You are called to honor God with your body as a temple, recognizing that your relationships are designed to reflect His covenant love. When you stumble, remember that repentance brings you back to His truth, allowing you to walk in freedom and holiness. Let your life and marriage proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
We're about to do something very special. This is Eric and Misty. Eric gave his life to *Jesus* quite a while ago and following Christ. Moved up back up north and just God had called him to be a part of this church family and and moved him back back down here to to be a part and and to continue with what God has called him to do in in life as a part of this this church family, which is a beautiful thing. And then Misty, Eric invited her to church.
Right? And, Misty gave her life to Jesus. Which is a beautiful thing. And, there was a bit of of romance between these 2. And so, you know, and just to to be really open, and I asked them if I could do this, but, you know, they they moved in together.
And and when you do things that are not the Lord's way outside of of the way of God, there's there's just problems because God created us to be married and to have sex *intimacy* within the the bounds of marriage. So this was like back in November time frame, and God's moving on their hearts. And and basically, my wife, you know, was like, man, I I we're not shaming them in any way. But, *1 Corinthians-6:18* says, flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body.
But whoever sins sexually sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are **temples of the Holy Spirit** who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. You are bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.
And the reason it's so important is because *marriage* and sex go together. Sex is a beautiful thing. And it doesn't go outside of the covenant bonds of marriage. It just doesn't. And when it does, it creates emotional, spiritual, and sometimes physical havoc.
Because God created it to be in a certain way. And whenever we do things out outside of God's will, well, it allows for the enemy to cut up things. Right? It just allows for our lives to be cut up. See, the reason it's created for in marriage is because a covenant a marriage is supposed to be a covenant between a man and a woman that represents our relationship with Jesus.
Right? So the man represents *Jesus in a marriage*. It's a picture, a reflection of that relationship. And so, you guys turn towards each other. So, he is supposed to represent Jesus in this relationship, and she's supposed to represent the church, and the relationship of the church with Christ.
Okay? And, that's what marriage is supposed to be. It's supposed to be beautiful. And, in that, the way that he looks at Misty, the way that he loves her within the confines of the covenant of marriage, he's supposed to, in Ephesians-5, says, lay his life down. Right?
Just like he's supposed to treat her as Jesus treated and loved the church. To lay his life down for her to experience the fullness of what God has created for her, just like Jesus laid his life down for us, the church. Jesus washes us in the water of the word, the word of God, and he speaks to us who God's created us to be. So as a husband and as a man called by God in the confines of marriage, he's supposed to speak over her who God says that she is. Not rip her to pieces and and and push her down, but but "speak God's word over her".
And also, the way that Jesus loved the church, Jesus told the disciples, he said, you'll do the same things I do and even greater. Well, think about it. He's speaking to the church. He's speaking to his bride. So the way that a husband loves the wife is not to push her down under him and lord it over her, but instead it's, you're gonna do the same things I'm gonna do and even greater, and get down and wash your feet and push her up so that she can reflect the beauty of who Christ is in her, and it's supposed to be a beautiful thing.
Submitting 1 to another. And then later it says, wives submit to your *husbands* as unto the Lord. Why? Because the church, we submit to Christ. Well, don't you know it's easy for a woman to submit to her husband if she knows that he's laying his life down for her to be all and pushing her forward?
Not about make me look good, baby, but instead, baby, I I want to serve you in a way that you can fulfill all the purposes God has for you. Isn't that good leadership? Leading like Jesus? So it's a submitting 1 to another, but in that, and her honoring her husband and respecting her husband, it's supposed to be a reflection of the way that the church honors and respects Christ. And it's beautiful, like in the confines of that marriage, that kind of marriage, what happens when there's intimacy?
Reproduction. Whenever there's intimacy, there's reproduction. Babies are made, are supposed to be made in the confines of that kind of loving relationship so that they grow up seeing the love of a father, which represents the heavenly father's love for us, and the love of a wife with which represents the confines of a of a church that's in in perfect unity with Jesus, and they're supposed to grow up loving the heavenly father and loving the church. That's what marriage is supposed to represent to the world. Sadly, the church, a lot of times doesn't get it because they're not taught covenant.
See, a covenant, this covenant *marriage* is a perfect blend of *law* and intimacy. That's why there's an oath. You're gonna hear some oaths here in a second. Till death do us part. It's legal and it's binding.
And because it's so legal and so binding, it frees each other to be completely who they are without the the scaredness of are they leaving if they don't like this aspect of me. That's why when you get married, it's almost like the man changes a little bit or the woman changes a little bit because they're free to be who they really are. But also, because of the intimacy of revealing your complete self, Sex, because of that intimacy, it's also more binding. Don't you know that when you have sex with someone, you're revealing all of who you are and there's this emotional connection? You can say it's not, but you're attached to them "until it's broken".
And it causes it to be more binding and more beautiful. And that's why sex outside of marriage wreaks havoc on so many people emotionally, and then also ruins, a lot of times, ruins of relationship because it's created to be a picture of our relationship with Jesus. It's a beautiful thing. So here's the here's the thing. In Romans-6, it says that we are we were once slaves to sin, but now we're slaves to righteousness.
Now now Paul's using this as an analogy. He says we're not actually slaves, right, because we're sons and we're friends, and yet he's our Lord. But here's let me show you the picture of what happened in their relationship. They were both born again. Now, before you're born again, you can do right things.
You're a you're in your heart, there's a heart that leans towards selfishness. You've seen it in a 3 year old, in a 4 year old, and and on. Right? If they want something, they take it mine. And you ask them if they did it, and they say, no, somebody else did it.
And you don't have to teach them to lie or teach them to steal, they naturally do because it's a nature towards sin. And you grow up and you just get better at hiding it, and you learn from culture and from morals and the conscience that God put in outside of everybody what is good. Right? And so then you can do some good things, and some people do a lot of good things, a lot of amazing things, and it's wonderful. But they're always, Romans-6, a slave to sin, always being pulled back from right doing to sin.
That's why we need to be born again. When you're born again, you become a child of the father. So his nature is put inside of you and that sin nature was crucified on the cross with Christ Jesus spiritually. In Romans-6 it says, consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. We don't consider a non reality, we consider that because it is our reality in him.
And so then all of a sudden, because of God's nature inside of you as sons forgiven and washed and clean, now you're a slave to righteousness. So you're being pulled back to right doing even though you can still do bad things sometimes. Does that make sense? Just for clarity sake, wood, does it naturally float or sink? Wood naturally floats.
So wood is a floater. That's what it is. Now if I push wood under the water, is it sinking or floating? I'm not a floater, but that's not the truth. It's actually a floater.
It just needs to come out from under the hand and be free to be who it actually is. Does that make sense? So they, slaves of righteousness, born again. God's pulling them back to righteousness. So they move in together and the Lord pricks their hearts.
Say, hey, this isn't who you are. This isn't okay. And you know what they do? Because they're children of God? Yes, Lord.
You're right. Well dang, what should we do? Get married. Yes, Lord. Because that's what you want us to do.
It's a picture of walking with Jesus. It's a picture of when you fall and you mess up. *God* says, hey, that's not who you are. Come this way. What do we do?
We repent, **change our mindset**, and don't just say, Lord, forgive me and continue in sin. No. Because Jesus is the Lord. We repent, change our mindset, turn, and say, yes, Lord. And live as he's called us to live.
Amen? And that's what they're doing. Praise the Lord. Isn't that awesome? So just so you know, 1, I asked them if this was okay.
And they said, yes. They said, Misty said, people need to hear it. And so, man, I think this testimony will probably encourage you. But this is not just a sermon analogy. This is the real deal.
So, in my cheat notes here for marriages, It says, speak a bit about covenant and marriage. I think I did that. You did. So Eric and Misty, Eric focus Fulkerson and Misty Millet. Right?
Did I say it right? Millet. Eric and Misty, now that you've heard God's message concerning marriage, do you agree with it? And do you commit yourselves to each other in accordance with it?
I do.
I do. Wonderful.
Let's take vows. Are you ready? They each wrote their vows. And so, first, we're gonna start with the personal vows. Eric, would you go first?
Wish I had time to memorize it all, but since you, you know, told us this was happening.
It's Wednesday.
It's Monday. Misty, I vow to you to provide you to the best of my ability, the nature of God in my life. I vow to you to always speak and act in your best interests. I vow to represent you well in all of our affairs and to be honorable in all of mine. I vow to laugh when you're mad at me and win every fight.
I vow to love you through all those times. I vow to pray over you and with you in every situation that may come. I vow to hold you closer when you get far away and bring you back in love. I vow to be the light that you see that keeps you focused on Jesus. I vow to never give up on you or abandon you.
I vow to look a little more like Jesus to you every day. I vow to expand on your thoughts in 1 mind through the word of God's teaching, each of us along the way. I vow to learn more about you every day and try to remember some of it. And I vow to "love you above anybody else", including myself.
Misty. You
beat me at everything.
It's not a competition.
Eric, to think a little over a year ago, I met big, strong, sexy Eric. That's what our coworker used to call him. And today, we're standing here becoming husband and wife. I knew from the moment I met you and saw your beautiful smiling eyes that I loved you. And I've been hopelessly and I have been hopelessly in your eyes ever since.
Even though, like, you're you're like a bull in a china shop, you're the most gentle, loving, caring, selfless, and compassionate man I've ever met. In the small amount of time we spent together, God has given us and shown us blessing after blessing. And I can't not wait to spend the rest of our lives together in the life that Jesus has in store for us. And also, to hear you say every morning, this is the "best cup of coffee". I promise to love, support, encourage, and cherish you every moment as your wife.
Somehow, my life has come to this amazing moment, and I will always share it with you.
So repeat after me. I, Eric, take you, Misty.
I, Eric, take you, Misty. To be my wife. To be my wife.
To "have and to hold". To have and to hold. From this day forward. From this day forward. For better or for worse.
For better or for worse. For richer or for poorer. For richer or for poorer In sickness and in health
In sickness and in health.
To love and to cherish To
love and to cherish
till death do us part till death do to God's holy *law*
According to God's law You know
owe you **owe me nothing**
You owe me nothing except to receive
the love of the father from me
Except to receive the love of the father from me.
In the presence of God, I make this vow.
In the presence of God, I make
this vow. Repeat after me. I, Misty
I, Misty. Take you, Eric Take take you, Eric
to be my husband.
To my *husband*
have and to hold
to have and to hold this day forward from this day forward for better or for worse
for richer or for poorer
for richer or for for poorer
sickness and in health
in sickness and in
love to cherish
to love and to cherish
till death do us part.
"Till death do us part".
According to God's holy law.
According to "God's holy law". You owe me nothing. You owe me nothing.
Except to receive the love of the father from me.
Except to receive the love of the father from me.
In the presence of God.
In the presence of God.
I make this vow.
I make this vow.
Eric and Misty will now seal their vows with the giving and receiving of rings. Place it on her finger and repeat after me. I give you this ring. I give you this ring. As a symbol of our covenant in Christ.
As a symbol of our covenant in Christ.
With "all that I am".
With all that I am.
With all that I have.
With all that I have. I honor you.
I honor you. Misty. They're shaking a little bit. Repeat after me. I gave you this ring.
I gave you this ring.
As a symbol of our covenant in Christ.
As a symbol of our covenant in Christ.
With all that I am.
With all that I am.
With all that I have.
With all that I have. I honor you. I honor you.
Now, let's take communion together because this is done before the body of Christ, but it's also done before God. And I want to, all of us as a church body, as witnesses, and together, we're putting Christ at the center. And you guys are declaring that Christ is the center. Amen?
Amen. Amen.
So let's, let's take communion together. Communion is co union. It's a reminder of our oneness with Christ. The dictionary defines it as the sharing and exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings. So, where there is communion, there is intimacy.
Where there's intimacy, there's reproduction. Again, marriage is a representation of our relationship with Jesus. *1 Corinthians-11:23 through 26. The Lord* Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread. And when he gave he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me. Let's take the bread together. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that because you were broken, we can be whole in you. And that matters for us today. In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood.
Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So Lord God, as we take this cup, we thank you that you've spilled your blood so that we could be washed clean. Lord God, and whole in you. Lord God, that when you look at our past, Lord, you see the blood of Jesus.
The Bible says, you remember our sins no more. How could that be? Except you're sovereign and all powerful, and you can do that. So, you look at Misty, and you look at Eric, and you see them as clean virgins in you coming together as 1 to represent you. So Lord, we take this cup, recognizing that for them, but then also for ourselves, that we're "clean in you".
And you remember our sin no more, So we can "move forward in confidence" before you as your children. Let's take the cup. Well, by the authority given to me by the God by God and by the state of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride. Gives me great joy to present to you for the first time, mister and missus Eric Fulkerson.
*Lord*, we just we thank you for who you are. We thank you for your goodness. And we thank you for your love. Oh. You're wonderful.
And it's awesome. And it's a joy to get to be a part. Amen. Didn't expect that this Sunday, did you? Eric and I have been talking about it and Misty for I think we've been talking about it for about a month, month and a half or so.
And, they said they they didn't want anything special. They just wanted to do it at church on a Sunday as a part of worship. And it's pretty special. So praise the Lord. Here we go.
And so I agree it's pretty special. It's an honor to get to do so.