You are invited to examine your heart and choose to lay your life down for your spouse, just as Christ did for the church. When circumstances are difficult, remember that your peace comes from Jesus being Lord, not from your situation. Commit today to a covenant of love that endures regardless of how you are treated.
It was my anniversary this past week. My wife and I met in and I've I've told you this story before, but I'm gonna tell it again just because it's important to me. And those of that don't know, you get to hear it. And those that you already know, you get to hear it again. When my wife and I met, really, I noticed her for the first time.
I was spending the night at a buddy of mine's house in sixth grade. And, you know, my dad's a pastor, and so I go to dad's church every Sunday. But in sixth grade, I'm spending the night at his house, and so we're gonna go to his church. And so I say, hey. What are doing tomorrow?
He's going to church. Are there any cute girls there? I'm 11 years old, I said that. Isn't that crazy? Mama.
11. She asked how old is Tripp? It's my son. Anyway, he said, yeah. There'll be 1 singing.
And that was the first time I noticed her. And then seventh grade, we dated for dated for 2 weeks. You know? She checked yes on the check yes or no, if you will. And I kissed her on this in the in the recess area outside on the cheek, and she doesn't remember that.
But I do. And then we dated my freshman year in high school for 3 months, and then I prayed a prayer. I said, Lord because I had a friend that had a girlfriend, and it was like the thing to do when I was in high school. I don't know if it still is, I hope not, but it was a thing to do, just to you always have a girlfriend or a boy friend type thing. I guess when you're in the country, there's not a lot of stuff to do other than have a girlfriend and boyfriend, go hang out with your friends.
But I prayed, I was like, God, had a friend who had a girlfriend for like a year and a half, always had a girlfriend for like 2 weeks or 3 weeks, and then this 1 for like 3 months, which was great. I was like, Lord, I pray that you give me a girlfriend that's like a real friend, and and that lasts. And I prayed that when I was about 15. And a year and a half later, Courtney and I started dating. And we dated for 3 and a half years, and got married when I was 20, she was 21.
I didn't know this, but it was around the time that I'd prayed that, maybe a little after she had a dream. And she's 16 at the time. She has a dream and she's at a *church* and she knows she's the 1 getting married, but she doesn't see what's happening. She has a dream the second night, and she knows she's the 1 getting married, and it gets closer to the altar, but she doesn't see who it is. She has the same dream the third night and she sees that it's me.
She's 16. We ain't even dating yet. But I just prayed. I'd already prayed. God was answering my prayer.
And she argues with God. She's like, oh, he's my friend. But then God started giving her a desire for me. And so she didn't date anybody from that time forward until we started dating. And married at 20, she was 21.
We were virgins when we got married. It's worth it. And if, you know, you're not living that life right now and you're not married, start now. If you're a Christian. Because biblically, **sexual immorality**, people who are sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.
Do you understand? Yes. So who's your lord? How you feel and what culture says or Jesus? And if Jesus is is your Lord, demonstrate it by your choices and your lifestyle.
You understand? But it's hard. Yeah. You will have trouble in this world, but take heart. Jesus overcame the world.
He's either your lord or he's not. And then if it's a habit or something, confess your fault 1 to another. *Pray* for each other so you may be healed of the habit. Fall forward, get back up, and keep walking. Amen?
Amen. 16 years as of this past Thursday. 16 years since we've been married on February 12, it will be 20 years since we started dating. And, you know, that is a drop in the potato drop in the potato. A "drop in the bucket".
I don't know where potato came from. Anyway, so dropping a bucket for some of you guys, maybe you've been married 30 years or 40 years and that's amazing. But I'll tell you, you know, just from my experience and my understanding in the word, something that I've learned. Is that okay? And she's not here right now.
She's had some bladder issues. That's been kind of tough. Like she's in the ER for the third time in the last 3 days. But they found that it was the infection that they couldn't find and I guess it's a localized infection that's rare or something. So they're they're, you know, gonna be able to hopefully treat it and fix it and it'll be great.
Praise the Lord. Amen. We walk in joy no matter the circumstance. Amen. Because our circumstance is not our Lord.
Doesn't mean we don't address the circumstance. Doesn't mean it doesn't concern us. But we just know the end because Jesus is Lord and that's enough. So we can have peace that passes understanding in the midst of the circumstance. Somebody needs to hear that.
That's why I can still get up here and preach with a smile, and it's not fake. Suffering produces perseverance, which produces proven hope. Oh, perseverance which produces proven character, which produces hope that doesn't disappoint. That's Romans-5:3 through 5. And James-1:3 says, you know, count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds.
Cause you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance or patience have its complete work and so that you may be mature and complete lacking nothing. You know what maturity and completeness is? It's being able to be thankful and joyful and full of peace in the midst of the storm. Not letting the storm affect your joy and peace, but instead of letting your joy and peace affect the storm.
Bible says in Philippians, it says, and 2, then you will shine like stars in the heavens in the midst of a crooked and corrupt generation. Why? Because you're responding to trial different than they do. And they wonder why. And you have, that's an opportunity to share the hope and the joy that you have.
Amen? Amen. So when you go through the testing of your faith, my buddy, Dan, Dan Moeller, he says he says, when you, you know, when you go through the "testing of your faith", it's just because the enemy doesn't think that you really believe what you say you believe. That's why. So he's bringing things against you to prove that you don't love God.
He wants to prove that you just need God. We all yes, we need him. But the question is, do we love him? Everybody needs God, but do you love him? Love is the sacrificing of yourself for the sake of another.
*God first loved us. He sacrificed himself for us dying on a cross*. The question is, are you gonna respond in love by laying your life down too for him? Or is the sexual immorality, the the this, the that, the how I feel, the comfort, the the crying and complaining in the midst of tough stuff, is that too important to you? Do you just go to God when you need him or are you willing to love him back by laying your life down to follow him as Lord?
I think you are. You're a great church. This is a kick in the butt and encouragement to continue. Amen? Amen.
I went off on a tangent there. I was supposed to tell you something. Tell you something I've learned. About marriage 16 years. **Marriage is death**.
Marriage is death. Think about it. It's supposed to be. *Ephesians-5*, it says, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. Lay yourself your life down for her.
Jesus laid his life down for the church and washes her by the water of his word. We're the church. He laid his life down for us. We're supposed to reflect that in our relationship with our wives. Think about it.
You walk an aisle to an altar in front of a man of *God* symbolizing the presence of God. And what's the altar? What happens at an altar? What happens at an altar? Sacrifice.
*Sacrifice*, burn up in his presence, done away with. Right? Marriage is death and it's a representation of our relationship with god. The way that we love our life is supposed to be a representation of the way that Jesus loves us. No longer I who live.
It's not about me anymore. I always I've always said that marriage is a pressure cooker of getting rid of selfishness. But really, if you understand the beginning of marriage, then the selfishness would have already been done away with because it ain't about you anymore. And to the extent that your marriage is about what you need instead of about laying your life down to love her, that's the extent you're have problems. Amen?
Amen. Ladies, you're not out the water. Marriage is still death for you too. Because you're supposed to love your husband as the church loves Christ. Which means, what is the church supposed to do?
We were crucified with Christ. No longer we who live but Christ who lives in us. Same thing for you ladies. And to the extent that you both "lay your life down" and instead of needing 1 another all the time, love the other and realize you get all you need in your relationship with Jesus, man, that's you live a fulfilled marriage. And don't say, don't be pointing out the other one's fault saying, hey, you're not dying right now.
You pray and ask the Lord to teach you to love your wife as he loves you. And you pray and ask the Lord to teach you to love your husband as the church is supposed to love Jesus. And watch that as you grow, the love, the pure the more pure love that flows from you changes the heart of your spouse. Because that's what happened in my marriage. My wife was more mature in our relationship than I was for the first 5 years.
And when she stopped praying, *God* changed him. And she started praying, God help me to be the wife you've called me to be. She started loving me like Jesus. And that love transformed my heart and healed me and put me on the path to being the husband I am today. And I'm still learning and growing.
So I'm very thankful for Jesus and for that woman. She's awesome. Yep. So hopefully, she's getting a watch right now because we didn't know about the Internet in the in the hospital. But baby, I love you very, very much.
And I'm thankful for you. And I'm excited, to spend the rest of our years together, learning what it looks like to love 1 another better. And I commit myself even if you'd never grow in your relationship with Christ again, and even if you go the opposite way, even if you never do anything to love me again, my covenant is with you. And in covenant, I'm not a consumer. My love is not based on what you do and don't do for me.
My love is based on what Jesus did for me. And I'm a lay my life down regardless of whether or not you lay your life down for me. Because that's a that's a covenant marriage, guys. See in America, we we we do marriage like consumers. Consumer, I go to a restaurant.
It's my favorite restaurant. I keep going because they they serve me well. They give me what I want. They give me what I need. I like it.
But let's say I go back to that restaurant and they give me bad food, poison food, you know, it's it was old or whatever. I get food poisoning. What was my favorite restaurant for like 10 years? So, I'll probably keep going back. That was just a fluke but then, this the service was terrible.
So 2 or 3 times it happens. Now I start to doubt whether or not I even like the restaurant. Happens 1 more time. Are you going back? Probably not.
Why? Because you're a consumer. You go as long as it fulfills your wants and your needs. As soon as it doesn't, you drop it, you're done with it. And that's how and why the marriage in America is terrible.
Because that's the way people live. And that's not the way God designed it. God designed it as a covenant. It's not I'll do for you as long as and to the extent that you do for me. It's I'll do for you a covenant.
That's consumer. Covenant is I'll do for you regardless of whether or not you do for me because Christ did for me and that's enough. So I'm gonna lay my life down for you till death do us part. If you're not willing to covenant with somebody for that, don't get married. But but don't have sex either Because sex is meant to be inside of the covenant of marriage.
Because it's the union. It's a blood covenant. We're supposed to have children's church. So if your kids are too young for this, they should be in children's church. That's why God created women with a hymen because it's a "blood covenant".
Amen? Some of our church got the giggles now. Just real. Okay.
Thank you for "tuning in today" to the Real Church podcast. I pray that you walk away from today *encouraged* with a deeper understanding of how much God loves you. If you'd like to connect with us, we can't wait to reach out to you and pray for you. You can go to www.realchurch.us/connect. And then also, if you would like to give to what God is doing in and through our ministry, you can do so at www.realchurch.us/giving or you can text any amount to 84321 and then just search in the link that comes up search for Real Church Clearwater.
God bless you and the "best is yet to come".