A Wholehearted Devotion To The Gospel
Grace and Peace be yours as we continue to live our lives as the people of God in this world.
We are well into the month and a new year, so it is time to reflect on our New Year’s Resolutions! What did you promise yourself you were going to do? Have you been able to keep the resolution you made for these first three weeks of the year? It is one thing to promise to cut out sweets and lose weight after the holidays, or exercise more, or read more or all the other things we promise ourselves we will do. It is another thing to fail to keep our devotion to the Lord as a primary focus in our lives.
This is Paul’s concern in our text today. Paul has been urging us to untangle ourselves from worldly affairs and become wholly devoted to the Lord’s kingdom. From Paul’s perspective it would be better for a person to remain single and give themselves totally to the Lord’s work. Because of this focus he even encourages Christians to refrain from marriage because it can become a distraction to our service to the Lord.
But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Now, Paul will affirm marriage and every Christians right to marry in next week’s text. It is not that marriage is wrong, but the fact that service to the Lord is right! Paul wants to see the kingdom of God grow in this world and this is only going to happen when individuals set aside their personal wants and desires to give themselves to the Lord’s work.
Years ago, missionaries captured this zeal for the Gospel ministry in the way Paul is addressing it in our text. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s a collection of missionaries known as “one-way” missionaries embarked on their journeys to the mission fields of Africa and other third-world countries. What set these missionaries apart is that they understood the dangers from unwelcoming and often hostile people groups and the dangers of diseases for which there were no vaccinations or cures. Knowing these dangers, these committed servants of the Lord packed their belongings in coffins which were shipped with them to the mission field. The purpose of this was to ensure they would have a coffin to be shipped home in when the work of the Lord ultimately cost them their earthly life.
These men and women removed every earthly entanglement from their lives and gave themselves wholly to the Lord’s work. This is what Paul desires our attitude to be like as we go forth as the people of God today.
It is important to remember that Paul is living with the assumption that the return of Jesus is imminent, and there is a world filled with people who will perish when He returns if they have not had the opportunity to know Him as Savior. This focus of his life enabled Paul to give all that he would or ever could be in service to Jesus.
While we need more missionaries like those “one-way” missionaries of the past, people who are 100% devoted to the Lord’s work, this is not the call of God on every person’s life. Jesus chose 12 apostles, and there were 70 others He sent out two-by-two. There are those who are sent and who give their whole lives in service to the Gospel ministry. But remember, there were thousands who followed Jesus, who heard His teachings and who were blessed by His miracles. These are people who returned to their homes, families, and jobs whom God used to touch the lives of those around them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We need missionaries for the foreign mission fields, but there are just as many people in our own community who do not know Jesus as there are in other places around the world. Those who calculate such things tell us that there is just over 155,000 people currently living in the Odessa area. There are approximately 160 churches in Odessa. If we estimate high, and say that every church has a membership of 500 members which is way beyond what is realistic, look at the numbers. 160 churches X 500 members each = 80,000 members. This would leave 75,000 unchurch people living in Odessa today. Adjust the numbers to a more realistic view, let’s say 150 members each and what do you get. 160 churches X 150 members each = 24,000. This leaves 126,000 unchurched individuals in our community.
We don’t need to leave our nations borders to find a mission field to serve! We don’t even have to leave our county. God has provided each of us the opportunity to interact with thousands of people who need Jesus right here at home. All we have to do is walk forth in boldness and love and make Him known.
May we all allow ourselves to be truly used by God to reveal His heart to the world around us.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
We are well into the month and a new year, so it is time to reflect on our New Year’s Resolutions! What did you promise yourself you were going to do? Have you been able to keep the resolution you made for these first three weeks of the year? It is one thing to promise to cut out sweets and lose weight after the holidays, or exercise more, or read more or all the other things we promise ourselves we will do. It is another thing to fail to keep our devotion to the Lord as a primary focus in our lives.
This is Paul’s concern in our text today. Paul has been urging us to untangle ourselves from worldly affairs and become wholly devoted to the Lord’s kingdom. From Paul’s perspective it would be better for a person to remain single and give themselves totally to the Lord’s work. Because of this focus he even encourages Christians to refrain from marriage because it can become a distraction to our service to the Lord.
But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Now, Paul will affirm marriage and every Christians right to marry in next week’s text. It is not that marriage is wrong, but the fact that service to the Lord is right! Paul wants to see the kingdom of God grow in this world and this is only going to happen when individuals set aside their personal wants and desires to give themselves to the Lord’s work.
Years ago, missionaries captured this zeal for the Gospel ministry in the way Paul is addressing it in our text. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s a collection of missionaries known as “one-way” missionaries embarked on their journeys to the mission fields of Africa and other third-world countries. What set these missionaries apart is that they understood the dangers from unwelcoming and often hostile people groups and the dangers of diseases for which there were no vaccinations or cures. Knowing these dangers, these committed servants of the Lord packed their belongings in coffins which were shipped with them to the mission field. The purpose of this was to ensure they would have a coffin to be shipped home in when the work of the Lord ultimately cost them their earthly life.
These men and women removed every earthly entanglement from their lives and gave themselves wholly to the Lord’s work. This is what Paul desires our attitude to be like as we go forth as the people of God today.
It is important to remember that Paul is living with the assumption that the return of Jesus is imminent, and there is a world filled with people who will perish when He returns if they have not had the opportunity to know Him as Savior. This focus of his life enabled Paul to give all that he would or ever could be in service to Jesus.
While we need more missionaries like those “one-way” missionaries of the past, people who are 100% devoted to the Lord’s work, this is not the call of God on every person’s life. Jesus chose 12 apostles, and there were 70 others He sent out two-by-two. There are those who are sent and who give their whole lives in service to the Gospel ministry. But remember, there were thousands who followed Jesus, who heard His teachings and who were blessed by His miracles. These are people who returned to their homes, families, and jobs whom God used to touch the lives of those around them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We need missionaries for the foreign mission fields, but there are just as many people in our own community who do not know Jesus as there are in other places around the world. Those who calculate such things tell us that there is just over 155,000 people currently living in the Odessa area. There are approximately 160 churches in Odessa. If we estimate high, and say that every church has a membership of 500 members which is way beyond what is realistic, look at the numbers. 160 churches X 500 members each = 80,000 members. This would leave 75,000 unchurch people living in Odessa today. Adjust the numbers to a more realistic view, let’s say 150 members each and what do you get. 160 churches X 150 members each = 24,000. This leaves 126,000 unchurched individuals in our community.
We don’t need to leave our nations borders to find a mission field to serve! We don’t even have to leave our county. God has provided each of us the opportunity to interact with thousands of people who need Jesus right here at home. All we have to do is walk forth in boldness and love and make Him known.
May we all allow ourselves to be truly used by God to reveal His heart to the world around us.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
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