...Becoming A Man

During the creation of the heavens and the earth, the Bible records that everything God created in the first five days were good. But after creating man, He said it is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). The only thing that wasn’t good after creation was the man being alone.

After creation, God first identified an unpleasant situation: that it is bad for the man to be alone. And he also identified that making a helpmeet for the man is the solution. That means the man needs a helpmeet. If God, the creator of the man says that man needs a helpmeet, then he truly needs it. What does helpmeet mean?

What is Helpmeet?
The Hebrew rendering of the word helpmeet is ezra and it means aid. Aid means something that makes things easier to do. What was Adam doing that needed aid? The only assignment God gave Adam after creating him was to dress and keep the garden (Genesis 2:15). It was after giving Adam the assignment that God identified he needed a helpmeet. So helpmeet means an aid that will help the man fulfil his assignment in the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden represents the kingdom of God. When Adam sinned, man was driven out of the Garden of Eden but Jesus Christ came and brought us back to the kingdom of God. Helpmeet in this generation therefore means a lady that helps an adult male fulfil his assignment in the kingdom of God.

Why Man needs Helpmeet
Every man in the kingdom of God, whether a pastor or not, has an assignment. And for a man to fulfil his assignment, he needs a helpmeet. It is important I state here that a man does no favour to a lady by marrying her. Rather the lady helps him to fulfil his assignment. That’s why wives are helpmeets. If God says man needs a helpmeet, then man really needs a helpmeet. If you are truly a child of God, you should not take for granted the statement of God.  If you are an adult male, you need to get married without further delay.

Why Apostle Paul Encouraged Singlehood
If God says it is not good for man to be alone, then any teaching that encourages man to be alone cannot come from God. In the two different occasions where Apostle Paul encouraged singlehood, he clearly stated that the teaching wasn’t from God (1Corinthians 7: 6, 25).

Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.
I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. (1Corinthians 7:25-27)

Apostle Paul started by explaining the teaching is not from God. The truth is that it cannot come from God because God’s own desire is that man should get married. Apostle Paul also told us the reason he encouraged singlehood- for the present distress. There was great persecution against the Christians then, and it was easier surviving the persecution as a single person. Beloved, we don’t have such persecution any longer. If the teaching that encourages singlehood did not come from God, and we no longer have persecutions, then man should get married according to the teaching of God. God Himself says it is not good to be single. If it is not good to be single, then it is bad. Yes, it is very bad to be single!

Did Apostle Paul Get Married?
I have heard so many people say that Apostle Paul never got married. That is a wrong assumption because the Bible didn’t tell us he was never married. The reason people assume he was not married is because of a statement he made to the Corinthians.
I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I.1Corinthians 7:8
The passage above does not confirm that Apostle Paul was not married. The passage could mean any of these three: that he was never married, that he was a widower, or that his wife left him after his repentance. (Before his repentance, he was a member of the Sanhedrin and one of the conditions of being a member of the Sanhedrin is getting married). It is very wrong to assume that Apostle Paul did not get married. The Bible did not tell us he was never married.

Some people also assume that the prophets in the Bible didn’t get married. It is very wrong to assume anything in the scripture. If the Bible did not specifically tell you a person did not get married, then it is wrong to assume it. If the Bible, for example, did not tell us how Jesus healed Apostle Peter’s mother-in-law, people would have said Peter was not married because there was no mention of his wife in the Bible. If Bible did not tell us about Eli’s children, some would have said Eli was not married.

Some Exceptions
In the book of Matthew 19:11-12, Jesus tells us that there are some people who wouldn’t get married. He referred to them as eunuchs. If you are not a eunuch, please get married without further delay. You must see getting married as a top priority in your life. If God says it is not good for you to be single, why not get married. When an adult male gets married, I call it becoming a man. A male becomes a man when he gets married. If you are not yet married, I challenge you to become a man in Jesus name.

Why many experience delay in Marriage
Many are not yet married not because they don’t see potential spouses but because they have not been able to identify their right spouses. So many men have seen the ladies they like but are not yet married because they are not sure if they are their right spouses. There are a lot of well-behaved Christian sisters but the problem most men have is identifying the right spouse. Some sisters are not married today, not because they don’t have suitors but because they have not been able to identify the right one. Though there are some sisters who are not choosy, the men who ought to marry them are not forth coming because they have not been able to identify their right spouses. So, this search for a right spouse affects both the men and the ladies.

The solution
The only solution is knowledge! Once a person acquires the right knowledge, he or she is empowered to achieve what he or she cannot ordinarily achieve. When a single man learns how to identify his right spouse, not only will he be sure there will be no mistake in his choice, he will effortlessly make his choice of spouse and get married accordingly.  When a single sister learns how to identify her right spouse, the knowledge automatically positions her to be located by her right spouse. Knowledge is Power!

In the month of June 2009 Pastor Chris will be teaching in two different marriage seminars one in Lagos and another one in Abuja. The date for the Lagos seminar is Saturday 20th June. There will be three sessions: 8.00am (1st Session), 9.30am (2nd Session) and 12noon (3rd Session) at the Muson Centre Onikan, Lagos.

The dates for the Abuja seminars are - Saturday 27th June at 9.00am and Sunday 28th June at 3.00pm at the National Christian Centre, Abuja.

Anytime a person acquires the right knowledge, the result is testimony, amazing testimony. You can’t acquire the required knowledge and remain passive. Knowledge is power! This explains why attendees of our marriage seminars record amazing testimonies. As you attend any of these marriage seminars in Abuja or Lagos, you will record your own amazing testimony in the name of Jesus Christ our saviour.