“The Vow of Priority”
#TheVow Week 1
Pastor Kris Freeman
Revolution Church
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Scripture: Genesis 2:21-25 (NLT)
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs[d] and closed up the opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. 23 “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” 24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. 25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
This scripture is used almost every WEDDING ceremony.
Were Adam and Eve married? In the LEGAL system we use now, maybe not.
But Adam and Eve were in COVENANT with God and each other.
What is a covenant? - A contract, agreement or undertaking. A commitment, guarantee, pledge, promise, bond or VOW.
In the Old Testament, God made covenants with his people - these were called SUZERAINTY covenants (a covenant between a king/lord and his vassals). God is SOVEREIGN.
Today, we discuss the vow between Adam, Eve and God, and how we are called to express the same covenant to one another in our relationships.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her (Ephesians 5:25)
The relationship between man and woman is like the covenant relationship between JESUS and the CHURCH.
Four vows:
- The vow of Priority
- The vow of Pursuit
- The vow of Partnership
- The vow of Prayer/Purity
The stats about marriage are always skewed, but let’s assume for argument’s sake that the 50 percent divorce number is true. That means divide this room in half, and society says that one side of your will be a FAILURE in your marital relationships. Let’s flip this prediction!
The first step is this statement:
God is my ONE and my spouse is my TWO and together we are still ONE.
1. I promise that God will be my first PRIORITY and my spouse and family will be my second.
If your spouse is ONE, you are asking them to perform a sovereign task that is impossible. Lordship belongs only to God!
- Dating - priority is everything (nice car, good dinner, great movie, quality time, gifts)
- Marriage - priority is getting started, the honeymoon phase, it’s cute, sexy, fun
- Kids - priority shifts, no time for each other
- Work - priority is getting by, finances, security, no time for special things anymore
- Habits/Hobbies/Hangups - priority is self!!!
- Death - priority is “I wish I had more TIME.”
You cannot squeeze God in where everything else is being squeezed out. He has to be the number one priority and everything else falls in line WITH Him.
2. I promise that I will PROTECT my priorities.
Your role in a relationship is to protect the things that matter the most.
Five priorities to set this week:
I will pray every day with my spouse and my family (God first).
I will be in church with my family.
I will schedule a date night this month (not married? Find a friend and celebrate/relax!)
I will read Song of Solomon, and see that God really does talk about intimacy.
I will model one consistent behavior of love and priority in front of my kids/friends
Hold hands
Be affectionate
Use manners, hold doors
Commit to smile every time they make eye contact with you
Everybody wants to find “THE ONE” - God is the ONE and then TWO gets blessed!
It’s easy to make excuses, but loves makes a way.
#TheVow
Find the Bible reading plan for this series by searching “The Vow” on YouVersion!
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