Sermon Transcript

All right, First Corinthians. So first Corinthians is one of those books. It's written by Paul. It is written to the church at Corinth, and Christians are people who are Christ's followers and the reason why we're Christ's followers and the reason why we listen to the words of Paul into the scriptures is people like Paul were eyewitnesses to the resurrection, he calls himself an apostle and undo time, that just means he wasn't part of the original 12 he met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, but he for sure saw the resurrected Lord and God set him on a path to start churches all in the known area at that time. And Corinth was a real city and the Corinthians were real people. And they were a church there. And as we are reading and studying and going through this book, one of the things that you might feel is you might feel exposed, like, man, like, as you're reading this, I feel like you're just really opening up some some things and wounds, I just feel exposed, that you're talking about maybe me and my sin and my problems. And that's normal. It's that kind of book. But I want to say as you feel exposed, know that the purpose of a book like this is to bring about healing. Paul is all about just making sure that that the Corinthians know Yes, I understand how screwed up you are, or how screwed up you've been. But there is healing in Christ. The other thing you may feel as we go through a book like this is you may feel judged. And it depends on what you mean by that, if you understand judge to mean always condemnation is coming around the corner, then then that's not what is healthy or helpful. But if you mean judge, as I think this is exposing something I may be doing wrong, well, then yes, it is a book like that. But again, there are always the remedies, the solutions in Christ the way I think Paul wants us to really grapple with the text is almost like understanding how a surgeon when we have a problem, whether it's a tumor or something that needs to be cut out, will often have to undergo anesthesia. And then there will be some sort of surgery and but they're doing the best they can delicately and with a scalpel to take out whatever is there. That is how our Lord Jesus Christ wants to come to you and I today in order to heal us, it's not like a hatchet, right? None of us would want a doctor or a nurse or anyone to come at us like a hatchet, even though you might say, well, that that may get rid of the problem. But that gets rid of the problem in a way that we don't want it at all. And so I think that'll be helpful. The other thing that I hope that you grabbed, as you came in was a balloon, okay? And so it's just for illustration purposes later, we're going to talk about this. I will say this, if you're over the age of 12, and you somehow blow it up during the service and pop it I am judging you, okay, you can control yourself. Okay, so but it is for illustration purposes only. And we will pull that out later. Well, let's get into it. First Corinthians four.

And beginning in verse one.

So look at a palace. Now a palace would have been another one of those Christ followers who are leaders in the early church that Paul would have brought along with him, you're gonna see another name later, Timothy. And what he's really concerned about is he's concerned about what often happens. And that happened in the first couple chapters of Corinthians is some form of celebrity worship, okay, I got this done by Apollo's or Paul or someone like that. And you know, it's not much different than our culture in day, right? If you notice, a lot of our gods lowercase g, are what their celebrities, whether it's celebrities and athletic world, or celebrity billionaires, or celebrity rappers or whatever, we find ourselves a lot of times, sort of grappling or looking towards those with money and power. And we have specific names in our heads that we talk about, whether it's Musk or Bezos, or whoever it is. So he's, he's grappling with that with the first century believers as well here in the church at Corinth. And he's saying, so look at apologists, who's just a believer like me and a leader in the early church, as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God's mysteries. Now, again, that phrase explaining God's mysteries, it's just that whole idea of not like Sherlock Holmes, like we had to go figure out exactly what God's saying. But it's that whole idea of something that was hidden that is now revealed, and that is the way to God or the way back to God was now through Christ, that Christ was God's plan from the beginning and has now been fulfilled. And Paul and Apollos and all the early church leaders were going about telling this news and

They're just servants put in charge of explaining and servants is a good word there. It's stewards, it's people entrusted with God's mysteries. Now a person who's put in charge as a manager must be faithful, we get that. As for me, it matters very little high might be evaluated by you, or by any human authority. I don't even trust my own judgment on this point, my conscience is clear. But that doesn't prove I'm right. It is the Lord Himself, who will examine me and decide. So don't make judgments about anyone ahead of time before the Lord returns, for he will bring out our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives, then God will give to each one, whatever praise is due. Now, again, Paul saying, Listen, I'm the real deal. I know who I've got to stand before the judgment seat of, but he's arguing that his authority doesn't isn't self proclaimed. Where does it come from? We already talked about this. He's an eyewitness to the resurrection, who appointed him as an apostle, he didn't appoint himself, God Himself does, and God himself will judge him. And that's why I saying don't get into these various factions and worshipping of certain celebrities or certain personalities or thinking one's better than the other, because we're all servants of Christ. You and I, we can't see motives. And so what they're beginning to say is there's a Okay, well, you know, maybe your motive and preaching this is not exactly right. And I don't know if you've ever done that before, to someone you've worked with, or to a spouse or to a loved one where you start assigning motives to their actions. How is that gone for you? Not very well, right? Because why? Because we can't see hearts. And so he's saying, Listen, you can't see my heart. You don't know what I was doing, or why I was doing it. I know that I stand before God. And I know the reasons why. And even if there was any sort of misplaced motives in my heart, God's gonna take care of that. And so he goes into saying that, like, don't make judgments about anyone. before. It's time though, what he means that before it's time, he says, before the Lord returns, because he understands that in the kingdom that come that we as followers will be able to, and we don't know exactly how this work, but will it be able to stand judgment with the, with the original disciples and elders at that time they get, I don't know how that's all going to work. Because it's all gonna be under the Lordship of Christ. But he's saying, Listen, you're jumping the gun too soon, okay, we're not sitting on seats of judgment for each other, or for anyone else in the world right now. Because God's gonna reveal all these things, he's gonna make things come to light. And then when that happens, what everybody's gonna get there, do so you and I, we're to be concerned about is that phrase of, of what of explaining the mysteries of God, because he's saying, This is what I've been entrusted with. This is what I'm a steward of this is what I'm a servant of, along with Paulus, and along with all the other people, the Christians, Christ's followers, that we have been entrusted with explaining the mysteries of God, it was unknown, now it is known is now revealed in Christ, another way of saying, the the known now planning purpose of God is the gospel. So this is our first point this morning. We are entrusted with the gospel, if Paul was entrusted with that in the early church, and he's giving it now to the people of Corinth, the book of Corinthians is written for that, and to sort of kind of help them as they've sort of wandered around and trying to establish himself as a church in the first century. We now and El Paso, Texas in 2024, we've been entrusted with the gospel here at Life Church, what are we gonna do with that? Now entrusted, if you just look it up in the dictionary says this, it's assigned the responsibility for doing something, right, you guys have all had this, you've been entrusted with a pet, or you've been entrusted with an assignment. So we understand that we have been entrusted with the good news of the gospel. Along with Paul, we have been entrusted with what explaining the mysteries of God. And by that again, we mean, what is now known and revealed in Christ's first point. Second thing let's see what he continues to talk to us about here. Do you brothers and sisters, I've used Apollo's and myself to illustrate what I've been saying, if you pay attention to what I have quoted from the scriptures, you won't be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another for what gives you the right to make such a judgment. What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift. Now Paul is about he's already sort of started he's gonna go into sarcasm. So if if, if that's hard, it's there. It's in the scriptures. You'll see the Old Testament prophets use it at times. It's a powerful piece to illustrate

At a point, here, he goes on, you think you already have everything you need? You think you're already rich, you have begun to reign in God's kingdom. Without us, right? You're already thinking, Yeah, I'm on the throne. I got it. I'm gonna live in the good life. I wish you really weren't raining already. For then we would be raining with you. But that's not where we're at. Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor's parade, condemned to die, we have become a spectacle to the entire world, to people and angels alike. Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools. But you claim to be so wise in Christ, we are weak, but you are so powerful. You are honored, but we are ridiculed. Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don't have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home, we work weirdly with our hands earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us we appeal gently, when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world's garbage like everybody's trash right up to the present moment. What he's really saying is, we are carrying the same burden, and we are under the same disdain that Christ was under. Because Christ was ridiculed. Christ was misunderstood. Christ was ultimately beaten and taken to the cross. And so again, that's, that's what they should expect, as Christians, Paul saying this, this is what we should expect. But that's not where you guys are at. That's what he's saying that for the Corinthian churches it. He's saying, you guys, you guys are all puffed up, you guys are all puffed up with pride. And so you see this, even in the very verse six, it says, you won't be proud of one of your leaders, you won't be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.

And so what he begins as is he asked like these these questions here, doesn't he? He has all these questions here. And we'll go through those in a minute. But But Christianity was not an advantage to worldly pursuits. Right? It wasn't an it wasn't an advantage. It wouldn't help you in the marketplace, in the first century, to necessarily be a Christian and to go to church. Paul and his buddies were treated the way Christ was treated.

But how did Paul respond and how is he calling you and me to respond? Do you see in the passage, he's called us to be patient and to bless and and to let the pride go and to to deflate our egos and then we can be filled with the Spirit. So this is the point I wanted to show you with with our with our balloons here again. What is he talking about? Here? He asked a series of questions in saying you have you have big big pride big ego.

Exit from you. Oh, yeah, I can vote up Yes, I can bla bla bla. And I don't know if that's worth typing. Please don't clap for that. That's really sad. If I was a 90 year old preacher, I could I can take that I'd take that clap, but not not at 42. But

this is this is ego on it. Okay. So what happens is Paul, what he's trying to do is he's asking the series of questions. What is the first one he asked in verse seven? Maybe, maybe go back to that slide there. What does he ask Him? Verse seven. He says, I know your motives. I know your motives for what gives you the right to such judgment. Right? You see this here?

For what gives you the right to make such judgments. So what are you trying to do when he's asking you and me those kind of questions. He's he's trying to come at our heart that says things like when we're in our workplace, or we're in our homes, I did this. I earned this. What did they do? Where did they go? How did they contribute? And he's saying he's trying to deflate their ego, right? All right. Yes, he's 12. It's okay. He's on the front row, it's fine.

What's the next question that I asked him? What was the next question I didn't hear says, What do you have, that God hasn't given you? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And what kind of heart do we often have and that the Corinthians probably had? I think, God, I'm not like them. Right? I follow Jesus. I'm not sure what they're doing out there. I follow Jesus. And again, what he's trying to do is he's trying to deflate their egos and all

Our egos. And then the last thing here

if everything you have

is from God, why do you boast as if it were not a gift? Right? Where do you where did you and I get anything that we have the clothes that we have the money in our pocket the car or the house we have or whatever? Why are we boasting as if this is something that I accomplished. I was good enough smart enough whatever, to somehow do it. He's deflating that. Now some of y'all are like, no ways like I don't see it that way. I don't know why you're going to this ever to talk about this, this ego and pride because I really did do the right thing at work. It wasn't him. It wasn't her. They didn't turn in their assignment on time, it was me or they didn't really get it you don't understand you don't live in my household, you don't know how little he or she does, you don't know what they did or didn't do to me or for me or you don't know what it's like to be to be in a group assignment at school and someone's not pulling their weight in the group. And all that he's trying to say here all that Paul wants to say to them at Corinth and to us today is listen, let that go. Like like deflate that pride deflate that ego. And so he's using all these sort of sort of the these these huge things as sarcasm to say let it go now, what have you and I say no, I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna claim to what I know is right? Because Because I know who did it and I know who accomplish it. And I know what's right. And I know what's up, I will tell you, it's just like, what happens with pride is if you don't take care of pride, if you don't kill pride, pride will be killing you. And in the same way with ego, if you and I won't deflate our ego and pride, what will God do? What will life happen? What will happen if I knows

a pop? Right? Eventually, you and I will come to a crash. So in other words, if you and I don't humble ourselves, if we don't find ways to get rid of the ego and pride in our life, it will be taken care of it will be gotten rid of, but it'll be gotten rid of in a way that sometimes can be very painful and harmful and hurtful to ourselves. And to those around us. This leads to my second point today, an appeal gently appealed gently when you feel you are wronged. But then trust the Lord. I see that in this text. I don't know if you saw that we already went through the first part about how I think Paul was trying to deflate our egos. But then at the second half, he tells us how to respond. When we really do feel like no, I'm under the gun. It's not fair things aren't going right or going the way I feel like are supposed to. And I feel like I'm innocent before God and before others. He's saying, Okay, if that's going on, you can appeal to those

gently when you feel like you are being abused or done wrong. But then we have to trust the Lord. There have been many times I'll just speak for myself. There's been many times where I thought I was right. And I felt very justified in going before a conversation before meeting and declaring my innocence or my rightness. But here's the thing is sometimes we don't know everything. If you ever you and I ever thought about that before, we don't know everything. And so we think we're right, but we didn't know all the facts. So we're we're looking at those who are over us or under us or beside us. And we're thinking man, they just don't know what's going on. And in fact, I feel very slighted or judged or or even abused or wronged. And maybe you were so you can address that and maybe a gentle way. But whatever happens you and I have to trust the Lord. Because sometimes even when we want to address those things, we we just can't see everything that's going on. We're not God, we don't have the luxury of of pulling back the curtain and saying all that God's doing. And so what has to happen is that, that our ego, our pride has to be deflated. That's what Paul wants to do. He wants that to get out of our lives. He wants us to know that we can appeal gently when evil things are said about us. But no, but know that if they mistreated Christ, they will mistreat you. This is what Jesus said almost word for word. And he's calling us to to bless those who curse us and to be patient with those who wrong us. But how can we do that? How can we actually do that? It's only when we are then filled by the Spirit. Because it's not just the deflating of pride that we have to

To get rid of and deflating of our ego, it's also it's also putting on the armor of God. It's putting on Christ Spirit himself, which lives inside of us as Christ followers, otherwise, we're constantly left asserting our way are our rights. And this is so hard for us, even as Americans, because it's almost ingrained us from time we were little kids in school that we have, you know, human rights. And now we have, you know, different kinds of identity rights and cultural rights and all these kinds of things. But it's like, what about God's rights? And what about the fact that that clinging to our way, and our rights can lead us down a place that we don't really want to go? Because God's saying, why don't you find a way to humble yourself and to Bless those who persecute you, even when you find them to be your enemy? Sure. I'm not asking you to be a doormat, I don't think God ever is either. He's saying listen to appeal, do this with patience, do this consistently and even eagerly, but understand that at a certain point, early on you and I have figured out a way to trust the Lord in those situations. Let's continue to go verse 14, and following says this.

I'm not writing these things to shame. You know, why would he even say that, because he's just sort of, kind of run them through the mind a little bit about how crazy it was that they were acting of having the, you know, their favorite factions or favorite persons. And it's led to all kinds of divisions and, and then thinking that they're right about their perspective. So he's saying, Listen, I don't want to shame you. And listen, God doesn't want to shame me. I said, from the early on that that you may feel exposed, and you may feel judged, which I just take it to mean that you may feel like, okay, I've done some things wrong, and I'm starting to see it. But shame, right? If you have shame and guilt that can come from your conscience, but you're not meant to live in that and to stay there. He wants to say, Listen, I don't, I'm not writing this to shame you. Because I've got I've got a way that I want to come alongside you in this, but to warn you, as my beloved children, for even if you had 10,000 others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father and somebody himself, for I became your father in Christ Jesus, when I preach the good news to you, there it is the gospel, the good news. So I urge you to imitate me, he's able to say that because he's been with the Lord Himself, and the Lord has charged him with this. That's why I've sent Timothy another name, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach, and all the churches wherever I go, some of you have become arrogant thinking, I will not visit you again. But I will come. And soon if the Lord led to me, and then I'll find out whether these arrogant people will give pretentious speeches, or whether they really have God's power, for the kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk, it's living by God's power, which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you? Or should I come with love and a gentle spirit? Right? So if you've gotten this far, and you thought, man, all this sounded a little, a little harsh, a little much. He's saying, Listen, I didn't want to produce guilt or shame on you. But who wants the rod of punishment? I mean, there's gonna raise your hand for that, who's gonna say, yeah, that's, that's how I want to be taken care of, at work, I want the hammer to come down on me out, or that's how I want to be taken care of in the home, I want just the rod to come down on me know, what do we want. We want somebody to come alongside us. And this is what Paul saying he wants to do here. And try to reason with us and to love us in a gentle way with a gentle spirit.

So we don't want to be weighed down by guilt and shame. And Paul doesn't want us to be. We are meant to say okay, but then what's the alternative? Well, the alternative is to confess our sin, then we can walk in Him and be free. Don't you just want to breathe freedom? Lift your head up. Hi. Listen, you and I, we come to church, we carry in our burdens, and myself, too. I don't want to stay there. I want to be able to walk out and say, You know what, it's not that, that I've figured it all out. But I know who to take my sin and burdens to. I don't have to carry them anymore. And so that's where we want to do so that what leads to my third and final point, so that we can live in God's power. Do you and I want to live in God's power? I do.

How do I do that? How do I do that? Well, the first the first part, and that's why I want you to leave with a balloon is to deflate your pride. That's for me, too. I'm speaking to myself. Right? deflate your pride. And if not, God will do it for you.

Right, haughty spirit. I cannot stand a humble and contrite heart I will not cast out. These themes are consistent throughout the Old and New Testament and

In the Bible, and it's just true in life, right? No one wants to be around someone who's an egomaniac blowhard, I want to say something about ego and pride just so that we're all on the same page. Sometimes we think of ego and pride as simply those who are loud and boastful. And that is one form of ego and pride. But keep in mind that that's just an extroverted form of ego and pride. You and I can also be ego and prideful and be quiet, right that we can be ones who sort of manipulate behind the scenes. And it's what we don't say, instead of what we do say, you guys understand this, right? That, that our heart, our human hearts are irrespective of our given personalities, or our introvert anus, or extroverted and so I just want to say that, that wherever we're at, we're on a level playing field, here at the cross, I say this over and over again. But first of all, if you and I want to live by God's power, and I know I do, we've got to deflate our pride. If not, God will do it for us. And secondly, we've got to be filled with the Spirit. Now we say spirit filled living. What do we mean by that? Because we're not, we're not a church that, you know, we all sort of speak in tongues and have different things going on like that. So what do we mean by filled with the Spirit, it's simply men and women who understand that to live in this world, just like it would have been in the first century, just like it is today in 2024, in El Paso is that we are going to be a little bit odd and peculiar to a watching world. Because we got up on Sunday and came to church, we're filling it up, that we're raising our hands, and that we're teaching our children a message that may even be contradictory to what they're going to learn in their school system, or where we're coming together as family as the family of God to want to have life and to have energy and have motive and have purpose for how we see our life for the week. So even that as of as I'm begin to talk about walking in the Spirit, and having the power of God in your life in mind, we have to be okay, with it being a little bit odd and strange, because it would have been in the first century, and it is very much so now, in 2024. But your superpower, let me just make it real clear, is not some sort of extroverted charismatic gifts. Although I think God uses all the gifts, I get all that. But your your superpower and my superpower is walking in grace and love.

Hope you see that from passages like this, where he's saying, Listen, there is a better way, there is a way to live your life in such a way not that you are going to avoid pain. That's very clear. Here. He's saying, Listen, we were put on display, just like Christ was put on display. But it's the idea that how we respond to our situations are with grace and love. Because why? Because it's been shown to you and me through the power of Christ. That's what, that's what it is to live by God's power, it's being able to respond in kindness, when you have just been ridiculed or shamed or mis spoken about, or whatever. Because you and I, we're gonna go out this week, and I guarantee you, if you interact with any humans whatsoever, even if it's through zoom, even if you just have a remote job, you and I are we're gonna get stepped on, we're gonna get misunderstood, we're gonna get quoted wrong, we're gonna get hurt, we're going to I mean, all these things are going to happen. And so you and I have to ask ourselves the ways in but I but I want to walk in God's power, okay? Then go to the source. And know that your superpower in those moments is as a God, I need you every hour, I need your grace, and your love right now in me, so that I can give that in this given situation.

Because none of us get to escape the hardships of this life. And it's going to be doubly so. Because why because we are the odd people out. We understand that now. Right? We're back at the first century in terms of, you don't have to go to church or have a religious preference, or much less a Christian religious preference in order to have some sort of status in society. In fact, it may even harm you or hurt you in days that we're living in. And that's exactly where the current church was in the first century. So let's be those people. Let's be those people who live and move and walk in God's power. Why? Because we're connected to source we're leaning in. We as much as God is revealing to us our ego and our pride. We're confessing that before him or hitting our knees and then we're saying God, oh, filming, because it's gonna be tough. I'm about to walk into what I'm gonna have to interact with that with that human. I'm gonna have to enter in that situation. I have to go to that meeting. I'm about to see

them, and I need you, I need you, God. I need you God to do some work in my heart so that I can then be the hands and feet of you. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you how you have shown us how to walk in how to move and I pray and pray for those under the sound of my voice that they may be able to walk in your power this week. Not because they're puffed up with pride or their I'm a man I'm a woman hear me roar, but just that whole idea of I'm going to be okay.

Because Christ has got me God's got me.

And just help us to be men and women who as we go about the city and as we go about our jobs this week, that or school, or whatever it is that you have for us, that we are able to make a difference because you made a difference in our lives. We ask this in Christ's name, Amen.