Agendas

I’ve confessed to you before that when I started Pastoring churches, I was about as naive as Gomer Pyle.

For those who don’t know Gomer, google is an excellent resource or maybe TVLand.

I believed that if it was in the Bible and you brought it to the church, well, the people of the church would be all for it.

And it came as a great surprise to me when they didn’t.

I know - sounds kind of silly now, but it wasn’t silly then.

There were lots of tears shed - my tears - because I wasn’t prepared for that.

There was a gentleman at one church who truly had the gift of evangelism.

I honestly believe if he had witnessed to a door post, it would have walked the aisle.

He could witness to anybody.

He was bold - he didn’t care if he offended anyone or not.

If you struck up a conversation with him, he’d be talking about Jesus before you could blink.

However, he believed that everyone should be just like him

And he made people miserable - me included.

I don’t have that gift.

I don’t witness to every clerk at every grocery store.

But this guy was relentless.

He had an agenda for the church and he made the church miserable.

At another church, I had a deacon who was large and in charge.

When he spoke, everyone listened - and obeyed.

Again, I’m thinking if it’s Bible we do it and since he didn’t write the Bible, well, there were issues.

After I left the church, a friend called and told us that deacon’s wife said:

“Now that he’s gone, we’ll call the deacon Sam, Sam can run this church like it ought to be run.”

Sam had an agenda for the church.

That’s what Paul is talking about for the church at Corinth - Agendas.

We’ve been in 1 Corinthians for a while now and I’m certain you’ve picked up on the fact that there were folks in that church that had their own agendas.

The more you read in 1 Corinthians the more you have to wonder, did any of these people ever think about Jesus?

It seems like they all thought about what they wanted, what they needed.

Everything from wanting to party with the heathen to - what chapter 14 is about - speaking in tongues.

Open you Bibles with me to 1 Corinthians 14:1-19.

Remember from last week, the last sentence of chapter 13 read: 1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

And we said the reason love is the greatest is because love never fails.

There will come a time when we no longer need faith - we’ll see Jesus face to face.

There will come a time when we will no longer hope - you don’t hope for that which you have.

But there will never come a time, ever, when we won’t love and be loved.

“God is love,” right?

When we leave this earth under whatever circumstance

And we are with Jesus, we are going to know love like we have never known love before.

There is nothing in our existence more beneficial, important, necessary, essential - than love.

So listen to how Paul starts chapter 14.

He ends chapter 13 by saying, “…but the greatest of these is love.”

Hear now the Word of the Lord from 1 Corinthians 14:1-19

1 Corinthians 14:1–19 ESV

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Here’s the main question we are trying to answer this morning,

What is your agenda for the church?

What do you want to see it become - what do you want to see when you are here?

What is your desire for this church?

Not the church universal

Not some nebulous concept of “the church.”

What is your desire - when you come here every Sunday morning for worship - what is your desire for this church?

What is YOUR agenda?

And more importantly, what is the RIGHT agenda?

Let’s take my evangelist guy - what was his agenda?

He thought that since he witnessed to everyone he met, then everyone should witness to everyone they met.

That - if you were a good Christian, like he considered himself to be, you would be doing what he was doing, if you were a good Christian.

That’s a common problem in the church.

Since I go to Wednesday in the Word and I’m a good Christian, well, if you are a good Christian you’ll be at Wednesday in the Word too.

Everybody knows good Christians teach a Sunday School class.

Everybody knows that good Christian women are a member of the WMU.

Everybody knows that - because that’s what I do.

And what’s hiding underneath that is a very simple insecurity - maybe even a very weak faith.

I need to know that I am spiritual.

I need to know that I am right - so this is what I do and that is how I know I am right.

That’s what’s happening in Corinth.

These folks were coming to worship and as soon as they got started, they all busted out speaking in tongues.

And their worship services were chaos.

Because they’ve all got to prove that “I am a good Christian.”

Look at me, “I am a good Christian.”

In case you aren’t familiar with the term, let’s talk about speaking in tongues real quick.

Some of you come from a Pentecostal background, so you are a step ahead of the rest of us.

This will win you trivia night one night - the technical term for speaking in tongues is glossolalia.

Good people have argued over what this means forever.

Some say it is the ability to spontaneously speak in foreign languages like they did at Pentecost.

Some people call it prayer language because Paul talks about praying in tongues in what we just read.

Some people call it angel language - remember, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels...”

For whatever it is, it is a type of ecstatic utterance that even you don’t even understand what you are saying when you say it.

Now, this is my opinion - my opinion - ok?

I believe many of us have spoken in tongues and didn’t know that’s what we were doing.

Have you ever been so distraught, your heart is so burdened, that you didn’t have words?

So you groaned as you prayed?

Maybe not, but I have.

My heart hurt so badly I had nothing to say to God except to groan.

My mind had no idea what it was communicating other than the fact that I needed God to hear me and to do something.

I was kind of embarrassed by it - like I should have had more faith to be able to express my heart to God.

Then one day, I read Romans 8:26

Romans 8:26 ESV

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

I believe that when I laid there brokenhearted before God, absolutely speechless, the only thing coming from my body were deep groans.

“Groanings too deep for words.”

I believe it was Spirit language.

I know God heard me.

And I believe God knew exactly what I was saying.

My opinion - I could be wrong but I don’t think so.

There are good brothers and sisters that say spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues were 1st century gifts.

And since it’s well past the first century, those gifts have ceased.

I don’t see anything in scripture that would support that but they say they do.

I believe God sometimes gifts people with utterances that they don’t understand.

And that’s not a problem.

It only becomes a problem when those who have the gift use it irresponsibly

And when they think if you are a good Christian, everybody will speak in tongues too.

There are denominations that believe that today

And that’s where some of the Corinthians were.

They had an agenda but their agenda was hurting their church.

What is your agenda?

We all have one - we all have something in mind when we come to church.

What is your desire - what do you want to see - for this church?

Paul tells us what is the right agenda.

1 Corinthians 14:1 “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”

Pursue love

Pursue means to do something with intense effort and with a definite purpose or goal.

Many of you know what this is first hand because you are married and someone pursued someone.

Some of you are in pursuit right this minute.

You are dating with intense effort with a definite purpose or goal in mind.

Paul tells us pursue love in the church.

You remember love - from chapter 13.

Pursue relationships with other church members that will lead you to Romans 12:15-16

Romans 12:15–16 ESV

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

Pursue friendships - deep, abiding friendships.

Now for you introverts, that’s not your love language.

But it really is - it’s OK if you don’t want to shake hands with everyone in here every Sunday.

But it’s not OK to never meet anyone - or never build a relationship with another Christian.

How can you Galatians 6:2

Galatians 6:2 ESV

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

If you don’t have another person to share your burden with

Or have them share their burden with you.

Pursue love - quit focusing on your agenda and start focusing on others.

Listen to your brothers and sisters around you.

Hear what they are going through.

A young man in our congregation lost his dad a couple of weeks ago - if you know him, hurt for him.

Pray for him.

A sister had complications from a previous surgery this week.

If you know her, pray for her - and maybe feed her husband.

Our school teachers got bashed on Facebook the other week.

Meet a Christian school teacher - get to know him or her.

Fall in love with a teacher and speak love into them.

When we pursue love like that - our agenda changes.

What we want changes.

1 Corinthians 14:1 “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”

Paul says the most important thing is to pursue love

Then earnestly - be deeply committed to growing in the spirit and let your heart burn to experience God’s spiritual gifts.

Hunger and thirst.

Want to see God work in your life, want to see God work in the life of this church

But most of all Paul says, pray that the Lord gifts you to prophesy.

Pray that the Lord gifts you the ability to speak Jesus to the people in this place.

Paul says that if you speak in tongues, no one gets anything out of it but you

But if you speak Jesus

1 Corinthians 14:3 “On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.”

The one who speaks Jesus to someone else in the body

And by speaking Jesus, I mean you share what Jesus has done for you, or you share what scripture says about Jesus to someone who needs to hear it

Or even you share the truth of God’s word to a brother or sister in this body who needs and wants correction.

When you speak Jesus to people in this body three things happen.

Upbuilding

Up building is a compound word that literally means to build a house.

Brothers and sisters, when you speak Jesus in this place to another brother or sister, you are literally building this place up.

You are building them up.

You are building yourself up

And you are literally building this church - not the church universal - not some nebulous concept of “the church”

But the church, our church, this church that we name when we tell someone we go to church.

When we speak Jesus in this place we are preparing this place for a move of the Holy Spirit.

People say all the time, “Pray for revival.”

I’m good with that - but when you quit praying, start speaking Jesus.

Prepare THIS church to see Jesus work.

The second thing that happens when we speak Jesus in this body is

Encouragement

This word has the same root word as the word for the Holy Spirit.

It means to come alongside - to hold someone up.

I have had the privilege more than once of walking alongside someone who was as low as they could get

I would tell them how the Lord works in my life and what the Lord has done for me, and what the scriptures say about the Lord.

I would tell them how much Jesus loves them and how much He gave because they are so precious in their Father’s sight.

I came alongside them with Jesus - and time after time they would make it through their storm.

And they would praise Jesus because they saw that He really did make a way for them when they thought they couldn’t go another step.

I bet you many of you have done the same thing too.

I suspect you know the absolute joy of watching someone the Lord sent to you

Get better, get stronger

Get happier and more content

Because you spoke Jesus into them.

Listen, that’s better than any other agenda you could have for this body.

There is power in the name of Jesus.

It builds this place up.

It encourages the body.

And it gives

Consolation

If we are pursing love in this body, when someone stumbles and falls, we will want to console them.

I know every one of us in here has disappointed ourselves at some point in our Christian life, right?

I know I have and since all have sinned - I kind of have the suspicion that you are included in the all.

When you fell, when you sinned, when you disappointed yourself, what did you need?

You needed consolation.

You needed someone to console you.

Sometimes you need someone to show you why you are wrong.

“Jesus said this, and you did that - what did you think was going to happen?”

“Do you want the good news?

“Jesus got you where you are so He could get you home.”

When we are pursuing love, that’s what’s going to happen.

We won’t eat our own.

We won’t condemn - we’ll come along side.

We’ll point our brothers and sisters back to Jesus and Jesus will work His magic on our hearts.

1 John 1:9 ESV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

That doesn’t just mean when we get saved - that means every single time we forget Jesus and follow our own hearts.

When we pursue love and speak Jesus in this place, we build this place up, we encourage one another, we console one another and we prepare this body to see Jesus work like never before.

1 Corinthians 14:12 “So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”

This literally says, “Since you are so eager for the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”

I’m telling you folks, we can make all of the plans in the world.

We can work to make this place look like us as hard as we can.

But until we pursue love and speak Jesus TO EACH OTHER

The Spirit isn’t going to move.

But let me say this about that.

I believe we are beginning to see the Spirit move in this place.

I believe many of you are seeing it too.

You know why, right?

We speak Jesus here.

From this pulpit, from this choir loft, in our class rooms, in our home groups

At camp, at fellowships

Whenever we are together - we speak Jesus and for good reason

Acts 4:12 ESV

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Pursue love, speak Jesus, and let’s watch and see what the Spirit does in this place.

What is your agenda?

Pursue love and speak Jesus.

Let us pray.