Sermon Tone Analysis

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God Will Judge His Workers

Date: 23-06-19 836 Echuca

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- This is a very funny clip, but it shows that rock is as solid as it comes

- There was no arguing with the lighthouse since it was founded on rock

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- In the challenge toward the end of the sermon on the mount, Jesus compares the wise man & the foolish man by what ground he chooses in which to lay his foundation – the foundation, you could say, of life’s decisions

- The 2 foundations are rock & sand

—24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

25 “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

26 “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

27 “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

- In Jesus’ illustration, the house that is built on the rock is the life built upon the words of Jesus

- It is the person who hears what Jesus says, takes it to heart & then acts upon His words

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- Prior to this warning, Jesus had just spoken about the bearing of good & bad fruit & this point is linked to building on the words of Jesus

- Everyone who builds on the words of Jesus, will become a good tree that bears good fruit

- However, if the person does not base their lives on the words of Jesus, then they will correspondingly become a bad tree that is stunted & bears bad fruit

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- This passage from has a similar warning in it

- Each person has a ministry from God – we serve the Lord as His servants, His workers – every Christian has a task

- The world out there is telling us how we should live our lives

- In fact, the world wants nothing to do with God & it wants us to have nothing to do with God because it doesn’t want any challenges to the contrary

- The world is theophobic & christophobic – they are terrified of having to confront the truth

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- But in their threats & in their opinions, Christians can be challenged to depart from their beliefs in the truth

- They can be coerced & sucked in to the vortex of godless opinions flaunted as wisdom & knowledge

- The majority of Evolutionists like to pour scorn on anyone who upholds creation & a Creator

- They like to belittle believers & make them feel inferior & they congratulate themselves that they have a superior wisdom to anyone else

- Yet, the veracity of : stands solid

—21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

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- The warning in has to do with what the wisdom of this age does to the church - & what it has done to the church in Corinth is not good

- Instead of being a loving church where each member has loving concern & humility toward each other, they have become bitter rivals & are, virtually, tearing each other apart

- A spirit of one-up-man-ship pervades the church – it is a brag fest over which leaders/preachers/teachers they think are the best

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- In this passage, today, the apostle tackles this issue by likening the church to a building – you should have in your mind the temple building

- The church has been referred to, metaphorically, as the “temple” of God

- In the building of God’s “temple”, His church – how is it to be built & what do you build it with?

- We look at the 3 areas that Paul raises:- The Foundation, The Materials & The Workmen

1.

The Foundation: Jesus Christ

—10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it.

But each man must be careful how he builds on it.

11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

- Having worked as a building inspector & a builder, I know the value of having a good foundation

- One thing we all can agree on is this – the foundation supports the structure, the structure does not support the foundation

- The foundation’s significance is that it supports the structure

- If the foundation is bad, it does not matter what the structure is like, it will all be ruined

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- You see on those TV shows where they are building homes & renovating them - “Renovation Rescue” & some of the jobs they do are exceptionally good

- But it is all a waste of time if the foundation collapses

- I recall being in the area of Palm Beach on the Gold Coast with a health inspector & he wanted me to see, first hand, houses that had collapsed

- Swordfish Court was famous because when the estate was created, the developer, instead of taking away the trees the bulldozers barrelled over to create the house blocks.

To save money, they just buried them under tons of sand

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- It was only after 30 yrs, everyone, to their amazement & grief, discovered their homes breaking up & falling into cavities that were underground – all those trees that had been buried had rotted away after 20-30 yrs

- The foundations were floored & hence, a number of beautiful homes were condemned

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Q.

What is the apostle alluding to in regard to laying a foundation that is Jesus Christ?

- He’s speaking about the importance of the cross & resurrection

- This is the sure foundation for every aspect of the Christian

- Yet the world, through it’s wisdom, viewed the cross as foolishness

- God used the foolishness of the preaching about the cross to draw a distinction between His ways & thoughts & world’s ways & thoughts

- If a person wants a relationship with God, they MUST come via the folly of the cross

- In the cross, God is found

- He raised Jesus from the dead to confirm this truth

- This is why Jesus Christ is the only foundation good enough to bring you to God – it is God’s ordained way

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- The question is whether you can have any other foundation, other than the one God has laid through Jesus?

The answer is you cannot

- The foundation is not the church; it is not a denomination; it is not even, what some call the “mother church” - the catholic church

- There is no other way to God, than through Jesus Christ

- It is this foundation, that the apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists are to be building on – Christ & Him crucified; Christ alone!

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Q.

The next question, however, is what will they be building with & what message is in this here, for us?

2. The Materials: Combustible or Non-combustible?

—12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.

- Anyone familiar with metals will know that certain metals are not compatible with one another

- For example, you would not place lead flashing on a tin roof

- Now I’m going back a few years to help illustrate this

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- Lead is a material that is a more noble than tin or zinc

- Putting dissimilar metals together actually creates a reaction & the more noble metal wins out & the lesser metal loses

- The lesser metal will start to corrode away

- One is not compatible with the other, so builders beware

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- Likewise, church preachers & teachers also need to be aware that the Gospel is not compatible with the wisdom of this age

- It is important, then, to make sure that whatever “material” the church pastors, teachers, evangelists use is compatible with the message of Christ crucified

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- Paul uses 6 items to explain the difference between that which is compatible with the cross of Christ & that which is compatible with the wisdom of this age

- 2 categories – one or the other – but 6 items

- However, you will know which is which by how the difference becomes evident

- It becomes evident because it will be subject to fire

Q.

Now, of those 6 items, which is combustible & which is not?

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- Well, if you’re like the big bad wolf, who huffed & puffed, the house made of straw blew over, didn’t it, but the house made of brick didn’t

- When fire, rather than wind is used, the wood, hay & straw go up in smoke, yet the gold, silver & precious stones are non-combustible

- So we have material that will survive & material which burns up

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Q.

With this testing that occurs on the day of judgement, which materials would you, be rather building with?

- It’s a no-brainer, isn’t it!

- But the difference can be subtle & we can be subtly drawn in by the world’s ways

- The fire on the day of judgement will reveal any shoddy workmanship

- We will not be able to conceal it

- But this judgement is not retribution, but for the purpose of testing the workmanship

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Q.

Who is this applying to?

- Primarily & principally, to the apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers & even evangelists who are instructing the church

- The key point, here, is that God will be the one who tests or judges these workers

- In the church at Corinth, the members of the church are judging these workers & fighting over them