Coming Together For The Better (2)

Psalm 127

This past Wed. night we were studying in the latter part of 1 Corinthians 11.........

Paul was writing to this church in Corinth, to correct some ways and thoughts that had corrupted the church. There was divisions among them, divisions that had nothing to do with Christ, they were taking each other to court, they were divided over which speaker they wanted, etc,, etc!

There was a specific thing they were doing and that was when they come together, they ate their meal and afterwards would or was supposed to “brake bread”, which means to partake of the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus declared that as often as you come together, do this in remembrance of Him! The early church did that every day, but when this church came together........the rich was eating all the food and there was no left for the poor and there was some getting drunk.......

By the time they got to the end of their meal, when it was time to partake of the Lord’s Supper, they had not been kind to one another and some were drunk and there some of them that had divisions amongst themselves.

This prompted Paul to write this to the church 1 Corinthians 11:17 “Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.”

He also wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:22 “What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.”

Now, that brings me back to the heart of today’s message........ “Coming Together For The Better”.

This is not a sermon to scare you into this understanding, but to by sheer truth cause you to see the goodness of coming together in Christ!

Let’s look at Psalm 127:1-2.......Solomon wrote this Psalm, but the occasion is not known.

Unless the Lord is the essence of what we are doing, then it is all in vain!

Solomon speaks of 3 types of things: Building a house, protecting a city, and earning a living.

The only value of any of those things, is in the Lord’s essence, truth!

When it becomes earthly, then it’s value is only temporary and has no fruitful outcome!

This reminds me of what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:13–14 “And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.........”

Emptiness and being troubled is all you get from this world only!

Unless the Lord builds the house........what does that mean?......

Unless our faith, our lives are dictated by all that the Lord is, then everything is for naught!

Everything that the Lord is, Christ has revealed to us!

So, In Christ is where the fruit of labor comes....... “In Christ”

Unless the house is built on that truth, then our labor is in vain! Empty, no joy, no peace, no love, no eternity!

We can do all the outward acts that we want, but unless the life (the inward person) is fueled by the essence of God, then it is in vain!

Solomon is speaking on every facet of life....Raising a family, working, guarding........whatever it is, God is more crucial to the outcome, than man’s efforts!

So, coming back to the heart of the message, is that God is more crucial to our life of the church than how we or society thinks it ought to be.

The essence of God, the life lived unto God.......God is control of the ultimate outcome and if our lives dictated by that life (which is in Jesus Christ) then the outcome, we know and are secure in, because it is eternally fruitful!

When we come together, breaking bread, whether it is just church service, singing, giving, children’s stuff......if it is in the essence Christ, in the life of Christ

When we deny all of the earthly things and follow after God through Christ then whatever God does will be for our eternal good and will be recognized by those who follow Him through Christ!

My mind is crazy......I will hear things over and over in my mind.........

This week was “Unless the Lord builds the house.......”

The next was the old 70’s song “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain and Tennille.........but it was just one part of the song that come to mind when I thought about Psalm 127..........

“I will, I will, I will,..........................”

Made me think of Ezekiel 38...........

So then, we can only built up by the power of God through Jesus Christ.....

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:1–5 “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”