Family Happiness Begins with You (Part 3) by Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Topic: Family Happiness Begins with You (Part 3) Dear Reader, You are welcome to an exciting moment in God’s presence! I started this series by showing you how to be committed to your spouse. Last week, I taught on love and submission as the two most important keys in becoming a good spouse. This week, I will be showing you how you can fulfill your mutual obligations. Fulfilling your mutual obligations is part of your family responsibilities. When I say ‘mutual obligations’, I mean romance, affection, intimacy and sexual relationship that should be fulfilled in your marriage. God’s idea of procreation establishes the coming together of husband and wife. The Word of God says: Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency (1 Corinthians 7:1-5).

Also Read: Prudent Family Life (Part 2) By Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Many homes are broken today because of lack of understanding of this concept. The moment a home becomes deficient in marital affairs or romance; it will begin to break. Sexual relationship is God’s approved channel for procreation and pleasure. Everything done against it by either the husband or the wife is targeted at the ruin of the home. Genesis 4:1 says: And Adam knew Eve his wife; and conceived and bare Cain…. This means that Adam had marital sex with his wife and she conceived. Also, Proverbs 5:18-19 says: Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. God intended that couples fulfill their mutual obligations for procreation and pleasure. He created the necessary organs and feelings in you, so that this commandment can be fulfilled. Fulfilling your mutual obligations with a wholesome approach to it will heal many wounds in homes. Statistics show that families where the husband and wife enjoy each other sexually are the happiest homes. “For the breasts of a man’s wife to satisfy him”, means for the two of them to have pleasure in marital sex. Not fulfilling your mutual obligation is marital fraud and every act of marital fraud is an offence. It rubs homes of glory and beauty. When you fulfill your mutual obligations, you will find out that every act of love expressed becomes like the engine oil that keeps marriage running smoothly. It also successfully blocks any loopholes that might give the enemy a foothold in your marriage. When mutual obligations are fulfilled, the husband and wife will both be satisfied and their level of productivity in other areas will be at its maximum! A man can withstand any shortcoming in a marriage like “She can’t cook”’ “She’s too fat”, “She’s not submissive”’ “She’s not even a Christian”, but he will not be able to stay with a wife who does not fulfill her mutual obligations. Deep behind every separation or divorce is a breakdown in either party fulfilling his or her mutual obligations. After the solemnization of a marriage, the rules of abstaining from sex as singles, engaged or in courtship ends. Sex is no longer forbidden; if anything, it becomes an essential part of the union. However, the marriage bed can be defiled by the married, when adultery is committed by either the man or the woman. God’s Word in Hebrews 13:4 says: Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Adultery opens the door for God’s judgment and causes you to lose the respect and honour originally meant for marriage. Allow romance, intimacy and love to be expressed in your marriage. You may just need to go back to those little acts of love you used to do, when you first got married. You may need to start those sweet things that made your honeymoon exciting; you need to start treating your spouse a lot more lovingly but whatever you must do, just do it to fulfill your mutual obligations this year. You will not fall into any trap of the enemy, this year in Jesus’ name. Accepting God, the Creator of couples and the mutual feelings enables you fulfill your obligations with ease. You can accept Him through His Son, Jesus Christ and be born again. If you would like to do so, please say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom. Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21). With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, 07026385437 OR 08141320204. For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored). “Please click HERE to read other inspiring articles by Pastor Faith Oyedepo Pastor Faith Oyedepo is the wife of Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.