Sermon Tone Analysis

“*UNDIVIDED HEART*”

(A Series on I Corinthians)

 

Westgate Chapel 7~/19~/98 a.m.

I Corinthians 7:1-40

 

PROPOSITION:  In a world full of enticing distractions and a continual lust for more, it is so difficult to have an undivided heart, fully devoted to the Lord.

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I. introduction

!! -     VACATIONS are times when you get far enough away from what you do the other 340 days a year...that you can see and evaluate what you do more clearly.

!! -     BESIDES that fact that the class that Pastor Ron and I took under Eugene Peterson last May has forced us to look again at the Biblical role of the pastor.

!! -     AND for me this morning, the bottom line is that I must do all I can, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to get you gloriously into the kingdom of God...and ready for heaven.

!! -     IN the process of this task of the pastor, there will be a battle to be fought within himself, and in the lives of the people, on three fronts...the world, the flesh and the devil (Ephesians).

!! -     BUT I will stand before God someday and be accountable for the years that He gives me here at Westgate Chapel....for whether I was faithful to this call.

!! -     REALIZING that it is only the Holy Spirit who can do this work in you and me...but we have to win the war on all three fronts.

!! -     SO, if that  takes exhortation, I must exhort.

If that takes correction, I must correct.

If that takes rebuke, I must rebuke.

!! -     AND I Corinthians 7 is one of those passages that takes aim at the pull of the world.

!! -     IN fact, I Corinthians 7:31b says,

!!!       “*For this world in its present form is passing away*.”

!! -     THE problem is that it is the things and the relationships of this world that Satan will frequently use to pull us away from what is to be our first love.

!! -     WHAT is supposed to be our first love?

!! -     JESUS said that the greatest commandment is this,

!!!       “*Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind*.”

(Matthew 22:37)

!! -     SO, it is not to spoil our fun, but to prepare us for eternity that John the apostle writes in I John 2:15 (p.

1208),

!!!       “*Do not love the world or anything in the world.

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.*

(16) *For everything in the world-- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world*.

(17) *The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever*.”

(I John 2:15-17)

!! -     DO you see the connection between verse 17 here and verse 31 of our passage in I Corinthians 7 for today?

!! -     IT says,

!!!       “*For this world in its present form is passing away*.”

(I Corinthians 7:31b)

!! -     NOW, at first glance, I Corinthians 7 is a chapter on marriage, divorce, and being single....and their are some important instructions on those things in there.

!! -     BUT the very heart of I Corinthians 7 is about loving God with an undivided heart and NOT letting the situation you are in come between you and your pursuit of God.

!! -     WE are going to read the whole chapter, looking for the theme of an undivided heart....then we are going to come back and look at some specific subjects.

!! -     REMEMBER, my task as your pastor this morning, is to help you win the war that rages against your love for God.

!! -     LET’S read I Corinthians 7 (p.

1132).

!!  

!! -     THERE are three areas of life covered in this chapter, where you are going to feel the pull of the world to have a divided heart.

!! -     AND the specific pull of the world that I want to address this morning, from I Corinthians 7, is the temptation to greener grass.....as if your real satisfaction will come from having another spouse, a new house, a different job, a new car, a different ministry....anything as long as it isn’t where you are right now.

!! -     AND the enemy’s purpose in it all is to divide your heart from being fully devoted to God.

!! -     HE doesn’t care where you live, or with whom.

He doesn’t care what car you drive, what toy you play with, or what new job you have....he just wants to get you forever running after the next illusive dream so as to keep you from having a whole heart devoted to God.

!! -     SO, from this chapter in I Corinthians this morning we will look at three areas of life.

!!! 1.

The unmarried who want only to be married.

!!! 2.   The married who want only to be single again.

!!! 3.   Those of us who will do anything to have a change of scenery any place in our lives.

!!  

! ii. the unmarried want to be married

!! -     LET’S start with the unmarried who want only to be married, as if it is marriage that will fulfill the longings of their heart.

!! -     REMEMBER, the theme of this chapter is not about marriage, but about divided hearts.

!! -     BUT to the unmarried, Paul says,

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!! 1.   IT IS GOOD NOT TO MARRY

!!!  

!!! ~*     “*It is good for a man not to marry*.”

(7:1)

!!!! •     The Greek word for good is /kalos/, and it means useful and profitable.

!!! ~*     “*Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am*.” (7:8)

!!!  

!!! ~*     “*Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy.*

(26) *Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are*.” (7:25-26)

!!!  

!!! ~*     “*Are you unmarried?

Do not look for a wife*.”

(7:27b)

!!!  

!!! ~*     “....*he who does not marry her* (virgin)* does even better*.”

(7:38b)

!!!  

!!! ~*     “*In my judgment, she* (widow)* is happier if she stays as she is-- and I think that I too have the Spirit of God*.” (7:40)

!!!  

!! -     PAUL is not anti-marriage in these statements.

!! -     HE is living in a time of crisis for the world and for believers.

!! -     HE himself is having to be constantly on the move, fearing most of the time for his life.

!! -     IT would be very hard for him to be caring for a wife and children.

!! -     AND anyhow, what he is telling us is that marriage is NOT the place for you to find your highest fulfillment...but rather in loving and serving God with an undivided heart.

!! -     HE is also telling us that one of the dangers of marriage is that it has the potential for dividing your heart and devotion for God (Tell Brian and Lori Revers story)

!! -     SO, if you are single, you are in a profitable place for having an undivided heart for God.

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!! 2.   SINGLENESS IS A GIFT OF GOD

!!  

!! -     The second thing that Paul says to the single person is that singleness can be a gift of God....so don’t despise it.

!!! ~*     “*I wish that all men were as I am *(single or widowed)*.

But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that*.”

(7:7)

!!  

!! 3.   IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE GIFT, THEN MARRY

!!  

!! -     BUT what if being single is NOT your gift in life?

!! -     IT sounds like Paul is building a case against marriage.

!! -     HE isn’t really.

He is just going after a divided heart.

!! -     LOOK at verse 2.

!!! ~*     “*But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband*.”

(7:2)

!!!  

!!! ~*     “*But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion*.”

(7:9)

!! -     HERE the source of the divided heart is a culture obsessed with sex...and pushing it in your face everywhere you turn.

!! -     AND in that context, it is increasingly difficult to stay single and pure.

!! -     SO Paul allows that it may be better to marry than be caught in the pull of the immoral world.

!!  

!! 4.   BUT IT MUST BE A BELIEVER THAT YOU MARRY

!!  

!! -     BUT there is a condition if you are going to marry....and it too has to do with a divided heart and life.

!! -     IN verse 39 Paul writes that the widow is....

!!! ~*     “...*free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord*.”

(7:39)

!! -     IF you are going to marry it must be to a believer.

!! -     WHY?

!! -     SO that your family can have an undivided heart.

!!  

! iii. the married want to be single

!! -     WELL, that was for the single among us who want to be married, as if marriage will be the solution to their heart cry.

!! -     NOW, what about the married who would love to be single again?

!! -     AND this bears a little elaboration.

!!! ~*     There are those who are married and want out of their marriage, period.

They want to literally be single again, as if that is where they will find contentment of heart.

!!! ~*     Then there are those who are married, but live unto themselves as if they were single.

!! -     PAUL has several things to say to this heart condition.