We’ll be considering the intricacies of cheating on your spouse this morning. It is one thing to find it difficult to sin, a situation where you have to really look and search for sin or the tools of sin to compromise, it is another story, another ball game entirely when the sin is so available, staring you in the face, calling and you, pulling you and wooing you with all kind of entreaties.
It is one thing to be tempted with the sin that doth not so easily beset you; it is another thing entirely to be poked at by the fingers of your weaknesses!
Such is the generation we have found ourselves!
Sin is available! Jeru trip is available at your beck and call.
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1 KJV)
We are not in this race of life alone! We’ve got some saints up there in the balcony of heaven, looking down on us and getting excited, when we say No to sin!
It is our responsibility then to lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us! We’ve got to lay aside every spiritual fat and parasitic sin!
If you live in a very busy environment and you and your spouse are involved in an intense job, day in day out, you have to go a long way to ensure you keep the devil at bay.
Take for example, both of you work in a place like Lagos state, Nigeria, you leave home as early as 5.30am and sometimes you are not back till 10.00pm because of traffic congestion. The proclivity is that you will likely spend more time with your colleagues than with your spouse! It is with deliberate and decisive heart coupled with the fear of God that you make up your mind to be faithful in your marriage.
Here are few points to note:
1. Cheating on your spouse is cheating on your destiny Why is this so? It is a direct violation of the principles of God, so you end up not having God’s support and favour in your life. It is not worth it.
Why would you cheat on your spouse? What kind of Jeru trip are you looking for that you won’t find in your spouse?
Why play with fire. Will you carry fire in your bosom and not be burned? Will you walk on hot coals and your feet not be singed? I doubt!
2. Cheating on your spouse is a stupid idea. Now I didn’t say that, God did. I am only echoing what God said.
But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. (Proverbs 6:32 KJV)
Now see that in Message translation because KJV seems to be really nice there.
Adultery is a brainless act, soul–destroying, self–destructive; (Proverbs 6:32 Message)
Brainless! That’s not nice at all, but that is the truth! What the scripture is saying here is that if we can think deeply, we would not dabble into adultery for anything in this world.
We see right there the implication of adultery.
Expect a bloody nose, a black eye, and a reputation ruined for good. For jealousy detonates rage in a cheated husband; wild for revenge, he won’t make allowances (Proverbs 6:33-34 Message)
The next time somebody is trying to talk you into some compromise, go ahead and tell that other person, that would be a stupid idea.
There is something about being faithful. It has tremendous rewards!
To be continued.
May God grant us more understanding.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a responsible husband/wife.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, open the eyes of my understanding.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Decide to be faithful to your spouse
Gen 3:1 KJV Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 3:1 AMP NOW THE serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?
The tactics the devil uses, even till today doesn’t change. It is important we get conversant with his tactics so that we can better prepare ourselves and safeguard our destinies by the help of the Holy Spirit from falling into his traps.
That is why the scripture says
2Co 2:11 KJV Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Amplified version says:
2Co 2:11 AMP To keep Satan from getting the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his wiles and intentions.
We must by the Spirit of God protect ourselves so that he does not get advantage over us in our relationships and marriage.
In verse one of the above verse, he said: “Yea, hath God said…” He still does the same today. What he does is to challenge the truth of God’s word in your heart.
He did the same thing for Jesus Christ! The temptations of Jesus Christ were crafted to challenge the word of God. That was why the moment Jesus Christ responded with “It is written…,” he won!
Why would the devil always challenge God’s word? The reason is obvious. The moment he makes you to doubt God’s word or to reject God’s word, he would have a foothold to operate.
So he comes and says things like: “Did God really say we should not have pre-marital sex?” “But everybody is compromising! Why should I be different?” “Can I really marry someone without ‘testing’ that person on bed?”
Sometimes, he even comes quoting scripture and misapplying it. He says things like:
“The scriptures says we must be wise as serpent, so I don’t think it is wrong to fight for my job at work place by sleeping with my boss” “Is it really wrong to be involved in adultery? David was adulterous, and yet God still said He is a man after His heart. Did God not approve adultery there? If God hates my adulterous life, He would have killed me!”
He comes and tells two people who are in courtship: “See, there is nothing wrong in kissing and petting. It is something we should do in order to express our love since we are sure of getting married!”
He tells another: “There is nothing wrong in masturbation. We must find a way to relive the pressure, in as much as we did not fornicate. Even one Pastor said it is okay…”
He tells a married person: “Your spouse is a mistake. You don’t need to divorce him/her, but you can just have affairs outside and God will understand that it is not easy!”
It goes on and on. The underlying thing I want you to see is that the moment God’s word is being challenged on any level; know that the devil is at work. The Holy Spirit will never come to counteract God’s word or to debunk it; He only comes to expound it.
Never yield ground to the devil. Resist him like the Jesus Christ did and he will flee. Adam and Eve yielded to the devil and lost the fullness of God’s plan. Jesus came to restore that loss, but he would have failed if he yielded to the devil when he was being tempted.
Every compromise you cooperate with alters something in the spirit realm. Make up your mind this coming month to resist the devil every day and consciously with the help of the Holy Spirit.
You cannot be yielding to your flesh and the devil every time if you want to go far! You cannot be saying some girl seduced you all the time while you sleep around recklessly. You cannot be saying a man forced you into compromise with his money.
The devil is not that powerful. He is as powerful as you allow him in your life. He needs your permission before he can trip you and trap you. Never allow him again. Don’t give him an inch!
Do it God’s way. There will no longer be delays in Jesus name. God will perfect everything in your relationship and marriage as you make up your mind to resist the devil.
Never forget this, if you can keep feeding your spirit with God’s word daily and consistently, and you believe His word, that same word of the Lord will keep you! That is why we have created this online Club for you! Visit it daily and keep learning all you can. Keep encouraging each other! Stay on your toes and be alert.
I pray that you will have a higher revelation of the person and the principles of our Lord Jesus Christ! Victory is yours!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY In all things I give thanks. I will not allow the devil, pride, pressures of life and ignorance to steal this gracious act from me.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, give me your wisdom to be a good spouse
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Heb 12:28 MSG Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Make up your mind to stand strong in God
Do you know that what you say or do shows how responsible you are? People can quickly judge that about you (how responsible you are) without even spending much time with you or knowing you for long? So you have to watch what you say. This truth cannot be overemphasized.
Imagine someone sees or hears you making fun of people all the time. Almost every time this person sees you, you are making fun of someone or doing one wrong thing or the other. What do you think they will say or think about you? It can’t be positive; therefore you must learn to watch what you say.
To you it may be fun and means nothing, but to the victim of your jokes it means something. To the person observing you, it says something about you. It shows how irresponsible you are because only an irresponsible person would take it upon themselves to always make jokes about people. So you have to learn to watch what you say.
A responsible person would rather help, support, provide and befriend someone rather than make fun of them.
“My brothers God called you and chose you to be his. Try hard to show that you really are God’s chosen people. If you do all these things, you will never fall.” 2 Pet. 1:10.
May the Lord take away the spirit of irresponsibility from you and give a spirit of responsibility and love. May the LORD help you to learn how to watch what you say; Amen.
Prayer: Lord, I ask for the spirit of responsibility and love. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Action plan: To become responsible, know what responsibility means. Then act it out always. Keep the phrase ‘watch what you say’ in your mind always.
Isaiah 28:20 KJV For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
…and the covering narrower than he can wrap himself in it. Uhmmm… May we never be in this situation! It is a place where one is exposed and there is no covering. It is a place where one becomes exposed to the harsh weathers of this life, and there seems to be no covering.
It is a place where the different seasons of life become a disadvantage rather than leverage. It is a time where one’s nakedness is uncovered, where the finances are never enough and where shame is always in the offing.
It is a time when spiritual cold is easily caught because you are exposed to the elements of this world. It is a time when all the sounds are just sneezes and noises, and you are no longer a voice. It is a time where embarrassments become the order of the day, and your story seem to be on the lips of everyone.
It is a time where it seems there is no place to hide under, the blanket is useless, and the harsh weather of life takes over!
May I have the honour of telling you this morning, that this is not your portion? May I announce to you that if you have been coping with some of these experiences, it is time you rebel.
Yes, you read it right. It is time to rebel against what God has not packaged into your life. It is time to reject every thing the enemy is trying to programme into your life. It is time you reject every message form demonic dreams.
It is time you reject the tendencies you see in your lineage and is beginning to rear its head. It is time you say No because you are a child of God. It is time you pull out every tree that your heavenly father has not planted!
Throw away the wrapper, and take on the garment of righteousness. The wrapper of iniquity and compromise is too narrow, it will rather bring shame and rather than save from shame.
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach! When you find yourself in a relationship with a person who has no fear or regard for God, your covering will be narrow. If you find yourself in an adulterous mess, the covering will be narrow.
Throw away this covering that is narrow and stop going through life in a cycle of broken relationships and jilting experiences. Go to where the real covering is!
Psa 91:1-2 KJV (1) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (2) I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
It is when you get in the secret place that you can be saved from the vicissitudes and the harsh weathers of this life. Let Him be your refuge and fortress. Put your trust in Him today.
The wrapper you have from that married man who is not your husband will not last, it will expose you. The house he rented for you will not cover at the end! Go for the real garment that lies in God
Mat 9:21 KJV For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
Go for that garment. Decide to have a relationship with God rather than live with your issues alone. He will save you. He will embrace you in His everlasting arms and save you from the evil one. He will wrap you in His love and give you a new garment.
He will dress you up and decorate your destiny with dignity. He will glorify you with productivity and result. He will save you from the frustrations of this life and the shame that is lurking.
Call upon him today. Confess all sin. Give your life to Him and start a new beginning in Him. You will not regret this decision!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am free from shame. Shame is far from me.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, let the eyes of my understanding be enlightened.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Psa 91:1 KJV (1) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Decide to go for a new garment.
We used to hear this phrase about marriage a lot long time ago, but nowadays, we hardly hear such a thing. The world has gone digital, fast and every body seems busy.
Knowledge has made people to replace old values with modern ones. The question is does modernization makes our conclusions about marriage right?
The modern day view of marriage is contractual while the good old days view marriage as in Gods eyes as a covenant.
Contractual view says, you do this, then I do that’. While covenant says, I will do this for you because I am committed to you. It doesn’t really matter what you do or don’t do’.
Marriage as a contract is always based on negotiations, convenience, and protection of self. Each spouse maintain their lanes and do what is expected. Otherwise the marriage contact does not work and they go their separate ways which means separation or divorce.
In this case, marriage is not for a common goal. There is no fulfilling purpose or destiny together in view. There is no sense of purpose or God bringing the couples together to fulfill a mandate or an assignment.
All that is involved is ‘I am attracted to you, and you to me. We have a love connection between us and we are good to go’.
Marriage is for better for worse. This is a little scary which brings with it a sense of awe. Two hearts beating as one is a mystery. That mystery can only be unraveled by the help of divinity.
Here, there is a sense of a divine assignment. Marriage is not just lived on their terms but on the terms of God, who is the covenant witness and judge in the marriage union.
Each couples live their lives following a particular road map created by the creator. That means there is a supervisory role performed by God.
The husband cannot just do whatever he likes to do, neither can the wife do whatever she likes or wishes in the marriage.
There are guiding principles, guiding both husband and wife. There is a race set before each one to run, and each one runs with passion looking to God for grace to accomplish his/her race.
Here, the wife is protected as well or as much as the husband is protected too. Both husband and wife have a common father who protects their interest.
It is not based on human standards that the rights of the husband is protected above the wife. Where the woman is subjected to servitude. Or in some cultures, where the wife is overly protected above the husband.
Marriage is indeed till death so us part.
May God grant us grace to so His will.
God bless our marriage
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I have an understanding of what marriage is, my home is blessed
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, let the eyes of my understanding be enlightened.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. Genesis 24:19 (KJV)
