TOPIC: THE TWO KEY FOR MARITAL FULFILLMENT

Text: Gen 2: 18-25 

Life has taught me that wedding is in the church, but marriage is at home. Ladies and gentlemen, there are many people who are ready for wedding but only a few are prepared for marriage, wedding is the beautiful ceremony for just a day but marriage involve a life time process, it involve tolerant, and patience, it involve forgiveness and understanding, it involve appreciation and

faith, it involve agreement and transparency. For transparency is the only life wire to any good and useful relationship, before I define what marriage is; I will like to tell you what marriage is not.

·       Marriage is not a sign of wealth.

·       Marriage is not only to satisfy sexual desires.

·       Marriage is not a means of getting a cook or a steward.

So what then is marriage? To me: marriage is a cure for loneliness (Gen 2:18) marriage is good (proverb 18:22), Marriage is a honorable (Heb 13:4), Marriage is a happy thing (prov 5:18, Eccl 9:9), Marriage is define as the covenantal commitment of two people to each other total welfare.

What is Marriage? The oxford Advanced Learners dictionary say, Marriage is the legal relationship between husband and wife, but biblically, marriage is an institution ordained by God himself, so marriage is the oldest institution in the whole world, it started in the beautiful Garden of Eden between Adam and Eve. And God was the only officiating minister witnessed by the Angels, in Gen 2:24 the bible says therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh, to cleave in these content means to be very close to or joined to, that is husband and wife should be very close to each other, to cleave also mean detaching oneself from every entanglement of relatives, coworker and friends, and coming together as husband and wife to form a Christian home, so pastor what are the two keys for marital fulfillment. When husband and wife are cleaving together, this will make the woman to be totally submissive to her husband, so the first key for marital fulfillment belongs to the woman and that is;

SUBMISSIVENESS:Eph 5:22-24 He said wives submit yourself unto your own husband, as unto the lord, in other word wives obey your husband as unto the lord; so been submissive in all things including sex, agree with your husband in all things, so submit, your time, energy, money, submit sex, your knowledge all your body, belongs to your husband.

·       The second key is for you the husband Love Eph 5:25-26 love your wife as Christ love the church and gave his life for it etc.

Finally what Marriage does not need, Marriage does not need laziness (this is on the both side), Marriage does not need quarreling, it does not need lying, Marriage does not need wastage, and Marriage does not need outsiders to come settle our cases at home.

But marriage needs;

·       Prayer

·       It needs the word of God

·       Marriage needs understanding

·       Marriage needs sincerity and transparency

·       Marriage needs fruitfulness

·       It needs sharing together

·       It needs endurance

·       It needs love and Joy, etc.

Prayer

·       Oh Lord, take away quarreling and malice from my marriage

·       Oh Lord help me to be submissive to my husband

·       I receive grace to love my wife and fresh grace.