Love's Enduring Kiss

Genesis 2:24

Illustrate: Pastor – Grade 4 class in SS.

- Talk about Marriage.

"What does God say about Marriage?"

Kid: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

* Marriage can have its challenges.

Illustrate: Couple having fight.

Guy: "How come God made you so incredibly beautiful and at the same time so incredibly stupid?"

Her Response: "Well, Honey, God made me beautiful so you’d love me. And He made me stupid so I’d love you."

* Want to talk to you about Marriage and how God wants it to be an incredible experience that will last a lifetime.

- one that overflows with genuine intimacy, love, respect and care for one another.

- one that will stand the test of time and leave you feeling fulfilled and complete regardless of the consequences.

- one where you will experience Love’s Enduring Kiss

Dear Ann Landers:

On Aug. 14, 1945, the war ended in the South Pacific. That was the day I met the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the world - my wife. There was a celebration downtown, and I was kissing whoever came along. Then, I kissed Mary. That kiss was special, and I immediately put her name and phone number on a handy piece of paper - a policeman’s traffic ticket, which I put in my wallet.

One day, as I lounged in my barracks, I opened my wallet, and out fell that ticket with Mary’s name on it. I wrote her a letter and the rest is history.

We have been married for 50 years and have three daughters and six grandchildren. Now, my Mary, my beautiful rose, is wilting. She has Alzheimer’s disease, and I am helpless to do anything about it. There are no letters to write, no courtship to win her love, only wonderful memories. I hold her hand, serve her breakfast in bed, hug her and try to hold on. How long this rose will continue to bloom only God knows.

Seeing this disease rob me of this wonderful person is hard, but I am grateful that I have always told Mary how much I loved her. I will never abandon her. She will be with me always until "death do us part."

* God has a plan for a successful marriage.

Leave: = ya`ªzaab = "to loosen" - "Depart"- " Forsake" - "Abandon"

* Marriage Involves Leaving Something

– All other ties = Broken – changed – left behind.

* At Conversion – Something Dies

- You Die to Sin - Old you is buried with Christ because God is creating something new

* In Marriage – Something Dies

- You Die to Self – God is going to create something new.

** What Does This Leaving Involve

* You’ve been dependent on your parents

- You’ve grown up in their home – you’ve been part of their family; you’ve been under their rule.

* When you marry - it’s time to cut the apron strings and establish something brand new.

Leave = "Depart" - Lit. "Abandon"

* Bond with Parents = everlasting – does not mean - forsake them

- always to honour parents

- New Role - responsibility FOR them, not TO them.

- full commitment transferred to spouse.

- No longer dependent upon Father and Mother

- No Longer Under their Authority

- Assume (Man) Leadership Of Your Own Family

* Parents – Let Them Go – It’s God Design

- God gave them for a time – preparation.

* When the Wedding March starts – step back and let them go.

Illustrate:

Several months after the wedding - the new bride called her mother late one night.

- Had big fight with husband

– "Mom. I want to come home."

"You ARE home, sweetheart. You’ll have to work it out."

- Husband,  you become the Servant/Leader - you’re responsible

- Wife,  you become the Partner - sharing the responsibility in something new.

* Can’t have divided loyalties.

- No other relationship on earth is as important as the relationship with your spouse.

- not mean you don’t have friends – But Spouse Has Unique - Special Place in your life.

My Vows: "Rick, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honour and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her so long as you both shall live?"

— I had to leave behind all my old girlfriends –

__ I had to leave behind all my potential girlfriends.

(Easy for some of us - lucky we found one)

– Relationship with friends - can’t overshadow or take priority over the Unique Relationship with your spouse.

– Other things take a lower priority - ie. Job - business - career - property - hobbies - church work etc.

- these things should not be allowed to obscure the sacredness and uniqueness of your marriage partner. – Their needs come first.

To 'Leave' means — You Create A Special Place In Your Heart and Life For Your Spouse

* Priorities: — (1) God (2) Wife (3) Family (4) Service (5) Whatever

– When we allow anything to take precedence – we violate God’s First Principle of Marriage

Oh, where have you been,
Billy boy, Billy boy?
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?
I have been to seek a wife,
She's the joy of my life,

Refrain: She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Did she bid you to come in,
Billy boy, Billy boy?
Did she bid you to come in, charming Billy?
Yes, she bade me to come in,
By the dimple on her chin,

(Refrain)

Can she bake a cherry pie,
Billy boy, Billy boy? 

Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can bake a cherry pie,
Quick's the cat can wink his eye,

(Refrain)

How old is she,
Billy boy, Billy boy?
How old is she, charming Billy?
Three times six, and four times seven,
Twenty eight and eleven,

(Refrain)

* Do The Math. 85 years old and Not Ready To Leave Mother

* Unless You Are Willing To "Leave" Everything Else – You Will Never Develop the Oneness God Intended.

And cleave (be joined) to his wife ..

.Cleave = "bonding" "Forging" "Wielding" "To cling to"

– Creating a unbreakable bond.

** Marriage Is Bonding Together in an Unbreakable Bond

* Used 4 Times in Deut. - in terms of relationship with God

* Be Committed to God And Don’t Let Him Go.

** Leave Loyalty and Commitment to Parents for Loyalty and Wholehearted Commitment to Spouse.

* Marriage Takes A Wholehearted Commitment To Your Spouse.

- Don’t worry about their commitment – You be committed.

Cleave = "Dabag" = "To glue one thing to another to form a permanent bond."

- Unbroken Union

- At the very inception of Marriage – God saying "THIS IS FOR LIFE."

- Marriage is God’s idea.

- When you stand at Altar - You Vow to the Person with you and to God - and God makes you husband and wife.

* One Man - One Woman – to the exclusion of all others – For Life.

(One grounds in Bible - Adultery – Possibly abandonment)

* Divorce Is Never Right - And Not Without Pain.

* CANNOT SEPARATE TWO THAT ARE BONDED TOGETHER WITHOUT DESTROYING BOTH.

** What if Marriage Is Difficult ?

Don’t I have the right to be happy?

- God more concerned about Holiness than Happiness

– WORK IT OUT.

** What If I’m Already Divorced ?

* You can’t unscramble eggs.

i) Confess = agree with God about your sin

ii) If possible, Work toward Reconciliation

iii) Seek Forgiveness

Cleaving means Honouring your Vows.

* At The Altar You Made A Covenant Of The Future

– Vowed to God & Spouse you’d be theirs till death.

"TILL DEATH DO US PART"

- Vow is not a light thing – better think before you jump.

"FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE."

* Deal not – till something different comes along - till problems come.

* Problems will come - too many are quick to pack bags.

There were times when it might have been easier for me to  pack bags and leave. Wendy would have helped me. "Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry."

* But We Were Committed To His Word – He Had Told Us to Cleave. We Had Made Our Vows To One Another.

* Wendy and I

- Dec. 27/75 - Wintery Day

– I stood at the Altar - Brown Satin-trimmed Tux

- Brown Platform Shoes.

– Her Dad, walked her down the aisle - Pure White Dress Trimmed with the Love of Deep Red roses.

– We Stood At The Altar

I said:

I, Rick, take you, Wendy, to be my lawful wedded wife, to love you and honour you as Christ loves and honours His church, to guide and direct our home according to God's Holy Word, having Christ as the true Head of our home.

– She looked back at me and said:

I, Wendy, take you, Rick, to be my lawful wedded husband; for where you go, I will go; and where you live, I will live; your people shall be my people and your God my God: Where you die, will I die, and there will I be buried: The Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part you and me.

– Next Week "Weaving" - Two become one flesh. – God’s ultimate purpose.

Cannot attain that - unless you’re willing to Leave and to Cleave.