I Surrender My Marriage Malachi 2 14 16

I Surrender My Marriage Malachi 2: 14 -16

I Surrender My Marriage • As the first Sunday of the month is here, we wish to focus on our theme for this month • “I Surrender All” is theme for the year 2013 • We have tried to look at different aspects of this thought

I Surrender My Marriage • Today we not only focus on our theme, but we continue our thoughts from the last two weeks • Our thoughts will center on surrendering our marriage to God • There are many who have not done this…

I Surrender My Marriage • Instead of surrendering our marriage to God, perhaps we’ve surrendered to our own will • Even if things are going well in your relationship, you may not have surrendered all to God • Let’s understand together how we do that…

God In The Middle • One way that some do not surrender their marriages is that they do not place God in the center of the relationship • God must be the most important aspect of our lives • He should reign in our relationships

God In The Middle • Jesus said that to love God is the first and great commandment of all (Matt. 22: 37 -38) • That means loving Him above our spouse • However, loving Him means loving our spouse (Jn. 14: 15)

God In The Middle • Remember what we are to seek after first in this life (Matt. 6: 33) • If we draw near to God in our marriages, He will draw near to us in the same (Js. 4: 8) • Deuteronomy 6: 6 -9

Keep Your Word • Jesus commanded that we be people of our word • “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes, ’ and your ‘No, ’ ‘No’ (Matt. 5: 37) • Whatever we say, that is what we should do, even if we have to take a loss in doing it (Ps. 15: 4)

Keep Your Word • When we became married we made a vow or a commitment • God expects us to keep that commitment • Malachi 2: 11 -16 • God was a witness to our vows and expects us to keep them

Keep Your Word • The vows we make are ones such as the following: ▫ In sickness and in health (Alzheimer’s - Pat Robertson) ▫ For richer or poorer ▫ For better or worse ▫ Until death do us part

Keep Your Word • Keeping our word means developing an attitude of hatred towards divorce • If we take it off the table as an option, then we will be forced to work out our problems • Remember, the commitment to our spouse is a reflection of the commitment to our God

Handle With Care • Another way we surrender our marriage to God is in the way we treat our spouse • There are some who may stay faithful to their vows, but they are unloving and mean-spirited to their spouse • It does matter to God and our marriage!

Handle With Care • One of the easiest rules to practice is the Golden Rule (Matt. 7: 12) • We should treat our spouse the way we would want to be treated • We need to be kind and considerate to one another (Eph. 4: 31 -32)

Handle With Care • The Bible commands that we love one another (Matt. 22: 39; Eph. 5: 25; Titus 2: 4) • Love is not a choice, it’s a decision we make (Matt. 5: 44; Gen. 24: 63 -67) • Paul describes what real love is all about (I Cor. 13: 4 -8)

Handle With Care • We get out of our marriage what we put into it • We need to make daily deposits into our relationship • If we do that as we would do our bank account, we will watch our return grow and grow!