NONE SHALL WANT HER MATE (4)
There is no doubt that via the Word of God you have been blessed by the wonderful Word of revelation that you have been receiving since the series started. You shall yet be blessed today in Jesus' name!
In the past weeks, we have seen what marriage is all about, right positioning, and right expectation. This week, I shall be concluding this series by showing you seven powerful steps you need to take to have a fulfilled marriage. I am too sure that as many as will apply themselves to this teaching shall be gloriously married before the end of this year. So shall it be in Jesus' name!
What are these important steps? We shall be taking a look at them one after the other.
Prayer:
If God said, "None shall want her mate," it means He has a mate for you. For you to access any of God's blessings, there is need for you to ask in prayer. God's Word says: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matthew 7:7). To get your mate, prayer is very crucial (Psalm 37:5). Prayer is one of the major channels in securing God's help and involvement in taking steps towards a successful marriage. All you need to do is to come to God with an open heart. Be confident that He loves you, He knows your end from the beginning and He wants the best for you. Be specific in prayer; let God know the kind of partner you desire. Identify your God-given vision and pray to God to give you a partner that will help you to fulfill His plan and purpose for your life.
Make The Move:
After you have prayed and you have been led by the Spirit of God in discovering who your mate should be, the next step to take is to make a move. This means taking a bold step and making it known to the person and allowing the person time also to pray about it and to be led by God. The individual consent is very important for two can't walk together except by agreement (Amos 3:3). If truly God has led you, be sure that that same God will make it known to that person.
Prove All Things:
This is courtship period, the process of developing a close relationship with the person you have made up your mind to marry. It is a period you build up yourself spiritually, physically, emotionally and socially. This period is so important that it can't be toyed with. This is where the foundation of your future home is laid. A successful courtship is a necessary step towards a successful marriage.
The Marriage Bed:
This is where some single persons miss it. You must protect your destiny by keeping yourself from defilement (Hebrews 13:4). The honour in marriage must be preserved. If you defile your marriage bed, it means you are taking away the honour God has for you. If you have been messing yourself up, defiling the marriage bed, you have to stop it now, so it doesn't stop your destiny. In case you have missed it, if you genuinely repent, God will forgive you and restore the honour of marriage back to you; but you must not go back to your vomit, but desist from such acts. Beware! Defilement of the marriage bed is the defilement of destiny!
Make A U-Turn:
This is an important point you must not overlook. It is a sense of putting an end to a courtship. Some single persons are in a hurry to tie the nuptial knot that they do not take time to get to know each other or refuse to be true to each other. The courtship period is to prove all things about your mate. If at this stage the relationship is not going on well, or you discover that you can't go on because you both disagree and your expectations are miles apart, then wisdom demands that you call the relationship off. A broken courtship is not the same thing as a broken marriage. If you feel you have made a wrong choice, a u-turn is permitted!
Engagement:
Engagement is a period which the couple-to-be takes a bold step to formally and publicly introduce themselves to their parents, friends and their family members. It is a time when the dowry or bride price is paid. It's not proper to just grab a woman away and go and start living together as a man and wife. It's very wrong, especially for a Christian. One thing I have come to discover about successful marriages is that they are not "run away" marriages. "Run-away" marriages are hardly ever successful. Don't ever forget that that woman did not just drop from heaven; she has parents, brothers, sisters and relatives. There is need to give honour to the family of your wife to-be. You must ensure the things presented for dowry are things that are precious, and not things that are contrary to the Word of God ( Genesis 24:53).
Christian Weeding:
Marriage is a covenant relationship between a man and a woman on the horizontal level and then between God and both of them on a vertical level. For this reason, it is important to have a public Christian wedding ceremony in a Bible-believing church. When you have your wedding in the church, you simply invite God to be the third party of your union, thereby you are securing your marital destiny. Don't overlook the Church; that is one of the reasons divorce is so high all over the world today. It will, therefore, be unsafe to imagine you can survive the wickedness and attacks of the devil in your marriage without God (Romans 8:38). As long as God is involved, you form a three-fold cord that is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
To be able to benefit from what has just been discussed, you need a relationship with the God Who instituted marriage. This entails confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. If you are ready for this new birth experience, please say this prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today, I am a sinner. I cannot help myself. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your blood. Deliver me from sin and Satan, to serve the living God. I believe You died for me and on the third day, You rose that I might be justified. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into your kingdom. Now I know I am born again!
Congratulations! You are now born again and a child of God. I await testimonies of glorious turn-arounds in your homes.
Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through:
E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 234-1-7747546-8;
For more insight, these books authored by Pastor Faith Oyedepo are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches, and other leading Christian bookstores:
- Single With A Difference,
- Marriage Covenant,
- Making Marriage Work,
- Building a Successful Family,
- The Effective Minister's Wife,
- Success in Marriage (Co-Authored with Bishop David Oyedepo)