In just of couple of months, we're going
to be celebrating Thanksgiving. I didn't grow up in a Christian, or
even a religious home. So the giving of thanks before a meal was something
we rarely did. Except before we ate the Thanksgiving meal. Before we
were allowed to eat, my dad gave thanks to God. This made such an impact
on my life that after I got married, and even before I got saved, I
gave thanks to God before my family could eat the turkey on Thanksgiving.
Obviously, my dad couldn't give thanks for our salvation, but nevertheless,
he did give thanks for all the bountiful blessings God had given us.
Specifically for our home and our health. The good thing about this
to me was that his prayers were never long. Thus we were able to dig
into all the good food my mom had prepared for us.
Have you ever thought of what it would be like to have the apostle Paul
as your guest for Thanksgiving, and for him to give the thanks before
you ate the meal? Not only would Paul give thanks to God for the food
we were about to eat, but he would also thank God for specific things
he saw God doing in our lives.
This may surprise us because we tend to view apostles as being hard-hearted
and judgmental. But as we see in our text this morning, Paul was nothing
like that. As he concludes his introduction, Paul reflects upon that
wonderful year he spent with this church after he had started it. Despite
the problems the church was now experiencing, it started off as a great
church. This church was Paul's most successful church plant in its infancy
stage. And as those wonderful memories flooded his mind, Paul was able
to give God thanks for his amazing grace that was working in the lives
of the believers in Corinth - verse 4.
In this letter, Paul is going to take us out to the woodshed for a good
spanking for the way we've been living. His hope is to literally beat
the world out of us, so we can be filled with the presence of Jesus.
But he starts this blistering letter on a very positive note. Paul knows
that people won't receive any kind of correction unless they know that
the person who is correcting them genuinely loves them. In doing so,
Paul is displaying how God's grace was working in his life.
No longer was he living like a Pharisee, who looked down with disgust
upon everyone who struggled with sin. He didn't pray like most Pharisees:
"God, I thank You that I am not like other people: robbers, evildoers,
adulterers, or even like this tax collector!" This doesn't mean that
if we show people grace that we are to turn a blind eye towards their
sins. Paul will later rebuke the Corinthians for doing this. I believe
that Paul had such a heart for God, that the sinful things believers
do, that cause God's heart to break, broke his heart as well. But the
fact that Paul was able to thank God for saving these people shows us
that we too need to show grace when we minister to those, who, because
they are struggling with sin, have not yet arrived at the same spiritual
place we are.
It is unfortunate that most pastors haven't followed Paul's model of
showing love for the people God has placed under their care. Far too
many pastors use the Sunday morning message as a way of scolding the
people for what they are not doing. They use the pulpit to criticize
you for not attending church more. Or for not tithing more. Or for not
witnessing enough. Or for not reading & memorizing the Bible enough.
And by the time he finishes preaching, not only do you feel like you're
the worst Christian in the world, but you also wonder if God really
loves you.
So to help you get over the idea that God is mad at you because you're
not doing enough, Paul starts off by talking about God's amazing grace.
John Newton understood this grace when he wrote, "Amazing grace, how
sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me." Not saved a good person,
but the worst kind of person in the world: a wretch.
The truth of the matter is we all were once wretches. We all have skeletons
in our closet we hope no one ever finds. All of came into this world
as rebellious sinners. And when we gave into our sin nature, we moved
into the kingdom of darkness, where Satan was our ruler. But what makes
grace so amazing is that it shows us that God isn't like the Marines
who are looking for a few good men/women. He doesn't just make good
people his children. Instead, God reaches out, through his grace, to
shower his love upon people who deserve just the opposite, his wrath.
Reflect for a moment upon your life this past week. If right now, God
were to give you what you deserved for how you lived this past week,
would he punish you for living like a sinner, or reward you for living
like a saint? Praise God that instead of zapping you with a bolt of
lighting this morning, he is pouring out upon you his never ending love
& mercy. That's what grace is all about.
Let me give you a two-fold definition of grace. Grace is the goodness
of God, which we can never earn, and which we will never be able to
repay. And it is God reaching out to love people who don't deserve his
love. I know what it is like to struggle with the concept of grace.
For I too have had Satan's demons sitting on my shoulder whispering
into my ear over and over again that I'll never amount to anything in
God's kingdom. Or because of my struggles with sin, that God will never
use me in his church. To overcome these lies, we have to continually
remind ourselves of God's amazing grace.
Look now at v. 5.
Notice that first of all Paul tells us that we have been enriched. This
word literally means to be made rich in all aspects of life. The name
it & claim it teachers teach that if you're a Christian then you can
tap into all the wealth that God has promised us. I wish that were true,
for there is not a one of us who doesn't want to be rich. The truth
is that one day each of us will instantly become multi-millionaires.
But what I want you to understand is that the complete fulfillment of
the prosperity promises found in the Bible will not occur until we are
in heaven.
Now this doesn't mean that we won't experience a partial fulfillment
of these promises while we are on earth. Because part of our benefit
package of being a child of God includes the promise that God will take
care of us while we are alive. It includes the promise that he will
honor our tithes by opening the windows of heaven and pouring out a
blessing upon us until it overflows. And it also includes the promise
that he will meet our needs through his riches found in Jesus Christ.
But the ultimate wealth that the prosperity teachers are talking about
is something that we're going to have to wait until we are with the
Lord.
I know that don't like to hear this, because we hate to wait for good
things. We are still like children anxiously waiting for Christmas morning
to arrive so we can open all the presents that have been sitting under
the tree for weeks. Trust me, what God has in store for us in heaven
is worth the wait. Why settle for the cheap imitations of this world,
when the real riches are waiting for us in heaven. Do you realize that
one day we are going to be richer than Bill Gates is right now? The
gold we wear around our neck is nothing compared to the gold God uses
as pavement for his heavenly roads. And the jewels we put on our fingers,
are what God uses as building material for the houses we're going to
live in. As glorious as that sounds, there are even greater riches waiting
for us in heaven that God choose not to reveal to us.
In the next chapter of this book, Paul reminds us that "No eye has seen,
no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those
who love him." If we will just allow the Holy Spirit to remind us of
the fact that we have a glorious inheritance awaiting us in heaven,
that is far greater than the riches of this world, we can joyfully go
through the struggles of finances here on earth. But as Paul tells us,
not all our riches are for the future. There are some that we can enjoy
right now.
And he goes on to mention these in v. 5-9. Look first at the last part
of v. 5.
One of the riches that the church of Corinth had was that the Holy Spirit
had given them many vocal gifts. And the people used those gifts to
build up the body, and reach the lost. Bible historians say that if
you were to attend a worship service at the Corinthian church you would
hear people softly praying in what we today call a prayer language.
You would see people standing up in the service speaking forth words
of wisdom & words of knowledge. You would also see people standing up
and giving a word of prophecy. This is not the foretelling of future
events. Rather it is the ability to speak forth God's will that is found
in his Word. What made this gift such a powerful gift is that very little
of the New Testament had been written yet. So the Holy Spirit was giving
some people revelation knowledge about how God wants his people to live,
and what he wants them to do in his church.
And you would also see the manifestations of two of the most miraculous
spiritual gifts: the gift of tongues, and the interpretation of those
tongues. These gifts are a powerful witness to an unbeliever, because
the Spirit gives to someone the ability to give words of praise & adoration
to God for what he was doing in their lives, in a language that person
doesn't know. And when the interpretation was given, any unbeliever
who was attending the worship service, who knew that language, would
be convicted of their sins.
But the greatest vocal gift the Holy Spirit had given to the church
at Corinth was the ability to clearly proclaim the gospel. Bible historians
also tell us that if you were to attend a worship service at that church,
that you count on hearing a well presented message about the meaning
of Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection. That church was so
gifted in the ability to communicate these truths, that people from
all walks of life were getting saved. Since we too have been given vocal
gifts, we can say that we are also very rich.
For even if you don't have a prayer language, you can still pray to
God, anywhere, at anytime. You can be used by God to encourage another
brother or sister through words of wisdom and knowledge. You have a
Bible from which you can help people discover God's will for their life
& ministry. You may not be able to speak in an unknown language or interpret
someone who can, but you still can declare the wonderful works of God,
by telling unbelievers of all the great things he has done in your life
And you can be a witness for Jesus through not only your lips but also
your life.
Do you realize that the most valuable treasure you have is being entrusted
with the message of salvation through God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ?
God didn't entrust this precious message to any of the angels, like
he did the message of Jesus' birth. Instead God has entrusted into our
care, the good news that eternal life is available through his son,
Jesus Christ. Have you ever thought about how precious it is to know
the truth about Jesus Christ? Not many of us, or perhaps even any of
us, will ever be rich by the world's standards. Yet from God's perspective,
if you know how to present the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have something
that is more valuable than all the riches of the world combined.
Paul also says in v. 5 that we are rich because of the knowledge that
God's Spirit gives us into what is going on in the spiritual world around
us. I say this because in ch. 8, Paul tells us that the knowledge the
Corinthians were given dealt specifically with the demonic world. They
understood that beneath the system of idol worship was a demonic world
whose leader was Satan. And because of that they were greatly involved
in spiritual warfare.
Most of don't get too uptight about the demonic world. That is until
it affects our world. How would you react if you discovered that one
of your kids is involved in drug abuse? How would you react if your
unwed daughter came home and told you she was pregnant? How would you
react if your son told you he had AIDS because he was actively involved
in homosexuality? When this happens we put the blame on Hollywood, or
on our liberal politicians & judges. Yet what we have to realize is
the one we really should blame hides behind the scenes. And his name
is Satan. Satan is the source for all of the immoral deeds that have
gripped our nation.
What makes us so rich is that we have been given the revelation knowledge
that through our relationship with Jesus, we have the power to fight
successfully against Satan and all of his demons. Jesus promised us
that "In My name they will cast out demons." We have been given the
revelation knowledge, that although we need to respect Satan, we don't
need to live in fear of him because we have been given power over him.
People spend millions of dollars every year going to counselors, or
buying self-help books, trying to find the answer to help them through
the struggles of life. They could save themselves a lot of money if
they would just turn to Dr. Jesus, and start reading, and believing,
what is written in the book we are holding in our hands. In the Bible,
God has not only shown us the one who is the cause of all our struggles.
But God has also shown as that in the end Satan & his demons are going
to lose, and we are going to win. Until that happens, God has revealed
that no matter what happens to us, he is going to work it out for our
good. Why we don't even have to live in fear of our most dreaded enemy:
death. For death is merely the means that God uses to usher us into
his presence. I think we ought to thank God for the riches of knowing
that in the end we are going to have the most toys.
Look now at v. 6.
You may not think that the ability to proclaim the gospel, or have insight
into the spiritual world is a big thing, but Paul says that these are
what made the Corinthian church famous. If you lived in those days,
and you asked someone's opinion about the Corinthian church, the answer
you would get is, "You can tell the people in that church love Jesus
because they are ministering to each other, and lost people are being
set free from Satan's power and experiencing the freedom found in Jesus
Christ."
Can you imagine the excitement of being part of a church where saints
were constantly being ministered to, and sinners were being delivered
from Satan's power? You would say that that church is on fire for Jesus.
I want us to develop such a passion for ministering to each other that
God will start sending us sheep who have been wounded by other sheep
or their shepherd. I want us to develop a heart to see people set free
from Satan's traps that God starts to send us sinners who need to have
demons cast out of them. I want people to say that this church is on
fire for the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you?
Look next at v. 7.
Paul tells us that the church at Corinth was experiencing all the gifts
of the Spirit. And the same is to be true in all churches. We believe
that all of the gifts of the Spirit are in operation in today's church.
The modern church of Jesus Christ can expect to see the manifestations
of any of the gifts that are needed to help her members grow spiritually,
or to help unbelievers come to know Jesus Christ. And we believe that
each believer is given at least 1 spiritual gift. God gives each of
us at least 1 of the gifts of the Spirit, without checking his list,
or even checking it twice to see who's been naughty or nice. God doesn't
see what abilities we have and then try to match them with a spiritual
gift. Through his grace he gives each of us a gift he knows we will
use to glorify him, and build up his church.
I'm living proof of that. For despite popular opinion, I don't like
to speak in front of people. During school, I would turn beet red if
people just looked at me. So the gift of preaching definitely has nothing
to do with my ability to speak in public.
As I read verse 7, it made me wonder why more of the churches aren't
experiencing all of the gifts of the Spirit. Paul gives us the reason
in the words "so that." In the Greek these words show a cause & effect.
Because the Corinthian's faithfully ministered to each other, and because
they had a passion see people saved and set free from Satan's power,
God poured out all the gifts of the Spirit upon them unlike he had done
in any of the other churches of the day.
From the time Pentecostalism was reintroduced through the Azusa Street
revival in the early 1900's, to the Charismatic Renewal movement that
started in the 70's, the church for the most part has been abusing the
gifts rather than using them to build up the body of Christ and to win
the lost. If we want to see the manifestations of all of the spiritual
gifts, we have got to start doing all of the one another principles
in the New Testament. And we've got to regain our passion for witnessing
about Jesus to the lost with our lives & lips.
Let's read again the last part of v. 7
Here we see that the Corinthians were also rich because they were prophetically
alert. They knew Jesus' coming could happen at any time. And because
of that, they were willing to forgo the earthly rewards, for the eternal
rewards that were waiting for them in heaven, the greatest two are mentioned
in v. 8-9.
Underline the word blameless in v. 8. Can you imagine never doing anything
that someone could accuse us of? The word blameless mean unimpeachable.
Our former president will be known throughout history as a president
who did something that caused him to be impeached. And what he did almost
got him kicked out of office. What this verse teaches us is that we
will never have to worry about something being dug up that might cause
us to get kicked out of heaven.
In verse 9, underline the word "fellowship." And also notice that it
is coupled with the phrase "with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord." The
greatest reward we will receive in heaven is not a golden crown. It
is not being able to live in a house that is built out of the finest
gems in the world. Nor is it the fact that God uses pure gold as the
material to build the streets of heaven. Neither is it having our body
and mind completely healed. The greatest reward we will receive is the
privilege of spending the rest of eternity in the presence of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
In closing, let me ask you if this is the greatest desire of your heart?
If not, then you need to have your heart checked, for you may not be
saved. The key to experience God's grace & riches is to be in Jesus
Christ. The only way you can be in Jesus Christ is if you have made
Jesus the lord of your life. Jesus came to this earth to die on a cross
just to show you how much God loves you. How can you not give him your
love in return?
If you've never received Jesus Christ as your lord, and you want to
experience God's grace & riches, all you have to do is first of all,
tell God that you've made some mistakes so far in your life. Mistakes
that God calls sin. Next, ask God to forgive you for those mistakes.
And finally, invite Jesus to come into your life as lord.
Those of you who have already made Jesus your lord, please spend this
time thanking God for his amazing grace that has stopped you from getting
what you deserve, and it continually gives you what you don't deserve.
And then ask God to give you a passion for the people who make us this
part of the body of Christ. Ask him to show you how you can put into
practice more of the one another principles found in the New Testament.
And finally, ask God to give you a zeal for witnessing about the Lord
Jesus. Because if we will do these 2 things, then the Holy Spirit is
going to do things in this fellowship that is not being done in any
other church in our area! And that is what I think we all want to see!
Let's pray!!
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