1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,000 Merry Christmas. We're going to be in First 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:06,760 Corinthians chapter 16, starting in verse 5. 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:08,360 So if you're going to turn there, that's fine. 4 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:11,840 I'm going to open this morning reading from Luke chapter 1, 5 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,400 which is not necessarily connected to the sermon, but 6 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,720 it's Christmas time, so I'm going to read the story of Mary 7 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:23,120 and Elizabeth and their encounter at Elizabeth's house 8 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,360 in those days. Mary set out and hurried to a 9 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,640 town in the Hill Country of of Judah, where she entered 10 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:33,880 Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. 11 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:38,440 And when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt inside 12 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,360 her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 13 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:45,280 Then she exclaimed with a loud cry. 14 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:49,040 Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed. 15 00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:52,080 Listen to this, she says, this question, she says, How could 16 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:56,520 this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord would come and 17 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,080 visit me? It's the first time anybody in 18 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,040 the Gospels ever called Jesus Lord. 19 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:07,280 For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, 20 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,760 the baby leaped for joy inside me. 21 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:13,680 Blessed is she who has, who has believed that the Lord would 22 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:15,440 fulfill what he has spoken to her. 23 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,520 And then Mary burst out in song. She says this. 24 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:24,120 My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my 25 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:28,880 Savior, because He has looked for on look with favor on the 26 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,320 humble condition of His servant. Surely from now on, all 27 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:35,680 generations will call me blessed, because the Mighty One 28 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,680 has done great things for me, and His name is holy. 29 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:44,200 His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear 30 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,160 Him. He has done a mighty deed with 31 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:49,240 His arm. He has scattered the proud 32 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:50,720 because of the thoughts of their hearts. 33 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,960 He has toppled the mighty from their Thrones and exalted the 34 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,800 lowly. He has satisfied the hungry with 35 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,400 good things and sent the rich away empty. 36 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:03,360 He has helped His servant Israel, remembering His mercy to 37 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:08,080 Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He spoke to our 38 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,280 ancestors. And Mary stayed with her about 3 39 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:12,560 months, then she returned to her home. 40 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,000 May we be just as quick to believe as Mary did. 41 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,600 What a joy it is this morning to remember those promises. 42 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,000 So as I said before, today's sermon comes from First 43 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:27,920 Corinthians. I'm going to pray and then we'll 44 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:33,400 jump in. Good morning, Father, we can 45 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,680 call this day good. We recognize that that the only 46 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,960 reason that we can say good morning or good day is because 47 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,720 of you. And it's it's not just because 48 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,080 you created it. It's because you sent your son 49 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,000 Jesus and you gave us the good news. 50 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,440 This message of the gospel that we preach, that we proclaim with 51 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:59,000 how we live our lives, that is the good news sort. 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:00,520 I pray that we would be faithful. 53 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,120 Help us this morning to incline our hearts to the testimony of 54 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,680 Your Son. Lord, help us to not be selfish. 55 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:12,880 Help us to not be prideful. Help us to give Your name and 56 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,040 Your name alone. Glory and help us to become 57 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:21,040 worshippers, true worshippers. We ask that You would open our 58 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:23,360 eyes to behold the wonderful things in Your Word. 59 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:29,560 Help us to hold our plans loosely as we consider doing the 60 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:34,720 work, Your work in the world. And we recognize that our own 61 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,200 responsibility to make plans is there according to Scripture. 62 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,440 But Lord, we pray that you will help us to be sensitive to your 63 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:47,080 will. We also ask, Lord, with all 64 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,680 passion, that you would unite our hearts. 65 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,240 Unite our hearts to fear your name. 66 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,360 Unite our hearts to fear you and not men. 67 00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:59,040 And Lord, we pray that you would satisfy this. 68 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,200 Satisfy us this morning with your steadfast love. 69 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,520 We pray all these things together in the name of Jesus, 70 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:13,040 Amen. OK, First Corinthians 16, a lot 71 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:15,480 of reading this morning. Sorry guys, it's OK. 72 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:16,920 It's the Bible, right? It's good to read the Bible. 73 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:23,320 So starting in verse 5, I will come to you after I pass through 74 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:26,080 Macedonia. Paul speaking here, for I will 75 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,840 be traveling through Macedonia, and perhaps I will remain with 76 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:33,480 you, or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my 77 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,920 way wherever I go. I don't want to see you now just 78 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,640 in passing, since I hope to spend some time with you if the 79 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,480 Lord allows. But I will stay in Ephesus until 80 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:48,760 Pentecost, because a wide door of effective ministry has opened 81 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:54,640 for me, yet many oppose me. If Timothy comes, see that he 82 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,440 has nothing to fear with you, because he is doing the Lord's 83 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:03,560 work, just as I am. So let no one look down on him. 84 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,960 Send him on his way in peace so that he can come to me, because 85 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:09,680 I'm expecting him with the brothers. 86 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,360 Now about our our brother Apollos. 87 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:17,600 I strongly urged him to come to you with all the brothers, but 88 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:18,960 he was not at all willing to come. 89 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,000 Now, however, he will come when he has the opportunity. 90 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:29,560 Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, 91 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:35,000 do everything in love. Brothers and sisters, you know 92 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,720 the household of Stephanus. They are the first fruits of a 93 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,240 of a Kaia and have devoted themselves to serving the 94 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,600 Saints. I urge you also to submit to 95 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,920 such people and to everyone who works and laborers with them. 96 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,560 I am delighted to have Stephanus, Fortunatus and A and 97 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,800 A Caius present because these men have made-up for your 98 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:00,800 absence, for they have refreshed my spirit and yours. 99 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,240 Therefore, recognize such people. 100 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,880 The churches of Asia greet you. They send you greetings. 101 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,880 Aquila and Priscilla send you greetings warmly in the Lord, 102 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:14,880 along with the church that meets in their home. 103 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,000 All the brothers and sisters send you greetings. 104 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,120 Greet each other with a holy kiss. 105 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,400 This greeting is in my own hand. Paul. 106 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,880 If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him. 107 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:35,880 Our Lord, come the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you, my love 108 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:38,880 be with you, with all of you in Christ Jesus. 109 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:42,720 OK, there it is. That's the end of First 110 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,640 Corinthians. We finally got there after 111 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:47,600 months and months being in this letter. 112 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:54,160 It's been really sweet to be in this letter, though I can't 113 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,240 describe how much this this text, not necessarily the one 114 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,040 we're preaching today specifically, but the whole 115 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,280 letter has impacted my life over the last year and I hope, I hope 116 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:04,080 it's been an encouragement to you as well. 117 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:10,480 The natural conclusion to the letter happened like 3 weeks ago 118 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:12,520 in our sermons. Joe preached the the final, the 119 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:17,520 final verse, First Corinthians 1558, the final verse of chapter 120 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,600 15 seems like it would be the natural conclusion of Paul's 121 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,640 arguments. Paul's commands and Paul's 122 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:25,080 instruction to the Corinthian church. 123 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:27,760 It says this, it says therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be 124 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:33,080 steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord's work 125 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,360 because you know that your labor and the Lord is not in vain 126 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,480 would have been a great place to end the the letter. 127 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,280 He's argued over the course of the letter for the truthfulness 128 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,920 of the resurrection. Specifically in chapter 15, he's 129 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,800 arguing for the truthfulness. So he says, therefore live a 130 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,760 certain way, right? So specifically, be steadfast, 131 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:58,760 be immovable, and always excel in the Lord's work. 132 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,320 So here in the in the last chapter, we get to see a more 133 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:06,280 personal side of Paul, right? He's speaking directly to 134 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:08,080 people. He's talking about people. 135 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,560 He's answered all of their questions, his own, and he adds 136 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,760 all his comments. But now we get what seems to be 137 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:19,360 like a bit of an administration, some things that are that we 138 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:21,880 might be tempted to skip over, Like if you read through this 139 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:25,120 quickly, you might want to say, oh, it just doesn't matter. 140 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,760 It's just an ending in the 1st 4 voices for four verses, as 141 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,720 Pastor Jake preached last week. We get like, what's what? 142 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,320 Like just it's administrative. Like really it is like, OK, 143 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,320 here's what you're going to do to, to like collect the money 144 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:38,520 that we're going to send to Jerusalem. 145 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:41,440 And here's how we're going to take it and deliver it to 146 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,120 Jerusalem. Now we did, we did pull a lot of 147 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,080 principles out of those 4 verses, but it seems 148 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,480 administrative. But this morning, I want us to, 149 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:51,760 I want to recommend we take the slow approach. 150 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:54,160 If you've been in a Wednesday night study with me, 151 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:56,840 specifically the last one, or if you're in young adults, bear 152 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:58,400 with me, you've heard this before. 153 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:03,000 But we want to take the slow approach. 154 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,000 We don't want to go over like the river, you know, in a 155 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,960 motorboat, right? We want, we want because you go, 156 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:08,800 you're going to see some stuff. If you fly down a river in a 157 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:10,600 motorboat, you're not going to see everything. 158 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:15,320 There's in fact, there's a river back home near where we live and 159 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,120 it's called at Wakulla Springs. It's the Wakulla River. 160 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,080 Specifically this, this will take, they take boat tours over 161 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,720 what they call a wild river, which basically they've, they've 162 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,360 closed it off for several miles downstream. 163 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,720 And it's a it's, it's as wild as you can get in Florida. 164 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,680 There's no boats that that have like combustible engines for 165 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:39,560 motors, no gas powered boats, nothing like that. 166 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:43,080 They're all electric. And when I was a kid, they had 167 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:46,120 glass bottom boat tours. So you can get in the boat and 168 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,440 you can see just like you had goggles on down to the bottom of 169 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,040 this, this spring. It's the largest spring in North 170 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,320 America. It's one of the largest in the 171 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,160 world. And so you could see all the way 172 00:09:57,160 --> 00:09:59,520 down to the bottom. They actually pulled skeletons 173 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:01,960 out of the bottom of that thing, a Mastodon skeleton. 174 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,520 So like the big ancient elephants that were that were 175 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,840 roaming the earth. So, but my point is you would 176 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,720 never see that unless you slow down, unless you are intentional 177 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,080 to get and just like to be curious. 178 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:15,600 So that's what we're going to do this morning. 179 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,800 I'm not saying that you're going to find hidden things in the 180 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,440 text. After all, this is what it is. 181 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:23,640 This is administration. These are things that have to be 182 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:25,600 said in order for Paul to wrap up the letter. 183 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:30,160 But if we slow down, I think we're going to we're going to 184 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:33,240 gain some insight into the character of Paul. 185 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:35,360 Paul lived his life convictionally. 186 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,560 He lived with conviction to the truth. 187 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:42,320 And so hopefully we'll see some of these things that we can 188 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,280 emulate in our own lives. So my first point today is that 189 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:50,720 we need to plan purposefully. He had purposeful plans. 190 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:52,920 Let's look right there in five to seven. 191 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,720 He says, I will come to you after I pass through Macedonia, 192 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,760 for I'll be traveling through Macedonia and perhaps I'll 193 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,440 remain with you or even spend the winter so that you may send 194 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,840 me on my way wherever I go. I don't want to see you now just 195 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,680 in passing, since I hope to spend some time with you if the 196 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:13,240 Lord allows. So he's writing this letter from 197 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,960 Ephesus. He has plans to come and see 198 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:18,200 them. Paul has a pastoral heart. 199 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:23,800 He doesn't just want to give them all of this rebuke and in 200 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,480 this letter form, he doesn't want to just like drop a letter 201 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:28,920 in their lap, send that e-mail and just forget it. 202 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,000 He wants to come and spend time with him. 203 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,200 He wants to spend quality time with him. 204 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,760 Travel during this time would have been incredibly difficult. 205 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,520 We see that in the book of Acts. It would have been a huge 206 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:41,360 undertaking. And so he didn't want to like, 207 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:43,000 he didn't want to waste his time. 208 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:44,600 He wanted to spend time with him there. 209 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:45,880 He did. He wanted to make the most of 210 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:49,560 the trip, but he did see a need to see, to say, hey, I'm going 211 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:52,360 to pass through Macedonia. He says it twice, which is kind 212 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,920 of confusing. He wants to tour those churches 213 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:57,520 there, those churches that have been planting there. 214 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:00,320 He wants to go and give them encouragement and edification. 215 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:03,400 He mentions it twice, probably because the Corinthian church 216 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:05,240 were expecting him to come straight to them. 217 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:07,200 So he's saying, hey guys, listen up. 218 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,400 I got to go through Macedonia first because I want to go 219 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,040 through Macedonia. It's like I'm just letting you 220 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:14,880 know where I'm going through Macedonia. 221 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,680 Be patient. In verse 7, we read of his 222 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:21,640 desire to see them, to demonstrate his love for them in 223 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:24,520 person, though, like all this stuff, the content of the 224 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,920 letter, it's been really hard, right? 225 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:30,400 It's been really, really hard. Hey, tell the guy who's sleeping 226 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:32,680 with his mom to stop and kick him out of the church. 227 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:36,360 That's really hard. Stop doing sexually immoral 228 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:38,880 things. This is a hard letter. 229 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:42,800 Love people. These are like hard things that 230 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,560 he's telling them. He wants to be with them because 231 00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:48,440 context can come out so much better. 232 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:50,880 Your love can be expressed so much better in person than it 233 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,440 can be over a written letter. And so that's what he wants to 234 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:55,480 do. His pastoral heart is here. 235 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:59,560 He's making plans purposefully. We get some more of the 236 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:01,600 intentionality and his planning in verse 8:00 and 9:00. 237 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,040 I'll camp out here for a minute because it's, it's a very 238 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:06,880 interesting verse to me. It's one that I've I've studied, 239 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,000 I've meditated on for a long time, like not just this week. 240 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,600 This is a verse that's been coming up in my heart, in my 241 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:17,600 mind for for the last probably five years, says this says, but 242 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:23,520 I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost because a wide door 243 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:26,440 for effective ministry has opened for me. 244 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,240 Yet many oppose me. Seems like a contradiction. 245 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:34,440 He says the reason that he's going to stay in Ephesus is 246 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:37,560 because there is a wide door for effective ministry there. 247 00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:41,040 OK, maybe we could expect, OK, maybe things are going really 248 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:42,400 well. Like he's having lots of 249 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:44,480 converts. Things are happening and it's 250 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,000 really easy for him. Like, things are easy. 251 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,640 There's no opposition. So that might be one reason to 252 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:51,760 stay. Oh, things are good. 253 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:54,720 People are coming to church. We got 750 people coming. 254 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:56,160 There's no opposition. Things are easy. 255 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,840 It doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, he says that many 256 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,640 oppose him. So let's look at Acts 19. 257 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:06,120 We can see the events there that he's talking about. 258 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,600 Luke records what happens when Paul's in Ephesus. 259 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,880 So he had entered Ephesus. He found some disciples who had 260 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:16,720 been following the teachings of John, John the Baptist, the baby 261 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,400 who kicked in his mom's belly, and Luke chapter 1. 262 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,960 They're sort of connected. They, they've been like 263 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,480 listening to John's teaching. They had, they had been baptized 264 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,160 into John's teaching, but they had not heard of the Holy 265 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:29,920 Spirit. They hadn't, in fact, like they 266 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:31,520 didn't even know there was a Holy Spirit. 267 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:36,040 So Paul gives them the gospel. They believed Paul's teaching. 268 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:38,320 They were baptized, and then they immediately received the 269 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,280 Spirit. So Paul, he spent three years 270 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:43,880 ministering in Ephesus. So I want to read some of 271 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:46,400 chapter 19. I'm going to read 9 through 20. 272 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:49,880 I don't have it on the screen, so if you want to turn there, 273 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,040 it's just a few pages back. If not, just listen. 274 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:57,400 Acts 19, nine to 20 says this. But when some became hardened 275 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,360 and would not believe slandering the way in front of the crowd, 276 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,520 he withdrew from them, taking the disciples and conducted 277 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,680 discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannis. 278 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,960 This went on for two years so that all the residents of Asia, 279 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,280 both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord. 280 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,320 So he pulled back out of like the public and he said I'm just 281 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:19,720 going to meet in this one place. And then he says God was 282 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,400 performing extraordinary miracles by Paul's hands. 283 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:24,680 This is the effect of ministry he's talking about. 284 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,720 So that even face cloth, face cloth. 285 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:33,320 So a handkerchief or an apron that had touched his skin were 286 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,040 brought to the sick and diseases left them and evil spirits came 287 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,720 out of them. Now some of the itinerant Jewish 288 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:44,120 exorcist also attempted to pronounce in the name of the 289 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,320 Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying they said 290 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:52,600 this, I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches seven sons of 291 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:57,520 Sceva, a Jewish high priest, we're doing this. 292 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:03,640 The evil spirit answered them, I know Jesus and I recognize Paul, 293 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,600 but who are you? And the man who had the evil 294 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,640 spirit jumped on them, overpowered them and prevailed 295 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,240 against them so that they ran out of that house naked and 296 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:14,200 wounded. When this became known to 297 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,280 everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they 298 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:19,600 became afraid. In the name of the Lord. 299 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,640 Jesus was held in high esteem, and many who had become 300 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,560 believers came confessing and disclosing their practices. 301 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:29,160 While many of those who have practiced magic collected their 302 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:31,360 books, they burned them in front of everyone. 303 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,720 So they calculated their value and found it to be 50,000 pieces 304 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,720 of silver. In this way the Lord spread and 305 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,000 prevailed. That's a pretty wide door of 306 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,520 effective ministry, right? That's really, really good 307 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:49,320 ministry, but it caused an uproar in the city. 308 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:51,800 Silversmiths who made their living by making all those 309 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:53,920 trinkets for the magic. They lost income. 310 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,960 They they cause a riot. He's being threatened with 311 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,080 death, yet he's willing to stay because of what God was doing in 312 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:07,800 the place at a specific time. It's a pretty incredible example 313 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:10,560 of someone living out their convictions. 314 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:16,160 And my question for you and for me is this, are you willing to 315 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,760 remain in difficult circumstances when God is doing 316 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,920 great and wonderful things? Can you keep your attention on 317 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:27,400 what God is doing in spite of everything else that's going on 318 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:31,200 around you? If you're like me, being honest 319 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:33,320 and transparent here, if you're like me, you want to run. 320 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:37,000 I'm distracted by the negative things. 321 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,440 If I'm honest, it seems that all the time I'm looking out for my 322 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,480 own interests. I'm looking out to protect 323 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:44,720 myself. If I were faced with Paul's 324 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,240 circumstances, and I thought I know that many of you, if you 325 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,520 were faced with it as well, you would probably run, you would 326 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,160 probably leap at an opportunity to leave. 327 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,240 But not Paul. His conviction was to do the 328 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:00,960 work of the Lord. He saw that in spite of the many 329 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:05,840 who wanted to kill him, to slam the door on his ministry, he was 330 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,320 more concerned with the one who had the door open. 331 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:14,120 He knew that no matter who opposed him, so long as he was 332 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:17,560 doing the work of the Lord, he didn't have anything to fear. 333 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:19,600 After all, what's the worst they're going to do? 334 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,040 They're going to kill him. And then what happens? 335 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,080 He gets to go be with the Lord. He's convictional. 336 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:27,600 Friends, Stay true to the mission. 337 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:33,360 Stay true to the mission given to us by God here in this place, 338 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:35,920 and we will have no reason to fear. 339 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,600 We must remember that sometimes there is a wide door of 340 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,640 effective ministry, and the reason we know it's going to be 341 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:45,480 it's effective is because many oppose us. 342 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:49,200 I'm going to jump ahead a little bit. 343 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,680 We're going to move on to point #2 which is live principled 344 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:53,320 lives. I'm going to skip the section on 345 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:54,480 Timothy. I'm going to come back to it in 346 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:59,680 a few minutes. Here in verse 13 and 14, we get 347 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:01,640 some rapid fire statements from Paul. 348 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,240 They're more than statements. They're not suggestions, they're 349 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,000 commands. They're non negotiable traits 350 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,200 for the Christian. OK, for a believer in a secular 351 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,000 world, these are non negotiables for you. 352 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:17,480 This is really a summary for the whole, for the whole letter. 353 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:19,960 It's really fast. Be alert. 354 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:25,080 Stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, do 355 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:29,520 everything in love. So our first command is be 356 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:31,320 alert. Literally, it means live your 357 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:35,720 lives awake. Understand that the enemy, he's 358 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:40,680 not sitting around waiting for you to sort of like get in some 359 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,680 comfortable place. No, he's actively seeking ways 360 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:49,840 to destroy your testimony. So be alert, stay awake, be 361 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,760 watchful. Become aware of the ways in 362 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:54,360 which you are most prone to fail. 363 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,520 You know what they are. Come aware. 364 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,200 Become aware of those triggers in your life that cause you to 365 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:05,120 sin. And pray and ask God to use the 366 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,600 Holy Spirit in your life to help you in those areas. 367 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,080 Ask God to let the Holy Spirit kill the sin in your life. 368 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:17,440 Stand firm in the faith. Paul is reminding the church to 369 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:22,280 remain faithful to Jesus. He's reminding us to remember 370 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:26,320 that they're on a journey that will see them face to face with 371 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:27,040 Jesus. Right. 372 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:30,160 We're on a journey, we're being saved and at the end of that 373 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:32,720 journey we're going to be face to face with our Lord. 374 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,720 So stand firm in the gospel, keep the gospel. 375 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:44,640 The main thing, the gospel, the good news that that says that 376 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:49,200 Jesus died according to the Scriptures and he was raised on 377 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:50,120 the third day. What? 378 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:55,040 According to the Scriptures, when you look at how Paul 379 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,200 exhorts the church, his overwhelming encouragement is to 380 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,720 stand. When he outlines the armor of 381 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,960 God in Ephesians 6, the command to stand is in there at least 382 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:08,120 two times, maybe 3. Trying to think, Yeah, at least 383 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:11,760 two. Arm yourself with God's truth 384 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:16,000 and stand firm in the faith. He's not asking you really to 385 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,600 fight. He's saying just stand and let 386 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:23,560 him fight for you. Be courageous, be strong. 387 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:28,520 I'm I'm reading this the Christian standard Bible be 388 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,040 courageous. It may be translated in your 389 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,600 version act like men. It most likely is this word is 390 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:36,280 used only one time in the New Testament. 391 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,880 So we have to think about why Paul chose this specific word. 392 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,960 It's used in the in the Greek translation of the Old Testament 393 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:50,120 multiple times and it's commonly given as a command to those who 394 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:51,760 are about to conquer the promised land. 395 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:56,520 Examples come from Deuteronomy 31, six, where it says be strong 396 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,800 and courageous. Don't be terrified or afraid of 397 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,800 them for the Lord your God is the one who will go with you. 398 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:07,800 He will not leave you or abandon you or in Joshua 6:00 and 7:00, 399 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:10,880 this is that was Moses talking in Deuteronomy. 400 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,000 This is the Angel of the Lord talking to to Joshua. 401 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,320 He says this, he says be strong and courageous, for you will 402 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:19,040 distribute the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them 403 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,880 as an inheritance. Above all, be strong and very 404 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:26,240 courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction of my 405 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:30,400 servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right 406 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:34,840 or to the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. 407 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:41,360 He says it again in verse 9, verse 18, again in 1025. 408 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:46,760 Whether the translation be courageous or act like men, the 409 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:50,760 sentiment is the same. Paul chose the word because he 410 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:54,600 wants to convey the same message to the Corinthian believers and 411 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,720 to us. Joshua was about to take the 412 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,640 people into the promised land. That was going to be hard. 413 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:05,840 Not hard because they were going to have a hard time defeating 414 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:07,080 it. No, because God was going to do 415 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,120 all the work, right. It was going to be hard because 416 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:12,560 they had to trust that God was going to do the work. 417 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,600 It required courage and strength of resolve to trust that God was 418 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:21,720 with him. And brothers and sisters, the 419 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:24,280 Christian life is hard. I don't know about you, but I 420 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,960 find it difficult at times. We're faced with many challenges 421 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,760 from outside the church, from within the church, and it takes 422 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,480 courage to stand up for truth. It also takes immense courage to 423 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:40,680 recognize when you're the sinful 1 and to seek forgiveness with a 424 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,200 repentant heart. It takes courage to give the 425 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,680 gospel to a friend or family member over a Christmas dinner. 426 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:53,480 That takes immense courage, more than it takes to talk to a 427 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,000 perfect stranger. I would, I would argue, but 428 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,320 that's exactly what we're called to do. 429 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:04,280 We're called to to carry out the command that Jesus make for of 430 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:09,360 Jesus to make disciples. Paul says be courageous, be 431 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:12,640 strong in the same way that Moses, nearing the end of his 432 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:14,760 life, tells Joshua the implications are clear for us 433 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:20,480 today. Stay awake, stand firm, be 434 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:25,400 courageous, be strong like men headed into battle, but do 435 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:30,600 everything in love. When we reflect on this letter 436 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,480 that we've studied over the last several months, there's been 437 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,320 this theme that runs throughout the thread that you can pull. 438 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:39,680 You can pull on this red thread that goes through the whole 439 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,800 thing. Throughout all of the rebuke, 440 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:45,240 all the hard things that Paul had to say, he reminded the 441 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:49,480 Corinthians that everything must be done with a love for God and 442 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,200 the love for others. This is the framework for 443 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:54,880 everything that they were supposed to do. 444 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,400 It reminds me when I'm thinking about this, he says do 445 00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,840 everything in love. It reminds me of chapter 8 where 446 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,440 he says knowledge puffs up but love builds up. 447 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,040 If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know 448 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,640 as he ought to know it. But if anyone loves God, he is 449 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,760 known by him. Doctor Shriner, one of my 450 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:15,160 professors back at the seminary, he writes this about these 451 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:20,160 verses in chapter 16, says calls to strength and to courage could 452 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,680 be misinterpreted as diminishing the importance of love. 453 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,320 The exhortation to toughness must never be interpreted as 454 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,120 squelching tenderness and affection. 455 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:36,120 Nor should love be interpreted as mere sentimentality or 456 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:40,400 softness, since it exclude includes excommunicating someone 457 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:45,440 in blatant sin. So we need to be sure that all 458 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:49,800 we do and all we say is an whether it's an encouragement to 459 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:53,160 someone or a rebuke. Our words and actions must be 460 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:57,360 rooted in our love for God and our love for each other. 461 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:03,560 OK, my last point, serve others. So now we get into this like 462 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:05,520 Paul talks about a lot of different people in this letter, 463 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,680 especially in this last chapter. And it's it's evident as he's 464 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,120 talking about all these people that he really, really, really 465 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:14,800 cares for specifically these people. 466 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:17,200 Paul loves all people, but he loves these people. 467 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:22,640 I skipped over the section with about Timothy, but I'm going to 468 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:23,800 go to it now. In 1011. 469 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:27,040 He says this. Oh, he talks about him in 10-11, 470 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:30,280 but he says this in verse 12. If Timothy comes, see that he 471 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:33,920 has nothing to fear while with you because he is doing the 472 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,080 Lord's work just as I am. Excuse me, that's verse 10. 473 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,440 So Paul has poured into Timothy perhaps more than any other 474 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:46,840 person in his entire ministry. There is true love expressed 475 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:51,400 right here in this sentence for for the Corinthian church to 476 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:57,200 take care of Timothy. He wants them to accept him as 477 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:01,000 they would have accepted Paul. He's doing the Lord's work in 478 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,120 the same way Paul is. He wants them to make sure that 479 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:07,680 Timothy has nothing to fear. Perhaps because of the news 480 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,040 about Apollo's in chapter, in verse 12, right? 481 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,880 So we remember from the chapter 1 where we hear about all the 482 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,280 factions in the church, right? All the different factions, some 483 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,120 follow Paul, some follow Apollo, some say I follow Jesus. 484 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:22,920 Well, there's a group of people there who really, really love 485 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:25,840 Apollo's. And in verse 12, we find out 486 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:27,680 that Apollo, Apollo's is not coming right now. 487 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:30,120 Right says now about our brother Apollos. 488 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:32,320 I strongly urged him to come with come to you with the 489 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:34,760 brothers. But he is not at all willing to 490 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:37,520 come now. However, he will come when he 491 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:41,240 has the opportunity. He wasn't ready to come to the 492 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:42,960 Corinthians yet. It didn't mean he wasn't coming, 493 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,320 but he wasn't ready yet. And so Timothy, it seems very 494 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,000 likely that Timothy's visit is Timothy's visit is imminent. 495 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:50,560 It's coming. He's coming right now. 496 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:56,880 He's coming soon. So here we see Paul looking out 497 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,800 for Timothy as a father might look out for his own son. 498 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:02,920 It's like he's saying, hey, I know you want to see Apollos, 499 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:06,040 but make sure you don't hold the absence of Apollos against 500 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,280 Timothy. He's doing the Lord's work too. 501 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,800 Paul had no issue putting forth Timothy as someone the 502 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:15,920 Corinthian church could listen to and rely on to teach the 503 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:17,960 truth. He's telling the church that 504 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:22,320 Timothy was a trustworthy leader, not just a trustworthy 505 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,520 church member. He's saying Timothy is a 506 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,800 trustworthy leader. He's doing the same work that 507 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,240 I'm doing. So we also see in the final 508 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,440 verses where he can, his commendation of Stephanus and 509 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,280 his household, along with Fortunatus and Acacius. 510 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:41,040 And Paul reminds us, it reminds the Corinthians that they 511 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:44,760 should, they should be like that household of Stephanus and 512 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:47,240 devote themselves to serving the Saints. 513 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:50,840 These are the type of people who are worth following. 514 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:56,160 Paul speaks a good deal about the types of Christians 515 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:59,720 submitting themselves to one another, which he probably finds 516 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,760 necessary, right? He talks, he commands us and 517 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:05,240 exhorts us to to submit ourselves to one another, 518 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,800 probably because it's not our default setting. 519 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,240 Like submission to other people is not the default. 520 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:13,920 It's definitely not for me. I have to. 521 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:15,200 I struggle with that all the time. 522 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:19,480 And he's exhorting them. He says, submit yourself to 523 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:25,200 serving others like this household does, and in fact, 524 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:27,440 submit yourself to this household because they're 525 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:32,840 serving others. These three men that he mentions 526 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:34,520 were likely the group that delivered the letter from 527 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:35,920 Corinth and spent some time there. 528 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:40,880 And just as Paul said, hey, they've done, they've been a 529 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:42,600 blessing to me. I know they've been a blessing 530 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,680 to you. They've been like you in in your 531 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,720 absence. So he felt like the the 532 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:50,680 Corinthians were with him. These guys also were bringing 533 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:55,560 the letter back. And Paul wants to be sure that 534 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,880 the church, when they hear this news, that they recognize them 535 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,720 for their service. They recognize good in people. 536 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,000 If someone's an encouragement, brothers and sisters, if you 537 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:05,920 find someone in our church who's an encouragement to you, 538 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:10,680 recognize them. Let them know it's, it's good, 539 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:13,080 it's right, and it's godly to commend them. 540 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:18,840 We should do that. Throughout this letter, Paul 541 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:21,200 repeatedly tells the church and to us as well. 542 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:24,960 Encourage one another, build each other up. 543 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:30,200 Greet each other in a way that conveys respect and Christian 544 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:31,880 love. Right in verse 20, we get all 545 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:33,280 the brothers and sisters send you greetings. 546 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:35,200 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 547 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,600 Today I might say greet one another with a holy hug or a 548 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,680 holy handshake. Whatever you do, though, be 549 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,520 gracious to one another, knowing that God may be using that 550 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:49,640 specific interaction, that handshake, that hug as a way 551 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,480 that just builds them up. It helps them, it encourages 552 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:55,320 them, it gives them a reason to go on. 553 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:00,520 So in the final four verses, we're moving straight through. 554 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,880 Paul stops dictating the letter. So when Paul wrote letters to 555 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:07,000 people, he normally would would dictate it to someone to ascribe 556 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,840 who could write better than him. And it was a long letter and so 557 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:13,000 he wanted to make sure it got that the words were written well 558 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,240 so that it could be copied over and over and over again and sent 559 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:19,040 out to all the different places. But this at the end of some of 560 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:20,800 his letters, he takes up the pen in his own hand. 561 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,160 He says this greeting is in my own hand. 562 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:25,120 And then he signs his name. Paul. 563 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,920 If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him. 564 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:36,240 Our Lord come the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you may love 565 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,400 be with you with all of you in Christ Jesus. 566 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,360 What stood out to me in that that last section is if anyone 567 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:50,400 does not love the Lord a curse beyond him and I believe I I 568 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:54,120 believe that Paul is speaking to people in the church, those who 569 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:56,640 were in the church who had no love for Christ at all. 570 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:01,160 We know from from the rest of the letter that love is a non 571 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:05,400 negotiable for Christians Loving each other is something we must 572 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:09,600 strive for. But here Paul specifically 573 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:14,400 addresses those who have no love at all for Christ. 574 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:19,680 Leon Morris says this. He says the strong expression 575 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,800 immediately following Paul taking up the pen himself shows 576 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:27,280 the depth of the apostles feelings on the importance of a 577 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:32,520 right attitude to the Lord. If anyone's heart is not aflame 578 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:37,080 with love for the Lord, the root of the matter is not in him. 579 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:41,080 He is a traitor to the cause of right. 580 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:45,120 Paul cannot contemplate such a person calmly. 581 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,120 So this shocking statement, I don't know about you, but I, I 582 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:52,920 was shocked when I read it over and over again this week because 583 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:55,200 it's jarring. It's a, it's a, it's completely 584 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,760 different tone from the rest of this ending. 585 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:05,200 It's a jarring statement, but it did 'cause me to consider my own 586 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:07,240 love for the Lord. I hope it does for you too. 587 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,840 I'd ask you to consider whether or not you actually love the 588 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:16,920 Lord. Do you actually love the Lord? 589 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:19,360 Or do you love all the things that surround Him, the things 590 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:23,200 that are adjacent to Him? Do you, Do you love church, real 591 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:25,160 church family? Do you love like the community 592 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,480 that's here? Do you love the traditions that 593 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,360 you're used to? Do you love the new things that 594 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:33,320 are happening? Is that what you love or do you 595 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:36,800 truly love the Lord? So contemplate that in your own 596 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:38,440 heart. As we're thinking about 597 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:44,360 Christmas, as it's coming, as we're thinking about the story 598 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:49,240 of Jesus birth is actually a love story of God sending his 599 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:52,160 Son because He wants us to be reconciled to him, right? 600 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:58,040 So am I feeding my love for the Lord so that I can truly say 601 00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:03,920 that I love the Lord? Could you pray the prayer that 602 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:08,639 Paul prays in his next breath with any sense of assurance? 603 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:15,960 He says, our Lord come back. In 2017, Valerie and I, we went 604 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,400 to Brazil for the first time on a mission trip. 605 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:20,679 We left that. We had two kids at the time. 606 00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:26,239 We left our oldest 2 with their grandparents for a total of 10 607 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:29,760 days. I think Adeline was two, maybe 608 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:33,600 not quite 2. So you might can relate to this. 609 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:35,760 If you've gone on a long trip without your kids and you call 610 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,080 home, you might expect them to be happy to see you. 611 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:43,480 But what what ensued for us was like just sobbing, like, oh, it 612 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:45,000 was the worst phone call you could ever make. 613 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:49,040 Like just complete sobbing. Oh, when are you coming home? 614 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:55,840 Come home, Please come home. They loved us so much. 615 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:59,920 They're begging us to come home. Do you have that kind of love 616 00:34:59,920 --> 00:35:04,200 for the Lord? Is your love that strong? 617 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:08,000 This the love that a child has when he misses his parents so 618 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:12,920 much that he just can't think of anything else to say but come 619 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:17,120 home? Do you love the Lord that much? 620 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,000 Paul does. He cannot fathom that anybody 621 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:23,040 would ever want to be in the church and not love the Lord. 622 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:27,640 And so he, he says a curse beyond the man who does not love 623 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:34,400 the Lord. That's what this prayer is like, 624 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:41,280 this prayer come, Lord Jesus, it's the Maranatha prayer, our 625 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,880 Lord come. If you don't have love to the 626 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,680 Lord, you can't pray that prayer with any honesty because what's 627 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:51,200 coming for you when he comes is the opposite of love. 628 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:57,400 It's wrath. So brothers and sisters, 629 00:35:57,560 --> 00:36:01,880 friends, if you, if you've been coming to church your entire 630 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:04,040 life and you've been coming because it's tradition or you 631 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:06,560 actually, you actually really enjoy the community and you're 632 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:09,760 just happy to come and be with family and be with friends and 633 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:12,440 it's a nice comfortable place to come, but you have no love for 634 00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:17,280 the Lord. I beg you to believe, I beg you 635 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,880 to put your faith and trust in Christ. 636 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:26,120 And if you can't mentally figure it all out, how it all works, 637 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:28,280 who cares? That's faith. 638 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:34,320 Have faith that the God who sent his Son Jesus, who by the way 639 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:37,640 was at creation, who was actually the instrument of 640 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:39,480 creation. We learned that in Colossians. 641 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:43,160 He's the conduit through which all has been made. 642 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:50,520 He came to reconcile you to the Father so that you could have a 643 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:56,320 right relationship, so that you could say, come, Lord Jesus, all 644 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:59,280 this sin isn't worth it. All this stuff that I think is 645 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:01,080 good, it's not worth it. I want you. 646 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:07,360 Just as quickly as Paul curses, though, he pours out his love 647 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,160 for them. And he closes the letter, 648 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,120 praying that the grace of the Lord Jesus would be over them. 649 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:15,480 And he expresses his love for them. 650 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:18,880 So he realizes he went a little harsh and he come back to love. 651 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,040 So I have some final thoughts here about what it means to live 652 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:26,440 convictionally as a Christian from how Paul closes out this 653 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:31,080 letter #1 plan. But hold your plans loosely. 654 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:34,320 Paul had very purposeful plans, right? 655 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:38,280 He had specific plans to visit Corinth, spend a good chunk of 656 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:41,640 time with them, but he was also sensitive to what the Spirit was 657 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:45,080 doing, and he would change his plans according to the will of 658 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:48,240 the Lord. We have a plan. 659 00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:51,160 We have to plan. We have to, it's not prudent for 660 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,520 us to just to sit around. It's not, it's not good for you 661 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:56,320 to just sit waiting for things to happen and react to 662 00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:57,920 everything. Have a plan. 663 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:02,080 You can't just wait around telling for God to tell you what 664 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:03,840 he what to do. Because primarily he's told us 665 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,280 what to do. May not have told us all the 666 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:08,320 means and all the modes, but he's told us what he wants us to 667 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:09,680 do. He wants us to to make 668 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:14,320 disciples, teaching them, baptizing them all that He's 669 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:16,920 commanded because he's going to be with us, right? 670 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:20,640 We need to remember that success won't be easy. 671 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:23,680 Remember that wide door of effective ministry? 672 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:26,120 Well, it was met with lots of opposition. 673 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:29,360 But remember, sometimes the opposition is proof that God's 674 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:32,320 at work. The next thing is that 675 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:34,880 conviction of living is rooted in steadfast belief. 676 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:39,920 You can't be convictional without convictions. 677 00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:42,640 You got to know what you believe. 678 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:47,320 For Christians, this means fueling your love for the Lord. 679 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:49,320 Remember Pastor Joe's sermon from several months ago? 680 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:54,240 Feed your love for the Lord. You got to fuel it with with the 681 00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:55,920 truths of scripture. Every day. 682 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:58,920 You have to actually believe that Jesus is the One. 683 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:03,880 He says He is believing that Christmas and Easter are true. 684 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:07,760 Have faith and then express that to the world with love. 685 00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:15,000 Be alert, stay awake, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be 686 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:20,120 strong, do everything in love, and finally, devote yourselves 687 00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:24,200 to serving others. The people mentioned here on the 688 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:27,440 edges of Paul's letters, if you look at look at most of his 689 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:29,680 letters, he's got a list of people somewhere in there. 690 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:33,680 They're almost always mentioned because of the way they live 691 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:35,840 their lives as servants to others. 692 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:37,960 And here in our passage, the people mentioned were 693 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,760 encouragers. There are people willing to do 694 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:43,840 acts of lowly service, and Paul instructs the instructs, the 695 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:45,320 Corinthians, to submit to such people. 696 00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:50,360 It is right and good to serve each other. 697 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:55,720 And when we do that well, with the intent to honor God and to 698 00:39:55,720 --> 00:39:59,680 glorify Him, we communicate to the world that glorifying God 699 00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:04,880 with our lives is what brings us deepest satisfaction. 700 00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:08,320 When you and I serve each other well, when we love each other 701 00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:13,440 well, we are telling the world that giving God glory and 702 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:16,400 honoring him with the way that we live is what gives us our 703 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:18,600 satisfaction. And so I would, I would exhort 704 00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:22,680 you, I would encourage you do that well, love each other well, 705 00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:27,240 and then we'll be able to pray as Paul prays. 706 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:32,280 Come, Lord Jesus, let's pray. Father, thank you for the 707 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:36,440 opportunity to to read through this amazing section of Paul's 708 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:41,120 letter together, to to learn some things to figure out how 709 00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:43,360 this may apply to our lives. Lord, I pray that you would help 710 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:47,240 us to to believe. Help those of us who have, who 711 00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:50,080 have been Christians for a long time, to have a renewed sense of 712 00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,640 awe and wonder of you and what you did. 713 00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:56,000 As we gather together with our families over the next few days 714 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,840 for Christmas, help us to communicate that that we love 715 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:01,640 you more than we love presents that we love you more than we 716 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:04,840 love gatherings. Help us to communicate to the 717 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:10,560 world that our satisfaction comes through glorifying you. 718 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:13,480 I pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.