SCRIPTURE READING:  Psalm 118:17  -  "I shall not die and live and declare the works of the Lord."

This is a wonderful word!  When I asked Andries whether he has a word on his heart for today, he said that there is a word which has accompanied him all these years, and that is Psalm 118:17.  He explained how this word became something so precious to him:  When he was still very small, he was very ill, on the point of death.  He didn't know it, he was too small, but his father then phoned a man of God and asked for prayer for his son.  As his father walked out of the hospital, this word came to him, "I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord."  God touched Andries and he was healed.  Later his father told him which promised God had given him.

Dries testifies that this word has been an anchor for him all his life, protecting him from sin and the things of the world.

How wonderful if a father can teach his son, and it makes an impression on the child, so much so that the child takes that word and clings to it for the rest of his life.  I would like to hear what the recipe of that father is!  Wonderful to be able to tell your child something, and he never forgets it.

We often go through difficult things in life.  The Lord allows that, because He uses it to draw us closer to Himself.  He would like us to belong to Him, body, soul and spirit.

Whenever things do go wrong, never seek the fault with others but be busy with your own life before God.  The mistakes of other people are not your concern  -  always just make sure that your relationship with God is right and stays right.

"I will declare the works of the Lord":  Be busy with that.  No matter how people treat you  –  that is not your concern.  Leave that in the Lord's Hand.

May we be busy declaring the works of the Lord for the rest of our lives.  If this word is true in your lives, you will be a blessing to your parents and whole family.  That is my prayer and desire that your lives may be a blessing, not only to your parents and family but to everybody you meet.

 

There is another word in closing which we get in Proverbs 8:35  -  "For whoever finds me, finds life and obtains favour from the Lord."

This pertains to wisdom.  "Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.  For whoever finds me, finds life and obtains favour from the Lord."

Blessed is the man who listens to me.  "Listens to me".  Always have an open ear to Him.  Dries listened to his father and that brought a blessing into his life.

"Blessed is the man who listens to me."  May we have an ear to hear.  At times it is such a silent Voice that we miss listening to that Voice.  Don't forget that  -  listen, have an ear to hear what God says.  Sometimes we get so busy and have no time to wait upon the Lord.  We are so busy with our own things that we don't have time to be quiet and wait upon the Lord.  But rather in all your daily doing, be always attentive.  Seek Him in everything, seek Him till you find Him.  Don't do anything if you are not absolutely sure that this is God's will.

That is what Dries did:  he sought the will of the Lord, and when the Lord laid it on his heart to get married, he waited a long time to make sure to take the right step.  His first reaction was, "Lord, is this Your Voice?  Am I listening properly?"  Until he was sure.  Then he said, "Lord, then You must please lead and guide me and show me who is the one You have for me".  God knows which lid fits the best on each pot, so that no steam escapes!  As soon as the wrong lid is on a cooking pot, one sees the steam escaping and much goes lost in that way.

I liken Dries to a pot, but the lid was missing.  So he prayed and asked God to show him the right lid, probably for a long time.  There are dozens, maybe hundreds of lids on the shelf, and he prayed, and eventually he found that lid and it fits perfectly.  There is no steam that comes out on the side.

May your life be as perfect as that pot and lid, that that lid fits perfectly onto that pot.  Then if difficulties come and things are difficult, that lid will fit perfectly on the pot and the steam won't go out  –  you won't lose the power, the relationship with the Lord.  If you fit perfectly, you will be able to go through difficulties together; whether it is hot or cold, you will be able to stand together and keep that which God has put into you.  It will be a blessing and you will feed on it and your marriage will stay intact.  You will stand with one another and walk together, and you will find that that what God gave you, will stay and no one will be able to part that because God put it together.

So many people don't do it perfectly, don't seek God in it.  They are just driven by the fleshly love, a so-called love.  When that dies out, the oneness falls away and you see the husband and wife each going their own way.

I said these days in Europe:  "Why do they beam so much when they get married, but after some years that shine is gone?  When you look into the wife's face, you see that beauty, that smile, that heavenly glory is gone."  That should never be.

Let today be the worst day in your lives, but that tomorrow it will be a bit better already.  Next year still be better and after 50 years still better.  Your love and relationship will grow and grow, that at the end when death comes, you will say, "Today was the best day of my marriage."

That is what we wish for you!  May you say after 50 or 60 years of marriage, that the last day was the best day of your marriage.   May your love and understanding for one another be the best as you grow older.  In the beginning you have to learn a lot.

The Bible teaches us that the husband should sanctify and purify his wife, that she will be without spot or wrinkle.  That is your duty as a husband.  That beautiful dress she is wearing, without spot or wrinkle, it is your duty that inside she will be beautiful like that.

And the wife has to love and respect her husband, be a helpmeet to him, push him to higher ground.  That he might be a better servant of the Lord than what he has been thus far.

Wait upon the Lord.  Never be in a hurry.  Submit one to another.  That is the most difficult thing for a human begin.  To bow?  Sometimes it seems to be impossible.  If I am right and I have got to bow…  Learn to be able to submit, whether you feel like it or not, whether you are convinced that you are right or not, bow and submit.  That is difficult for people  -  they can't.

I want to give you that tip:  Submit to one another, love and lift one another onto higher ground.  Be watchful that the devil doesn't come in.

Learn to be quiet.  Wait upon the Lord in humility.

Be patient but be observant, your eyes wide open.  Then it will go well in your marriage.

We all wish you that, that God will give you everything you need to be that what God has made you to be.  May God help you.

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