It’s a beautiful spring day in Kansas City. I’m here to perform a wedding ceremony later this afternoon. As soon as the ceremony is over, I’ll begin the 250 mile drive back to Fayetteville so I can preach on Sunday morning at The Church at Arkansas.

I’ll be teaching from Acts 16:1-12, where we find Paul and his companions are on a missionary journey. They eventually find themselves in Macedonia. It’s really cool to see how they ended up there. Read it here. My wife and youngest daughter, along with four others, are currently in Macedonia on a Young Life mission trip. You can follow their journey here.

If you’re familiar with the New Testament of the Bible, you know the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) primarily give us a picture of the three-year public ministry of Jesus. Each writer has a different take on events, but it’s clear that the main figure is always Jesus.

Then we come to the book of Acts. It’s written by Luke, who also wrote the gospel of Luke. In the book of Acts, he’s giving us an historical account of the early church. Who started it? How? Where? What were the issues they faced? It’s a fascinating and fast-paced read.

The book of Acts is also referred to as the Acts of the Apostles, but a better name would be the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Of course we never really “see” Him, but it’s His power and wisdom at work in the men and women we read about. Whereas in the gospels the main figure was Jesus–in Acts, we could say the main figure is the Holy Spirit.

Just as it is today, Jesus was no longer walking around with His disciples in Acts. He had ascended to heaven and it was the Holy Spirit who then came to carry on the work of Jesus. He would do it by living in and through those who placed their faith in Jesus. It’s interesting that in Acts 16, Luke even refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of Jesus.”

The Holy Spirit came to point us to Jesus. To remind us of what Jesus taught. To glorify Jesus.

Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (now called “Cru”), used to invite Jesus to walk around in his body. That’s what the Holy Spirit does–He walks around in our bodies, manifests the life of Jesus and accomplishes His purposes, in His ways and in His timing.

And that’s the only way the couple I’m marrying today will experience the life and the marriage God intends for them. There’s no other way for them to do it. There’s no other way for Robyn and me. There’s no other way for you.

Marriage was God’s idea and He has given us instructions on how to do it. He has also put His Spirit in us to give us the power to live out those instructions.

A successful marriage is only possible when both husband and wife walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. In our own strength, we are naturally selfish and committed to getting our needs and desires fulfilled. But when we allow the Holy Spirit to have his way in us, we become committed to meeting the needs and desires of our spouse.

If you’re not married but would one day like to be–I encourage you to focus on being the kind of person I’ve just described. Surrender your life to Christ and invite Him to walk around in your body by the power of the Holy Spirit. Seek God. Make it your goal to know Him and love Him.

Then ask God to bring you a spouse who is doing the same.

If you’re already married, the counsel is the same–live in the power of the Holy Spirit and be passionately committed to loving and serving the person you’re with now. It’s not to dump your spouse and look for someone new.

Of course, this all works much better if both you and your spouse are committed to walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, but since you can’t control your spouse–just do what you know to do.

Let God work on your spouse. You just work on you.

By the way, when done God’s way, marriage is a reflection of His love for the church. (Read Ephesians 5:22-33) When a husband and wife are committed to walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and fulfilling the roles and responsibilities God has given them–others will see it. They’ll see something special, something only God could do. And they’ll want to experience it also.

So if there’s that much riding on marriage, why would we ever think we don’t need God’s continual power and presence in our lives to pull it off?

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