Untitled Sermon (22)

Announcements

Ms. Anna condolences and funeral service with dinner here Wednesday @11

This next Sunday evening is our Church Thanksgiving dinner @6:30

We’ll meet tonight @6:30 here at the Church for this evenings service.

We were going to have a Church meeting this Tuesday evening night but we will postponing it until next week.

Introduction

Well we have finished our preaching series of the Reformation and my aim was to return us back to our study of Galatians.

However, for today that is not what we will be doing.

You see I believe that Scripture does teach us to examine the Word of God and learn about Him through the exposition of His Word.

And normally that would mean that we would pray about it and after much prayer and input from the leadership we would go to a book of the Bible and begin.

And you would begin verse by verse, line upon line examining the Word of God and what it is that the Lord would teach us through His Word.

That is just one part of expositional preaching.

And I will admit that sometimes I get so set upon following that approach that I have a hard time removing that train of thought from my mind.

When it comes to preaching, I prefer everything to be laid out and organized as much as possible so that there is no weird creation of chaos within the Church that would dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet there does come a time that the Lord places something upon your heart in such a way that you have to set aside your goal as the Lord is drawing you towards something else.

As of late the Lord has been placing upon my heart an issue that keeps coming to mind.

I have noticed this issue both on the good and the bad aspects here within the congregation.

An issue that over the last 7 months I have seen within this body that needs to be addressed.

Though I should point out that when I say that I am not saying that this is a sermon of rebuke.

Instead I would urge you to hear this sermon as an encouragement in this one area of our Christian life.

Now should you at the end of the message feel convicted by what is spoken of then this issue is probably an area you struggle with.

But if you are only encouraged at the end of all of this, then I would tell you to act as though you’re convicted and to act upon what is being spoken of today.

And today I think that it would do Church well if we would join one another in examining this issue.

That issue is this, Love!

Charity.

Care.

Compassion.

Steadfastness.

Now I know that Frankie has talked with us some about Love and I promise you that this wasn’t pre-planned.

Yet there is something to be said that the Lord would place upon two hearts a desire to address one issue within the Body at the same time.

So with that in mind I would like for us to turn in our Bibles please and follow along with me as I read through the chapter.

Read and Pray

To begin this message I would like to give you a little background into Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians.

It is thought that Paul went to Corinth around the AD 50 period.

And upon his arrival Paul did what he would always do and began proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Jewish Synagogues.

Through this, the faithfulness of God to draw a people unto Himself is seen shortly after Paul’s arrival, when he planted the Corinthian Church.

And Paul stayed there in Corinth for around 18 months leading and growing this newly converted body of believers.

As was Paul’s custom and like he had told Titus and Timothy, Paul would have established Elders within the body.

He would have sought out those people whom God was calling to be teachers, Elders and Deacons.

During this 18 month period Paul would have worked diligently to not only establish leadership but to oversee that leaderships ability.

Their ability to lead the people in a godly manner, always pointing them to the revealed truth of Jesus Christ.

And after his time there we see according to that Paul then moved on to Ephesus.

And while Paul was in Ephesus, he began to hear that this Church that he had planted in Corinth was becoming entangled with massive issues.

Some of these issues grown men get red in the face reading about.

Yet this isn’t Paul’s first letter to Corinth.

tells us that although in our Bibles this letter is labeled as 1 Corinthians, it should really be labeled 2 Corinthians.

You see the first letter that Paul wrote to them is not actually in the Bible.

Paul wrote it most likely not under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit but was none the less a letter guiding the Church.

If it had been written with inspiration we would have it in our Bibles today.

If it would have been we would have it here with us today.

Now please don’t take that to mean that what Paul wrote wouldn’t have been Godly but because it was not divinely inspired, the Lord did not see fit to preserve it for us today.

But this first letter that he wrote to them didn’t accomplish what Paul was aiming after.

We can see that because shows us that there was still quarreling among the people.

And in response to the news about this Church body and the issues that had arisen, Paul through the inspiration of the Lord wrote this letter that we now have today.

This wonderfully preserved Word from the Lord through the Apostle Paul to God’s beloved people in Corinth.

As you read through the letter one of the most prominent attributes concerning the Corinthian people is their pride.

The Corinthian people prided themselves in their spiritual gifts and their knowledge concerning the Lord.

The Corinthian people prided themselves in their spiritual gifts and their knowledge concerning the Lord.

When it came to dealing with one another within the Body of Christ, showmanship doesn’t even begin to define their personalities.

One would boast of how great it is that they have this gift and the other would boast about themselves in another area.

They had developed this idea that there was some mind of competition within each other.

They were a people called by the Lord Jesus Christ into this beautiful plan of redemption and yet here they stood, comparing one another to themselves.

And this comparison developed a mindset of competition within the Body.

I’m of Paul.

I’m of Apollos.

Look at who baptized me and who I sat under.

Look at what this person can’t do and look at what I can do.

It was truly outrageous.

Yet I would argue that this same mentality exist within the Body of Christ today.

Sadly, this mentality probably used to and still does exist within this body of believers this morning.

In fact I would bet that it wouldn’t take me very long until I could uncover some areas in each and every single one of our own lives where this exist.

We live our lives trying to be as obedient as we possibly can to the proper ideas of the Christian Religion.

And the first time I see my brother make a mistake, I leap like a hungry lion running after its prey.

Trying to be as obedient as I possibly can to the proper ideas of the Christian Religion and the first time I see my brother make a mistake, I leap like a hungry lion running after its prey.

I take what I saw them do and run to tell someone about what I saw.

I begin to draw comparisons to my righteous way of living and then compare that person to myself.

The zeal and the competition within the body becomes so overwhelming that those who can’t keep up are crushed and left by the wayside.

Each person begins striving to seem more holy and righteous than the next.

Sure they won’t admit it but in all appearances and attitudes, they surely live like that.

Whether it was the Corinthian Church 1900 years ago or Kirkwood Baptist Church today, we all do it.

We lose sight of our purpose.

Instead of finding ourselves first and foremost as sinners at the foot of the cross.

We begin finding our value and our self worth in our own righteousness.

Now, lest all that I say this morning be misunderstood, let me pause here.

Is there anything wrong with righteousness?

Is there anything wrong with a human being being righteous?

.

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as Righteousness.

There’s nothing wrong with righteousness.

In fact, righteousness is what it takes to stand before the Father and truly be forgiven.

But it’s not done on our own.

The weight and the depth of our sins is so great that it takes the Lord of all the earth living a perfect and sinless life and being poured out on the cross as a sin offering for us to inherit righteousness.

See there’s nothing wrong with righteousness.

Yet there’s everything wrong with self-righteousness.

For God to say that Abraham was righteous, it took something other than just Abraham.

It took the Lord giving Abraham the faith that was necessary to truly believe God for it to be counted to him as righteousness.

We and the Corinthians are no different.

It is by faith that we have been given righteousness.

It is not of ourselves, it is the Gift of God that no man may boast.

Yet with the Corinthians, that’s precisely what they were doing.

This little competition that had begun there really had nothing to do with the righteousness of Christ.

Instead it had everything to do with how God was bestowing favor on them through the different gifts.

And in this situation, one of the gifts that is being addressed is the gift of tongues.

that is being addressed is the gift of tongues.

So let’s address one issue and we will move onto another afterwards.

There exist today this movement that teaches this idea of the gift of tongues.

This idea of a divine language given to man for the purpose of receiving or giving prophecy.

And for 3 easy payments of $39.95 Benny Hinn will show you how you can have it.....

Sorry I shouldn’t make jokes about that.

I actually hear that brother David Miller has a very good impression on tongues.

Anyway, this idea of the gift of tongues as a divinely given language that is first found on the day of pentecost is what we’re talking about here.

And I would no doubt agree that the Lord of all the earth and the creator of all does have the ability to create a language that is divinely given by him.

Yet that is not what’s being spoken of here.

The gift of tongues that Paul is addressing is the same gift that was given on the day of pentecost and that is the gift of speaking other languages.

On Pentecost there were countless many people groups there and each of them heard the testimony of the Gospel in their own language.

The Lord had given the unique ability for those in the early Church a way of communicating through a language that they never learned.

God had removed the language barrier.

Now lest you think I’m trying to disregard what took place, hear me out on this.

This gift of tongues was a divine gift given by the Lord for the purpose of sharing His Word with the people.

It was supernatural.

But it was not the random babblings that is claimed today.

In fact, what is claimed today as the gift of tongues can actually find its roots way back in the first and second century.

But it wasn’t Biblical.

Instead it stemmed from a Pagan form of worship where the people would speak this random babble and get drunk in order to interpret it.

That’s not the Biblical idea of tongues.

Here would be an example of what I am saying.

I do not know how to speak any other language.

I can read Greek but I cannot speak it.

And if it was God’s purpose that I would share with a people group that I had never encountered and they spoke a different language.

God could supernaturally give me the ability to speak a language that I have never known for the proclamation of His Gospel.

I would speak in a tongue not domestic from myself but one that is foreign to me.

And that’s what you see taking place on the day of pentecost.

says that as the multitude came together and was speaking every man heard this proclamation of the Gospel in their own language.

Now there are many who argue about this and claim that since the translators of the Bible used the word tongues in one place and language in another, it has to be different.

I guess they never heard of synonyms...

The Greek words are different for sure but the point they are making is exactly the same.

The word Glossa means tongue.

The word for language is Dialektos.

Yet when you put them together in the realm of speech, they both are aiming at the same mark.

It’s nothing more than a descriptive term to define what was taking place.

Another way of understanding this is that sometimes we ask people who are foreign what their native tongue is.

What their native dialect is.

Its not some random babbling as is practiced by many today but instead it is actual languages.

None the less, with all that in mind what was happening is that these people were taking this divine gift that God had given them and they were exercising it in a way that did not glorify the Lord.

They would place huge emphasis on just how spiritual they must be because of the ways that God has blessed them.

And Paul spent the entire prior chapter discussing this.

They had allowed the spiritual blessings that were bestowed upon them to turn into some form of self righteousness and competition.

And that’s Paul’s purpose in writing chapter 13.

Now I’d like to pause here for one more moment and discuss another issue.

Many people have taken this chapter of Scripture and applied it in various ways.

From wedding vows and ceremonies to little coffee mugs and sticky notes.

Love being patient, kind and forbearing seems to be a very common application of this passage.

And while some of that is true on a very small scale, that is not the purpose of this chapter.

I’ll keep going back to this idea of conflict and problems within the Church and how the Corinthian Church competed with each other and at times failed to take care of one another.

You see one of the biggest downfalls of the Corinthian Church was not that they had been blessed with many spiritual gifts.

Their downfall was not that they allowed the sexually immoral within their midst, although that was a problem.

Instead their issue is that they didn’t strive to love one another where they were.

God had bestowed rich and bountiful blessings upon them.

Yet in many ways their worship and interaction with one another was nothing more than a ritual.

It was like going through the motions.

Think back to the very first part of that verse.

I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

The instrument was there and it made a noise, yet it was one that nobody wanted to hear.

The point of the instrument had been lost.

I think that if we rightly applied that to our church today, many of us would fit right into that category.

We’re here.

We show up and shake hands, say hello and sit through the time of worship but were as useless as the cymbal or the brass.

Our being here is only due to some form of obligation or guilt.

We’ve lost our purpose as a people.

We’ve lost our love.

We’ve lost our love for the Church.

We’ve lost our love for one another.

One would almost wonder if we’ve lost our love for the Lord who redeemed us.

Listen, its okay to have a Sunday or two where you show up and you’re doing it out of obligation because the Lord commands us to worship.

Yet if that issue continues, brother you have a heart issue.

In many ways your being here is not beautiful but is instead almost annoying.

You know I struggled to mention this today but I almost wonder of what could be said about us if we compared ourselves to the Churches of Revelation.

I think that in our searching we would find ourselves as the Church of Ephesus.

We have endured patiently and for the name of Christ we remained steadfast and not grown weary.

Yet the Lord would have this against us, we have abandoned the love that we had at first.

We began so well and stayed the course with hearts seeking after Him and because of that the love that we had for Christ was overflowing with one another.

And when this was the way that it was it was beautiful!

But over time, that transferred into something else.

The zealous love that we had for Christ transferred into a competition with one another.

Much like the Corinthians, we lost sight of our love for one another.

Instead of having an attitude of longsuffering they competed with one another.

They examined one another in light of themselves.

They became annoyed with one another and in many ways bullied each other because of it.

Can I just be real with you about this for a minute.

Here’s the truth, as a Church family who spends time together the way that the Lord calls us, you’re gonna get annoyed.

I am going to get on your nerves!

I am going to do things differently than you!

The person behind you is going to bother you by their practice or by their actions.

The person sitting next to you at some point in this life is going to annoy you to death.

They’re going to get on your nerves.

And when that happens, do you know what you do about it?

You realize that no two people are going to perfectly agree.

And because of that, you love them!

You love them!

Simply put, you love them like Christ has loved you.

The problem is though, we don’t interact with one another this way.

When Frank fails to buy Coke and keep it stocked for when I come to visit with hi

Someone gets on our nerves and we either tell them about it or we ignore them.

Someone offends us and we take that offence and tuck it away and allow it to fester up until 3,4,5 years later its still there and developed scar tissue.

And we’ve taken something minor and turned it into something major!

Instead of being patient and kind with one another and where others are at spiritually, we expect them to be like us.

Well what makes you the standard bearer?

Instead of being calm and compassionate, we become arrogant and rude.

Instead of letting go of our own desires in a certain situation, we push forward seeking after getting our own way.

When we see our brother or sister in Christ fall flat on their face in their sin, instead of wrapping our arms around them with the Gospel.

We rejoice and mock their sin.

Don’t believe me?

When was the last time you wrapped your arms around someone who had sinned in a big way and reminded them of the Gospel?

When was the last time you passively endured a situation.

And not only passively endured it but in the midst of your endurance sought after that persons good?

That even though there are consequences for their sin, Jesus paid the cost for them to be forgiven!

When was the last time you left the judgment completely out of the equation and you simply reminded them of the grace of Christ?

Now I know that what I am saying this morning is not popular.

And that’s okay.

You didn’t call me to be an elder and shelter the truth.

We as a congregation need to see this today.

One of the greatest definitions of love that we could ever have is the idea of forbearing with one another through our shortcomings.

Oh how it would in our Church if we would quit making ourselves the standard bearer of truth and display the Gospel.

Elevate Christ to where He belongs as the wholly sufficient redeemer of man.

The one who knew that you were going to be messy and the same grace that He gives to you is the same grace that He gives to them!

Oh that Christ would be magnified and the outpouring of our love for Him would overflow into the hearts of this body.

Imagine the joy.

If we could look at our brother and sister in Christ and not hold their wrongs against them but instead wrap our arms around them with the Gospel.

To reassure them that because Christ has forgiven us we also now have forgiven them!

So does this look like?

I mentioned the idea of picking someone up when they fall.

That’s one way that we do it.

Another way is to put ourselves in their situation first and our reaction is based upon our hurt.

We stand by them and feel the same pain and the same hurt that they have encountered.

Reminding them of the depths of the love of Jesus.

To take the Golden rule of and put it into practice within our Church.

Oh Lord that you would be lifted high this day.

That the depth of your forgiveness of sin would be beautifully put on display.

That we would know that every second you hung on that cross enduring the wrath of God was for us and that we can show that to one another.

That the very same love that put you upon that tree for our forgiveness is the same love that we offer to one another.

Broken and sinful vessels longing to glorify you through how we treat one another.

We’re always looking out for ourselves.

But so often this is not how we treat one another.

And whether were the one wronging or the

The most miniscule of offences become gaping wounds.

Wounds that if not fixed will be fatal to our hearts.

Let me ask you something, when was the last time you were put in a situation where you knew that you weren’t going to come out ahead?

And in that situation, did you passively endure?

What about not only passively enduring it but also actively seeking after that persons good while they mistreated you?

You see the issue is that when something takes place that we feel wrongs us, we promote and push ourselves to the front of the situation.

I would argue that this is almost a constant in the Church.

When was the last time you passively endured a situation.

And not only passively endured it but in the midst of your endurance sought after that persons good?

You see our interaction with one another should take into account the fact that we are going to get on each others nerves.

And in spite of that we love one another.

Even the most annoying

Yet this is not how it should be.

Christ literally was beaten beyond recognition, nailed to a tree and yet He sought not His own good.

He was wronged beyond measure by all who surrounded Him, and yet He passively endured it.

He passively endured it while seeking out your good.

This is the most basic premise laid out here in 1 Corinthians 13.

When our brothers and sisters in Christ fall, we treat them as Christ Jesus treats us.

Not looking at us in anger but in love.

It was you that put Jesus up on that tree and yet He endured it to redeem you!

Let’s make this personal.

You fall short of Christ’ expectations for your life!

Each of us always have since the day of our redemption and we will until the time that He calls us home.

Yet Christ looks at us with much forbearance and longsuffering.

Not casting us aside because of our sin.

Not throwing us under the bus because of of our transgressions against Him.

That is the whole premise of the Gospel and its so clearly illustrated in how we interact with one another.

Christ showed His love for us in that while we were yet sinners HE died for us.

He didn’t wait until we could perfectly obey Him.

He didn’t wait until everything on our end was as it should be but instead, He looked upon us and poured out His own life for each and everyone of us.

And He did so in love!

He did so in love.

Our interactions with one another should be in the very same way.

If we give all that we have to one another and yet we do not have love, it was worthless.

Without true love for one another, though we may have the greatest of intentions, we are nothing.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Bel

Let’s pray.