I Cor.16:1-24 To love the Church and love the church.
**Release kids to Kingdom Kids and Club 316**
Slide 1
I Cor.16:1-24 To love the Church and love the church.
______
Slide 2
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
______
Slide 3
5 I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. 10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.
______
Slide 4
12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.15 Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints— 16 be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, 18 for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people.
______
Slide 5
19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 20 All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
______
Slide 6
Re-cap of chapter 15
The last couple weeks Pastor Benji preached through chapter 15 in talking about the death and resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the the resurrection of the body. Paul argues the importance of the death and resurrection are vital for us as believers because the death and resurrection of Jesus are proven on a historical account.
Chapter 15 highlights that the death and resurrection is important to our faith because …
1. Of the historical accounts of the witnesses that saw Jesus die and raise from the dead. v.1-11
Paul argues that the reason why we should believe in the death and resurrection of Christ is because people had witnessed it and had experienced the events that took place. Writing this letter in the spring of 53 or 54 A.D there were still plenty of people of saw all that took place and so Paul is saying believe what these people saw because it actually happened.
2. Without those two things happening our faith isn’t valid and we should be pitied. v.12-34
Paul argues how important the resurrection of Christ is for us as believers because without that, what we are proclaiming is pointless and we should be pitied for teaching that this happened. With this teaching, Paul says that there is a connection between the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection that will take place in the end times. In verses 12-19 Paul reiterates this concept 4 times because the Corinthians were having such a difficult time comprehending this teaching.
3. As believers, we will one day be raised and taken up to be with Christ as a new, immortal body and we get to boast about that because when in heaven there will be no more death, no more pain, no more tears and no more sin. v.35-58
Paul then affirms that the resurrection of Christ is an example to how we will be raised again and be brought to heaven and that there then will be nothing to ever separate us from God. Our new immortal bodies will be so much better than our earthly bodies and then we will get to proclaim from the prophet Hosea and Isaiah that death has no power here, sin has no power here and we will be in our immortal bodies worshipping God in heaven forever.
______
Slide 7
To understand chapter 16 better it’s better to re-read verse 58.
While reading the Bible we need to lookout for words like now, therefore, but, however, to see if we need to go back and re-read something that gives us further insight to what the current chapter is talking about.
V.58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is vain is not in vain.”
This verses is the starting point to where chapter 16 is going.
Chapter 16 covers how we as the church love the Church by talking about . . .
- Tithes and offerings being given out of joy. v.1-4
- How we should yearn to see the advancement of the gospel. v.5-18
- Grace neverending. v.19-24
Verse 58 emphasizes what we as Christians get to do for the sake of the gospel because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. I titled this my sermon today as to the love Church and love the church because in wrapping up Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth we see how much Paul loves the overall body of Christ (capital C church) and how much he loves the individual churches. As we go through chapter 16 I hope you will continue to see that overwhelming theme that Paul has expressed throughout this letter and more so in this chapter. Because of v.58 we see the outline of chapter 16 by seeing how much Paul’s work is being done for the advancement of the gospel and the desire he has to see the work he’s doing for be something that we do as well.
______
Slide 8
I Cor. 16:1-4
Chapter 16 covers how we as the church love the Church by talking about . . .
Tithes and offerings being given out of joy. v.1-4
Exegesis- Paul mentions how he wants the church of Corinth to give like the churches of Galatia had done because there were Jewish Christians who were needed financial help in Jerusalem. This practice of collecting money was done regularly throughout Paul’s ministry and he emphasizes this being a part of his ministry because he saw needs that others didn’t. He challenges them to also set aside a portion of their income to be given for this purpose. It’s also encouraging to see that he doesn’t want to keep the money and distribute it himself because he wants to avoid that temptation so he tells them to that someone will go with them to Jerusalem.
The Church is unified together by Christ and that is why we give our tithes and offerings
Application -It should bring us immense joy to know that our tithes and offerings are helping the overall body of Christ.
Distinguish what tithes and offerings.
If we are giving out of obligation than we are giving out of the wrong intentions. It is a blessing to see that Paul’s heart was to help not only individual churches but to help the overall body of Christ. It’s also a blessing to know that as a church we are doing what Paul challenged the church of Corinth to do. Our yearly budget designates around %22 of what we bring in to help missionaries here in the states and across the world. Kara and I have a huge passion for cross-cultural missions and when we found out that this church designates that much to help out people with their ministries we knew from that point on that we wanted to be a part of this church and continue to help those missionaries.
So an aspect of our giving is to give to our brothers and sisters in Christ who need help.
______
Slide 9
“. . . as he may prosper. . .”
We are to joyfully tithe 10% as well as graciously give extra where the Holy Spirit leads us.
Application- When we give 10 percent or more, we acknowledge to God that our main focus in our lives isn’t our money and then by doing that we show God that money doesn’t control us. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus also said in Matthew 19:24 “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus later says in Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” If Jesus says that tithe and offerings are a matter of the heart than we should take that seriously and evaluate how our mindset is when tithing.
If you care about the advancement of the gospel you should care about tithes and offering because that is a facet of how we expand the gospel. However, I want to make it clear that even though through tithing you will prosper, that doesn’t mean you will go through struggles. I am not Joel Olsteen and preaching prosperity gospel and telling you the more you give the more you prosper.
When we give faithfully and with a joyful heart that is when we prosper. Tithes and offering is a matter of the heart not a matter of how deep your pockets are!
Lastly on tithes and offerings and then we will move on; Proverbs 3:9 says “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.
______
Slide 10
I Cor. 16:5-18
Chapter 16 covers how we as the church love the Church by talking about . . .
How we should yearn to see the gospel preached and do it in a way that is both bold and loving. v.5-18
Exegesis- Paul had a desire to see the church of Corinth grow and prosper but he didn’t want to simply stop for a visit and leave; he genuinely desired to see them and wants to help them. His intentions were genuine as well; he truly meant that he wanted to stay there for sometime. Some of the people in Corinth didn’t like Paul but for the most part he was a respected leader, mentor, and more importantly friend to these people. At the time Paul writes this letter to the church of Corinth he is in Ephesus and is seeing a huge amount of people come to accept Christ as their Savior. So by him putting off visiting them he simply didn’t want to let his other affairs get in the way of him visiting so that is why we see him, in verse 10 send Timothy to assess the situations at hand and the appropriate time he will visit them. Since he is for the most part respected, he needed to emphasize that Timothy could be trusted and that they should listen to Timothy’s guidance. We also see that Apollos is not available to visit either putting more responsibility on Timothy.
Paul in v.13 final says what we have all been thinking at this point. Reading this letter we see all the mess and issues of that this church has and as a little kid falls down and their dad comes, picks them up and says rub some dirt on, you be okay; this is what Paul is saying to the Corinthians in verse 13.
Read v.13 “Be watchful, stand-firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all you do be done in love.” As Christians we need to be aware of our surroundings and be watchful of the spiritual warfare that is happening to us and if we aren’t then we potentially be in harm's way. As we are being watchful we need to stand firm in our faith. If we aren’t firm in our faith then we are potentially allowing for bad theology and inconsistent doctrines to be a part of our faith. So by standing firm in our faith, we are being watchful. Paul then uses the phrase “act like men” which in Greek is andrizomai. This was a popular phrase used at the time, moreso for soldiers but it meant to act with confidence, strength and obedience. So as Christians we are to carry these characteristic and to have strength, confidence and obedience in our relationship with Christ and carry ourselves with a proper character and all this is to be done out of love.
This verse is important because it reflects how we as Christians should live everyday. Paul also encourages them with v.13 because people like Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achacius were elders of the church of Corinth and were some of the first converts and Paul is encouraged by these 3 and wants the church to follow in these people's’ footprints. Paul, by these three people, is seeing hope for the Corinth Church.
There should be a desire to see the body of Christ grow in numbers and grow in individual spiritual growth.
Application- Paul had a deep desire to see the gospel spread in numbers and in spiritual growth. We should have the same tenacity that Paul had in seeing lost souls saved and saved souls being discipled. He didn’t want to stop doing his ministry in Ephesus because they needed someone to help them spiritual grow. As a church do we have that same burning passion? If we don’t have a passion for seeing coming to know who Jesus truly is than what are we doing? In Revelation 3:15-16 we see what happens to lukewarm Christians. So church I ask us today what are we doing in our everyday situations to show this county that our love is in Christ Jesus first. Teens, are you idly walking through you schools without realizing that God is blessing you everyday with an opportunity to share your faith? Adults who are working, do you realize that working a 9-5 job doesn’t omit you from sharing the gospel and being a light in your work force? Stay at home parents, how are you properly equipping your children to be young men and women who aren’t ashamed of the gospel?
We must see spiritual growth whiling seeing growth in numbers because we cannot as the Church see people come to know Jesus as their savior and simply hand them a Bible and tell them read that because if we do that we only develop inconsistent Christians who don’t properly understand the true value that God now has in their life. We must desire to disciple people in the church because when we do that we see spiritual growth.
Paul didn’t write this letter so that the church of Corinth would just feel bad and then go on doing their old things; he wrote to them so that would be reminded of the truth of the gospel and truth that they need to see growth in their church in and in their spiritual growth. And I am blessed that Paul wrote that for them and for us as well.
As Christians we should look for opportunities to let people serve when we can’t.
Application- When Paul reminds the church that Timothy is coming to them to help and assist them in their issues; Paul wants them to not discredit Timothy. For us today we can relate to Timothy. I would encourage us as the church to let people serve and give people opportunities to serve help them grow when they do serve. It’s so frustrating that in the past sometimes in the church I felt so discouraged because people didn’t trust me to serve. I applied to over 120 churches and get rejected by about 50 of them because of the lack of experience. I honestly felt like a Timothy and just was praying that a church would give me a chance because I knew I could handle being a youth pastor. So thank you Grenada Community for taking a chance on a 21 year student right out of college named Benji who is now serving as your lead pastor and thank you for taking a chance on a exhausted 24 year old who got annoyed applying to so many churches and not getting anything and now that is me, your youth pastor. Church family, I love you and appreciate you trusting Benji and I leading you and pray that as we see people continue come that we can trust those people to serve our church as well.
We should do all things in Christ with a proper character.
Application-
In verse 13 we are challenged to be watchful, stand firm in our faith, act like men (andrizomai= have confidence, strength and obedience) and be strong. Church if we want to carry proper characteristics of Christian this verse is it. This emphasizes how through our daily lives we need tobewatchfulof sins that will harm us. If we aren’t watchful Satan will make you pay for that and we read in I Peter 5:8, Peter warning us to do the same by saying “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” We must be watchful because if we aren’t we are going to fall into those sins and potentially be consumed by them.