Longing for His Home

I rediscovered a song the other day that was my theme song back in the day.

It’s funny, how life happens and you lose track of things and I kind of lost track of this song.

In the early days of Contemporary Christian music, there was an artist named Rich Mullins.

In 1988 he recorded an album titled, “Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth.”

I owned a copy - on cassette.

It had a song on it that became my theme song - I’ll tell you about that in a second.

But first, I’d like to tell you just a little about Rich Mullins.

He was born in 1955 in Indiana.

He attended Cincinnati Bible College.

Formed a little band and worked with a ministry.

He wrote a song, “Sing your praise to the Lord” - some of you boomers might remember it

Amy Grant made it famous.

He also wrote, “Awesome God.”

You know, “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above,” remember it?

He was crazy successful in the Christian music business but he rightly recognized it as a business.

According to Christianity.com, “He would talk onstage about his chosen industry being more business than ministry, or remind audiences that Jesus called Christians to be more than just nice people living in the suburbs. He also frankly admitted his struggles, from alcoholism to pride.”

He left the music industry to go teach Navajo children music in New Mexico.

And in 1997, he was involved in a car accident that claimed his life.

Mullins said, “I think if we were given the Scriptures, it was not so that we could prove we’re right about everything. If we were given the scriptures, it was to humble us into realizing that God is right and the rest of us are just guessing.”

He also wrote this:

“So if I stand let me stand on the promise

That You will pull me through

And if I can’t, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You

And if I sing let me sing for the joy

That has born in me these songs.

And if I weep let it be as a man

Who is longing for his home.

And if I weep let it be as a man

Who is longing for his home.

The song is “If I Stand.”

It’s my forgotten, but rediscovered, theme song.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 7:25-40.

It’s long and it’s really hard to understand but it can be understood.

But let me say this about that - this is why you pay me.

You don’t pay me to teach Awana or lead Young at Heart trips or go to camp with the kids.

Or even make hospital visits and marry and bury your family.

In Acts 6, when Peter is organizing the first deacons - he stated why you pay me.

Acts 6:4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.””

If the Lord through His Holy Spirit never used my preaching to speak to your spirit, you wouldn’t let me do all those other things.

Or you shouldn’t.

My goal is to preach the Word as it is written to the absolutely best of my ability so we will grow closer to the Lord.

And be more Godly.

To be - to use the Bible word - “sanctified.”

So it’s my job to dig through this and learn it so you can hear it

And know, and grow closer to Jesus.

This text is hard - the commentaries agree about that.

But there is a meaning - a very serious meaning.

And it directly applies to our lives this very day.

As I do every week, I want to welcome our live stream and pod cast audience.

I hope one day you can join us in the sanctuary to worship together.

And if you are physically unable and you’d like a couple of us to bring church to you, drop us a line on the website or call the church office.

A couple of us visit almost every week that comes.

We would love to come bring the church to you.

And if you are our guests, we are so grateful to the Lord for you.

I pray the Lord touches you through the full worship service and maybe you’ll consider First Baptist for your church home.

Hear now the word of the Lord from 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

1 Corinthians 7:25–40 ESV

Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

We give thanks to the Lord for His Word.

Pray with me.

Father,

May your Spirit gently yet boldly chisel the hardness from our hearts.

Help us to see what is culture and what is Christ.

Convict us - and for those who are not here but need convicting, please carry this message to them.

Lord, I love you but I sin.

Please forgive my sins that nothing would come between you and your people.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

1st Corinthians 7 has worked me over.

You’ve seen me more apprehensive preaching this chapter than anything I have ever preached.

This chapter cuts at the gut of our disposable culture.

Disposable marriages - disposable sex - disposable people.

But it gets there through a most peculiar dilemma - and its the same one we find ourselves is.

We want to follow Jesus but we’re just not sure how

The culture around them was just as corrupt as ours.

They were new Christians.

They wanted to follow Jesus and they had 40,000 different voices telling them how.

And some voices, some very strong voices were saying that to truly follow Jesus, you must abstain from sex and you must abstain from marriage.

And this chapter addresses that.

He tells married Christians to stay married - that the entire marriage experience is a blessing from God.

He tells mixed marriages, one spouse is Christian and the other is not, to stay married.

That you never know, the Lord may use you to save the unsaved spouse.

He tells single people to stay single if they can so they can devote themselves to Jesus.

But he also acknowledges that singleness is a gift from God and if you burn with passion, you should get married.

He addresses people in today’s text that are engaged.

And he gives the same admonition.

If you can stay single, do.

But if you truly desire marriage, get married.

He even tells widowed people that if they want to remarry, go ahead.

But if you don’t want to, don’t - dedicate yourself to Jesus instead.

Contrary to popular opinion on this passage, he never says singleness or marriage is superior.

He says that each one should live for the Lord in the state in which they were called.

And, and, to live life according to the Lord’s word.

We could stop here - but you know we aren’t.

Because Paul lands the plane on something that we need desperately to hear.

I want us to focus on verses 29-31.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 “This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.”

When Paul says “the appointed time has grown very short,” we immediately start thinking he’s talking about the second coming.

And there is some of that in here.

But when you read the end of verse 28, he says, “Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles...,” and in verse 32 he says, “I want you to be free from anxieties.”

And if you go back to verse 26, he says 1 Corinthians 7:26 “I think that in view of the present distress...”

Yes, he has Jesus’ return in mind but there is something much more immediate in mind.

And the killer is - the thing that makes this hard is - he doesn’t tell us what it is.

All we can do is speculate and you know that’s not worth too much.

But I do want us to consider one thing - because it is increasingly relevant to us.

Nero became the emperor in Rome in 54.

Rome is 742 miles from Corinth - practically next door - even in their day.

Nero was the first Roman emperor who systematically persecuted Christians.

He ruled from 54 - 68.

Paul died around 64 - 65.

In Rome.

At the order of Nero.

Now listen, persecution had not reached Corinth yet.

But the debauchery, the immorality of the Roman Empire had.

Their culture was corrupt - their government was corrupt - you get the point, right?

1 Corinthians 7:28-29 “... Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none,”

Now this makes sense.

He’s not saying that all married people have troubles - because they do - that’s a given.

We are two different folks - we are bound to have disagreements - has to happen.

He does say that men will want to please their wives - if you have half a brain.

And women will want to please their husbands - if they have half a brain.

But that’s a miniscule part of the troubles he’s talking about.

“Let those who have wives live as though they had none.”

Gentlemen, suppose we lived in some modern country as some of our brothers and sisters in Christ do right now.

And some Muslim jihadist's come blasting into this sanctuary and they separate us into families.

And they come to us - one family at a time, black masks covering their faces - you know - like Antifa.

And with a knife to your wife and children’s throats - you’ve seen the videos.

They say, “renounce Jesus or they die.” (Pause a moment and let that sink in)

Now, that’s troubles.

But that’s extreme - that’s not going to happen, at least in my lifetime.

It’s more probably now than ever before - but still the chance is slim.

But brothers and sisters - I submit to you that, in a sense, it’s already here.

If you work for a corporation or a government entity - they are Nero’s minions.

Their motivation is money and power - you’ll keep buying from them because you have to.

The lost will buy more from them because they support them.

And the government will reward them because the government is anti-God and corrupt.

No one is coming to save you - no one in power is on our side.

They will require you to use everyone’s pronouns.

They will require you to accept the reality that a transgender person has constructed for themselves.

They will require you to accept and support abortion rights from conception to birth and maybe later.

They will require you to accept every kind of so-called marriage that someone can devise.

They already do.

Now listen to me so you don’t misunderstand.

They are already holding a knife to the neck of your spouse and your children - because if you speak up, if you stand up for Jesus

You will be cancelled.

You will lose your job.

And with no job, you will have no money.

No money, no food, no clothing - no life as you currently live.

Make no mistake - they are threatening our lives.

What, truly in the Lord’s name, are we do to?

Here is what Paul is getting to - if you are married - your primary allegiance is to Jesus - stand for Him and accept the consequence.

Because you must remember.

It is imperative that you remember.

This place is not your home.

If you are mourning, remember this place is not your home.

That, listen, listen, you are merely passing through.

Stop your mourning - good things are going to come.

If you are rejoicing - remember this place is not your home.

Jesus said, John 15:18-19

John 15:18–19 ESV

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Rejoice but don’t keep rejoicing.

Any victories are temporary - long term they won’t matter.

The cheers of the crowd are fun - but ultimately meaningless.

You belong somewhere else.

If you are a business person - you buy and sell goods

Remember, you are a steward, not an owner.

You can build bigger and bigger barns, but in an instant

A stroke, a heart attack, a cancer diagnosis

A car crash - like Rich Mullins

And you won’t own a single barn any where, any more.

This is not your home - you do not belong here.

Any comfort you give, any comfort you receive is fleeting.

You belong somewhere else.

“and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.”

This is all of us.

We all deal with the world.

Don’t get lost in it.

Any success this world gives, this world can take away.

Any status you gain will be burned away at the judgement seat of Christ.

From the highest paid CEO to the lowest paid janitor - 1 second after your heart stops beating it will not matter who or what you were.

Every body ends up in a box being carried by six men to a hole in the ground that is 2 1/2 feet wide, 8 feet long and 4 feet deep.

If you are fortunate, someone will put a granite headstone or a bronze marker over your plot so people a hundred years from now can look at it and go

“Wow, they were born in 1956

Or 1972

Or 1988

Or 1991

Or 2022

“Wow, that was a long time ago.”

They will know nothing about you - nor will they really care.

They’ll simply be strolling through a cemetery like I like to do.

But, if you are a Christ follower - you won’t care.

Because you aren’t there.

You lived your life “longing for you home.”

And that’s Paul’s message of 1 Corinthians 7.

Do your best wherever you are.

Work to prosper and make a good name for yourself, your family and your church.

Raise your family to have ambition and drive and a work ethic.

But make sure that more important than anything else

You raise them to long for another home.

“For the present form of this world is passing away [and] I want you to be free from anxieties.”

And you will be free if you spend your days “longing for your home.”

Longing to see your Savior face to face.

Let us pray.

I know these first seven chapters of 1 Corinthians has had a lot in it but have you noticed something?

It’s had a lot - for us.

Not simply as individuals - it has had a lot for us as a body.

The underlying issue of everything is unity.

Which is kind of pertinent to today, don’t you think.

Diversity rules supreme right now - its culture’s current god.

And these Corinthians were a very diverse group.

Greeks, Jews, slave, free, married, single, divorced, engaged and who knows whatever else.

Do you remember Paul’s message - in whatever situation you were saved, remain in it?

In other words, our diversity is recognized and admired.

But our unity is celebrated.

Because for all of our differences, we are all united in Christ and that is what draws the world to Jesus.

Romans 6:3-4 “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

There are two things than make us Baptist.

First, we are baptized by immersion after we consciously trust Christ as our Savior.

That’s an individual thing - all of us - each one is baptized into Christ Jesus.

And the second thing we do that makes us Baptist is the Lord’s Supper - and we do that one together.

As each of you step forward and take the bread and the juice, you are saying to everyone else in here - I am one of you.

And as you come this time, look around at the congregation and see what you see.

Tall, short, big, small, young, old, muscular, infirm, fair skin, dark skin, gluten and gluten free.

As diverse as we can be and getting more diverse as time passes by.

Yet we are one.

Baptized with a common baptism, into a singular Lord - celebrating His love and grace as a family.

A little while before Jesus held his last passover meal, He prayed a prayer and He mentioned you and me

John 17:20-23 ““I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

He asked the Father to make us one.

Unified - a single body.

Brothers and Sisters

The church.

The bride of Christ.

In just a moment, we’ll exit our pews to the left and come to the table in front of your row.

We’ll take a wafer dipped in juice and we’ll eat it as a declaration.

He is in us - we are with each other - in the Body of Christ.

To the glory of God the Father.

Let us pray:

Dear Heavenly Father,

We do not presume to come to this table trusting in our own righteousness.

We know we can approach only because of your great mercy.

We are not worthy to gather the crumbs from under the table Lord, yet you call us.

Your mercy is reflected on the face of each one of us as we eat from your table.

Grant us, precious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son Jesus, and to drink his blood

That our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood,

That we may evermore dwell in him, and he is us and all of us together as one.

We ask these things in Jesus’ name.

Amen

The gluten free table is located at ____________________.

Please come forward as brothers and sisters to eat at the Lord’s table.