1 Corinthians 15;1-11; 58

Remembering Your Call

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, =

5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

When I read through 1st Corinthians…I can’t help but think that Paul has got to be speaking to my church…

Paul has got his hands full with these people. I mean…the Corinthian people have problems. We’ve got divisiveness, believers suing each other, people sleeping together, marriage issues, idolatry, everyone’s offended…

My favorite one…Pastor…I hear what your saying…But that’s not what “so and so” would do…That’s not what Apollos would do…

I can see Paul standing there watching all of this…he’s looking at this church…and he has to be thinking to himself…”Man….These people are messed up!! I mean these people have problems!!”

Have you ever been there? Have you ever thought that?

Example

What is wrong with these people? They live like the world. Look like the world. Act like the world. Talk like the world. Yet if you ask them if they’re saved. If they’ve given their life to Christ.. Yep, I sure have.

Listen…there were many of the listed symptoms above that Paul could’ve spoke toward. But he chose to speak to the heart of the issue.

The reason why the Corinthians were not seeing Christ in their lives … was because they were denying their life in Christ! They were denying the resurrection of the believer!

And Paul calls this out…He says, “You don’t understand what you are saying…To deny the resurrection of the believer…is to deny the resurrection of Christ himself. And if you deny the resurrection, then you deny the gospel..and to deny the gospel is to “believe in vain! [ empty or w/o purpose] [said another way - if you don’t be the resurrection your faith is pointless!

If the dead don’t rise, then Jesus is dead…and the Gospel is a lie!

So…see what Paul does…He brings them back to sound doctrine… He tells them as he told Timothy in:

2 Timothy 1:13 - Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

He tells the Corinthians:

That Christ came as your substitute. That He atoned for your sin. Died a sinners death. Was raised on the third day….and appeared before a constant chain of witnesses…beginning with Peter and the twelve, to over 500 people… and to me!

He confronts the Corinthians with the gospel in verse 1-2…He says, “Remember that this is the Gospel that you heard me preach! And this is the Gospel that you received. This is the gospel upon which you stand. And this is the gospel by which you are being saved.

But to not believe it…is futile! [Fu-tul]

IT IS POINTLESS!

9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10 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.

11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Listen…Paul mirrors today what Isaiah showed us last night in Stephen’s message.

He says: I am the least of the apostles.

And “I am not worthy to be an apostle.

But by God’s Grace - I am..what I AM!

Glory to God! That when we read verses 9-10…

We come face to face with the Grace of God - that overshadows the backdrop of who we used to be.

For Paul… it was staunch Judaism and the persecution of the church. But if we get right down to it…the content of who we one were doesn’t even matter…

what matters is that we and the people that God has given us to influence… understand that without Christ we were lost and dead in our sin…BUT GOD!

BUT GOD!

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. [there’s that word again - meaning your labor is not empty]

Here is Paul’s charge for us tonight! Never…Deviate from the gospel! Hold fast to the gospel!! Stand firm for the Gospel!

Look…I understand that we have not recreated the wheel tonight…I understand that you have heard sermons just like this one…many times in your life and ministry.

But what I also understand is that you men, you pastors, deal with the same problem in Vermont that we do in Texas and that Paul did in Corinth.

You know what it is…. unbelief!

You preach your heart out Sunday after Sunday. Week after Week. Month after Month. Year after Year. And the result is often the same…Seeds being cast on unprepared ground…

You feel like your people just don’t get it…and if they do they sure do not live like it…they could care less…and you often feel as if you are wasting your time…

…….This week…. we are at camp…and we are surrounded by brothers and sisters who provide a safe place for us to just exhale and rest in the Lord…

For some … you and your churches are on the mountain top…and this week of camp is a bonus! You’re experiencing a season of growth in your church, your seeing people come to faith, your baptizing…and God’s hand is evident in your ministry…

… but we have to be mindful that where there’s a mountain…there’s also a valley…and that may be your reality today.

You’re screaming out to the Lord. You feel so empty. You feel like God gave you this ministry and then left you… and you are tired and worn out.

So in both cases… what do you do?

…Verse 58 -

remain steadfast,

be immovable,

always abound in the work of the Lord,

and know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1 - Be imitators of me, as I am [by God’s Grace, an imitator] of Christ.

Will you let that fall on you fresh tonight? Will you close your eyes… and just concentrate on the Spirit that lives with you and the moment that the God of the Universe called your name? The moment you surrendered to his ministry?

MY LIFE VERSE:

Jeremiah 20:9 - If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I AM weary with holding it in, and I cannot. [BECAUSE OF THE GRACE OF MY GOD!]

And Pastor….when Satan tries to impress upon you that your labor is empty….then you just remind him… that the GRAVE IS TOO!

remain steadfast,

be immovable,

always abound in the work of the Lord,

and know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

REMEMBER YOU CALLING!