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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 5, 2013 2:06:53 GMT 1
The Christian Home, 10 - Roles and Responsibilities Of Partners Part 1. by Gbile Akanni
Prayer: Father we thank You for today, and we give You all the praise and all adoration for Your faithfulness; thank You Lord for this opportunity to look into Your Word again. We ask for divine illumination, we ask for clear utterance, we ask also for understanding on the part of our listeners. At this point we pray that each one of us will have an obedient heart, even to act on Your Word in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
We thank God for how far He has led us in the course of this series of studies on the Christian family.
In the last broadcast, we looked at the principles of the Genesis Chapter 3 marriage and some of the interruptions the devil brought into the Christian family. As we go on in this series, we perceive that we need to study what exactly is God’s purpose and what is the intention of God for the relationship between the husband and wife: what are their roles and responsibilities? Today as I begin to do that introduction, I am praying that God Himself will grant you a peculiar understanding into His Word in this aspect in the Name of Jesus Christ.
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 6, 2013 2:52:20 GMT 1
Study continue...
As we take our Bibles, I would like us to read again Genesis Chapter 2 and we shall read verse 18 and proceed to read from verses 21 to 25 trusting that God Himself will lead us and help us in this series. (KJV).
Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Verse 21 Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
May God bless His Word into our hearts in Jesus Name. Amen.
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 7, 2013 15:33:11 GMT 1
Study continue...
I to draw your attention unto what exactly is the purpose of God in instituting your home as we begin this particular study today. It is from that understanding that we may be able to build what should be your role, what should be your responsibility and what should be the pattern of relationship between the husband and the wife as the Lord designed it to be in a Christian family.
First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that verse 18 of the Scripture we have just read says “I will make him an help meet for him.” Again we are realising very quickly here that marriage was ordained in order to provide a help for the man to be able to do what God has committed to his hand. So I would like to say quickly that the purpose for which God established your marriage is that it would be a help, it would be a support, it would be a kind of input and provision of God in order for you to be able to carry out the very purpose for which God has sent you into the world. And for that purpose we saw that God called the wife “a help that is uniquely fitting for her husband.”
So as far as God is concerned, and I want you to begin to believe it, your marriage is supposed to bring help to your life! Your marriage is supposed to bring support unto your life: it is supposed to help you accomplish the will of God even the call of God and the ministry that God has placed in your hand. And we realise that if there is no work to be done, actually there would have been no need for a help! So I want your understanding to start from that point because we will find out that the roles of the husband and the roles of the wife stem from this aspect when we consider each of their roles as we progress in this study by the grace of God.
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 8, 2013 0:56:25 GMT 1
Study continue...
Let us quickly check Malachi chapter 2 verses 14 to 15 as we consider another purpose of God in instituting marriage. Please turn your Bible quickly, I trust that God will help you to follow us in this. I read from King James Version (KJV) before I come back to read from the New International Version, NIV.
Mal 2:14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
Mal 2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. (KJV)
If I read that from the New International Version we might be able to understand it faster. I would read from verse 13 in this instance.
Mal 2:13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.
Mal 2:14 You ask, Why? It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant
Husband! Again I want you to come to an understanding here that the Bible says God has created your wife to be your partner. Now what does that mean? It means God created your wife and brought you into this relationship for partnership. Now,when you say somebody is your partner, it means she is a person that partakes of your life, of your destiny and of the things that God wanted you to accomplish in life. She has become your partner.
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 9, 2013 0:37:37 GMT 1
Study continue...
Now, if you turn your Bible again to the book of 1 Peter chapter 3, I would like us to quickly read verse 7.
1Pe 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. (KJV)
I would like us to see this Scripture from the Living Bible but before that let us take it from the NIV first
1Pe 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. (NIV)
1Pe 3:7 You husbands must be careful of your wives, being thoughtful of their needs and honouring them as the weaker sex. Remember that you and your wife are partners in receiving God’s blessings , and if you don’t treat her as you should, your prayers will not get ready answers. (The Living Bible)
I want us to stop there. I pray that God gives you understanding.
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 10, 2013 1:15:31 GMT 1
Study continue...
I want you to get to know each of the issues the Bible verse we have read raises before I go ahead today. Your wife is your partner in receiving all God’s blessings unto your life. It looks to me as if in God’s plan of marriage in Genesis chapter 2, once God brought in your wife into your life, you can no longer act alone: she has become your partner in everything you can receive from God. You can no longer walk alone! You can no longer even stand before God alone! God intends that for everything he wants to do for you, your wife must be in perfect agreement. I see God wanting to answer every prayer you pray, for you remember that Jesus Christ said “If two of you shall agree as touching anything that they ask, it shall be done for them of my Father in heaven.” Mat. 18:19. It looks as if God, wanting to make our prayer lives strong and our ability to receive blessings from heaven strong, has designed harmony between a husband and his wife as a vantage point for His numerous blessings to come to the home!
So I want to say as I am going on today that your wife is not just a help in your life - God says she is your partner! She is a partner with you in receiving God’s blessings! And it’s like you have a joint account in the presence of God! You have only one account in the presence of God! And I would like to say it like this: God recognises only one account for you and your wife in heaven. Now, you all understand what it means to operate a joint account in our banking system: you realise that if there are two signatories to an account and the second signatory is not available, you can never withdraw anything from that bank account! That is what IPet3:7 is saying - that you should remember that you and your wife are partners in receiving God’s blessings and if you don’t treat her as you should, your prayers will not get ready answers. May God help you to know that.
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 11, 2013 0:41:08 GMT 1
Study continue...
Now, you see the same thing that the Holy Spirit is beginning to bring about in the book of Malachi that we earlier read. In Malachi 2, I would like us to read verses 13 and 14 again.
Now, you see the same thing that the Holy Spirit is beginning to bring about in the book of Malachi that we earlier read. In Malachi 2, I would like us to read verses 13 and 14 again.
Mal 2:13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Mal 2:14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. (KJV)
Look at that Scripture again. It says “And you say why is God not paying attention to your offering and accepting it with pleasure from your hand? You ask - why? The Lord answers and says ‘It is because I the Lord am acting as a witness between you and the wife of your youth: because you have broken faith with her though she is your partner and the wife of your marriage covenant.’ ” I want you to pause there and listen.
Now, by God’s design - all of you listening to me today please pay close attention to this matter - once you are married, once you come into a relationship with a woman: God regards you and that woman as one! That is why in the book of Matthew chapter 19, let’s look at verses 4, 5 and 6. I am praying that you should get this so that it can be a proper foundation that we can progressively build on as we continue in this study.
Mat 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
Mat 19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Mat 19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
May God help you to know that once you are married to your wife or to your husband you are no more two. You are no more two! You can no longer say “I am this and I am that.” No! You are no more two but one flesh. The Bible says “What therefore God has joined together let no man put asunder.” As far as God is concerned (and in His presence) you are no more two! I pray that God would help you to understand that. God doesn’t have two separate accounts for you and your wife again! Even the ministry He has called you to accomplish as far as God is concerned, He is not looking at you as a Pastor or Preacher. On that pulpit and in the discharge of your ministry outside the church and everywhere, God is not considering you as an individual anymore: you are no more two but one! And that is why it is not Biblical for a husband to be pursuing something here for God and the wife is over there pursuing something altogether separate and different, and the whole thing is uncoordinated. No! that is never the purpose of God. The purpose of God is that that woman that God brought into your life, she is a partner: a partner with you in life, a partner with you in ministry, a partner with you in all that you are going to receive as God’s blessings. And God expects only one account in His presence for the two of you, one account for each and every area of your lives!
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 12, 2013 0:05:58 GMT 1
Study continue...
So the Bible says “Be careful how you treat your wife. Be careful how you relate with her because you are joint heirs! She is the partner with you in all God wants to give you. If you dont treat her as you should your prayers will not get ready-answers!” Malachi chapter 2 again says that this is the reason why God will not pay close attention to your tears, to your crying, to your weeping. I want you to listen Madam: I see you going from one prayer-house to another, from one prophet to another one. Maybe you are going from one church to another asking people to pray for you, maybe they are burning incense on your behalf, or they are even pouring anointing oil (so called) on your head! But while all of these is going on, you and your husband are in disagreement. You have not submitted to your husband, you know that he has something in mind against you. I want to tell you: your prayers will never, never be answered.
One of the greatest hindrances to prayer is disharmony between husband and wife!
When you and your wife are not living in correct terms, may I tell you that there is nothing you are doing that receives any attention in the presence of God! In Malachi, the priests are asking: “Why is God not accepting our sacrifices? Why is God not recognising our offerings and our services?” The Lord said - this is the reason: “Because I the Lord am acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth.” And I want you to note that when God brings two people together in relationship as husband and wife, God is watching. God is a witness: He is witnessing what is going on in your bedroom. God is a witness to how you are treating your wife and how you are treating your husband! And He says “You see, I cannot pay attention to your prayers because you have dealt treacherously, you have broken faith with the wife of your youth. You have not kept to your promise - the promise you made on the day of your wedding! You have broken that covenant.”
And God says she is your partner. If you look at that Malachi 2 Scripture very well, you will notice that it says “Yet is she your partner i.e. regardless of what you do and regardless of how you are going up and down, she is your p-a-r-t-n-e-r!” I see some husbands listening to me today, they prefer to relate to their friends - their friends outside - than to their wives! They prefer to confide in all those men and women outside than to confide in their wives. I will want to say to you: all those brothers and all those sisters, all those friends, all those relatives you have - they may be good, they may be wonderful, they may be kind, but they are not your partners! They are not your recognised partners in the Kingdom. God never made them your partners! When it comes to receiving the consignment of blessing that God meant for your life, your wife and yourself must be in agreement! You cannot walk-out on your wife and walk into the church and expect that God is going to recognise your prayer: it is not possible. Madam! you cannot finish quarreling with your husband and you think you can be on the pulpit singing and shouting and prophesying and God will recognise you. No way!!!
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 13, 2013 0:45:43 GMT 1
Study continue...
And I want to say to you today: one of the reasons why prayer is not answered in the church today is because many, many homes are broken down! Many families are in disarray! Several Pastors are on the pulpit right now - they are preaching at the expense of a proper relationship with their wives! I wonder where you are going, whosoever you are praying for is unfortunate because your prayer will never be answered, your request will never get acceptance in the presence of God! Whatsoever you are doing when your family relationship is faulty - I tell you, you better stop it! You better stop it. Why don’t you go back home right now; Pastor go back home: go and solve the problem in your family!!
Evangelist! I know you want to preach - fine, thank God for your zeal to preach; but your family is in disarray, your wife is in sorrow: go back home right now, go and settle that before you come and do anything for God! That is the Word of God!
If all the ministers of the gospel will understand what we are saying today: that God does not regard ministry when the family is in disarray, when the harmony between husband and wife is broken down there will be a turn-around in all our Christian character. God Himself is a witness; we don’t need to call any other witness - God Himself is there! What most people cannot see when you come out, God sees! You know many of you have problems in your family, yet when you come out, you come out in the same uniform - matching colours of garments you wear! You go up and down looking good as if what you present to us is what is actually going on in your bedroom! God is a witness. And because God is a witness for every marriage, we dare not pretend, we dare not act as if He is not there. He is there! He is the silent Listener to every conversation, He is the Unseen Guest at every table, at every meal. God the Father is there, seating there and watching what is going on in your heart, where your affection has shifted! Maybe your love has shifted!
There are some wives listening to me today, your love and your loyalty has shifted from your husband and you are using your children as objects of your love and your loyalty! God the Father says - I am a witness!
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 14, 2013 0:12:42 GMT 1
Study continue...
If you want your family project to continue, if you want prayer to be answered on the family altar. If you want God to begin to bless you, if you want God to send you your promotion and you want God to bless your life, then I want to call you right now - return to your first love! Return back to your first love with your wife or with your husband! Go back! God created her to be a help for your life, God created her to be your partner!
Now, the Bible says “They are no more two but one flesh.” They are no more two - that is what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter 19 verse 6.
Mat 19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
They are no more two! What is the meaning of that? May God help you to understand that once you and that woman came together in relationship as husband and wife, you are no more two! You cannot be saying “My mother! My mother! My mother!” You cannot be talking about your own father; No! No! No! You are no more two. I would like to say to all men, all women, all relatives that this couple that you are seeing are no more two but one flesh. God recognises them so and you also must recognise them so!
So the Bible says They are no more two but one flesh! They are no more two in their thinking, no more two in their ambition; they are no more two in their program, no more two in all they want to do. They are no more two even in their ministry but they are one flesh! What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.
Just before I stop here, let me ask you: how have you been keeping your relationship? Your wife is your partner, she is your companion, she is the one that God recognises as your co-signatory in your bank account in the heavens. When you break your relationship you can be sure that your cheques will be kept pending, it will bounce! God will not honour it! But if you will return today, God will restore the harmony He designed into your relationship like you had never known!
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 16, 2013 0:11:12 GMT 1
Study continue...
I wish that you and your wife, you and your husband can call yourselves back and return today. Whatsoever the trouble might be, she is your partner! I wish that you could look at your husband today and say “Yes, you are my partner in life, you are my partner as far as my destiny is concerned! You are my partner as far as my ministry is concerned! You are my partner as far as my progress is concerned; if you are not going with me I am not going from here.” If God will help you to know that He has bound you together and there is nothing that may come that should separate you; the Word of God said ‘What therefore God has joined together, let not man, let not man put asunder.’
Before we get to pray with you, I want to ask you these few questions; I want to ask you - What do you want to be in your life? What do you want God to bless you with? As long as you and your wife are not in perfect harmony, you are the hindrance to arriving at your own destiny! God created her to be a help in your life, not a trouble and not a distraction! By the grace of God as we have now come to look at roles, responsibilities and relationships within the family, you will soon understand what we are talking about.
But today you can bow your head and pray, you can hold your husband by the hand and say “Look, I am your partner: I am no longer going to be against you” And you the husband should hold your wife and say to her “You are no longer going to walk alone because we are no longer two but one flesh!”
To Be Continued...
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Post by Emmanuel A. O. on Feb 22, 2013 0:35:29 GMT 1
Study continue...
Bow your head right now. If your home is broken down, God is a witness, confess to Him! Mr. Man, dont hide it, God knows what has happened! God knows the other friend that you have brought into your relationship: confess it to the Lord right now that God may remember you, that God may bless you, that the Spirit of God might visit you afresh. Don’t say you are a Pastor! You cannot cover this matter with preaching, it will not work! You cannot do sacrifices and think God will take it: obedience is better than sacrifice!
Bow your head right now and reach out for your husband, reach out for your wife and settle the issue and come back before the Lord and say “Lord! here is my partner, help us to stand together in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen”
Prayer: Thank You Lord. We bless You for many couples that are out there kneeling and confessing. Lord, we ask O God that today as they are confessing to one another they will receive forgiveness, they will know joy in the home. And O God that brother whose home the devil has entered and broken up with pride, Lord we ask that the devil be cast down today and You Yourself will have your way in every life today as they are praying for we have prayed in Jesus Name. Amen
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