The Marriage Anointing: Meeting Marriage Challenges Head On with the Power of the Fruit and Gifts of the Holy Spirit

By Ben R Peters

There is no power from Hell that can defeat two people who have learned to listen to God’s voice and invite Him to bless them with everything He wants to bestow on them. This book shows you how, with the “double-barreled” approach of the Fruit and Gifts of the Holy Spirit, your marriage can become a huge source of fulfillment for both partners and together become an awesome ministry team.

The good news is that the biblical principles shared in this book will also help transform marriages where only one partner applies them. In addition, these principles can be successfully applied to any close relationship in life.

With a rich heritage of living by faith, Ben Peters and his wife, Brenda, have shared over fifty years of marriage and gospel ministry. Together they have founded Kingdom Sending Center, in northern Illinois, and travel extensively, teaching and ministering prophetically to thousands each year.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ben R Peters
• Release date: Aug 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463552025

Ben R Peters

Ben Peters is a prolific author of spiritually inspiring books, including both fiction and non-fiction. He has been a pastor, international seminar and conference speaker and founder of Open Heart Ministries and Kingdom Sending Center. He ministers with his wife, Brenda, and has five gifted children.

Book preview

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Introduction and Warning

AFTER MORE THAN fifty years of marriage, Brenda and I thank God for all the amazing blessings that we’ve received from His gracious hand. Although we’ve been challenged and tested in a multitude of ways, God has brought us through every trial and taught us powerful and effective lessons regarding relationships. Just before celebrating our Golden Wedding Anniversary, we were asked to share briefly at a Marriage Day of Hope to a group of several hundred married people at Jesus Culture, Sacramento, where Danny Silk was the main speaker. This was not something we had ever done before. Brenda and I have not specialized in marriage counseling, although we’ve done our share of it, but we were asked to speak about the impact of the prophetic on our marriage. We shared some of our own testimony and it was well-received.

Following that assignment, it seems that we have been drawn into a rather unusual number of marriage and divorce situations of people we knew and loved. These troubling situations caused further meditation on the subject. During this past year God has graciously given us insights regarding marriage and the use of Spiritual Gifts to enhance this God-given relationship. As a result, I felt further inspired to put my thoughts down for anyone who could use some encouragement. We believe God has given us some very strategic keys to assist anyone in their own relationship journeys.

We don’t profess to have all the answers to all the questions regarding marriage. There are many, many books, DVDs and seminars that address marriage problems, and are very helpful to millions of people, but we do believe God has given us a unique approach, that will address almost every potential situation a married person could face today. These keys are all based on Scripture and if used according to our God-given Instruction Manual, success is certainly guaranteed.

Warning

Let me now release this warning to all readers. Reading and trying to follow the insights and suggestions in this book may make you a target for the enemy. Since starting to write this book, and proactively trying to practice what I’m preaching and teaching at a higher level, my wife and I have experienced an unusual flurry of attacks on our relationship. Every vestige of flesh is being exposed. I am positive the enemy hasn’t wanted me to finish and publish this book.

If you read and decide to follow the Scriptural wisdom which we will present here, you may also come under some unusual attacks. But please don’t give up and quit. Refuse to be intimidated. Our enemy hates your marriage just as much as he hates ours. We know these principles work and we are going to come out stronger than ever and more in love with each other. Actually, it’s already happening. Right after some intense attacks, we’ve seen God touch us and help us activate our spiritual gifts to encourage and empower each other. It has been amazing and wonderful. We are going to take advantage of the fact that the enemy is helping us to see our carnality, and we’re going to agree with him that we still need to more completely crucify our flesh. God is good and will always turn the enemy’s tactics around for our good and our foe’s detriment, if we allow Him to. And what He has done for Brenda and me, He can do for you and your spouse or other family member or friend.

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Chapter 1

Are You Called to Ministry?

WHEN IN BIBLE SCHOOL we used to hear leaders discuss the question: How do you know if you have a call to ministry? This was quite a common question in those days, and in many Christian circles it still is.

The question, Are you called to ministry? is not hard to answer. However, many people have grown up with the concept that a call to ministry means you study to be a pastor, an evangelist or missionary. If you don’t feel called to one of those, you assume that you are not called to full-time ministry. Instead, you may feel called to some secular calling or profession. You can do other things for the church, such as teaching kids, hosting cell groups, joining the worship team, etc. These are considered more part time ministries that don’t require a Call to ministry, like the full-timers.

However, God’s Word is clear that each one in the Kingdom is gifted with spiritual gifts, and these gifts qualify us to be full-time functioning members of the Body of Christ. We are told seven times in the New Testament that each one has received spiritual gifts. First Corinthians 12 informs us that the Holy Spirit has distributed them to each of us, and that with these gifts we find our function in the Body of Christ. Each member is special and important,and we know that each member of the body serves the rest of the body in unique ways. No one in the Body of Christ should consider himself or herself a part time minister, whether you get your financial support from the church or elsewhere.

So, the answer to the question asked above is an emphatic YES, YOU ARE CALLED TO MINISTRY.

In the following chapter, we will be focusing on using the Fruit of the Holy Spirit and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in your marriage. But in this chapter, let’s just briefly introduce the various fruit and gifts that God has given us to build up and strengthen the Body of Christ at large. These fruit and gifts are found in various passages of the New Testament, but many were also mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, which we call the Old Testament. So, let’s just get a quick preview of what these fruit and gifts are all about. I believe that we just cannot live without them if we want a successful relationship of any kind on this earth.

Fruit of the Spirit

It’s easy to get all excited about the powerful spiritual gifts, but let’s not forget the importance of the Fruit of the Spirit, listed in Galatians 5:22. In my opinion they are actually more indispensable than the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Here’s the passage:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

These wonderful fruits are actual manifestations of the indwelling Holy Spirit, but they are often hindered by competition from the fruit of the flesh. Notice Galatians 5:17, just five verses before Galatians 5:22.

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

Obviously, if both partners had a completely free flow of the Fruit of the Spirit in their lives, and in their marriage, they would have very few problems with relationships. However, as Galatians 5 clearly indicates, we are at war with our fallen nature, and when we yield to it, as we are naturally inclined to do, the wonderful fruit of the Spirit are not allowed to manifest. Instead we manifest the awful ugliness of our carnal nature. Some of these manifestations are listed between verse 17 and 22. It’s not a very pleasant list, but let’s look at it anyway, as God put it in His Word for a reason.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

While all of the above works of the flesh are abhorrent to God, several of them are especially nasty and become the most common troublemakers when it comes to marriage and other human relationships. These include: adultery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissentions, envy and drunkenness. These can be totally overpowered by a strong flow of Spiritual fruit, as well as the Gifts of the Spirit, but we need our minds and our wills transformed through the principles of God’s Word. But more of that later.

Love

The most powerful and transformational force in this world is God’s Agape Love. It is the fruit that leads the way and