1 Corinthians 7 V.

17-24, 29-35
My journey towards Ashley It has been said, Man is incomplete until he marries. After that, he is finished. Unfortunately, this attitude is not only pervasive in culture; it is prevalent in the church. Many will impatiently rush toward marriage assuming all is lost if single past the age of 22 and once married, talk about marriage as if it were medieval torture. All of this stems from what happened before the marriage even began! Looking back at the girlfriends and the dates, and the time and energy I spent on romantic relationships, I realize how meaningful and unwise it was, and I wish I could do it all again. Running across monkey bars Some things arent necessarily sinful but are certainly unwise! So what is wise 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

and what God has given you now you wont be content in marriage. So serve him now, and live a victorious single life. 1 Cor. 7:29-35

2 You are obeying what God has commanded

(Gen 2:16-17) - God gives the command Read Joshua 7:13. Why should you deal with your junk before getting married? Ashleys cousin living with her boyfriend If you arent pure sexually now, what makes you think youll be pure when youre married? We cant fool around with porn on the internet or mess around with our boyfriend or girlfriend or choose to live with someone before marriage and be obeying Gods commands. If you want to get married some day begin living like it and obeying what God says. and what he says is this Ephesians 5:3 Not even a hint Despite all of our junk and sin we have had in our life, God sent Jesus into the world to die for that sin. Because of his death and resurrection, when we place our life in his hands all that old junk is dead, and we can live a new life and begin following him to prepare for an amazing marriage. So rather than ask is this person right for me, ask , Am I right for this person? The only way you can answer yes to that is if you are living in obedience with God.

Dont Get Married Until (not facebook married)

1 You are serving where God has placed you

(Gen 2:15) The first thing Adam was doing The first step you have to take is to understand your spiritual identity before dating Jesus designed marriage. Jesus says that marriage is a big deal. Hebrews 13:4 says, Marriage should be honored by all. You honoring your marriage starts right now. Have you ever thought about that? What you do today has huge implications for your future marriage and relationship with your spouse. Whether single or married, our relationships will be better when we are totally focused on Jesus. I love seeing young people fall in love and get married. I want you to get married, but I dont want you to get married, I dont want you to even date until you hear from God. Its second most important decision youll ever make. First What are going to do with Jesus. Second, who are you going to spend your life with here on earth? So in the meantime you only need to be worried about that first question, Who is Jesus and what are you going to do with him? If you arent content with Jesus alone

3 You are waiting on God (Gen 2:21)

Be patient, and with his eyes always be looking to the future. You can have $5 now or you can wait and be given $1000 Our culture has a serious misunderstanding of what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman. If we look carefully, we will see that many of those false ideas have crept into the church. It is vital that men and women understand biblical manhood and spiritual leadership so that we set ourselves up for success in our potential marriage GUYS Do you have a clear vision for marriage? Are you able to make a living and handle your finances responsibly? Are you at a place in your relationship with Christ that you could be a spiritual leader to your wife and family? Biblical manhood starts with a man owning his decision to follow Jesus. A real man will not force sin upon a woman, he isnt ashamed to talk about Jesus, he has integrity, and he is relentless in his obedience to Christ.

Does that describe you? If not, what is keeping you from stepping up? a womans price is far above rubies. They are valuable. Are you treating the women in your life as precious or are you taking them for granted? Why would God give you one of his daughters? GIRLS Are you seeking a guy more than you are seeking God? Are you striving to be perfect or are you striving to be godly? Are you compromising anything to be in a relationship or in desiring a relationship? Is the relationship or person you are seeking the kind of love God meant when He created Adam and Eve, the kind between two people that truly reflects His love for us (the 1 Corinthians 13 kind), or are you settling for less than Gods immeasurably more than anything you can ask or imagine? Seeking a marriage relationship should come from conviction not compromise. If we are waiting on God to lead us we wont compromise, we will wait until we know God is calling us to take the next step. As you wait on God, How are you specifically praying for Gods involvement in your selection of a mate? What are you using to build your future marriage right now? Are you working hard to build a foundation for marriage on rock or is more like shifting sand.

- Is this relationship robbing Jesus of my affection or attention? Is anything robbing Jesus of my affection and attention? So Be the person that God has called you to be for Him right now. Work on areas where your relationship with Christ is lacking. Set biblical standards for dating and relationships and dont compromise them. Get rid of unhealthy relationships. Seek guidance on decisions from godly Christians who have been through it already. Make Jesus the most important thing in every relationship .

4 You Make it all about Jesus

Look around and you see two basic views of relationships.. 1 You are waiting for a divinely appointed soulmate to complete you. 2 You are looking for a short-term fling to complete yourself. Even among Christian teens those are two ideas that you see all the time. While they seem totally different, the attitude is exactly the same. We are in relationships to make ourselves happy. Marriage isnt just about God giving you someone that makes you happy. The Bible makes it clear that a wife voluntarily submits to her husband and that he voluntarily gives up his desires for his wives. That doesnt exactly sound like seeking your own happiness. What it is about though is making Jesus proud. So start modeling that now in all of your relationships. Begin now to make it all about Jesus, dont just seek your own good. So what are some questions to evaluate how you are doing here - Do I influence the person Im dating to be more like Jesus by my behavior? - Am I focusing more on what I can get out of them or what I can do for them? - Is my presence in their life right now distracting them from who God?