How To Be Pleased With Your Marriage

How To Be Pleased With Your Marriage
Gen. 2:24; Mark 10:9

INTRO: The last three weeks I have been preaching about being pleased with things. First, Being Pleasing To God, second, Being Pleased With God, and last week, Being Pleased With Your Church. Today I want to conclude this series with, How To Be Pleased With Your Marriage.

It is easy to be unhappy, critical, unimpressed, etc. We need to be pleased with things in life. Often we can make the difference in our being pleased. Isn't life better when you are happy and pleased?????

I know some of you can say, I am not married, I can leave. These principles work in all of our relationships. Just stick with us okay?

We learned in Sunday School today, that our pick of a spouse is important.

I know I am not an expert in marriage - BUT - After 28 years of MISTAKES, MESS-UPS, MISHAPS AND "MARCUMING" I do qualify a great deal in knowing what NOT to do.

We need to…
Fathom(know) the plan

Realize God's plan

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.

Remain faithful to the plan

Mark 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Resist the Devil together

Aside from the physical and mental realtionships, God's plan for us is for us to have a spiritual life together.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Relish marriage together

Marriage is meant to be special. Not meant to be dull. Not meant to be one-sided.

Pro. 5:18,19 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. ¹⁹Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

To be pleased, we need to…
Find the power of marriage

Remove hindrances

Selfishness
Stubbornness
Spitefulness

Release your anger - Eph. 4:26, 27, 29

Ephesians 4:2627,29 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

^{27Neither give place to the devil.
^{29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Resign from "Fault Finders And Friends"

Anyone can find faults to complain about
Finding faults do not make you better or better than…
And you have no faults - right?

Re-enlist in your marriage

Reevaluate
Remember good times, goals, and God
Rejoin your marriage

And also the difficult task is to…

Favor your partner in the marriage

Root for your spouse

More important than self

You need to excel here

These actions will help both to…

Regain good feelings about each other and self (this is what we want in life)
These come because spouse helps

Honor each other

Respect each other

Support each other

We need to…

"Raise the bar" or "up the ante"

Do not be satisfied with just trying ("well at least I tried!")

Do not simply just show up

Do not just match your spouse's "wager" - go one better

i.e. - "I'll see you (your efforts) and I'll raise you twenty…"
Don't wait on your spouse to be the first to try and help your marriage - take a chance and make the first move!
Force your spouse to have to give even more in the marriage by doing so first

Rejoice together in your marriage in the Lord

Find the good things to rejoice about

Find times to laugh together

Build times to remember in life

Place God in you home and marriage

Just remember to…
Be selfless (not selfish)

Be sensitive

Be smiling

Be special to one another

Be sure (of self and each other)

Be together

Be happy

Be godly together

Be pleased and serve God

If you are not married - What do you do?
Pray that God will bless the marriages of our people.
Pray that God will bless our friendships with unbelievers.
Pray that God will bless our fellowship of the brethren.
Help facilitate all of these in others and your lives.

Be please with your marriage!

Gary Marcum - New Beginnings Church - 082502am}}