One of my favorite Youtubers, AbatarTeacher recently shared this video on her channel and I thought I'd re-share. The message is titled "Holy Matrimony" and the Pastor is Keith Battle of Zion Church. I realize that not everyone has the time to watch a 41minute video so I'm posting some of the highlights.
The Bible gives the standard for which marriages should operate. In Genesis 2, God says that Adam's single status was no longer good, and he brought Eve to Adam. Pastor Battle asks us to evaluate "how much God is in our relationship". He says that the most important thing in our life is God and when you're in a relationship with a person who isn't a Christian, you can't talk about the most important thing in your life. This happens because feelings overtake faith.
God decided that Adam's single life was over and that's how it should be in our lives. We need to wait for God to say it's time to get a partner. God also gave Adam a spouse to help him achieve his purpose. It wasn't about preference but purpose. Pastor Battle says that we need to know our purpose before deciding you want to spend the rest of your life with a person. We need to think "can we help each other achieve our divine purpose". Our relationship should be about Psalm 34:3.
He quotes someone who says we need a mate to help us walk with our master to achieve our mission. The 3 M's: Master, Mate, Mission. He cautions people not to put preference over purpose, because although preference isn't obsolete, it isn't more important that purpose.
He also talks about the emptiness syndrome caused by when expectations can't be fulfilled. He says people should go into marriage with no expectations because when we have expectations, even when a spouse does something expected, we can't be happy because we were expecting it. This makes it impossible to be happy. He adds, "when you expect nothing, you're grateful for everything you get". Pastor Battle says we should become contributors not customers and also talks about the importance of confirming a relationship with a spiritual authority in one's life before proceeding.
Something else that stood out to me was Truth, Seen, Accepted, Love. He says no one can get genuine love without truth. We need to pull the facade and show the person we love who we truly are.When a partner sees you and in light of your fears, flaws and fantasies, still accepts you, then you are truly loved.
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The Bible gives the standard for which marriages should operate. In Genesis 2, God says that Adam's single status was no longer good, and he brought Eve to Adam. Pastor Battle asks us to evaluate "how much God is in our relationship". He says that the most important thing in our life is God and when you're in a relationship with a person who isn't a Christian, you can't talk about the most important thing in your life. This happens because feelings overtake faith.
God decided that Adam's single life was over and that's how it should be in our lives. We need to wait for God to say it's time to get a partner. God also gave Adam a spouse to help him achieve his purpose. It wasn't about preference but purpose. Pastor Battle says that we need to know our purpose before deciding you want to spend the rest of your life with a person. We need to think "can we help each other achieve our divine purpose". Our relationship should be about Psalm 34:3.
He quotes someone who says we need a mate to help us walk with our master to achieve our mission. The 3 M's: Master, Mate, Mission. He cautions people not to put preference over purpose, because although preference isn't obsolete, it isn't more important that purpose.
He also talks about the emptiness syndrome caused by when expectations can't be fulfilled. He says people should go into marriage with no expectations because when we have expectations, even when a spouse does something expected, we can't be happy because we were expecting it. This makes it impossible to be happy. He adds, "when you expect nothing, you're grateful for everything you get". Pastor Battle says we should become contributors not customers and also talks about the importance of confirming a relationship with a spiritual authority in one's life before proceeding.
Something else that stood out to me was Truth, Seen, Accepted, Love. He says no one can get genuine love without truth. We need to pull the facade and show the person we love who we truly are.When a partner sees you and in light of your fears, flaws and fantasies, still accepts you, then you are truly loved.
