1 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:06,680 It is good to be with you this morning. 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,760 You guys sound great singing. It's always a great pleasure to 3 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,080 be able to worship together on the Lord's Day. 4 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:15,920 It's good to see everybody here today. 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,280 It's a great privilege and an honor to be preaching this 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,480 morning. I think most of you guys know 7 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,320 me, but if you're visiting, my name is Jasper. 8 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,440 I serve as the associate pastor here, so I have the great honor 9 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,560 of preaching God's Word this morning. 10 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,600 So I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be great. 11 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:40,320 I really thought hard about how to to make the best use of the 12 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:46,760 time because for the last several years, the Sunday after 13 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,680 Arkansas plays LSU, Kyle has preached and he's always had 14 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,320 something to say about that. And so I've been thinking about 15 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:55,760 what I was going to say about that. 16 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,800 But we're going to just skip right over that and say, hey, 17 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,120 Sherry's birthday today. So happy birthday, Sherry. 18 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,120 Yeah. Much better than talking about 19 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,560 football, right? OK Today we're going to be 20 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,080 finishing finishing our sermon series through First 21 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:16,440 Corinthians. So we have been in this book for 22 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,160 41 weeks and it has been very good. 23 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,040 We have learned so much through First Corinthians. 24 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,920 Kyle has had to walk us through some really, really difficult 25 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,520 texts. I'm very thankful for him and 26 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,680 thankful for the time that we've had to look at some of these 27 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,240 controversial topics through First Corinthians. 28 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,480 But it comes to a close today. And so if you have your Bibles 29 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:45,880 open to 1st Corinthians chapter 16, if you remember way back 41 30 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:50,480 weeks ago, we titled this series Grace and the Christian Life 31 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,680 because in first Corinthians we've seen Paul teaching what 32 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,800 life should look like as a follower of Christ, all of it 33 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:03,040 motivated and sustained by the grace of God in the life of a 34 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,080 believer. If you remember way back then, 35 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:10,560 we tried to set some context for you about who Paul was writing 36 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:15,120 to and what was going on. And so the church at Corinth was 37 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,360 very heavily influenced by the Pagan culture surrounding them. 38 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,600 Paul was seeking to correct a lot of things in their behavior 39 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,440 and in their conduct. In this letter he was given an 40 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:32,240 impractical instruction on how through God's grace, they should 41 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,440 live in a God glorifying manner as Christians. 42 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,280 Throughout the letter, there have been many encouragements as 43 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:45,120 well as corrections and rebukes. He's taught them about personal 44 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:50,120 devotion to the Lord, about life within Christian marriage, life 45 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,600 within community, the community of the believers, and even their 46 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:55,720 conduct in their worship services. 47 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,920 So he's covered a large spectrum of topics in this letter. 48 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,200 Throughout these teachings, Paul has been stressing that 49 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:09,280 Christians should let their actions and their way of life 50 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,920 reflect what they believe. The things they've been taught 51 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:16,400 and the things that they claim should be evident in the way 52 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,720 they live out their lives there in court. 53 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,880 Namely, that they've been called out of darkness and into 54 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,800 marvelous light, as we've said so many different times. 55 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:30,320 And they should live as such. They should live as lights in a 56 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:34,480 dark and crooked generation. They should live out their faith 57 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,200 and love and unity, seeking the advancement of the gospel, the 58 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,760 good of their neighbor, and not be conformed to the surrounding 59 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:44,960 culture, but conformed to the image of Christ. 60 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,040 This is what Paul has been driving home in this letter to 61 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,240 the Corinthians. So although Paul was seeking to 62 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,840 correct many issues within the church, and at times he was very 63 00:03:55,840 --> 00:04:00,320 stern and very blunt with him, he does this out of a pure love, 64 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,360 the love as as a father would have for his son. 65 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,440 And Paul had great love for this Corinthian church, which we're 66 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,760 going to see in our text today as we conclude this letter. 67 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,640 So let's go ahead and look at First Corinthians 16. 68 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,240 We're going to be looking at verses 19 through 24 this 69 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,279 morning. I think these verses do a great 70 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,960 job of tying a bow on the series of the hole in the book. 71 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:27,640 And so I could summarize it in my own words like this. 72 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:32,640 The church lives in love, hope, and grace until Christ returns. 73 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,440 So I'm going to explain that more as we go. 74 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:37,200 Let's go ahead and read this together. 75 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,600 If you were able, please stand to your feet for the reading of 76 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,880 God's Word. First Corinthians chapter 16, 77 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:49,640 verses 19 through 24. The churches of Asia send you 78 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,280 greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with 79 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:56,440 the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the 80 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,680 Lord. All the brothers send you 81 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,320 greetings. Greet one another with a holy 82 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,120 kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting 83 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,080 with my own hand. If anyone has no love for the 84 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:11,440 Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord come the grace of the 85 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,560 Lord Jesus, be with you, my love, we be my love. 86 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,520 Be with you all in Christ Jesus, Amen. 87 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,640 This is the word of the Lord. Speak to God. 88 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,000 Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your 89 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,480 word and pray now that you help us to understand it and apply it 90 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:28,640 rightly. Please be with us this morning 91 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,520 and may you be glorified in all things in Christ's name, Amen. 92 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:37,600 You may be seated as we saw last week as Kyle preach through 93 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:42,160 verses 12 through 18. Paul wraps this letter up by 94 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:46,600 giving reports and instructions related to a few key characters. 95 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:53,120 He mentions Apollos, Stefanus Fortunatus achaicus, and I know 96 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:55,960 I pronounce those different than Kyle, but it's tomato, tomato 97 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,840 today. OK, so but he mentions these 98 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:02,920 people and he says to be subject to such as these and to every 99 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:07,520 fellow worker and laborer. The Paul also gives them the 100 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,640 charge to be watchful, stand firm in the faith, to act like 101 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:16,600 men, be strong and let all that you do be done in love. 102 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:22,800 So in these last verses of the book, we see what letting all 103 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,600 that you do be done in love should look like. 104 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,240 In these verses, we get 3 examples of godly love. 105 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:34,080 We're going to see love within the body, love in the truth, and 106 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:38,280 love rooted in grace. This was how Paul wanted the 107 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:42,080 Corinthians to live out their days as they awaited Jesus's 108 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,720 second coming. So let's take a look at this. 109 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:46,520 Now. Look at verses 19 and 20. 110 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,920 This will be point #1 if you're taking notes, love within the 111 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,800 body. In verses 19 and 20, we see a 112 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:57,840 greeting from the Saints and affectionate unity and love on 113 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:01,920 display. Verse 19 A says the churches of 114 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:06,960 Asia send you greetings. So when he says Asia here, he's 115 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,560 referring to what is the western half of modern day Turkey. 116 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:16,240 I think we have a map of this. Yeah, so he would be over here 117 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:20,000 on the right where Ephesus was. Paul was in Ephesus as he's 118 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,680 writing this letter, OK. And he's writing it to the 119 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,240 Corinthians who are across the the pond there, so to speak. 120 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,240 And so that's where he is when he's writing to them. 121 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:30,880 Now this is all very interesting. 122 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:37,320 If you remember some about Paul, they, they would have been the 123 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,160 Corinthians would have maybe been familiar with some of these 124 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,160 people in this region, but some of them maybe they wouldn't have 125 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,160 known. So it begs the question, why are 126 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,320 they sending their greeting? Why would all these people say 127 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:53,240 hello? Right when verse 19 B, we see 128 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,880 Aquila and Chris get together with the church in their house, 129 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:57,720 send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 130 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,680 So we have learned a little about a little bit about these 131 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,640 two characters, Aquila and Priscilla, as she's called in 132 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:06,960 other texts. So the Corinthian church would 133 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,240 have known them well. They were originally from 134 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,120 Pontus. They moved to Rome. 135 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,040 But when Claudius banned Jews from Rome in 1849, they moved to 136 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,360 Corinth, which is where they met Paul. 137 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:24,000 And in Corinth, they with Paul were tent makers. 138 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,920 And no doubt they helped Paul found and start the church at 139 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,120 Corinth. And so when Paul later moves 140 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,200 from Corinth over to Ephesus where he's writing this letter, 141 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:36,919 they moved with him. So this church in Corinth would 142 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:39,640 have known Paul and Aquila and Priscilla really well. 143 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:44,280 They were founding members of the church there in Corinth. 4 144 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:48,440 out of the six times that we read about Priscilla and Aquila, 145 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,240 Priscilla is mentioned first, that this could be for various 146 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:54,040 reasons. It could be because she was 147 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:56,440 converted first. It could have been her social 148 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:01,040 status, or out of courtesy, or just stylistic variation. 149 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:05,000 As most commentaries will tell you, Most scholars believe that 150 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:09,040 it was because she was of some social status, that she came 151 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,600 from some wealthy family possibly, which would explain 152 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,080 why they owned a home large enough to have a house church 153 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:17,920 in. But when we say this, we're not 154 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:20,400 talking about they had a mansion where they fit hundreds of 155 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,000 people, right? They had maybe thirtyish people 156 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,080 in their home, so that would have been a big home back then. 157 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,680 Most of our homes will hold 20 to 30 as we see all the time in 158 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:31,480 Home Roots, right? It's not that hard. 159 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:32,880 If they can do it, we can do it, right? 160 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,640 So, but here, though she's mentioned second now, I don't 161 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:38,800 think there's much to that. It really doesn't matter. 162 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:42,760 What does matter is that we see with these two their love for 163 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:47,440 the gospel and Christ's church. It was evident in their labor 164 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:50,400 for the Lord and their sacrificial giving of themselves 165 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,560 and their resources to see the gospel spread. 166 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,560 As Kyle mentioned last week, they stewarded their time, 167 00:09:57,560 --> 00:10:01,320 talent, and treasure well. They used every means they had 168 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,800 available to advance the gospel. They simply looked at what God 169 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,320 had blessed them with and they used it for Kingdom work. 170 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,840 And that's being a faithful Christian, taking what God's 171 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:16,080 given you, the grace that He's bestowed upon you, and using it 172 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,600 for His glory. And these two did this really 173 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,080 well. It's simple, but it's faithful. 174 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:26,800 So quick word on house churches. At this time in church history, 175 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,440 many churches met in homes because Christianity was brand 176 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:32,320 new. They didn't have church 177 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,280 buildings yet. It wasn't even recognized as a 178 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,480 legitimate religion yet if you read many of your study Bible 179 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,600 notes. But we do know that they 180 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:42,800 gathered corporately when they were able. 181 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:48,160 If we see in Acts chapter 2, verse 46, day by day attending 182 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,840 the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. 183 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,520 And so when they had the means to gather more than just 20 or 184 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:56,720 30, they did that. But at this point in church 185 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:00,280 history, they just didn't have buildings in the way to do that. 186 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:02,200 So they met where they could, when they could. 187 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:05,400 They also met day by day, it says in Acts. 188 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:07,760 And so I bring all this up to point something out. 189 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,840 House churches, as we see in this text, were descriptive. 190 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,760 They're not prescriptive. Just because that's how they 191 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,200 were doing it doesn't mean that's how we should be doing it 192 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:18,680 today. I've heard a lot of people say 193 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:20,600 we shouldn't have corporate churches like this. 194 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:21,760 It should just be house churches. 195 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,480 It's what they did back then, but they didn't have a choice 196 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:25,960 back then. They were trying to do what they 197 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:27,200 could. If they would have had a 198 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:29,160 building like this, they would have gathered together. 199 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:33,520 I promise you that. So Aquila and Prisca with the 200 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:35,920 Christians who meet in their homes send their love to the 201 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,960 Corinthian church as well. The text says that they send you 202 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,160 a hearty greeting. So again, this wasn't a greeting 203 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:43,640 from a people that they didn't know. 204 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:46,440 This would be like if Sherry and I went to Birmingham and wrote 205 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,360 you a letter and said, hey, Zach and Carson, send their love. 206 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:51,400 You would have known these people that would have meant 207 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:54,560 something to you and it meant something to the Corinthians. 208 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:58,000 The love and affection that they had would have been familiar to 209 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,440 them and meant the world to them to hear from them. 210 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:04,480 Verse 20, all the brothers send you greetings. 211 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,120 Again, this is all the Christians in the area. 212 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,840 And then verse 20B greet one another with a holy kiss. 213 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:15,720 Now, again, it's very important we understand descriptive versus 214 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:19,080 prescriptive, right? We're not going to start asking 215 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,360 you guys to kiss one another during the meet and greet time, 216 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:23,080 OK? If we did, our church would 217 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:26,720 either shrink tremendously or grow by leaps and pouts. 218 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:30,240 This is just descriptive, all right? 219 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,400 This was a cultural thing. It was cultural, not a command 220 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:36,560 so much like maybe in French culture where they still do this 221 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:38,040 little Peck on either cheek, right? 222 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,320 It was just a greeting. It would have been a lot like if 223 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:44,880 we said, hey, give one another a big hug or a hearty handshake. 224 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:47,760 It was just saying, show one another love, be warm and 225 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:53,120 welcoming to one another. What we are seeing here in these 226 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,000 verses is that you might read this as you're reading through a 227 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,600 book like Corinthians and just skip right over all of this. 228 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,880 He's just saying later, right? But what we see in these verses 229 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,840 is the love of Christ within a body of believers. 230 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:11,560 You see, we are part of a local church, right? 231 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,920 Little seat. This is normative. 232 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,560 As I've already mentioned. We submit to the leadership of 233 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:21,400 the elders of this church, and the elders of this church are 234 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,200 responsible to shepherd and care for the people of this church. 235 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:30,040 The elders are not obligated to care for all the Christians in 236 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:32,640 Magnolia. That would be impossible for us 237 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:34,840 to do. And you are not required to 238 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,600 submit to every pastor in Magnolia. 239 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:41,720 That wouldn't be right. Local churches are normative. 240 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,120 This is the way God intended for this to work. 241 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,280 We believe in the mission of those who have been called to 242 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,800 take the gospel to unreach place, unreach places. 243 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:55,120 So we love and support them because see, even though we're 244 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:57,720 part of a local church, we're also part part of what's called 245 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:00,120 the Big C church, the global church, right? 246 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:04,440 We are brothers and sisters in Christ with all believers all 247 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:08,640 over the world. Our common Christ is what bonds 248 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:10,680 us together and what's what gives us unity. 249 00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:13,560 And This is why we support the efforts of those who are going 250 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:15,480 all over the world to take the gospel. 251 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:19,400 We don't just focus in on here and what we're doing here. 252 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,240 We're thinking out there as well. 253 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,360 The love within the body of Christ creates an instant 254 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:27,880 connection with others all over the world. 255 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,360 I don't know if you guys have ever experienced this, but you 256 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,320 meet someone for the first time, you've never met them, and you 257 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,200 just have a feeling that they're a believer. 258 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:38,240 There's just a joy about them. I don't know how to describe it, 259 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,000 but I've had this experience before. 260 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,840 We just have a feeling this person's a Christian again, that 261 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,800 common love is rooted in our common Christ, in our shared 262 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,080 mission. And it's this love of Christ 263 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,160 that unites us. So in these greetings, you can 264 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,080 see love within the body of Christ. 265 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,520 As Christianity was just starting to spread, as little 266 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:01,280 churches were being planted and groups of believers were popping 267 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:05,000 up all over, they were united in their mission to see Christ 268 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,360 exalted as King. They were united in their love 269 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,800 for Jesus and for one another. And it's still the same for us 270 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,960 today. We should genuinely love our 271 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,440 brothers and sisters in Christ in this church and all over 272 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,280 Magnolia and all over the world, but especially within this 273 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:23,200 church, the people that we know well. 274 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,800 We should love the people that are doing the Lord's work here 275 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:31,440 and all over the world. And This is why we support that 276 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:36,120 work, work of faithful missionaries through DTN and all 277 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,840 over. So next we see that not only 278 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,960 were the Corinthians to express love within the body, but a love 279 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,800 for the truth. This is point #2 love in the 280 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:49,160 truth. Let's look at verses 21 through 281 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,600 22. Here we see a sober warning that 282 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:58,960 love for Christ is essential. Verse 21. 283 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:01,440 I, Paul, write this with my own hand. 284 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,280 So Paul would often compose these letters by speaking and 285 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,200 dictating to someone who would write the letter for him. 286 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,120 And when doing this, he would also write part of the 287 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,080 conclusion himself to authenticate the letter. 288 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,720 His handwriting would have been noticeably different and it 289 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,480 would have been recognizable to the people he was writing to. 290 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,840 And so no doubt that is part of what Paul's doing here is 291 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:29,960 authenticating the letter. But sometimes Paul would write 292 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:33,960 personally to make a point or to emphasize something of great 293 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,320 importance, which is another reason he's doing that here. 294 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,840 So let's take a look at the next line, verse 22. 295 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:44,040 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. 296 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:48,600 So when you read this line, you're reading these verses. 297 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:53,320 This seems a bit out of place. There's been all these warm 298 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,600 wishes and farewells and hey, so and so says hi and greet one 299 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:58,480 another with kiss. Oh, by the way, if someone 300 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:00,000 doesn't love the Lord, let him be accursed. 301 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:02,800 And then it's like, it just seems like, whoa, wait a minute, 302 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:05,960 where did that come from? And so we have to stop and pause 303 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,760 for a minute and think about what Paul is saying here. 304 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:16,599 Out of nowhere comes a curse. Should we do this? 305 00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:19,800 Should we invite and wish curses on people? 306 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:24,040 What was Paul saying? Was he being evil, sinful in 307 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:28,160 doing this? Love for the Lord is a 308 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,080 foundational, essential element for all Christians. 309 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,400 It is what being a Christian is, is love for the Lord. 310 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:41,920 It's who we are and what we do. We talk about the gospel a lot. 311 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:47,280 The good news, well, all that is, is that we are all sinners. 312 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:51,160 We were all slaves to our sin. All have sinned and fallen short 313 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:55,280 of the glory of God, and the wages of that sin is death. 314 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:57,920 There is a penalty to pay, and it is death. 315 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,080 But God shows His love for us, and that while we were still 316 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:06,560 sinners, Christ died for us. God so loved us that He sent His 317 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,400 only Son, that whoever would believe in Him should have 318 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,640 everlasting life. This is the gospel on and on. 319 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,280 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe 320 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:17,360 in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be 321 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:20,720 saved. And there is therefore now no 322 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,360 condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 323 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:26,400 We love him because He first loved us. 324 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,200 And then you think about the greatest commandment, to love 325 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:32,840 the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and to 326 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,680 love your neighbor as yourself. How are we going to know who the 327 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,400 people are that love the Lord? By this, all people will know 328 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,080 that you are my disciples by your love for one another. 329 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,080 What will these people do that love the Lord? 330 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:48,760 He says if you love me, you will keep my commandments. 331 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:54,040 So love for Christ is what marks us. 332 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,120 It's what it's what sets us apart as his people. 333 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:01,680 It influences everything we do. It is absolutely critical to who 334 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,400 we are as believers. We can't be Christians without 335 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:09,360 loving Christ. This is why we are called 336 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:13,520 Christians. It's in our name just like with 337 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:18,200 Adam and Eve. When when God created Eve, Adam 338 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,800 called her woman. He was man and he put his name 339 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,800 embedded into her name because she came from man. 340 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:30,080 We have Christ's name embedded in our name because we come from 341 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,240 Christ. We are in Christ and for Christ 342 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:37,800 it's who we are. And so if anyone has no love for 343 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:42,000 the Lord, he's not of us. He is not of Christ. 344 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,720 He's not in Christ and Christ is not in him. 345 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:49,240 And we know that for those who do not love the Lord, they will 346 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:52,520 be accursed. They will suffer eternal 347 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,840 condemnation because as I mentioned earlier, we're all 348 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,000 sinners. Everyone sins and falls short of 349 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,720 the glory of God. Now the Greek word for this. 350 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:06,400 This was very interesting. The Greek word for this curse is 351 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:12,000 anathema, and it means to invoke a curse, specifically God's 352 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,280 punishment on someone. So this is the fate of all who 353 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,640 do not love the Lord Jesus Christ. 354 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:23,840 Matthew Henry says. Here is a solemn warning. 355 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:29,160 Many who have Christ's name much in their mouths have no true 356 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,520 love for Him in their hearts. None love Him in truth who do 357 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,640 not love His laws and keep His commandments. 358 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,800 Many are Christians in name who do not love Christ Jesus the 359 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,480 Lord in sincerity. Such are separated from the 360 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:46,680 people of God and the favor of God. 361 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:51,400 Those who love not the Lord Jesus Christ must perish without 362 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,000 remedy. Let us not rest in any religious 363 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,240 profession where there is not the love of Christ, earnest 364 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:02,160 desires for His salvation, gratitude for His mercies, and 365 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,280 obedience to His commandments. Amen. 366 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:13,360 So many times we see this, we see words, a profession, a claim 367 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:16,040 coming out of someone's mouth that their life and their 368 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:20,240 actions doesn't support the fruit, does not bear witness 369 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:24,360 that that's true. And so love for Christ is 370 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,920 absolutely essential. And that's not just in Word, but 371 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:32,320 in deed. Also, a real understanding of 372 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:37,440 our sin and the required punishment for it and then 373 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,040 understanding the substitutionary atonement of 374 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:43,680 Christ on our behalf should lead to nothing less than 375 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,160 wholehearted love and devotion for Jesus Christ. 376 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:52,000 If you truly understand these things, how can you not love 377 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,520 Christ? I'm convinced that if you if you 378 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,600 don't love Christ, you either don't understand your sin or you 379 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:01,800 don't understand what he did for you. 380 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,560 Yet there are those who do not. There are those who continue in 381 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,680 spiritual blindness with hard hearts. 382 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,160 We should earnestly pray for their conversion. 383 00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:18,880 But there are also those who utterly despise Christ and hate 384 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,840 Christ. They hate God. 385 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,760 We've seen it in Corinthians, and we see it in our world 386 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:27,920 today. So how should we respond to such 387 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:32,520 hatred? We see how Paul responded so by 388 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,400 invoking a curse, praying for God's punishment on those who do 389 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:38,240 not love the Lord. Is he being harsh? 390 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,040 Is he being evil? Of course not. 391 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,240 Yes, we should pray for everyone, including unbelievers, 392 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:46,960 that they would repent and believe. 393 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:51,000 This should be our first prayer, but we should also pray that 394 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,640 God's justice be done, that Christ's enemies be put 395 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,800 underneath His feet as a footstool. 396 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,360 Those imprecatory Psalms are in your Bible for a reason. 397 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:05,360 They show us what our attitude should be toward those who hate 398 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:08,160 God. Like David, we should pray that 399 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,240 His justice be done on this earth as it is in heaven. 400 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,160 Now, this doesn't mean that we pray imprecatory psalms out of 401 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:18,040 our own desires, right? But you, you should not ride a 402 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:21,680 imprecatory Psalm card and send it to the guy that cuts you off 403 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:23,560 in traffic. That is not what I'm saying. 404 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:30,200 But we should long for the day when evil and death are no more, 405 00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,640 when the curse is finally destroyed. 406 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,760 This was Paul's attitude. He's longed for that day. 407 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,000 Look what he says next in verse 22. 408 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:44,120 B Our Lord come. So again, this might seem kind 409 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:48,800 of oddly placed at first, but it makes a lot of sense when you 410 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,880 think about what he's just said. You see, this phrase is an 411 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:57,120 Aramaic phrase that was adopted by Greek speaking Christians, 412 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,400 and it expresses something very important, which is why they 413 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,240 adopted it. In Aramaic, the phrase is 414 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:08,920 maranatha. So Paul is using word play here. 415 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:12,960 He just used the previous curse, let him be a curse, which is 416 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:16,440 anathema, follows it with Maranatha. 417 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:20,680 So this is a maladiction, wishing harm on someone, 418 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,560 followed by a benediction, which is a blessing. 419 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,800 OK, so he's, he's using these two things to stress a point 420 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:31,120 here. Now the the benediction, the our 421 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:32,720 Lord come. Who is that good for? 422 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,240 Well, not those who don't love the Lord, obviously, it's good 423 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:40,600 for those who do love the Lord. Paul is praying for Christ to 424 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:45,960 return soon, which would expedite this curse on those who 425 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:49,400 don't love the Lord. Because when he comes, that will 426 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,000 be the end of death, the wiping away of every tear and all the 427 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,440 things that we look forward to, of course, but it will also be a 428 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:58,720 day of great judgment on God's enemies. 429 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:02,760 And this, of course, will be a good day for those of us who 430 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,440 love the Lord, but a day of terror for those who do not love 431 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:08,960 the Lord. As I mentioned in Sunday school 432 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,000 last week, this is known as the day of the Lord, not the Lord's 433 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:13,920 Day. Today is the Lord's day, but the 434 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,280 day of the Lord is Jesus's second coming. 435 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,040 So Paul is praying Lord come soon. 436 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:23,200 And in doing so, it would quickly expedite this process of 437 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:24,840 cursing those who don't love the Lord. 438 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,880 But it would be great hope for those who do love the Lord. 439 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,080 So like Paul, we should pray that our Lord come quickly to 440 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,520 right wrongs, to make all things new. 441 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:37,960 This is in essence what we are praying when we say your Kingdom 442 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:42,800 come, your will be done on this earth as it is in heaven on the 443 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:44,680 day of the Lord. When Christ returns, it will be 444 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:48,360 to the great joy of the Saints around the world and great 445 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:52,040 terror of those who don't love God as Paul mentions in Romans 446 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:53,240 7. To be with the Lord would be 447 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:56,840 much better, right? So like Paul, we should pray 448 00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:00,360 this. Paul in this prayer is stating 449 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:04,320 here that we're where our great hope comes from in the Lord's 450 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:08,200 return. This is where we find hope while 451 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,880 living on this earth, that Christ will return for those who 452 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,600 are his. We are sojourners and aliens on 453 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,440 this earth. This is a broken, fallen world. 454 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:24,880 But when Christ returns and his enemies are defeated, he will 455 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,680 make all things new. And this is a day that we look 456 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,480 forward to as Christians. It gives us great hope. 457 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,880 It gives us strength to run a good race while here on this 458 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:36,680 earth. It gives us breath and our 459 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,480 lungs. It's what propels us forward day 460 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:45,120 after day, knowing that He will come soon. 2nd Corinthians 417 461 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:48,400 through 18 says, For this light momentary affliction is 462 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,280 preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all 463 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,520 comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen, but 464 00:26:54,520 --> 00:27:00,760 to the things that are unseen. So we put our hope in Christ's 465 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:02,720 return. And when we do this, we aren't 466 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,120 just well wishing. This is a foundational truth 467 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:08,680 that strengthens us and our daily walk. 468 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:13,760 And it is this truth that we should love as Christians, that 469 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:18,040 those who are in Christ will be glorified and those who are not 470 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,160 will be accursed. So again, Paul was very serious 471 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:24,200 in saying this. This is why he wrote it with his 472 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,840 own hand. He was providing great hope for 473 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:29,800 believers, but a stern warning for unbelievers. 474 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:34,640 And then finally, he ends his letter with point #3 love rooted 475 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:38,280 in grace. Look at verses 23 and 24. 476 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,000 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 477 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:51,600 So here we see Paul's final benediction. 478 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,440 You praise that God's grace be with the Corinthian church. 479 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:58,080 And this might seem again like just a small farewell, like 480 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,040 grace be with you. Listen to what Matthew Henry 481 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,960 says about this. The grace of our Lord Jesus 482 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:08,360 Christ has in it all that is good for time and eternity. 483 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:12,360 To wish that our friends may have this grace with them is 484 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:17,360 wishing them the utmost good. And this we should wish to all 485 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:19,000 our friends and brethren in Christ. 486 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:22,240 We can wish them nothing greater, and we should wish them 487 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,600 nothing less. True Christianity makes us wish 488 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:29,240 those whom we love the blessings of both worlds, and this is what 489 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,160 is meant. And wishing the grace of Christ 490 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,240 to be with them. So I don't know if you guys ever 491 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:35,840 heard this. I know I've said it before, I 492 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,800 heard it growing up. The grace is getting something 493 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:40,840 good that you don't deserve, right? 494 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:46,320 Mercy is not getting what you deserve, and justice is getting 495 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,920 exactly what you deserve. So we're talking about God's 496 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:51,840 grace. We're talking about blessings 497 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,880 that He's poured out on us that we have not earned and do not 498 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:58,320 deserve. Grace from God. 499 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:03,120 His, His favor, His love, His blessings is what compels us to 500 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,800 love God and to love others. Because we haven't deserved it, 501 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,600 we don't earn it. Even though other people might 502 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,240 not earn or deserve our love, we give it freely, knowing the 503 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:17,080 grace it's been given to us. This is seen in so many ways and 504 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:21,640 how He blesses us personally through health and income and 505 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,400 food and clothing, and then through others through 506 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:28,960 friendships and family. God has not just given us little 507 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:35,680 grace, He pours it out on us. John 116 says For from his 508 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:41,000 fullness we have all received grace upon grace, and we are 509 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,640 called in first Peter 4 to be good stewards of that grace. 510 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:49,240 Verses 7 through 11 say the end of all things is at hand. 511 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,120 Therefore be self controlled and sober minded for the sake of 512 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:54,600 your prayers. Above all, keep loving one 513 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,440 another earnestly. Since love covers a multitude of 514 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,120 sins. Show hospitality to one another 515 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:03,560 without rumbling. As each has received a gift, use 516 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:08,400 it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. 517 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:12,440 Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves 518 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,600 as one who serves by the strength that God supplies in 519 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,560 order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus 520 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:24,800 Christ. So your time, your talents, your 521 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,240 treasures are all gifts from God. 522 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:31,880 They are all God's grace, and you were called to steward those 523 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:35,360 things well. In doing so, you glorify God. 524 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:39,160 This is how we glorify God is just like Aquila and Prisca. 525 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,400 We take what God's given us and we use it for His glory however 526 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:46,360 we can. This grace from God, these 527 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,320 blessings from God, is what sustains us while we eagerly 528 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,160 await Christ's return. When we feel like we can't go 529 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,880 on, when we feel like Paul, like, like, I just wish I could 530 00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:00,760 go and be with the Lord. It is the undeserved grace of 531 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:03,920 God that keeps us fighting and keeps us pushing forward. 532 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:08,640 Day by day, God pours out His grace on us. 533 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,080 Just this morning you have been a recipient of God's grace. 534 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,240 You woke up and you had air in your lungs. 535 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,160 You woke up in a home with probably a closet full of 536 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:22,960 clothes that you don't need, all of them, probably a cabinet full 537 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:25,840 of food. You drove a car here or rode 538 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:29,040 with someone to a building that God has graciously giving us, 539 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:31,400 given us. There was coffee waiting on you 540 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,920 when you got here. Handshakes and hugs. 541 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:38,120 I mean, just in the last few hours, we can count tons of ways 542 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:40,520 that God has poured out His grace on us. 543 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:43,560 This church has seen it time and time again. 544 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:46,680 I'm sure that many of you in this church have received 545 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,680 encouragement from brothers and sisters in the congregation. 546 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:53,560 You have elders who genuinely love you and want to see you 547 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:57,240 grow, want to see you sanctified in your walk with the Lord. 548 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,840 I could just go on and on and on, but the point is that God 549 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:05,320 has poured out His grace on all of us and that sustains us as we 550 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:10,200 live out life on this earth. He pours it out on us most by 551 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:15,440 giving us His Son, Jesus Christ. That is the greatest grace we 552 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:19,720 could ever receive. Ephesians 28 through 9 says, For 553 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:23,440 by grace you've been saved through faith and is not your 554 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:26,080 own doing. It is a gift of God, not a 555 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:28,520 result of works, so that no one can boast. 556 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:34,800 I mentioned this earlier, but knowing my own sin, knowing my 557 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,760 own wretchedness, that I don't deserve God's love and grace, 558 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,240 how could He send Jesus to die for me? 559 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,880 Yet He did. He saved me for my sin. 560 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:50,120 He redeemed me. What grace? 561 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:55,400 What undeserved grace. And even more, He hasn't saved 562 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:59,360 me and then just left me on this sinful world, this fallen world, 563 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:01,240 to try to figure things out on my own. 564 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,000 He's given me His own Spirit to dwell in me, to help me do the 565 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:07,000 good works that He's prepared beforehand. 566 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,920 He's given me this church to teach me, support me, correct me 567 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:16,000 when needed. What love, what grace of God. 568 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,200 These are all graces in the life of a believer. 569 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,960 And we are very fortunate in this church to have been blessed 570 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,200 immensely when it comes to these things. 571 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:31,000 This grace of God is what compels us to love others and to 572 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,200 love the Lord. It's where our love for one 573 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:35,640 another comes from. It's what it's rooted in. 574 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:40,760 Then ending Paul's letter, he ends with grace, which is 575 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:44,080 exactly where he began the letter back in chapter 1, verse 576 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:46,680 3, where he says grace to you and peace from the God the 577 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,840 Father and Lord Jesus. So he started with grace and 578 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:53,440 he's ending with grace. And then finally, he ends with 579 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,320 an expression of his love for the church at Corinth, again 580 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:00,160 pointing out that it is a shared love in Christ. 581 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:06,200 Through all of his instruction, even when having a discipline, 582 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:10,440 the Corinthian church, Paul showed a great fatherly love 583 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:13,040 toward them. He cared deeply for them and 584 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:17,600 longed for their sanctification. Such should be the prayer of any 585 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:22,000 pastor for his church to want their good, to want their 586 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,719 growth, their sanctification, no matter what it takes. 587 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:30,080 Even at the risk of sounding harsh at times, Paul labored 588 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:32,480 tirelessly for the churches that he planted. 589 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,800 He earnestly desired their sanctification and to see them 590 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,199 growing into mature manhood. All that we've seen in this 591 00:34:40,199 --> 00:34:44,199 letter to the Corinthians was meant to help them do just that. 592 00:34:45,159 --> 00:34:49,760 It's also meant to help us grow. So much of what we have seen 593 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:54,639 throughout this book and even today is applicable to us still. 594 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,880 We still live as Christians in a Pagan culture and we still need 595 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:02,440 to be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, and be 596 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,320 strong. So here are three ways that we 597 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:10,600 can apply what we've seen today. One, love unites the church. 598 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:16,280 As we saw from the the loving greetings sent by the the people 599 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:19,120 to the church at Corinth. Our common love for Christ is 600 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:23,560 what unites us as his people. The world will know that we are 601 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:26,800 his disciples by how we love one another and how we care for one 602 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,160 another. And this brotherly love is what 603 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:33,440 keeps us united because first Corinthians 13 seven said love 604 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:36,600 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and 605 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:40,160 endures all things. So this love unites us and it's 606 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:44,200 what sustains us and gets us through so new life, Community, 607 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:49,600 Church, love one another, love one another well, selflessly 608 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:52,240 when it's not convenient. Love one another. 609 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:55,560 Care for your brothers and sisters in Christ. 610 00:35:56,440 --> 00:35:59,880 The second application point is that hope propels the church 611 00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:04,320 forward. May our prayer and plea echo 612 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:07,520 that of Paul where he says our Lord come. 613 00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:11,800 This hope is what fuels us today. 614 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,080 It's what gives us strength for tomorrow. 615 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:17,960 So put your hope in Christ alone and remember that He is coming 616 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,640 soon. One day He will wipe away every 617 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:24,680 tear. There will be no more sorrow, no 618 00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:27,760 more pain. He will right all wrongs. 619 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:32,840 Let this propel you forward as you faithfully serve our Lord 620 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:36,240 Jesus Christ. And then the third application 621 00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:38,640 point is that grace sustains the church. 622 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:44,880 When life gets tough, when we are weak and we're needy, we're 623 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:49,240 sick and we're poor, God's grace is what sustains us. 624 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:53,960 He's already poured out His grace on us through His Son, 625 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,840 Jesus Christ, but He continues to give us His grace in so many 626 00:36:57,840 --> 00:36:59,960 ways. You just look around. 627 00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:05,000 You look at all He's done in this church, God has shown his 628 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:08,080 steadfast love and his faithfulness to us in a variety 629 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:11,640 of ways. So this church does a great job 630 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:15,320 of stewarding this grace well, of using its time, talent, and 631 00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:17,680 treasure to serve the Lord. And I'm so proud of that. 632 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:20,440 Thank you for doing that. Because in doing so, you're 633 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,080 helping sustain your brothers and sisters in Christ. 634 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:26,320 So remember, God's great love for you. 635 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:31,680 He's given you his grace and let that sustain you like rich food. 636 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:37,520 The church lives in hope, love and grace until Christ returns. 637 00:37:38,720 --> 00:37:42,320 And so in conclusion, believers in here this morning, if you are 638 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:44,400 a Christian, if you love the Lord. 639 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:49,120 As our text has said today, these verses give us great hope 640 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:55,280 when we consider the love within the body, our love for the 641 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:58,760 truth, and the grace of God that roots us and grounds us. 642 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:00,920 We have so much to be thankful for. 643 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:04,840 Maybe you needed to hear this today because you've taken it 644 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:08,280 all for granted. Or maybe you're not stewarding 645 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:10,200 your time, talent, and treasure well. 646 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,600 Maybe you aren't loving your brothers and sisters in Christ 647 00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:16,560 the way you know you should. Or maybe you just needed a 648 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:18,440 reminder that the Lord will come soon. 649 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:22,760 That truth gives us hope, and I hope that today has been 650 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:26,600 encouraging for you. I encourage you as believers to 651 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:30,440 honor the Lord and glorify Him in all of life, to love your 652 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:33,640 brothers and sisters in Christ, to love His Word, the truth. 653 00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:37,080 Let it propel you forward and give you hope every day, and 654 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,680 rely on God's grace as you live out your life on this earth. 655 00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:45,680 If you're in this place and you're not a believer, if you 656 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:49,160 don't love Christ and don't submit to Him as King, then 657 00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:53,640 we've seen in this passage that those who don't love the Lord 658 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,840 will be accursed. They will be under the wrath of 659 00:38:56,840 --> 00:39:00,600 God. This is a terrible and 660 00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:04,960 frightening thing to consider, to be under the wrath of an 661 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:09,160 omnipotent God. But the good news is that Christ 662 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:11,960 came to save sinners like you and me. 663 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:17,920 The things of God are foolishness to the world. 664 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:22,000 It is God who is the one that removes our heart of stone and 665 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:25,440 gives us a heart of flesh, who opens our eyes so that we may 666 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:29,560 see and understand the truth. It is only through that, that we 667 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:31,640 are able to comprehend these things. 668 00:39:32,720 --> 00:39:36,240 So if God is showing you the truth this morning, if the Holy 669 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:39,760 Spirit is working on your heart this morning, that I encourage 670 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:44,120 you not to ignore that. Respond in repentance and faith 671 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:46,600 today and put your trust in Christ alone. 672 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:50,560 Romans 10/9 says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is 673 00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:52,680 Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the 674 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:56,240 dead, you will be saved. So I'm happy to answer any 675 00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:59,680 questions about that as well as the other elders here if you 676 00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:01,680 need to talk about that. If you have questions, we'd be 677 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:04,120 happy to visit with you. But I encourage you today to 678 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:06,720 respond to whatever the Lord is moving you to do. 679 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:13,200 Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we are thankful this 680 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:16,640 morning for the grace that you've poured out on us. 681 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:20,120 Your mercy and your forgiveness. God, we're so thankful for the 682 00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:24,680 love within this church. We're thankful for the book of 683 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,960 Corinthians and all the things that we've learned through it. 684 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:31,240 And God, we pray that you help us to take passages like this 685 00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:34,760 and apply them to our own lives, to live out our days in a way 686 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:38,800 that brings you glory and honor. God, we pray that you continue 687 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:42,560 to sustain us, to give us hope, give us strength as we live out 688 00:40:42,560 --> 00:40:46,160 each day. Help us to use our time, talent, 689 00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:49,680 and treasure well, to be good stewards, to make the best use 690 00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:53,240 of the time, to serve you, and to honor you with our lives. 691 00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:58,840 God, we love you. I pray God that whatever it is 692 00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:01,480 that you're trying to tell us today, if you're moving 693 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:04,440 someone's heart, that they would respond in faith and repentance 694 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:08,280 and belief in you. We love you. 695 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:12,520 Lord, we give you all the glory and honor as we keep our heads 696 00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:15,000 bowed, we're just going to take a moment to reflect and respond 697 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,360 to what God's showed us today, what we've heard in His Word. 698 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:22,360 So I encourage you to be open and honest with God and knowing 699 00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:26,760 that you can come boldly to the throne of grace and be specific 700 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:30,280 about what burdens you and I Look to Christ as your refuge 701 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:33,720 and your help. And ask yourself, do I love the 702 00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:37,080 Lord and his church? Do I long for the day of His 703 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:39,880 return? Do I cherish my brothers and 704 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:42,880 sisters in Christ and the grace that's been shown to me? 705 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:45,880 Maybe you need to repent and believe today. 706 00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:49,040 Maybe you need to confess your lack of love for God and others. 707 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:52,600 Whatever the Holy Spirit is urging you to do, take time to 708 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:54,960 pray now. Spend some time with the Lord. 709 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:13,080 Father, again, we thank you for your grace. 710 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:17,160 We praise you in this place today, Lord, and we pray that 711 00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:21,160 again, as we've said, that we can glorify You every day, every 712 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:25,440 moment of our lives, or continue to strengthen us, continue to 713 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:27,720 give us wisdom to know how to live out our time. 714 00:42:27,720 --> 00:42:31,400 And I thank you for this series through Corinthians and all that 715 00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:35,800 we've learned through it, they served to edify us, to sanctify 716 00:42:35,800 --> 00:42:37,440 us, and help us grow in our faith in You. 717 00:42:38,240 --> 00:42:40,680 We ask it all in Christ's name, Amen.