God’s Plan in Singleness, Part 2

Jeannie never says all you need is me.

When you look at Adam in the garden as it is not good that man should be alone.

You look at out of the garden. Say you're quiet, little bit longer. Right you got me that's enough. And that Adam know God created us with the need for companionship. It's just that marriage is not the only way the God takes care of that that might be. How were told by culture to view it or even with the church sometimes tells us about what God's Word shows that today on Senate life pastor JD Greer teaches us how to see singleness unique opportunity ministry relationships in God's kingdom.

Learn how to clear the path for singleness in your life so that you can leverage this gift and cultivate a spiritual family that will last forever.

If you've missed any of the series called forever family can catch up free of charge@jennycraig.com. Let's jump back in where we left off yesterday and the message titled God's plan anything on Web server subway into heaven. Marriage and the nuclear family do not exist Jesus on the gardening marriage was God's plan a for dealing with our loneliness gobbled the man and says not good that man should be alone and is planning to build up which create the first marriage. Loneliness is the one ache that we have that does not come from sin. God created us in a perfect state this still desire human companionship. In heaven there will be no marriage or biological family. And that is not to say that we will bear in heaven have lost her need for companionship or to say that it's okay for us to be lonely up there.

It simply that God will deal with our loneliness in a new and better way its members no longer to be his plan a for dealing with that loneliness and so that means whoever we are married to down here were not married to them up there and that we won't be married at all. Now I will admit to you freely. Okay. Part of me finds that a little sad when in heaven when I see Veronica. There's nothing to be anything business at this of course heaven must because in heaven you see our joy as we know this or not diminished at all what is in heaven thought are missing out of anything or joys in heaven are not diminished within the heightened their transformed their matured CS Lewis in his book miracles had a great example for this. He said a toddler a toddler thinks that the single greatest pleasure in life is candy right to imagine your grandmother trying to explain your toddler granddaughter. Some of the things you most love about life, staring out the beauty of the Grand Canyon reading a good book fallen in love and get married what you want your kids graduate as you're trying to explain this to your toddler granddaughter. She looks back at you and says yeah but can you eat skittles while you do those things you got a hard time explaining to her that these pleasures that you're describing are so much better than eating candy. So much so that when you're wrapped up in one of those pleasures.

You're not even going to think about skittles CS Lewis said that we like that little child lack the ability to understand the joys of eternity. What we know now or the pleasures of earthly things like sex or married life or nuclear family. We do not know except in glimpses, though he said the other thing, which in heaven leaves simply no room for them. What that means is whatever God has for us. There is going to be even better than what we have here and that means that whatever it's like up there I will be even closer to my wife and closer to my kids as the family of God there that I am here, which makes me less that the point is, Jesus asserts the radical idea that marriage is not ultimate, and that's proven by the fact that we don't take it with us in the resurrection, and that means that these relationships now that are so important.

Mothers and brothers, or wife, or father there only temporary. The relationships you form the body of Christ. However, those are permanent, although John Piper says that he says Jesus was here calling out a new family were single people in Christ are people not in traditional families or full-fledged family members on a par with all others bearing fruit for God and becoming mothers and fathers of the eternal kinds marriage is temporary and will finally give way the relationship to which it was pointing all along Christ and the church will be put away.

The way the pictures no longer needed when you see somebody face-to-face when you're separated from somebody love you for the picture you look at my do it when I'm on a trip that I miss my kids all looking for a picture of them, but when I'm with them I don't want pictures of them look at him and ran from marriage is a picture is a picture of a more beautiful relationship. Christ in the body of Christ and the relationships they are when you're filing the face-to-face with the person you're not Anita a silly little picture like marriage any longer was going to poll now in first Corinthians 7 is all Paul talks about it picks up on Christ teaching. This is the appointed time of Christ return is very, very short long freeze back from now on. Then let those who have wives live as though they had no UI what world does that mean white let those you would wives live like didn't have a wife that's a little mantra people going to spend the weekend in Vegas, but that is not what Paul is a I can assure you okay is what is he says, verse 30 for the present form of this world is passing away will pass it away. Paul says, and that means along with it. Watch marriage and biological families because that's something for this world. So for a married man to live as though we had no wife means that he must reflect on the fact that his marriage now is neither permanent nor ultimate flipside of that means that those of you who are single now should reflect on the fact that your situation is not permanent either. Both situations, marriage and singleness are light and momentary, and soon. Both of those situations will give way to what is permanent and ultimate the body of Christ marriage and singleness. Paul says our temporary gifts that God gives to fulfill his purposes on earth in this age but not in the next what Paul says. First Corinthians 7 regarding marriage. I wish that all were as I myself am but each has his own good, but what is Paul Paul single I was. Everybody was singling me Paul says each has his own gift. Charisma ties the Greek word for charismatic front. Everybody has their own spiritual government. I was all you like me, Paul says, which were single, not all of you were given a gift everyone has his own spiritual gift from God. One of one kind singleness in one of another marriage.

We saw this last week and what Jesus taught that marriage and singleness are charisma.their spiritual gifts. You need spiritual empowerment to do either marriage or singleness well you like, well, okay, I get how marriages could be a gift but as you know marriage you get a companion you get somebody that to complement you and not complement you like your awesome the government you like to complete you. But how can singleness be a gift Paul explains in verse 33 suggested a married man. Maybe this be anxious about worldly things like how to please his wife. As a result, that his interests are divided, but as a single Paul says I been freed up now to devote time to special assignments that I couldn't give myself to. If I were married because of her. We talk about here. You know that I regard my wife to be an incredible wonderful gift to me the best early give the guys given me, but when I got married, my interest became divided. They had to be God gave me. Now somebody to serve :-) take care off. He gave me with the kids you gave me people's needs. I became responsible for new responsibilities with my money right before I got married if I needed to move like the one apartment to the other. All Anita was a Ford, but Mustang a few bungee cords one body in 15 minutes and we can move old. Although the old survey now in order for me to move up our claim was removed it would take a full-size SUV as a whole. The pillows that sit on top of my bed you like free trips with that I would take another whole SUV, just a whole. The toiletry products that Veronica Stockton about the how to run a bathroom. I wonder what is all this stuff do right before I got married. I have nothing. My I think my entire bathroom set up with one bar soap and I wash everything with my body.

My hair the floors of the sofa. So right right so I started start doing different things. My money and I couldn't live simply and just give it all away my new responsibilities with my time. I'm just not able to go all the mission trips I want to go on anymore one of our singles here was told me recently about the most amazing ministry that God is given to her recently hanging out a group of Muslim refugees until 10 or 11 on multiple, multiple nights believe she's a listener that the ministry really got started around 9 o'clock at the can open up and let her guard down. You can really start talking to right and I just can't do that anymore.

I can hang out at 11 o'clock you know around the community. I got run people soccer practice. All email help do homework that I help people get ready for bed. John does 15 hour energy drinks on the way home for an office because my day is really about to start when I get home.

What one might married Fritz said. He said we get married, particularly when you have children, whatever pockets of margin you had just disappear in the black holes of obligation singleness can be a gift that allows you to be more devoted to God's kingdom now might be a gift. He gives you temporarily so that you can complete some assignment like your education or use military service. Where might be something he gives you on a more permanent basis like your lease permanent in this life.

Is it to you for a lifetime with your single you're sitting there and you say well yeah but I just want to be alone. Didn't God himself say it's not good for us to be alone since the point if you can't emphasize you not supposed to be alone. It's just that marriage is not the only way anymore. Not to be alone was and I told you this last week and a lot of times I hear people say all you need is God all you need is God not sound so awesome and so spiritual and I probably even set of my dear, is God never says that God never says all you need is me. When you look at Adam in the garden he said is not good that man should be alone. You look at out of the garden say you quiet down a little bit longer. Right you got me that's enough it did Adam know God created us with the need for companionship.

It's just that marriage is not the only way the God takes care of that Martin and Martin, truly, truly, I say to you, there is nobody who's left house or brothers or sisters of mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel sake right to God and obeying him as a brought to the light partner who will not receive a hundredfold. This now in this time as well as he says the time to come in this timings right now.

It means that the reward for that is not just in heaven. It's also now so what does he mean you'll see a hundredfold. He's talking about the church he's talking about the same right now in my forever family.

I will actually multiply the relationships that are ultimate listener in the book of acts you read it through the early church faced a lot of hardship, persecution, bandanna poverty, they went through the ringer on just about everything.

The one thing you never find anybody inexorably with his loneliness and all the stuff they went through that church was a family to them and nothing they went to did they go through alone. If you're single you say yeah but God assigns me to that than I really want to have kids though Jesus would say spiritual offspring are more important or more internal than biological offspring. If your single MEG to get involved in the discipleship ministries of the church with the spiritual offspring to be more important than biological offspring ever are with us will say I want to try to be hyper spiritual here it's okay for you to mourn the lack of ability to have biological kids understand that's a real loss but by grace. Even that genuine grief can be overshadowed by the real joy of having eternal spiritual children you letter recently from one of our single missionaries who just came off the field where she has served for six years, she read this, some of us thought it was fantastic. She says the first few years in the field. She said when I realize that at least the next several years is to be single. I grieve the loss of being able to have biological children agreed that God used that by grace and through tears to make me the proudest and most joy filled spiritual mom on the planet.

The day that I saw my spiritual son baptized in the unreached corners of East Asia.

Honestly, I don't know what it's like to hold my baby for the first time in my arms. After his being born. I would imagine it feels like your hearts about to burst with joy. I'd imagine that because that's exactly how I felt as this young man came up from the baptismal waters reborn as a child of God. It was a beautiful moment for me. This doctrine of spiritual eternal children has by far been the most inspiring joy giving debacle doctrine may be of my whole life, and another part only had to wait six months for spiritual grandbaby so there's that Jesus was a unit, so to speak, never have biological children that God gave him spiritual children all over the world that he rejoices and and glories in many of them sit right here in this room, the only part of your life that will be unfulfilled. If you are single is sexual again.

That's a legitimate loss and I do not want to minimize that. But God says he will give you a special charisma, charisma, I spiritual empowerment for that lesson. You don't have to turn the porn to make up that loss. In fact, I beg you with all the hard to avoid that. That is a black hole of the case that it is really hard to come back from what you going down it will get more into this more later in our series, but you will look to God for the enablement to live holy. It's a charisma.come from him and he give it to you. God can enable you to live a happy and fulfilled life without sex. You should remember the most joy filled love filled man ever walked the face of the earth live without sex, but the other things that marriage supplies for you companionship and offspring.

God gives you those now in ultimate form and eternal form through the church. My point is, if God calls you to singleness, whether that is for a season or whether that is for your whole life. He will supply you with all the necessary graces to live a happy and fulfilled life in that: which brings us now back to Matthew 19 will pull about bus right back in the station were left Jesus in his little teaching on singleness of this phrase, but the one was able to receive it, let them receive it. The Greek word for receive. There is the word Caray O means literally to make room for the clear path for this is what God is called you to. Whether it's temporary to be the rest of your life clear a path for that calling on water that look like for quick little suggestions here for quick big applications number one make room for it would be. First of all, to devote yourself to God. You're going to need God's grace to make it as a single person just like you can use grace to make it as a married person whatever state you and you look to God first because what you will find is that horizontal dysfunction always goes back to vertical disruption. When this right here has broken these relationships whether there single family can become problematic.

A lot of times looking the fixable problem like the promise here from his I'm single and I want to be married. Problem is, my spouse is a jerk brought Ms. and my kids are not honoring and respecting me the right way.

Promise.

My printer didn't care. Make a note regarding special upper that's never a problem.

All that dissatisfaction and all the jealousy all that worry all that kinda all that site goes back to a vertical disruption were you're not how you want God in the right place genius seek first the kingdom of God is like intelligent you focus on that relationship and let him add to you whatever blessing was added to the time that he has okay so you to focus on God for some of you may not like your singleness. I understand that but I can promise you. God means it for good in your life. He means it for good.

He is going to produce in that singleness a love for Christ in you as you and a producer Christ likeness and you number 2 What You Can Make Way for as you can leverage your singleness for all it is worth. I plead with you, who are single. Don't waste your singleness, don't waste about trying to get to the next stage faster than God has it for you are I read I read that the average young adult male spends 10,000 hours of his life playing video games 10,000 hours right here about singles. He spent all their time hanging out or goofing off or traveling understand that's not why God gave you that gift right now with you to focus on you.

A decade of just me time and just focusing on unlimited self is like God gave you that chapter to leverage for the kingdom and we desperately need a generation of singles in this church who will rise up with the compassion of Jesus in their hearts who will put the video games away and use the advantages that were afforded by their singleness to open up their hands in their hearts to the needs of the world to invest in God's eternal family now to make disciples for eternity. You might not know when you get married you might not know if you're going to get married but I promise you if you use that Shepherd of investing God forever family that is a decision that will have eternal ramifications and one you will never forget to stop worrying about things you can't control and start focusing on the things God is giving you to do now that you matter more than the thing that you're looking for with this generation.

That's the majority singles would be in our Eliza boomers can understand this. Even if Gen Xers can barely understand it but your generation is characterized by little four letter acronym phone no right you a sense for fear of missing out on the suggests you change that by on your Facebook page to just one letter, one letter change SFOFO so delightful show but like so so fear of squandering opportunity is how I would suggest you change that you go from your phone. No person also supports because God is giving you a chapter of opportunity and to be some of the best things he does and you and you which way is to have eternal replication with its first season of your life go missing. So I declare you folks. So, in Jesus name. Okay there is that it number three lien into your forever family friend. You need the church and church needs you. You get involved need to get to know people personally here, not just of the singles. By the way you get involved in people's families invest in their children. We have single people in this church about the spiritual big brothers and sisters agreement parents to their children. The church of been deprived of fathers or mothers or family. We need many more because that's what the church is is forever family on the say on a personal level to a huge blessing in our family singles that have gotten engaged with our family and played mentor and big brother big sister roast our kids get involved in our student ministry. That's a great way to apply this because I can tell you you need that community.

Rebecca McLaughlin, who is for your many are single.

She 100 favorite authors. She says you will, whether without sex, but you will, whether without friend and family connection to lien into the church but a way for me to say to the church we had a responsibility in this too. And that is to intentionally include the singles of the church in our families. First, we need to start seeing singles as the treasures also the mass don't treat them like a project that you need to fix, but you should be aware that their particular calling. Like any calling has its own special challenges and you need to recognize your challenges and invite them into your family to join you in key moment not just to come over and babysit your kids or help you move right over Scott single said that's not the only thing the role that they have in your life. Invite them into key moments. We have single friends the Greer family are single friends from this church that is going on vacation with us some of done Thanksgiving with us that one of them last Christmas spent Christmas eve spent the night at her house and woke up movement present with us on Christmas morning. Invite them to be a part of that forever family lasted before.

If you want to get married you believe it's what God has for you. Use this time to build your identity in Jesus use this chapter right now instead of a bid on the prowl the time and use it to become the person that you're supposed to be.

Instead of obsessing about finding what is right for you.

Focus on becoming the right person that you should be become the person that the person you're looking for looking for the person you're looking for.

Now there you become the person that the person is look you're looking for looking for because that's another way of Matthew 633 focusing on putting the kingdom of God first and then letting trusting God to supply that with you once the weight on a future spouse to give you an identity. Don't wait on the future spouse to determine your values or where you're going to what you're called to determine all that. Now figure out that identity in Christ and where it's going today today from Pastor Jeannie clear any part of this message, or if you'd like to catch up on the rest of our series about family.

You can listen free of charge.

Jeannie Greer.com JD.

We spent quite a bit of time over the past few weeks talking about importance as memorizing parts of the Bible.

I now I want to be able to recall Scripture easily and often a little rusty on some of the memory verses they learn to think, well, that's one of the reasons were offering these verse cards a small driver brought it away. Sometimes we have big dreams special around the turn of the year rely, memorize Scripture memorize whole book of the Bible, but you dislike the tools to do it on the summit like memory verse cards make it easy for you to memorize Scripture in their direction very attractive. There very well designed. They have a magnet so that you can put them on your refrigerator switch out. Look at it I never want to first big passages of Scripture memorize with John one and I memorize so I was working on.loading Food Lion distribution intake of food outside the different stores as I put John one up on the edge of the.every time I drove by. Which is probably 40 times an hour. Take missile for Glenn back and forth.

I would see the next verse in John one and I would say it wasn't more than a week or two, though I had century the whole chapter memorize these are 50 verses that have been very impacting in my own life that we think will be a blessing. Yours also. We would love to get you this tool. Jeannie Greer.com we can we can start that conversation during this resource you remember Scripture this year because one of our priority bring you resources, and teaching that will help you grow deeper in your walk with God every day things new memory verse cards and matching magnet, there thanks for your generous financial get $25 or more right now to make your donation and everything 633586651 Jeannie Greer.Molly minutes will continue our study Jesus time marriage to be sure to come back Monday night. Your ministry