Marriage is a Crazy Thing | Pastor Tolulope Moody | Sycamore Church

Hi, welcome to another teaching message from Seeker Mud Church Ibadun, Nigeria. Alright, how, quite honestly, how crazy were you to think of Get in Married? Have you, if you're married, have you ever asked yourself that before like, or as you maybe you're not married? Today I'm speaking to you whether you're married or not really, I'm speaking out crossword. How crazy are you to actually think of Get in Married? How crazy is it to actually think of, you know, like surrendering your life willingly, you know, to dwell with another, like, you know, to commit yourself to, like, how crazy are you to think about that day in your life when you will now, you know, willingly let go of all your liberties, of your rights to yourself and just give it to another, like really, and you willingly did this, like, why are you crazy? What were you thinking of? How do you think of marriage? I heard the story some years ago and, you know, it was about, like, some school guys who were, like, breaking out of secondary school, you know, you know, things used to do back in the days, like, you jump over walls and all of that. And so these guys were like, they wanted to go to town and have fun and also trying to jump out, jump over the wall and all, right? And so they get to the wall and they're like, they're white on white boarding uniform and all of that. And so they get to the wall and they want to jump out. And, you know, the first guy kind of, like, climbs up and everybody's like, yeah, he should go and all of that. And, um, sorry, I'm distracted. I thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Right? Good, good, good. Are you ready? Can we go? Okay, good. So the first guy gets to the wall and he wants to jump and everybody's like, yeah, go for it. So they're like, these 10 guys. So the guy, like, jumps over and then he just lands in this swampy, muddy, the things splashes in his face, like, and so the next person is already on the wall and he's like, hey, can I come? Is it clear? He's like, clear, jump. And so the next guy jumps and lands in and he's about to face him like, put you. And because the next person is already asking is it clear? And he's like, yeah, clear. And so each of them comes and everybody's like, as you get your peace and next person, clear jump, you know, and all of that. Have you ever thought of marriages that kind of thing? Like some people jumped in, and they're like, what? Come, come along, you know, it's beautiful. And when you get there, you will see, you know, how it goes on, you know, and stuff like that. And so I remember when I was about to get married and I walked into this guy who was like married maybe like 15 years and like an uncle. And he saw my wedding Ivika and he's like, totally, you want to get married? I'm like, yeah. You want to marry? And you just go, like, right, something. Since you said you want to, but, you know, how do we think of it? And so in the morning of my wedding, I've told you guys about how I remember just walking on this road. You are someone that was sanitation. I was just walking up and down and you know, clear road. And I was just telling myself to do. This is your chance to run away. You can just run switch off your phone. What will happen to you? Christ will be fine. You know, like just disappear. Good to all you're, you know, just, and stuff like that, right? Because there are these like two million things. I don't know about you, but they're like two million things going on in your head. Like, you know, questions and what should I do? What about that? When we have children, you know, like top questions, you're just thinking, and here I am making a commitment to this thing like before God, before people like, you know, it gets crazy because there are all these questions going on. I was checking out a list of questions that you want to ask yourself before you marry. Okay. So, will we have children? And if we do, will you change diapers? Will our experiences with our exes, Hinder also help us, you know, the family you grew up in today, when they have disagreements, do they come, issues, or the through plates? It's my debt, your debt, you know, we sign a pre-Nope, big question. Where will we live when we get married? Okay. All of that. How do we go about disciplining children? What is your attitude? What will be your plans in the next 10 years? What will be your passions in 10 years? All right. Expectations even like in raising our pets, like, like if we have a cat, will you slap the cat and kick the cat? You know, how do you handle cats? Because it's important. It's my passion. It's important that how you want your children. It's the world we live. It's crazy. Two million things that can go wrong in a marriage. I don't know if that is going on. Now, then you're asking, are we compatible, you know, emotionally compatible? The way I do my stuff and the way you do your stuff, you know. But the thing is, everybody is shouting clear. They're like, have you figured out, it's like there's all the pressure, like, when will you marry if you ever mind? Like, when? Now, I'm fun. You know, it's like, everybody say, come, clear. I don't know if that I heard, I heard somebody say one time. He said, you know, when I think of how crazy it all is, like, why? Why would I go to a bookshop and buy a book when I can't always go to a library? I'm borrow. The one I want at the time. Why would I? I'm trying to think like this is the kind of conversation going on with Jesus and it disciples in Matthew 19. It's like marriage stuff. And so the first is asking Jesus a question about divorce because it's like, I mean, okay, yes, we got to import. I mean, let's check out the way out, you know, so they're asking this question about divorce and all. And when you read Matthew 19 verse 10, you know, because they're like, yeah, there's this whole divorce thing. And maybe that's what we should be thinking about that is that road clear, you know, so that's where I get to know we can see the way out in case, you know. And the Bible says in Matthew 19 verse 10, Jesus disciples objected as Jesus started talking about marriage. They said, if those are the terms of marriage, we haven't got a chance. Why get married? And so the context of this that they were saying, look at verse 8 and verse 9, Jesus has just said that Moses provided for divorce as a concession to your hardheartedness. But it is not part of God's original plan. Verse 9, Jesus now says this words that you know what I'm holding you to the original plan. I'm holding you liable for adultery if you divorce your faithful wife and then marry someone else. I make an exception in the cases where the spouse has committed adultery. And so Jesus disciples here this because they're like all these two million, maybe two millions and on their statement, two million and one things that are in your mind that I'm trying to figure out and Jesus is now saying like his holding me to this standard where I must be committed in it and I must stay in it. And all of this is not even us thinking the cultural complication sometimes that we live in a culture that you know, it's wanting to say I'm getting married is another thing that to think of the ceremony that leads to the marriage, right. And all of these cultural complications all you said is that you want to marry someone's daughter and then I'll brought out lists. You know, say I'm not running for governor. I'm running for governor. I won't spend this, you know, at least you know, I'm trying to say like I'm in cultural complications to everything and all. And the big question for me this morning is how did we even get here anyway. What even put us in a conversation of talking about marriage? Like surges and urges and all of that going on in us and society have to like figure out an arrangement for mature adults to kind of have something going on. And so there's like this contract between people. What even got us here in the first place? What even brought us to the whole space of marriage in the first place? One of the things that I don't want you to forget today and I'm going to just say clearly this morning is that if marriage was at some point just a good idea, then the truth is as the world changes, it can become a bad idea. But if marriage was ever a good idea, then it's different from just being a good idea. And what I want to try and show you this morning is that marriage was not just a good idea at some point that kind of worked and now maybe things are just hard because of culture. Marriage was never just about being a good idea. It was always a good idea that we see it start out in Genesis chapter 2 that God brings Eve and marriage Eve to other man is to chewed system. He calls marriage. And why did God do this? Because if we can answer why God did it, then I think it will give us some shape about how we think about it. And I'm saying this to you whether you are looking towards it, whether you are in it, whether you are around it, whether you are wherever you are this morning. How do we think about this thing that God instituted? Let me tell you why this is such a big deal. Why it's so important? It's because the whole marriage story is in itself an example in a conversation that what is happening is that God is having a conversation and then he's giving an example. Stay with me because he must get this. Don't get this. You must just get it. God is having a conversation and he's giving an example. Do you have a friend who takes an example too far? I'm trying to make a point. I give you an example. You make it all about the example, not even the point. So you are trying to say that I just feel that shopkeepers can be telling your friend that I feel that you need to think about your attitude that the way you respond, I think it should become a people for example when we're in that shop, the way you spoke to the shopkeeper and all of that. And the friend goes on about how shopkeepers since 1920 in history, India, there's one shopkeeper that was even found guilty. And I'm not talking about shopkeepers, I'm talking about your sticking attitude. You are trying to say we are making a point. We are giving an example of the point. But you make it all about the example. I was going to get that here. Come on, second service got my favorite, right? Come on. Yes, you are. Whatever. You make it all about the example. And so there's a concept of an example. An example is not the point. I'm making a point in a conversation. You'll teach us teaching in school and it's saying you know what? Any time you want to add. 'I am taking this value and you are joining it to the other value to give you what those two values bring about that is called 'attition' and so your sketch trying to say for example, '2 + 2 is joining true and 2 and that gives you good.' Some of you are still not sure. That gives you 4, okay? So, 2 is not the point here. It could have as well been 3 and 3. It could have as well been 21 and 59. But I took 2 and 2 to give you an example of a point. I will still together here. And so what happens is that God is having a conversation with us. And then he says, 'For example, as then, 'Mom married.' So marriage is an example in a conversation that God is having with humanity. And so I think that at the end of the day it must be more about what I'm trying to show you than the specific example that I gave. I'm not giving any example, but it must be more about the point than the example that I gave you. The example must be a point out to the point. If not, we've missed the point. The example must be pointing us towards the point if not we have missed the point. And so this morning we can put marriage up pretty much in the culture we live and in society and all of that. There's that picture of marriage. It's floating all around. It's everywhere. There's either pressure to get into it or there's conversations around it. Whether you're dating, whether you are trying to date, whether you are married. There's just a whole conversation. It's almost like everywhere you are, you look at somebody, you check if there's a ring on the finger. You know, you kind of science people. It's just they're floating everywhere. And we can put marriage up there and just be sure it's a place that we get to. But my question is what side of the ladder do we climb to get there? Because what I'll show you this morning is that we can really be climbing up towards marriage from different sides of the ladder. It might look like the same destination. It might look like the same thing. It might look like fixing a wedding day to my look like being in my home. It might look like the same thing on the surface. But I'll show you the moment that it's pretty much important where we look at it from. So what is the points that God is making in the whole marriage conversation that we say that marriage becomes an example of what God is saying. Paul talks about this in Ephesians chapter 5. So I read the scripture in Ephesians chapter 5 that is very foundation now. I'm very instructive. I'm going to read it in ARV from verse 27. The Bible says Christ died so that he could give the church to himself. Okay. Like a bride in all her beauty. So he's talking about Christ and the church. Who's the church? He's not talking about buildings. He's not talking about denominations. He's talking about called out once. He's talking about people. He's talking about individuals that are the church that is his bride. And he says so he can give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that the church could be holy and without fault with no evil or sin or any other thing wrong in it. Verse 28. He says and husbands should love their wives like that. So he's coming from a conversation of Christ under church. And then he's now bringing it into husbands and wives. Not the other way round. He's not saying husbands and wives. You know all of this is going on between you. So can we see Christ on the church and that? No, he's saying there is a story of Christ under church. Okay. Now from that model. He's now saying look that's how husbands should love their wives. That's how we should think about the relationship between a husband and his wife. They should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself. Verse 29. And because no one ever hates his own body but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church. Okay. Because we're parts of his body. Let's go on 31 and 32. The scripture says that that is why a man will leave his father and mother. And join with his wife. Why? Because of what's happening between Christ and the church. And the two people will become one. Now verse 32. Well stop. That secret truth is very important. I'm talking about Christ and the church. Look at somebody say that secret truth is very important. And what's he talking about Christ and the church? That secret truth. Most translation is called it a mystery. It's a secret truth. And he says it is very important. So God is saying that I'm making a story about Christ and the church. I'm making a story about relationship between Christ and you as a believer. I'm talking about a story of your savior. I'm talking about a story of your Lord and all of that your Redeemer. I'm making a story of Christ and the church. I'm making that story and explanation. I am now giving an example that I say marriage is. So God is saying that I want marriages to be a secret truth about something deeper. You see God is so intentional in setting up his example. I don't know about you, but I've seen examples go wrong. It happens to me sometimes when I'm even preaching. You start telling the story. I don't know if this happens to anybody here. I'm trying to give an example. You know that telling story. You know, you know, you're life that it doesn't exactly make the point. Right. Okay. But this is God making a point. I'm giving an example. I'm man. I'm like God. How intentional are you about your example? Because God basically wires a man. Why has a woman put something in both of them some sense of desire, longing, pursuit, you know, like an so deep feeling and attraction and desire for each other and a craving for intimacy. God wires everything. Blossages and urges and feelings and passions. God put it in you. And he says I'm doing all of that. I'm bringing you together with another and creating a fusion in commitment. You know, just that integrity of of being in one another, being a part of one another. God says all of this. You know why I wired everything. You know why I gave you sexual feelings because I'm making a point of Christ under church. Like God is so intentional about his example. And he designed us that we can't explain the pleasure we feel from a pursuit of intimacy with another. You can't even explain it like it's so it's sometimes it feels like it's burning in you like, you know, I remember I remember dating my wife and I remember that many times. I was showing her after we got married. I used to drop out her parents house some nights and all. And I remember that route. Any time I'm driving that route, I still remember because I'll drop her and I say drive out and I'm just this like a free route. There are like a number of bumps on the route, but every night I will forget about those bumps. Every single night I promise like I'll just drive out and as I'm driving down there, I'll be like, "Ah! I just hit the fence. Oh my God. I forgot again tonight." And I can't explain what was going on in me like just that passion and desire. Longing for some sense of intimacy. But you know what God says? Yes, I put it in you because I'm making an example of a point Christ under church. Like God is that intentional about us. I guess what this is God providing such a graphic illustration. If you think I'm making it up, think about everything in scripture. Think about how the Bible says that do you know how the man comes to be joined to the wife. He leaves his father to come to be joined to the wife. Then all your Bible says, is that know how Jesus proceeded from the father to come and earn his bright to himself. Think about how he says it's not good for a man to be alone. Christ was the only bigot in son of God, but he died to bring many of us into sonship. Think about how that the Bible says that God put Adam to sleep. Adam brought out Eve from high. He's not only a picture of the death and the suffering of Christ. And how in the death and the suffering he brought the church out of him. Think about how the Bible says that Adam was made out of that side rib of Adam. Eve was made out of that side rib. Was it not his side that was pierced? And the Bible says blood and water came gushing out. And God was saying all the while, everything you saw me doing with Adam and Eve, it's not about Adam and Eve. That is an example of what I'm really saying about Christ on the church. In Efficiency of the 5 verse 32, the message Bible, listen to it. He says, this is a huge mystery. Paul speaking. He says, and I don't pretend to understand it all. Honestly, what is clear as to me is the way Christ treats the church. 33. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife. Loving himself in loving her and how each wife is to honor her husband. So it's saying as you think about marriage and it's all there. What the picture that we see in how we should approach it is and what we see and what God is doing with Christ on the church. So honestly, this is more known to say to everybody, matters where we're looking from. It's not enough to just say marriage. Ah, marriage. Whether it's your year, whether it's your season, whether it's not enough to just say I'm in, I'm not in. It matters where we are looking at it from. On one side of the ladder, the truth is marriage is all just about my fantasies. And it's all just about how I see things and my passions and what have you. It's all about the surges and the earth is going on in me. On one side of the ladder, my marriage is all about my pleasure, my emotions. You know, I start feeling it's certain ways I become more conscious of myself and you know, as you kind of get to prubat-y, right? You start! feeling one how. It's the ha, and it will marry you. Make you know. And on one side of the ladder, marriage is all about that. It's all about my desires, my feelings and all of that. That's one side of the ladder. One side of the ladder, the problem is that when marriage is all about us and our picture, the truth is, three dangers. Number one, it becomes an object of idolatry. You know what I say? It becomes an object of idolatry. Idolatry, anytime something else takes the place that only God can be. We've made it an idol. You know when you start to believe that some other human being is going to become God to you. And what do I mean? There is a fulfillment that we can really find in Christ. You start to believe that another human being is going to bring that fulfillment in your life. It's going to bring a completeness into your life. Listen, marriage was not given to human beings to complete each other. The Bible says in Colossians chapter two and verse 10 that you are completing Christ. Did you hear? Not in your marriage in Christ. God didn't bring half human being and half human being to make one. God brought one and one to make one. Are you hearing me this morning? And so when we start to believe that another human being will bring the completeness and fulfillment that is only in God's genome, we're doing, we're making an idol of marriage. We're making a marriage what it is now. We're taking the example too far. And unless you are next, we live in a society that is kind of set up that way because marriage is pictured as that ultimate place that one day you will get to. As a young child, everything, you're cooking, as a young lady and you're mistakenly put a little too much salt and it's like when you get to your house. If this how you are going to do, as a young guy you slip a little too much and they tell you that one day when you are married, you are going to take care. If this how, you know, it's almost like like when we get there, like it's this ultimate picture, this ultimate destination of life, like when we get to marriage, marriage. But you know the truth is we make it an idol. It's only an example. It's not the point. And listen, it is a beautiful example. It is an important example. It is a valid example, but it is not the point of the conversation. The point of the conversation is still about Christ and the church. Anytime we think that marriage becomes our goal and our ultimate fulfillment, when we think that marriage will bring us the fulfillment of that so deep longing that we have. I just want to say honestly we've made it an idol. Second thing that I think is a danger of traveling this journey and climbing from my own side of the ladder is that it becomes a place of dishonor. And why do I say that? Because when it is all about me and the person I like and my commitment to you and my strength to you and your passion for me and it's just about us and us and us. The truth is even at the best of ourselves we are human. And because we are human we will hurt each other because we are human we will have shortcomings. I can make every promise to you. Listen, I got married eight years ago and I guess I committed myself to my wife and all of that but in eight years I'm happy to announce some of my interests have changed, some of my passions have changed. The place where I promised from eight years ago is nowhere I am now. Except I will promise as a prophet and say because in ten years time I will have interest in hockey. I don't know. I don't know. And so when we make it all about us and you know what I will go the ends of the earth for you I just love you and I'm crazy and I'm passionate I can't even help myself. I can't breathe. It's not us, my zoo and okay. When it's all about us the truth is at some point we will hurt, we will offend. And it will just become a reactive space. So I'll start to react to you because it's about us and it becomes a place of dishonor. The third thing that I think quite honestly is that when marriage is about us on this side of the ladder it is or just to add to it it's a pressure in place. It's pressuring. How can you give me a life mission to make another human being happy and fulfilled? I've spent 35 years so far and I will yet achieved that for myself. And then my new life mission is to give her fulfillment. I'm sorry it's not in me. I'm telling her my first time in the airport this week on some guy we're trying to prompt for me or me just then eventually you know comes after he has done that he now says bro make me happy. I say only God come make me happy my brother. Only God. Let's be honest this also here I am carrying the pressure on my shoulder that I will fulfill the desires and the soul of Adébola Moudidah she herself doesn't even know. She's not I mean. Amen anybody please help me. I'm I I'm I it's pressuring. It's all about me. I'm looking behind the night. I'm thinking of what to do. I'm thinking of the of valves of valves. Anybody here you think of valves and you rethink your valves. Anybody like like like like I'm thinking of valves and what will make up? What will make up for fear? Are you going to the end of your day is pressuring. So when I'm climbing yes it's marriage yes it's the same date and all of that but when I'm climbing it from my side of the ladder the truth is number one it becomes an object of my deletion number two it becomes a place of dishonor number three quite honestly it's just pressuring. It's a pressure that I don't believe God called me to live in. Believe God called me to peace not to pressure but I would like to go with that. So when you even check the stories on the news the most commonly reported major contributors to divorce while lack of commitment infidelity and conflict or arguing the most common financial reasons were infidelity domestic violence and substance use most participants blimmed their partners than blimmed themselves for the divorce but you know the truth about all of this all of this is people start out to want with because we're somewhere traveling towards the ladder and we see that picture and we're thin all of this to ourselves and then why do we all get to that place where there's lack of commitment? We don't have it in ourselves to be committed. We don't have it in ourselves to answer what this thing is really supposed to be. Let's come on keyboard but on the other hand I believe there's another side of the ladder and I believe that God is pleased to express his pupils in our lives and his calling and his sense of you know of what he's working in our lives I believe God is pleased to express it by giving us this example and I believe that there is another side of the ladder to this conversation I believe there's another side of the ladder where it's not just about us and how we feel and what happened on a date night and you know one call that went one hour when it was supposed to be one minute that you said what you should do see I believe there's another side to this whole story it's all about the pupils and the plan of God that God is pleased to express himself in all righteousness and purity and honor and everything that God is to us I believe that on one hand on that side of the ladder what we would see is convenience but on this side what we would see is covenant on that side of the ladder what we would see is is it convenient is it no longer convenient and so commitment breaks but on this side we would see covenant why would we see covenant because on that side we see our sacrifice but you know the truth on this side of the ladder we see Christ sacrifice that what we are really seeing is more than just my spouse what I'm really seeing is husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and what I'm really seeing is Christ and his sacrifice and on one side of the ladder we see the demand on us but I believe on this side of the ladder I see the supply from God I see a journey that God is committed to because it is God making his point and given his example so I see God using everything he wired in me and my passions and the journey of my life I see God using everything to point me towards his point I see the supply of God I see the intentionality of God I see the working of God that at the end of the day I wake up in my mind and it's not just about me and how I feel it's about an intentional working of God let me tell you three things that you would find on this side of the ladder about what God is doing come maybe the louder please hey Victor come louder thank you I'm telling you three things that you find number one you would find that God provides God provides you know why because God is the one telling his story back in the days when they would bring these teachers to my secondary school and they're supposed to do like teaching practice and you know they're trying to the data their supervisor is to come they are trying to look like the best teacher ever and so they want to teach simple addition or something it's child now come with three bananas two mangoes then you now tell you if I want to add three bananas to two bananas and I join it everybody count you know what the truth is the teacher is not going to tell us he wants to give us an example of addition with banana and mango and he will tell us to bring it bro you have to want that we bring it because you don't make any points and what I feel is that when I stand in a story of a point God is making he provides in it the pressure is not on me he's committed to it he's faithful to it how will I take care of my children God provides how will I how will I raise my home how would I be the man I need to be God is telling his stories make it a point about Christ under church so he puts the grace in me to be the man that he calls me to be to show up [BLANK_AUDIO] aadah. And it's a shop to do it as he calls me. The pressure is not on me. The pressure is on the person making the point that is using me as the example for his point. Number one God provides. Number two God unites. It is not in me to unite myself to another. God unites. God took Eve and joined her to Adam. What will unite you? You know, you're longing for a sense of intimacy and all of that and that, that, that, that, that. What will unite you to another is a mystery of God's work. God unites. God would put such a thin in your home, in your marriage. And then I believe that God does gladly. It's number one he provides. Number two unites. Number three he presides. I believe that's what a marriage in God's story looks like that. God provides. God unites. Number three God presides. And why is that so important? Because we're walking in practical journey every day. Oh, what did your mother-in-law say? Oh yeah, I know the scriptures, but what did your brother say? That your brother that was to come that didn't come and that bill we had to pay. It's a beautiful picture when God presides on the authority of his word. Amen. Anybody? Actually, it makes the story so different. It's not just about the headline. I'm asking what side are you climbing from? Because on this side, I can say, yes, God provides and God unites and God presides for if you take those three things away from me, honestly, and I'm trying to build that same story and climb this ladder. It's also it's struggle. Let's discuss. Discussion does not bring unity. Let me explain something to you. You can discuss, you can have conversation. Do you understand what I'm saying? That in itself, God can use a conversation to bring unity, but conversation does not bring unity. It's hustle, it's struggle. You're looking at yourself. You spend you, you, you, you, you don't everything you think you should do. It's just not working. You, you, you, like, you look at, you know, if this woman out to just be evil, if God doesn't unite, it's hustle, struggle. Forget what the world tells you. Put all the headline. It's not just about saying I can see my rage in view by 2023. Hey, let me advise young people. If you would ever go for that goal, please go for it on God's side. Please, it's not what it's, I just tell you truth because you can't be using God's example in a story that God is not telling. You cannot just take a topic from a Eurobar textbook and take it into chemistry and say, we'll make sense. It will just not make sense. It's the same topic. It's the same content, but in a chemistry textbook, it's as confusion. You cannot take God's example and on the panted in a story that God is not telling. God says, I'm telling you a story about Christ and the church. And so, hospans love your wife this way. I then you don't say, and me, I just like the love part and the love it, don't be part. On the other side, it's just hustle. It's struggle. On one side, it's the craziness on this side. It's the craziness of statistics and marriages breaking down and all of that. On the other side, the truth is, what I'll show you today, marriage is a crazy thing. It's crazy either way. It's either crazy on the side of statistics and the world and how we can't even make this a, it's crazy on the side of how God is working in mystery in us. It's crazy. The truth is we need truth and where we go into journey from. If marriage was just a good idea, we could do it in ourselves, but because it's a good idea. And honestly, friends, as I say these things, there are real practical questions that come up. I'm looking forward to next week's Sunday. Next week's Sunday, I'm going to, I feel like tomorrow should be Sunday. I'm going to preach on how to be holy when you're horny. And I, I, I, let's Sunday come. We need truth in a crazy world. We need, we need common sense. We need truth. We need biblical wisdom. I mean, I don't know about you, but I do. I need it because I live in a real world. Maybe say, I'm not a kind of person that I think so. That kind of stuff. Don't worry. Don't worry. Follow online. How many of you need some truth from God, Amen? Yeah. It's a good idea. And the practical questions, maybe I was thinking this morning about how sometimes maybe I'm even in that stage and age of thinking about marriage and yeah, I know this whole thing of a good idea and that God provides and that God unites and God presides, but the truth is I'm on a journey and maybe I can't even find the person. I can't seem to. I don't even know. You know, I can just have breakfast. I'm on a stage where I think it's the season and all of that. Here is what I would say to you honest. Let's, I was thinking about it this morning. I would say that let the example be the example, but let's stay focused on a God who is making a point with or without the example. And so if he's he's still making the point. So if he's using the example so beautiful and if he's not using it, I might not be able to explain why not now or not yet or and I don't have all the explanations, but what I'm saying is don't let's lose sight of the point because of the absence of an example. That the point is still that God is saying that the ultimate fulfillment in the longing of our hearts and that search that we feel and that desire for intimacy and that longing and that passion to be chased and to chase and you know that longing to come into another and to be fused and to enjoy that beautiful mystery. And as we think about that God is saying I am still making the point that the fulfillment of that for you is in Christ. And I can be using this example right now and whether you're married or you're not married and how you think about it, but God is saying this is the point. So let the example be a point that to the point, not an idol in itself. So God is saying such a damn asking who is Christ to you. Who's Christ to you? Right, you are loved. You are. Maybe you've never felt the the human feeling and that hey, honestly I hope we don't my heart. I'm not maybe sounding like spooky because I know, I know, this is the point. You know you said things like you know, even if nobody thinks about you to more wrong values, then Jesus thinks about you. And I'm like I can't do with like a gift, like not gift of the spirit like a do you get what I'm trying to say like practically speaking, yes I can I can do with somebody surprising me. You can't try to say like I know Jesus loves me but like kick. All right, I can't do with that. But here is what I would honestly advise you. As we navigate the seasons and as we all figure it out and whatever I look like for you, here's what I would honestly advise you. I don't claim to have all the answers but I do know that every time we feel the desire for that something more, we can use it as a pointer. So what the real point is. So it's like my wife travels all the way from my wife for some days this week and sometimes just being a way I miss her and I can't just hold I can't be with her. But in those moments, you know what I can do, I can either just now say you know what my wife is not here and I miss her. I feel like any side cheque, you know, something or I can use it as a reminder of how where she is and how she loves me right now and how she is, you know, committed and faithful to me right now. I can use the feeling of missing to be a pointer to the real substance. You get what I'm trying to say, right? And so what I think I'm honestly just trying to say is that wherever you are on these conversations in this season and for some of you, you know, feeling a loan, I might honestly just be feeling a loan and feeling a loan might not even be about being on married. It can even be being married and feeling a loan. Do you get what I'm trying to say? Just just another human being not being able to be all that I my soul or my longing and all of that. My encouragement today is that we channel that passion and that desire to the one that is really the ultimate fulfillment of it. And so today I'm asking who is Christ to you. In some way or the other, I believe that we all on a journey just towards the top of the ladder in some way or the other. I don't know ideas, you know, I think in and practically building a story maybe with another person, a spouse trying to climb and get there and all of that. In some way or the other, we are all on a journey, but my question is where are you traveling from? Are you traveling from something that is a good idea or are you traveling from something that is just a good human idea? Are you traveling from something that God institutes and God presides over? Are you traveling from something that is just about my own ideas and my passions and my fantasies and my plans? Are you traveling from something that is a good idea? Are you traveling from something that is just a good idea? I believe that in this story, what we'll eventually find, what we must never forget is that one of these days, the one of these days at the end of the day, the example, the example and this is what I would say, "Team come, I'm done, be ready to come, in one minute, be ready to come, one minute, listen to instructions, well, be ready to come in one minute." Okay, so what we'll eventually find is that one of these days, it's like you've been cooking and you're in the kitchen, you're cooking yourself a good meal and then you know you get done cooking and all of that, then you serve it out and then. and you then take the pods. and all of that I used to wash it, you put it away,. and then you now go and sit down with the food, right? Amen? Okay, only a few people can say yes. Because most of you are like, "I don't wash before I eat." For the purpose of my example, you go down and say, "Okay, so you put it away,. and then you sit down with the food." Which is like the real point. But all the while, the pot was in the conversation, but you got to the point where it was no longer about the pot. You got to the point where it was about the substance, no longer just the things that bring the substance. And what I'm saying to you this morning is that one of these days, okay, one of these days as I traveled this journey, and as we built it, whether in synchronous, whether in married life, as we build, and as we travel that journey, the way God defines it, every one more idea, every one more thought, every one more sorting out of passion, every one more loving my wife, the way Christ loved the church, every one more forgiving, every one more allowing God to use it, to correct me, to train me, every one more raising up my children as the fruit of what God is blessing, every one more step. At the end of the day, we would all get to the point where we would realize, God would replace what we always thought was marriage, and we would see the real point of the story. The real point is that it was always about Christ. The real point is that this was just an example. This was not the substance. Eventually I realized I don't own my wife. Christ owns us all. Eventually I realized he was using all of us to tell the example of the story. He was telling eventually, "Hey, guys, come, we'll realize that this was the fulfillment of what he was always calling us to." I just want to say that as we travel that journey, whether in the space of the example being told, or in the space of not even being in the example, as we travel that journey, I just want to say, don't ever let the example replace the point. Don't let the example replace what the point. Let the point, let the example always be a pointer towards the point. What we would eventually find is that it's such a dangerous thing to miss the point because of how great an example is. What God has given to us is such a powerful, beautiful example to live in, to enjoy with all our hearts, to put ourselves into, enjoy the passion of love and of intimacy and all of that. So absolutely travel that journey, but hey, don't let the example be so great that you missed the point of what God is saying. It was always really a journey for Christ. Amen, amen, amen. So at the end of the day we're going to find it's a crazy thing. It's either crazy on the side of humanity, crazy in how can I love somebody? How can I commit myself? I'm just crazy in that sense. So we're going to find it's a crazy thing just in the side of how God is telling such an amazing, mysterious story through the instrumentality of my passions and my feelings and my desires and my heartbreak and my longings and my fulfillment. God is telling a beautiful story about Christ and the church. Jesus name, amen, amen. We just stand here, feed everybody. Let's worship together this morning. Sing it out everybody, we all the pastor, come on. We all the flesh, come with the pastor, come with the pastor, come with the pastor. Let's sing God's song. We all the music, let's live. We all the voices, let's sing God's song. We all have the music. I only know me too. Jesus too. Jesus, come with me, come on. I feel awesome. Somebody needs to know you are loved. You are wanted. You are loved. You are wanted. You are loved. You are known. You are desired. I'm talking about the melody. Awesome. You guys are hungry. Let's sing it one more time. You love, come on. Lift your voices. You love, come on. You love, come on. Yes. We are never loved. Oh, your arms. Through every season. We love. Of what I know, of what I understand, of what I don't understand. Yes. We are never loved. Let me hear the church. The song is like the mighty ocean. You love. For me will never stop. Oh, your arms. Through your arms. I strongly love to marry you. We just take 60 seconds this morning. If we can just stand. Everybody. I just hear God say to you, I love you. I love you. I love you. It's filled the pursuit of your love today. You feel that God who is passionately loving you. Passionately desiring you to the point of dying to have you. Passionately. Passionately. Anybody here that knows the passion of wanting someone. The passion of pursuing someone, of desiring someone. Can you hear God use that to point you towards Himself this morning? And say, I passionately want you. Love you. Call you. Know you. Can you just sense His love? It's the beauty of His love. It's not, you know how you love someone and it's not even about what they do or they didn't do. I'm like I love you. I know you messed up what I love you. I believe in your best. And we just this morning give our hearts. It's been loved. It's been loved. Loved of God. Let it humble you today. It's not about your performance. It's not about your earning it. It's not about your hustle. Calm down. You are loved. It's the point you are loved. You are known. You are wanted. There are people that love you because they don't really know you. And when they really knew you, they kind of stopped loving you. But this is a God that knew you absolutely and chose to love you. And He still knows you and He still loves you. He knows your worst but He still loves you. Nobody really knows your worst. Let's be honest. He knows your worst and He still says those words. I have loved you with an everlasting love. And I have drawn you with my love and kindness. Loved, loved, loved, loved. I just want you to hear that ringing in your heart. Loved. And because you are loved, then you can love. Because you know true love, then you can express true love. Because you understand the love that is of God, then you can pour it out to others. You can only truly love when you know that you are loved. God, thank you. God, I just pray for every brother, every sister in church this morning. In the building, I know online everywhere. God, I just pray right now for just a strong revelation of your love for us God. I just pray a lot that you make it so real. I pray especially for people right now that feel alone. People that just feel just the pangs of loneliness, of desires. I pray for people just trying to sort out the season of their lives and you know, just emotional interpretation they're looking for and what have you got. So I just pray that as we figure out the example, I just pray right now that we have been pointed to the point of the love that is in Jesus. And I pray that you are making it so real to people. God, let us walk out of this room. today with such an audacity and a courage that comes from knowing that we are loved of God that comes from knowing that it's not about what one more human being does or doesn't do to us but it's about what Christ did for us two thousand years ago I pray right now God that in every heart you'll establish just that statement of who you are to us and let that be the empowerment that we then take out into our lives this week God and we thank you for it father and Jesus name we pray and everybody said amen amen could I request we stay standing on to make our invitation for somebody to say yes to Jesus I don't know who you are or how you got to come to church this morning whether you're in this building or you're online you know what we always love to hand out an opportunity for someone to say yes to Jesus for you to consciously surrender the Lordship of your life to Jesus maybe your hair today and you're just living in the guilt and the weight of sin just life as for what it comes you know just this crazy world and all of that that's just been human but I believe God calls you to something more I believe that Jesus died so that you can have a real relationship with God you can walk out of these doors today you can head out of that service online knowing that you are forgiven knowing that you are a child of God that makes all the difference I don't know who you are or how you got to be here this morning but my question is can you boldly say that you're in the right place with God through Jesus that's the only way you can be right with God by putting your faith in what Jesus has done for you so you know what if you say you're speaking to me I'm not right with God I need to be made right I've never made that decision or maybe at some point you've made it but as we speak you know that you have walked away from it I'm going to count to three I'm asking everybody to stay standing so we can honor your decision but let's just borrow heads and close our eyes and I'm going to count to three wherever you are in this building or online when I get to three I want you to put your hand on your chest let God see you let him know that you're making a conscious decision this morning for him all right are you ready one two three put your hand on your chest where you are God sees you God knows you God bless you God bless you if you're doing that God bless you thank you thank you around the room I see people God bless you thank you for your sincerity God bless you anybody else want to join it if you're online wherever you are doesn't matter if you're alone or you're with others just put your hand on your chest God sees you right now his presence is with you where you are God bless you this is a miracle happening in your life God bless you you know what this is a family not a crowd if you're handling your chest well going to say prayer we're going to join you to say but I want you to say these words with boldness knowing that God hears your words Bible says we believe with our hearts and we confess with our mouth on to righteousness all right so everybody let's say together this morning Heavenly Father I come to you today because you've made a way for me to come through the death the burial and the resurrection of your son Jesus say I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is the Savior of the world say I believe he died in my place so that I can be forgiven and I can have a life with you say today I make it the day that I confess Jesus as my Savior and my Lord say please forgive me of the past and give me a whole new start so I will live for you I will stand for you fill me with your grace fill me with your spirit and I'll never be the same I'm a child of God say one day I'll be with you in heaven and Jesus name amen thank you so much for joining us here at C.coma Church if you prayed that prayer at the end we're so excited about your decision for Jesus and we would love to help you get established in your relationship with him so please let us know about your decision at www.ccoma.church/Jesus there you'll also find all kinds of resources to help you build your relationship with Jesus if you enjoyed this message we would love for you to subscribe wherever you're listening or visit www.ccoma.church/resources again thanks for joining us we'll see you next time