I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 7. 1
Corinthians 7. We're just going through this
book line by line. I will be looking at verses 32
to 35. I want to just make a comment
or two of what we just read. You know, we're listening to
the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of God's Spirit, speak concerning
being married, not being married. The situation of being married
and realizing the the trials that come with marriage, and
the underlying point of all of this. It's not just instruction
concerning marriage, the sufferings of being married, but it's to
point to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who humbled
himself, who made himself of no reputation, who took upon
Himself the form of sinful flesh. God, God Almighty, that came
into this world, made sin for us. He who knew no sin. So when we talk about, when the
Apostle Paul talks about the trials of marriage, it's not
just, though we know that it's so, I mean, you got two sinners
that are bound together in holy matrimony, that love each other,
but it's never been in the entirety of any marriage without trials
within that marriage. But they love one another. So
when Paul is speaking, realize that. He's speaking of the glory. You know the Lord Jesus Christ
told the two on the road to Emmaus, beginning with Moses, all the
scriptures. He expounded unto them those
things concerning himself. But Paul is talking now in 1
Corinthians, he said in verse 29, he reminds believers to be aware of the
frailty of this life. But this I say, brethren, the
time is short. Now, our days upon this earth
are few. And they are full of trouble. Listen to the words. Now this
was Jacob speaking to Pharaoh. When Joseph, he's been exalted
to the second position just under Pharaoh and he goes and sends
back for his daddy Jacob and his brothers, their family, you
remember that? And he brings them all to Egypt. There was corn
in Egypt and he brings them all. Well this is when Joseph introduces
his daddy Jacob to Pharaoh. And it says in Genesis 47, 7
to 9, and Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set him before
Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob,
how old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh,
the days of the years of my pilgrimage are in 130 years. Few. and evil have the days of the
years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of
the years of the life of my fathers in the day of their pilgrimage."
He said, I'm not as old as my ancestors, but the days of the
years of my pilgrimage. This life is a pilgrimage. We're just traveling through,
just a little short lodging. And these days, the scripture
reveals a few. I mean, time flies. It's just amazing how quickly. And I know it's 24 hours in a
day, there's 7 days in a week. Mitch, it's what you told me.
Mitch told me that someone told him one time, he said, time gets
faster as you get older. And Mitch said, I told them,
24 hours a day, seven days a week, 12 months in a year. But he said,
you know what? They lied. They do get faster.
That's right. They do. As a kid, man, summers
were three years long. The shortness of these days,
they're evil. There's afflictions. That's what
it means. So let us all. Let us consider and remember
this fact. The time is short. It remaineth, the scripture says,
verse 29, that both they that have wives be as though they
had none. Married or unmarried. Believers
need to be reminded of the shortness of this life. This life is going
to be over and it's going to be over soon. Comparatively speaking,
think about this. Think of the thousands and thousands
and thousands of years that have gone before. We're reading about
people that were really alive and they've been gone hundreds
and thousands of years. And this is just a blip right
now in time. We just happen to be standing
here right now. Our time is almost over. We're
not going to be here very long. The Lord will soon return. I'm telling you, you go to sleep
tonight, and you don't wake up until in the morning. That night,
where did it go? All those hours? We that sleep
in the Lord, how quickly do you think it will be before the Lord
comes back? It would be right now. The state of being unmarried,
I know this according to Paul's exhortation, relieves a believer
from many of the trials, but it's short. Even without the
trials of being married, it's short. I realized when the Apostle
Paul, he was saying regarding the time being short, it remaineth
that both they that have wives be as though they had none, the
Apostle Paul never sets forth the disregarding of our spouse. You know that. When you say,
those that have wives, be as though they have none, married
or unmarried, their counsel, be in unity. Be united. And give yourself to the worship
of Almighty God, doing all that they can. for the glory of the
Lord, the unity of this body, and not to be taken up with the
fleeting pleasures and indulgences of this world. Because, listen, men, women, some of us are all
married, some are not, but listen to me, the time is short. Fellas, you're not going to have
your wife very long. Wives, your husband's not going
to be here very long. Those that are married, be as though they
had none, realizing this, the time is short. You know, if we
stop and think about that a little bit more, it may kind of affect
the way we respond to one another many times. And what is to be
the attitude of married or unmarried? The time is short. That's what
we said. Time is short. What is to be the attitude of
married or unmarried? Listen to Matthew 6.33. But seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added unto you. Two believers who are married
to each other, who've been warned and exhorted to consider, count
the cost of marriage. You know, remember this. Now
you listen. Marvin, listen to what you're
about to say. The Lord is first. Who's first? The Lord or my wife? The Lord. Seek ye first. To people in love, yes. But to the Lord, their love to
Him is first. Their obedience to Him is first. Their allegiance to Him is first. You seek first the kingdom of
God. It's not that we treat our spouses
with disregard. But when our priorities are right,
And the Lord is first. Our priorities are right between
us and our spouse. You can write that down. It's
right. We're in harmony with each other
as we continually give ourselves unto Him. We're one in Him. So Paul says, you that have wives,
be as though that you had none. The Lord is first. Look at verse
30. And they that weep, as though
they wept not, and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced
not, and they that buy as though they possessed not. We're not
advised or instructed again to act in an uncaring or an unsympathetic
manner concerning those things of this world, whether they be
joyful or whether they be sorrowful. We're not insensitive to the
things that come our way. I know that. But when the Lord
sends times of sorrow and they enter our lives, strive, constantly
seeking His grace to be kept from overpowering grief. Exhibit a moderate use of sorrow,
not to be a hindrance to others. Listen to what he says. And they
that weep as though they wept not. Job was a man that scripture
declares he was a righteous man. He shunned evil. And the scripture
says that one day, through the Lord's good pleasure, Almighty
God allowed Satan to take all of his livestock, take all of
his servants one day, and he just patiently listened as turnover,
what I'm telling you, the turnover Job won. He patiently listened
as these messengers came and told him, said, this is what
happened, you know, all the cattle were gone and the Sabaeans killed
The ones that were watching over them, and then this happened
and this happened. And then the Scripture says,
after all of those things, he lost his cattle, he lost his
land, he lost his houses, he lost all that stuff. And then
one of them came and said, all your kids are gone. All your
children are dead. And when Job, listen to this,
look at Job chapter 1 verse 20. I'll show you. Look at verse
19. Behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness and
smoked four corners of the house. It fell upon the young men and
they're dead. And I only am escaped alone to
tell thee. Job heard that all of his children. Then Job arose, rent his mantle,
shaved his head, fell down upon the ground and worshipped and
said, Came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return
thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord
in all this. Job sinned not, nor charged God
foolishly. He wept as though he wept not. The Lord did this. You think
he was hurting? Yeah, he was hurting. He ran
his mouth, shaved his head, and fell down and worshipped God. He worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. The Lord gave me those kids.
They weren't mine. You know, that's a tough thing to consider. I think about my children. If
God took all of them right now, I'd be hard to imagine. But I
do know this, they're the Lord's. And he has the right. All souls
are mine. They were loaned to me. Weep
as though they wept not. Those who are blessed with this
world's temporal possessions, remember. Not even our children. Our spouse is permanent. It's
not going to last forever. Weep as though you wept not. Weeping may endure for the night,
but joy comes in the morning. I told you this whenever I found
out that I'd gone to the doctor. And the doctor told me, he said,
you have a malignant tumor in your bladder. I told Brother Scott about it,
and he said, the worst part of it is when you first hear it.
And he said after that, it'd be okay. And you know he was
right. I was talking to Betty Groover,
and she was asking me, she said, Marvin, how you doing? I said,
I'm doing great. I said, I wouldn't change anything. I said, learn
more, having to trust God, realizing something of the frailty of this
life, Weeping, scripture declares, is for just the night. But in
the morning, it'll all be good. Scripture says, and they that
rejoice as though they rejoice not. It's
not a crime to rejoice. I'm thankful. I'm thankful, as
I said before. I'm thankful for having something
to eat. I'm thankful for having something to wear. I'm thankful
I've got a house to go to and a car to drive in. I'm thankful
for that. It's not a crime, but remember
the fleetingness of that joy. Look, have you ever seen a beautiful,
I mean just a gorgeous sunset? I mean you're just out at the
beach and the sun, I mean everything is just right. And you look at
that sunset and say, look, look at that. Look at this. Is that
not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in your life?
It's gorgeous. Give it about five minutes. And
all of a sudden, the colors are fading. And before you know it,
it's gone. It's just, you know, they that
rejoice as though they rejoice not. And they that buy as though
they possess not. You know, you were going to hold
on to that possession forever? It's not going to be. We buy
and we sell, we use, but it's not going to be something that's
going to be with us forever. Just treat it as something that's
temporal. Look at verse 31. And they that
use this world, Those that receive alone is what that word use means.
It's just alone is all it is. Well, I've worked hard for this.
I've pulled myself up by my own bootstraps. Well, the Lord will
take care of that pride. Don't worry. If you're His, He'll
take care of that. Don't worry about it. You know,
the Lord knows how to obese all of us. We get all kind of thinking
we've really done something. Well, we'll see. We'll see. They that use this world as not
abusing it, for the fashion of this world passeth away, If married
or unmarried, all of us that deal with the things of this
world, let's seek the Lord's guidance and help, not to be
absorbed with these things. These things that are so enticing
and alluring. There are some things that I
really, really enjoy. I just, you know, I just enjoy
the things of this world. Lord, help me to remember. It's
not going to stay here forever. Let me remember the temptations
of these fleeting things are always there, but it's dangerous.
I began to look at these things and they become so important.
Seek ye first. These things could be added unto
you. You know those things that choked out the word when the
sower went forth to sow and some fell by the wayside, some fell
among rocky soil, some of them fell among thorns. Thorns sprung
up, the cares of this world choked out the word. Remember, it's
easy to justify seeing these things that are
so enticing. I know, you know. I think I can handle that. I
think, be careful, be careful. You know, verse 32 to 34. But I would have you without
carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for
the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But he that is married careth
for the things that are of the world, how he may please his
wife. There's a difference also between
The wife and the virgin, the unmarried woman, care for the
things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and
spirit. But she that is married careth
for the things of the world, how she may please her husband."
Now here, the apostle's desire was to have the believers at
Corinth, and obviously all of us that are hearing God's word
tonight, to be taught that we are to be striving to be free
from the anxiety and the distressing cares of this world. Apostle
Paul longed to teach us to be watchful, to watch, to not become
entangled actually, physically, emotionally, or materially with
these things His advice to God's people was this. He said the
unmarried believer is more free and can more conveniently care
for the things that have to do for God's glory. He doesn't have
the cares of this world. So enticing him, so stressing
after him. The man or the woman who can
exempt themselves from the state of marriage That's wonderful,
if you can. But the Apostle Paul, we done
considered last time, but if you can't, he said be married. But the Apostle said, he that
is unmarried, now you listen, careth for the things that belong
to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. He having no wife or
husband or family is therefore free, now you listen, to give
himself totally to the service of his maker,
just like the married does. Married or unmarried, we are not to be considering
the state of marriage or unmarriage to be good or bad, one or the
other. But we're to realize that those
that are unmarried, the Apostle Paul says, are loosed from many
of the trials, but the responsibility of those that are unmarried.
is great. Listen to it. He that is unmarried
careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please
the Lord. Verse 33. But I would have you
without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for
the things that belong to the Lord. I'm sorry, verse 33. But
he that is married careth for the things that are of the world,
how he may please his wife. The apostle continues his instruction
saying, The married man, the married woman, careth for worldly
matters, how he may please his wife. Not that he's insensitive.
to the Lord, not that the married believer is being set forth,
is being uncaring or insensitive to the things of God. But Paul
is declaring that the married have their lot in this life completely
faithful to the Lord, even as the married and unmarried. But
the married also have the responsibility of bearing the things of a home. We joyfully seek to please the
Savior, walking after Him, while we joyfully seek to please our
mate. Do so for the glory of God, the
honor of the Lord, the praise of Him who is worthy, the one
who will bless the faithfulness of Him with a settled and peaceful
and God-honoring marriage. Again, seek the Lord first. And just the Scripture says that
there's a difference between the married and the unmarried
man, a difference concerning their responsibilities toward
God while living a life of celibacy or a state of matrimony. The
difference in their walk is no difference in the walk of an
unmarried person. Look at verse 34, there's a difference
also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares for
the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body
and spirit, but she that is married cares for the things of the world,
how she may please her husband. In the same light that the man
has to provide for his wife, you take a man that is married.
Marriage is honorable. I've said before, you consider
this, the Lord Jesus Christ is married. He has a wife. And the responsibilities that
he gladly bore coming into this world for her. That ought to
be an example to all of us. But in the same light that the
man has to provide for his wife and children, be the head of
the house, the spiritual leader of the household, a woman, married
or unmarried, has responsibilities too. A wife's lot. I've said this before. I've seen
the responsibilities of a wife. And it's just more than I think
I'd want. I mean, that is a tremendous,
tremendous job. Being a housewife, I said before,
I've heard people say, you know, well, I'm just a housewife. I
say, oh, what a calling. A wife's lot is found often to
be more carefully involved concerning the things pertaining to the
daily affairs of the family, the responsibility of the home,
the ordering of these things, the bearing and raising of children. I thank God for mothers, for
wives that the Lord has given and blessed you women that have
had children, that have raised children. You think of the responsibility
of that raising children. Would you change anything though?
I mean, would you go back? Having a loving husband or a
loving wife and the trials of that, you know, having to have
a home and provide for, would you change it though? For the
love that you have one for another? Look at verse 35 in closing.
Paul says, this I speak, for your own profit, not that I may
cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely and that
you may attend upon the Lord without distraction." Paul, he
set forth the benefits and the responsibilities of being married
and unmarried. The Spirit of God was pleased
to deal with this subject in such a complete and thorough
manner. I mean, we've gone over some
of these. It's like Paul is saying the same thing over and over
and over and over. You know why? Because we need
to hear it over and over and over and over. Is it right to
be married? Yes. Is it right to be unmarried? Yes. What you're about to do,
the Lord will direct you. whatever God Almighty has ordained.
But Paul is saying here, he said, I'm telling you these things
for your profit and for your welfare. Not to put any unnecessary
restraint upon you, but to promote that which is honorable. To tell
you this, that you might be directed into that state which is best
for you. That you may attend to the things
of the Lord without distraction. I mean, there's distractions. I have a responsibility of preparing
three messages a week. Three messages a week. You men
that have prepared a message. That's a calling, Neil. Carl, you've done that. Fred. Three messages a week. I have
a wife. I have a home to attend to. I
have children, and I have grandchildren. Now, are there any distractions
concerning that? Yes. What is my first responsibility? A pastor. Number one. Number one. Almighty God has
called me to seek first His kingdom. That's my calling. Paul is saying,
you that are married, you that are unmarried, you that are contemplating
marriage, he said marriage comes with trials. Unmarried, you give
yourself totally to the Lord. You don't have the distractions,
God directs you. Paul says, I am not telling you
things to put any undue burden on you. to be a confusion to
you. He didn't imply that marriage
was unlawful or considered any way undesirable. He wasn't setting
forth that single life was a more chaste way of living or that
it was incumbent upon believers to seek that life only under
no circumstances. He declared, he said, I mean
to lay before you no thoughts or considerations that the Lord
has not laid upon you. I'm not here to bind you with
a rule that the Lord hasn't made. He sets forth both states, married,
unmarried, and leaves the believer to the leadership of God's Spirit
concerning these matters, telling them these things, He said, for
your good, for your own good, for your instruction. I'm not
saying to place this obligation, I'm not dictating rules to entangle
you or to ensnare you. For those of us who are married,
may we be found diligently seeking the Lord for guidance, seeking
the Lord for direction. I mean, these days are few and
they're full of evil. I know that. I desire, I would
long that the Lord would direct all of us wherever we are. If you're married, if you're
unmarried, if you're widowed, wherever you are, seek ye first,
first the kingdom of God. And all of these things will
be added unto you. The time is short. it's going
to be over. If this was the last night that
you knew you had on this earth, would it make a difference in
the way you thought or looked at things or considered your
mate or your spouse or your children or this congregation? Would it make any difference?
I think it would. I pray God bless this word to
our hearts for Christ's sake. Amen.