WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.080 a preamble, an introduction. So we're going to look now at 1 Corinthians chapter 7. So 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:14.080 if you could turn towards that, please. I can give you a page number. It's 1148. 1148. 00:00:14.780 --> 00:00:21.019 And that is very small font. I do apologize for the people at the back. And we're going 00:00:21.019 --> 00:00:32.700 to read 1 Corinthians 7 from verse 25 to the end of the chapter. So 1148 or 1149 for verse 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:40.760 25. This is the Apostle Paul writing under the influence and direction of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:46.539 So this is God's word. Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give 00:00:46.539 --> 00:00:52.479 a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. Because of the present crisis, 00:00:52.820 --> 00:00:57.820 I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. 00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:04.000 Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:10.859 if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this 00:01:10.859 --> 00:01:17.500 life. And I want to spare you this. What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. 00:01:18.039 --> 00:01:22.620 From now on, those who have wives should live as if they had none. Those who mourn as if 00:01:22.620 --> 00:01:28.159 they did not. Those who are happy as if they were not. Those who buy something as if it were 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:33.760 not theirs to keep. Those who use the things of the world as if not engrossed in them. 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:42.100 For this world, in its present form, is passing away. I would like you to be free from concern. 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:48.400 An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs, how he can please the Lord. And a married 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:54.140 man is concerned, but a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please 00:01:54.140 --> 00:02:00.660 his wife. And his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:06.640 affairs. Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:12.979 concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your 00:02:12.979 --> 00:02:20.079 own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way, in undivided devotion to the 00:02:20.079 --> 00:02:25.460 Lord. If anyone thinks he is acting improperly towards the virgin he is engaged to, and if she is 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:30.519 getting on in years, and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:36.979 They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under 00:02:36.979 --> 00:02:42.900 no compulsion, but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:49.079 virgin, this man also does the right thing. So then, he who marries the virgin does right, 00:02:49.500 --> 00:02:55.699 but he who does not marry her does even better. A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives, 00:02:55.699 --> 00:03:01.339 but if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 00:03:02.019 --> 00:03:07.739 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is, and I think that I too have the spirit 00:03:07.739 --> 00:03:12.839 of God. May the Lord bless the reading of his word. Let's pray. 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:21.460 Our God and Father, we come with questions, we come with ideas, we come with our situation, 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:28.520 whether we're married or unmarried this morning. And Father, we want to come to hear what you have 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:36.780 to say, not that we sit in judgment over your words and pick and choose the bits that we want 00:03:36.780 --> 00:03:42.879 to hear, but that we listen, Father, honestly. I pray that you will help us to listen honestly this 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:48.479 morning to what it is that you would have to say from the Bible, and that we would understand the 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:56.759 great glory and picture that both marriage and being single gives us of our relationship with Christ. 00:03:57.400 --> 00:03:59.740 Bless us this morning, in Jesus' name, amen. 00:03:59.740 --> 00:03:59.860 Amen. 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:11.700 So to marry or not to marry, that is the question. Many of us long to be in a committed, loving relationship. 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:19.579 To find our soulmate, and being in a relationship, it seems like the ideal, isn't it, that we want, 00:04:19.660 --> 00:04:25.460 we want to be complete, we want to have that companionship. And if we've grown up in a Christian 00:04:25.459 --> 00:04:32.139 or a church culture, then that longing is directed towards marriage, isn't it, that we want to be 00:04:32.139 --> 00:04:39.459 married. We want to find the ideal partner that's going to meet our needs. And so we read verses like 00:04:39.459 --> 00:04:44.979 verse 9 and 1 Corinthians 7, and Paul says, but if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, 00:04:45.179 --> 00:04:51.919 for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. And we identify with that as one who wants 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:59.439 desperately to have that boyfriend or that girlfriend, to finally marry. And we have those 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:04.580 ideals of romantic love, commitment, and life together. And those things are always before 00:05:04.580 --> 00:05:11.660 us and always part of our thinking and our decision making. But likewise, there are some that are a 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:19.200 little freaked out by the idea. Author Tanya Kindersley writes like this, I don't want to hand over my 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:25.740 identity by taking someone else's name. I sometimes wake at night in a cold sweat at the idea of being 00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:31.300 Mrs. Someone. I look at married couples and I don't think it looks like much fun to me. 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:37.180 They're the ones who walk into the parties and immediately head for opposite ends of the room. 00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:43.199 The wives complain that they never have sex anymore. The husbands complain that they are 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:50.379 emasculated and misunderstood. I've heard women say that they never knew what it was like to be 00:05:50.379 --> 00:05:59.699 really lonely until they got married. Two different views on married life. And as a result, 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:06.879 two different views on what it means to be unmarried or single. It's not easy. It's quite complex, 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:12.959 isn't it, to answer that question, to marry or not to marry. As I said last week, we looked at the 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:19.199 topic of marriage through this chapter and it's intermingled, isn't it, Paul's discussions on 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:24.719 marriage and singleness. And that's why I said have a listen if you didn't hear it, the sermon last 00:06:24.719 --> 00:06:31.479 week on marriage. Just remember the scriptures, the Bible is very, very positive about marriage. 00:06:31.479 --> 00:06:39.060 It upholds marriage. The Bible, the story of the Bible begins with a marriage in a garden between Adam 00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:46.620 and Eve. And the Bible ends in Revelation with a marriage feast in a city between the church and 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:55.060 Christ. Marriage is there from beginning to end within the Bible. Earthly marriage echoes that 00:06:55.060 --> 00:07:01.259 heavenly marriage, that picture of marriage between Christ and his church, Christ's love for the church. 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:08.860 And Paul continues to uphold marriage. And we see that, don't we, at the start of chapter 7, if you 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:15.039 look at verse 2, the end of verse 2. He says, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own 00:07:15.039 --> 00:07:23.000 husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife and likewise the wife to her husband. 00:07:23.599 --> 00:07:29.019 Paul isn't against marriage. And verse 10, he's very clear, isn't he, that he's not trying to break up 00:07:29.019 --> 00:07:34.180 marriages and say everyone should be single. To the married I give this command, not I but the Lord. 00:07:34.180 --> 00:07:41.199 And I think Paul here is thinking back to what Jesus said in Matthew 19, a wife must not separate 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:50.219 from her husband. So husbands and wives, marriage is a good thing. Husbands and wives should be devoted 00:07:50.219 --> 00:07:55.479 to each other. They should be intimate with each other. They should support one another. However, we have 00:07:55.480 --> 00:08:02.980 this issue that as we read through, excuse me, chapter 7, we see that there is almost an elevation 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:08.780 of being unmarried, over being married. It feels like in some ways that it's almost better in some 00:08:08.780 --> 00:08:15.280 ways to be unmarried. So is it better to be married or to be single? Now maybe you all have different 00:08:15.280 --> 00:08:22.780 views on that. And if I stay unmarried, and the indication and clear teaching of scripture that means 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:30.399 being celibate, how do I live that out? Well, we want to know what unmarried living is going to be 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:37.319 like. And these are the questions that we want to look at this morning through chapter 7. 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:48.959 The first thing, verse 26, this present crisis. We want to consider our present situation in Ireland 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:55.320 today what it's like to be married or unmarried. Christian sexual ethics and the biblical view of 00:08:55.320 --> 00:09:01.440 marriage and singleness, the ones that we find in the Bible are radically different at so many points 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:08.200 from the society around us. It's been through my lifetime, and I'm sure many people have experienced it 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:14.639 over the last 20 years, that Ireland has shifted away from a church-imposed morality 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:22.639 to what were new and unimagined freedoms almost within society, of variety, of relationships and 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:28.840 sexual ethics. Society's definition of marriage has even changed, and that's very recent. Same-sex 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:36.759 marriage is now guaranteed in our constitution. Less and less people are valuing traditional 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:44.279 marriage and in many ways see it as an outdated and irrelevant limitation on our freedom. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:48.039 I'm just going to pause. I'm going to readjust this. I went too far down. 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:55.960 Sorry. Thank you. And see, so I was saying marriage is something that's outdated. 00:09:57.399 --> 00:10:02.179 And our tendency sometimes within a church context is just to shake our head at what's happening 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:09.960 out there in the world. But let's be honest and clear with ourselves that even though there was a 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:18.340 greater respect for the marriage bond and the place of sex with inside marriage, during that period, 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:27.160 there was a climate of moral legalism and superiority that in many ways was wrong and was destructive. 00:10:27.159 --> 00:10:36.179 the state and the mainstream church coerced behaviour and created many cases where there was an uncaring 00:10:36.179 --> 00:10:45.600 and overly harsh regime towards people and situations. And it's been very evident, as we've heard of, 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:53.740 well-known and well-publicised abuse cases and cover-ups and difficulties within Irish society. 00:10:53.740 --> 00:11:00.060 So even though we might look back and say in some ways it was better in terms of the elevation of marriage 00:11:00.060 --> 00:11:08.240 and sexual activity within marriage, there were many things that were also wrong. But now, in a very short time, 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:16.779 that moral majority has been replaced by a new moral majority and it has totally flipped. The morals have flipped. 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:26.019 But Paul reminds us this morning that the setting that we find ourselves in as Bible-believing Christians is not new. 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:34.740 It's not new. Paul faced his own crisis back in AD 55. It's nearly 2,000 years ago. Look at verse 25. 00:11:34.740 --> 00:11:41.919 But now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:49.620 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:55.740 See, Corinth was a massive city at the time. It was one of the biggest cities in the Roman Empire. 00:11:56.200 --> 00:12:02.480 It had about 600,000 people living in it. And it knew every form of sexual practice. 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:11.420 It had a temple to the Greek goddess of love, Epaphrodite. At the temple, 1,000 priestess prostitutes. 00:12:12.500 --> 00:12:16.659 And their role was to serve the sexual needs of the city. 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:22.220 The Roman culture was one itself that had grown away from marriage, very much like our own. 00:12:22.700 --> 00:12:27.300 Marriage was something you only did when you needed to settle down, to become respectable. 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:32.919 So you got married because you needed to have children for your inheritance. 00:12:34.019 --> 00:12:37.459 But like today, there was no need for marriage if you wanted sex. 00:12:38.099 --> 00:12:41.620 Even when you were married, you could look for sex elsewhere. 00:12:42.659 --> 00:12:47.240 Slaves were there to fulfill your physical needs and wants. 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:54.879 You see, in the Roman culture at the time, sex had been fully separated from marriage. 00:12:55.279 --> 00:13:00.419 And it had been reduced to just a physical act that brings pleasure to yourself. 00:13:01.500 --> 00:13:06.659 Such attitudes, as we've seen, have even worked their way into the Corinthian church. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:11.080 I don't know if you remember a few weeks ago, chapter 5 and verse 1. 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:16.820 This is Paul writing to the church, remember, not society out there, but the church in here. 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:20.940 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, 00:13:21.060 --> 00:13:24.240 and of a kind does not occur even among pagans. 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.400 A man has his father's wife, and you are proud. 00:13:30.580 --> 00:13:35.379 Believers thought nothing of having sex with their stepmother and boasting about it. 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:41.919 Paul's response to the crisis in the church and in society of 2,000 years ago 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:46.939 is relevant to us today in the situation that we find ourselves in. 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:56.639 We feel, don't we, at this time, the highly sexualized pressure of society 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:02.039 to live together before marriage, to have sex outside of marriage, 00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:06.779 to view pornography and just make ourselves as a center of everything. 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:12.199 And we're ridiculed if we say that we're trying to follow what the Bible says. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:16.219 If we want to say that sex is a wonderful gift 00:14:16.219 --> 00:14:24.099 that is to be enjoyed in the context of a mutually giving, covenantal, promise relationship, 00:14:24.199 --> 00:14:25.139 because that's what marriage is. 00:14:25.139 --> 00:14:29.899 It provides that basis of commitment for sex to be enjoyed and to flourish. 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:34.840 If we offer that out there, well, we're ridiculed. 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:40.959 We're like the mosquito that's trying to fly through Niagara Falls. 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:48.240 We're just trying to go against the flow of this tidal wave of pressure and change 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:52.019 and movement away from what the Scriptures say. 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:59.199 For many of us, there is very, very little comfort when we're climbing the walls at night 00:14:59.199 --> 00:15:03.079 with frustration at not being in a sexual relationship. 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:09.679 So it's easy then, isn't it, in that situation, to excuse looking at internet porn 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:14.039 to try and find some private and secret pleasure for ourselves. 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:22.539 Well, on such nights, we need to come to understand verse 35. 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:28.360 Verse 35, I think, is a real promise and tell. 00:15:28.579 --> 00:15:29.199 Paul writes, 00:15:29.199 --> 00:15:32.980 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:39.039 but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:45.159 And Paul is saying today from the Scriptures that there is real hope this morning, 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:48.039 hope for the unmarried to remain as they are, 00:15:48.419 --> 00:15:52.579 gifted in a way that allows devoted service to the Lord. 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:56.759 That is the promise, the command and the promise of verse 35. 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:03.099 Responding to the present crisis, I think what's going to help us respond to this? 00:16:03.139 --> 00:16:06.860 If this is the situation, and in many ways it is very, very difficult, 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:08.139 how do we respond? 00:16:08.139 --> 00:16:14.379 Well, I think we need to understand this present world, this time that we live in. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:19.100 Paul wants those that are unmarried to know this, the end of verse 31, 00:16:20.059 --> 00:16:25.100 that the world in its current form is passing away. 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:30.259 End of verse 31, the world in its present form is passing away. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:36.439 These words should make us stop a little bit and think about the big picture of 2015 Ireland. 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:41.240 So we've looked at some of the specifics, the recent referendum change, 00:16:41.400 --> 00:16:43.500 the kind of societal pressures that we have. 00:16:44.760 --> 00:16:48.400 And Paul wants us, in a sense, to have a bigger picture, 00:16:48.780 --> 00:16:51.280 a God's eye perspective on history. 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:56.640 He understands that we are living in what the Bible calls the last days. 00:16:57.220 --> 00:16:57.980 The last days. 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:01.080 And I don't mean that, you know, the apocalypse is around the corner. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:04.700 What I mean is this, that Christ has come. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:05.960 Jesus has come. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:08.059 That happened 2,000 years ago. 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:10.920 And a new kingdom is now in place. 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:13.200 It's not a political kingdom. 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:17.380 It's not one that you can identify with politicians and the power of the state. 00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:20.380 It's not one that's established by force or by armies. 00:17:21.120 --> 00:17:26.440 Instead, the kingdom of heaven grows through the spread of the gospel. 00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:33.860 People are converted and rebirthed and brought into a spirit-filled life on earth. 00:17:34.100 --> 00:17:37.100 And they have a promise of a renewed eternal life to come. 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:42.500 Because we live in a new kingdom then, there are new rules for living. 00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:46.819 And that's what verses 29 to 30 are about. 00:17:47.819 --> 00:17:48.480 Paul writes, 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:50.960 What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:54.619 From now on, those who have wives should live as if they had none. 00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:56.519 Those who mourn as if they did not. 00:17:56.940 --> 00:17:58.859 Those who are happy as if they were not. 00:17:59.220 --> 00:18:01.900 Those who buy something as if it were not theirs to keep. 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:05.720 Those who use the things of the world as if not engrossing them. 00:18:05.720 --> 00:18:10.859 For this world, in its present form, is passing away. 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:19.539 What Paul is saying is that now that Jesus has come, now that the King has come, things have changed. 00:18:20.579 --> 00:18:25.539 The normal priorities of living for self are going to take a backseat. 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:32.619 Our experiences of life, of death, of joy, of mourning, of marriage, of our possessions. 00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:38.439 They are all fundamentally changed by the reality of Christ's coming. 00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:46.239 His death, his resurrection, his ascension, his coming again should all make a powerful difference to how we live. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:52.259 And one of the biggest impacts, and one that we don't notice very often in this new age, 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:55.599 is our attitude to being unmarried. 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:57.180 Our attitude to being single. 00:18:58.019 --> 00:19:02.720 Because the Bible presents a radical, and I would say an awe-inspiring place, 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:05.799 for those that remain unmarried. 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:12.379 In the past, the only real option for those who are part of God's people was to get married. 00:19:13.379 --> 00:19:21.180 The blessings of God to Israel, to the nation of Israel, was based really on three things. 00:19:21.659 --> 00:19:26.779 The people of Israel, they had a name, they had a land, and they had family. 00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:36.259 You needed to get married, and to have children, so that your name and your land would stay in your family line. 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:40.819 I'm sure anyone from a farming background would recognize this. 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:45.539 The desire there for land and name and family to continue. 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:52.579 And Israel was an agricultural society, and God had given this blessing through name and land and family. 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:54.899 Blessing was in having family. 00:19:54.899 --> 00:19:56.279 That was seen as a blessing. 00:19:56.779 --> 00:19:59.420 Barrenness was seen as a curse. 00:20:00.500 --> 00:20:05.279 Barren women were seen as being under some kind of curse, or some kind of judgment from the Lord. 00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:07.920 So what does this create? 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:13.799 Well, that emphasis then on marriage meant that there were basically no single people in Israel. 00:20:13.940 --> 00:20:15.119 People got married. 00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:20.940 Some few did exist, such as eunuchs, who we read about in Isaiah and Matthew. 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:24.240 Some were born that way, some were made that way by men. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:30.059 But there were men who couldn't experience sex, could not have a family. 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:32.160 So eunuchs had no wife. 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:34.180 They had no family. 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:36.640 And in all likelihood, they had no land. 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:38.599 Why would you give your land to a eunuch? 00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:43.500 They were even banned from entering the temple. 00:20:43.619 --> 00:20:46.959 They couldn't partake in the religious life of the society. 00:20:47.959 --> 00:20:49.719 And you see, to have family was everything. 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:52.639 And to be a eunuch was nothing. 00:20:52.640 --> 00:21:01.280 Eunuchs, as a result, were often employed in the ancient Near Eastern cultures to serve in courts for a king. 00:21:01.460 --> 00:21:03.220 Because they could do so in full devotion. 00:21:03.460 --> 00:21:05.640 Because, well, they had no worldly distraction. 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:06.440 They had no land. 00:21:06.520 --> 00:21:07.180 They had no family. 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:07.920 They had no name. 00:21:08.020 --> 00:21:09.080 They did nothing to continue. 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:09.740 No future. 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:20.740 Yet God gave promises through the prophets of a new age to come. 00:21:21.160 --> 00:21:22.799 We read that in Isaiah 56. 00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:24.620 I'm just going to read some of those verses again. 00:21:25.140 --> 00:21:27.160 For this, and listen to the power of this. 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:28.299 Imagine you are the eunuch. 00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:30.599 Imagine that is your lot in life. 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:33.879 And how you're treated in that society. 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:35.199 And this is what the Lord says. 00:21:35.799 --> 00:21:37.759 To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:39.519 Who choose what pleases me. 00:21:39.659 --> 00:21:41.119 And hold fast to my covenant. 00:21:41.879 --> 00:21:45.240 To them I will give within my temple. 00:21:45.659 --> 00:21:47.199 The place that they were banned from. 00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:49.439 And its walls a memorial. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:53.779 And a name better than sons and daughters. 00:21:54.419 --> 00:21:57.879 I will give them an everlasting name. 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:00.820 That will endure forever. 00:22:02.280 --> 00:22:08.260 The eunuch that was physically and previously cut off from the temple. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:09.420 He wasn't allowed in. 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:13.800 And they were cut off from having their name continue through a family line. 00:22:13.800 --> 00:22:15.680 They're now told by the Lord. 00:22:16.060 --> 00:22:19.000 That he will establish their name in the temple. 00:22:19.660 --> 00:22:21.800 And that they will have sons and daughters forever. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:26.260 There's some kind of eternal family that these eunuchs will have. 00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:29.000 That will outlast physical family. 00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:32.539 What a wonderful, wonderful promise. 00:22:34.299 --> 00:22:36.180 After the promise of Isaiah. 00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:37.640 600 years. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:39.200 Christ arrives. 00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:41.119 And he ushers in this new age. 00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:46.940 Jesus says that it's now open for people to choose to be eunuchs. 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:50.480 Those that are willing to abstain from marriage and sex. 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:52.539 For the sake of the kingdom. 00:22:52.539 --> 00:22:56.559 And we read that in Matthew chapter 19. 00:22:58.379 --> 00:23:01.440 See, the disciples were struggling with the requirements of marriage. 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:03.079 Because marriage is tough according to Jesus. 00:23:03.259 --> 00:23:05.119 You have to stay faithful. 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:08.740 Divorce essentially wasn't allowed by Christ. 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:10.359 Except for marital unfaithfulness. 00:23:11.079 --> 00:23:12.079 The disciples said to him, 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:15.259 If this is the situation between a husband and a wife, 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:16.399 it is better not to marry. 00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:17.659 They're kind of exaggerating. 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:21.500 They're trying to push Jesus into making the requirements for marriage less. 00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:22.980 But Jesus said, 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:24.980 Not everyone can accept this word, 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:27.480 but only those to whom it has been given. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.619 For some are eunuchs because they were born that way. 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:32.279 Others were made that way by men. 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:37.059 And others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:41.140 The one who can accept this should accept it. 00:23:41.140 --> 00:23:47.240 You see, the shame of being a eunuch or being single has been obliterated by Christ. 00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:55.140 Jesus said that there are those that are gifted to set aside the pressure and the problems of family 00:23:55.140 --> 00:23:59.580 and instead serve the king wholeheartedly. 00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:07.159 And so Jesus, he's shifted the kingdom away from physical family and blessing through physical family. 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:10.079 And he's changed it completely. 00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:14.960 Yes, marriage is still a part of God's purposes in this age. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:19.859 But he has joined marriage with singleness on an equal footing. 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:24.779 Both marriage and singleness express this age. 00:24:24.899 --> 00:24:28.159 Express what it means to be part of God's kingdom. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:34.100 Both Paul, who was unmarried. 00:24:34.300 --> 00:24:35.600 He may have been married previously. 00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:39.360 We don't know the circumstances, whether his wife died or whether he was married. 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:42.100 But Paul was unmarried as he writes the New Testament. 00:24:42.380 --> 00:24:44.860 Jesus was unmarried. 00:24:45.019 --> 00:24:47.820 And they both practiced what they preached. 00:24:48.800 --> 00:24:50.019 Jesus was a single man. 00:24:51.100 --> 00:24:52.840 Jesus understood this present age 00:24:52.840 --> 00:24:57.019 and his need to be fully devoted to God's work. 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:02.740 But when his mother and his brothers, his physical family, came looking for him, 00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:04.480 what did Jesus say to them? 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:08.019 When they looked to take him away from his mission, he said, 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:14.480 Well, my mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:20.759 You see, Jesus inaugurated an age where to be part of God's community is about spiritual ties, 00:25:20.860 --> 00:25:21.880 not physical ties. 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:27.740 Each one is part of the kingdom because of our direct relationship with Christ. 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:29.900 It's not inherited by family lines. 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:35.319 Our relationship to God's kingdom is because of our direct relationship to Christ. 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:40.740 You can be married or unmarried and be part of his kingdom. 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:47.179 And you know, you won't find that option in a lot of structures in this world. 00:25:47.379 --> 00:25:48.980 Judaism doesn't promote that. 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:51.119 Islam does not promote that. 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:53.559 Mormonism does not promote singleness. 00:25:54.439 --> 00:25:58.000 Traditional family-based cultures, of which there are many more in the world, 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:03.079 do not promote or endorse or look at singleness in a positive light. 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:09.579 Christianity does from its very beginning because of this teaching from Christ and Paul 00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:14.240 and this unfolding progress of the plan of salvation. 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:22.359 You see, your identity in Christ is what counts, not your identity in marriage. 00:26:23.140 --> 00:26:26.319 It is having spiritual children that will be of ultimate value, 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:28.799 not in having physical children. 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:33.859 I was there for the birth of all three of our children. 00:26:34.679 --> 00:26:36.720 Our eldest, Christopher, is nine. 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:39.939 I remember all three births very well. 00:26:40.220 --> 00:26:44.379 But particularly with Christopher, you just think back to that time 00:26:44.379 --> 00:26:49.039 where, you know, your son is born, your child is born. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:51.700 And that's a transforming joy. 00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:56.559 That's an amazing experience to be part of the birth of your children. 00:26:58.380 --> 00:27:01.819 But, you know, from that day, our greatest desire as parents 00:27:01.819 --> 00:27:05.220 has been for a second birth for our children. 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:07.740 Yes, their first birth is absolutely crucial. 00:27:08.980 --> 00:27:11.160 But it's a second birth that we look for. 00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:15.940 Their first birth might gift them 70-plus years of life. 00:27:16.380 --> 00:27:19.400 Their second birth will gift them eternal life. 00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:24.620 And this business of spiritual rebirth, 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:28.560 do you know, it's not limited to Cherry and I as parents. 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:30.600 It's not limited to married couples. 00:27:30.780 --> 00:27:32.900 It's not limited to those that have physical children. 00:27:33.360 --> 00:27:37.920 To be involved in spiritual rebirth is open to us all. 00:27:39.360 --> 00:27:40.700 If you teach Sunday school, 00:27:41.220 --> 00:27:43.259 you can be involved in spiritual rebirth. 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:47.619 If you help out at a camp during your holidays or your time off, 00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:50.220 you can be involved in spiritual rebirth. 00:27:51.160 --> 00:27:52.900 As you witness to your friends, 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:55.579 colleagues at work in the Christian Union, 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:59.740 you can be involved in spiritual rebirth. 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:06.440 We are all able to be part of bringing about spiritual life. 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:11.200 Verse 29, coming back to 1 Corinthians 7. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.440 We must remember, brothers and sisters, 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:16.580 that the time is short. 00:28:17.360 --> 00:28:21.279 We don't want to live our lives squeezed and pummeled and shaped and bullied 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:23.420 by the culture around us, 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:27.299 defining who we are and our attitudes to sex and marriage and singleness. 00:28:27.819 --> 00:28:31.620 We want to be shaped by the time frame of Christ. 00:28:31.619 --> 00:28:34.539 We want to be shaped by His time frame. 00:28:35.239 --> 00:28:37.899 We want to stop flying into that waterfall 00:28:37.899 --> 00:28:42.179 and being pummeled and beaten down by these messages all the time 00:28:42.179 --> 00:28:45.839 that have destroyed the meaning of sex and marriage and relationships. 00:28:46.259 --> 00:28:48.639 We want to find a rock to stand on 00:28:48.639 --> 00:28:50.919 and take a view of singleness 00:28:50.919 --> 00:28:55.859 that's going to outlast this age and this world. 00:28:55.859 --> 00:29:02.539 I want to look at some practical things now 00:29:02.539 --> 00:29:04.839 for those that are single. 00:29:06.639 --> 00:29:08.339 We've looked at the present crisis, 00:29:08.639 --> 00:29:10.539 the crisis in the culture that Paul had, 00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:11.459 the crisis that we have. 00:29:11.679 --> 00:29:13.179 We've looked at the age that we live in, 00:29:13.240 --> 00:29:15.500 that we're between Christ's first coming 00:29:15.500 --> 00:29:17.559 and His second coming in those last days 00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:21.359 with a transformed view of marriage and singleness. 00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:25.839 But what specifically are unmarried people called to? 00:29:27.179 --> 00:29:30.679 Firstly, I want us to see that it is a very high and valued calling. 00:29:30.879 --> 00:29:31.719 Verse 38. 00:29:32.959 --> 00:29:35.279 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, 00:29:35.379 --> 00:29:38.299 but he who does not marry her does even better. 00:29:39.019 --> 00:29:39.740 Does even better. 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:43.579 So in what ways is it better to be unmarried? 00:29:43.579 --> 00:29:52.339 Well, being unmarried puts on display a devotion to Christ 00:29:52.339 --> 00:29:54.240 and His message, the gospel, 00:29:54.460 --> 00:29:56.939 that you can't get with married people. 00:29:57.079 --> 00:29:58.279 I don't know if you've thought about that. 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:02.439 You can't get the same explanation, 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:05.099 the visible picture of the gospel 00:30:05.099 --> 00:30:09.039 with married people that you can get with single people. 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:14.359 You see, the single person is free from the normal concerns of married life. 00:30:14.980 --> 00:30:16.240 Back to verse 32. 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:18.019 Paul says, 00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:19.859 I would like you to be free from concern. 00:30:20.139 --> 00:30:22.700 An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs, 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:24.339 how he can please the Lord. 00:30:24.619 --> 00:30:28.000 But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, 00:30:28.119 --> 00:30:29.799 how he can please his wife. 00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:34.180 And likewise, Paul goes on to say the inverse for the wife. 00:30:34.180 --> 00:30:39.039 It is clear, and speak to anyone that's married, 00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:43.080 that being married carries extra responsibilities and concerns 00:30:43.080 --> 00:30:45.680 that a single person does not have. 00:30:46.660 --> 00:30:49.180 Now remember what Christ said in Matthew 19, 00:30:49.880 --> 00:30:51.120 or what Paul says here, 00:30:51.259 --> 00:30:53.400 that being single like this, 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:55.519 or being called to an unmarried life is a gift. 00:30:55.660 --> 00:30:58.920 So I'm not saying that this is for everyone, 00:30:59.060 --> 00:31:01.539 but for some, it is a call. 00:31:01.539 --> 00:31:05.579 Being a eunuch for the kingdom, as Christ puts it, 00:31:05.639 --> 00:31:08.399 is a call to a type of fasting. 00:31:09.159 --> 00:31:10.359 It's a type of fasting. 00:31:10.899 --> 00:31:13.500 Fasting specifically from sexual activity. 00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:15.539 It is not easy, 00:31:15.899 --> 00:31:19.639 but it allows a type of devoted service to the king 00:31:19.639 --> 00:31:22.500 that is not open to married people. 00:31:25.159 --> 00:31:27.480 Barry Danielak, the author of the book, 00:31:27.579 --> 00:31:28.359 Redeeming Singleness, 00:31:28.359 --> 00:31:32.259 defines the gift of singleness like this. 00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:32.679 He says, 00:31:32.819 --> 00:31:33.479 the charisma, 00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:35.899 and charisma is the Greek word for gift, 00:31:36.419 --> 00:31:37.539 the charisma of singleness 00:31:37.539 --> 00:31:39.419 is a spirit-enabled freedom 00:31:39.419 --> 00:31:43.459 to serve the king and the kingdom wholeheartedly 00:31:43.459 --> 00:31:45.339 without undue distraction 00:31:45.339 --> 00:31:47.179 for the longings of sexual intimacy, 00:31:47.939 --> 00:31:49.479 marriage, and family. 00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:51.599 The charisma of singleness 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:53.339 is a spirit-enabled freedom 00:31:53.339 --> 00:31:56.379 to serve the king and the kingdom wholeheartedly 00:31:56.380 --> 00:31:58.280 without undue distraction 00:31:58.280 --> 00:32:00.100 for the longings of sexual intimacy, 00:32:00.420 --> 00:32:01.960 marriage, and family. 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:04.520 He's not saying that those things go away 00:32:04.520 --> 00:32:05.960 or those desires or feelings, 00:32:07.060 --> 00:32:09.280 but it's being freed from their undue distraction 00:32:09.280 --> 00:32:11.020 to serve the king. 00:32:12.620 --> 00:32:14.320 It is a different life 00:32:14.320 --> 00:32:15.500 to the life of marriage. 00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:18.400 And I think helpfully, 00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:19.839 verse 35, 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:21.420 which I think for me 00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:22.839 is the key verse in this section, 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:24.619 helps us to see 00:32:24.619 --> 00:32:26.160 what that looks like. 00:32:26.619 --> 00:32:28.019 And there are three basic ideas 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:28.839 that come out here. 00:32:29.779 --> 00:32:32.180 The end of verse 35 in particular, 00:32:32.339 --> 00:32:33.940 I am saying this for your own good, 00:32:34.059 --> 00:32:34.960 not to restrict you, 00:32:35.380 --> 00:32:37.319 but that you may live in a right way 00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:40.319 in undivided devotion to the Lord. 00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:42.460 Let me explain that. 00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:43.519 Three things. 00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:45.579 To live in a right way 00:32:45.579 --> 00:32:49.079 means that for the unmarried life 00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:51.660 that we find sufficiency in Christ 00:32:51.660 --> 00:32:54.220 apart from sexual intimacy, 00:32:55.059 --> 00:32:56.319 marital companionship, 00:32:56.859 --> 00:32:57.980 and physical family. 00:32:58.700 --> 00:33:00.019 And to live in the right way 00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:01.200 for the single person 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:05.059 is a call to be unmarried 00:33:05.059 --> 00:33:07.980 and to experience sexual purity 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:10.839 by living without sexual intimacy. 00:33:10.839 --> 00:33:12.859 So both married and unmarried 00:33:12.859 --> 00:33:14.000 have to live in a right way. 00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:16.220 For the married, 00:33:16.679 --> 00:33:17.579 sexual purity 00:33:17.579 --> 00:33:19.679 is sexual faithfulness within marriage. 00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:21.119 That's what sexual purity looks like. 00:33:21.619 --> 00:33:22.480 For the unmarried, 00:33:23.019 --> 00:33:23.919 sexual purity 00:33:23.919 --> 00:33:26.319 is really sexual abstinence, 00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:28.139 so not having sexual intimacy. 00:33:28.959 --> 00:33:30.259 So to live in the right way 00:33:30.259 --> 00:33:32.480 is to live in a sexually pure way 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:33.279 as unmarried. 00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:34.919 Undivided. 00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:37.740 Well, that means that the unmarried life 00:33:37.740 --> 00:33:40.060 is freed from the stress 00:33:40.060 --> 00:33:41.680 of having a spouse and family. 00:33:42.560 --> 00:33:44.820 The need to care for a physical family, 00:33:44.940 --> 00:33:46.220 to worry about a physical family, 00:33:46.279 --> 00:33:48.180 to be responsible for a physical family, 00:33:48.460 --> 00:33:49.279 and their needs 00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:50.779 is not a burden 00:33:50.779 --> 00:33:52.860 that's going to divide your attention. 00:33:52.980 --> 00:33:54.320 It's not going to divide your time. 00:33:54.420 --> 00:33:55.300 It's not going to divide 00:33:55.300 --> 00:33:57.300 your resources like that 00:33:57.300 --> 00:33:58.820 as a single person. 00:33:58.819 --> 00:34:00.460 And finally, 00:34:00.639 --> 00:34:01.559 devotion in the Lord 00:34:01.559 --> 00:34:03.639 or devotion to the Lord. 00:34:04.679 --> 00:34:08.000 We experience this undivided life 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:09.500 in order to be devoted to the Lord, 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:11.579 free to serve the King 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:12.900 in a way, again, 00:34:12.980 --> 00:34:14.579 that married people cannot. 00:34:15.380 --> 00:34:16.599 So that is the call 00:34:16.599 --> 00:34:18.319 to be unmarried, 00:34:18.519 --> 00:34:19.880 to live in a right way, 00:34:20.019 --> 00:34:21.139 to be undivided, 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:22.980 and to be devoted to the Lord. 00:34:23.699 --> 00:34:24.179 Singleness, 00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:26.000 if we are called, 00:34:26.840 --> 00:34:28.319 is a wonderful gift, 00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:29.059 an opportunity 00:34:29.059 --> 00:34:30.260 to show loyalty 00:34:30.260 --> 00:34:31.559 and dependence 00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:33.180 to the living God 00:34:33.180 --> 00:34:34.420 that is different 00:34:34.420 --> 00:34:36.039 and in many ways 00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:38.300 better than if we were married. 00:34:39.580 --> 00:34:41.740 Just some final thoughts 00:34:41.740 --> 00:34:43.380 in summary. 00:34:45.220 --> 00:34:47.019 I hope you've seen this morning 00:34:47.019 --> 00:34:48.200 that to be full partakers 00:34:48.200 --> 00:34:49.120 of the kingdom of God 00:34:49.120 --> 00:34:52.340 does not require you to be married 00:34:52.340 --> 00:34:54.240 or to have physical family. 00:34:55.539 --> 00:34:58.039 Marriage displays one testimony. 00:34:59.039 --> 00:35:00.580 Marriage tells us 00:35:00.580 --> 00:35:02.080 of the faithful 00:35:02.080 --> 00:35:04.720 and unchanging covenant love 00:35:04.720 --> 00:35:06.019 between Christ 00:35:06.019 --> 00:35:06.820 and his people, 00:35:06.940 --> 00:35:07.340 the church, 00:35:07.400 --> 00:35:08.420 where we see that Christ 00:35:08.420 --> 00:35:10.140 gives himself for the church 00:35:10.140 --> 00:35:11.900 and marriage is a picture of that. 00:35:13.180 --> 00:35:15.160 Being single or unmarried, 00:35:15.340 --> 00:35:16.920 well, it displays something different. 00:35:17.059 --> 00:35:18.720 It displays the complete 00:35:18.720 --> 00:35:20.820 sufficiency of Christ 00:35:20.820 --> 00:35:22.280 for this present age. 00:35:22.280 --> 00:35:24.360 And it also gives 00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:25.519 a visible witness 00:35:25.519 --> 00:35:27.340 to the future age, 00:35:27.340 --> 00:35:28.500 to the hope 00:35:28.500 --> 00:35:29.940 of an eternal inheritance 00:35:29.940 --> 00:35:31.980 that is to come. 00:35:32.240 --> 00:35:34.440 It points us wonderfully forward 00:35:34.440 --> 00:35:36.480 in a way that marriage cannot. 00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:38.440 Secondly, 00:35:38.600 --> 00:35:39.820 if you desire to be married, 00:35:40.820 --> 00:35:42.620 you can get married. 00:35:43.960 --> 00:35:46.060 There is no restriction. 00:35:46.059 --> 00:35:48.320 Remaining unmarried 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:50.099 and being celibate, 00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:51.480 it's a gift 00:35:51.480 --> 00:35:52.679 and a choice, 00:35:53.059 --> 00:35:54.119 not a command 00:35:54.119 --> 00:35:54.900 and a restriction. 00:35:55.099 --> 00:35:55.920 I think that's important 00:35:55.920 --> 00:35:56.420 to hear 00:35:56.420 --> 00:35:57.159 as we look through 00:35:57.159 --> 00:35:57.960 chapter 7. 00:35:57.960 --> 00:35:59.920 There is no restriction. 00:36:00.059 --> 00:36:01.300 You are free to be married. 00:36:02.579 --> 00:36:03.059 However, 00:36:03.199 --> 00:36:03.740 I would say, 00:36:03.880 --> 00:36:05.400 remember that sexual abstinence 00:36:05.400 --> 00:36:06.320 is required 00:36:06.320 --> 00:36:07.840 if you are unmarried 00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:09.920 and sexual faithfulness 00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:10.960 if you are married. 00:36:11.079 --> 00:36:11.340 Remember, 00:36:11.500 --> 00:36:12.179 sexual purity 00:36:12.179 --> 00:36:13.039 is for both married 00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:13.659 and unmarried. 00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:16.179 And just to encourage you, 00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:17.400 if you're a single, 00:36:17.940 --> 00:36:19.099 pretty young person 00:36:19.099 --> 00:36:21.099 and looking forward 00:36:21.099 --> 00:36:22.240 and thinking about marriage, 00:36:23.199 --> 00:36:24.760 practicing abstinence 00:36:24.760 --> 00:36:25.820 before marriage 00:36:25.820 --> 00:36:27.780 is the best preparation 00:36:27.780 --> 00:36:29.760 for observing faithfulness 00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:30.920 within marriage. 00:36:31.519 --> 00:36:32.340 I'll say that again. 00:36:32.860 --> 00:36:34.340 Practicing abstinence 00:36:34.340 --> 00:36:35.320 before marriage 00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:36.220 is going to be 00:36:36.220 --> 00:36:37.580 your best preparation 00:36:37.580 --> 00:36:39.320 for observing faithfulness 00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:40.420 within marriage. 00:36:41.220 --> 00:36:41.980 And finally, 00:36:42.140 --> 00:36:42.840 being unmarried 00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:44.019 should not mean 00:36:44.019 --> 00:36:45.060 being single 00:36:45.060 --> 00:36:47.140 or alone. 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:48.360 You see, 00:36:48.420 --> 00:36:49.860 in our individualistic culture, 00:36:50.320 --> 00:36:51.140 the idea of singleness 00:36:51.140 --> 00:36:53.300 can equate to selfishness 00:36:53.300 --> 00:36:54.900 or isolated living, 00:36:55.019 --> 00:36:55.660 selfish living 00:36:55.660 --> 00:36:57.019 or isolated living, 00:36:57.019 --> 00:36:57.840 where you're on your own 00:36:57.840 --> 00:36:58.900 and you just do your own thing. 00:36:59.420 --> 00:37:00.780 That is not the case 00:37:00.780 --> 00:37:01.380 for the Christian. 00:37:01.539 --> 00:37:01.780 Again, 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:03.000 remember examples 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:04.179 of Jesus and Paul. 00:37:04.659 --> 00:37:05.380 They were single, 00:37:05.460 --> 00:37:07.199 yet they had many close friends 00:37:07.199 --> 00:37:07.980 and companions 00:37:07.980 --> 00:37:09.320 and relationships. 00:37:09.320 --> 00:37:13.500 and I want to speak now 00:37:13.500 --> 00:37:14.660 to married people, 00:37:14.660 --> 00:37:15.740 I include myself 00:37:15.740 --> 00:37:16.640 and to families. 00:37:17.180 --> 00:37:18.019 As you know, 00:37:18.160 --> 00:37:18.920 marriage and family 00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:19.660 brings pressure 00:37:20.300 --> 00:37:21.640 and often that forces us 00:37:21.640 --> 00:37:22.500 to look inwards 00:37:22.500 --> 00:37:24.019 and to kind of just think 00:37:24.019 --> 00:37:25.039 about our own situation 00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:25.700 and our family 00:37:25.700 --> 00:37:26.960 and keeping things 00:37:26.960 --> 00:37:27.920 okay there. 00:37:28.039 --> 00:37:29.940 But we shouldn't close down 00:37:29.940 --> 00:37:30.360 like that, 00:37:30.400 --> 00:37:30.720 should we? 00:37:30.760 --> 00:37:31.559 We shouldn't limit 00:37:31.559 --> 00:37:33.100 our experience 00:37:33.100 --> 00:37:34.539 of life and community 00:37:34.539 --> 00:37:35.220 to just 00:37:35.220 --> 00:37:36.660 our physical family, 00:37:36.659 --> 00:37:38.440 especially when it comes 00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:39.500 to those that are unmarried. 00:37:40.460 --> 00:37:41.920 Are we consciously 00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:43.359 inviting those 00:37:43.359 --> 00:37:44.259 that are unmarried 00:37:44.259 --> 00:37:45.420 to be part 00:37:45.420 --> 00:37:46.839 of our life, 00:37:47.480 --> 00:37:48.219 to be part 00:37:48.219 --> 00:37:48.980 of our family? 00:37:50.119 --> 00:37:51.019 Single people, 00:37:51.859 --> 00:37:52.399 students, 00:37:54.119 --> 00:37:54.699 divorced, 00:37:55.379 --> 00:37:55.759 widowed, 00:37:56.259 --> 00:37:56.879 are we thinking 00:37:56.879 --> 00:37:57.980 of all those people 00:37:57.980 --> 00:37:59.480 within the life 00:37:59.480 --> 00:38:00.039 of the church 00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:00.779 and of the community 00:38:00.780 --> 00:38:04.480 that need to be part 00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:05.200 of experiencing 00:38:05.200 --> 00:38:06.540 life together 00:38:06.540 --> 00:38:07.220 and not just 00:38:07.220 --> 00:38:08.700 hiding away 00:38:08.700 --> 00:38:09.240 in our own 00:38:09.240 --> 00:38:10.040 married lives? 00:38:10.240 --> 00:38:10.519 You know, 00:38:10.560 --> 00:38:11.280 we need to model 00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:11.760 the church 00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:12.400 as a community 00:38:12.400 --> 00:38:13.760 that has radically 00:38:13.760 --> 00:38:14.880 altered the ideas 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:15.600 of singleness 00:38:15.600 --> 00:38:17.200 away from individual 00:38:17.200 --> 00:38:17.840 isolation 00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:18.800 and towards 00:38:18.800 --> 00:38:20.340 daily community. 00:38:20.560 --> 00:38:21.220 The church 00:38:21.220 --> 00:38:22.019 should demonstrate 00:38:22.019 --> 00:38:22.500 that. 00:38:24.100 --> 00:38:25.600 Maybe watch a show 00:38:25.600 --> 00:38:26.540 on the weekend, 00:38:27.220 --> 00:38:27.660 faithfully, 00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:28.560 on TV. 00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:30.799 Invite people around. 00:38:31.699 --> 00:38:32.880 Invite single people 00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:33.219 around. 00:38:33.659 --> 00:38:34.400 Those that are 00:38:34.400 --> 00:38:35.619 without immediate 00:38:35.619 --> 00:38:36.860 family or on their 00:38:36.860 --> 00:38:37.940 own to come. 00:38:38.139 --> 00:38:38.799 If some of you 00:38:38.799 --> 00:38:39.519 do watch tell you, 00:38:39.679 --> 00:38:41.159 find opportunities. 00:38:41.960 --> 00:38:42.699 Maybe even think 00:38:42.699 --> 00:38:43.340 about inviting 00:38:43.340 --> 00:38:44.019 someone with you 00:38:44.019 --> 00:38:44.679 on your holidays. 00:38:45.159 --> 00:38:45.559 Radical. 00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:46.360 I don't know. 00:38:46.420 --> 00:38:46.860 I don't know if I 00:38:46.860 --> 00:38:47.199 could do it, 00:38:47.219 --> 00:38:47.639 but you know, 00:38:48.059 --> 00:38:48.500 maybe you get 00:38:48.500 --> 00:38:49.199 free babysitting. 00:38:49.480 --> 00:38:50.400 Maybe it'll work. 00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:51.960 Or invite them away 00:38:51.960 --> 00:38:52.880 on a weekend away. 00:38:53.279 --> 00:38:54.299 Find opportunities 00:38:54.299 --> 00:38:56.380 to have that mixing 00:38:56.380 --> 00:38:57.719 and that give and take 00:38:57.719 --> 00:38:58.939 within the life 00:38:58.939 --> 00:38:59.659 of this church. 00:39:00.799 --> 00:39:01.719 All of us, 00:39:01.959 --> 00:39:02.759 married or unmarried, 00:39:02.859 --> 00:39:03.619 need to remember, 00:39:04.099 --> 00:39:04.799 as Paul says, 00:39:04.839 --> 00:39:05.459 that this age 00:39:05.459 --> 00:39:06.319 is passing away. 00:39:07.699 --> 00:39:08.679 Marriage is not 00:39:08.679 --> 00:39:09.480 the final destiny. 00:39:09.679 --> 00:39:10.539 At verse 39, 00:39:11.659 --> 00:39:12.739 Paul says that 00:39:12.739 --> 00:39:14.719 when your husband 00:39:14.719 --> 00:39:15.219 dies, 00:39:15.419 --> 00:39:16.039 you're no longer 00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:16.439 married. 00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:17.839 Death is going 00:39:17.839 --> 00:39:18.639 to bring to an end 00:39:18.639 --> 00:39:19.539 all of our marriages. 00:39:20.679 --> 00:39:22.059 The promise of marriage 00:39:22.059 --> 00:39:23.359 is a passing glory 00:39:23.359 --> 00:39:24.799 for this age. 00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:26.000 something to enjoy, 00:39:26.140 --> 00:39:26.340 yes, 00:39:26.440 --> 00:39:27.160 but ultimately 00:39:27.160 --> 00:39:28.300 something that 00:39:28.300 --> 00:39:29.160 points us forward. 00:39:30.440 --> 00:39:31.980 We as the church 00:39:31.980 --> 00:39:33.360 are the promised 00:39:33.360 --> 00:39:34.519 bride of Christ. 00:39:35.340 --> 00:39:37.140 We are a spiritual 00:39:37.140 --> 00:39:37.740 family 00:39:37.740 --> 00:39:39.000 with a heavenly 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:39.560 destiny 00:39:39.560 --> 00:39:40.900 that is moving 00:39:40.900 --> 00:39:41.840 and will go 00:39:41.840 --> 00:39:43.340 beyond marriage. 00:39:44.340 --> 00:39:45.060 You know, 00:39:45.100 --> 00:39:45.660 in that fully 00:39:45.660 --> 00:39:46.380 revealed kingdom, 00:39:46.500 --> 00:39:47.039 when Christ 00:39:47.039 --> 00:39:48.280 finally comes back 00:39:48.280 --> 00:39:49.320 and he brings 00:39:49.320 --> 00:39:51.100 this passing age 00:39:51.100 --> 00:39:51.840 to an end, 00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:54.980 husbands and wives, 00:39:55.660 --> 00:39:56.059 children, 00:39:56.920 --> 00:39:57.820 single people, 00:39:58.300 --> 00:39:58.680 widowed, 00:39:59.120 --> 00:39:59.660 divorced, 00:40:00.120 --> 00:40:00.660 separated, 00:40:01.140 --> 00:40:03.059 how will we stand? 00:40:03.220 --> 00:40:04.120 How will we stand? 00:40:04.200 --> 00:40:04.880 We will stand 00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:05.460 as brothers 00:40:05.460 --> 00:40:06.640 and sisters 00:40:06.640 --> 00:40:07.760 because of 00:40:07.760 --> 00:40:08.400 a relationship 00:40:08.400 --> 00:40:09.400 in Christ. 00:40:09.740 --> 00:40:11.160 It will not count, 00:40:11.240 --> 00:40:12.039 it will not matter 00:40:12.039 --> 00:40:12.760 at that point 00:40:12.760 --> 00:40:14.059 whether our lives 00:40:14.059 --> 00:40:14.980 now are married 00:40:14.980 --> 00:40:16.079 or unmarried 00:40:16.079 --> 00:40:16.740 or single 00:40:16.740 --> 00:40:18.360 or what ways 00:40:18.360 --> 00:40:18.900 they have taken. 00:40:19.039 --> 00:40:19.800 What counts 00:40:19.800 --> 00:40:20.980 is our relationship 00:40:20.980 --> 00:40:22.920 to Christ. 00:40:23.059 --> 00:40:23.619 That is our 00:40:23.619 --> 00:40:24.480 ultimate identity. 00:40:24.840 --> 00:40:25.559 Being unmarried 00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:26.559 paints one picture. 00:40:26.699 --> 00:40:27.280 Being married 00:40:27.280 --> 00:40:28.219 paints another. 00:40:28.360 --> 00:40:29.059 We are free 00:40:29.059 --> 00:40:30.420 to choose. 00:40:31.539 --> 00:40:32.320 To be single, 00:40:32.579 --> 00:40:33.659 to live as a eunuch 00:40:33.659 --> 00:40:34.320 for the kingdom 00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:36.159 is not second best 00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:36.940 below marriage 00:40:36.940 --> 00:40:38.119 but stands 00:40:38.119 --> 00:40:39.940 on the very edge 00:40:39.940 --> 00:40:40.980 of the new age 00:40:40.980 --> 00:40:41.519 to come 00:40:41.519 --> 00:40:43.119 where God's kingdom 00:40:43.119 --> 00:40:44.820 is about Christ 00:40:44.820 --> 00:40:46.579 and his bride, 00:40:47.400 --> 00:40:48.000 the church. 00:40:49.519 --> 00:40:50.360 Let's pray. 00:40:50.980 --> 00:40:53.079 Here we go. 00:40:53.079 --> 00:40:53.639 Thank you. 00:40:53.699 --> 00:40:53.800 Thank you. 00:40:53.880 --> 00:40:54.920 Click the kingdom 00:40:54.920 --> 00:40:55.440 and take care. 00:40:59.440 --> 00:40:59.740 You can't fix it. 00:40:59.800 --> 00:41:00.800 I will be able 00:41:05.139 --> 00:41:05.380 to slide 00:41:05.800 --> 00:41:06.579 anyway. 00:41:06.659 --> 00:41:08.079 Here are three 00:41:08.079 --> 00:41:08.740 and two 00:41:09.039 --> 00:41:10.199 things 00:41:10.280 --> 00:41:10.920 will continue 00:41:10.920 --> 00:41:11.579 until tomorrow. 00:41:12.240 --> 00:41:13.139 I will be able 00:41:13.820 --> 00:41:14.099 to run 00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:14.980 six months 00:41:14.980 --> 00:41:15.599 and when 00:41:15.639 --> 00:41:16.179 I will serve 00:41:16.179 --> 00:41:16.900 at a time 00:41:16.900 --> 00:41:17.780 we have 00:41:17.780 --> 00:41:20.639 all