Worship Shouldn't Be Confusing
Lessons From 1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
Theme: Lessons From 1 Corinthians
Hope: To draw closer to God through a closer understanding of how God wants, expects, and desires to be worship.
Tonight, we will be getting back to our normal theme of “Lessons From 1 Corinthians” by picking up where we left off in in our study of 1 Corinthians 14:1-25.
There we discussed what it means to “Worship With The Understanding.”
That worship shouldn’t be an enigma but led with simple clarification in mind.
In our lesson for this evening we will be looking at 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 wherein Paul makes clear that “Worship Shouldn’t Be Confusing.”
That worship should be conducted decently & in order.
Let’s begin by examining…
The Original Intent
The Original Intent
The Context.
The Context.
As we have notice since the twelfth chapter Paul’s focus is on the proper biblical usage of the miraculous gifts that had been given by the laying on of hands of the apostles (Acts 8:18; Romans 1:11).
And when it came to worship and the use of miraculous gifts in worship, God’s standard had not changed.
The key passage in this section is 1 Corinthians 14:33 wherein we find…
1 Corinthians 14:33 (ESV)
33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace…
1 Corinthians 14:33 (NKJV)
33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace…
This word for confusion in the Greek means, “group instability, tumult, unruliness.”
We find it translated in other places as…
Luke 21:9 (ESV)
9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.
2 Corinthians 6:4–5 (ESV)
4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger
James 3:16 (ESV)
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
Now this is important because God is not a God who seeks instability and unruliness in his worship.
The church in Corinth never-the-less found itself creating such with people preaching in tongues but with no interpreter and one prophesying over another prophesying, thus creating chaos instead of harmony (1 Corinthians 14:1-25).
This is why Paul then writes to the church how to please God in their worship “with miraculous gifts” through having a stable and harmonious worship.
1 Corinthians 14:26–28 (ESV)
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.
1 Corinthians 14:29–32 (ESV)
29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.
Summary
Summary
From our text and with this in mind, that God is not a God of confusion or instability and unruliness, but stability or order, we can learn how to better worship God when we come together like we have today.
And in our text we find the expected structure of worship that will keep it stable and orderly in 1 Corinthians 14:26 and 1 Corinthians 14:40.
Our God is “not the God of confusion” no he is…
The God Of Peace
The God Of Peace
Peaceful Worship To Build Up.
Peaceful Worship To Build Up.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:26…
1 Corinthians 14:26 (ESV)
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
This truth goes to the heart of worship.
If our worship is designed with the focus of building up through glorifying, praising, and honoring God there is no avenue wherein “man can mess that up.”
By that I mean, if our focus is on what God wants in worship we will never be disappointed, let down, or disheartened during worship because proper biblical worship always builds up and leads to peace in the church.
It is when we turn first inward to our own self desires and then secondly outward to God that we find ourselves causing chaos in worship instead of harmony.
Paul illustrates this reality in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.
1 Corinthians 14:34–35 (ESV)
34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
There were certainly “woman prophets” during this time of miracles during both the old testament era and new.
Exodus 15:20 (ESV)
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron…
Acts 2:17 (ESV)
17 And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams
Acts 21:9 (ESV)
9 He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.
However, God has from the beginning established man’s authority over women (1 Corinthians 11:3) and due to this women were not to lead and thus usurp man’s authority anywhere including worship (1 Timothy 2:8-15).
Why, because this will cause “instability and unruliness” in the worship and you and I have seen far too many local congregations fall apart when they seek after such things.
Peaceful worship that seeks to build up brethren doesn’t seek to disrupt the worship of God with selfish desires, but seeks to honor God with his expectations of worship.
In other words God’s desire for worship that is done decently and in order.
Therefore…
Peaceful Worship Is Done Decently.
Peaceful Worship Is Done Decently.
This word “decently” means, “characterized by proper manners and conduct.”
In other words our worship is to be done with honor and respect.
God does not want to be worshiped through actions only by giving lip service.
Matthew 15:8–9 (ESV)
8 This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
God wants our heart to lead our words and actions in our worship of him.
Jeremiah 31:33 (ESV)
33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Matthew 22:37 (ESV)
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.
To worship God in spirit and truth our worship must be done decently.
Our heart loves the Lord our God with our all and our worship follows suit which means…
Peaceful Worship Is Done Orderly.
Peaceful Worship Is Done Orderly.
The Greek word for “orderly” means, “order, proper procedure”
In other words, our worship that comes from the heart must follow the biblical or proper procedure for worship.
In God’s word we find, what has commonly been called, the “five acts of worship.”
We worship God through prayer.
Luke 2:37 (ESV)
37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
We worship God through singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
We worship God through preaching.
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
We worship God through giving back from that which we have prospered.
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
We worship God through partaking in the Memorial Feast.
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Worship that is desired by God and delivers peace is worship from the heart that is done through proper procedure.
Summary
Summary
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Conclusion
Conclusion
v
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 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, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
