1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:09,760 So two Mondays ago I was in my Monday night Discovery Bible 2 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:15,680 study with some guys and usually by Monday night I have my sermon 3 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,920 done. The reason is like an undone 4 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:23,600 sermon is like a woodpecker that is just like I'm trying to have 5 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,640 conversations with people, but in the back of my head it's 6 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,360 sermons not done, sermons not done, sermons not done, sermons 7 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,640 not done, sermons not done. And so I try to do no meetings, 8 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:37,520 nothing, and just get the sermon done on Monday. 9 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,440 And it's Monday night and I'm staring at a blank page. 10 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:46,640 And so usually I have my sermon done, but by that night, you 11 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,640 know I didn't. So I told the guys in my DBS we 12 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,560 were in First Corinthians chapter 2. 13 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,600 And if you might remember from First Corinthians chapter 2, 14 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,160 Paul says these words in that chapter. 15 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,160 I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom. 16 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,480 I came in weakness and fear and trembling. 17 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,880 My message and preaching were not with wise and persuasive 18 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,760 words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power. 19 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,720 So I told my group of guys on that Monday night that I was 20 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:25,520 going to be living out First Corinthians chapter 2 when I was 21 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,560 preaching to you, First Corinthians chapter 3. 22 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,320 I think after I've made that bold proclamation before God, 23 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:35,880 that everything would go great on Tuesday and I'll get my 24 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,360 sermon done. Tuesday was a dumpster fire. 25 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:45,040 I got done at work and I had a cool opportunity to go meet with 26 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,080 the family to talk about baptism and I was supposed to be at 27 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:52,520 their house at 8:00 PM and we I thought I'd get done at 9, got 28 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,240 done at 10. I come home to my house 10-15 29 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,720 and I am looking at a blank page. 30 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,880 I go, all right, Jesus, I'm looking at the rest of the week. 31 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,520 I've got from now until 11:30 before I've got to go to bed. 32 00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:14,800 And then I have 90 minutes I can give you in the morning before I 33 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,920 start my meetings at 9 A 9:00 AM because I've, I'm already 34 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:20,760 obligated. I've already given my word. 35 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:27,200 So I worked hard until 11:30. I got up early and did some 36 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:31,160 stuff and then spent time and I finished my sermon and I shipped 37 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,080 it out. And then I went through my day 38 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,080 on Wednesday, and on Thursday I got ready to come to church and 39 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:39,800 I got in the car. I remember closing the door, I 40 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,920 put my hand on my steering wheel and I was going. 41 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:48,640 I have nothing of value. And a lot of people are going to 42 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:51,840 be hearing the sermon this weekend and I can't find a 43 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:58,160 single redemptive thing in it. So I can find it in the elders 44 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:01,200 who pray with me before I come out to preach, which I'm 45 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:02,560 incredibly thankful that they do that. 46 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,000 I told them, listen guys, I'm living out First Corinthians 47 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,560 chapter 2 because there's not one line in this sermon that I'm 48 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,560 excited for people to hear. I came out do what I normally do 49 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,120 during the second song, I get down on my knees and I pray the 50 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,280 prayer that I always pray, which is God. 51 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,320 This church is nothing. This service is nothing. 52 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,480 This sermon is nothing. I'm nothing unless you're in it 53 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,840 unless your presence and your power show up in this moment. 54 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,880 God would you do what only you can do in ways that only you can 55 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:33,000 do it. Can you start a fire in the 56 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,360 church that Satan can't put out? And then I walked out on stage 57 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,720 believing that you guys were going to get to be Co inheritors 58 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,960 of a dumpster fire of a sermon like man I I what what is 59 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,720 happening here? You may remember I said I had 60 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,640 you guys all stand and I just read First Corinthians chapter 3 61 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:56,960 out loud over you and I said these words. 62 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:01,800 So that way if you get nothing out of the sermon, you at least 63 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:07,040 got the word of God. And then something very special 64 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:08,920 happened. Now some of you may be gone. 65 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:10,880 No, we're in agreement with where you're at, Clayton. 66 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,080 Which, Listen, I I can live with that. 67 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,120 Unprompted. Unprompted. 68 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,399 I have received more encouragement, more texts, more 69 00:04:21,399 --> 00:04:26,840 emails, more messages about that sermon than any sermon I've been 70 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:32,000 excited to preach on an Easter or a Christmas Eve or a vision 71 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,280 series. Like when I can't wait for you 72 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:37,160 to hear What I've written. Crickets. 73 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:44,840 When I'm scared out of my mind about what I'm about to say, God 74 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:47,200 absolutely dumps his praise on it. 75 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:48,640 I was thinking through it. I save. 76 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:50,560 Yeah, that's, yeah, God's incredible. 77 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,520 I'm, I'm, I'm weak in this area. If I get a really good 78 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:57,920 encouragement, I save my encouragement. 79 00:04:57,920 --> 00:04:59,360 I have a little folder in my inbox. 80 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,080 If you send criticisms, we evaluate them and then we 81 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:07,360 discard them. But if you send, we do evaluate 82 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:08,640 them. I mean that especially if you 83 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:13,560 sign your name, by the way, whoever sending me letters, this 84 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,800 is not scripted. Whoever sends me like 9 page 85 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,280 letters in red and white ink and you never sign your name. 86 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,880 I can't follow up with you. So stop or start signing your 87 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:27,920 name. But the people who, the people 88 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,720 who, who sign stuff. So what I do is, and sometimes 89 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,400 you'll get this, I take those and I put them in like my 90 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,240 encouragement folder. So when you're tempted that when 91 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,680 you have a dark day in ministry, I've got, you know, a pile of 92 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,160 something to remind, you know, it's not all bad. 93 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:44,320 And I haven't received more encouragement from a single 94 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,840 sermon than all the way back during weeds in my garden. 95 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:50,920 Why am I telling you all this? Listen, do not blow me up on 96 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:52,600 emails this week. I got another full week. 97 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,880 Here's why I'm telling you this. I want you to know that our God 98 00:05:55,880 --> 00:06:00,360 is absolutely, 100% undefeated. I told my boys we were doing a 99 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,960 Bible study. And because my boys are like you 100 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:08,480 and me, there are times when we get a lump in our throat about 101 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:11,080 doing something for God. Have you ever had that moment 102 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,880 where you're like, I don't know how this is going to go? 103 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,440 I don't know how I'm going to feel about this? 104 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:24,160 And so I tell my boys that courage is not the absence of 105 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,600 fear. Courage is doing something even 106 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,960 when you're scared and that to be people of courage, we have 107 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:35,360 to, even though we have a lump in our throat and even though we 108 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,800 wish that the circumstances were different, we're going to do it 109 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,040 anyway. And so as I was wrapping up my 110 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,560 Discovery Bible study with my family, we always, and for those 111 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:47,920 of you who do a Discovery Bible study, you guys know that the 112 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,720 very end of one of those, you kind of answer 2 questions. 113 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:55,040 What are you going to do and who are you going to tell? 114 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,840 And I told my boys that my tell was going to be you. 115 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:02,360 And I'll tell you why because you might be tempted to think, 116 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:06,160 man, if, if Clayton could have this conversation with my 117 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,160 friend, it would all go perfect. Boy, if I could just talk like 118 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,840 Clayton or some of our campus pastors, wouldn't that be great? 119 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,960 I need you to know that we get scared too. 120 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,600 We get nervous too. We don't have the right words to 121 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:29,160 say all the time too. But don't ever doubt how God can 122 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:34,200 take a small amount of faith and just a little bit of obedience 123 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,800 and do a mighty work. Because at the end of the day, 124 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,880 what your friend or your spouse or the person you go to school 125 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:48,240 with, they don't need a word from you and you don't need a 126 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:53,080 word from me. What we all need is a word from 127 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,520 him. And so even if you don't feel 128 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:01,040 like it's the right word, God can give you the right word to 129 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:03,760 help people in the situation that they're in. 130 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,200 And it's when you step into those moments. 131 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,360 I've stood on this stage a ton of times and not been scared. 132 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,720 I've also stood on this stage a bunch of times and been scared. 133 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,360 And can I tell you something? My wife will tell you this when 134 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:21,920 I get done right in the sermon on Monday night. 135 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,160 And I go, this sermon stinks. And I usually use a different 136 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,240 word than stinks, but I'm trying to do better. 137 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:32,440 But it rhymes with, Oh no, shouldn't do that either. 138 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,520 Please forgive me for the thoughts that just went through 139 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,680 your head. My wife will tell you that those 140 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:47,280 are usually going to be the best ones. 141 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:52,000 So when you don't feel it, when it's not going the way you want 142 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,720 it to, when you don't feel the way you wish you felt about it, 143 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:59,240 can I just encourage you in faith to just be obedient and 144 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:01,960 let God do what only He can do in it? 145 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:06,720 Because at the end of the day, our job is to plant and water, 146 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,200 but God is the one who provides the growth. 147 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,080 As we jump into First Corinthians chapter 4, we're 148 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:19,240 going to near the end of Paul dealing with minor issues that 149 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:24,400 are producing major problems. Now, the next couple of weeks 150 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:28,360 we're going to be hitting it hard on some pretty tough 151 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,360 issues, and Paul addresses a whole bunch of other issues, 152 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:36,840 major sin issues in the church. So for the next couple weeks, 153 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,320 hang on. Now I'm making the distinction 154 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:45,200 between minor and major because that's how we see them, not how 155 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:47,680 God sees them. Here's what I mean. 156 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,960 Paul has been dealing in chapter 1, chapter 2, and chapter 3, and 157 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,000 again in this chapter, chapter 4. 158 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:59,760 Pride, disunity, jealousy, and quarreling. 159 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:05,520 And we usually don't get as upset about these sin issues. 160 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:09,040 Do you want to know why? Because they're the ones that we 161 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:12,640 struggle with. And anytime we struggle with the 162 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:18,240 sin, it's a minor issue. We would rather deal with the 163 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,960 big sin issues that other people deal with then deal with the 164 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:27,440 minor issues that we have. The problem is that the greatest 165 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:31,720 threat to the mission of Jesus throughout the church is not the 166 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:37,600 sins of the world, it's the undealt sin issues in the lives 167 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:42,040 of believers. You see, people want to move of 168 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:47,120 God, but God will not bless or resource pride. 169 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:51,600 Why is Paul going on and on about unity in the church? 170 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,560 Because all throughout church history, the people of God were 171 00:10:55,560 --> 00:11:00,160 never more powerful when they were united and never more 172 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,360 powerless when they were divided. 173 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,400 So how does Paul deal with this? He deals with this directly. 174 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,480 First Corinthians chapter 4 verses one and two. 175 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:17,080 This then is how you ought to regard us as servants of Christ 176 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,520 and as those entrusted. We're going to circle back to 177 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:23,800 the word servants and entrusted with the mysteries God has 178 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,680 revealed. Now it is required that those 179 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:32,320 who have been given or who have been given a trust must prove 180 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,360 faithful. Paul starts off with two word 181 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,760 choices that invoke a ton of imagery. 182 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,720 He reminds them that first and foremost we are to be servants 183 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,360 of the Kingdom. The word for servant that he 184 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:52,040 uses there is under rower. Under rower. 185 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,640 What's that mean? Glad you came, Glad you asked. 186 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:59,240 Imagine you are on a slave ship. You are have been taken captive 187 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:05,720 by Rome and you are on the ship and you are the under rower. 188 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,720 You're not on deck where you get to feel the breeze, feel the 189 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:10,520 sun. Nope. 190 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,200 You are below deck. There's rows of people there. 191 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:18,280 There's no stops, no bathroom breaks, no wind, no breeze, no 192 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:22,760 nothing. Just a chain and an oar, and the 193 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:27,480 under rower is at the bottom of all the other rowers. 194 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,960 He says this is where we belong. We're at the very bottom of the 195 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:39,120 boat and all we do is row. What he's saying is you and I 196 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,200 are to be servants wherever our master wants us to go, doing 197 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,800 whatever our master wants us to do. 198 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:50,840 And lots of people, maybe even you sometimes me, we love to be 199 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,640 seen as a servant. If somebody say he's just such a 200 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,560 wonderful servant, you'd be like, oh, that's a pretty nice 201 00:12:57,560 --> 00:12:59,280 compliment. I should meet that person. 202 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,080 If you were bragging about your wife, she just does an 203 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:04,640 incredible job of serving our family. 204 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,720 Be like, Oh my goodness, what a what an awesome trait. 205 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:08,840 I wish your wife was my wife. That sounds fantastic. 206 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:14,480 Everybody likes to be seen as a servant, but almost nobody likes 207 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:21,080 to be treated like 1. We like the perception of being 208 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,640 a servant until someone hands us an oar and says get to the 209 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:30,000 bottom of the boat and row. The second image that he uses is 210 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:34,000 the that of a housekeeper or a house manager. 211 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,480 He says those who have been entrusted, they are not owners 212 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:42,920 of the house but stewards of the house. 213 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,240 They are servants who take care of the property, the fields, the 214 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,400 food, not on behalf of themselves, on behalf of the 215 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:54,120 master. The expectation is that you and 216 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:59,960 I are required to prove ourselves faithful over the 217 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:02,680 things that we have been entrusted with. 218 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:07,920 Turn your neighbor and say we the things that we have been 219 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:12,720 entrusted with. We have lots of opinions about 220 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:18,200 how other people should manage what they have been given, but 221 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:22,280 Paul says that we are to be stewards of what we have been 222 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,120 entrusted with. We love to talk about how 223 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,440 professional athletes should manage their platform or they're 224 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:31,320 giving. We have big opinions about how 225 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:36,440 billionaires should manage their wealth or those in Washington 226 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,800 and how they should manage their power. 227 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,920 However, you have not been entrusted with their money, 228 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,000 their position, their life, or their power. 229 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:50,360 You've been entrusted with what you've been entrusted with. 230 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:55,200 And can I just say this gently? The backbone of every 231 00:14:55,200 --> 00:15:01,280 civilization and the centerpiece of the Christian faith is 232 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:06,160 supposed to be the family. So tough question here. 233 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:09,920 How are you managing your family? 234 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,080 How are you stewarding your marriage? 235 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:19,760 How are you navigating your kids, your finances, your 236 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:22,840 relationships for the mission of God? 237 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,320 You are to be a servant of God's Kingdom in your home. 238 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:32,760 You and I are to be stewards of the leadership positions that He 239 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,720 has put us into. We need to spend very little 240 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,520 time talking about how other people could live, should live 241 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,840 their lives, and focusing A gigantic portion of our time 242 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:45,680 about how do we be a better steward of what God has given 243 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,960 us. Verses 3 through 5, Paul keeps 244 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:53,160 going. I care very little if I'm judged 245 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,440 by you or any human court. Indeed, I do not even judge 246 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:01,200 myself. My conscience is clear, but that 247 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:06,440 does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 248 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:09,960 Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time. 249 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,720 Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is 250 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,560 hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. 251 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:22,280 At that time, each will receive their praise from God. 252 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:26,960 Now I'm going to unpack a ton of this next week when I we, we're 253 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:28,640 going to talk a ton about judging. 254 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:30,520 And if you're going, man, I've been wanting to get better at 255 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,720 being judgy. It'd be a great week for you to 256 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,560 come because I'm going to teach you how to do it. 257 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:37,280 OK. But Paul knows that his readers 258 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:41,960 have tons of opinions about how Paul should be managing his life 259 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:46,280 and his ministry. And Paul knows that he does not 260 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,120 have to give an account to those people. 261 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,560 And what Paul does is he lays out four courts, but only one 262 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,280 that matters. Here's the 1st court that he 263 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:56,880 talks about, the court of public opinion. 264 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:01,440 Paul says don't care. I wonder how much doesn't get 265 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,000 done for the Kingdom of God because we are too worried about 266 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:06,839 people who are not of the Kingdom of God would view us. 267 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,839 I wonder how many things don't get done for the Kingdom of God 268 00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:13,680 because people who claim to be in the Kingdom of God, we are 269 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:15,839 more worried about what they think than about what God 270 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:17,640 thinks. Paul says public opinion don't 271 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:19,520 care. Then he talks about the judicial 272 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:21,319 court. Well, listen, I'm going to honor 273 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:24,200 the judicial system as long as the judicial system doesn't make 274 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:27,000 it illegal for me to follow God. And if they make it impossible 275 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,800 for me to follow God, then I won't follow them. 276 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:32,200 I'll be an outlaw for Jesus. Then he talks about the court of 277 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:34,720 personal opinion. We're going to pause here for 278 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:37,880 just a second because I think there's a little devotional in 279 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:41,040 there for us because many of us get trapped here. 280 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:47,680 How we view ourselves matters, and there are some of you who 281 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,120 will put you all the way over here on this end of the 282 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:53,440 spectrum. You're extremely hard on 283 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,760 yourself. You have a very realistic 284 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:01,000 assessment of who you are. You know just how bad you've 285 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,600 been, how much you've been saved, how jacked up you are. 286 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:09,680 You get a PER. You are so clear on how bad of a 287 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,800 human being you are. However, sometimes people who 288 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:16,240 have that mentality, what they end up doing accidentally is 289 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,480 they diminish the cross in Jesus of its power. 290 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,520 And here's what I mean. Because you have such an 291 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,760 accurate assessment of who you are and your failures and your 292 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,840 shortcomings, you have come to the conclusion that there is no 293 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,920 way that God could ever save you or use you. 294 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:39,880 You're too far gone, you're too messed up, you've been too bad. 295 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,680 And they're of the opinion that because of who they've been, 296 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,880 there is no way that God could redeem, repurpose, and save 297 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:50,920 them. And when you do that, while it 298 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:55,040 may not be intentional, you're making a gross claim about the 299 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:57,600 sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Because what you're saying is 300 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,840 Jesus sacrifice is enough for other people, but it's not 301 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:06,320 enough for me. But hear me, there is not a sin 302 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:09,880 that Jesus will not forgive and there is not a Sinner that Jesus 303 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:12,600 cannot save. On the opposite end of the 304 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,360 spectrum, there. Now be so careful here. 305 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,640 When I did this on Thursday night, there were some marriages 306 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,280 that started having problems. So I'm just going to encourage 307 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:21,600 everybody. Just look at me for a little 308 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,160 bit, OK? Because we might be talking 309 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:26,400 about you or the person you came with or the person you should 310 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,600 have came with. These are the people who, you 311 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:32,280 know, they're not too hard on themselves. 312 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:35,800 They're not nearly as hard on themselves as they should be. 313 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:38,480 They would say that they're pretty good people. 314 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,040 They're doing a pretty good job. They live pretty good lives. 315 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:44,680 I've been wrong before. I just don't remember when it 316 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,920 happened. I would say I'm sorry if I did 317 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:50,960 something wrong, but I I haven't done anything wrong. 318 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:57,440 And these people, whoever they are, seriously, just look at me. 319 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,280 You know what they do? They too diminish the cross and 320 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:09,400 the sacrifice of Jesus Christ of its power, because they don't 321 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:11,640 see themselves as a Sinner needing saved. 322 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:17,040 They see Jesus as a small, tiny, insignificant component of their 323 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,080 salvation. They see the cross is something 324 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,720 to add to their life instead of the basis of their life and the 325 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:28,440 basis of their salvation. Hear me. 326 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:35,200 The Bible says that we were dead, dead, dead, dead in our 327 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,400 sins. Jesus did not come to improve 328 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:44,080 your life, He came to save it. Jesus did not come to make bad 329 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:48,560 people good, good people better. Jesus came to make dead people 330 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:54,240 alive in him. And so while you may look at 331 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:58,760 yourself and see yourself as way too far gone, you are not so far 332 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:01,720 gone that the blood of Jesus Christ can't cover you if by 333 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:03,840 faith you will receive what He has done on your behalf. 334 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:07,000 And if you were the kind of person who has been going 335 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,360 through life and you just think you're a pretty stinking good 336 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:13,000 person, and you know, I, I just a little bit of Jesus is all I 337 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,400 need. You have a gross 338 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,440 misunderstanding of your fallen nature and your sinfulness and 339 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:19,640 your pride. But the good news is that Jesus 340 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,880 came on your behalf and he can save even you. 341 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:30,360 Then Paul goes to the 4th court, the only one that matters, the 342 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,920 only one that counts when you will stand before God. 343 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:39,040 Hebrews chapter 4 verse 13 teaches us this is a scary verse 344 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:40,800 in the Bible. If you're looking for a scary 345 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,720 verse. Nothing in all creation is 346 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,280 hidden from God's sight. And Speaking of the Judgment 347 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:53,200 Day, it says everything is uncovered and laid bare before 348 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,440 the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. 349 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,880 You can spend your side, you can spend the rest of your life 350 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:02,240 looking for the approval of others, but you're not going to 351 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,080 stand before others on Judgement Day. 352 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:07,520 You can spend the rest of your life measuring yourself against 353 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,960 yourself, but you won't stand before you on Judgement Day. 354 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,640 But you will stand before God. And when you do, you better 355 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,200 stand on the record of Jesus Christ. 356 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:22,280 And the Bible says that you will be rewarded for what you did for 357 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:27,120 Him and for his Kingdom. Cause verses 6 and seven. 358 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,160 Now, brothers and sisters, I've applied these things to myself 359 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,840 and Apolis for your benefit so that you may learn from us the 360 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:35,760 meaning of the saying. Do not go beyond what is 361 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:37,520 written. Then you will not be puffed up 362 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,720 by being a follower of one of us over against the other. 363 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,320 For who makes you different from anyone else? 364 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:47,440 And what do you have that you did not receive? 365 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,400 And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did 366 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:53,520 not? Paul says, look guys, I'm living 367 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:59,480 this out, follow my example. Let me just say something to the 368 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,360 the parents out there and the people who work in a secular 369 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:05,040 workplace. Don't ever underestimate the 370 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,920 power of your example. Your kids and the people you 371 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,640 interact with will not remember everything that you say, but 372 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,360 they will remember how you lived in the example that you set 373 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:18,560 before them. The people who get the closest 374 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,880 to you are either going to be let down and disappointed, or 375 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,640 they will be inspired and held to a higher standard. 376 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:28,080 And then Paul looks at the people he says, don't go beyond 377 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,960 what's written. There's a lot that gets said on 378 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,640 social media, and there's a whole theme right now of unsmart 379 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:39,520 people who are making gross accusations about the Old 380 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:41,400 Testament. And so for those of you who are 381 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,520 Bible nerds, let me just talk to you for just a second. 382 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,360 It's true that the Bible was not written to you. 383 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,360 The Bible had an original audience, but the Bible was 384 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:55,400 written for you. It was written for your good, 385 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,840 for your maturity, for your growth, for your sanctification. 386 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,640 So you can know God, understand God, and learn from the people 387 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:03,280 that God has interacted with in the past. 388 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,680 And it is the inspired Word of God, which means the Holy Spirit 389 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,520 was the one who participated in the writing for your good. 390 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,160 So even though you weren't the original intended audience, you 391 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:14,520 were a part of the audience that it had in mind. 392 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,720 And a lot of people will say a lot of stupid things about the 393 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:19,520 Old Testament. And I just want to say something 394 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:23,120 that I think is worth noting. Paul is writing to people in the 395 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:26,000 New Testament under the New Covenant. 396 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,840 And while he is writing to them just in First Corinthians, out 397 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:36,360 of the 437 verses in First Corinthians, Paul quotes the Old 398 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:41,840 Testament 41 times. So Paul is saying that the Old 399 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,840 Testament is good for people living in the New Testament. 400 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:47,520 I'll tell you why. Because when you read the Old 401 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:49,560 Testament, you're going to realize that God made the world 402 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,680 and everything in it. You're also going to learn that 403 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:54,640 we're sin for people and we messed it up. 404 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,360 We're the problem, not the solution. 405 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:04,400 Then we realized that God, in his grace and mercy, uses sinful 406 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:08,840 people to bring about his redemptive work, and that true 407 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,800 followers of Jesus make sure that at the end of every story 408 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:13,720 that God is the one who's the hero. 409 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,800 Why does this matter? Because this will destroy pride 410 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,040 in a church and in the life of a believer. 411 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:23,120 Because when you realize that God is God and you're not, 412 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:25,760 you're not going to be as prideful as you used to be. 413 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:28,640 When you realize that you're the problem, not the solution, 414 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,400 you're not going to be as prideful as you used to be. 415 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,000 When you realize that God is the one who allows you to 416 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,640 participate in His redemptive work, you're not going to be as 417 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:39,720 frightful as you used to be. And when you decide to make 418 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,240 Jesus the hero of absolutely every single story, you will not 419 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:44,840 be as frightful as you used to be. 420 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:48,160 That's why Paul goes on to say everything that is happening to 421 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:52,000 you spiritually you have received from God. 422 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,280 So why are you boasting as if you did it? 423 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,080 You didn't get on the cross, Jesus did. 424 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:02,960 You didn't come up with the idea of salvation, God did. 425 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,480 You're not the one who paid the ultimate price, God did. 426 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,480 The grace you have didn't come from you, it came from God. 427 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:13,000 The mercy that's washed over you didn't come from you, it came 428 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,600 from God. So why are you boasting as if 429 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:20,160 you did it? You received it, so all the 430 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,160 glory should not go to you, but to him. 431 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:25,920 You were given it. You received it. 432 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,280 Verses 8 through 13, Paul starts to get a little sarcastic. 433 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,880 If you've never been married to somebody who's sarcastic, have 434 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:35,240 somebody explain this part to you. 435 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:39,800 OK, Paul's looking at people and he goes into sarcasm mode. 436 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:45,000 Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich, 437 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:48,920 you have begun to reign, and that without us. 438 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:52,640 How I wish you really had begun to reign, so that we might reign 439 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,160 with you. For it seems to me that God has 440 00:26:56,160 --> 00:27:00,200 put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like 441 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,120 those condemned to die in the arena. 442 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:06,400 We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as 443 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:10,320 well as human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you 444 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:14,320 are so wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. 445 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,800 You are honored. We are dishonored to this very 446 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:20,360 hour. We go hungry and thirsty. 447 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:22,480 We are in rags. We are brutally treated. 448 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:27,120 We are homeless. We worked hard with our own 449 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:30,520 hands. When we are cursed, we bless. 450 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,080 When we are persecuted, we endure it. 451 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:38,400 When we are slandered, we answer kindly. 452 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:44,320 We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world, 453 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:50,040 right up to this moment. Paul starts off and he's 454 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,520 comparing himself to all these other people and he's going. 455 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,480 You think you've got it all figured out? 456 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:00,120 Not even close. He's trying to point out how out 457 00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:03,680 of line they are in their thinking and their living, Paul 458 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:05,200 says. I feel like I'm someone at the 459 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,720 end of a procession. Now, to the people in corn, this 460 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:11,480 would have made perfect sense. Imagine a Roman general going 461 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,120 off to war for a military campaign and then many years 462 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:20,040 later, returning victorious. And as he would enter into the 463 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:23,560 city, he would be at the front of the parade with all of the 464 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:26,040 soldiers. And the town would gather and 465 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:27,760 they would applaud and they would cheer. 466 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,120 They'd be excited. And at the very end of the 467 00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:33,440 parade would be all of the people that they captured. 468 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:38,360 And they would drag those people into the arena to be slaughtered 469 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,920 by the gladiators during the games. 470 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:49,240 Paul's saying, that's how I feel at every turn. 471 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:54,920 It's heartache. Paul is taking a sledgehammer to 472 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,920 those who believe in the prosperity gospel where they 473 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,800 believe that life with Jesus means it is a life to riches and 474 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:02,520 abundance of material possessions. 475 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:05,360 He's saying that's not where close to what I've experienced. 476 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,080 But then look at this. There's this inspiring moment in 477 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:10,920 here. It's almost like, it's like 478 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:13,600 Paul's going, hey, I just want you to know what the Holy 479 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:15,560 Spirit's doing in US during this season. 480 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,160 And when you read it, you're like, Oh my goodness, that is 481 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:20,640 not me. That's not anywhere close to 482 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:24,760 being me. Paul says when we're cursed, we 483 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:29,640 bless. When we're persecuted, we endure 484 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,280 it. When we're slandered, we're 485 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:38,440 answering kindly. When you're going through life, 486 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,880 you're going to get bumped. You'll be going through 487 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,280 something at work, you'll be going something at home and 488 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:44,880 something will happen and you'll get bumped. 489 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,200 And when you get bumped, stuff comes out of you, right? 490 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:51,720 Some of you, you're trying, you know, you've been following 491 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:53,800 Jesus for a while. You're trying to not, you know, 492 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,440 say mean things, but you get bumped and you say a mean thing 493 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,440 or, you know, everybody thinks they're Christian until they get 494 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,040 cut off in traffic. And then like all of a sudden, 495 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:06,400 like your hand remembers that you used to not be saved and it 496 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,600 does the one finger wave like you didn't even, can I tell you 497 00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:13,200 something that happened? Because that's in you. 498 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,640 When you get bumped, what comes out is what's in you. 499 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,720 And look at what's happening with Paul when he gets bumped. 500 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:28,440 Look what comes out. When people say mean things to 501 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:33,440 us, we answer kindly. When we're persecuted, we endure 502 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:37,720 it. The only person who can change 503 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:40,920 what's happening inside of you is the Holy Spirit. 504 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:44,720 And if we want to change what's coming out of us, we have to 505 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:48,640 lean into Him in a major way because you are going to get 506 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:51,720 bumped in this life. But when you get bumped, how you 507 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:55,360 respond is evidence of what the Holy Spirit is doing in your 508 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,080 life. So this week, when you get 509 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:03,400 bumped, you'll see what comes out, and that'll be a moment for 510 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:06,840 you to either thank God for what He's doing in your life and how 511 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:10,680 He's changing what comes out, or it will reveal to you what needs 512 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:15,160 to happen in your life. There's a pastor of a church 513 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,640 that's growing rapidly in the South. 514 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:23,200 And any time, you know, pastors are not immune from, you know, 515 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:26,640 people taking shots at them. And it was almost like there was 516 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:30,240 a coordinated attack over a period of about 3 weeks. 517 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,080 A bunch of people in the blogosphere and people with 518 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:39,280 podcasts like kind of colluded and started taking a whole bunch 519 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,080 of shots. I mean, it's a large church. 520 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:43,920 There's, you know, probably 500 employees on that staff and 521 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:45,680 there was 1 disgruntled employee. 522 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,200 And any of you guys have ever worked with people or managed 523 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,040 people? You know, there's always one, 524 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:53,720 right? Oh my goodness, hold on a 525 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:54,920 second. If you're on staff and you're 526 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:56,760 watching this right now, I have no ones on my mind. 527 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:01,280 So don't think that I'm OK. You're all good right now, OK? 528 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:08,400 Anyhow, so the people who are not in the know are turning on 529 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,320 the cameras, they're writing their hit pieces, they're doing 530 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:13,920 all this stuff. The people in the know know that 531 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:16,120 nothing's wrong. But imagine you sitting in your 532 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:20,200 office and seeing people just say absolutely vile, destructive 533 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:23,400 things about you and your ministry and how you navigate 534 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:26,920 life. He's driving home after 535 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:31,280 everybody kind of throws their shade at him and he gets to the 536 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:35,240 house and the kids are waiting in the garage with posters that 537 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:40,080 say world's best dad, world's best boss, world's best pastor. 538 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:45,120 He comes into the house and all the the the good plates have 539 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:50,680 been put on the table. And the wife says that we're I'm 540 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:56,240 making you your favorite meal. And he goes, why are you doing 541 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:58,960 all this? And this is what she said, 542 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,960 quoting Jesus. Blessed are you when people 543 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:10,120 persecute you and say all kinds of evil about you, rejoice and 544 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,360 be glad, because great is your reward. 545 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:20,560 So tonight we feast because God is going to bless us. 546 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:28,120 That's a completely different response to actually take on the 547 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:32,880 piling on of the uninformed, uneducated blogosphere. 548 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:38,680 And instead of fighting back on the blogosphere, you instead go 549 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:41,880 home and celebrate knowing that God is going to reward you for 550 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,680 enduring the persecution. What's the take away? 551 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:48,480 Jennifer should be making me more home cooked meals. 552 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,760 I, I know you guys were all thinking the same thing that I 553 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,000 was thinking. Actually, I know she's been 554 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,320 killing. We've eaten. 555 00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:00,240 I mean, all right, I ate a lot this week. 556 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,440 Let me just say that. All right, not related to that, 557 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:04,640 First Corinthians chapter 4, verse 21, big punch. 558 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:07,240 Here it comes. I am writing this not to shame 559 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:11,000 you, but to warn you as my dear children, even if you had 10,000 560 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,280 guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. 561 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:16,639 For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 562 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:19,239 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 563 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:22,560 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son, whom I 564 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:24,800 love, who is faithful in the Lord. 565 00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:28,600 He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which 566 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:32,600 agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church. 567 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:36,199 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not 568 00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:38,480 coming to you. But I will come to you very soon 569 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:43,840 if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how 570 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,840 those arrogant people are talking, but what power they 571 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:51,320 have. For the Kingdom of God is not a 572 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:56,760 matter of talk, but of power. What do you prefer? 573 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:00,840 Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come 574 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:04,960 in love and with a gentle spirit? 575 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,600 Paul finishes the sermon by reminding these people of his 576 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,520 love for them. He's saying I'm saying these 577 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:16,840 things because I love you. Harsh words from a bad father 578 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:21,480 can destroy the heart of a child, but hard teachings from a 579 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:24,920 good father can destroy the work of Satan in the heart of a 580 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:29,480 believer. Ezekiel chapter 33 catches this. 581 00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:33,480 But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and does not sound 582 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:37,960 the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their 583 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:41,800 captivity. They will die in their sins, but 584 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:46,840 I, this is God, will hold the Watchmen responsible for their 585 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:50,320 deaths. Paul is looking at a group of 586 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:53,760 people that he loves and he refuses to sit on the sidelines 587 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:58,720 and watch people set their lives on fire and set their eternity 588 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:02,600 on fire. Paul boldly and in faith and in 589 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:05,120 humility gets involved in the conversation. 590 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:09,520 He addresses the issues. How many times have we simply 591 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:13,720 not engaged in needed conversation with the hope of 592 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:18,200 turning things around and instead gossiped while we 593 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:22,440 watched the house burn to ash? Paul says. 594 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:25,280 You guys talk about the Kingdom of God, but I advance it. 595 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:29,200 There are a lot of coaches and there are a lot of consultants, 596 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:33,240 but we need to look for people who are actually doing it and 597 00:36:33,240 --> 00:36:35,960 have done it, Paul says. There's a gigantic difference 598 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:39,080 between you and me. You guys like to pontificate 599 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,360 about what it means to lead the church, but I am leading the 600 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:45,280 church. You like to pontificate and blog 601 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:47,960 about how something should be different, but I'm actually 602 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,720 doing the thing. When I was in Bible college, it 603 00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:52,440 happened all the time on dorm floors. 604 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:54,880 There'd be a group of people who'd be talking about how to 605 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:57,480 talk to people about Jesus Christ, and there'd be people 606 00:36:57,480 --> 00:37:00,280 who actually talk to people about Jesus Christ. 607 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,720 And if we're not careful, you can be people who have been in 608 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:06,600 Bible studies, LED Bible studies, but never lived the 609 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,680 Bible. Paul's looking at people and 610 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:13,960 he's saying, hey, the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but 611 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:16,600 of power. It's not people who are just 612 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:20,680 reading it, but doing it. People are not just hearing it, 613 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:24,560 but living it. And then Paul ends with this 614 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:26,640 brilliant parenting coaching thing. 615 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,520 Watch this. Paul says, you guys get to 616 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:31,040 choose what kind of dad comes home. 617 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:35,680 How am I going to show up? Am I going to show up with a 618 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:38,920 spoon or am I going to show up with a gentle spirit? 619 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:41,280 You pick. Here's what he's saying. 620 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:44,680 Parents, this is gold. It is OK. 621 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,080 Don't use this as a gigantic permission slip. 622 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:52,400 But Paul's saying when I show up, how adversarial do you want 623 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:57,080 that conversation to be? In our home, it is only 624 00:37:57,080 --> 00:37:59,560 adversarial until we have agreement. 625 00:38:00,720 --> 00:38:03,040 So when my kids do something stupid, whichever kid does 626 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:05,160 something stupid, all people do stupid things. 627 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:08,200 But until we have an agreement that you just took a stupid 628 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:12,520 pill, until we have an agreement that what you just did was send, 629 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:16,480 we are at war. And I'm not going to let off the 630 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:20,400 gas, release the pressure until we have agreement that what you 631 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:23,960 did was wrong. You tracking with me. 632 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,440 But what happens the moment we have agreement that something is 633 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:33,480 wrong right now? If this is what's wrong, this is 634 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:36,040 wrong. I don't think it's that big of a 635 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:37,120 deal. It was, Yeah. 636 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:41,400 Stop making excuses. It wasn't my fault. 637 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:44,280 You're held to a higher standard. 638 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:49,480 I'm super tired. I don't care. 639 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,680 But OK, I get it. I shouldn't have done it. 640 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:57,400 OK, Think that's what I do. We are no longer on the opposite 641 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:02,320 sides of this. I come around now that we have 642 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:05,600 agreement, we're on the same side of the issue that was 643 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:08,320 wrong. I've been wrong too. 644 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:11,920 Here's what Christians do when they've done wrong. 645 00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:15,640 We apologize, we repent, we pray. 646 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:18,600 So in that moment, Paul's looking at this church, He's 647 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:25,440 saying I'm showing up. And when I show up, I can either 648 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:33,240 show up pretty upset, lighten everything on fire, or I can 649 00:39:33,240 --> 00:39:35,120 show up with a gentle spirit. You choose. 650 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:37,680 Hear me? Why does this matter? 651 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:42,960 Because God loves repentance and God loves humility, and 652 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,320 repentant people and humble people go. 653 00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:47,800 I'm not always right. I don't always have it figured 654 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:49,160 out. I don't always do the correct 655 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:51,120 thing. I sin more than I should. 656 00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:54,440 Well, in those moments, how easy is it for you to be loving and 657 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:58,920 kind and caring? Well, the truth is, loving, kind 658 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:04,640 and caring has nothing to do. With what they did because 659 00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:07,200 telling somebody that they're wrong is kind and loving and 660 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:10,000 caring has everything to do with the tone. 661 00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:14,240 Once we're on the same side, Paul says I love you too much to 662 00:40:14,240 --> 00:40:16,480 let you keep doing this. Why does First Corinthians 663 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:20,120 chapter 4 matter? I'll tell you because how you 664 00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:21,760 live is going to be judged by God. 665 00:40:23,240 --> 00:40:25,120 Why does First Corinthians chapter 4 matter? 666 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:27,680 Because how you live will impact the mission. 667 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:30,920 Why does First Corinthians chapter 4 matter? 668 00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:33,320 Because how you live will determine your reward. 669 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:36,120 Why does First Corinthians chapter 4 matter? 670 00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:39,120 Because how you live will impact whether or not other people find 671 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:43,160 Jesus. Why does First Corinthians 672 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:46,280 chapter 4 matter? Because how you live will impact 673 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:50,680 whether or not other people continue to walk in Jesus. 674 00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:52,880 We're moving to a time, a decision. 675 00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:00,080 To those of you who are here or you're watching online and 676 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:02,640 you've never started an intimate personal relationship with Jesus 677 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:04,280 Christ, I'm just going to say this quickly to you. 678 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:09,720 The Bible clearly teaches over and over and over again, and it 679 00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:12,560 reaffirms it in the text that we just read, First Corinthians 680 00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:16,120 chapter 4, that there will come a day where you will stand 681 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:22,240 before God on the judgment Day. And I just want you to hear me 682 00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:27,040 say this and say this plainly. On that day, you need to be 683 00:41:27,040 --> 00:41:31,600 found in Jesus. You do not want to be standing 684 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:34,480 on your own record. You don't want to be standing on 685 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:38,440 your own results. You want to be standing on his. 686 00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:42,360 And the beauty of the gospel message that not only Jesus 687 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:45,240 preached, but He lived, demonstrated, and made available 688 00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:50,680 is that through His finished work on the cross, sinners can 689 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:54,880 be saved and found in Him. The Bible says that we are 690 00:41:54,880 --> 00:42:00,000 clothed in Him. And so if you're here today and 691 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:02,360 you've never started an intimate, personal relationship 692 00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:06,000 with Jesus Christ, right now you are outside of Christ. 693 00:42:07,720 --> 00:42:10,880 But when you decide to make him your Lord and your Savior and 694 00:42:10,880 --> 00:42:13,880 have your life found in Him, you have nothing to fear on that 695 00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:16,240 judgement day because you are in Him. 696 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:19,080 And if you have questions about what that is or what that looks 697 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:21,360 like, you can say something in the chat or you can walk right 698 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:24,440 over there by the baptistry and talk to somebody or talk to 699 00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:26,520 somebody in your row or somebody who brought you and go, hey, I 700 00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:27,840 need to get some of this figured out. 701 00:42:28,720 --> 00:42:30,880 To the rest of you in the room, to those of you who already have 702 00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:34,880 a relationship with Jesus Christ, what step do you need to 703 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:37,600 take today? Maybe today it's time for you to 704 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:41,520 finally become a servant of the mission, participate in what God 705 00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:42,720 is doing. Maybe you need to go. 706 00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:45,720 My example has not been what it should have been for a while. 707 00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:48,400 And I need to start all through the power of the Holy Spirit 708 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:51,760 living a life that causes other people to see God's work at me. 709 00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:55,240 Some of you, you might be in a spot where this is, you're like, 710 00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:57,760 you weren't expecting this, but you maybe need to have a hard 711 00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:01,800 conversation with somebody. You're kind of watching them 712 00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:04,560 throw their spiritual life away, and you're just hoping that 713 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:06,440 somebody else will have the conversation. 714 00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,120 But maybe through this sermon, the Holy Spirit has said, yeah, 715 00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:10,960 it's time for you to have that conversation. 716 00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:15,760 What is the thing that God is calling you to do? 717 00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:19,800 This is why we say this all the time, because God is always at 718 00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:23,120 work. So if we don't feel like we have 719 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:26,000 anything to do or anything to change that, it has nothing to 720 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:27,680 do with God. It has everything to do with the 721 00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:31,080 fact that we're not listening or we're not being obedient. 722 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:35,760 And you have no idea what God could do when you decide to have 723 00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:39,720 that hard conversation, when you begin to participate in His 724 00:43:39,720 --> 00:43:42,160 mission, when you decide to go, you know what? 725 00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:43,920 God, through the power of your Holy Spirit, I want to be an 726 00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:47,080 example so that everybody that encounters me sees that there's 727 00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:49,320 something different about my life, my priorities, and my 728 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:53,040 future. Would you stand with me, God? 729 00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:56,080 You know perfectly what every person in here needs to do. 730 00:43:56,760 --> 00:44:00,240 It's not a mystery to you. And you know the full power and 731 00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:04,280 the full extent of what could happen because of our lack of 732 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:06,960 obedience. And you also are fully able to 733 00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:11,000 see what could happen as a result of our obedience. 734 00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:15,040 And so, God, I just ask that you would give every person and then 735 00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:17,760 hear clarity about the next thing that we're supposed to do 736 00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:19,480 and that you would give us the courage to do it. 737 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:21,520 In your name I pray. Amen.