the Savior. You see, what you need to understand is what Paul is teaching is Jesus didn’t just die for your past forgiveness; Jesus didn’t just die for your future hope. He died for your here and now. He died for all of that mess of selfishness, and competition, and criticism, and judgment, and impatience, and demanding-ness of marriage. Jesus died for your here and now! We’d better begin believing in the ‘now-ism’ of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s for now! And He wants you to know that there’s mercy for every struggle; there’s grace for every hurtful moment. And in that is the hope of real, lasting change in your marriage. I’m not here just as a marital expert. I don’t think that I am that. I’m here as a case study. I was a man destroying my life and my marriage, and I didn’t know it. And God did what I could never have done; He rescued me from me. The change in our marriage is so profound; we look back at those early days, and it’s hard for us to imagine that that couple was actually us; but it was. Oh, is it perfect? No, it’s not. Do we still need more rescue? Yes we do, but we’re not afraid, and we’re not discouraged because the Redeemer is with us. Jesus is with us. You see, don’t look to your husband for hope; don’t look to your wife for hope. Hope is found in the third person of your marriage, Immanuel--who is with you. He’s in you; He’s for you, and He’s with you. Now, I want to ask you to do something this evening. I know we’ve spent some hours together, and you may be tired; your brain may be melting, but I’m going to encourage you. When you get home, don’t order a pizza, and turn on the television, and turn into some form of vegetable--you choose the best vegetable--Because I think that what we’ve looked at in these last moments together could be the basis of a conversation that many husbands and wives in this room need to have. Where you can begin to confess the selfishness that’s harmed your marriage; and you can begin to grant forgiveness; and you can begin by doing that to walk toward the help that is found in the Messiah who is with you. Would you be willing to do this this evening when you get home? Sit down. Husband, your wife needs to hear you say, “There are so many times where I’m an impatient, irritable man; there are so many times where I’m distant from you and uncommunicative; and that’s selfish, and please forgive me.” Wives, your husband needs to hear you say, “There are times where I am irritable and demanding, and I nag you until I get my way, and I need your forgiveness. You see, as you’re making that confession to one another, you’re also making a confession that reaches the ears of God. And He says, “You confess, and I’m faithful and righteous, and I’ll forgive, and I’ll do more than forgive; I’ll begin a process that will cleanse you from all unrighteousness; I will change you.” Would you walk through that doorway? There is so much inside of us that resists that. There’s so often when people talk about what’s inside of us; you try to argue against it, and you try to list all your righteousness to yourself. Let go of that--the sin. You do not need to be afraid of anything that will ever be exposed about you and your marriage, because whatever would be exposed about you and your marriage has already been covered by the blood of Jesus. Unrighteous people can stand before God because Jesus is our righteousness! And so we can be honest. I think that the Christian community should be the most honest community on earth because we know what sin does, and we know where help is to be found, and we’re not afraid of looking at ourselves and saying, “We need help!” Husbands, if I watched the video of your last six weeks, would I conclude that you’re a man in need of help? Wives, if I watched the video of the last six weeks of your marriage, would I conclude you’re a woman in need of help? Then why not begin by confessing that to one another, and then throw your arms around one another and say, “I love you; broken and weak and failing as you are, I love you. And if God doesn’t turn His back on you, I won’t turn mine either; I love you.” And begin to walk together to where mercy can be found. You see, if that mercy wasn’t available, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be doing this, because I think I’d raise standards so high that they would just discourage and defeat you; but there’s mercy, form fit, for your particular need. Run to that mercy.
Transcript: Session 5
WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?
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