879 1 Cor.16.1-12 Gifts and Visits
1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted
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- I was only just thinking this week of the difference between the spiritual tone of today compared with the spiritual tone of the period prior to the impact of the enlightenment
- The enlightenment according to many people, at the time, was thought to be man’s coming of age
- Man emerging from his dark past where he was tied to the superstitions of religion
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- After the “enlightenment” period the consequences of this thinking began to emerge
- You had people pronouncing that “God is dead”
- To be sure, there were some amazing Christian thinkers during this time & they used the scientific method in agreement with God as Creator of the universe
- Yet, the scientific method was captured by the atheist & used as a sledge-hammer against belief in God
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- There was one atheist who proclaimed “God is dead, but could see where all this was going & became profoundly concerned about what happens to the world & its morals when God is gone – in other words, who or what would replace the vacuum that is left when God is gone
- His name was Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
He was the first man who cried, in the modern sense, “God is dead,” but he was brilliant enough to understand the results. If God is dead, then everything is gone. I believe that it was not just his venereal disease in Switzerland which caused him to become insane. I believe that Nietzsche made a philosophic statement in his insanity. He understood that if God is dead, there are no answers to anything and insanity is the end.1
- I don’t know about you, but from what I see of a world without God it certainly is bordering on the insane
- There is such confusion & emptiness out there
- Who would have ever thought even 30 yrs ago that people could believe that a man could truly be a woman & a woman be a man & the government acknowledge it!
- There is no God, no logic & even no science involved here
- If this is sanity then I don’t know what it means to be insane
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- You see the problem of proclaiming there is no God goes deeper than merely having God as a moral code-giver
- With the death of God comes the death of man
What is lost is not just God, but man. If Nietzsche says God is dead, [Jean Paul] Sartre must say man is dead. For if you give up the true holiness of God, you give up any moral absolute in the universe, and you are back in a big circle where everything is adrift.2
- He goes on to explain what happened to Nietzsche toward the end of his life
I know well the beautiful village of Sils Maria in the Swiss Engadine, where Nietzsche spent his summers and did much work from 1881 to 1888. His house is still there. And on the lovely peninsula of Chasté a quotation from Nietzsche is inscribed on a plaque on a great rock. The following is an English translation from the German (by Udo Middelmann):
Oh man! Take heed
of what the dark midnight says:
I slept, I slept—from deep dreams I awoke:
The world is deep—and more profound than day
would have thought.
Profound in her pain—
Pleasure—more profound than pain of heart,
Woe speaks; pass on.
But all pleasure seeks eternity—
a deep and profound eternity.
Surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, Nietzsche knew the tension and despair of modern man. With no personal God, all is dead.3
- Francis Schaeffer has made an enormous contribution to the truth of God in Christianity
- He’s an evangelical & philosopher & made some of the most impressive arguments for revelation over reason
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- He has seen that if man rests on reason alone – what he thinks with his mind – then he will drift away from God into the fruitless, nonsensical rubbish we see sprouting today
- We must return to the revelation of God – in what God has done & what God has said – throughout human history
existence of the infinite-personal God, who has not been silent but has spoken.4
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- I got to further think about life in the present as compared with life in the past
- I thought about what it must have been like during the great war – WWI – then the great depression – it ended with the world going to war again in the WWII
- These people only just got the radio
- They read books & had to labour with there hands - no electric appliances
- Mothers & fathers would see their sons off to war & many not come back – boys that were barely 18 yrs of age
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- When we moved to Echuca, we moved into Civic Ave., into a 3 bedroom home that we rented for 10 yrs
- The previous owners lived there for some 50 yrs & it became vacant because they were moving into a nursing home
- In the garage was kept in jars, nails that were rusty & bent – no doubt a legacy of what they went through during the great depression & the scarcity of goods during the wars
- They threw out nothing!
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- I contrast this with the world we enjoy today
- Appliances are not designed to be repaired – not really – they are designed to be replaced
- We have such wonderful medical services, hospitals, emergency services
- We have an abundance of healthy foods – supermarkets, food outlets everywhere – we have no lack
- We have instant communication – phones, internet, Zoom!
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- Yet, with all that we have, there is a downside - we can lose the true meaning of discipleship
- We are so arrayed with films, television, technology that people are drowning in their conveniences & might I add, pleasures
- This can lead to the same scenario of God being dead – because people can be lost in their own pursuits, to the point of losing touch with God & that leads to losing touch also with the Christian community
- I think that Satan must be rejoicing in this Covid lockdown situation because he can see how Christian communities are being kept apart & from each other
- No way can we say in any genuine sense that, over Zoom meetings, we have the fellowship the Lord intends for us to have
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- In this passage today, we witness the vital life of Christian community
- Here we see that life didn’t revolve around our personal lives as much as it revolves around our Christian life & community
- Could it be that we have made Christianity revolve around our life rather than our life revolve around our Christianity
- That is challenging in a world that deeply wants us to let go of our faith in Christ & for us to join them in their “God is dead” stance
1. Aid to Struggling Saints
1. Aid to Struggling Saints
- The early church was very sensitive about the plight of fellow believers in the world
- This collection that is talked about here is not the collection that goes into the offering bag on a Sunday morning
- This is a project that has been organised by Paul among many of the Gentile churches
- This collection is for the saints in Jerusalem
- Let’s look at these verses again
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.
Q. Who is meant to be the recipient of this giving?
- We find out from his Epistle to the Romans which was written when Paul was in Corinth
25 but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.
Q. What is happening there, that the Jerusalem church needs financial help?
- One of the most hostile people to Christ were those who crucified Him – the Jewish nation
- A number became Christians but many did not
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- You can recall the threats made to the man born blind in respect to his faith in Jesus
- Here, his testimony before the Pharisees was so matter of fact
15 Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
- It was a simple telling of what happened – he didn’t need to gloss it up, paint it up or try to prove what happened
- It was a simple, “I washed and I see” - tada
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- But they kept pressing him because they were looking for him to cave so it would substantiate their belief that Jesus was a sinner – more accurately, that He was a phoney & a fraud
- They even brought in the parents to question that he was born blind & that it was Jesus who had healed him
- But they only confirmed that he was their son & that he was born blind
- They did not want the consequences of confirming that Jesus healed him so they backed away from confessing that & said that they did not know & to ask their son for he is of age
22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. 23 For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
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- There is a real danger if you were put out of the Synagogue
Still more terrible was the final excommunication, or Cherem, when a ban of indefinite duration was laid on a man. Henceforth he was like one dead. He was not allowed to study with others, no intercourse was to be held with him, he was not even to be shown the road. He might, indeed, buy the necessaries of life, but it was forbidden to eat or drink with such a one.5
- Actually, it would have been hard to buy the necessities of life when fellow Israelites were not permitted to give him work!
- So you have the dilemma of many Jews who were faithful to Christ who were ousted from Jewish society
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- This never got any better as we see in the book of Acts
- There were many needy Christians in Israel due to the ban from the religious leaders
- But due to the generosity & oneness of the Christian community, we read
34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.
- Don’t mistake this for systems like communalism or socialism
- It’s not about equality of financial situation or of equal assets
- It’s about meeting the needs of the time
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- No Christian was held to ransom for what they did or didn’t give
- They were certainly held to account for falsely declaring that they gave more than they actually did, but not for what they gave
- With Ananias & Sapphira, the Lord brought their lives to an end because they lied to Him over the price of the land they had sold
- To make themselves look good they fudged the figures on the price they got for the land which they were donating
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
- Ananias was following suit like Barnabas who sold a parcel of his land & gave the money to the apostles to distribute to the needy Christians in Israel
- Ananias, however, wanted to keep back some of the money for himself, but indicated that he gave the lot from what was sold
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- In doing so, he lied to the Spirit who knew what he had done
- Just a side-note – Christians, of all people, ought to know that God is privy to our every thought & action – you don’t get anywhere when you try to hide things from Him
- The best solution is always to confess the truth of your heart to God – He knows it anyway – it goes way better to talk to God about it, than to try & hide it from Him – that always goes south
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- Now the apostle Peter said to Ananias that he had owned the land both before & after the sale, so he had the freedom to withhold some of it for himself only he indicated that what he received from the sale is what he gave to the apostles
- He lied about the sale price of the land to look good to everyone
- He wanted to appear pious by saying he gave the lot when, in fact, he had not
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- Now you are probable thinking – wow – selling property to give away
- I could never do that
- There are two sides to this, though
1. You are not forced to give – this is voluntary
2. What you give, you haven’t lost
- We often think that our giving is gone forever because we don’t see it anymore
- But what if you were able to see it as going into a heavenly investment account that earns you 100% interest
- You might think differently, then, about it
- But this is the reality – what we give to the Lord, we never lose
20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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- Paul, however, gives us some help here in how to deal with giving
- Commentator, David Garland notes an important understanding of Paul’s way of raising money: that there was “No pressure, no gimmicks, no emotion. A need had to be met”.
- One person has broken down this act of giving into a group of handy descriptions...
Universally, Systematically, Proportionately & Freely
- It is universal as Paul says “each one of you” – every Christian can participate
- It is systematic – it is done on the Sunday as it is the resurrection day of the Lord
- An amount is systematically put aside to be saved up (actually I find that giving through automatic electronic bank deposit an easy way of not having to remember this every week – Covid lockdown has caused just about all of us now to operate like this]
- But this is to be saved up by the individuals themselves
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- It is proportional – “as he may prosper” or “as he has been prospered” – he is not asking you to give what you do not have
- Fourthly, it is done “freely”
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- This instruction has come from them asking Paul what they are to do in this project & how they can participate & how they should go about it
- So this is their question to him & he is responding with what to do
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- Notice the beginning words: “Now concerning the collection for the saints”
- There have been multiple occasions where he has used this “now concerning” throughout 1st Corinthians as a response to their letter which has questions they want Paul to answer
- You can go through these in the book yourself, but let us look at one
1 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
- This is the first of his “now concerning[s]” & he is beginning to now answer the specific questions they ask of him
- The others are found at 7:25; 8:1;12:1 & 16:1 – I’ve put them on the screen for you to copy if you like
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- The other matter of which is of some importance is the safe conduct of this gift to Jerusalem
- They are to send the money via several credible people
- Bandits were such a problem in this time as they journeyed on the roads so it is safety in numbers – you’d also want to make sure the money gets to its intended destination & use
- Paul plans to wait out the winter in Ephesus so as to give the Corinthians time for them to build up their collection & when he gets there, he can give letters of authority from himself to these appointed people so that the leaders in Jerusalem will know who is behind it & what the money is for
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- In 2 Corinthians Paul has to continue to remind them to finish what they started with this gift & to complete the collection for this gift so that it may be sent
1 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. 3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
- So this collection is still in progress
6 So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well. 7 But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.
10 I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. 11 But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. 12 For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
- It may be that they were ashamed of what they had been collecting & wanted to wait longer for it to build up some more – but Paul encouraged them to finish what they had started according to what they have, not what they don’t have
- This was a wonderful way to unite the Jewish & Gentile sections of the church
- There is true fellowship in such a gift & it will show that the church is truly one – neither Jew, nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female
2. Follow Up Plans
2. Follow Up Plans
- I’ve spent a whack of time on the first point so I will touch on some pertinent points from these remaining verses
- What is interesting here is in planning – Paul makes plans
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- Many Christians get confused when talking plans & activities
- How do we seek God’s plans & move forward with His purposes
- Take a leaf out of Paul’s life
- He doesn’t sit down waiting for a bolt of lightening to come from the heavens & tell him what he is to do
- HE MAKES PLANS but always with the proviso that God will permit them to happen
7 For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits.
19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power.
- The Lord is always sovereign, but we do not see people determining “mystically” God’s will before they move forward
- They carry forward with their plans & pray with a disclaimer, like Paul, that “the will of the Lord be done”
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- Now this is not to say that God’s will cannot be known
- God’s will is very clear & where it is stated in Scripture, we have no option to oppose it
- For example, it is God’s will that a Christian only marry a Christian
- A young Christian who gets tied up with another nice young person is asking for trouble if this person is not a Christian
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- I have come across young people who wish, hope for or believe that God will convert the one they are going with, so that they can marry that person one day
- I have seen them get so tied up & in so deep with the non-Christian that they put themselves in the position where they can’t bring themselves to back out of the relationship
- You never ever go into a relationship with the “if the Lord permits” because the Lord has already NOT permitted a marriage with a non-believer
- This is straight out disobedience to God
- We must walk by faith that the Lord will take care of us & obey
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- Paul talks about other aspects here which stem from God’s will
- Actually, it stems from Jesus’ word to him on being an apostle to the Gentiles
- He doesn’t need a flash of lightning nor a special word from God
- He pursues what the Lord has laid out for him
8 But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; 9 for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
- He sees the opportunities & pursues them – that is one general way to be about God’s business – make the most of opportunities for God’s word & will to be done
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- There are often obstacles at work against the work we do for the Lord
- We should not be discouraged when that happens – it seems to be “par for the course”
- He mentioned these adversaries in the last chapter, calling them wild beasts
32 If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.
- Even though he came up against obstacles, it was no guide to whether it was God’s will or not – in fact, Paul made it his goal to obey Jesus
- That was what he had in sight, not some mystical notion of waiting & seeking God’s will through circumstances or coincidences – especially not in just favourable situations
- I think it is disgraceful to use some mystical “God told me”, in a person’s private desire for better pastures
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- Just one more thing as we close
- Even Agabus’ prophecy telling Paul that he would be in bonds if he went to Jerusalem, did not dissuade him from going – he was determined to pursue the word of Christ to him – than to excuse himself because of possible discomforts
Questions:
1. When we feel guilty we tend to hide our thoughts or feelings from God. List reasons for why this happens?
2. When seeking God’s will, why is it important we work with what God has revealed and not with what He hasn’t revealed?
1Francis A. Schaeffer, The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982), 4:11.
2Francis A. Schaeffer, The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982), 4:280.
3Francis A. Schaeffer, The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982), 5:193–194.
4Francis A. Schaeffer, The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982), 5:194.
5Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1896), 2:184.