Acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord

I want to, first of all, thank you for coming and being here this evening to embark on this journey with us over the next several months as we look into the Word of the Lord together.

I promise you that it will be truly a blessing for you during our time together because the Word of the Lord always brings blessing and we trust that great things are going to happen in your life. I was thinking about how many times over the last three decades that we've been together I've spoken on marriage and the family. So I went back into my notes in the annals of my office to figure out how many times we have done a series specifically for marriage and or the family. I went back and realized that our church began in 94, October of 94 and in 1995 we did a series called the Remedies for a Rocky Marriage.

That was the very first series we did on marriage. Remedies for a rocky marriage. That was in 1995. In 2007 I would redo that in a different way and we titled it Marriage Matters because your marriage matters but there are also matters that you have to deal with in your marriage. So it's kind of a dual meaning and we talked about marriage matters. After that we did a series entitled How to Find a Wife and Keeper. That was in our study of Genesis. Genesis chapter 24, How to Find a Wife and Keeper.

When Abraham sent a servant to go and search for a bride for Isaac and it was that series whereby Bruce listened to over and over and over again because he was looking for a wife and he finally found Ping and so they were married.

How to Find a Wife and Keeper. There were eight principles out of Genesis chapter 24 that we spent I think four or five weeks on helping you understand God's design for marriage. And then there was a series called Making Marriage Magnificent and that was a fun series. And then there was Lifelong Love. After that was God's Hope for Your Home. And that's the only one that we have put into a book. And so God's Hope for Your Home became a book and we put everything in print so people could either listen to it or read it, whatever was their preference.

After that we did Foundations that fortify the family and spent time looking at what are those foundational elements that strengthen and fortify one's family. So needless to say over the years we have done a number of series dealing with marriage and the family. Not even counting the couples retreats that we did and there we did one called Rekindling Your Passion. That was a couples retreat. And then we did one on Marriage, The Journey Into Joy. And then another one called The Building Blocks for a Better Marriage.

And that was the impetus to this series. This evening that was done in 2017 at a marriage retreat. And that became the foundation for the series that we're going to begin this evening. In fact we even did one series called 25 Truths That Will Transform Your Marriage. And that was based off Lori and I's time away at our 25th anniversary as we sat and thought about all the different principles that governed our marriage for those first 25 years.

And so we put that in a series and came back from our, well not our honeymoon, but it was like a honeymoon 25 years, and came back and preached on that. So needless to say over the years we've had a big emphasis on marriage, a big emphasis on the family. We did even a series called, can't even remember now, The Survival of the American Family based on the Book of Exodus and the Ten Commandments. And so over the three decades that we've been together we've tried to at different times hit this theme to help you understand that God has a lot to say about marriage and about family.

So my desire basically falls into four purposes. That somehow we'll be able to help you re-evaluate the condition of your marriage, reinvigorate your motivation for marriage, recalculate your mission in marriage, and recaptivate your passion for marriage. That's what I'm hoping to accomplish over the next several weeks that we are together. And so I want to begin by quoting to you from that 16th century theologian and leader of the Reformation, Martin Luther, when he said these words. He said, Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let the husband make her sorry to see him leave.

Let me say it to you again. Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let the husband make her sorry to see him leave. Now I would pray that that would be the case for every one of us. But if you just change two words, you realize that that is the condition of most marriages. So you read it this way. Let the wife make the husband sorry to come home, and let the husband make her glad to see him leave. Unfortunately that's the way it is in most marriages. But we don't want that. We want your wife to be so sad when you leave for work.

And we want you to be so glad to be on your way home that you might be with your love that evening, and that be the occasion on every single day. To get there, it doesn't happen with a snap of the finger. It doesn't happen with a weekend seminar. It doesn't happen with one sermon. It's a lifelong commitment. It's the daily grind of life and finding joy in that daily grind of functioning day in and day out. Because life is a grind. And so we are going to spend 26 weeks looking at your marriage. 26.

And we're going to go from A to Z. Your outline will be the alphabet. And we're going to go from A to Z over the next 26 weeks looking at your marriage and looking at the practical precepts that build a biblical marriage or the pertinent principles that build a biblical marriage. And so we're going to look at them each and every week.

Why are we doing it for 26 weeks? To help you understand that one sermon is not going to change your marriage. A couple of weekends are not going to change your marriage. You have to be in it for the long haul. And once you're in it for the long haul, you've got to make the decision to do what needs to be done, and then you have to do it. You've heard the story about the 10 frogs that perched themselves on a log, and five of them decided to jump off. And the question is, how many were left on the log?

And the answer is 10. Because the five that decided to jump off never did. They had, well, good intentions, but they never jumped off. You can come here and decide, hey, listen, I want my marriage to change. You can come here and decide, I want my marriage to be better. But unless you actually put into practice the precepts and principles of Scripture, nothing's going to change. You're going to remain a frog on a log and not have any change in your life or your marriage. And so I can guarantee you this one truth, and I promise you this, that the things you're going to hear will change your life.

I know that because the Bible says these words in the book of Isaiah, the 55th chapter, verse number 10, for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bare and sprout and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will my word be which goes forth from my mouth.

It will not return to me empty without accomplishing what I desire, without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. The promise is this, that when God sends forth His word, it will always accomplish its purpose. It will always do what God designs it to do. So I can't change your life, I can't change your marriage, but God's word can do a great and mighty work in your life because God promises that His word never returns empty. It never returns futile. It never returns without accomplishing the purpose by which God accomplished it or designed it to accomplish.

Way back in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses says, these words to the nation of Israel, Deuteronomy chapter 5, he says, the Lord your God has commanded you, you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. Verse 33, you shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you that you may live and that it may be well with you. If you just hear the words of God, don't turn to the left or to the right, but keep those commands, it will be well with you. And then in chapter 6, it says these words, he says, so you and your son and grandson might fear the Lord your God to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you all the days of your life and that your days may be prolonged.

Oh, Israel, you should listen and be careful to do that it may be well with you. Israel, you must listen and you must be careful to obey and do what the Lord God says.

If you do, it will be well with you. And then he reiterates it again in verse number 18 of chapter 6, you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you. All you have to do is obey what God says.

All you have to do is heed the word of God and it will be well with you. And then he says in verse number 24, so the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival as it is today. This is how you're going to survive in a pagan land. This is how it's going to be well with you in a land that is totally opposed to God. This is how you're going to make it in a society that's going to be against you. You must listen and obey the word of God.

It's not rocket science. It's not that difficult. The Lord puts it out there for you to understand it, for you to follow it and to obey it, that it might be well with you. And God promises that when his word goes forth, it accomplishes its purpose. And so the Bible says in Psalm 127 verse number one, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

In other words, unless the Lord is building your family, unless the Lord is building your marriage, unless the Lord is actively involved in doing what needs to be done in your family, in your marriage, you labor in vain. Because everything about marriage is designed by God. He's given us a manual. He's given us one book. He's given us this opportunity to learn from him. And so everything he wants you to learn about your marriage and about your family is recorded in the scriptures. There's nothing you need outside the scriptures that's going to change your marriage.

Everything you need is in the scriptures. Therefore you must listen and obey and heed the word of the Lord. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. So how does the Lord build the house? Proverbs 24 verse number three, by wisdom, a house is built by understanding the house is established.

And by knowledge, all the rooms are filled with precious and pleasant riches. So the Bible is very clear by wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. The house is built, established, founded, so that every room is filled with everything that's precious, everything that's eternal, everything that's lasting, everything that matters. And I think that every one of us would want that. So how does that happen? What does the word of the Lord say? For the next 26 weeks, I'm going to take you from A to Z to spell it out for you in a very simple way to give you those precepts that will build a biblical marriage.

Because God designed marriage, He is the one who gives us all the equipment, all the information that we need to have in order for it to be what He designed it to be. So let's begin. The first building block or the first principle or the first precept is this, you must acknowledge Jesus as Lord.

You must acknowledge Jesus as Lord. And you're thinking, wait a minute, what does that have to do with my marriage? What's that have to do with my family? Listen, if you don't acknowledge Jesus as Lord of your life, then anything we say from this point on means nothing to you. You must acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, that He is the sovereign ruler, master of the universe. Psalm 99 verse number one, the Lord reigns, let all the earth tremble or let all the peoples tremble.

Because God reigns, because God rules, because God is sovereign, because God is the master, because God is the king, everybody should tremble. Why? Because He is the all-authoritative one. He is the Lord of the universe. Because one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father. So the Bible says that if we confess with our mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the mouth man confesses unto salvation and with the heart man believes unto righteousness. But it begins with acknowledging, affirming, avowing Jesus is Lord. In other words, I am saying, Lord, you rule. I am here to submit to everything that you say. You are the king and because you're the king, I put myself under you. You are the director. You are the guide. You are the leader. You are the sovereign ruler of my life and therefore I acknowledge Christ as Lord of all. The question comes, have you done that?

Do you do that? That's the question. Because Jesus would address that in a sermon on the mount when He said these words toward the end of that sermon in Matthew chapter 7 verse number 21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Now wait a minute, what do you mean? Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will ever enter into the kingdom of heaven. He goes on to say this, but he who does the will of my father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles and then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.

There are many people in the church who will say that they believe in the Lord. They say that they acknowledge Jesus as Lord, but Jesus says that on the day of judgment there will be many people who will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not do all these things in your name?

Did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not serve in your name? Did we not do all this for your sake? And he will say, never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. That's a very scary thing because you have people that are in churches today that because they go to church and they're actively involved in church, they really believe they're on the way to heaven. But are they? What gets you to that point? Three things. One, a false confirmation. Someone says to you, hey, you know what?

I was there when you walked the aisle. I was there when you said a prayer. I was there when you said you believed in Jesus and you had this false confirmation that somehow you did something and therefore you are saved. And you've got to be careful about those kinds of things. Sometimes as parents, we give our children a false confirmation because they go to Sunday school and they say prayers and they, hey, maybe they signed a card and said they believe and they walked an aisle. And so, well, because you walked the aisle, you signed the card, you said a prayer, you're in.

And we give people a false confirmation only for them to die one day and wake up and say, but Lord, did I not do all this in your name? He says, I never knew you. And then there's a forgotten examination. In other words, 2 Corinthians 13, 5 says, let a man examine himself, prove yourself, test yourself. Paul tells the church of Corinth, you need to be involved in self-examination to see if Jesus is even in you. That's why we did the little booklet on expanding self-examination because you wanted people to live a life of examining their lives in light of the scripture, because the scripture is the grid by which you look at your life and determine whether or not Jesus is even in you.

So whether it's a false confirmation or a forgotten examination or a frivolous participation like Judas. Judas participated in everything the other 11 disciples participated in. He was a part of everything that they did, but he was the son of perdition. He died and he went off into a Christless eternity because he was a false disciple, not a true disciple. And yet he was involved in everything that Peter was involved in and John was involved in and James was involved in. In fact, he was the one who held the money bag because he was the one who was the most trusted of the 12.

So you give your money to the one you trust the best and that was Judas. And yet, yet he did not know the Lord. He participated frivolously in the things of God. People do that all the time. They go on mission strips, they serve in children's ministry, they usher, they greet, they're involved in the service of the church thinking that that's something that God honors, but they've never acknowledged Christ as Lord of all and submitted to his lordship. They practice lawlessness. James says it this way in James chapter 1 verse number 26.

If anyone thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. How does a person become self-deceived? Well, he becomes self-deceived thinking that he is somehow religious, but yet he cannot control his tongue. He cannot control his conversation. And that's important because the mouth is the clearest indicator of the condition of the heart because out of the heart comes forth slandering and gossip and all kinds of evil speaking.

And so a man thinks himself religious but is unable to control his tongue. James says his religion is worthless. He goes on to say this, pure undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Not only is there a controlled tongue, but there is a concern for the needy and there is a clean life. If you want to know whether or not you have a true religion, you live a clean life, a spotless life, one unstained by the world.

You have a great concern for those who are in need because widows and orphans are symbolic of those people that are in need as you read through the Old Testament. And you control your tongue. And yet many people believe that somehow they're on their way to heaven without ever acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord of all. So the question comes, how do you know Jesus is your Lord? How do you know you've acknowledged Jesus as Lord? Let me give you just a couple of words, eight of them to be exact, and you can determine whether or not Jesus is your Lord.

Number one, if Jesus is King of your life, if Jesus is Lord of your life, you listen to Him. You listen.

Remember the Mount of Transfiguration in Luke chapter 9? When Peter, James, and John were on that mount and the glory of the Lord came down, right? And out of that cloud, the Lord God speaks and says, this is my beloved Son, listen to Him. Listen to Him. When Jesus is your Lord, you listen to what He says. You see, because what's going to happen is that throughout the time that we're together, we're going to share with you what God's Word says. And the question comes, are you listening? Do you hear what He says?

Because you see, Israel's biggest problem is that they refused to listen. That's why the writer of Hebrews would say in Hebrews chapter 3, verse number 7, if you hear the Word of the Lord, make sure that you listen.

Don't turn your ear away from what God says. Why? You can't afford to harden your heart because that's what your ancestors did in the wilderness. So make sure you listen to all that God says.

And then that listening involves doing what He says, but you need to hear Him. That's why James says in James chapter 1, verse number 19, let everyone be quick to hear and slow to speak and slower at becoming angry. And we think that has to deal with our conversation. It has nothing to do with your conversation. It has nothing to do with your relationship with one another. It has everything to do with the Word of God. How do we know that? Because the verses before speak about the Word of truth and how a man is brought forth by the Word of truth.

And then the words after those verses speak about laying aside all these evil things that you might be able to receive the Word of God implanted in you. So the context deals with the Word of God. So James is saying, let every man be quick to the hearing of the Word, slow at speaking the Word, and even slower at becoming angry at what the Word says, because your anger does not produce the righteousness of God in you. In other words, you need to be quick to hear what God says.

You need to run to hear. You need to run to church. You need to run to your Bible. You need to be quick to hear what God has to say. And then even slower at speaking God's Word, because you would go on to say in James chapter 3, to what many of you seek to become teachers for, with that comes a stricter condemnation. But make sure you're even slower at becoming angry at what the Word of God says.

Why? Because it doesn't produce the righteousness of God. So many times we can get frustrated by what we hear in the Word of the Lord, because we just don't want to do it. And James says, be careful about that, because the key component is you got to be not just a hearer of the Word, but you got to be a doer of the Word. Are you a good listener? Ecclesiastes 5 says that when you go to the house of the Lord, make sure you go forth to listen.

Those who acknowledge Christ as Lord, they can't wait to hear what He has to say. They can't wait to hear what God has to say. They want to hear what God has to say. They long to hear what God has to say. And so for every opportunity they have to read the Scriptures, to hear the Scriptures, they take advantage of that. Why? Because the King is speaking. When the King speaks, His servants listen.

When the Lord speaks, His servants listen. When God speaks, His people listen. They want to hear what God says.

If you were just to peruse the book of Jeremiah, you'd realize that God condemned His people because they were just unwilling to listen to Him. Not only do you listen to Him, but number two, you learn about Him.

You want to learn about Him. That's why you're listening. You want to learn about your God. You want to learn about all that He has to say. So what does He have to say about marriage and family? What does He have to say about the condition of my heart? What does He have to say about my attitude toward my family or my spouse? What does God have to say to me that will enable me to live for the glory and honor of His name? So not only do you listen to Him, you can't wait to learn all that He has to say.

So the Bible says in Daniel 11, 32, that those who know their God will display strength and do great exploits.

I want to know my God. I want to know all there is about Him. Paul would say in Philippians 3 verse number 10, oh that I may know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings. I want to know everything I can about my God. In fact, so much so that in the end of his life in the Mamertine prison, in 2 Timothy 4 verse number 9, he says to Timothy, make every effort to come to me soon. And then he says in verse number 13, when you come, bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus and the books, especially the parchments.

Why? Because he wanted to learn more and more about his God. Why? He's going to die. He's going to be killed. He's going to be executed. He's sitting in prison. Why spend your time reading the books and examining the parchments? Why do that, Paul? You've already written 13 epistles. What more can you possibly know? What more can you possibly do? Paul says, I can never get enough of my God. I want to learn all I can about Him. Paul, you're going to die and go to heaven. You'll know everything then.

That's not the point. I'm still here. As long as I'm here, I'm learning. As long as I'm here, I'm listening. And that's what Paul wanted. That's the way we should be. We should be looking for every opportunity to hear the Word of God, every opportunity to learn more and more about our God, that we might best exemplify His character. Those who acknowledge Christ as Lord, they listen to Him. They learn about Him. And then number three, they lean on Him.

Once you learn about Him, you lean all on Him because you recognize how powerful He is, how great He is, how compassionate He is, how forgiving He is, how loving He is. So you lean completely upon Him. You walk in the Spirit so you don't fulfill the lusts of the flesh. So in Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, Solomon says to his son, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths smooth. That's what He will do.

But what's the problem with us? We lean on our own understanding. We don't lean on the Lord. We lean on what we know or what we think we know or what we saw on television or read in a book someplace. Or we talk to our friends and say, man, you know, my marriage isn't really so good. What do you do about your marriage? And that person said, well, this is what I'm doing. That's a pretty good idea. I'll try that one. Instead of just trusting the Lord and leaning upon the Lord to show you what it is He does.

Because when you lean upon Him, He makes your path smooth. If your path isn't smooth, you're not leaning on the Lord because He makes the path smooth. This means there's not difficulties or hardships or pain or problems, but He makes His way smooth before you so you know the way to walk. In fact, He goes on to say these words in Proverbs chapter 3, which I think are very, very insightful. He says, Proverbs chapter 3, verse 7, do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord. Turn away from evil. How do you know you're leaning on your own understanding?

You're wise in your own eyes. The psalmist says, don't do that. Fear the Lord. Turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Everything about what God does is great when you lean upon Him. But you see, when you listen to Him, you learn about Him. When you learn about Him, you just lean His way. You trust Him. You put all your weight on Him because you can't do it yourself. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain to build it. So, I lean on the Lord to do what it is He needs to do because I can't make it.

I can't make my husband love me. I can't make my wife submit to me. I can't make my children obey me, right? But God can do all that. So, I need to lean upon Him for strength, for wisdom, for discernment that I might live in a way that honors and glorifies His name. So, when I listen to Him, I learn about Him. When I learn about Him, I lean on Him. And you know what happens when I lean on Him? I long for Him. I long for Him. The Bible says in Titus chapter 2 verse number 13, we're looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

One of the problems that we have is that we think that life on earth is forever. It's never going to end. But believe me, it's going to end sooner than you think. But the bottom line is that there's this longing for Him. Listen, if I've listened to Him, I've learned about Him, and I'm leaning on Him, I can't wait to see Him. I'm longing for Him. If you're not longing for Him, you're not leaning on Him. If you're not leaning on Him, you haven't learned anything about Him. And if you haven't learned anything about Him, you haven't listened to Him.

If you haven't listened to Him, He's not the Lord of your life. You must acknowledge Christ as Lord over all, King of kings, Lord of lords, sovereign ruler, master of the universe, the creator of all things. He's called me into His kingdom. I can't wait to hear what He has to say. I can't wait to learn about Him so I can lean more on Him, so I can long to be with Him. The psalmist said in Psalm 73 that the nearness of God was His good. Psalm 73 25. The nearness of God is my good. When Christ is Lord of your life, you look to Him.

You look to Him. Hebrews chapter 12 verse number 1 says, Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing, looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the sin, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and you will not lose heart.

In other words, listen, how do you not grow weary in your marriage? How do you not lose heart in your marriage? By looking unto Jesus, by fixing your eyes completely upon Him, and to consider all that He went through, how He endured such hostility, and He was the perfect Son of God. Looking unto Jesus, those who acknowledge Christ as Lord are looking only at Him. Why? Because if I do, I will not grow weary. I will not lose heart. How many marriages fail because we're looking at one another instead of looking at the Lord?

How many marriages fail because we're looking at circumstances surrounding us and all the negativity that seems to encumber us and weigh us down instead of looking unto Jesus, fixing our eyes, our gaze upon Him? Paul would say in Colossians 3, set your affections on things above, none of things below. Keep seeking the things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father. Keep seeking things above. Keep setting your mind above. Keep looking unto Jesus. Those who acknowledge Christ as Lord, that's what they do.

Next, those who acknowledge Christ as Lord, not only do they listen to Him, learn about Him, lean on Him, long for Him, look to Him, they live for Him. They live for Him. Listen, you don't live for your children. You don't live for your wife. You don't live to make money. You don't live to gain a promotion. You don't live to seek recognition. You live for Christ. Paul said for Philippians 121, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. I'm living for the Christ. I'm not living for myself. I'm living for Christ that I might exemplify His name.

In 2 Corinthians 5, verse number 14, Paul says these words, he died for all, said they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf. I am living for Christ. Listen, if you are in a marriage or you're looking to get married, if you would just live for Christ, you would see your marriage in a new light. Living for Christ, if you're living for somebody else, somebody else is going to disappoint you. Christ never disappoints, right? He who believes in Him, Peter tells us, 1 Peter 2, verse number 6, will never be disappointed.

Quote from Isaiah chapter 28, which says, he who believes in Him will never be in a hurry. Being in a hurry to do what? To run away from Him. Why? Because He never disappoints you. But if you are living for someone else, they will always disappoint. Live for Christ, He never disappoints. Live for Christ because that's what God's called us to do. He died for us, so we no longer live for ourselves. But boy, let me tell you something, why do our marriages seem so fragile?

Because we're living for ourselves. We're living only for ourselves. We expect our spouse to do this or do that. For me, that's a recipe for disaster. You have to live for Christ. When Christ is Lord of your life, you live for Him. Number seven, when Christ is Lord of your life, you love, you love Him. You just absolutely love Him. Remember Peter was asked by Christ, Peter, do you love me? More than these, whether it's the nets, whether it's the fishing business, whether it's the friends that are around him that day.

The question is, Peter, do you love me more than anything else? He asked him three times because he wanted to examine Peter's heart. Because if you love me, Peter, you're going to feed my sheep. You're going to live for me. You're not going to live for yourself. The reason you went back to fishing is because you're living for yourself. But if you love me, you're going to be a fisher of men and you're going to feed my sheep. And Peter would adhere to the words of the Lord because Peter did love the Lord.

He would write in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse number 8, whom having not seen, you love. Even though you may not see Him, you love Him dearly. And if you love the Lord, guess what? You love His word. If you love the word incarnate, you love the word inspired, right? Because they're His words. In the psalmist in Psalm 119. Oh, just a beautiful study. Psalm 119 verse number 47. I shall delight in your commandments, which I love. Verse 48. And I shall lift up my hands to your commandments, which I love. And I will meditate on your statutes.

Verse number 97. Oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. Verse number 127. Therefore, I love your commandments above gold. Yes, above fine gold. Verse 159. Consider how I love your precepts. Verse 167. My soul keeps your testimonies and I love them exceedingly. If you love the Lord, you love His word. You love everything He says in His word. You know what? It just drives you right back again to listening to Him. And once you listen to Him, what happens? You learn about Him. Once you learn about Him, you lean on Him.

Once you lean on Him, you long for Him. And once you long for Him, you begin to truly look to Him. That you might live for Him. That you might love Him all the more. And then it repeats itself again. The more you love Him, the more you listen to Him. That's the way it works. Is Christ the Lord of your life? Number eight is this. If He's not, you'll be lost without Him. You'll be lost without Him. The Bible says these words in Romans 14, verse number nine.

For this in Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. It says in Colossians 2, verse number six. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. If Christ is not Lord of your life, you will be lost. You need Christ in your life. Your marriage will never survive without Christ. It just won't. You need the Lord. And you need to trust Him to build your home. If you're here tonight and you're not married, and you're thinking that Monday you will get married.

In the book, God's Hope for Your Home, we did everything from the time you are thinking about getting married to the day you die. It covers everything. And there's an exam for engagement. And in that exam for engagement, it talks about making sure that the person that you are dating, the person that you are with, knows the Lord. If not, you need to run from that relationship. If you're a parent here tonight and you have children, you're thinking about dating someone, one day getting married, your responsibility is to lead and guide your children in the right direction and tell them that they cannot date the unbeliever.

There is no fellowship. What fellowship has light with darkness? There is none. It will only end up destroying your life. And so, you need to make sure that the person you date acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord, as you do. Because without that, you'll be unequally yoked. And that will only lead to a disastrous relationship. You can't get married without the Christ, because the Christ is the one who designed marriage. He's the one who explains exactly how everything comes together. So, as parents, we have a huge responsibility.

If you're a grandparent and you know grandchildren that are dating the unbeliever, you need to warn them of the impending danger. If you have friends, same is true. You see, because this is the Word of the Lord, it applies to everyone across the board, whether you're married or unmarried, whether you're a widower or not, whether you're divorced or not. It's still the Word of the Lord, and God's Word rings true. And because it's God's Word, it speaks to every one of us in the room and applies to every one of us in the room.

And so, we have this great opportunity to instruct people, to teach people, to lead people in the ways of righteousness. And may God give us the grace to live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for our time in the Word. We pray that you instruct us and teach us in the way that we should go, that we might only live for you and not for ourselves. In Jesus' name, Amen.