Friendship in Marriage

Jesus did not count equality with God as something to be grasped but he humbled himself even unto the death on the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him. Ego is one of the primary destroyers of friendships and we see no iota of ego in or between the trinity. There is a height that may remain elusive in a marriage/home when ego is present and both spouses haven't embraced the demands of pure friendship.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We started looking at the subject of the Trinity and looking at parallels between the Trinity and how God intends for our marriage to operate. Listen to me. I hope you are still here. We started looking at the subject of Trinity and looking at how God expects our marriage to operate. And we look at the fact that the family has always been God's plan. Somebody say family has always been God's plan. Say it again. Say family has always been God's plan. Yes. In creation, he had family in mind. He said it's not good that man should be alone. It's not good that man should be alone. And then he created family to solve that problem of loneliness. Because he himself exists in family. He himself exists in family. The Trinity is a family. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, it's a family. You see? Because he exists in family, he said it's not good for man to be alone. So he created family. And so if God's response to man's aloneness was to put him in family, because he exists in family, so we can look at the some characteristics of the family in which God exists and parallel it with what he expects to see in the kind of family that we should have. Is somebody still here? Yes, sir. Yes. And then we said that um we looked at the subject of mutual submission. And we said that in a marriage, the wife has a unique responsibility to submit to the authority of the husband. Just as God the Father has authority over the son in the Trinity. Though the two of them are equal in deity, so in marriage, the husband has authority over the wife, though they are equal in personhood. Alright. Alright. I hope we were able to make that case yesterday because God has given last week. God has given each one of us in the marriage context responsibilities. The husband has the responsibility to love, the wife has the responsibility to um submit and respect the husband, and the children have the responsibility to obey their parents. Somebody say obey their parents. Yes, you have the responsibility to obey their parents. So everybody has responsibilities, and we ought to teach this. We ought to teach this. That's why this is one of the reasons why we're having higher rates of divorce, we're having issues in families, is because these things are not taught. These biblical principles that are the foundations and the pillars of family are not taught. You see, these are the foundations and the pillars. You may not agree with it, the culture may not agree with it, but the foundation of God stands sure. The foundation of God stands sure. These are the foundations of the marriage. You know, the husband has a unique responsibility to love, as we will see in today's teaching, and the wife has a unique responsibility to submit. Alright, today we want to go ahead. Let's quickly read our text. Um, we're reading our text is from Ephesians chapter 5, Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25 to 33, Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25 to 33. Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church. Somebody say glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy. Somebody say holy and without blemish. Yes, verse 28 says, So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no one ever eateth his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. Verse 31. It says, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Somebody say one flesh. Verse 32. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Not my words, the words of the scriptures. Today, I want to look at the subject of friendship in marriage and love in marriage. Don't worry, there's something for everybody. Friendship, friendship in marriage, and love in marriage, friendship in marriage, and love in marriage. Marriage, marriage, don't worry. There's something for everybody. Alright, what are some qualities of a friend? What are some qualities of a friend? The word friend has been loosely used these days. You know, we're so quick to call people our friend. Um, but you don't become friends with somebody overnight. You don't become friends with somebody overnight. There are some qualities that somebody ought to show before you can say they are your friends. There's some qualities that that somebody ought to show. What are some characteristics of real friendship? Number one, yeah, this is not exhaustive by any chance, but it's just something to get the juices flowing for you and start evaluating the friends in your life. Have they shown these characteristics? Number one is constancy. Constancy. You see, a friend is there at all times. A friend is there at all times. Galatians chapter 6, verse 2 tells us that we should bear each other's burdens. Galatians chapter 2, verse 6, verse, verse, verse, um, Galatians chapter 6, verse 2. It says we should bear each other's burdens. So um a friend is there through the thick and the thin. See, a friend does not just get off when things get tough. A friend does not, you know, disappear when things get tough. They are there with you through the thick and thin. Friendship comes with responsibility. You see, friendship comes with responsibility. So we we cannot be flippant about this idea of friendship. There is a responsibility when you say somebody's your friend. If I say you are my friend, then I expect you to support me when I'm doing something meaningful. You know, if I say you are if you say somebody is your friend, then you you have it's reasonable to expect them to be there for you. It's reasonable. That is not that is not too much to ask because friendship comes with responsibility. Number two characteristic of friendship is transparency. Transparency. Real friends always let you in and they never let you down. Real friends always let you in and they never let you down. And finally, loyalty is another is another characteristic, if you like, of friendship. Loyalty. Proverbs chapter 27, verse 17. Proverbs 27 and verse 17. Let's read that quickly. Proverbs 27 and verse 17. Look at what it says. Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Iron sharpens high on, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Loyalty. This is not loyalty to your bad, you know, somebody's bad traits. No. This is not loyalty to your own detriment. This is not loyalty that prevents people from telling you the truth. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about loyalty to the good in you. We're talking about loyalty to the good in you. You know, they're always calling out the best in you. You see? Um, friendship is about is about longing for the same thing. Friendship is about is about longing for the same thing, having common interests. In fact, that's where the the word come comes from. Friendship, common affinity for something, the same affinity, mutual affinity for something. And when you have that, you will see the characteristic of constancy, transparency, and loyalty. And these are some things that should exist in our marriage. This is why they tell us to marry our friends. This is why they tell us to marry our friends. And if you do not marry your friend, then you have to be intentional about building friendship in that marriage. You see, if you if you did not marry your friend, or somehow you do not, you know, you feel like you are not friends to some the person you're married to, then you have to be intentional about building friendship within that marriage. Because the the feeling, the the arrows, as they call it, the arrows, it will it will wear off. The Bible says that beauty is vain. Beauty is vain. So anything you feel, all those adrenaline rush that you have on those first couple of years or couple of months, they will all fade away. It is friendship, it's the quality of friendship that sustains a union, it's the quality of friendship. So you build that that friendship intentionally. I have heard that when God brought Adam, when God brought Adam his spouse, he brought him not just a lover, but a friend his heart has been seeking. God brought Eve to Abraham to Adam, not just as a lover, but as the friend that Adam had been seeking. You remember that Adam named all the animals, right? He had been looking for all the God God created a procession, as it were, a procession of all the animals that they had created. And Abraham saw the lion, he called it lion. He saw the tiger called tiger, called all of them their names. And he did not find anyone that was similar to himself. But when he saw Eve, he saw not just a lover, he also saw a friend. Look at what Genesis chapter 2, verse 23 says. Genesis chapter 2, verse 23. He says, At last, this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It was saying, At last, this is now bone, this is not, this is not my companion. This is not somebody I can do life with. You see, this is not somebody I can confine in, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. That's what he's saying. A spouse ought to be ought to be bone of your bone, not to be a thorn in your flesh. A spouse should be uh, you know, bone of your bone, not a thorn in your flesh. A friend, a friend, a special confident. Proverbs chapter 2, verse 17. It tells us that that's that's those are the qualities of a spouse. You know, somebody who is a special confident, somebody you can confine in, somebody that you can do life with. That was what Adam saw in Eve when he called her, when when she when he when he exclaimed, This is not bone of my bone, this is not flesh of my flesh. So there should be friendship in marriage. And this idea is very counter-intuitive. This idea is very counterintuitive. When Paul was speaking in Ephesians chapter 5, that a husband should love his wife. Listen to me. When Paul was speaking that a husband should love his wife, this it was speaking to a pagan culture, was speaking to a pagan culture, and in that pagan culture is very similar to our traditional African culture, very similar, very similar because women were considered like a property to be owned back in those days, you know, they were considered, you know, um, marriage was something that you did to advance on the social strata, you know. So you look for a you know, a woman that is from a good family, and then you marry her so that your own status can improve. This was the people that Paul was speaking to, and so this idea that you love your husband, and you see, in that arrangement, in that love and respect does not exist because you know you are just the you're just somebody that I'm using to climb the social strata, so to speak. Somebody who just asked children for me. That was the idea. So this idea of love and friendship did not exist back in the so this idea that Paul was presenting to them, husbands love your wives. It was counter-intuitive, just the same way it is counter-intuitive in the African traditional African African setting that husbands should love their wives. But that's what we're called to. You see, are you are we saying that are we saying that people should not consider people's familial pedigree? Are we saying that you should not consider people's familiar pedigree before you make the choice of of marrying them? No, we're not saying that. You should look at people's pedigree, look, look at the family they come from, but we're saying that that should not be the primary thing. That should not be the primary thing, that should not be the primary thing. As a single person, male or female, the single most accurate predictor of how a person you are considering will be in your future is when you look at their families. Listen to what I'm saying, as a single person, that's why I said there's something for everybody here. You see, we are not saying that, oh, you should close your eyes to people's family background because oh, you we are not we are not in Christ, so and we shouldn't look at the pedigree of people's families, we should just marry blindly. No, we're not saying that. And I'm what and I'm saying that the single most accurate predictor of how your future will be with the person you are about to get married to, it is looking at their family and looking at their past. Is there a trend that you see in their lives or in their family? Is there a trend of people not being able to hold on to a job? Is there a trend of people not to not being able to hold on to a marriage? Is there a trend of of laziness? And our parents used to do this back in the day. You know, they will go. Is there a trend of unexplained poverty? Is there a trend of unexplained wealth in the in that home? Is that is there a trend of single parenting? You know, so you look at the trend in this in this family that I'm about to enter. You know, what's the trend there? What's the trend? Because the the trend is a prediction of your own future, the trend is a prediction of so we are not saying you should you should also consider the familiar background of the people of that you are considering, but we are saying that you don't consider your wife as just a property. No, the wife is not a property, there are people that you do life together and you fulfill destiny together. Somebody say amen. Alright, we're still talking about the friendship in marriage. What can we learn about friendship in marriage from the Trinity? What can we learn about friendship in marriage from the Trinity? If there's something that destroys friendship, it is ego. Ego and pride destroys friendships. Ego and pride destroys friendship. Ego and pride. That's one of the biggest things that destroys friendship. Both romantic friendships and platonic friendships, ego and pride. You cannot be friends with somebody who thinks they are better than you. You cannot be friends with somebody who thinks they are better than you. And you should not be friends with somebody who thinks they are better than you. You cannot. And you cannot be friends with somebody who you think you are better than. That's going to be a manipulative relationship. You see, if you if you sustain your other, you are better than this person. You cannot be friends with them because you always be looking down on them. See, you have that ego of ah, I'm better than this person. Or if you or somebody thinks they're better than you, you cannot be friends with them. And you should not be friends with them. But in the Trinity, what do we see in the Trinity? We see that there is no aorta, there is no gleams of ego in the Trinity. No ego. That's why it works. That's why have you ever thought about it? How does it work? These people that all everybody has power, everybody has all the power in the world. Yet we don't hear that there's disagreement. The reason it works in the Trinity is because there is no ego. Look at what Philippians chapter 2, verse 5 to 11 says. Philippians chapter 2. And this this drives on the point of no ego. Look at this. He says, Let this mind be in you. Husband, let this mind be in you, wife, let this mind be in you. Single person, let this mind be in you. What does it say? He says, Which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself. Somebody say, Umbud himself. You know, we prayed this prayer last week. That our husbands will be humble and they will be considerate as the leaders. Look at what Jesus did. He said, He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross. Therefore, somebody said, Therefore, yes, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every word, every knee should bow, and those in of those in heaven, and those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. No ego in the Trinity, no ego in the Trinity, no ego in Trinity. Look at what I said next here. I don't know if I have it here. This is what I let's read it together. One, two, go. There is a height that will remain elusive in a marriage until both individuals in the marriage drop their egos and embrace humility. It is because Jesus found himself as a servant and did not consider equality with God. This is why God says, therefore, God has highly exalted him. Therefore, God has highly exalted him. Therefore, God has highly exalted him. Because he humbled himself even to the death on the cross. Without humility, there is a height that you cannot reach. Without humility as a person in a marriage, you and your wife, you and your husband, humbling yourself, dropping your egos. There is a height that will remain elusive in that marriage. You will just be eating a ceiling. You will just realize that you cannot go past the level because both of you are there. Is that height to just remain elusive for you? It is when we embrace humility that God can exalt us. It's when we embrace humility that God can exalt us. Look at other scriptures, John chapter 12, verse 49. For I do not speak on my own. This is Jesus speaking. For I do not speak on my own. But the Father Himself, who sent me, has given me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I mean, this is the one who made the heavens and the earth, and he said that I don't speak of myself. He made the heavens and the earth, and he says, I don't speak for myself. Can you read this a little bit? Reduce it. You know, he made the heavens and the earth, and he said, I don't speak of myself. You know, there are some women, once they start making the money, a little money more than their husbands, you know, then it becomes an issue. It becomes an issue, it becomes a big issue. They forget everything that the Bible instructs. But Jesus, He has all the power. Look at what he says. I don't speak of myself. I told us, I think I told us one time, you see, it's not it's not strange for your husband to say that I can't make this decision because I've not spoken to my wife. Some people think that that is a crazy thought. No, it is not. I need to speak to my wife about this thing before I move forward with it. That shows that you have you are sensitive to how God expects you to run your home. I need to I need to speak to my husband about this thing before I move forward. I can't say yes, I need to speak to my husband. This is what Jesus exemplified. I can I don't speak of my own, but the father himself who sent me has given me a commandment. Can your husband give you a commandment? Can your can can can God give you a commandment? Look at what John chapter 16, verse 13 says. It says, But when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak of his own, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify me, and it will take from what is mine and will disclose it to you. He will glorify me. So the Holy Spirit does not speak of his own accord as well, he doesn't speak of himself, he speaks of what has been given to him. This is the person that was there when nothing existed. It was when I was hovering over the deep, and yet he doesn't say, Oh, I have some other ideas that I want to say. No, he only speaks to us what Jesus has given him. He only speaks to us what Jesus has given him. Friends prioritize each other. Friends prioritize each other. What do friends do? They prioritize each other. And how do you prioritize your friend by spending time with them? Friends prioritize each other. We're talking about friendship in marriage. Friends prioritize each other. You are not my friend if I'm not a priority in your life. You know, you are not my friend if I'm not a priority in your life. As a husband, you should know that one quality that women, your wife, craves the most is a listening here. A listening here, a listening here. Friends prioritize each other by spending time with them. We're talking about friendship in marriage. This is very important. And I'm speaking primarily to the men listening. You prioritize your wife by spending time with her. Even she's not making sense, quote unquote, wasting your time, quote ununquote. Just listen. Don't be so in a rush to fix the issue or give directives. Everything is not about providing the solution. Sometimes she just wants you to listen. Sometimes she just wants you to listen. I want you to take a cue from God as a man. Take a cue from God and the way he operates. Look at he has positioned himself as a God who hears and answers prayers. God, what? He hears and he answers prayers. Have you wondered that if you prayed for seven hours, God is listening? If you decide today to pray for ten hours, guess what? God is listening. God is listening. Because why? He is a God that hears and answers prayers. That's the kind of God He is. He won't interrupt you at the two hour mark and say, ah, no, no, no. I can't the one you have prayed is enough. As you are praying here, people are praying in China, people are praying in Australia. I'm trying to show you the qualities of the Trinity that makes it work. God is a God that what He hears and He answers prayers. You know it is after you have prayed, it is after you have prayed, he will not interrupt you. It will not interrupt if you don't provide room for him, if you don't stop and you and you provide room for him, God will not interrupt you, he will just let you continue to pray. It is after you have prayed, I will now begin to use the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not begin to bring their answers to you. You know, because he knows that just the fact of you speaking to him, talking to him is therapeutic for you. I'm trying to show you the characteristic of the father and as a husband, that should be your just the fact that of you have you ever finished praying for even 15-20 minutes and you just felt better? How many people has that happened to? You just finished praying and you just felt better. The problem has not been solved, but you just felt better. That's because just speaking to somebody, speaking to somebody that is listening is therapeutic for you. That's the way God operates. He listens, he listens. He's a God that answers prayer. That's why it's called Abetulujara Biajiri. It's called Abetulujara Bia Jere. You know what that means? I will interpret it for you. It means that God has ears just like a sieve has o's. You know a sieve that you use in the kitchen? The the how it has many o's in it. The same way God has so much ears on his body, on him, that the same way that the sieve has holes, that's the same way God has ears. God is literally all ears. That's what I'm telling you. God is literally all ears. When you say you are all ears, you are not you are not really all ears because you are distracted. Your wife is trying to talk to you, you say uh I'm all ears. You are not. God is the one that is all ears. That is why you are praying here. They are praying that you know how much they pray in Nigeria, and God is hearing everybody. God is hearing everybody. That is the quality of a husband. You are all ears, you are listening, always listening, always paying attention. That is that is what it means to be friends with your wife. All hears. You are not saying, you know, you are not saying that, oh, um, you know, you are you have spoken enough. Just just wrap up, just wrap up. No, no, no, no, no. He's attentive to our every sound you make, he's attentive to every sigh you make. He's attentive to every sigh you make. This is who God is, and that is who you are supposed to model. Just listening. Don't orient say just random. No. Friends prioritize each other. They make time to speak to each other. When the seed of time is sown, the harvest of intimacy is reaped. Listen to me. When the seed of time is sown, the harvest of intimacy is reaped, and your marriage is better for it. When the seed of time is sown, the harvest of intimacy is reaped, and your marriage is what? Is better for it. Your marriage is better for it. You know, there are some times when, you know, me and my wife, maybe we've not connected for for two days or three days. She'll just sit me down.

SPEAKER_02 25:08

You sit me down and say, Oh, yeah, so what has been happening?

unknown 25:14

Talk to me.

SPEAKER_02 25:15

Talk to me. Talk to me. What has been happening? You know, I meet too. I will I will oblige, sometimes reluctantly. I will oblige, and then I'll start, I'll start talking. Sometimes she wants to connect after we have we have not connected for two hours, though. And you're like, ah, it's just two hours that we've not connected, just three hours. Why are we why are we trying to connect again?

SPEAKER_01 25:42

But that's that's the quality of of a husband. You're always paying attention. All ears. You know, if a foolish husband will say, ah, no, ah, go, go, go, go, go, go, go. That's that's that's that's foolish. No. You pay attention. You pay attention. You know, if Eve and Adam had spent time together, if I had sat Adam down and said, Ah, talk to me, maybe she wouldn't have been deceived. Are you here?

unknown 26:07

Maybe she wouldn't have listened.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

If Eve had sat Adam down and said, Ah, Adam, Joko, sorry, sit down there, talk to me. Talk to me, tell me everything God told you. Everything, don't, don't hold anything back. Don't don't um don't filter it, just talk to me. That's what a wise woman would do. That's what a wise woman would do. Talk to me, sit down, talk. I want to know everything that has happened over the past three days. I want to know everything that has happened over the past couple of hours. If Eve had that wisdom, I'm trying to show you wisdom here. If Eve had that wisdom, maybe she wouldn't have been deceived by the serpent. So a husband pays attention. A husband, he does what he pays attention. He pays attention, he pays attention, you sow the seed of time. What other qualities do you want? Um, do you expect in the friend? You you want loyalty, you want honesty, you want transparency, you want constancy. We've talked about this. You know, you identify and call out each other's gifts. You identify the best in each other, you identify each other's strength and each other's abilities, and you call it out. You see, no one knows your spouse more than you do. Their strengths, their abilities, you've seen their strengths and abilities. Then you call it out. That's what friends do. You call it out. What are their abilities that can bring money to the house? You call it out. Oh, my husband, I see this thing in you, and if we do such and such, you know, we could do such and such. My wife, you can do such and such, or you can do this, or and it could bring money into the house. It could be more it to it could put money in your pocket. You see the best, their abilities. You know, I can see you are very tenacious with this thing. You know, if we think about it like this, maybe this can happen. You see each other and you call out the best in each other. No matter how strong you are, every one of us will go through times and maybe seasons of self-doubt. No matter how strong you are, every one of us will go through times and seasons of self-doubt. We go through times and seasons of self-doubt. And it is the spouse that has the responsibility to raise us up when we are doubting. You're doubting if you can pass that exam, you're doubting if you can start that business, you are doubting if you can finish that project. You encourage each other. See, that's why that's why you know you get next to your husband, you get next to your wife, and you let them know that they can do it. You build each other up. That's what friends do. What are the abilities in your wife that you've seen? What are the abilities in your husband that you've seen? You call it out. Proverbs 27, verse 5 to 6. It says we should challenge each other to good deeds. See? You challenge each other to good deeds, and then you fight with kindness. You fight with kindness. Somebody say fight with kindness. Yes, you don't fight like enemies. There can be healthy clashes in a home, there can be healthy clashes in a marriage, but you fight with kindness. You fight with kindness. You know? You don't fight like enemies. Because you're on the same side, you're on the same team. You're supposed to be friends that sticks closer than a brother, not a thorn in each other's flesh. I think that's worthy of a tweet. You're supposed to be a friend that sticks closer than a brother, not a thorn in each other's flesh. That is, there are things that you must never be caught saying to your wife. There are things that you must never be caught saying to your husband. You're talking about the type of marriage God blesses. The type of marriage God blesses, but there are things that you must never be caught saying to your wife. There are things you must never be caught saying to your husband, whether to their face or whether in their absence. You must never be caught saying such things. You must never be caught saying such things. And this quality of kindness, I want to dwell on this a little bit. This quality of kindness, and maybe we'll round up here. We'll round up here. This quality of kindness, this quality of kindness, the quality is the most attractive thing in any human being. The quality of kindness. Kindness, just being kind to somebody, not kindness to yourself, not um, not mental health self-thing or not this all this self- not all self-care. No, that's not what we're saying. We're not talking about self-care, we're talking about others' care, sensitivity. How can you be kind to this person? How can you be kind to your wife? How can you be kind to your husband? And for single people, for single people, um you sow the seed of kindness in the world. You know, you sow the seed of kindness in the world. Sowing the seed of kindness in the world has a quality of attracting your person to you. Listen to me. What I'm telling you is true, and I can I will show you biblical examples now. Just sowing the seed of kindness in the world will attract your person to you, you'll bring your person in your way. Determining to be a kind person, not especially to the people in your life right now. Are you hearing me? Yes, sir. Especially to the people in your life, the relationships in your life right now. Be determine that you're going to be kind in those relationships. You see? Determine that you're going to be kind in those relationships. It has the quality of attracting your husband. It has the quality of attracting you. The first kind thing that my wife did to me before I started paying attention was she gave me Magvritis.

SPEAKER_02 31:32

She gave me chocolate. She gave me white judge, and you know, she came to the instrumentalist side, and you know, she had this, and you know, she willingly just gave us um advice. I was like, Oh, okay, ah, this man should not hold on to a chocolate, though. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:58

You know, just being kind to people. You know, whether they are people you know, especially people you don't know, it has the ability to attract your husband to you. Ruth, look at Ruth. Kindness to Naomi. She had just lost her husband, lost our children, lost our sons. The reasonable thing to do was to say that I mean I gotta go find my husband, I gotta go find a new husband. Guess what she did? She said, Your people will be my people. I will go with you. Kind that was pure kindness. It wasn't because she was planning to get anything from her, and Naomi was in a state that there was no way you would you can see Naomi paying back that kindness. There was no way Naomi could pay it back. Somebody that was already calling herself Mara, calling herself, you know, all this. She was down and out. But it was Naomi that gave her the tip on how to get Boaz. It was Naomi that gave her the tip on how to get Boaz. Go and lie at her at his feet. Go and lie. He will understand. Boas will understand what that means. Just kindness. It has the quality of attracting things to you. This is the most attractive thing in any human being. In the kind, just kindness to people. Look at Rebecca as well. The servant of Abraham had been praying. You know, the woman that I see, that when I ask her to feed the camels, to feed the animals, the one that first does it, and suddenly Rebecca shows up. And she was kind. She didn't say, ah, this was this is too much for me. This is too heavy for me. I cannot afford to do this. So, no complaining, just kindness. Just kindness. Just kindness. She was kind. Rebecca was kind. Ruth was kind to the people in their lives. I want to encourage you to embrace this quality of kindness. It will improve every of your relationships. It will improve every it will improve your marital relationship. It will improve your even professional relationships. Let's be on our feet as we begin to pray. Let's thank God for the word. Let's thank God. Let's thank God for the word. Let's give him praise. Let's thank him. Let's thank him. Let's give him praise. Come on, let's thank him. Let's thank him. Let's thank him. Let's give him praise. Father, we thank you. Father, we give you praise. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. We give you glory. We give you praise. Let's ask that the Lord will improve, we increase the friendship in our homes. Let's ask that the Lord will improve the friendships in our homes, in our relationships. Let's ask that the Lord we increase friendship in our homes. Let's ask that it will help us to be more intentional about friendship with our spouses. You know, let's ask him. Let's ask him. Let's ask him. Let's say, Lord, help me. Help me to be intentional. In the name of Jesus. Help me, Lord, to be intentional. Help me to be intentional. Building friendship with my wife, spending time. Let me be, let me pay attention. Let me be all ears. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Help me, Lord. Help me, Lord, help me, Lord. Help me, Lord, help me, Lord. Help me. Help me, help me, help me, Holy Ghost. Help me, help me. Help me, Lord.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Help me, Lord. From the rising of the sun. To the city. Your name. Your name is to be half.