BEFORE YOU WALK INTO MARRIAGE

 

Marriage is never a man's idea, it is 100% God's. Even before Adam could understand anything about his existence, God decided it is not good for him to be alone. While God was making this plan, Adam knew nothing about it and he was never consulted, but God singlehandedly designed it and delivered it to Adam on a platter of gold. Genesis 2:18, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him". Therefore, it is so burdensome that men decide all by themselves today as touching their choices in marriage without consulting God the Masterplanner, the Author, and the Finisher of all marriages. 

As an institution that was founded by God Himself. It is an institution where you do not ever graduate but receive a certificate even at the point of admission. One of the important steps to have a fulfilled life is marriage. Until marriage is consecrated, life on earth remains a miserable adventure. 

I pray for somebody reading this, in your sojourn here on earth, you shall not be alone, the help meets for you shall locate you without any further delay in the name of Jesus.

Genesis 2:24, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh". It is never the plan of  God for anyone to remain single, there is a partner assigned to every unmarried person out there for marriage. It is the will of God that everyone finds his or her own. Now, once this is found and confirmed, God said a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh". May you find her, may you find him in the name of Jesus.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven".  There is time to settle down and get married in life, usually, it ought to happen when one is graduating from youth to adulthood. But notwithstanding, even if you have exceeded your youthful age, I have good news for you, it is never too late for you to get married. The Lord will respond to your quest for marriage in the name of Jesus. 

To as many that are of marriageable age reading this, I want to announce to you, your time to get married is now. My advice to you, therefore, is that you should get ready because you shall no longer experience any marital delay in the name of Jesus.  

I quickly want to share with you how to make the right choice in marriage as it was revealed according to the word of God in Genesis 24:1-8. Without much ado, here are few points to consider when walking into marriage, please follow me as we look at them one after the other;

Genesis 24:1-6, 

"1. And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 

2, And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: 

3, And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: 

4, But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. 

5, And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? 

6, And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again". 

From the scripture above, you can see that Marriage is not your own idea as a son, rather, it is the Father's idea. Isaac was not mentioned in this scripture as the one trying to do the search in order to get a wife for himself, rather it was Abraham his father. This brings us to the first point in this study;

• Let God become your Father  This is the first step in order to get it right in marriage. Pastor, why did you say this? Please, consider yourself as Isaac tonight and God as Abraham. Isaac was the son of Abraham, and you must also be a son of God.  Matthew 23:9, "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven".
  If you are truly a child of God, it becomes obvious for you to know that it is God's responsibility to intervene in your search for the right partner just like Abraham did to his son Isaac. Perhaps you are reading this and you have not given your life to Jesus, it is important you do so now. 

• Engage the service of the Holy Spirit Abraham was stricken in age and could no longer do the search to get a wife for Isaac as we have read, but he assigned his eldest servant to do the job. In the like manner, God the Father is actually seated in heaven, He is not a man and does not walk the surface of earth physically, but He is here with us and dwells in us in the person of the Holy Spirit our Helper. John 14:26, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things (including how to make the right choice in marriage), and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you".  Therefore, it is important for us to work with the Holy Spirit in our quest to make the right choice in marriage.

• Make sure you are getting married to a child of God This is so important because, like Abraham, although he was old and well stricken in age, he couldn't go to do the search by himself. Yet, he sent his eldest servant and he made sure that the servant took an oath with him so as to enforce his demand to get a wife for Isaac from his country even from his father's house. Now, God is the only one that knows his people, you don't know them by your own canal judgment. Many people are so religious today that you will even mistake them for angels, yet they are wolves in sheep clothing. You can never know the true identity of people except the Lord reveals it to you. Therefore, it is important you allow God to do the search for you. If you try to do it by yourself, you may never get it right. Please, be watchful!

• It is not your choice, rather, it is God's choice   Adam was not given the opportunity to choose a partner for himself in marriage, God monopolizes the selection of choice even without Adam's consent. All he had to do was to accept the choice of God, and neither did Eve complained about it also because she is indeed the flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. Abraham on the other hand monopolized the selection of choice of a wife for his son without even consulting Isaac by giving his servant the prescription since he could not go for the search by himself. God has a choice of partner for you, would you rather accept His choice? Please note, when you come across His choice for your life, the Holy Spirit will give you a nudge and signal you, this is God's choice for your life. She or he may not actually be your choice of a person, but I encourage you tonight, go with God's choice for your life. Judge 14 (Samson was actually given instruction regarding the choice of God for him as a wife, but he refused to accept God choice of wife and, of course, we all know that getting married to Delilah the Philistine and a strange woman was the beginning of Samson's downfall), May you never make a wrong choice in marriage in Jesus name. May His choice be your choice in the name of Jesus.

• Do not allow disappointment in your marriage quest to take you back into the world, Stay with Jesus. Genesis 24:8, "And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again". A long waiting and marital delay can lead to discouragement in our journey as Christians. Many have gone back into the world today having settled down with an ungodly choice they have made in marriage. It does not matter what happens in your quest to make the right choice, please stick to Jesus.  Don't be discouraged, God will surely see you through.

• When your marriage is fathered by God, His resources become your source of finance. Genesis 24:35-36, "And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. 36, And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath". Please understand that nothing was mentioned about Isaac's financial strength but the father's wealth. The truth is you must be hardworking especially as a man, but you must depend on God for your financial sustenance. In God alone should you boast, never consider your personal financial strength, or your earthly father's or mother's financial strength when you are going into marriage. Rather, take glory in the ability of God the Father to provide for all your needs financially.

Conclusion

Marriage is not a science or a discovery of men, it is entirely God's invention to better the life of man on earth. Therefore, engage God in your quest to make the right choice in life.