Keep the Stadium Clean
Notes
Transcript
Keep the Stadium Clean
Keep the Stadium Clean
If the Bible is God’s word, then what in the world is the Father teaching us?
We started 1st Corinthians on October 9th - almost a year ago.
This is the 34th and final message from 1st Corinthians, so it is a very fair question to ask:
What has the Father taught us?
Not me or Austin, but the Father?
It’s His Word, it’s His message, that’s what we declare in our guiding documents.
We’re a local church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
Our current by-laws say we are in “general agreement” with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
Our proposed by-laws say we “affirm” the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
And the very first article of the Baptist Faith and Message is titled The Scriptures, and it reads:
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
I don’t generally agree with that statement, I affirm it.
There is no other source under heaven for me to know the nature and requirements of the Christian faith other than the Holy Bible.
So that said, what did the Father teach us through Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church that we find in the Holy Bible?
He taught us to keep the stadium clean.
Have you ever been to a ball game?
You enter the stadium and everything is clean.
Where you walk, where you sit - it’s all clean and inviting.
But after the game - I’m never one to really rush out.
Rushing out typically puts me in the middle of a crowd so I end up waiting anyway
You just end up waiting in a much more miserable environment.
So I hang around - and I look around.
And there is trash everywhere.
Spilled popcorn, peanut shells, half eaten Burgerizzas half hanging out the box.
Spilled soft drinks, spilled beer.
What was clean and inviting is now mostly repulsive.
If it looked that bad when we come in, we’d never come back again.
So as soon as we start leaving the stadium, the cleaning crew comes out.
They know if they want people to come back - they have to keep the stadium clean.
Our Father has taught us that this room is our stadium only we aren’t spectators.
We are what makes the stadium the stadium - we are the church.
Paul is not talking about the church universal - but the church located at 134 West Clinton Street who call themselves the 1st Baptist Church of Gray.
We are a body of Christ followers called to protect and proclaim the gospel.
As Paul closes out this letter, he answers eight questions that we should have learned the answers to from his letter to Corinth.
Our text today is 1 Corinthians 16:12-24.
While you look that up, children, on your Kids Guide, there are three words you are listening for me to say.
The first word is watchful.
The second word is stand.
And the third word is strong.
Watchful, stand and strong.
You guys have been doing an excellent job each week and I am so proud of the way you are listening and coloring.
And I know that the word of God that you are hearing will do what the Lord intends for it to do one day.
And if you are our guest this morning, we preach the word and teach the word so it will do what the Lord intends.
He obviously intended for you to be here today and we thank Him for you.
Our prayer is that when you leave, you’ll be singing Jesus in your heart and remembering His word all week long.
Thank you very much for following the Lord here today.
Now, let’s hear the word of the Lord from 1 Corinthians 16:12-24
Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Let all that you do be done in love.
Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints—
be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.
I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence,
for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people.
The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.
All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.
If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Question 1: Am I helping or am I hurting?
1 Corinthians 16:12 “Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.”
The very first thing Paul addresses in this letter is their church fight.
And they are fighting over personalities: 1 Corinthians 1:12 “What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos...”
We can pretty much figure out what is going on here.
The Apollos faction is saying they need to hear from Apollos.
And Apollos says “I’m not playing.”
Paul knows they are preaching the same message so he “strongly urges” Apollos to go - but listen:
“It was not at all his will to come.”
It wasn’t that he just didn’t want to go - “It was not AT ALL his will to come.”
Do you hear what I hear?
Apollos’ actions speak loudly here.
I don’t need to get involved in this - they know the truth.
In fact, it would hurt if I showed up - because it would still be Paul and Apollos.
I’m not playing - they know the gospel - they need to do the gospel.
We are in a very contentious age - everyone is fighting - and sometimes we are required to fight.
But sometimes we aren’t - and it is a wise person who can ask, “Am I helping or am I hurting,” and act accordingly.
Question 2: Am I Paying Attention?
Paul says in verse 13, “Be watchful...”
There is your first word kids, watchful.
You and your parents need to be watchful.
We need to ask questions.
We need to listen to what people are truly saying.
When the Young at Heart went to Charleston a few weeks back, there was a protest between our hotel and the hotel directly behind us.
It was in an obscure little spot - not a lot of traffic there nor a lot of public exposure.
But the news was there - and so was about 75 protesters.
The sign that caught my eye was “Ban Bigots not Books.”
Great slogan - very emotionally charged - but what in the world does it mean?
You have to be watchful to figure it out.
Andy Stanley is in the news again.
His church is hosted a conference that sounds like a great idea - it’s for parents and grandparents of children who choose to live an alternate lifestyle.
It’s called the “Unconditional Conference” and it is going to approach “this topic from a quieter middle space.”
That sounds pleasant, doesn’t it?
In a world of screaming talking heads, a “quieter middle space” sounds alluring, even refreshing.
But what in the world does it mean?
We have to be watchful to figure that out.
We hear all of these words and we react - but do we have a clue what people are saying?
Are we being watchful?
This word is a command - it means to be on the alert and not asleep.
One of the reformers said it means “to keep continual watch lest Satan should come on them while they are secure and drunk with worldly cares.”
C.S. Lewis has Screwtape tell Wormwood, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,”
I’d love to read the entire letter - it’s letter 12 - because Screwtape describes where we are to a “T.”
From work to ball parks to mindlessly scrolling social media -
Have you done this - I have - you have a minute so you open Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever and you look at a few things.
But when you look up, 20 minutes have passed by - 20 minutes of our lives that we will never get back
Wasted doing something we really didn’t enjoy.
We aren’t being watchful and there is an abundance of gentle slopes all around us that demand we ask:
Question 3: What do I stand for?
“Stand firm in the faith.”
That’s word number 2 kids - stand.
If we’ve learned nothing from 1st Corinthians, we have to have learned this:
Everything - every thing must be measured by the gospel because that is what we stand on.
Banning books.
Banning bigots.
Unconditional conferences.
Everything must be measured against the birth, death, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and the implications all of that brings to life.
Every class.
Every relationship.
Every politician.
Every resolution.
Every. single. thing.
1 Corinthians 15:3 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,”
This is first importance.
How we think, how we feel, what those around us think - they don’t matter, they can’t matter if what they bring is contrary to what is of first importance according to the Scriptures.
I know it gives you a knot in your gut - it does me - but I have to ask myself:
Question 4: Am I acting like a man?
“Act like men,” Paul says.
I know I’m supposed to tone this down because women can be courageous and yada, yada, yada.
But no - gentlemen - Act like men.
It’s time to show courage.
It’s time to show resolve.
You know the truth.
It’s time to stand on the truth.
Man up.
Let weak people talk of toxic masculinity.
You - me - us - act like men.
Base your life on the gospel.
Lead your family.
Be a rock at your job.
Stand for what is right.
No matter how hard.
No matter the opposition.
Be a man of courage, conviction and resolve - our families are counting on us.
But that leads us to ask:
Question 5: Where do I find that kind of strength?
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Children, there is word number 3 - strong
Be strong.
Be strong and courageous.
Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
You heard that, right?
Were you awake? Not distracted?
“Be strong and courageous.
“Do not be frightened.
“Do not be dismayed
“For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Paul is not telling you to be strong by simply gutting it out and being strong.
He’s telling us to listen to scripture.
When Joshua was suddenly called on to lead a nation into battle - something we are being called on to do right now.
We are being called into battle against the very forces of darkness that are seeking to devour our families.
That’s preacher hyperbole, right?
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
That’s not hyperbole.
It’s gospel.
Question 6: Am I fighting the good fight in the right way?
As one commentator said, “it is not only necessary to watch and stand firm in the face of trouble, but it is important to watch and stand firm in the right way.”
Paul says: 1 Corinthians 16:14 “Let all that you do be done in love.”
Now - hear Paul and not the world.
He’s not telling you to seek a “quieter middle ground.”
He’s telling you to remember 1 Corinthians 13 and remember it was written to church people telling them how to love other church people.
That’s going to be hard for us to unlearn - we’ve made that about a man and a woman and romantic love and that’s not the primary target.
The primary target is to inform church members how to love one another.
Remember, we are keeping the stadium clean.
You can clean the stadium by blowing it up and building a new one.
Or, you can put in the work - get out the brooms and dust pans and trash cans and start sweeping.
Re-read 1 Corinthians 13 when you get home.
Listen to how to fight the good fight in this house - do it the right way.
Question 7: Am I being a good example?
1 Corinthians 16:15 “Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints—”
Stephanas was a good example.
So was Fortunatus and Archaicus.
In 1 Corinthians 4:16 “I urge you, then, be imitators of me.”
In 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
Brothers and sisters, imitate Christ so well that others will imitate you.
Be a good example to your family - your friends - be someone they can imitate.
Be a good example to your kids.
Give your children someone to look up to rather than an athlete or entertainer.
Let’s show them how to be strong in the face of adversity so they will know how.
So they can stand strong too.
So they will be proud of the sacrifices we made for them
So they will in turn make sacrifices for their families.
And finally:
Question 8: Am I looking for the right thing?
1 Corinthians 16:22 “If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!”
Have you ever heard the word “anathema?”
That’s the word accursed.
Sounds harsh.
Sounds mean.
It’s not inclusive.
Because it’s not meant to be inclusive.
Jesus is very exclusive.
Either you are for Jesus or you are not.
Either you follow Jesus or you do not.
There is no quiet middle - I know it for a fact - I tried living it for years.
Either you are and you are blessed.
Or you are not and you are accursed.
And it is just like gravity - it doesn’t matter if you like it or not.
The gospel is there.
It is powerful.
It will either lift you up
Or you will be broken on it.
There is no quiet middle.
What is the correct answer to, “Am I looking for the right thing?”
The correct answer is, “I am looking for Jesus.”
This entire letter is one long document saying, “quit looking at distractions - look for Jesus.”
Quit looking for acceptance from a world that hates you.
Quit looking for pleasures that only degrade you and bring you down.
Quit looking for relationships that destroy your soul.
Quit looking to be something you aren’t.
Quit only looking out for number one.”
Quit looking to be the smartest man in the room.
Look for Jesus.
Everywhere you go.
In everything you do.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
For some of us, it’s been a long time since we’ve felt close to Jesus.
Now I ask you, how hard have you been looking for Him?
Not to find what you want to find - but to find Him?
We all seem to want what we want - but Paul’s answer to our wants is very simple:
Follow Jesus Regardless.
Regardless of anything and everything, Follow Jesus.
There is no other way to live in order to live.
Follow Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray: