God’s Plan in Singleness

Janie Greer Jesus asserts the radical idea that marriage is not ultimate that's proven by the fact that will 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 are only temporary relationships you form the body of Christ.

However, those are permanent life. I'm your host Molly that events ever experienced as a single person. Have you ever felt like the world tells you that you're missing out on something just because you're not married even in the church we often equate marriage with some sort of completion that thankfully Jesus taught something altogether different and more beautiful today. Pastor JD shows us what Jesus's death and resurrection created that trumps even the nuclear family at the center of God's kingdom. He titled this message God's plan day as we got to get rolling into this series will talk about singleness. Now I know you say why in the series on marriage relationships really talk about singleness first off, well, first, very obvious reason. About 6000 of you listening to me this weekend that one of our campuses are single this generation in American history will remain single longer than any previous generation in human history. The average age for American getting married is now 30 years old for a male, about 28 years old for the woman which is the highest that it's ever been. As far as we know by the time today's middle schoolers reach 50 years of age. One in four of them will have been single for their entire life. My family and I at one point had a college girl here from summa church lived with us for an extended amount of time.

She told us she said you know it can be really tough to be single at the summit church of the church like the summa church first. She said everybody is constantly pressuring you to get married like something's wrong.

Second, she said, when you do notice somebody ensures that you you're pretty sure was checking you out you were, checking them out to.

She said all this really get self-conscious about everything she said. For example, how do you worship you go beautiful on Pentecostal hands in here watching heaven's Windows or is that going to be just a little bit too much. Maybe you should go with the underarm charismatic. CVS. I just want to receive from the Lord posture. Maybe that's less intimidating. She says when and when you you know when when when you stand up and start the sermon you know you gotta reach for an actual paper Bible because there's no way, if you plot your Bible on your phone that you take God seriously at all right got say it yes editor Gabe, you got a recent paper Bible study your serious follower of Jesus, she said to settle then I sometimes worse to be my gotta make sure all of my left hand. That way they can see the ring on it. That's a consideration about that will biblically do the service documents that you forgot about this thing. But on the upper left and then she said at the end she said.

Then there's the when the come forward for prayer. She's like to go forward for prayer to show that you're broke and humbling and you you need prayer or that does make it look like you have issues. She sets out a little bit of us want you to come forward and pretend you're on the prayer team and then it will look like you. You are are are in the ministry team so anyway so much pressure right so much pressure to think about. So really the reason that I'm starting with singleness is that we have some singles at this church. More importantly though, the reason for starting with it is because Jesus's entire approach to marriage is grounded in a concept that redefines not only marriage and everything attached to it also redefines singleness, which is why Matthew 19 Jesus took a question about divorce and in his answer he wove a teaching on singleness into it. After teaching that marriage was beautiful and it was a reflection of God's plan, a reflection of who God is Explaining that not all it was a beautiful is really difficult to survive and thrive in a threat to God's help. Then Jesus turns and says this, verse 12 for there are also units your member unit of somebody who's really normal reproductive organs are been damaged or or or or they're not form correctly.

Is there some UNIX you have been so from birth. Mao told you that that almost all commentators agree that unit here is a metaphor now is refer to an actual unit but it's a metaphor for people who are married. He said there are some who have been so from birth.

Maybe that means because they are intersects or maybe it's because they are I don't have normal sexual desires that would lead them to get married and then the way that God prescribes. There are some who would been made eunuchs by men. That would mean you literally would mean that somebody who is a slave or a political prisoner but metaphorically what that would mean is they might want to get married but for whatever reason, the circumstances of life haven't led that they would choose if they could they they don't seem to be able to at this point. If you haven't found the right person of the sump situation that precludes them from getting married. Lastly, Jesus says there are some who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. That's those people who have chosen singleness because of something they feel like God is called in to at some point in their life.

Jesus said there are people who are units for one of those three reasons about the one he was able to receive this.

Let them receive it, let them receive it. Here's what's radical and what Jesus is saying when Jesus brings this up.

Everybody that was listen to them all the Jewish people knew that he was referring to Isaiah 56, which was a beautiful Old Testament passage in which UNIX are promised in the coming of the Messiah units were promised an inheritance that was better than the inheritance of sons and daughters you see in Isaiah's day prophet Isaiah's day, about 100 years before Jesus singles were considered to be missing an essential part of a happy blessed life.

Not only were they without a life partner without a companion.

They were also being unable to have kids and not met the kids because kids guaranteed your inheritance, the people of God meant that in many ways, they were cut off from what they thought was a spiritual heritage. So many people regarded UNIX to be cursed. Isaiah 56 prophesies know that in the coming kingdom of the Messiah that all that's going to be overturned and the eunuch is going to be blessed right alongside the married equally to the married because in the Messiah, the unit will be given an eternal inheritance that is independent of children or family unit may lack physical family, but he or she is woven into God's forever family in the Messiah Jesus is saying all curse is removed and singleness is no longer a stigma that's what's radical about what he says their members.

I want to use this idea from Isaiah 56 Jesus quotes I want to use that to deal with a deeply held myth in our culture, one not only believed or propagated by our culture. But sadly one that we promote all too often in our churches also is what I would call the marriage equals completion, myth. This myth assumes that marriage in a nuclear family is some kind of ultimate state for mankind and thus if you don't find that special someone to spend your life with what you have missed out on the essential part of a full and happy life. You can hear the overtones of this myth and how we can a church like this one often tried to encourage or console someone who is single, we will say will don't worry. You know you can get married someday as if we are saying poor you.

I know it must be hard to miss such an essential part of a happy life. Dr. Bruce Ashford. He was one of her elders here.

The summa church and is about my age and he was VP propria VP Robert service outage in seminary for many years at this church was a single in the Bruce because they said I know they may well be so discussed her tired of beating was at a wedding at the summa church is sweet little lady to come on the elbow immediately.

I don't worry Bruce, you will be next. Like I discussed her tired of it.

I started to pay them back at funerals over to them and I elbowed him I don't worry your next he said I just started, but I said you have a pulse.

We need to pray for you and maybe cast out a demon, but come anyway how arsenals will tell singles God has just a little guy just has a little bit of work left to do on you before he brings you that special someone. That's why you're waiting, you gotta become someone special. Before God to give you someone special in the single person is left to think like white I'm not special where I'm not lovable yet. That's not to mention the truly dysfunctional people I see who get married and I look at marriage with some kind of reward to those who had had become special and and lovable.

I thought God got the wrong address on that cowboy my right, and I ported somebody and say amen about the same. A lot of churches trigger singles ministry is a little more than sanctified substitutes for singles bars as a way to try to fix what is a problem, but I know one church and I'm not making this up. I know one church that called its adult social group payers and spares to the single before the spares. The assumption is that marriage is the only way to live a full and happy life. Now realize we can all in here, laugh about stories like that but that myth it leads to a lot of confusion and pain. And Jesus, who was single himself taught explicitly against this myth and Becky taught against it so strongly that if you didn't know better you be tempted to think that Jesus was distant on marriage altogether right so what I want to do is take you on a little gospel to you can stay there. Matthew 19 to end up on the bus right back in that station. You can hang out there and I'll catch back up you in a moment, but I wanted to you the little gospel tour for a few minutes to show you everyplace and Jesus taught this and show you how he developed this the right.

So Matthew 19, head over to Mark three for a moment.

Mark three were still the marriage is completion met Mark chapter 3 and his mother and his brothers came by the lake. Their manageable Bible trivia. For this you that were raised in the church at all that Mary was a perpetual virgin and that she didn't have any other kids you will you look no further. In this verse are here to know that's not true. Jesus had brothers Mary and Joseph had other kids and so they would amend Jesus as our brothers and I had a family I said his mother's brothers, you have somehow family meeting to discuss something and they were standing outside they called over to Jesus and the crowd was sitting around Jesus and the crowd said to him hey Jesus, your mom and your brothers there outside and they are seeking.

You and Jesus answered them, and respond for my mother and my brothers looking about at those who sat around and he said, here are my mother and my brothers.

Whoever does the will of God. He is my brother and she is my sister and she is my mother now question what is going on here.

This Jesus not love his mom not love his biological brothers that he not identify with them and feel like he is a part of their family.

Of course he did. He is simply using this opportunity to teach something very important and that is he had a family with them. It is more important to him than even his biological one in his death and resurrection he was creating a forever family that would trump even the bonds of biology.

This is a radical idea in one chances are you probably haven't heard a lot in church the nuclear family is not the center of God's kingdom. The family units may be the building block of our society and it should be.

God created that way in creation.

He ordered it that way, but the nuclear family. While critical to our civilization is not the center of God's kingdom again. That is not to say it's not important, just that it's not ultimate in the kingdom of God and Jesus said yeah my mama my my brother that's great, but you are my forever family is people who trusted me and obey my word. Luke 11 his brother next that Jesus was saying these things teach in some your truth woman in the crowd calls out to Jesus. Blessed is the well bore you in the breast that which you nurse now is good. Stop every minute say I love it when people talk back to me when I preach, preacher, preacher on record say that's got me the weirdest thing ever said to somebody when they're preach an MRI right Blessed Jesus, are the breast at which you nurse Jesus turned red heard said Gross. He said he looked back at her and said, Blessed no rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Take a minute and let Betsy begin somebody basically said Jesus how awesome it must be to be related to you and Jesus's response is no those who obey the word of God are more blessed and precious to Jesus than even his own biological mom. Just think about it from you. How awesome would it be to have Jesus in your ancestry tree in your 23 Mamma comes back, I would have severe logical problems about us, but if I came back okay I be working that into any conversation I could rightly know my ancestor Jesus a major part of you know I would.

I would talk about that all the time that Jesus like Welton something of a deal if you were baila happen to be biologically rated related to me. If you are the son Gregory.

Her grandson, one of my Brothers.

That's not a big deal if you were even mom mom that's not a big deal but if you were united to be by baptism have my spirit dwelling in you. That's a huge deal Christopher you want, he was a Christian author. I really respect rights a lot about same-sex attraction because some of these dealt with throughout his life. He is single he says and I quote our earthly families are temporarily bound by blood. But the family of God is eternally bound by the blood of the Lamb. And that's a stronger bond Mark chapter 12 is where will go next and the Sadducees, who say that there is a resurrection which is why they are Sadducees gave minutes on his role as Jesus a question teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leave no child. The man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. I know it's a little weird but that's what was in the Old Testament again. It was a law well there once was a man who had seven brothers. The first of the wife once were. There were seven brothers so the first of the wife and when he died he left no offspring. So the second took her and he died also living offspring in the third. Likewise, in the seven all left no offspring. Okay, so all seven married this woman and none of them have kids with her which the time you like.

Number five Mike enough okay on my father's love is nothing happening here on seven of no offspring last of a woman also died like something the prologue Mormon joke, it's not okay this is a request in the resurrection. When they rise again, whose wife will she be the seven had his wife said she believed resurrection trying to ridicule Jesus for believing in a resurrection and this is their test QuickTime 717 husband whose wife shall be the resurrection. Jesus, you made it. I never play Bible trivia Jesus. Jesus's response is to say you are wrong, not just in what you think? You don't know the Scriptures with the power of God. When we when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage there like the angels in heaven. Jesus is the answer. Very simply, in heaven. Marriage and the nuclear family do not exist. We saw that last weekend, according to Jesus in the garden of Eden marriage was God's plan a for dealing with our loneliness, goblet the man and says not good that man should be alone and is planning to build that which create the first marriage I told you that that that loneliness is the one ache that we have that does not come from sin. God created us in a perfect state to 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 out there. It's simply that God will deal with our loneliness in a new and better way. It's in a marriage is 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 to be 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 but why we feel to give her.

You know, we can have a suggested not right you say no, no amount, but I was going into detail, but what makes me sad to lose her sadness. Of course in heaven is because in heaven you see our joy as we know this or not diminished at all ways in heaven thought are missing out on 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 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 will leave 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 sad. 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. Pictures no longer needed when you see so many face-to-face when you're separated from somebody love you for the picture you look at them.

I do it when I'm on a trip that I miss my kids are looking for a picture of them, but when I'm with them I don't want pictures of them a 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 finally the face-to-face with the person you 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 and he says the appointed time of Christ return is very short long freeze back from now on. Then let those who have wives live as though they had non-UI what world does that mean white.

Let me know if you would wives live like that and have a wife that's only the mantra people going to spend the weekend in Vegas, but that is not what Paul is a I can assure you okay, here's what is he says, verse 30 for the present form of this world is passing away was passing 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 like momentary, and soon.

Both situations will give way to what is permanent and ultimate 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 you're listening to Senate life is part of her teaching series called forever family as only you can visit@jdgreer.com. You'll find resources transcripts of all of the teaching available free of charge and you can also send us a note to let us know how we can be praying for you this month.

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