Undistracted and undivided 1 Corinthians 7:25-40
Introduce myself – Pastor Kevin Mugi – Associate Pastor
1 Corinthians 7:25-40 (NLT) Now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you. 26 Because of the present crisis,[a] I think it is best to remain as you are. 27 If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married. 28 But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems.
29 But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. 30 Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. 31 Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.
32 I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33 But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34 His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.
36 But if a man thinks that he’s treating his fiancée improperly and will inevitably give in to his passion, let him marry her as he wishes. It is not a sin. 37 But if he has decided firmly not to marry and there is no urgency and he can control his passion, he does well not to marry. 38 So the person who marries his fiancée does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.
39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord.[b] 40 But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.
- Up to this point Paul has been talking to the Corinth church and answering some of their questions
- He is talking a lot about marriage and relationship between men and women
- He has a lot to speak about the virgins, seem like it was a big deal going on then
- Paul continues to insist that it’s better to stay and fully devote oneself to the Lord
- Vs. 27 – He is very clear that if you are married, well, you are hitched till death, but if you are not married- think twice before pulling the trigger
- Paul is being real about relationships, that when one decides to get married, they will have troubles (ampc – special troubles)
- Like you forgot to empty the dishwasher, forgot her birthday, dealt with his stressful workday, make him miss the game – you know special troubles – like pleasing the husband and vise versa and the expectations e.t.c
- Up to this point, any reader would wonder, does Paul have something against marriage?
- Afterall the Bible is pro marriage – “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it
- However, Vs 30-31 – reveals what is truly in Paul’s heart
- (Ampc) Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. 31 Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.
- Paul doesn’t care if they get married or not, his primary concern is that your marriage or the issues in it does not take control over you. That is it doesn’t becomes your idol
- Exodus 34:14 (Ampc) For you shall worship no other god; for the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous (impassioned) God,
- Today marriages might not be the big issue as it was back then, but the heart, time and dedication to God is still a full time requirement
- Is this Christan walk a full-time job for you? Are you concerned about the things of God more” that anything else?”
- We are all sheep, and most of the time, we end up just following the trends of everyone else
- Are we thinking about ice bath and cold showers more than we are thinking about the things of God
- Hacking life – do we concentrate on how to make our lives more productive – which is ok – but more than being concerned with the things of God?
- Paul is saying, anything no matter how good should not take you away from the Lords work
- If getting married will take you away – stay single and vise versa
- Keep Matthew 6:33 Amp – But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
- Everything else will pass away
- Matthew 24:35 (Nkjv) Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away
- It’s interesting the amount of effort we put into things that will perish – instead of focusing on the things that will last forever
- I feel like Paul is addressing all these issues so that they congregation can just move past all of it and think on the things above and not the daily stuff that can be distracting
- I believe that we can summarize what Paul is saying by looking at the following verse:
- Vs 35 (Ampc) – Now I say this for your own welfare and profit, not to put [a halter of] restraint upon you, but to promote what is seemly and in good order and to secure your undistracted and undivided devotion to the Lord.
1. Undistracted
- Distraction comes in many deadly forms. I for one I can be easily distracted
- Who here has the squirrel syndrome – there goes a shiny new task/thing…before long you are like, what was I working on?
- Cell phones- the worst kind of distraction – Cell phones should be given a grammy award for doing the impossible – From Distracted driving to invading you very private moment- in our bathroom
- Distracted Driving Statistics – Crash Data for Texting & Cellphone Usage. Distracted driving caused 3,522 deaths and injured 362,415 people in 2021, which is the most recent data available. Cellphone use, including texting while driving, caused 410 deaths that year
- These I believe are just a percentage of the actual numbers
- I believe that most if not all of us get away with it and don’t become a statistic
- I can’t begin to say how cell phones have divided families – watch people interact with each other – like never
- And you know who is very happy about that – the devil – like Pastor Crystal said on superball Sunday – the devil is a street fighter
- It’s not going to be like – oops I just ran off the road and came back – its more like let me use distraction to put you on the lane of the oncoming traffic and kill, steal and destroy you completely
- In the Spiritual world the rules are different, and we cannot allow ourselves to be distracted– It’s a matter of life and death
- In 1 Kings 13 – A young prophet – A man of God – is sent to Bethel to call judgement against Jeroboam
- Jeroboam had elected idols and made Israelites to sin by worshipping the idol and God was not pleased with him at all
- The young prophet, who remains nameless finds himself facing Jeroboam about to sacrifice at the altar he made
- He calls Judgement on Jeroboam and states that the altars he is electing and the kingdom he possesses will be torn down to ashes – a prophecy that was fulfilled 340 years later by King Josiah
- Jeroboam is not happy and stretches his arm instructing the guards to capture the young prophet
- But Jeroboam got a stroke and could not move his hand back
- Jeroboam seeing this cried to the young prophet to pray for his hand which he does and the hand is restored
- I king 13:7-10 (NLT) Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.”
- But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place. 9 For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’” 10 So he left Bethel and went home another way.
- Distraction No.1- Jeroboam tried to bribe the young man of God but He was not distracted – He refused and left
- Unfortunately, the devil doesn’t stop ones, he goes and comes back to find an opportune time
- There was an old prophet in the area that heard about the young prophet
- He went and found him and invited him back to his house to dine with him
- Vs.16 “No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. 17 For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”
- 18 But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the Lord: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. 19 So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home.
- Distracted No.2- He is deceived
- This young man had already seen the hand of God he knew how God works, yet he was distracted
- Just because we have seen victory in an area of our lives doesn’t mean that we will not fall for the same if we don’t keep our hands up
- The analogy of the Boxing match – Keep hands up
- Vs 20-25 (Nlt) -20 Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the Lord came to the old prophet. 21 He cried out to the man of God from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: You have defied the word of the Lord and have disobeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You came back to this place and ate and drank where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.”
- 23 After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own donkey for him, 24 and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25 People who passed by saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived.
- This distraction did not just end up in him looking at his tablet and finding himself on the wrong lane and the blind side monitoring system in his donkey, vibrating and pushing him back to the road- it ended in death
- This distraction cost him his life. What is that you are flirting with that is messing with your life?
- What distraction are prone to get you lose your life
- Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour – stay alert
- We cannot afford to keep our eyes off Jesus even for a single second – It’s too costly
- Get rid of everything that is distracting you today
2. Undivided
- Paul calls for us to not be distracted or divided
- Most of the times distraction comes because we are divided
- Your relationships are in disarray because you are divided – stop being distracted by that person, that thing, that activity, that fantasy – most of you need to quit things tonight
- Quit thinking about that thing that is not of God, going to that place, hanging out with that person, doing that thing- you fill in the gap
- Good things vs God things
- Division – the action of separating something into parts or the process of being separated.
- Disagreement between two or more groups, typically producing tension or hostility.
- Luke 11:17 (AMPC) But He, [well] aware of their intent and purpose, said to them, Every kingdom split up against itself is doomed and brought to desolation, and so house falls upon house. [The disunited household will collapse.]
- We see this in one the greatest fall of all times
- A man who would have been the greatest Judge of all Israel
- This man is Samson – Judges 13 – 16
- Summary
- God chooses Samson before he is born – a Nazarite all his life ( Concentrated to the Lord) and this call came with special privileges and restrictions:
- Samson would not drink wine nor eat grapes
- Not to allow his hair to be cut
- He was not supposed to be near any dead animal
- And the Lord gave him exceptional strength
- But how many of us know that our desires war against the things of God?
- Samson loved women – foreign women against the Lords will
- One time he is heading to Timnah ( Philistine city ) to see a woman and he kills a lion with his bare hands but on his way back he finds honey inside the lions mouth – Hunger distracted
- Ate and gave it to his parent – Touching a dead animal against what God’s will
- The greatest fall came when He met Delilah, and he told her about his strength and he not only loses his strength but also loses his sight – Distracted by love and lust
- You might not lose your eyes like Samson did but let me let you on a secret, a great number has lost their Spiritual eyes and can’t see because they are divided – how are you going to avoid what you don’t see?
- Psalm 32:8 (Amp) I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;I will counsel you [who are willing to learn] with My eye upon you.
- Samson lost sight of the things he had been called long before he lost his eyes. The loss of his eyes was a symptom of the divided life he lived
- Yes, he was able to grow back a portion of his hair and kill most if not all the leadership of Philistine but imagine what a mighty judge he would have been if he didn’t allow division to steal his legacy
- Tonight, what do we not see when we look at you? What part of your life is spiritually blind?
- Are you throwing away your legacy? The last time I checked, the Lord has a great plan for your life
- Jeremiah 1:5 (Ampc) – Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
- Psalm 33:11 (Ampc) The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart through all generations.
- Samson got really distracted and forgot why he had what He had
- We all fall for that – we forget why the Lord has given us the abilities, resources, skills, gifts – they are all for His glory – But when distraction comes in, we find ourselves serving those gifts instead of them serving the Lord in His plans and purpose
- We have to realize that as Matthew 6:24 says No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.
- Our Prayer should be Lord give me undivided heart: Psalms 86:11 –But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.
3. How do I stay undistracted and undivided?
- We can learn from David, who had so much distraction and division calling his attention from all directions – But he endured
- David was in the Judean Desert was when he fled from his son Absalom
- Psalms 63:1-4(Nlt) – O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you; my whole-body longs for you in this parched and weary land
where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. 3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! 4 I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer. - When you are seeking God earnestly, you cannot be distracted or divided
- You cannot seek God unless your soul thirst for God
- Psalms 63:8 (amp) – My [a]soul [my life, my very self] clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
- The word ‘cleave’ here means to ‘stick to’ or ‘cling to’
- Matthew 19:5- 5 (Kjv) and said, ‘For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh’?
- Here it is – its being close to Christ that you have the mind of Christ
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 (Ampc) For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.
- Colossians 3:2 (Nkjv) Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
- Distraction will come in many forms, unless you know how to walk with Christ – you will be deceived
- Unless you know His voice, you will be deceived
- The story of Anthony and I heading back to work
- John 10:27-28 (Ampc) The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand.
- Proverbs 3:5–6 (NLT) Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take
- Colossians 3:2 (Nlt) – Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth
- Paul concludes – Vs 30-31-Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. 31 Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.
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