Pastor Peter Mason - August 11, 2019
Wisdom for Wedlock
Wisdom for Wedlock Proverbs 31:1-4, 10-14 and 28-31
I. Don’t: We should keep away from tempting situations.
7 “And now, O sons, listen to me,
and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house” (Proverbs 5:7-8, ESV).
“Do not give your strength to women,
your ways to those who destroy kings” (Proverbs 31:3).
Joseph, when confronted with seduction by Potiphar's wife, employed a very effective strategy for overcoming temptation.
Run! Run! RUN! (see Genesis 39:12). Timothy’s mentor, the apostle Paul, admonished his spiritual protégé,
“Flee also youthful lust . . .” (2 Timothy 2:22a). Fleeing temptation doesn’t show cowardice; it shows good sense.
II. Do: Focus on enjoying and strengthening your relationship.
a. Advice for Singles
i. Develop godly friendships
ii. Use your giftedness and flexibility of time to serve others
iii. Choose a marriage partner wisely
“An excellent wife who can find?
She is more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31:10).
b. Guidance for Married Couples
i. Focus on your marriage
ii. Be faithful
Don’t “forsake the companion of [your] youth and forget the covenant of [your] God” (from Proverbs 2:17).
iii. Enjoy your marriage
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love (Proverbs 5:18-19, ESV).
c. Cultivate your relationship
i. Be constant (Proverbs 17:17 and 18:24)
ii. Be caring (25:20, 27:10 and 14)
iii. Be candid (27:6)
III. Accountability: Ultimately, we stand before the LORD and are accountable to him for our actions
“For a man's ways (derek) are before the eyes of the LORD,and he ponders all his paths” (Proverbs 5:21, ESV).
“Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (31:30).