Text:
Matthew 19:3-11:
3: The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for
every cause?
4: And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male
and female,
5: And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one
flesh?
6: Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put
asunder.
7: They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8: He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the
beginning it was not so.
9: And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another,
committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
10: His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11: But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
Theme:
When God puts it together
Introduction:
- The Gospel according to St. Matthew, the first book of the New Testament and of the Gospels of Jesus, the Christ, is the book that contains this scripture.
- Matthew, the disciple of Christ, wrote in more detail the life of Christ and His ministry that any other Gospel writer even though the book was written over 5-10 years later than the rest of the Gospels.
- The text for today stems from a question posed to Jesus by the Pharisees in the 3rd verse of the 19th Chapter of the Gospel According to St. Matthew… “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?”
- One must abide by the law.
- The law says in Deuteronomy 24:1:
“When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.”
- The objective: to put away/divorce the wife/husband
- Divorce means “legal dissolving of a marriage; severance”
- For any reason
- The scripture in Deuteronomy says that the reason could be anything that results in the fact that “she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her”
- Humanity judges:
- Things happen that cause us to lose favour for the other: anger, disappointment, frustration, hurt, etc.
Body:
Jesus responded through three points:
- “They are no more twain”
- The “single life” is over
- “One flesh”
- As it says in 1Corinthians 7:4:
“The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.”
-
- Your life becomes y’all’s life
- Your way becomes your opinion
- “Let no man put asunder”
- No man can BREAK what God has put together!
- You can deny it – IT’S NOT A REAL MARRIAGE
- You can falsify it – IT’S A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
- You can overlook it – IT’S NOT MARRIAGE UNTIL IT COMES UP
- But you can’t BREAK it!
- No man can BREAK what God has put together!
Conclusion:
- As it says in verse 8, “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.”
- God meant originally for the union of man and wife to be for the duration of this life.
- Divorce is the manifestation of sin in a marriage:
- Galations 5:19-21 clearly shows what causes divorce:
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Why are there still divorces among Christians?
“But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.”
“IT” hasn’t been given…this understanding
- Don’t be like the Pharisees!
They knew the law…but did not know Jesus!
- It takes two “wholes” to make a Whole in marriage.
“IT” hasn’t been given…marriage from God
- As it says in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” — Seek God first and a good marriage will be added…if it is His Will.
Some were SENT into the life of marriage while others just WENT…no God = no HOPE
There’s one wedding that we all mustn’t miss!
- The Groom – Jesus Christ
- The Bride – The church
- Father of the Bride – God, the Father
- Best Men – Grace and Mercy
- The Maid of Honor – Charity
- Officiating minister – The Holy Spirit
- The choir – The heavenly host
- The usher – The angel Gabriel in all its splendor
- The Program and Invitations – the Holy Spirit (teaches and reteaches)
Where are we represented?
- The Bridal bouquet – the body of the church, the bride, carrying the beauty of our individual selves as petals of flowers
What can God put together?
- Two People
- Broken Heart
- Troubled Mind
- Messed up Situation
- Shattered life
When God puts it together:
- People can’t mess it up
- We can’t break it up
- Devil can’t take it up
When God puts it together:
- There’s Faith to believe that it is together
- There’s Hope to believe that it will be together
There’s Love to KEEP it together
When God puts it together!!!
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