John K. Jenkins Sr - The Benefits of Being Single

There 's a twofold purpose in this message today. First and foremost, I want to challenge, motivate, and encourage singles. For the last few weeks , I've been discussing marriage and divorce , focusing on married people . I thought I would spend some time talking to single individuals instead. There are a few models of singleness in the scriptures: Hagar was not only single; she was a single parent. Naomi was married, but when her husband died, she remained single for the rest of her life. The Apostle Paul , who wrote most of the New Testament , was single, and the greatest role model of all, Jesus , chose not to get married . I want to challenge and encourage singles in their singleness . Additionally, I aim to sensitize the church to the unique blessings of being single . It's not as bad for single folks as you might think.

I also want to challenge our church and married individuals. I urge those who are married and part of the church not to look down on or speak negatively to singles. There 's an unspoken air and attitude in our culture and community regarding marriage. Sometimes, people say to unmarried women , "Child, you ain't married by now?" There's an expectation that women should marry by a certain age . We often remind them that their biological clock is ticking. We make statements, and sometimes thoughts even cross our minds that imply you're not complete or whole unless you are married. We ask questions like, "When are you going to get married? Haven 't you found the right person yet?"

However, people are single for many reasons. First of all, some individuals have never been married , so they are single. There are others who are widowed. They have been married but have lost their spouse and therefore find themselves single. Then we have individuals who are divorced , whose spouses have remarried. So if you are divorced and your spouse has remarried, you are single. I need the rest of that for y'all to figure out, as I've been discussing it for the past several weeks . If you weren't here , you need to get the tapes.

We ought to spend a few moments on this topic because oftentimes, people view singleness in a negative light. It's important to set the record straight for everyone to understand that it is not the will of God for everyone to be married. Yes, it's going to be a long service here today, I can tell. It is not God 's intention for every person to get married. We might as well come to grips with that reality; it's the truth. Not everybody is going to get married. Pastor Jacob, how can you say that with such confidence and boldness? Here 's why I can say it: The statistics alone tell us that not everyone is going to get married because for every one man, there are eight women in our community. That statistic alone indicates that with eight women for every one man, I know I'm not telling the ladies anything they don't already know -there's slim pickings.

There are already a few men available, and the situation is further complicated by the large number of men who are either in jail or uncertain about their gender identity. With that in mind , it is not the will of God for everyone to get married. How should you approach your singleness ? Well, Paul offers two simple points . Can you all stay awake for these two points ? Here 's what he says in verse seven : "For I wish that all men were even as myself ," but " each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that."

Listen to what he says: Paul the Apostle, the writer of most of the New Testament, who is single himself, writes to the church in Corinth and says, in essence, " I wish that everybody was like me in this mode of singleness." The first thing he mentions about singleness is that it is a gift. It is a gift! Somebody say, "It's a gift!" The problem is that we have not treated singleness as a gift ; we have treated it like it's a burden, a pain , or a problem , as if there's something wrong with people who are single. However, according to Paul, that's not how you should approach singleness. You ought to see it from the perspective that it is a gift that comes from God. God has given you the gift of singleness.

Now, it's interesting to me that he uses the Greek word "charisma," which means " gift." It refers to a spiritual endowment; it signifies a gratuity or a tip. It's like a tip you give at a restaurant when you receive good service to show your gratitude . Paul conveys that when God gave you the gift of singleness , it was like a tip from Him. He says, "I'm going to give you something extra. I'm not going to charge you anything for it; I'm going to give you a gratuity. I'm going to tip you!"