Popeye Theology

We had our first town hall to answer your questions about the proposed Constitution and By Laws change last Sunday afternoon.

It was good to see a number of you there and we had some good discussion.

The Deacons met after the Town Hall and adopted a few minor revisions.

There are copies on the revised document on the table in the vestibule along with a copy of the current Constitution and By-Laws as was requested.

We encourage you to pick up a copy of both - you can also get copies of those documents along with my opening remarks and the minutes of the meeting on our FBC Gray Facebook group.

If you aren’t on Facebook, drop Susan a line at [e-mail] or call her and she’ll be happy to get you copies.

Our next Town Hall is next Sunday at 5:00 in the chapel.

These Town Halls are your chance to have any questions you might have about the recommended Constitution and By-Laws answered.

I encourage you to come as do the Deacons.

We encourage you to pray.

We live in trying times and our goal is to follow Jesus to the very best of our ability.

That’s next Sunday at 5 pm in the Chapel - hope to see you there.

A long time ago in a land far, far away there was a television show called “Officer Don and the Popeye Club.

Officer Don was the host and his co-host was a Dragon puppet named Orville, if I remember correctly.

Our very own Danny Dubose was one of those children in the live audience one time.

Every show they played a game and my favorite was Oey-Gooey.

They would put brown paper lunch bags on a turn table.

All of them but one would be filled with all kinds of snack items and small trinkets.

But one of them - Officer Don would make a big production of putting things like flour, salt, sugar, and always chocolate sauce

To make the concoction he called Oey-Gooey.

He would get a couple of kids as contestants and then he’d spin the turn table around and around until one of the kids said stop.

And then the kid would slowly put his or her hand down into the bag.

If it was a goody bag - big smiles and congratulations.

But if they pulled their hands up with the concoction dripping from it - the entire studio audience would say “Oey-Gooey.

Of course the best part of the show to me were the Popeye Cartoons.

Popeye was the guy that always got into some sort of trouble that required him to fight his way out.

But he was kind of a small, scrawny fellow and he almost always got beat up first.

That is, until he ate his spinach.

When he ate his spinach, he did an incredible hulk kind of thing.

His biceps literally grew pictures of battleships firing their cannons.

He never lost after he ate his spinach.

Popeye had a saying that I picked up that really is very theological actually.

“I yam what I yam an’ that’s all I yam.”

In our text today, Paul says exactly the same thing - “But by the grace of God I am what I am.”

Two men, comfortable in their own skin

One because of Spinach.

One because of the grace of God.

Our text is 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.

As you look that up, let me remind our kids

You picked up a Kid’s Worship Guide on your way in.

As you color it, there are three words you’ll be listening to hear.

Now this doesn’t count - but I want you to know what they sound like so you’ll know when you hear them.

The first word is gospel - that’s the most important word you’ll ever learn.

The second word is resurrection - that’s what makes the gospel tick.

And the third word is grace - which is what makes the gospel so important to us.

So, gospel, resurrection and grace.

When you hear them, check the box beside the word.

After the service, I’ll be down front with Ms. Hannah’s treasure chest.

Show me your Kids’ Worship Guide where you’ve colored and made notes and checked the box.

And you’ll get a prize.

If you are our guest this morning, we are proud the Lord sent you our way.

We pray you’ll feel like you’ve found a home here.

And that you’ve truly worshipped when you leave this place.

So everyone, please join me now as we read from God’s word. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

1 Corinthians 15:1–11 ESV

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Paul is starting to land the plane here.

There is one last topic to address in the letter they sent to him - he’s got to deal with the resurrection of Jesus.

Like I said, the resurrection is what makes the gospel tick.

But a literal resurrection of a dead body was a problem - and it is still a problem

For a couple of reasons.

I’ve never been to a funeral where the guest of honor sits up in their casket and says “Hey.”

Don’t want to be - won’t be a good day.

But the second reason is more philosophical - and we - in the church - have kind of fallen victim to it too in a sense.

In Western culture, the body has always been viewed as either evil or as a limitation.

Lots of religions believe that when we die, we join the cosmic one.

Our spirits join with other spirits to enjoy nirvana - this heaven - forevermore.

We’ll all follow the bright light that some say they saw in their near death experience.

Most Christians will say that we are going to go to heaven when we die.

We envision ourselves as spirits who will live with God as spirit for all eternity.

But there is a giant problem there - Jesus didn’t resurrect as a spirit.

Jesus resurrected with a body - a perfected human body.

And one day, so will we.

And that’s a huge problem to someone who

Hates their body

That sees their body as evil

Who sees their body as a limitation.

So they started making arguments that Jesus didn’t really literally come back to life.

People were making those same arguments in liberal 20th century theology.

To address the problem, Paul takes them back to the most important thing we know - the gospel.

Kids -there’s word number 1 - the gospel.

Paul addresses 4 things in these 11 verses.

The effect of the gospel

The power of the gospel

The grace of the gospel and

The irony of the gospel.

So let’s talk about

The Effect of the Gospel

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”

There are four things that happens with the gospel in that sentence.

First the gospel gets preached.

Romans 10:17 ESV

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

We are dead in our sins.

Dead people can’t do anything and they certainly can’t hear.

But when Christ, through His word causes us to hear - faith will grow.

Hearing the gospel causes faith to grow.

Second, when faith grows, you receive the gospel.

Received means you learn it.

It takes hold in your heart and mind.

That which may have sounded like a fantasy before becomes real to you.

You see your sinfulness in the face of a holy God.

When that happens, then you stand on the gospel.

The verb stand is in a tense that means it happened in the past and will remain for all time.

In official Baptist language it’s called the perseverance of the saints.

This gospel of Jesus Christ - the good news that saves us and makes us new

That becomes our core - our heart - it will last for all time

So the gospel’s final effect is it saves us.

It changes our eternal destiny.

It changes our world view.

The gospel becomes the thing with which we measure our decisions.

By which we plan our days.

It’s is our benchmark for business and pleasure.

It becomes our comfort.

It becomes our Spinach - what does Paul say in Romans 8:31

Romans 8:31 ESV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

But then Paul drops a confusing IF here

“If you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain.”

The key there is the word vain

In the ancient world, that word vain meant slightly, moderately, probably.

It’s like Paul is saying, the gospel will change your life forever, unless you receive it half-heartedly.

In this case, Paul is leading up to answer this objection.

“All of this Jesus stuff is life changing - but you’ve got to admit, this resurrection stuff is hard to believe.”

I’m not so sure about that resurrection thing.

It is hard to believe - but if you receive it and stand on it and are saved by it

You can move mountains.

That’s the effect of the gospel.

Now, what is the

The Power of the Gospel

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”

I preached to you, I delivered to you, what is of first importance

I received it myself - I didn’t make this up and no one else made this up - we received this from God Himself through the Scriptures.

That Christ - notice the title

Jesus’ name isn’t Jesus Christ - it’s Jesus THE Christ - Jesus THE Messiah

Jesus - the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world

This Jesus died for our sins

Made blood atonement - in accordance with the Scriptures.

If you go looking through the Old Testament to find the exact verses Paul is basing this one, you won’t find it.

There is one place in Isaiah which is pretty specific about Jesus and another in Hosea that could refer to the resurrection.

That’s your second word kids - resurrection - that’s Jesus coming back to life after being crucified.

But Paul isn’t making a reference to specific scriptures.

He’s looking at the whole of the Old Testament.

He’s remembering Leviticus 17:11

Leviticus 17:11 ESV

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

He’s remembering Exodus 12:21-22

Exodus 12:21–22 ESV

Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.

Paul is remembering how the Father operates.

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.

Sin is a big deal.

Sin requires your life.

Sin ruins everyone it touches.

Sin’s goal is to kill everyone that sins - and all have sinned.

Every last one of us.

Sin’s goal is to destroy us.

So the Messiah died for our sins.

His body was buried in a tomb.

Jesus’ body laid on a cold stone slab Friday evening, all day Saturday until Sunday morning.

Then Jesus was resurrected - His dead body was raised - according to everything we know about God in the Old Testament.

Because of the power of the resurrection - the proof of the power the Lord has over sin, Malachi 4:2 has come true

Malachi 4:2 ESV

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

That’s the power of the gospel for each of us.

Healing of our wounded and dying souls.

Joy like a calf just released from it’s pen.

Unrestrained exuberance because of the power of the gospel to save us from being destroyed.

And that’s where we find

The Grace of the Gospel

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

Kids, that’s your third word - Grace.

Overused and misunderstood - it’s a miracle word.

If you are a Christ follower, there isn’t a single one of us that hasn’t felt like Paul.

See the word, unworthy - that’s an excellent translation - that’s exactly what it means.

Because of Paul’s sin - because he very literally opposed God’s salvation in God’s face - Paul felt unworthy.

Unworthy translated four words that, for me, really defines what unworthy feels like.

Who - not - to be -enough.

I am not enough.

I’m unworthy - because I know, that I am not enough.

We have to remember something here that is very important.

There are people in the church who are talking bad about Paul, remember.

And people sometimes say mean things when they talk bad about someone - they might even make fun.

When Paul was murdering Christians, his name was Saul.

But when he was saved, his name was changed - we say Paul - it was Paulus.

Paulus means little one.

By his own admission he wasn’t the greatest speaker.

We are almost certain he couldn’t half see,

And we know he was short.

Can you imagine what people said about him?

Have you ever heard someone’s name and wondered why would your mom and dad name you that?

Man, I bet you had a hard time.

I can hear them, “Little Paul - acts like he’s somebody - but look at him.”

And look what Paul does - he leans into that - because He knows.

I am not enough

But, by the grace of God - I am what I am.

Because God is good and the Father so wants to live among us

He so wants us to be in His joy and to enjoy the exuberance of His being

And to experience what He designed our lives to be from the very beginning

Because of the Lord’s desire for see us SEE HIM and love Him and enjoy Him forever

Paul understands that and says, “I am what I am.”

Everything that happened to you with the gospel, happened to me.

I made sure that people were murdered if they spoke Jesus.

Now I speak Jesus.

It’s who I am.

The resurrected Jesus showed Himself to me.

It changed me.

It saved me.

It wasn’t in vain.

Paul used a different word for vain here.

Before it meant to kind of half heartedly believe - remember.

The word here means, “I didn’t find the gospel, foolish or stupid or without purpose.”

No the gospel set me on fire.

I work harder than anyone - not to prove I’m better than anyone else.

Because, I am what I am.

I work harder because the Lord gave me a lot to do.

“[It is] the grace of God that is in me.”

One day, Paul will say to the Galatians, Galatians 2:20

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Some will always remember that I was a murderer.

Just like some will always remember you as a druggie.

Or an alcoholic

Or an unfaithful spouse, or a liar, or a bad dad, or a bad mom,

Or - golly - how many bad things right?

But when Jesus was crucified - I was in Jesus heart

I was crucified with him.

The murderer died

And he was raised a new creation with a new life.

A life powered by a God who is so good, that He would take a man who knew that he was not enough.

And he made him enough by washing him in the blood of Jesus Christ.

The wrath of God will pass over me and the mercy of God - it will make me dance like a calf released from its stall.

You think I bounce around up here now - you just wait.

And that’s where we find

The Irony of the Gospel

1 Corinthians 15:11 “Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”

Do you remember the very beginning of our study of 1 Corinthians?

1 Corinthians 1:11-12 “For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.””

The irony of it all, Paul says, is whether it was from me you heard the gospel

Or if Apollos preached it better, or Peter, or Jesus himself.

It doesn’t matter who told you - the message is always the same.

We preached Jesus, Him crucified and resurrected and it changed your lives.

Oh the irony, Paul says.

You’re arguing over the messenger.

But it’s the same message.

Repent and be saved.

The message hasn’t changed since the beginning of time.

Acts 3:19-20 “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord...