Whenever I perform a wedding,
this is pretty much where I'm going to be in the ceremony. I told someone one time that
asked me to perform a wedding for them. They said that they
had had classes, had taken marriage classes. and prior to, and I
said, well that's good. And I said, but let me share
something with you. I said, there's two biblical
precepts, and only two biblical precepts. When it comes to marriage. And I'm pretty well this evening
going to pretty well take what I say at a wedding. And I want to just share it with
you. It's something that I need to
hear desperately and I need to hear it often. And I'm sure you'll
say the same thing for you. Two biblical precepts. I want to deal with the first
one this evening, and it's Ephesians 5 verse 25. Now I know we ended
with verse 21 last time, and the first place I'd normally
be would be verse 22. But I'm going to go to 25, and
then Lord willing, go back. I felt impressed to deal with
verse 25. Here it is. Here's the first
biblical precept. Husbands, love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. I want us to consider what does
the scripture have to say about love? You know, that's kind of
a broad thought. I mean, it's just as broad as
the imagination. Well, I love my wife. You know,
I make a living and I do this, I do that. What does the Word of God have
to say about love? I want you to take your Bibles,
turn to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 13. This is the
chapter on love. In this chapter right here. sets forth what God Almighty
has to say about love. Husbands, love your wives. Now, Lord willing, next time
I'm going to deal with wives, submit yourself unto your own
husband as unto the Lord. This evening, husbands, love
your wife. Now, I want us to look at the
first three verses of 1 Corinthians 13. Though I speak, with the
tongues of men and of angels and have not charity, love. I am become a sounding brass
or a tinkling cymbal and though I have the gift of prophecy and
understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have
all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity,
I'm nothing. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
and have not charity, it profited me nothing." The Apostle Paul,
under the inspiration of God's Spirit, declares that love is
the greatest blessing to God's people to the understanding
of Scriptures, to their attitude toward other believers, but especially
toward each other in the bond of marriage. No gifts of prophecy, no gifts
of knowledge, no gifts of understanding, void of love amounts to a hill
of beans. I could speak with the tongues
of men. I could have eloquence that would just absolutely dazzle
you. And use words that you'd have
to go look up. And if I did not have love, He said, I'm just a clanging
cymbal, just bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, just nothing. This attitude without love, knowing
all things, it's like a body without life. It's just offensive. It's like a contaminated well.
You cry and you make your noises and you have your verbalizations
and you say everything, and when it's all said and done, what
you've really done is you're saying concerning yourself of
this contaminated well, don't drink from me, I'm poison. That attitude of know it all,
I understand it all, and it's void of love, Paul says, it's
nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's like
a book. You open it up and it has no
words in it. There's just no profitable instruction. You can have the apostle Paul
said, He said, I could have, in verse 2, the gift of prophecy,
I can understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains and I don't
have love. Now let me give you an example
here. I want you to hold your place
right here and turn with me to Matthew 8.28. I can understand, I can have
a knowledge of, I can... great mysteries. Void of love,
you don't have anything. Matthew 8, the Lord was in the
land of the Gadarenes. And the Scripture says He came
up to a man that was a demoniac. He was possessed of a devil. And the Scripture says concerning
this Well, actually it was two of them, but it says in Matthew
8, 28, 29, when he was come to the other side of the country
of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils
coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might
pass by that way. Now listen what these demons
knew. And behold, they cried out, saying,
What have we to do with thee, Jesus? Thou Son of God. Now let me tell you what they
knew. They knew who He was. They understood that He is the
Messiah. They knew exactly who He was.
What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? Art Thou
come hither to torment us before the time? I'll tell you what
else they knew. They knew He was sovereign. They knew that He had the power
and the right and He's going to cast them into the lake of
fire. They knew exactly who He was. But let me tell you what
they didn't have. They didn't have love. There
was no love bestowed to them or in them. They knew who he
was. They had all knowledge of who
he was. The apostle Paul writing to the
church at Corinth, he said, I can have the gift of prophecy, I
can understand all mysteries, all knowledge. He said, I have
all faith. Don't doubt for one second that
they didn't believe that's who he was. They understood that. So that I could remove mountains,
and if I have not love, He said, I don't have anything. Nothing. Now I want us to look back, 1
Corinthians 13, and I want us to just look and see what love
is not, what it doesn't do, and what the Scripture says it does
do. Now this is the bottom line. This is where the paddle meets
the water. Somebody wants to know, we talk about love. Husbands,
love your wife. even as Christ loved the church,
gave Himself for it. I want you to look and see what
love does not do. And whenever I read these things,
let me just tell you right now before we even get into them,
there's only one that has ever done or not done what these Scriptures
are going to set forth. One, the Lord Jesus Christ. But let me tell you what every
believer does. He strives after this. He desires this. He longs after this. And he's
going to see the frailty in himself. But I'll tell you what he does.
He strives after it. He does not take these Scriptures
and just look at them and say, there's no way in the world I
can do that so therefore it doesn't apply to me. Every believer strives
after this. Let me tell you what love does
not do. Verse 4. The Scripture says,
and if you'll notice now, I'm going to just go in that verse
what love doesn't do, then I'll come back to the same verse and
I'll tell you what love does. The first thing it does not do
charity, envieth not. Love is not suspicious. Always questioning another's
actions or motives. Trusts. It trusts. I know this. We earn respect. I know we do. We earn it. But
let me tell you what love does not do. It does not take the
word that someone gives you and put a twist on it and say this,
I hear what you're saying. But I know what you mean. How
do you know what they mean? You don't know. Love envieth
not. It's not jealous, it's not suspicious,
it's not questioning another's action. Here in verse 4, charity
vaunteth not itself. It doesn't promote itself for
rash, personal, glory by putting down someone else to elevate
yourself. Love doesn't do it. Verse 4 says it's not puffed
up. It's not conceited, thinking
that I can do no wrong. It's my way or the highway. Make
up your mind what you're going to be. That's not love. Love does not puff itself up. Look at verse 5. It doth not
behave unseemly. You know what this means? It's
not rude. It's not rude. I'll never forget,
I've told you this so many times, it made such an impression on
me. Brother Maurice Montgomery told
me one time, he said, Marvin, you can always be gracious. Someone may say something to
you and it just cuts you to the core. But love for that person is gracious. Gracious. Love does not behave itself unseemly,
always with a bad attitude, always discourteous, never thoughtful. There was somebody that I'm thinking
about, it doesn't matter who it is, they live in Louisiana,
and crossed my path, and I was, you know, pretty well locked
into them. I mean, where they were living
and where I was, and just claimed to believe the gospel. Claimed
to believe the gospel. And I mean, had five points of
Calvinism down pat. I mean, did not deviate. I mean, claimed to be a preacher. Claimed to be a preacher. And
I'm telling you, was the rudest, hardest, most unkind, unsympathetic
person I ever met in my life. And it didn't take long before
I began to see I was a very young believer. And I thought just
because somebody claims to know five points of Calvinism, they've
got to be a believer. I mean, if they claim five points
of Calvinism, I'm going to tell you something, these demoniacs
of the Gurgashins, I would say that they probably could have
been classified five-point Calvinist. They probably knew that man was
depraved, that God had an elect, and that Christ died for His
people. I probably had all their points
down, but there was no love. I'm telling you, it was the most
unlovely person I think I've ever been around in my life.
Finally, we parted ways. I just told him, I said, I cannot
be around you anymore because of your attitude. Love does not
behave unseemly. Verse 5 says, Love seeketh not
her own. It doesn't shrink away from seeking
the welfare of others. You know what you'll do for those
you love? All you can. all you can. I mean, you just, over and above. Love doesn't seek her own. Look, I've gone as far as I'm
going to go, and I'm not going any farther. Love absolutely
gives. Gives. Verse 5 says, Love is
not easily provoked. Love is not touchy. Resentful. Easily offended. I like to say it like this. Love
is not high maintenance. You ever been around somebody
and they're just so high maintenance? It's like you have to walk around
on eggshells around them. You know, for fear, man, whatever
you do, don't, man, be careful, don't say anything around them.
Love is not easily provoked. Verse 5 says, concerning love,
it thinketh no evil. And here again, I said a few
minutes ago, it's not. No believer is going to ever
say, I've never thought evil. But here's what it is. Here's
what a believer strives after. Love does not think back reflecting
on the past faults or failings of others and continually throwing
it up in their face. No, not love. Love thinketh no evil. And verse 6 says, it rejoiceth
not in iniquity. It doesn't find pleasure in repeating
or hearing repeated another one's shortcomings, just to tear them
down. Not love. Husbands, love your
wife. Christ loved the church. What
does love do then? According to the Scriptures,
back in verse 4, charity suffereth long. That is, with the faults
of others, love is long-suffering. Love considers the frailty of
what we are. We are flesh. We're flesh. Love suffereth long. It rejoiceth, verse 6, in the
truth. It rejoices in the truth of the
gospel. It rejoices in remembering and
rehearsing the mercy that the Lord has shown us. Look at Malachi
3.16. This is love. Here's love. Malachi 3.16. Then they that feared the Lord,
reverenced the Lord, spoke often one to another." You know why they spoke often
one to another? They loved each other. They feared
the Lord and respected the Lord. And the Lord hearkened and heard
it. And a book of remembrance was
written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought
upon His name. Listen, a man, a woman that loves
God, has a love for the Lord, fears the Lord, reverences the
Lord. They love the brethren. They love each other. We won't
talk about it. Let's rehearse what the Lord has done. Let me
tell you what the Lord has done for me. Love. Almighty God has given believers
a heart for each other. And love rejoices in seeing others
grow in grace. Love does not look and gloat
and find reason to look at another that may have stumbled or fallen
and find reason to put them down. I knew they wouldn't stay. I
knew they wouldn't stay. Every time somebody comes and
visits here, I don't even know who they are. Maybe they visit
for the first time. You know the first thing that
goes through my mind? What if they're one of the Lord's?
What if they're one of God's sheep? I don't know. I just met you for the first
time. I don't know. But I hope you
come back for your sake, for the glory of God, for the fellowship
of this body that we might find fellowship with you. Scripture says love. Well, back
in verse... One, he's talking about bearing
all things. Verse 7, I'm sorry. Beareth all
things. I was looking at my number. My
7 looked like a 1. Beareth all things. What is it? It hides the fault of another. And it believes the best of another. And he puts the best twist on
another's actions or words. Give them the benefit of the
doubt. Somebody says something and does something and stuff,
and love does not bring it up. I'll tell a young couple that's
getting married, I'll tell the man, I'll say, now listen, let
me tell you something. I can think back on a meal that
was prepared one time and it was bad. It was really, really
bad. But I'm going to tell you something.
You don't have to bring that up, especially to somebody else. And another thing, love beareth
all things and hides the faults. It's never good, never good to
bring it up to somebody else, especially in front of that person
that you love and embarrass them. Beareth all things. It hopeth
all things. Love beholds the one that they
love with honor, with respect. Always hoping, always praying,
Lord have mercy. Listen, when that prodigal son
left home and went to a far country, took what belonged to him, took
his inheritance, and he went out and spent it all in righteous
living, I dare say that there was ever a day that daddy didn't
look. Maybe. I remember reading that
part when he saw him a long way off. He saw him afar off. Probably recognized his gate,
his walk. Probably saw something that was
familiar. Ran out there, kissed him, fell
on him. Hope with all things. Hope, love, and peace toward
others is what we desire. Love endureth all things, verse
7 says, endureth all things for the gospel's sake, for the sake
of the unity of the body. Whatever is the trial, now listen,
we're brethren. We're brethren. You claim to
be a believer, we're brethren. frailties, all have faults. I
don't want you to know mine. I'd really desire to hide them
from you, to be honest with you. Those of you that are around
me a lot see them and to be honest with you, I appreciate you hiding
them and defending me and covering my faults. I know I have them. I realize that. And thank you
so for protecting me and keeping me. Love endures all things for
the sake of the gospel. For the sake of the unity of
the body, endure the trial. Endure the disappointment. Endure
the offense. Here's what Scripture says concerning
love, verse 8. It never fails. It never fails. It endures. People that love
each other, I tell you, let me tell you the sweetest words that
you'll ever hear between two brethren that maybe have found
themselves at odds. I love you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I should have been
here a long time ago. I'm sorry. Forgive me. Forgive
me. Charity never fails. Verse 13 of chapter 13 says,
Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three. The greatest of
these is charity. Now abideth faith, hope, and
love, these three. The greatest. is love, hope. For future expectation will in
time cease. We see through a glass darkly
right now and we have hope, we have a good hope. Scripture says
that the trump of God is going to sound and clouds, Peer apart,
the Lord will come to send the angels. Those that died in the
faith will be raised first. We have hope. I know that's coming.
I know it's coming. One of these days, faith is going
to give way to sight. We're going to see. We have hope. Faith will cease. Hope will cease. But love never
shall end. Never. Finding ourselves in heaven,
love will always be there. Hope will be gone. Faith will
be gone. Sight will be there. The fulfillment of hope will
be there. Love, that'll never end. A husband that loves his
wife, back in Ephesians 5. A husband that loves his wife
desires, and I told you a minute ago, I need to hear this often. Desires to be. In my notes, I've
got a husband that loves his wife will be the, and I scratch
it out, I wrote it on top, desires to be. I want to be. I want to be. But to say I will
be all the time like this, to my embarrassment, I can't say
that. But I tell you what I desire
to be. I desire to be a loving, compassionate, caring, dependable
husband. I want that. I want that. The Scripture says, Husbands,
love your wife as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself
for it. A husband that loves his wife
wants to and does take the responsibility for her well-being. He wants
to take care of her. He wants to provide for her.
The Scripture says husbands love your wife even as Christ loved
the church and gave himself for it. What husband that loves his
wife? Now, I'm talking to believers.
Now, listen. A man that loves his wife is
going to put her first. She's going to be first. A husband
that loves his wife. I'll get on to this. I don't
want to get on this yet, and I will if I'm not careful. Talking about
submission. Let me tell you something. A
wife to submit herself to a husband that loves her, provides for
her, cares for her, hides her faults. I mean, does all for
her. You have no problem, a wife has
no problem submitting herself, adapting herself is what it is,
to a husband that loves her. The Scripture says, 2 Corinthians
5.14, For the love of Christ constraineth us, Husbands, listen. The Lord gave you your wife. The Father gave the wife to the
Lord Jesus, chose her in Him from before the foundation of
the world, that she should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. He worketh all things after the
counsel of His own will. Where did you get your wife?
God gave her to you. Love her. She's the Lord's gift. She is God's manifestation of
His wisdom to you, husband. For His honor, for His glory,
for His praise, love her. Love her. And respect her. And do for her. And defend her. And hide her faults. Cherish
her. Respect her. Comfort her. Be
the example before her and others, the example of what the Lord
has done for His body. Treat her in private just like
you do here. There shouldn't be any difference
in the way you treat her at home as the way you treat her here.
You should speak to her the same way right here, I mean at home
as you do, right here. Remember, submission is earned.
A man that loves his wife, especially in his actions, adores her. Adores her. I wrote down this scripture here
as I'm wrapping this up, Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon 4. Verse 1-7. Song of Solomon 4. Listen to the beauty
of these words as the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking of His bride. Behold, Song of Solomon 4-1,
thou art fair, my love. Behold, thou art fair, Thou hast
dove's eyes within thy locks, thy hair is as a flock of goats
that appear from Mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like the flock
of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing,
whereof every one bear twins, none is bearing among them. Thy
lips like a thread of scarlet, thy speech is comely, thy temples
or like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks." I want you
to notice how he describes his bride. As he is altogether lovely
to her, she is to him. Husbands, love your wife as Christ
loved the church. To those of you that have been
married, A long time. The Lord's given you a loving
husband, a loving wife. This is so. I know this is so. To a loving husband, his wife
is more beautiful to him now than when they first met. Someone asked me one time, do
I believe in love at first sight? And I said, no. No. No, I don't. I do not believe
in love at first sight. I mean, there may be infatuation
at first sight. He called it a lot of things,
but love at first sight? No. Let me tell you something.
Love grows. Love is cultivated. Love is something
that you work on. I've been here 13 years, and
I look at all of us that have gotten older and gotten more
frail and stuff, and you're more beautiful now than when I first
met you. You know why? Because I know
you. I know you better than when I
first met you. We've kind of grown together. That's the way. husband and wife
is. You first met and you had to
learn each other, but now you almost know what the other is
thinking before they say anything. Lastly, a husband that loves
his wife is faithful to his vows. Do you promise I remember, I'm
trying to think, I'm trying to think the last wedding, it might
have been Mitchell. Mitchell might have been the
last one that I did. And I mean, when I come to this
part of the ceremony, I always want to be very, very plain. And I remember looking at Mitchell,
and he just happened to be the last one. And I looked at him
and I said, Mitchell, I said, now you listen to me. I said, do you promise, do you
promise before God Almighty, before these people, but do you
promise before God to love this woman, to give yourself
to her and only to her and protect her, I said, because the only
thing she has is your Word. That's all she's got. I said,
we'll sign a piece of paper in just a minute, but that's just
a piece of paper. That's all it is. You gave her a ring, but
all that ring is is a piece of metal. Without your love, that
ring is nothing. It's nothing. But if you give
her your Word, you'll be faithful to her. Husbands, love your wife
as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Alright,
Gary.