Joseph Prince - The Marriage Trap No One Warned You About (02/15/2026)
This sermon from Genesis 18 shows how honoring Christ in marriage and family unlocks blessings and miracles, even when things seem impossible. Through Abraham and Sarah, Pastor Prince teaches the importance of enjoying your spouse, heartfelt respect, and focusing on Jesus rather than problems. He ends with strong encouragement for parents of rebellious children—God chooses and loves us first to bring order, and grace in the prodigal son story proves even perfect fathers face rebellion, yet returning kids often shine brightest.
Living Our Lives to Honor Jesus
Let’s live our lives in honor of Him. The One who didn’t have to come down chose to come down. He didn’t have to lay down His life. He has power to lay it down or to pick it up—He laid it down, amen. So let’s give glory with our lives. Let’s honor Him. Whether it’s our married life, our business life, our ministry life, our relationships, there are some things you have the right to do, but you choose not to do because of Him. And He is Someone who watches that. He cares. He loves.
Now, there is a passage in the Bible that has been ringing in my spirit. God’s been talking to me—been talking to me about it. I’ve been meditating, and many of you will gain and eat from my meditation from this passage because it is so rich in family blessings. It tells you about communion—not just so that you are righteous, but so that you use that righteousness. No point being all dressed up, very nice and very glorious, but nowhere to go, amen. You are dressed up to go somewhere—to have an audience with the King, to have an audience with the One who can influence your situation.
Audience with the King Who Does the Impossible
You have an audience with the One who says, “In this chapter, is there anything too hard for the Lord?” Amen. There’s nothing too hard. There is nothing too secret that He will not reveal to His servant, as you will see in this chapter. Friend, I’m here—I’m so excited because this passage will give us the secrets of family life, family blessing, family well-being. You ready? Now this is not Sunday school, so I’m gonna talk to you eyeball to eyeball, all right?
Sometimes, you know, we want children and we focus on children and we occupy ourselves with children. We don’t spend time with God anymore. You know, children become our idol—or one thing that children become an idol—until it tears our inside. Every time that time of the month comes and we find that we’re not pregnant, we tear ourselves apart. And I know the feeling. I know that feeling. I know it’s not easy even for the husband, okay. But we have many testimonies of people—when they focus on the Lord, they don’t focus on the problem, they occupy themselves with Christ.
Enjoying Christ Brings the Promise
Like what Abraham did—the fatness of the three measures of fine flour, bread, make cake, eating the cake, eating the filet mignon, amen—the result is the promise. So even Sarah says, “Now I’m old, shall I have pleasure?” She’s focusing on pleasure. “Can I have pleasure?” She didn’t say, “Can I have a child?” It is when you have pleasure with your Lord that a miracle is birthed. Are you listening? She says, “After I’ve grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” “My lord being old also—shall I have pleasure?”
Church, sometimes it’s so easy in a married life to start getting dutiful because there are so many duties and responsibilities. There are always things to talk about that are duties and responsibilities, and they never end, and we forgot that this is not the priority in our marriage. They are actually the secondary, the third, you know. And don’t forget that our number one is to enjoy each other. God gave us each other to enjoy each other.
Don’t Lose the Romance
Long after the children are gone, you will still have each other—or else when they leave, the last one leaves, you look at each other, “Wait, who are you?” Because you always lived through your children. You always lived through your—you wouldn’t say mommy and daddy and mommy and daddy. Even the kids are not around, you call each other mommy and daddy. It’s not romantic. “It works for us, pastor.” Okay, but to me, it’s not romantic. She’s always a woman and you’ll always be a man, amen.
And the Bible—you know, the Bible has no word for wife. You must check from the context, all right. The Bible talks about marriage but no word for wife. There’s a word for groom, “chatan.” There’s a word for bride, “kallah,” but there’s no word for husband and wife. The word for husband is man. The word for wife is woman. In the wisdom of God, God knows that if we start calling ourselves—that’s my wife, oh, that’s a woman. They stop looking at their wife as a woman until another man pays attention, “Wow, she is a woman.” Don’t wait for that to happen. Start seeing her as a woman, amen.
Sarah’s Heartfelt Respect
So I guess the wisdom of God is that even after they are married, God says, “She’s your woman. He’s your man.” Amen. And being a woman, she loves to be treated like a woman. But sometimes we start off that way—loving, enjoying each other—and then the duties come in. The children come in and the responsibilities come in. We forget to kiss. We forget to say words like please. We forget to be taking each other as precious. And it’s very sad.
I want to tell you something here that she said: “After I’ve grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” All that she’s talking within herself. She’s not trying to impress anybody by calling Abraham my lord. By the way, I read this many years ago. I came home and I told my wife, “Hey, Sarah said this, you know.” And by the way, Sarah lived—you know something? When Sarah was younger, right, about 60 years old, a king wanted her for his harem—Egyptian Pharaoh.
The Secret of Lasting Beauty
Before this chapter is done, you have chapter 19 which is Sodom and Gomorrah’s judgment. Then you have chapter 20—you will find a king wanted her. She’s now 89 years old. A king wants her. So obviously she knows the secret of how God can beautify you. Would you like to know the secret? And here we learn something. She says she calls her husband “my lord.” Not for the benefit of his ears. She was laughing within herself, talking within herself, and yet within herself she shows her respect for her husband. She calls her husband my lord. Wow! I said wow!
So I went back to my wife and I said, “Hey, look at this verse, leh. Look at this verse. You read, you read, you read.” And she read it—this was many years ago—then she looked at me. “Okay, my lord, my lord, my lord, my lord, my lord.” Then I went back home to my study and I realized she spoke within herself. Then I told her it must be from the heart, leh, you know. Then she says, then you must know—you cannot know what’s in the heart. You cannot ask me. It’s an outward thing. You know what I’m saying? She called her husband “my lord.” What respect she had.
The Beauty of a Gentle and Quiet Spirit
And then the Bible says in the New Testament it zeroes in on her because we know that she remained beautiful. God beautified her. We want to know the secret. How come she was beautiful? Go to 1 Peter 3. “Rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.”
Now verse 3 actually before this says don’t make your adorning plaiting the hair and the outward things. God is not saying you cannot. But don’t let that be your beauty. In ancient times the holy women who trusted in God—not trusted in their husband—they trusted… the reason why they are like that is that they trust in God. That’s how they adorn themselves.
How Holy Women Made Themselves Beautiful
But today in our day and age we don’t use the word “adorn” as much. So I’m gonna give you the New Living Translation and tell you—modern translation—what the word “adorn” really means, okay? “This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful.” Let’s all read together. “This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands.” Now differences in roles does not mean inequality. You understand? It does not mean inequality. We have equality, but we have different roles. Roles that God has designed us to do, amen.
Now there are some things that women can do—yes, granted. He’s talking about family here—family. When it comes to the family, the man is the one that God holds accountable. I have to answer to the Lord, right?
Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?
I go back to the story of Genesis 18. “And the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh?’” Now she was in the tent—saying now she laughed within herself. It wasn’t like a haa-ka-ka-ka like a cackle, you know, like a witch. It wasn’t like that. “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord?” What are you going through right now? Is anything too hard for the Lord?
Go back to 1 Peter 3—all right, yeah, the last part. “Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are”—and you will end up looking young and beautiful—with that quiet spirit which in God’s sight is of great price. Quiet doesn’t mean your mouth is quiet, all right? You can talk but it comes out of a quiet spirit. There are ladies who talk and talk but very aggressive, fiery spirit—you can sense that. But if you hear someone talk and there’s a quiet spirit, there’s a sweet spirit, very cool spirit—man, she becomes beautiful in your eyes, all right?
No Fear and Divine Promise
So the Bible says, “Whose daughters you are if you do good and not afraid of any terror.” Go back again—Genesis 18. Now are you learning, people? All right—is anything too hard for the Lord? What’s the answer? Okay, a few of you believe that. “At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Verse 15: “But Sarah denied it, saying, ‘I did not laugh,’ for she was afraid. And the Lord said, ‘No, you did laugh.’”
So they called the boy what? I love this one. I love this homeliness—the divine homeliness, divine nonetheless, but homeliness. You know, when God comes to you, He can talk to you. There’s even a kind of a joke going on, isn’t it? You laugh. And she was laughing within herself.
Shall I Hide from Abraham?
“Then the men arose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.” So the men rose from there and they looked toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to send them on the way. “And the Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing? Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?’”
Next: “Since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
God Knows Us First
First I wanna say this—this in no way touches the question of righteousness by faith, all right? Justification. This is talking about if your family is in line, then God promised him what? Descendants like the stars of the heaven and the sand on the seashore. What happens if your immediate son is rebellious? What happens if your grandson is rebellious? So in other words he must be a place where he can command his children so that the promises of God can flow. Correct?
I wanna close with this verse. I want to tell you something first. Years ago I read this verse and I felt condemned—years ago. I read this verse, I felt condemned for myself and for others because I read, wow, you know, “I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him.” “That they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” I said, “Wow, Lord, that’s a tall order.”
Meditation Brings Revelation
So in other words God is looking around at people whose families are under divine order, amen—the wife is calling him lord in her heart, and the children are not rebellious and all that—and then God can bring to pass, right? Do you see that? Well, things have changed. Meditation gives revelation. When you meditate—I meditate on this verse for some time before I preach on it. You know what I read? I read “For I have known him.” Known him is past tense. In other words, I have known him. It’s like I have loved him—you won’t be wrong. I have chosen him. That’s how NIV quotes this verse: “I have made myself known to him, in order that he may command his children.”
Has he commanded his children yet? No—it’s future tense. In other words God is not saying, “Because your family is in order, I chose you.” This is not the teaching here. The teaching is that I have known you, I have loved you, I have chosen you in order that you may command.
The Fruit of God’s Love
You see what the fruit is? We want this fruit. Guys, you cannot have this fruit. You cannot have your wife respect you if she doesn’t see Jesus in you. But when she sees that you have a genuine relationship with the Lord and you come to her and say, “I feel like the Lord is telling us,” you are helping her to see the importance of having the Lord in your relationship and she will submit.
Now it is not—I can prove to you right now—this is not saying Abraham is already like that, that’s why I chose him to bring to pass everything that I’ve spoken to him. I can prove to you. Number one, He says “in order that he may command his children.” How many children does he have at this time? How many children does he have at this time? No—he has one, Ishmael. Only one. He has only one child at this time. But He has this “in order that he may command his children.” So Isaac is not there yet, right?
God’s Love Brings Divine Order
If Isaac came, then it becomes children, right? So did God choose him because he has already done it—he already has his family in order? Or did God choose him and love him so that God’s love will cause him to put his family in order? Do you see that? So what is God saying? God is saying, Abraham, when I get to know you—here’s what He’s saying—“I have known him.” The language is like found in Galatians where it says Paul says, “After God has known you—or rather after you have known God—or rather you are known by God, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements?” Same thing.
In other words God loves you, God knows you first long before you know Him—in order that you will bring divine government into your house, into your family. It’s not the other way around. It’s not that “Oh he’s already so good, God chose him.” Are you all with me so far?
Encouragement for Parents
So I pray that parents will not feel—you know—this be encouragement to you, amen. Your focus should be on occupation with Christ, focusing on Christ, meditating on the Word, amen. And then you have that revelation to order and command and bring rule—divine rule. Are you all learning, people?
I’ll tell you something else. Of all the parables—you all can talk to me, okay? Of all the parables that our Lord Jesus shared, which parable to you is the most famous that talks about father and sons? Rebellious sons and all that. Wow, I love this church! What’s the name of this church? New Creation? The prodigal son—Luke 15. How many sons does he have? Two sons. And who is the father a picture of? God the Father.
Even the Perfect Father Had Rebellion
Come on—you can talk to me, come on, all right? Jesus shared this parable. The Father is a picture of God the Father, right? The two sons—who are they? All of us. Actually Gentiles and Jews. Okay—you have the Gentiles that never left the house, but the Jew—sorry, the Gentiles that left the house and the Jew that never left the house, right? But self-righteous. “I kept all your commandments and all that.”
Now watch this. What is this father—this father which I believe is a real story—this father that Jesus typifies as His own Father, okay—had two sons. What is his success rate? He lost one son, right? His son left, became rebellious. I wanna encourage you. Now these are sermons that you won’t hear from the pulpit sometimes. Am I right to say that the father there is a picture of God the Father, right? What’s the success rate? The son left even though he’s a good father. He is a good father. He will kill the fatted calf, you know. He’s a good father.
Grace and the Returning Son
But sometimes even though you’re good, believe God for the best for your family. I’m speaking to those who feel condemned—or you hear teachings that say your son is rebellious, you did something wrong. I’m encouraging you here—even God the Father, even that father in the story had a rebellious son. So what is his success rate? No—it’s not 50%. The other boy—how good is he? Come on, come on. He came… “This son of yours, after he spent his money on prostitutes.” By the way, I don’t know—of all the things that the son did, right—the brother did, he mentioned prostitutes. This guy got a problem.
“You killed the fattened calf, yet you never gave me,” he told his father. The father said, “Son, it’s right we celebrate. All that I have is yours. You don’t have to wait for me to give you the kid. Take it. You come to me—I’ll never say I’m just kidding. Take the kid. It’s yours.”
So when you think about it, people—I’m not saying that this is exactly how a father feels—I’m loving, I’m kind, and yet my son rebelled. There are situations whereby we don’t have an answer. But the good news is this: the son came home. I said the son came home. And one thing about rebellious daughters, rebellious sons is that when they come home and they taste your goodness, it’s different from the time when they were growing up. Because they have fallen—there’s an empty space there that grace otherwise could not have filled. Now they have an experience of grace. They truly have an experience of grace. And if the brother doesn’t repent—the older brother—this younger one will have the charisma, the grace, the favor to do much more than this other brother ever could and shine even brighter for God’s glory, amen.