Living Single the Bible way: Lesson 3 as taught by Liliane Delva. Kingdom Agenda: for Singles (Tony Evans) – Watch for the LORD 1 Cor 7:29 But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none. • During the Apostle Paul’s time, the early Christians went through a period of persecution from the Jewish church and the Roman government that it was like the end of the world was near. • So Paul is telling the other Christians that time is so short now, that we cannot focus on the things of this Earth, ie. Marriage and family. The people’s minds needed to be focus on the things of God, God’s Kingdom Agenda, and looking at living their lives through an eternal perspective. • The LORD can come at any time, so we need to watch for the LORD at all times, and live our lives with a Kingdom mindset and not an earthly one Parables of the Ten Virgins (Matt 25:1-13) • The parable of the Ten Virgins show us how we should wait for God “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. • The Five Foolish Virgins (v3) o The Five Foolish virgins are young men and women focused on the things of this Earth. • Examples: money, fame, focus on marriage, etc • One of the biggest distractors for single Christians is marriage. Though marriage is sanctioned in the Bible, the need to be married should never overcome or distract us so much that we forget about God, because o The institution of marriage is an earthly institution o The vows of marriage says it all, “till death do us part.” Marriage does not exist when we ascend into heaven. Matt 22:30 says “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. o So if that is the case, and marriage is not binding in heaven, why do singles spend so much time trying to get married, instead of focusing on God, which is what will get them to heaven? o God calls us to be forward thinkers, looking beyond the things of this world, to things of His kingdom. o 1 Cor 7: 31 says that “this world in its current form is passing away” o So if it is passing away, is it not best for us to look to Heaven, and of the things of God so that we can live life eternally? o When single Christians focus on earthly affairs and don’t prepare themselves for Christ’s coming, they become like the 5 Foolish virgins o The Bible says that they took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. So they did not equip themselves with the necessary items to meet the bridegroom. Oil is necessary to give light to the lamp, it fuels it. Without light, the lamp, the vessel that carries this light is useless because it is not doing its function, what it was created to do: give off light, shine. • The Bible says in Matt 15:14-16 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.16“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. o So if Single Christians don’t prepare themselves daily with God words and fuel themselves (oil) daily, they have nothing to fuel their light (Spirit) with, and their lamp (bodily vessels), cannot give off light, and they do not do any good works, and God receives no glorification. Like salt that is no longer good, they will get thrown out and trampled under man’s feet (Matt 15:13) o Single Christians that spend all of their time on marriage or on earthly things, and not the things of God miss out on the gifts of God: spiritual development and growth, ministry opportunities, gifts of the Spirit, and fruits of the Spirit. Scenario There is a Single Christian woman who has been seeking God, but every day she sees her friends get married and she is still single. So she becomes discouraged and becomes focused on why she is not married, and how she can get married. So she starts looking at her physical appearance, looking at others relationships and trying to figure out why are they blessed and not her. She becomes mad at God and stops praying. But what if God has a husband for this woman, but because she is now out of position spiritually, she cannot meet up with him. For example, what if the husband God chose was a missionary. If the young woman did not position herself ( i.e. ensuring that she attended church to hear about the missionary trip, prayed to God, and let Him lead her to take the trip), then she cannot ever meet this husband that God has for her because she is spiritually out of position. She was not diligent in the small things that God had for her, so how could God trust her with a bigger commitment such as marriage (Luke 16:10). So if she could not do the things that God required such as praying, remaining faithful , and praying , then how can God trust her with more? • Five Wise Virgins o But if we are like the five wise virgins, then we will always be ready. The bible said that they armed themselves with plenty of oil. The Bible says they had oils in jars (v4). So for the wise virgins, they made sure that their oil (Spirit) was always plentiful. • You maintain your oil through constant communication with God through prayer and meditation • Feeding yourself with the Word of God. The Bible says to delight in the Law of the Lord and meditate on the Word of God day and night (Ps 1:2) • The Five Wise Virgins maintained undistracted devotion to God • Undistracted Devotion o When we focus so much on marriage and not God, we place things above God in our minds and in our hearts. It is almost as though we are idolizing or placing the value of marriage above that of God. The Bible tells us “do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14). But the Bible tells that the way we show God our undistracted devotion is to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deut 6:5). • King David showed his devotion best when he said, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire beside you. My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps 73:25-26). No wonder he was a man after God’s own heart! He said nothing on this earth I desire besides You God. And as Single Christians we need to give God that kind of devotion, where we see and do everything for Him. He is our first love. • But King David recognized that his heart and flesh would fail him, just as our hearts and flesh fail us throughout our Christian walk as we struggle and battle with temptations and doubts. But he knew that it was God who gave him strength, and would be with him forever. It is not without experience and understanding that the Apostle Paul learned to say “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). We will suffer and endure as Christians but God promises to strengthen us when we are weak. • Closing o Singleness is a chance to maximize our devotion to God, and be solely devoted to Him. o When things get difficult, and you begin to feel lonely, have doubts, or have a heavy heart, remember to seek God through prayer. His words says to “not be anxious in anything. But in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6)
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:11:35 +0000
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