Marriage

It has been such a blessed experience in this ministry to have the privilege of working to help people become free of homosexuality–to break the power of the lie–and then to counsel the men and women who come with their new prospective heterosexual mates and to prepare them to be married. We have been working with eight men and one woman to prepare them to be married. What joy to see the dysfunction removed and the intended design of God come into place. Let’s look at God’s design for marriage.

Marriage is a holy joining of a man and a woman under God for life. It is the tangible evidence of the coming Marriage in heaven, when the Church will come as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband, who is Christ, the Bridegroom. (Revelation 21:2)

Halleluia! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come.
and His bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.
(Fine linen stands for the righteousness of the Saints.)
Then the angel said to me, “Write: “Blessed are those who
are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!
And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
(Revelation 19:6b-9)

The bride and groom here on earth, act out these sacred events, foretelling to the world the truth and godliness of marriage. The couple, after the feast, go into their chamber and shut the door (Matthew 25:10) and the two become one flesh as ordained by God. (Genesis 2:24) “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. And the man and his wife were naked and they felt no shame.” This joining will bring forth godly offspring as God desires: “Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.” ( Malachi 2:15)

Through marriage here on earth the design of God is fulfilled and this makes a strong foundational unit, the family, in which the man functions as he was designed as priest, provider, protector, seed planter and companion, while the woman functions as she was designed as helpmate, responder, nurturer, receiver of the seed and companion. The godly offspring come forth as God designed and are raised in the fear and admonition of the Lord, under their father’s and mother’s love and care. The home is a place of honoring God and His truth. This is a perfect picture of God’s plan for mankind.

The concept of “gay marriage” is a construct of man inspired by the lies and deceptions of Satan that have been perpetuated by ungodly reaction to pain and abuse in childhood. Children provoked to wrath and blinded to truth are raised without knowing the love they should have had in their homes or at school or church. As we have said, their receiving set for love was broken.

But also anger, hopelessness and fear make a place for openness to worldly counterfeits for love and feelings that God does not love them and they are lost. In that rejected state, people can easily be led to think there could be “love” in same-sex relationships that have become appealing because they feel like acceptance and a way to get back at the people who laughed at them and name-called them and cast them out.

They have now found a “fellowship of outcasts” and a way to be accepted and “loved”. So as society legitimizes this set of lies and counterfeits, they do a great disservice to the very people they feel they are giving rights to. As these couples “marry”, all foundations of our society begin to crack. The demonic lies will take root and try to choke out the truth. Confusion will sweep our land. But the Lord will raise up a standard against the flood of the enemy. The Lord speaks from Isaiah 30:

Woe to the obstinate children, declares the Lord,
to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin.

These are rebellious people, deceitful children,
unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.
They say to the seers, “See no more” and to the prophets,
Give us no more visions of what is right.
Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.
Leave this way, get off this path,
and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.”

“But the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
He rises to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for Him.

Marriage
by Joanne Highley