it on Facebook. You can do it on YouTube. Whatever you're watching from, just pull out your phone, hit the share button, send it to your family, your friends.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:07:28] Or copy it from YouTube and just send it, and that means you need some Jesus this morning. Your friend needs to know.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:07:33] And you know, there's probably someone in your head that you're like, they need some Jesus.
[00:07:37] Jesus. What does it hurt? What does it hurt? So share church with someone and listen. I was thinking about it. We shouted, shouted out. I don't know if that's the right word, but we shouted out
[00:07:46] our student leaders for being on their retreat because we were like, we shouted them out in first service, but we got to shout them out now because I'm like, I don't know what service they're

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:07:54] watching. And guess what? We have a whole student section here at Pursuit. On the second service, like they all go up to the front. They worship. Our students are on fire for the Lord. And Jen
[00:08:06] and John and everybody on retreat.
[00:08:08] If you're watching service twice, which I don't know if you are or not, we're shouting you out again.
[00:08:12] And I want to shout out that we're getting ready to have a young adult ministry starting in March.
[00:08:18] You can look on Pursuit Students to see some of that.

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:08:21] Yeah, and I think we'll probably share on the church Instagram once we get all the details for it and everything.
[00:08:27] So just be out on the lookout for it.

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:08:29] We're excited about this.
[00:08:30] And Jen and John, you want your kids, you want your young adults under them.
[00:08:35] you know they're a little older they're not old but they're a little older they have so much wisdom to pour into those young adults at a really hard time in their life so yeah like I I'm a little bit

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:08:47] out of that season now but I wasn't in that season long ago and or I was in that season what she was in that season I can't talk this service yeah she's got a baby now and one on the way so her
[00:08:59] brain is fried. Yeah. So anyways, but you go through that season and you're like, what am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? What do I belong? Where do I belong? Like you're just
[00:09:10] trying to figure out life. There's a lot of questions when you're going through that season.
[00:09:13] And this is just a community that you're going to get to be able to be plugged in. And you're going to know that you're not alone because everyone's just trying to figure out this thing

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:09:21] called life. And there's going to be answers because God's word will tell us. Yes. Good thing we have the truth. Oh, where would we be? But anyway, we wanted to give also a shout out to
[00:09:32] Scott who's preaching today and the men's retreat. He's our men's minister. So if you don't come on Wednesday nights, doors open at 630 and they eat every Wednesday. We have some little bonbons over here, but they have a full meal. They have a feast. They have a feast because she has to buy it.
[00:09:48] But anyway, they've got over 140 people.
[00:09:55] That includes staff, which isn't that much of us.
[00:09:57] But they've got over 140 men going up to retreat.
[00:10:03] Last year, we had 70-some.
[00:10:05] God is doing an explosive thing in this church through our men.
[00:10:10] And I'm going to tell you something.
[00:10:11] I'm grateful, aren't you?
[00:10:12] Yes.

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:10:13] Yeah, I think it's so awesome.
[00:10:14] I have friends, and their husbands go.
[00:10:16] And my husband sometimes sneaks in there if he's not in students helping out or whatever.
[00:10:21] And it's just, it's crazy how they have just come together because men aren't really the ones to, you know, come together and like talk at a table or whatever.
[00:10:29] But they, I mean.

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:10:31] It's very free in there.
[00:10:32] You'll see as Scott preaches, if you've listened, I think all of our guys are this way that preach.
[00:10:37] They're very transparent about their own lives and it gives other people the freedom to be transparent about what they're struggling with because we all struggling.
[00:10:45] Have you arrived, Emily?
[00:10:46] No, I ain't arriving anytime soon.

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:10:48] I guess I'll arrive in heaven, hopefully.
[00:10:51] I hope there's nothing left of this.
[00:10:53] That's like Scott when he drew the little triangle last week in the marriage series and we're like, God is heaven.
[00:10:58] We are far from that.
[00:11:00] Ain't nobody there.
[00:11:01] Ain't nobody there yet.
[00:11:02] If we're here, we ain't there.
[00:11:04] So, but I know, wait, how much time we got?

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:11:07] We got four minutes.

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:11:08] Okay, if you're a first time guest this morning, there's a few things we want you to do.
[00:11:11] We want you to check out the comments, whether you're on Facebook or YouTube.
[00:11:13] click the link in the comment there's a pin comment very top but we just want to get to know you it maybe it's your first second third time here worshiping with us maybe you've been
[00:11:22] here for a while but you've never connected with us you never got plugged in we would love for you to reach out you can fill out that form terry will get a hold of you if you need any resources
[00:11:32] or whatever just get plugged in start a bible study whatever it is we would love for you to just reach out and connect with us so definitely don't neglect that if it's your first or second

[00:11:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:11:40] time, whatever. That's right. And I will text you first so that I can find out if you mind if I call you. And we would, we've got books here we can send. I've written a couple Bibles, whatever. We
[00:11:50] want to help you grow, whether you live close or live far away. We're just interested in you knowing Jesus, not in becoming here. We want you to know Jesus, whether you're here or California or
[00:11:59] wherever. We will, I've got somebody I mentor regularly who's in Florida. She doesn't come to this church, but she's watches online. So it's wonderful. Yes. I think that's so cool. And there's

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[00:12:09] Bible study that is starting Monday, March 2nd. Yes. It's for people that have children zero to

[00:12:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:12:16] 12 years old, and it's called Christian Sexuality. And that may sound like, oh my God, I've just got a baby. But your kids, they grow up fast, don't they? They do. But it is a way to navigate in
[00:12:26] the culture we're in that you engage the culture and don't become a victim of the culture. How do you speak your kids about the things that are going on in the world and about sex and all those
[00:12:36] things that are hard to talk to your kids, you want to be the one that starts that conversation so that they go into school or wherever equipped and they don't just hear everything and that be
[00:12:46] what they believe. So it is a powerful Bible study. You will love it. It really is good. We've been

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:12:51] going through it in our mom's group and you know, I could sit there and be like, well, this doesn't apply to me right now because I have a one year old, but it truly helped me whenever I was talking
[00:13:00] to my nieces and nephews, they've got questions and it helped me be able to answer that in with biblical truth. And before that, I mean, I literally came to Terry and I was like, oh my
[00:13:10] gosh, the video we just watched helped me. Like it's true. So if you're in that season, I would definitely recommend you check that Bible study out because it's going to be super good.
[00:13:20] And today we got baptisms. We had them in first service. We have them in second service.

[00:13:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:13:25] Yes. In first service, we got to have somebody that was watching online who saw such a difference in her son who comes to church here. She started watching online. She drove two and a half hours
[00:13:34] yesterday or day before, went through baptism class and her son baptized her in the nine o'clock service. And then we had another person baptized and we got one more getting baptized in this service who I talked to him yesterday. He said, I'm not in men's yet, but I'm going to go to the
[00:13:48] young adult when it starts. So you're going to see him get baptized and get ready because

[00:13:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:13:53] worship is starting soon in about one minute. He's been so faithful to us as a house of worship

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[00:19:16] this morning. We get, I said it in the first service, I feel a little bit like a broken record and now I definitely do and I'm not tired of it, but we have another baptism this service.
[00:19:32] So just forewarn yourself. I'm probably going to get up here and say that every week for forever and that's completely okay with me. So I was reading this morning in Psalm 118. This is the
[00:19:48] day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. And usually like most good Christians, if I'm having a stressful day and somebody's like, how are you doing? I'm like, well, this is the day
[00:19:58] the Lord has made. I'll rejoice. Amen. You know, and I've never paid much attention to the context of it, admittedly. And right before that, it says that the cornerstone that the elders rejected has now become our cornerstone and that's Jesus. And by his righteousness, he's made a way to us through
[00:20:15] the father. And because of that, this is the day the Lord has made and we'll rejoice and be glad in it and we get to join in rejoicing for the baptism that we're going to have every week if
[00:20:31] you paid attention i've just said you know hey let's pray for these people let's pray for their walk let's pray that they bear fruit and we have an example of that from the first service of these
[00:20:42] lives bearing fruit what that means what it looks like what we're actually praying for because it's not just words it's scripture you know a tree by its fruit and a good tree produces good fruit and
[00:20:53] We're praying that these people's lives and walk with the Lord will produce good fruit for his kingdom.
[00:20:58] And we have Dustin and Alyssa and their family.
[00:21:01] Alyssa gets baptized.
[00:21:02] She's a student.
[00:21:03] Her dad sees the fruit of her walk with the Lord.
[00:21:07] Dustin gives his life to the Lord, gets baptized.
[00:21:10] Dustin's mom, Linda, who wasn't interested in the gospel, sees life change in Alyssa and Dustin and their family, sees them reading the word.
[00:21:19] What's different?
[00:21:20] It's Jesus.
[00:21:21] sees the fruit of his life sees the fruit of what jesus is doing in his life she starts watching online and she gives her life to christ she comes and gets baptized that's what we need when we're
[00:21:32] praying for these people's life to bear fruit that's what we're praying for that what happens on sunday mornings wouldn't just stay here and be inside this little bubble but would leave the church that these new believers life will bear fruit that our lives will bear fruit as a ministry
[00:21:47] and as individuals and so we're going to do that again for bryson who's about to get baptized we're to pray that the Lord would just meet him in the water and that he would get to look back on this
[00:21:56] day and look back on the day of his salvation prior to this and just live in joy of that and people see that joy and they would see the light that he would be the salt and the light and his
[00:22:07] life would just bear fruit for the kingdom that fruit so we're going to pray for him if you're a believer in the room this morning let's join and pray for him as brothers and sisters in Christ
[00:22:15] and just lift him up and we'll continue in worship let's pray Lord we thank you we thank you for your goodness, God. I thank you for your mercy, Lord. God, it's so easy to get into a routine of just
[00:22:28] doing things, but Lord, that's not what this is. It's a declaration of a life given over to you.
[00:22:34] It's a testimony of a life given over to you through the blood of your son, Jesus, his precious blood. And I do pray God that Bryson's life will bear fruit for your kingdom. God, your people
[00:22:45] are gathered together here, Lord. And we're asking you Lord to just move in a mighty way in his life, God, that he would lead so many people to you, Lord Jesus, so many people to your kingdom and
[00:22:56] into the goodness of the gospel of you, Jesus. We thank you for what we get to be a part of, Lord. I pray that we would never take it for granted. We love you, Jesus. We thank you in

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:23:05] your name. Amen. It is outside of your control. Nothing is outside of your plan. But I pray

[00:33:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:33:02] you would be honored and glorified through you. It would not be my words, but that it would be yours. Lord, for anybody in this room or anybody at home who does not know you, I pray that you
[00:33:18] would save them, that you would make their spirits alive, that you would seal them with your Holy Spirit, that they would, even if they can't explain it, suddenly just know beyond the shadow of a doubt, Jesus is real. God is real. Christ died for my sins. I believe in his name. Jesus,
[00:33:41] I thank you that you love us enough that you died for us, that while we were yet sinners, you died for. You filled us with your spirit, that you love us far more than we can ever really
[00:33:55] imagine. I pray that you would help us to understand your love for us, how much you really care about us, how much you want to be involved in every detail of our life. You want to lead us
[00:34:10] and guide us. Lord, give us an awareness of who you are. Give us a hunger to seek after you.
[00:34:16] May we see you really for who you are. Open up our eyes to your glory and your majesty.
[00:34:21] In Jesus' name, amen. Good morning, everyone. Come on now.
[00:34:34] Thank you, Jason. Love you too, Brad. Glad you're here this morning. If it is your first time, my name is Scott Broom. I am an associate pastor here at the church. I help lead our men's ministry
[00:34:47] on Wednesday nights and then our media team here at the church. And if you're new, know that we have several of us that teach on a regular rotation, one of which being me, the other being
[00:34:58] Pastor John, who is our executive pastor and also leads student ministry along with his wife, Jen, and then obviously Pastor Taylor, who is our lead pastor. We believe that it's just the models God has given us. We believe it's healthy for us not to be up here all the time. And we believe it's
[00:35:12] healthy for you guys to hear a variety of different speakers. And so if you are new and you're wondering what's going on, that's what's going on. But we're in week three of our series called
[00:35:21] Built to Last. And this is about really looking at how God has designed marriage. And this isn't meant to be an exhaustive series on every single thing that we could cover in marriage, but rather
[00:35:34] just to build some foundational principles around the word of God and what marriage is really meant to be. And so last week, week two, you see, I got our fancy whiteboard out here again. I want to
[00:35:46] rehash last week for just a second. Okay. In case anybody wasn't here, you get the refresher course.
[00:35:52] If you were here, just hang with me. All right. That is a crazy triangle guys. I'm sorry. All right? I don't know what happened over here. Okay, so on one side of this triangle, you have the
[00:36:02] husband. On the other side, you have the wife. And at the center or the top, you have God. And the whole point of last week's message was that starting out, you and your wife may feel like,
[00:36:17] you know, you're not on the same page. You may feel like you're not in the same chapter, or you're not in the same book, or you're like, whatever book she's reading, I've never seen in
[00:36:25] my entire life, all right? But either way, that the way that husband and wife grow together and truly accomplish or achieve a godly marriage is when the husband individually seeks after the Lord or seeks after God, develops a relationship with Christ and begins to become like Christ,
[00:36:44] as Romans 8 would say, and that the wife does the same things. That is, you both pursue God, and you both chase after Christ, and you both focus on developing a relationship with the Lord,
[00:36:55] and you're gradually being transformed into the image of Jesus, that that gap may start out really far at first, but then as you both grow closer to Christ, that gap or that proximity between the two of you shortens.
[00:37:13] All right, and one of the big things last week was this probably will take a lot longer than you think it will.
[00:37:17] Because there was a time in my marriage with my wife, Rachel, where I'm like, I've seen this before, but I think somebody lied to me because I don't know if this is true.
[00:37:24] and so just know that this takes a long time but that it is true that as the husband becomes more like Christ and the wife becomes more like Christ through their own relationships with the Lord
[00:37:36] that they will grow closer together because they were coming like Christ and last week we looked at all this scientific research on just what makes a healthy lasting marriage and then we paired that with okay what does scripture say it looks like to become like Christ and to really have the
[00:37:52] character and nature of Christ developed in you through the work of the Holy Spirit. And we realize that, okay, as we become more like Christ, actually those principles for a healthy, lasting marriage should be more evident in our life. And so we saw just secular research and the word of
[00:38:05] God and how when we become like Christ more and more, this actually becomes true, but that it takes a long time. And that was all of last week summed up in two and a half minutes, but you can
[00:38:15] go watch the whole thing if you want. This week, what I want to talk about is what do you do when let's say you're the husband and you're wanting to, or you're just beginning to chase after God
[00:38:28] and develop your relationship with Christ, but your wife really doesn't want anything to do with it. Or vice versa, you are the wife and you're developing a relationship with Lord and you're getting in your Bible and you want to go to church, you want to learn more, you really want
[00:38:45] to develop a relationship with God, but your husband doesn't want anything to do with it.
[00:38:50] because last week's message, one of the things that you may be thinking was, well, that's all fine and dandy when both are seeking after God. That makes a lot of sense, but what do I do
[00:39:01] when I'm the only party that really cares about a relationship with God?
[00:39:06] What do I do when I'm a wife, and I've started getting in my Bible, and I feel like I've really had an encounter with the Lord, and I want to grow in my relationship with the Lord, and I want to go
[00:39:15] to church, and I really want to develop that relationship with God. I've really found life in Christ, yet my husband doesn't care at all. Maybe he'll come to church with me, but outside of that, maybe no desire for God. Maybe he doesn't even come to church with me. Maybe he
[00:39:28] kind of makes snide remarks or maybe mocks me a little bit or thinks it's dumb even that I'm reading the Bible. Like, how dare you? What are you doing reading a book that's 2,000 years old,
[00:39:36] right? Like, I don't know. But what do you do when you want to have a relationship with the Lord and you want to godly marriage, but you're the only partner that's truly chasing after God. In that
[00:39:51] situation, for those people in the room or those people at home, what do you do when you're the only party that really wants anything to do with God? What do you do? I want to go to 1 Peter
[00:40:06] chapter 3. Starting in verse 1, Peter starts with the word likewise. The reason he says the word likewise is because in chapter two, he's talking about how believers should conduct themselves while they're in exile and talking about submission under authority. He talks about
[00:40:24] servants obeying your masters. And this wasn't necessarily like the slave trade we would be familiar with from a few hundred years ago. This is more like a bond servant. There was still injustice. There could still be cruelty, but it was more like a bond servant where they would work
[00:40:38] for people for a certain amount of time. They could typically buy their freedom back. Sometimes they would still work for the family if they really liked the family and it was a good environment. But in chapter two, he's talking about Peter's talking about submission unto
[00:40:49] authority for the sake of Christ and for the sake of the gospel. He's talking about how to conduct yourselves. He's talking about having good conduct. He says to your earthly masters who are great and
[00:41:00] gentle and also to the ones who are unjust or maybe not as kind. He says, regardless, your conduct should be pure before the Lord. And so that's kind of the setup in chapter two. And so
[00:41:11] in chapter three, he says, likewise, kind of in that same manner, he says, wives be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word
[00:41:26] by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct. I'll read it again.
[00:41:33] He says, likewise, wives be subject to your own husbands or submit to your own husbands.
[00:41:37] we'll get into the God's created order of husband and wife and everything next week we don't worry about that right now he says so that even if some do not obey the word even if some do not believe
[00:41:50] the gospel even if some are unbelievers so they're saying wives even if you're married to somebody who does not want to know the Lord who doesn't know the Lord who doesn't have anything to do
[00:41:59] with him. He says, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be one without a word by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct. And the Holy Spirit
[00:42:16] writing through Peter just knows the natural predisposition of both genders that God created.
[00:42:24] And ladies, he knows that you want to win us over with the most words possible ever.
[00:42:33] All right. Sometimes through ridicule, shame, and criticism. But he knows that. And so Peter says, the way that you will have the best probability, the way that you will win your husband over is not by nagging them to death. He says, the way you will win your husband over is not
[00:42:54] by demanding that he be the spiritual leader of your home. He says that if they do not know the Lord. If they do not obey the word, he says, they will be won over without a word by the conduct of
[00:43:10] their wives. Solomon, who in the Old Testament had 700 wives and 300 girlfriends, which is crazy.
[00:43:17] He wrote Proverbs and he ran the entire kingdom of Israel. I mean, all the palaces, all this stuff.
[00:43:24] He says, better is the corner of a rooftop than to live in a house with a quarrelsome woman.
[00:43:31] i mean 700 he had to know quite a few but he's like i mean you gotta think he's got all the palaces he can go anywhere and do anything he's like how about the corner of that rooftop over
[00:43:41] there seems kind of quiet i even had i think it was a great uncle one time um who was married to a lady who i'm pretty sure was fairly insufferable and they had a really nice house he set up shop in
[00:43:55] the garage like he made a whole makeshift living room in the garage because i think he's like i I can't do it. I can't be in the whole 5,000 square foot house. I'm taking the garage with
[00:44:05] the space heater. All right. Men don't, don't, don't tap your wife right now or anything like that. But what I want you to see is Peter says, all right, what happens specifically in this instance, when a wife is a believer in chasing after God and the husband is not, he says to the
[00:44:24] wives, he says, be subject to your own husband. So that even if some, even if they do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your
[00:44:35] respectful and pure conduct. And then in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, starting in verse 10, Paul says, to the married I give this charge, not I, but the Lord. And Paul is referencing to the fact that Jesus specifically talks about this throughout the gospels. He says, the wife should
[00:44:53] not separate from her husband, but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And the husband should not divorce his wife. Referencing Jesus talking about sexual immorality and when it would be okay or not okay to pursue a divorce. He says, to the rest I say,
[00:45:10] starting in verse 12, I, not the Lord. And what this means isn't necessarily Paul saying, hey, I'm just giving you a suggestion, take it or leave it. But rather this first part, I know specifically the Lord Jesus has said this in his earthly ministry. Now Paul's saying, in light of
[00:45:27] the gospel, this is how we should live, I don't actually know that Jesus specifically said this in his earthly ministry. That's what Paul's saying. Not that this is not authoritative as scripture. To the rest, I say, I, not the Lord, that if any brother, so the men, if any brother
[00:45:43] has a wife who is an unbeliever and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
[00:45:50] If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him because in this day and age too sometimes if you became a christian your whole family would just disown you like you're like oh they're going to be part of the
[00:46:07] marginalized and and criticize people they're going to be shunned as outcasts so if you became a christian your whole family may just disown you so that's why paul's saying hey if your unbelieving spouse consents to live with you don't divorce them if they say i'll stay don't divorce
[00:46:22] them he says for the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. And we'll see a little bit later on, that doesn't mean
[00:46:30] saved necessarily just because your partner is saved, but it means that because there is a believing spouse in the home, that by nature of that, holy just means set apart, that the whole household is basically set apart now because of the influence of the believer in the home.
[00:46:47] And you're raising the probability that the people in the home will also come to know Christ.
[00:46:52] He says, but if the unbelieving partner does separate, this is verse 15.
[00:46:57] He says, but if the unbelieving partner does separate, let it be so.
[00:47:01] In such cases, the brother or sister is not enslaved.
[00:47:04] God has called you to peace.
[00:47:06] Verse 16, for how do you know wife, whether you will save your husband?
[00:47:12] Or how do you know husband, whether you will save your wife?
[00:47:19] And in reading some commentaries this week, there's really two schools of thought on maybe what Paul meant by that on that last verse in verse 16.
[00:47:26] Some take it to mean in the negative sense.
[00:47:29] Some people take it to mean in the positive sense.
[00:47:31] And I'll explain what I mean by both.
[00:47:36] One, in the positive, it would say, for how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband?
[00:47:40] Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
[00:47:42] Meaning, if your unbelieving partner consents to live with you, you don't know.
[00:47:48] God may have you there as the very vessel by which he will bring about salvation for your spouse.
[00:47:56] That may be one of the reasons that God has you married to that person is he wants you to be a vessel by which your spouse gets to know Christ.
[00:48:05] That would be the positive sense of it.
[00:48:08] The negative sense would be that if your partner does separate, Paul is saying you can let them go and it's okay because you don't know whether your influence would have been one of the things that saved them or not.
[00:48:23] Both would be a biblical view.
[00:48:25] The positive view would be like 1 Peter 3, where it says your husband will be won over without words.
[00:48:30] If he's consistent to live with you, stay with him.
[00:48:33] The negative, which is if they want to go, you can let your unbelieving partner go and leave the marriage.
[00:48:41] Because what I want you to understand is you may be the vessel, in the positive sense, you may be the vessel by which God uses to save your spouse's soul.
[00:48:53] however you are not your spouse's savior nor will you ever be you can be a vessel by which the savior uses to save someone god working through you may be the way that he uses you to save your
[00:49:10] partner by being a vessel for the work of the holy spirit through you to save them you yourself are never their savior so he's saying if the unbelieving partner wants to leave you can let
[00:49:21] it be so, you don't have to be like, no, I got to go after him. I got to go after him. Because like he's saying, if the unbelieving partner wants to go, you can let them go because you
[00:49:30] are no one's savior. Yet, if your unbelieving partner consents to live with you, do not divorce them because God may be, you may be the way that God wants to save somebody through your life. And so what I'm saying is that if you are the only party in your marriage that is chasing
[00:49:52] after god the course of your life should not change you still chase after god regardless of what your spouse is doing you still seek after god you still get in the word you still get to
[00:50:06] know him you still lay your life down whether your partner wants anything to do with god or not whether they're lukewarm or not whether all they do is come to church or not the pattern of your
[00:50:17] life should be the same which is that you chase after god because our highest allegiance must be to Christ first and foremost.
[00:50:26] When you and I stand before Jesus one day and we stand before judgment, we will not be able to use the excuse, I would have chased after you, but my spouse didn't want me to.
[00:50:38] I would have gotten to know you and really given my life to you, but my husband didn't want me to.
[00:50:42] I really would have sought after you and given my whole life to you, but my wife didn't want me to.
[00:50:46] That will not be a valid excuse.
[00:50:49] That's why Jesus says in the gospels, unless you prefer me, Jesus says, unless you prefer me over every single relationship in your life, it's Luke 14, the cost of discipleship, unless you prefer everyone less
[00:51:02] and you have ultimate allegiance to me, he says, you cannot be my disciple.
[00:51:06] He's not being mean, he's just telling us the truth.
[00:51:09] And so regardless of what your spouse is doing, regardless of what they think of your relationship with God, that should never change the fact that you chase after God.
[00:51:17] So the course of your life, even if your partner does not seek the Lord, the course of your life should not ever change.
[00:51:23] you should continue to chase after god regardless but when does this not apply when just staying with your partner your spouse when does it not apply and i have a little bit of a fear in bringing these up simply because i know there's probably some people at room
[00:51:50] some people in the room some people at home who you're looking for a way to get out of your marriage simply because you're tired of your spouse and you're going to i don't want you to
[00:52:00] try to use these as a justification to get out of the marriage just because you don't like him anymore. But there's nothing I can really do about that. So I just pray that you listen to the Lord
[00:52:11] and he changes your heart. So number one, Jesus mentions this throughout the gospels is in Matthew 19. One of the biblical grounds for a divorce when staying with potentially doesn't apply is on the grounds of infidelity or sexual immorality, Jesus would say. And so that is a legitimate grounds for
[00:52:31] divorce. In Paul's day, it was a little bit harder because you had to go find a physical person.
[00:52:35] This day and age, cell phones and everything else, it's a little bit easier. But nonetheless, one biblical way that a marriage may not be, should be staying together is through infidelity of a partner. And I want you to know too, this is not a command. There's some commands in scripture
[00:52:54] like forgive your enemies, forgiving people in general. Divorcing your spouse because they have been unfaithful is not a command. Being unfaithful is biblical grounds for legitimate divorce, but it is not a command. There's nothing in scripture that says like, hey, if they cheat
[00:53:15] one time, forgive them. If they cheat twice, they're on thin ice. If they cheat three times, they're out of here. They got to go. There's nothing in scripture that says that. But infidelity, again, this doesn't minimize the significance of the fact that marriage is a covenant,
[00:53:31] but shows the gravity of infidelity within a marriage and what it really means.
[00:53:38] So number one, where a divorce may be the right thing would be in the case of infidelity of a partner. Again, it's not a command. It's not your partner cheats, so you must get a divorce,
[00:53:50] but it may be the right thing. So that's number one. I want to say too, even if that is the route that is right, and that's the route that God leads you to, it should always be done out of love for
[00:54:09] and of God and for the person, not done out of hate, not done out of hate. And you see this even with God and Israel in the old Testament, because God describes himself as the husband of the people
[00:54:23] of Israel and Israel being the wife. And they were always unfaithful. They were basically never faithful for the most part. They had brief stints of faithfulness, but by and large, they were faithless. And at one point, God finally says to them, basically, I've sent you prophet after
[00:54:42] prophet after prophet after prophet to warn you of your wickedness and to warn you of your ways.
[00:54:48] And you haven't listened. And not only have you not listened, but you've tortured and killed half of them. And so he gets to this place to where he says, what else can I do? What else can I do?
[00:55:00] And this is where God exiles the people of Israel to Babylon for 70 years.
[00:55:05] And it says in one of the prophetic books that he's like, I issued you a certificate of divorce.
[00:55:10] He said, because I've tried to bring you back and you would never listen.
[00:55:14] I tried to bring you back and you would never listen.
[00:55:16] I sent people to you to warn you, to get you to repent and you never listened.
[00:55:20] He said, so I have to send you away.
[00:55:22] And you did for the 70 years, but even before he sent them away, he promised to reconcile them and bring them back.
[00:55:28] now you and I we have a finite amount of time on this life in this life and if God calls you divorced there may not be reconciliation in this lifetime God's got a longer time horizon than us
[00:55:41] and so he could offer them reconciliation but what I want you to see is God longed to have the covenant with his people Israel and they were so faithless that at some point in time he finally
[00:55:54] said, you have to go. But his heart was to still be able to bring them back because he loved them, even though they were horrible all the time. So that's God's heart. And I want to say too with
[00:56:05] this, talking about people just looking for a way to maybe get out of the marriage. I want to give you an example. I was talking to mom earlier this week, and there was a lady she knew a long time
[00:56:18] ago who just didn't like her husband and wanted to get a divorce, but she was in a good old Baptist church and that was frowned upon. And so she made up this plan to just withhold the one thing that
[00:56:35] guys probably love most about the covenant of marriage as long as possible, thinking he can't hold out forever and he will go have an affair. I'm going to withhold intimacy from him. He can't hold out forever. He will go have an affair. And at which point, once he has the affair, boom,
[00:56:50] I got biblical grounds for divorce and then I'll divorce him. Now she ignored the part in first Corinthians where it says, husbands don't deprive your wives of their rights. Wives don't deprive your husbands of their rights. That's sex, everybody, in case you're just wondering.
[00:57:06] Some guys in the room are like, that's in there? Yes, it is. But like, don't just go quoting it to your wife. That's probably a bad idea too. But she was going to ignore that scripture and just
[00:57:20] say, hey, biblical grounds for divorce is when he cheats on me. So I'm going to withhold intimacy from him in hopes that he can't hold out forever and he'll go cheat on me. That way I can divorce
[00:57:29] him. That is never how this should be used. That is never how this should be used. So that's one though. One reason that there may be legitimate grounds for divorce would be an infidelity.
[00:57:43] Second one, I actually want to tell a story out of 1 Samuel. Happens through mainly chapters 18 through 20. And this is between Saul and David. And Saul was the very first king of Israel.
[00:57:57] David was the second king in Israel.
[00:57:59] And this is really before David is actually king.
[00:58:01] So Saul is still king.
[00:58:03] David's been anointed king by Samuel, but he's still serving under Saul.
[00:58:08] And so what happens, David and Goliath, obviously that's a famous story.
[00:58:11] And after this, David continues just to crush it.
[00:58:14] God is with him, God's blessing him.
[00:58:16] And he's really got success and favor everywhere he goes.
[00:58:20] And what's happened to Saul is because of Saul's disobedience as king, it says that God has departed from Saul.
[00:58:27] He's rejected Saul.
[00:58:30] And so Saul has been rejected by God.
[00:58:32] He's still physically the king of Israel, but he's been rejected by God.
[00:58:35] God has chosen David.
[00:58:37] And so David's essentially rising through the ranks and rising with prominence and everything else under Saul.
[00:58:43] And wherever Saul sends him, he has success fighting the Philistines and everything else, so much so that the people start singing songs about David that he's killed his 10,000s and Saul has only killed his thousands.
[00:58:54] Saul's not a super big fan of that song for obvious reasons. And so Saul gets really jealous of David. And at one point, he hurls a spear at David and trying to kill him. And David flees. David comes back. I don't know about you.
[00:59:12] First time somebody throws a spear at me, I might be like, you know what? I don't, maybe this isn't working out because you tried to kill me last week. Like really, you know?
[00:59:21] but David comes back but things aren't better it says that he was in Saul's service as before so there was a time where maybe things were normal for a little while but then Saul tries to pin
[00:59:35] him to a wall again and David ends up fleeing Saul tries to kill him and then Saul's son Jonathan is really really close with David they have a very close relationship so Jonathan goes to Saul and it's like big dog I'm sure he didn't call him big dog but that's Scott's interpretation
[00:59:55] occasion, he's like, David's never done anything to you, dad. What is going on? And Saul's like, you're right. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. So David comes back. And then through a series of events, it turns out that Saul's not better and he still wants to kill David. And so Jonathan and David
[01:00:16] basically devise a plan where David's going to skip out on a few special dinners in Saul's presence, and they're like, hey, if dad responds favorably to you being gone from these dinners, we'll know all is well. But if dad rages out and gets really mad, we'll know that the Lord has
[01:00:39] sent you away and that it is not safe for you here. And so they go through with the plan. Saul does in fact rage out and get really, really mad. And so Jonathan and David have one last meeting
[01:00:52] where they realize, based on the way this situation went, it is not safe for you anymore.
[01:01:00] God is sending you away, and you have to go. You have to go, based on the fact that we feel like we're seeking the Lord, and it feels as though he's shown us through this circumstance
[01:01:11] that, David, you're supposed to leave. You're supposed to flee. David didn't have a backup plan, but he left. Now, it says that everybody that was embittered and disgruntled and in debt are the people that went and hung out with David. Can you imagine that group? It had to be miserable,
[01:01:28] but he hung in there with them. But my point in sharing that story is that there may be people in the room that you are in a situation with your spouse where you are unsafe and God may call you
[01:01:49] to leave. If you are unsafe, if your children are unsafe, whether that's the threat of physical violence or verbal abuse. Now, another caveat here, if you're trying to push your husband's buttons enough to where he gets mad enough to where he says something hateful to you so that
[01:02:10] you can claim verbal abuse, that's different than you have somebody who is truly abusive to you and your wife and kids, how they speak to you, how they tear your kids down, how they are threatening
[01:02:23] and all these other things that if you are in danger of your life or you are in fear, whether it's physical or verbal or otherwise, just like the story of Jonathan and David and David having
[01:02:36] to flee from Saul, that may be the case for you. And my fear is that there will be people who you're looking for a way out and God is calling you to stay. And there'll be people
[01:02:48] who are in abusive situations, verbal or physical. And for fear of some type of retaliation, you will be the most likely person to stay when you should leave. You should be the person that you trust God
[01:03:01] enough to say, God, if this is what you want from me, I will step out and trust that you'll provide for me. So those are the two main reasons by which maybe you should seek a divorce. Otherwise,
[01:03:19] you are in a covenant with your spouse for better or for worse till death do us part.
[01:03:32] And I want you to understand whether you're called to stay, whether you're called to go, whether you're called to stay in that covenant or leave everything should be done out of a relationship with and obedience to Christ it should always be whether I'm seeking to stay
[01:03:50] and to lay my life down or God's going to tell me that I need to leave it should all be done out of me chasing after God and developing a relationship with him and listening to him
[01:04:01] and obeying him and getting to know him.
[01:04:06] So the course of your life, regardless of whether it's staying or leaving, regardless of whether your partner wants to know God or not, the course of your life should still forever and always be you individually chasing after God
[01:04:19] and getting to know him.
[01:04:22] You cannot do that apart from his word.
[01:04:24] You have to be in scripture.
[01:04:29] And there may be a time where you're like, hey, I'm in a situation and I'm really not sure what to do.
[01:04:34] You should seek wise counsel.
[01:04:36] come talk to somebody up here come talk to one of the elders or one of the prayer team or one of us up here after service if you're in a situation you're genuinely confused or you're not sure what
[01:04:46] to do but what I want you to understand is that wise counsel should be a supplement to your faith in Christ and your relationship with Christ it should not be a substitute should be a supplement
[01:05:00] not a substitute and I'll give you an example of what I mean in preparing for this message I wasn't sure exactly what to use as far as scripture to display when maybe a spouse should
[01:05:18] leave in the case of physical abuse or otherwise and as I was sitting here reading I was studying the story of David and Saul popped into my head and I was like that makes a lot of sense and I
[01:05:32] was like okay I was like well maybe that's the Lord I was sitting right up there and I was writing it down. I was, I was thinking through it and I thought, well, maybe that's what I'll use. I'm
[01:05:41] like, you know what? I'll check with mom too. Terry broom, the big haired lady. That's always smiling out there. If you didn't know, that's my mom. Um, but I went to check with her. Cause I
[01:05:52] felt like that's, I think that's a story God has put in my heart, but I'm not sure just like how many of you don't have to raise your hand. You think maybe God's leading you in direction,
[01:06:00] but you're like, also, I'm not entirely sure. So I was like, I went to mom on Thursday and I went and found her. I'm like, hey, I got a question for you. She goes, I'm late to get my nails done,
[01:06:09] so you have to walk with me outside. I was like, all right. She's probably already late. Gas is probably on E. Do you know how many times since dad got her this new car that she rolls into work,
[01:06:19] she's like, it's on E. So I have zero miles left. She goes, it's so nice, it doesn't really even tell me until I have no gas. I just feel like there's an angel that secretly fills up her gas
[01:06:30] tank sometimes so that she can make it somewhere. Angels are working overtime to protect Terry.
[01:06:34] nonetheless I went she really was I really did have to walk with her I walked all the way out here but I was like hey I was like you know I believe this to be true I was like but if you
[01:06:47] were going to use scripture or biblical grounds for when somebody should separate from the marriage in the case of you know verbal or physical abuse I said like I want biblical grounds for it because
[01:06:57] we're not up here just to share opinions we're not up here just to teach humanistic thought we're here to teach the word of God because it is fundamentally the truth and so I had this story
[01:07:06] of David and Saul in my mind.
[01:07:08] I was like, I think that's what I use.
[01:07:09] Let me go ask mom.
[01:07:10] So we're walking out and I ask her and she goes, well, you know what I use?
[01:07:13] She said, I use the story of David and Saul when David has to leave.
[01:07:19] And I was like, no way.
[01:07:21] I was like, that's exactly what I was gonna use.
[01:07:25] And so the reason I share that is I was seeking after the Lord and wanting to deliver what the Lord gave me for us this morning for this message.
[01:07:35] That was my relationship with God and me seeking after the God.
[01:07:40] The supplement was the wise counsel that confirmed the thing that I felt like God had put in my heart.
[01:07:46] That is a very easy example of not a substitute, but a supplement.
[01:07:52] We should treat wise counsel the same way.
[01:07:56] That it may, God may, like God, I believe, gave her that to confirm that to me, that this is the story for Sunday.
[01:08:03] But both in tandem, both working together, you seeking after the Lord and getting to know him and letting him guide you and letting him speak to you, which he will.
[01:08:11] But if you chase after him and you get in your word and you get in prayer and you ask him and you're really willing, he will guide you. He says, if you seek me with all your heart, soul, strength,
[01:08:20] and mind, you will find me. It's a promise. And the band can join me. But minus those exceptions, remember from week one, marriage is not a contract. Marriage is a covenant. A contract is the thing
[01:08:42] that protects my interests, which means if I'm not getting what I want and I'm not getting what I thought that we agreed upon, I'm out. That's a contract. Marriage is a covenant, which says, I give my life. I give my life. Whether my spouse is a believer or not, whether they are seeking
[01:09:03] God or not, I give my life because I made a vow before God and a portion of his spirit joined us together that for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, I vowed to stay with
[01:09:15] this person. It's the vow I made. If you're married, it's the vow that you made. And you may be the very vessel God wants to use to bring your spouse to Christ. But if you're asking
[01:09:38] or thinking to yourself, you're telling me that my spouse doesn't know the Lord and you expect me to give my life for that person that is ungrateful, for that person who mocks the very God that I
[01:09:57] believe in, for that person who really doesn't want anything to do with church, for that person who I feel like does not lead our family, for that person who does not appreciate that I work
[01:10:06] hard and sacrifice so our family can have food on the table, for that person, you want me to give my whole life. Yes. And you may think I can't do that. To which I would say you're right. You're
[01:10:25] right. Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, making you like Christ and conforming you to the image of his son and putting his love inside of you for people who do not like you,
[01:10:36] you cannot do it. And if anybody has ever sold you a Christianity that you can successfully do or achieve or accomplish apart from dependency on Christ and from apart dependence on the Holy Spirit and apart from the Holy Spirit working in your life
[01:10:57] to conform you to the image of his son and giving you the power to be obedient to what he's put in his word.
[01:11:01] If you've been sold to Christianity that you can do on your own, that is not Christianity.
[01:11:07] It's not, but the covenant of I give my life means that I pour my life out for my spouse.
[01:11:21] if we're both seeking the Lord together that's awesome I pour my life out for my spouse if my spouse wants nothing to do with the God that I believe in I pour out my life for my spouse will there be days where it's hard yes maybe weeks
[01:11:45] months or years I don't pretend to say that it'll be a cakewalk I'm sure there'll be days where you're like I wish they got in cars like that's not good. You shouldn't think that way, but there may be days where you're like, Lord, I'm trying to do
[01:12:07] this thing. I'm trying to lay down my life for my spouse. I'm trying to serve and honor you and do what you've commanded me in scripture and pour my life out for them. But God is hard
[01:12:17] and God, they're ungrateful. God, they don't treat me well. How am I supposed to do it?
[01:12:30] In Philippians 3, Paul talks about experiencing the power of Christ's resurrection in our lives and fellowshipping in his suffering to which I would say that pouring your life out for your spouse will be both because as you get to know God and you become filled up with who he is
[01:12:56] there is nothing greater in this life than being close with Christ and because you're being filled up with who he is now you're filled up with his love to be poured out on your spouse his patience
[01:13:09] poured out on your spouse. His gentleness poured out on your spouse. His long suffering poured out on your spouse because you're chasing after him and you're getting to experience him. And as you obey the word of God and you give your life for your spouse, he will pour out his spirit upon
[01:13:27] your life as you obey what he's told you to do. And you will get to experience him in such ways that even when this is hard, you will know it's worth it. Even when there's days where you're
[01:13:40] like, I love my spouse, but I cannot stand them right now. If you're chasing after God and you've experienced the love of Christ in your life, you will know as I get to know him, that's worth it.
[01:13:51] It's still worth it. Because what I want you to understand, you may say, you expect me for the next 30, 40, 50 years to give my life in hopes that maybe they'll come to know the Lord. Yes.
[01:14:08] why because that's what christ did for you scripture says that when you were a sinner hostile in mind towards him christ died for you he gave up his life he came as the son of god
[01:14:28] not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many so that in the same way he came and he gave his life for me he viewed his entire life as the son of god as worth the soul
[01:14:44] of Scott Broom, as worth your soul and as worth your soul. He gave his life for you, to which in turn, as a believer, I am called to do the same thing for my spouse that I have made a covenant
[01:15:01] with. I'm thankful that my wife knows and loves the Lord. But if she didn't, for the rest of my days here on earth, my life is in service and sacrifice for her soul getting to know Christ.
[01:15:21] My life is to be laid down and poured out so that she will know the love of Christ.
[01:15:26] Because if, listen to me, if your spouse is an unbeliever, the love and the transformation you've experienced by getting to know God, they have yet to experience.
[01:15:35] And you may be the vessel God has put into the life by which they can experience Christ's love through you, even when they hate you.
[01:15:45] It's where Christ's love is poured out through you for the sake of their soul.
[01:15:52] Like if it took my whole life life for my spouse to know Christ, it's worth it. If it took the next 50 years, thankfully she knows and loves him. But I'm saying if it took the next 50 years for me to serve and sacrifice in hopes
[01:16:08] that she came to know the Lord, it would be worthy. And I view it as the calling of my life.
[01:16:15] And the same is true for you if you're a believer. Because this life feels long now, but it's really short. In year 10,000 of eternity, what if I was standing there worshiping Christ, knowing that I
[01:16:28] did not lay down my life for the person who I'd made a covenant with. And maybe they are not here in heaven because I would not sacrifice here on earth. But that year 10,000, I would know we're
[01:16:38] there together. And I would know that in the same way I experienced Christ's sacrificial love for me, I was able to lay my life down for them, lay my life down for my wife so that she could
[01:16:51] experience that same love and say, and even if it takes my whole life, it's worth it. Because as believers, our lives are no longer our own. They are Christ's. And if the situation you're in means that you serve the Lord and you serve your spouse and you lay your life down for the
[01:17:12] sake of your spouse's soul, even if it's your whole life, it's worth it. Madam Kian was a powerful woman of the Lord in, I believe, the 1600s. And her husband didn't want anything to with God. He was kind of not a very nice man, but the very year that he died, I believe it was 10
[01:17:35] days before he passed away, he gave his heart to the Lord. 10 days. She was faithful to him through their marriage and loved him. 10 days before he died, he gave his heart to the Lord. You don't
[01:17:51] know. You don't know. But what I'm telling you, just like Rachel is worth my life, your spouse is worth your life. And we are called to lay down our lives for the sake of their souls.
[01:18:09] Because who knows, we may be the vessel by which the savior of all the universe saves them.
[01:18:16] And that is what we're called to do because that's what he did for us. Let's pray. Jesus, I thank you. Lord, the scripture says that your love has been poured into our hearts.
[01:18:32] Lord, I pray that that would be true for us because God, we cannot do this without you.
[01:18:38] we cannot lay down our lives for our spouse without you.
[01:18:42] We cannot sacrificially love in a way that's true and genuine and of and from you apart from your work in our lives.
[01:18:48] So give us a hunger to chase after you when we feel like this seems impossible.
[01:18:55] Lord, instead of running away, may we press into you.
[01:18:58] May we get to know you.
[01:18:59] May we experience your love in the way that you've sacrificed for us, the way that you've loved us, the way that you've laid down your life for us in such a way that we would do that for our spouse.
[01:19:10] that we would view them and their souls and their eternity as worth our whole life because it is.
[01:19:19] This covenant of marriage is incredibly serious, Lord.
[01:19:24] And I pray that we would make it so that we would believe that it really is, that we would operate in a way that honors what you've given us in marriage.
[01:19:33] And I pray for people in this room that you would restore marriages, that for people that feel like they're the only one chasing after God, that you would ignite a fire in their spouse that they would chase after God.
[01:19:47] Lord, that it really would more and more be both groups seeking after you and getting to know you and growing closer to one another. I pray for that more and more, but in the cases where it's not,
[01:20:00] at least not yet, empower us as believers to seek after, know, and love you and to lay our lives down just like you have for us. In Jesus' name, amen. Stand and worship together.

[01:25:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:25:20] Things together for good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose, scripture says we praise god for that we praise god for the way he continues to move in the life
[01:25:30] of our church three more people going public today with baptism can we praise god for that this morning and i'm so thankful for what god is doing in this series i'm thankful as i know we all are
[01:25:43] for pastor scott his heart the way he seeks god the way god continues to speak through him and work through him so i'm thankful for that thankful for what god is doing in marriages if god is
[01:25:55] is moving in your life today, in your marriage, you need prayer this morning for anything. If you need prayer today, our prayer team, our elders will be up front after service. As soon as I get
[01:26:04] done praying here in a moment, come up. We'd be glad to pray for you. We'd love to do that, to walk alongside of you, whatever you're dealing with this morning. So feel free to do that. Also,
[01:26:14] if you want to continue in worship, you can do so with giving. There's boxes in the back. You can do that online or on the app. And then if you feel led, if you want to get baptized, God is calling
[01:26:23] you to that this morning. You can go out and sign up for that. We'll have baptisms again next Sunday as Pastor Caleb says, it never gets old seeing new life in Christ. We're going to praise God for that.
[01:26:33] Also want to remind you one last thing this morning. This, tomorrow night actually, this week we're having a student meeting. If you have a student that is interested in going on our student retreat this summer, you can come to that tomorrow night. That'll be with Pastor John and Jen. So make
[01:26:50] sure you're there for that. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. I'm going to close in prayer and then we'll be done this morning. Let's pray. Lord God, we love you.
[01:26:59] We praise you. I do thank you just for your goodness, your greatness, your mercy. God, I thank you just for the way you continue to move. Lord, we get to see you at work. God, I pray
[01:27:09] that never gets old and that we continue to praise you. We continue to see that it is all you, Lord.
[01:27:15] It is all about you in this place. I pray, God, thanking you for the way you're working through this series, the way you spoke to us this morning.
[01:27:23] God, I pray you continue to work in marriages.
[01:27:25] God, I pray you continue to draw us close to you, Lord, that we continue to seek you, to glorify you, to praise you, to lift you up in every single thing that we do, Lord.
[01:27:35] We love you.
[01:27:36] We praise you in your name.
[01:27:38] Amen.