If I don't Tithe am I under a curse?

In my early days of going to church, I attended a Pentecostal church who taught the principle of tithing. My question is: Does this apply to people who are under grace? Is there a penalty for those who do not give 10 percent of their income to the local church? I say no Tithing is under Old Testament law and is no longer applicable, although the bible does teach about giving offering which is totally different. The Original Law says this: 30 " 'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. (Lev: 27:30) (There were actually three tithes prescribed during that time, but for the sake of my argument I’ll keep it general.) Now, those who are for tithing will say this:1) Since Tithing predates Law, it exists after Jesus completed the Law Genesis 14:18-20 18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor[a] of heaven and earth;20and blessed be God Most High,who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.2)God proclaims a blessing for compliance and a curse for disobeyingMalachi 3:8-12 8 “ Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘ In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.11 “ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts; 12 And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the LORD of hosts.For those who believe this consider that although tithing predates the law, doesn’t circumcision also predate the law? (Genesis 17:11) that is not a law that we follow today. No man on earth will be justified through circumcision Or Tithing. Lets move to Leviticus. This passage of scripture begs and important question: is someone acceptable to God because of the offering he gives? In other words someone who gives to God because of rule of law is that offering acceptable? No. We have an example of this earlier in the book of Malachi 1:6-10 where Israel is giving the Lord blemished sacrifices, and grieving God so much that he wishes that the temple doors would be shut so that no one could give anymore offerings. But Israel was following the Lord’s commands they were giving offerings weren’t they? They were giving offerings but they were defiled because that was the condition of their hearts. Is that different from today? What is tithing based on? The law! What does that mean? It’s means that if I do this God will then in response bless me. There is a problem with that. If there was a way to merit the blessing of God by our works, the Gospel would lack power. The Gospel is this: There is no way that we can merit God’s favor by what we do, the only reason that we have God’s favor is solely based on the merit and work of Christ. Meaning that the entire system of tithing (along with the rest of Levitical law) has been completed in Christ. Israel’s sacrifice was unacceptable because although they followed the law, their hearts where far from God like the Lord says in Isaiah 29:13 13 The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.So what does this mean? 1) Because of Christ’s sacrifice God has solved our heart problem2 Corinthians 3:3 - 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.2)Because of Christ the curse of the written code is broken and by extension the reward is no longer neededColossians 2:14 13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.3)We have been given all spiritual blessings in Christ which is higher than the material.Ephesians 1:3- 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly placesThis means that every blessing that we can think of has been given to us already in Christ. Meaning that Christ is our reward, and because we have been given Christ we have been blessed beyond all patriarchs and kings of the Old Testament. Those of you who believe in Christ, we no longer need to fear the curse because that law was completed in him. Tithing the way that is used today only fuels more idolatry. You will hear phrases such as “If I give to God he will make sure I get that promotion, or He will make sure I get the things I am praying for, or Christians living in fear of the devourer. Christ did not die so that we can live in fear of law any longer, but the joy of his resurrection. There are some churches that do not know truth because they have been indoctrinated themselves (this is a longstanding belief) and there are some who will never tell you this because they are more concerned for their lifestyle then Christ and wish to make merchandise of you.To this some will say, “Dwayne, are you saying to stop giving to the church?” No! God Forbid. What I’m saying is those that have a new heart given to them by the Holy Sprit want to give and do not need to be told. Neither do they need to fear the curse. Just be watchful of churches, If you find your church is more into fanfare, or listing 10 ways to be a better whatever, and not Christ then I wouldn’t give there. Those who do not give but horde money are guilty of idolatry they love money more than God and chances are, are not saved. I do not give because of the curse (Christ cancelled that), I do not give because of the blessing (Christ has already given me that), I do not give because “I’m claiming a blessing from God that God cannot give them unless they give to him” (because I cannot give God anything because I do not own anything even the breath I breathe belongs to him.) But because I love Jesus and want to see his Gospel Proclaimed to all people everywhere.

Rest

I’ve come.
To my place of rest on the east side of the sun.
I’ve come.
Where willows cease their weeping and healing begins.
I’ve come.
To sit under the tree where freedom lives.
I’ve come
To rest my body and war no longer.

1st Timothy Series: The Call (1Timothy 1:1)

A little background before we get in to application. Paul was an Apostle, so his main ministry was to plant and establish churches and once that church was established he would leave it in the hands of a Pastor that was raised up and go to another region to start the process all over again. In this case, he left Timothy. Timothy was a young man from Lystra who probably got converted in Paul’s first journey there in Acts Chapter 14, and joined his ministry in Chapter 16. Timothy was the son of a believing Jewish mother and a Greek father (unbelieving), and was spoken of highly of by the brothers (the other Christians) in the area. Timothy submitted to Paul’s ministry and allowed him to circumcise him to validate his ministry to the Jews (ouch! That is some internship requirement; personally I’d rather get the Pastor some coffee and call it a day!). After many years of traveling with Paul (15 years according to commentary) Paul decided to place Timothy in the church he planted in Ephesus. 1Timothy is a Pastoral letter like Titus but because of Paul’s deep history with Timothy (he considered him his true son in the faith 1tim v.2) the letter reads more like a Father’s letter to a son rather then an Apostle to a Pastor. Paul charges Timothy with refuting error and to supervise the affairs of the growing church in Ephesus. 1st Timothy 1:1- Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope Here Paul is giving a greeting to Timothy but let’s note how he gives it because it is important. Paul is not only giving his title (an Apostle) but he is also qualifying his office by stating by whose command gave him that title. This will be a crucial idea in later verses. Now why is he doing this? Timothy is familiar with Paul and has been with him for 15 years, I’m sure he is aware of Paul’s resume. It is evident that this letter is not just for Timothy and the church at Ephesus, but leaders in other churches as well (another important idea when looking into other verses. Paul says something very interesting here he says that he is “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior.” It is important to note that whenever some one is ordained it is because of the command of God alone, and it is by that command that church leaders know who to ordain and that those who are ordained are prepared for the work set before them. Why is it important to stress that? There are some in this world who would imply that some credit belongs to them for ordaining leaders. Such language is not found anywhere in the scriptures. God is the one who gives charge (Acts 13:2), and the one who installs. For example, the Prophet Samuel and David in 1st Samuel 16 In Samuel’s Anointing of David The Lord said to Samuel in the first verse “Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king." Now jump down to the end of verse 2 The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate." Now jump down to verse six and seven “When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab (Jesse’s oldest son) and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." More of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel all of them were probably of great stature and if Samuel had his way he would have anointed any one of them but the Lord had said that he would indicate who he wanted. The big question is this: What credit could Samuel have received, other then he did what God told him to do? If some of you believe that credit is due when we have followed a charge of God; consider what Jesus says in Luke 17:7-10 7"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' " Here is the big idea: in this age of countless church leaders who would seek to promote themselves and their agendas one cannot stress enough the fact not only are we ordained because of God’s command, but our good works which garner so much praise from men were prepared by God in advance for us to carry out (Eph 2:10). If that is true, then all praise and thanks belong to the Father alone; and as slaves of the One who made us, our greatest joy is found in glorifying him. Our relationship with the Father is connected in this sense: he uses us to accomplish his purposes, we in return render praises to Him and He in return lavishes us with Joy unspeakable. Even if we could take credit, why would we want to? Why settle for the praise of men when the praise of God is so much sweeter? Why forfeit your reward for something as small as saying that you have ordained men? What’s wrong with Paul? Why didn’t he say “an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the laying on of Ananias’s hands (Acts 9:10), because Paul understood that the only reason that he was an Apostle was by the Grace of God (1st Corinthians 15:9) some will say “I know that already.” But I fear like Cretans they claim to know but by their actions deny Him” (Titus 1:16). It is evident from the first verse that Paul understood this fact: We are not noble or great men but servants of The Only God. This is not just something we proclaim with our mouths but also with our lives, placing all of our hope in the risen Christ, which doesn’t imply that we have a mere wish like a child in a fictitious Santa Claus, but we have absolute certainty in Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, Lordship, and eventual return. Grace to all of you who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love.

Taking Out the Garbage before Marriage (Sexual Sin)

Judges 2:1-3: 1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you."The scripture can be applied to marriage in this way, Many go into marriage with the misconception that marriage will save them from sinful habits (lust, addiction to porn, masturbation). But, entering a marriage with those habits (thorns) in no way will ever resolve those issues especially when the trials of marriage arise. When you sin (Especially sexually, which because of our inward sexual desire can be the hardest sin to break), you in similarity to Israel enter into a covenant of slavery with that sin (John 8:34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.) When you bring sinful habits into your marriage they become snares and thorns to you. In Judges, the children of Israel failed to drive out all the previous inhabitants of the land, and because of that Israel began to worship other gods and eventually eat their own children(2 Kings 6:28-29).Likewise; lust, porn, masturbation and the like that all seem like secret and harmless habits can grow into a serious problem if not stopped. They are the seeds of greater sin. From their seeds grow dissatisfaction with your spouse, to adultery, and finally, open judgment resulting in open shame for the body of Christ (ex: many high profile pastors that have fallen to various sins and in so doing wound the flock under there care and the body as a whole). No one knows how far unchecked sin will go until it is too late. Some of you reading this may say, “Well it’s no big deal! I’m in control.” Please consider this humble warning. 1st Peter 5:8 says “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” A lion does not attack its prey when it is aware but when it is relaxed. So brothers (and sisters) I urge you in light of all that Christ has done for us to put to an end these destructive sins in our lives. If you are mastered by these sins now, look for the struggle to get worse not better when you marry. If any of you struggle ask God for the answer, pray, search scripture and after you have done so, apply. I ask for your prayers as well.

Doctrine vs. Theistic Existentialism

There is a movement in the modern church that has been around for many years but has recently (Through the unholy marriage of New Age Teachings and Christianity. . .thank you Oprah) had a surge in popularity called Theistic Existentialism (TE). Now the basis of TE is the same as classical theism (biblical Doctrine) as far as the universe being created by God, and man being created in his image and likeness. but unlike classical theism TE focuses on the subjective, personal human experience. So in short, and I believe that this is a logical conclusion based on the afore mentioned definition and the state of churches today; TE is focusing on experiencing God with little to no regard of knowing him through his word. I hold to this idea; as Christians we must seek to know God first through his word, and then use that knowledge to guide our experience. Why is that important? Because those who do not know God are easily deceived. If you notice Hosea 4:6 does not say "my people are destroyed from lack of experience", it is knowledge that is lacking. There are some that don't even have a remedial knowledge of the person and glory of God, and they can be easily spotted. They are the ones who sin habitually and comfortably and presume that God will overlook their transgression ( Deuter 29:19-21, Heb 10:26-29). We must first Glorify God before we can truly enjoy him.Now how did this happen? In my opinion, firstly with the subduing of the gospel message. We have allowed pop culture and church growth strategies stop us from proclaiming the one message God promised to bless (Rom 1:16) and replace with a soft "seeker-friendly" message. In the words of Paul Washer "If we want to be seeker friendly we should realize that the only seeker is God and if we want to be friendly to someone we should be friendly to him." We have taken the offense of the cross which takes away all boasting and self-reliance in a man and replaced it with "God loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life" If we are bent on telling people about God's love tell them this "God loves you but because you are steeped in sin you CANNOT love God and for that you will be judged, but God so loved the world he sent his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. . .see the difference? The Gospel call must always point to Christ Crucified never to man, because men will always look to himself and that is the problem.Because of the change in the Gospel, the offense that would usually drive the sinful non-repentant man away now makes him feel comfortable. He becomes part of the flock, not as a sheep, but as a goat in sheep's clothing (I use he as a general term, I mean women as well). And they ravage the sheep with their libertarian views (oh we are married in the eyes of God, or God will forgive us if we repent) and lead Gods flock Astray. Because they know how to play church and look the part they can fool non-discerning Pastors and ascend to church leadership. Now you have a church full of Goats, and the sheep (Those devoted to God) starve. Why do they starve? because the Pastor is not able to teach about the attribute of God or other deep doctrinal points because they are offensive to Goats The man without the Spirit cannot accept the things that come from the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand it because they are spiritually discerned. (1st cor 2:14) or have you not read the sinful mind is hostile to God's law It does not submit to God's law nor can it do so. Those who are controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Rom 8:7-8) Because of this rejection of biblical preaching we now have turned to the experience of God, and many manifestations occur but because people don't know God, they cannot know what spirit is manifesting. There have been manifestations of people acting like animals, or God telling Pastors to kick an old lady in the face so that they may be healed (Todd Bently) and this type of ministry deceives millions.I want all of us that are Christians not to be ignorant of the devils devices we must put the true Gospel back into our churches. This may split churches but in the words of John the apostle "they went out from us because they were not of us.To be fair: I'm not saying that we should totally swing the scale from Existentialism to cold doctrine that would be the other extreme. what I am saying is we must let our doctrine define our experience so that we are not deceived (1st John 4:1) God Bless!

Final thoughts on the Prosperity Gospel/ What Prosperity is.

At the suggestion of my Beautiful Wife Shakia, I will finish my thoughts on the Prosperity Gospel and add thoughts on what prosperity is. Thanks Kia. The fact of the matter is the Word of Faith/Prosperity movement when compared to the bible is a very new movement (Started by EW Kenyon, and elaborated upon by Kenneth Hagin) Was started in 1949, was after the bible was already established and believed upon for centuries. The Word of Faith movement does come into opposition with key historical doctrines of the Christian Faith(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology#Belief_and_critique) which brings to mind Paul letter to the Galatians I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. v.1:6-7 The Prosperity Gospel (As it is preached by Dollar,Olsteen, Meyer) was not preached by Jesus, The Apostles or other notable men of the faith like Spurgeon, Wesley, Calvin, Luther. But they preached another Prosperity, that those that take up the Lord Jesus Christ will not see their Prosperity on earth (not because we have taken some stupid religious vow of poverty, but because the name of Jesus is such a scandal to this world that we will lose opportunities when we exalt Jesus in this world instead of trying to be politically correct, not in a condemnatory way but with love(but we live in a time that even when we speak the truth in love it is perceived as condemning because we testify that what the world does is wrong. {I'm sure you would agree that the American church has lost much of it's bite for the sake of political Correctness} so that they will see our works and praise Jesus for it.) but our prosperity will come in the next life where it will not fade or rot or burn in the fire, because if you consume yourself with the riches of this world (by that I mean excess, not necessity. May God show us all what is truly necessary) then you have your reward. The world is not enough, I pray that I can live as the Apostles lived; not with attendants and fan fare, but bearing the suffering of Christ in my physical body so that all praise may go to him, and that my reward may be full. Although the Prosperity movement has been very philanthropic in it's doings, setting up programs to help the poor and to assist Children in school, and setting up a computer labs and all of these great things that they do that in God's eyes are as bloody tampons Isaiah 64:6 or dung Phil.3:8. Unfortunately they are not preaching the one thing that Christ charged us to preach. instead of preaching the true biblical Gospel that strips away all of man's self reliance causing them to depend on Christ for everything. They give us a truncated gospel where Jesus becomes Santa Claus instead of Lord, and he only becomes Lord when we accept him as such. That is no Gospel.

The Prosperity Gospel is NOT a Gospel

I will answer this very carefully, so that I am not seen as a lunatic lol. Ill first define heresyheresy-opinion or doctrine at variance with the orthodox or accepted doctrine, esp. of a church or religious system.My Thesis is this: Prosperty Gospel is a non-Gospel, Accumulated wealth corrupts, and not only is it not God's plan for us to be materially Rich according to his word from what I have observed he is not all that concerned with it.

1) Prosperity Gospel is a non Gospel.

I have personally heard a few preachers say this (As I am sure you have) Jesus came to preach the kingdom, or to preach healing, but throughout scripture what is the big question that the bible seeks to solve? it is this one "If God is just, he cannot forgive you because men are wicked. Christ came to die for our sins, the healing and the teaching that he brought with him were all tied to this central idea "Men are sinful and Dead, they need a Savior, but rejoice one has come. The Apostle Paul taught a different Gospel from the one that has been preached by Copeland, Oral Roberts, and the like. And in Galatians 1 pronounces a curse on any other Gospel then the one he proclaimed. What did Jesus Preach? what did Paul Preach? Sin and repentance. If that is true what should we preach? Sin and repentance. The Prosperity Gospel will not get people to praise Jesus, it will get them to praise Prosperity. . . I'll follow Jesus if he gives me a car! (John Piper). If we preach a sermon and do not address the sin in people's lives then we are false teachers, and at variance with historical doctrine ie. heretic. There are people that will die and not know Jesus and will go to hell, there are also rebellious people that are in church that believe themselves to be saved that do not repent because no one will teach them repentance *cough* Joel Olsteen, and will end up under the wrath of God judgement. And many churches won't say that because it is hard. It is different from the health wealth and prosperity Gospel, but it is the only message that God promised to bless (Romans 1:16)

2) Accumulated Wealth corrupts.

Let's observe the Israelites in the old Testament and God was about to bring them into the Promised Land this is what God told Moses: Deuteronomy 31:19-20 "Now write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them. When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant. Or in 2 Timothy 3:2-5 speaking of the Church People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. There is no one in Scripture who had amassed wealth for themselves,that were not harmed by it ex: David and Bathsheba, Solomon, Judas Iscariot The whole line of kings except for 3 (or 4) is wealth bad? no. we are.

3) God is not concerned with our Material Wealth.

The Worst thing that I have heard is the idea that the Gospel cannot be effective without money. That is wrong! Jesus sent his Disciples preaching depending on only God's influence on strangers, did they stay in the best places probably not but all one needs to spread the Gospel is the word of God the Spirit of God and a person to share it with. To do great big conferences where everyone goes to the altar but no one gets converted costs money, Jesus did not Commission us to do rallies. That is why they often fail, if you don't belive me see how many of those that came for prayer continue coming, and show any signs of Genuine repentance. God's only concern is that we Repent, Believe on the one he has sent, and go to all nations teaching them to repent as well, every thing else is garbage.In closing the World will never repent if we are preaching what the world already wants Wealth Health and Prosperity. We must Preach what the world doesn't want Jesus.I know this was Long sorry about that but I wanted to make sure you knew where I was coming from.

Marriage Prep: "What Every Young man should know before Marriage.

Genesis 2:24“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.Here we have a conditional statement: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother.” A man is someone able to exist independently of his Father and Mother (ex. Able to provide shelter food and clothing for himself. Without relying on outside assistance). A man who is unable to do these things should be hindered from getting married for this reason. A woman is called to be a complement, not a replacement for a man’s parents, he should already be taking care of things on his own. Secondly, although there are women who work and produce an income their income should not be relied on because of lifestyle changes that hinder them from working (ie: pregnancy, illness, the decision to home school etc.). If the man has not moved out at this point they should be able to (have a job and plan on moving)A man who doesn’t have this in place is not ready for a marriage commitment regardless of age, biblically marriage is a privilege of men alone; I wouldn’t allow a boy to get married anymore then I would allow my son Gabriel to operate a car, because I would do him harm by putting him in a situation that he is too young to operate in. A man should have a means of taking care of his family and show that he is ready for such a responsibility, because even if he isn’t prepared his wife will look to him for leadership, and this is something he must prepare for.*Ensure that the man is getting married for the right reason. Ask him why he wants to marry, if his answer is “because we can talk” then much education is needed, because what happens when you can’t talk? If you like the way she makes you feel what happens when she doesn’t make you feel the same way?

2) Romans 8:29 The Purpose of Marriage

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.The Purpose of Marriage is the same purpose for everything else, to conform us to the image of Christ. When we are single there is a level of work that God can do in us but there is a limit because all of our tests and trials come from external circumstances, and we can experience a level of relief when we return to our homes, and close the door on the outside world. In marriage however, there is a deeper level of testing that brings forth a deeper level of change when the people involved are forced to confront there own selfishness, irresponsibility, or any other attribute that is unlike Christ, because unlike being single it is hard to isolate yourself from someone you live with. But after that attribute is worked out a greater level of Christ-likeness is achieved.

3) Proverbs 18:22 “A good thing”

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.We must not misunderstand what is meant by good. God’s definition of good is complete and acceptable as seen in the book of Genesis during the creation. When God made something he put his seal of approval on it and called it Good. The only time God called something not good was when man was alone. In God’s eyes he was incomplete. We know that Adam wasn’t alone because God was with him. But there was no one suitable for him (Gen 2:20) Adam had no contemporary. He was lower than God yet higher than the animals. In Eve, Adam had his complement, everything in Eve was set up to complement Adam. Getting back to my point: now that we know what good means, Good does not mean pleasurable at all times, nor does it mean that we will agree with our wives, but it means that we are receiving from God the chief ingredient for growing in Christ likeness in our wives which is God’s main focus making “he that finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord”.

4) Matthew 19:10-12 Those who reject Marriage

The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry." Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage[a]because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."Notice that Christ only noted three types of people that were able to not get married and stay sinless in that area. Only those who are Eunuch by birth, men, or for the Kingdom of God. Notice that God did NOT include if you have personal agendas or professional aspirations in life, or if you just like your freedom. If one tries to become a eunuch for the Kingdom of God (I tried this myself and failed miserably) they should consider this.1. If you have even a hint of sexual desire in you and cannot control it then marriage is for you for it is better to marry then to burn, not just with desire but also to suffer the wrath of God because of WHEN you sin.2. Those that have the mindset that we may sin all we want because we are under grace are execrating Jesus’ sacrifice and do not understand sin. Ask yourself, how many times did Adam and Eve sin before they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. Our sin moved God the Father to crush his own son for our sakes, How dare we crucify him again because of our selfish lusts and appetites. Have you not read Hebrews 10:26-29If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

1st Corinthians 7:32-35: I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. As good as marriage is it will hinder the amount of time that you have to do the things that you want be it a business, a hobby, even ministry. Your responsibility to your family must take precedence a choice that unmarried people do not have to make. When it comes to marriage one has only two choices 1.If you remain unmarried God must be glorified in that state and you must stay pure. 2.If you get married God must be glorified in your marriage and you must remain faithful in your marriage*But either way Christ must be glorified.

Ephesians 5:25-27 A husbands’ duty:

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.1.Husbands love your wives even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it."

In the past I heard this Scripture interpreted as a husband should be ready to sacrifice his physical life for his wife which is true but it doesn’t stop there. The sacrifices that we are called to make are internal sacrifices for the good of our wives if called to. It doesn’t matter if we have a ministry where 3,000 people are genuinely converted everyday, as I have learned from Pastor John “God can replace me with thousands of other Pastors, but as a husband there is no substitute. If our personal goals conflict with ministry to the needs of our wives then they must be cut off. Even if it is ministry.

“That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

a.The Pastor is not the primary teacher in the home, the husband is. We are called to be a savior to our wives. Not The Savior but a savior in a sense that we are the primary leaders and teachers of our family. We are not to depend on a Pastor to do that for us. That goes for our children as well, I thank God for children’s church but the Bible makes no mention of it in the book of Acts. It is the Job of the family to teach their children the things of God, with the father as the head.

3.“That he might present it to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish.

If you have been married 12 years and your wife is not pleasing to you than you must look at yourself as the culprit because chances are you are not pouring into her and shaping her into a wife that is pleasing to you. You do this by ministering to her in love, pouring into her the word of God mixed with correction so that she will be made pleasing to you. The man must be equipped to lead his wife and children in the things of God and put their needs above his own.In conclusion, Marriage is a privilege for men and men alone, and anything short of that will cause problems not only with divorces in young marriages, but it will be a morale drain for other young marriages like my very own who look to others for encouragement. We must never look to a man’s age as an indicator for marriage, for as Elihu says in the book of Job 32:9 “Older men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. We must look at how that man matures in the things of God before making such judgments. And be careful to note that although marriage is a good thing, in the wrong context it could explode leaving a broken home in its wake. That is why we must always consult the word of God rather than societal norms, because the culture will always change God’s word will not.

Who Gets Praise for our Gifts?

When we use our God given gifts and we are applauded for them, do we remember the God that these gifts belong to? Do we forget when men give us praise that the praise no matter how small belongs to God the Father? Ultimately any one of the five-fold ministries that you are gifted with should point men to the glory of God. Any thing short of that is idolatry. I am a man if any one recieves a God-inspired word from me or anyone and does not point praises to the Father, Pray for us so that we may be corrected and do not suffer wrath.