God's Plan For Marriage Series

Kids hear mom and dad say that church is important, but their lives don’t reflect what they’re saying with their mouths. And couples get married but end up spending so much time trying to make it work, that they become virtually useless in ministry.

This is why Paul wrote what he wrote in 1st Corinthians 7:35… listen to it, “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.”

That’s the goal right there! UNDIVIDED DEVOTION TO THE LORD!

You see; ultimately, these passages about marriage aren’t so much about marriage as they are about bringing glory to God! And the Bible is not a self-help book… it’s a book that’s designed to order our lives in such a way that they are devoted to the Lord and His mission. And marriage is a great thing that God has given to us, but at the same time, marriage is designed to bring glory to God. And if you look at it here… that’s why Paul encourages marriage for those who are tempted. Because a good, healthy marriage helps prevent temptations that would destroy a persons effectiveness for Christ. But remember; a good healthy marriage is one where both the husband and the wife are completely devoted to God.

Our big problem today is that we’ve gotten it way backward… we think that God is a means of improving our marriage… but the reality is that our marriage is supposed to improve our devotion to God.

So here’s the idea that Paul is trying to get across…

Marriage is kind of like a journey… a long, long journey… You know if Africa, they have a saying. It goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.” So think of it like a long journey… or better yet… think of it like a football season.

You guys know I’m a Denver Broncos fan. And last year they won the Super Bowl. But that journey to the Super Bowl began in training camp. And they set a goal… and they had to learn to play together as a team… and where Peyton Mannings throwing arm wasn’t what it used to be, then other parts of the team had to pick up the slack… and the times when Ware was out with an injury, Von Miller had to step it up. And they all worked together for that common goal – of winning the Super Bowl.

But you know what… when this current season began to roll around, I told MJ, that we probably wouldn’t repeat… we still have a good team… but at the beginning of the season Oswieler left… he was looking out for himself rather than the team… and Miller was holding out for the bigger contract… looking out for himself rather than the team. In other words, the goal became inward focused… or individual focused, rather than team focused. They'll still win a lot of games... they've got a talented roster, and maybe after those distractions they can again focus on the prize at the end of the season and get it together... but we'll see.