WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.859 Have you ever noticed that some churches are 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:08.779 constantly operating in a state of drama and 00:00:08.779 --> 00:00:12.279 conflict? This has become something of a regular 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:15.580 trend over the past 30 years or so, and it's 00:00:15.580 --> 00:00:18.019 really not a mystery why that's happened. With 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:21.760 the advent of social media, everybody, healthy 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:24.660 or unhealthy, balanced or extreme, everybody 00:00:24.660 --> 00:00:29.420 has an opinion, and now everybody feels... free 00:00:29.420 --> 00:00:32.259 to go online and share their anger and frustration 00:00:32.259 --> 00:00:35.500 with the entire world. Doesn't matter if they 00:00:35.500 --> 00:00:37.460 have an informed opinion or not. Doesn't matter 00:00:37.460 --> 00:00:39.780 if it's a biblical opinion or unbiblical. People 00:00:39.780 --> 00:00:42.899 in churches today are out there mimicking the 00:00:42.899 --> 00:00:47.539 world in the way that we divide the body of Christ. 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:50.380 And since our topic this morning revolves around 00:00:50.380 --> 00:00:53.159 matters of division and worldliness, I did some 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:55.159 digging this week. I wanted to try to find the 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:58.920 top 10 reasons why Churches struggle with internal 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:01.799 conflict. I'm going to show you that list, and 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:03.600 they probably won't surprise you, but this is 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:06.299 basically what I found. Number one, pride and 00:01:06.299 --> 00:01:09.239 self -centeredness. That's number one because 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:13.379 it's number one, right? Pride and self -centeredness, 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:16.319 that's the human condition. Spiritual immaturity 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:21.840 and poor emotional control. Number three, resistance 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:26.040 to change, right? We all love change. Number 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:28.879 four, abuse of power or authority by church leaders. 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:34.519 That's a problem. Factionalism in the body where 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:38.260 we group up, we click up and then oppose one 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:42.040 another. Miscommunication and then making false 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:44.640 assumptions about other people, about their motivations. 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:48.959 Members who are ambitious for power and control. 00:01:50.349 --> 00:01:53.670 And working behind the scenes to grab that. Just 00:01:53.670 --> 00:01:56.189 flat out communication breakdowns, number eight, 00:01:56.329 --> 00:01:58.469 where we just don't communicate well. Number 00:01:58.469 --> 00:02:02.590 nine, gossip, secrecy, and behind the scenes 00:02:02.590 --> 00:02:06.150 campaigning. And then the icing on top of all 00:02:06.150 --> 00:02:10.750 the cake is conflict that goes unresolved. All 00:02:10.750 --> 00:02:13.449 these things taking place, but members and church 00:02:13.449 --> 00:02:16.669 leaders failing to jump in and actually work 00:02:16.669 --> 00:02:20.189 towards resolution. Now that is a pretty... depressing 00:02:20.189 --> 00:02:23.210 list. But my guess is some of you are sitting 00:02:23.210 --> 00:02:24.949 here this morning, you're like, ah, yep, I have 00:02:24.949 --> 00:02:26.930 seen those things in churches that I've been 00:02:26.930 --> 00:02:29.469 a part of in the past. And all those things are 00:02:29.469 --> 00:02:32.310 on the radar of our elder team at Oak Hill. We 00:02:32.310 --> 00:02:34.669 work hard to keep our fingers on the pulse of 00:02:34.669 --> 00:02:36.729 the congregation so that we can guard against 00:02:36.729 --> 00:02:39.469 those types of things seeping into body life 00:02:39.469 --> 00:02:42.129 here. It's like a little leaven that gets into 00:02:42.129 --> 00:02:44.270 the dough, right? It infects the whole batch. 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:46.849 And so our eyes are always peeled to make sure 00:02:46.849 --> 00:02:50.150 these things are not happening. Here's the thing. 00:02:50.169 --> 00:02:53.349 Each of those 10 issues has a very similar spiritual 00:02:53.349 --> 00:02:56.969 root to it. And that's what Paul is going to 00:02:56.969 --> 00:02:58.909 talk about in the text that we're going to look 00:02:58.909 --> 00:03:01.349 at this morning. So grab your Bibles. We're going 00:03:01.349 --> 00:03:06.289 to go to 1 Corinthians. We finished chapter 2 00:03:06.289 --> 00:03:08.449 last week. Can you believe it? We are flying. 00:03:10.930 --> 00:03:13.009 So we're actually in chapter 3 this week, but 00:03:13.009 --> 00:03:14.590 we're going to start back in chapter 2 so that 00:03:14.590 --> 00:03:17.919 we get the flow of the context. Paul is writing 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:22.099 about. So go to chapter 2. Last Sunday we were 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:24.800 deep into the concepts of two things. Ready? 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:28.539 Natural and spiritual men and women. Natural 00:03:28.539 --> 00:03:31.819 and spiritual as it relates to general categories 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:34.479 of humankind. And we talked about the haves and 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:37.599 the have -nots as it's related to the Holy Spirit. 00:03:38.259 --> 00:03:41.159 Okay, so look at chapter 2. Go back to verse 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:43.560 12. We'll read from there and you'll pick up 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:47.830 the flow as we go. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 12. 00:03:47.990 --> 00:03:51.750 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, 00:03:51.810 --> 00:03:56.650 but the spirit who is from God. So that, purpose 00:03:56.650 --> 00:03:59.949 statement, so that we may know the things freely 00:03:59.949 --> 00:04:04.810 given to us by God. Which things we also speak, 00:04:04.930 --> 00:04:07.870 meaning the apostles, not in words taught by 00:04:07.870 --> 00:04:10.870 human wisdom, but in words taught by the spirit 00:04:10.870 --> 00:04:13.810 combining spiritual thoughts. With spiritual 00:04:13.810 --> 00:04:16.149 words. And we talked last week about how he's 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:18.529 basically referencing the writing of the New 00:04:18.529 --> 00:04:21.509 Testament there. Spiritual thoughts and spiritual 00:04:21.509 --> 00:04:24.389 words, right? Words carried along by the Holy 00:04:24.389 --> 00:04:29.209 Spirit. Verse 14. But a natural man does not 00:04:29.209 --> 00:04:31.509 accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they 00:04:31.509 --> 00:04:35.829 are foolishness to him. And he cannot, I'm going 00:04:35.829 --> 00:04:38.889 to underline or highlight that word, cannot understand 00:04:38.889 --> 00:04:41.850 them. We talked about moral inability last Sunday. 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:44.680 He cannot understand them because they are spiritually 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:49.240 appraised or spiritually evaluated. But he who 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:51.639 is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:55.160 is appraised by no one. For who has known the 00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:58.360 mind of the Lord that he will instruct him? But 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:00.939 we, speaking of those who have received the Spirit 00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:04.920 of God, we have the mind of Christ. And praise 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:07.819 God for that, right? Now, let's go over to chapter 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:11.930 3, today's text. Paul continues this thought. 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:44.399 Mere men? Natural men? For when one says, I'm 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:46.680 of Paul, and another, I'm of Apollos, are you 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:50.680 not mere men? Are you not being natural men? 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:54.939 Verse five, what then is Apollos? And what is 00:05:54.939 --> 00:05:58.180 Paul? Servants, through whom you believed, even 00:05:58.180 --> 00:06:02.560 as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:07.579 Paul says, Apollos watered, but God was causing 00:06:07.579 --> 00:06:10.680 the growth. So then neither the one who plants 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:14.379 nor the one who waters is anything, but only 00:06:14.379 --> 00:06:17.660 God who causes the growth. Now he who plants 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:20.259 and he who waters are one, but each will receive 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:23.420 his own reward according to his own labor, for 00:06:23.420 --> 00:06:26.560 we are God's fellow workers, and you, you Corinthians, 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:31.600 are God's field, God's building. Okay, as we 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:33.579 did last week, let's start with some important 00:06:33.579 --> 00:06:36.850 definitions. Let's go back to verse 1. where 00:06:36.850 --> 00:06:38.670 it says, I, brethren, cannot speak to you as 00:06:38.670 --> 00:06:41.870 to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh. Now, 00:06:41.990 --> 00:06:45.350 from the beginning to the end, Scripture talks 00:06:45.350 --> 00:06:48.319 about... in general, two categories of people. 00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:50.620 We touched on this last week. There are those 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:54.199 who know God and those who don't know God. There's 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:56.759 the regenerate and the unregenerate, the redeemed 00:06:56.759 --> 00:06:59.000 and the unredeemed, those who are found in Christ, 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:01.420 and those because of their unbelief are enemies 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:04.019 of Christ, or as Paul has been talking about 00:07:04.019 --> 00:07:07.180 here, natural and spiritual. So you see the words 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:10.920 up here, natural. Sukikos is a man or woman who 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:14.000 has still a corrupted nature as a descendant 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:16.920 of Adam, a person. who has not bowed to Christ, 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:20.279 cannot understand the things of the Spirit, and 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:24.720 is therefore driven by what? Self. The natural 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:27.560 man is always driven by self, his needs, his 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:31.199 wants, his desires, what pleases him. On the 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:33.360 other side, pneumatikos, we have the spiritual 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:36.480 man. That's a man or woman who's born again into 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:39.959 the righteousness of Christ, a new creation with 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:42.000 a new nature. We talked about that last Sunday, 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:45.579 a new nature. He's walking in the Spirit in full 00:07:45.579 --> 00:07:49.160 communion with God. But now here in verse 1, 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:51.899 Paul provides... Provides us with what appears 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:54.800 to be a third category, a third word, right? 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:58.819 Men of flesh, sarkinos, in the Greek. And that's 00:07:58.819 --> 00:08:02.000 an adjective that comes out of the basic Greek 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:05.959 word for flesh, which is sarx, fleshly, okay? 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:08.180 Now, over the years, there's been a number of 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:11.459 translations of that word. The old King James 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:13.980 used this real old -fashioned word. Some of you 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:18.550 know it. It's carnal, right? Carnal. The NIV 00:08:18.550 --> 00:08:21.629 decided to get much more relevant and use the 00:08:21.629 --> 00:08:24.930 word worldly. But because of that root word sarx, 00:08:24.949 --> 00:08:27.850 I think the NAS has it right here. It's fleshly. 00:08:28.949 --> 00:08:31.750 You are fleshly, meaning somebody who makes it 00:08:31.750 --> 00:08:35.110 a habit to live for the desires of the flesh. 00:08:35.950 --> 00:08:38.269 That is what marks their life. That is their 00:08:38.269 --> 00:08:41.210 habit. They are driven by the flesh rather than 00:08:41.210 --> 00:08:43.389 by the spirit. Now, here's the important thing 00:08:43.389 --> 00:08:46.029 to understand. Although fleshly may sound like 00:08:46.029 --> 00:08:48.029 Paul's giving us the third category of mankind, 00:08:48.250 --> 00:08:52.929 it's really not. Fleshly is a subcategory of 00:08:52.929 --> 00:08:58.090 believers and not in a good way. Men of flesh 00:08:58.090 --> 00:09:01.549 is a subcategory of believers. and not in a good 00:09:01.549 --> 00:09:03.450 way. Now, how do we know this is true? Well, 00:09:03.490 --> 00:09:05.809 go back to who is it that Paul is writing to 00:09:05.809 --> 00:09:07.990 in this letter? Do you remember what he called 00:09:07.990 --> 00:09:10.269 them in chapter one? He said, to those who have 00:09:10.269 --> 00:09:13.870 been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling. 00:09:14.909 --> 00:09:17.570 Those are believers, right? He said, those whose 00:09:17.570 --> 00:09:21.009 testimony concerning Christ is confirmed in them. 00:09:21.490 --> 00:09:23.929 They're believers. And how does Paul address 00:09:23.929 --> 00:09:26.250 them right here in this verse one? He calls them 00:09:26.250 --> 00:09:30.480 brethren, brothers. So he's writing to them under 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:33.200 the assumption that they are truly redeemed in 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:36.120 Christ and that they have received the Holy Spirit. 00:09:36.299 --> 00:09:39.340 However, he says, and you see it right there, 00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:43.259 however, I cannot speak to you as spiritual men. 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:47.019 Now that might sound like a contradiction, right? 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:49.860 I cannot speak to you this way. Here's what he's 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:54.259 saying. Positionally, you belong to Christ. But 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:56.909 practically, You're controlled by your flesh 00:09:56.909 --> 00:09:59.470 and not by the Spirit. And it's so important 00:09:59.470 --> 00:10:01.669 for us to recognize those two different things. 00:10:01.830 --> 00:10:05.389 We can be positionally found in Christ, yet practically 00:10:05.389 --> 00:10:08.950 living for the world. And so he says, look, you're 00:10:08.950 --> 00:10:12.549 not spiritual. And your worldliness is showing 00:10:12.549 --> 00:10:15.769 up in your thinking. It's showing up in your 00:10:15.769 --> 00:10:19.350 choices. It shows up in your actions and your 00:10:19.350 --> 00:10:22.529 reactions to things. It shows up in the flawed 00:10:22.529 --> 00:10:25.159 way that you... process through the things of 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:29.299 life. Think about that. Rather turning to Scripture 00:10:29.299 --> 00:10:32.860 and the voice of God's Spirit within, what you're 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:35.139 doing is taking in all the ways that the world 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:40.200 sees things and letting that be your guide. And 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:42.899 we can all fall into this, right? We get so immersed 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:46.500 in the world and so not in the Scriptures that 00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:48.679 we can sort of silence the voice of the Spirit, 00:10:48.820 --> 00:10:51.519 see the way the world operates, and use that 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:55.220 as our guide. And you know why that's easy to 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:59.120 do? Because it's agreeable to our flesh to act 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:03.419 as the world does. So, because you're consistently 00:11:03.419 --> 00:11:07.000 living in such a fleshly way, Paul says, I basically 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.159 have to address you as a group of unbelievers 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:12.299 to try to convict you of what you need to be 00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:15.080 doing. Now, let's be clear on something. All 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:17.860 of us are guilty of, to some extent, of this 00:11:17.860 --> 00:11:21.070 kind of fleshly living. In fact, in Galatians 00:11:21.070 --> 00:11:25.389 5, we're told this explicitly. Paul says to believers, 00:11:25.629 --> 00:11:29.009 I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify 00:11:29.009 --> 00:11:32.769 the desires of the flesh. See the bifurcation 00:11:32.769 --> 00:11:35.409 there? Walk by the Spirit and you'll avoid the 00:11:35.409 --> 00:11:38.389 flesh. But he says then, for the desires of the 00:11:38.389 --> 00:11:41.210 flesh... are against the Spirit. And the desires 00:11:41.210 --> 00:11:44.070 of the Spirit against the flesh, these are opposed 00:11:44.070 --> 00:11:47.190 to each other to keep you from doing the things 00:11:47.190 --> 00:11:49.870 you want to do. What that tells us is there is 00:11:49.870 --> 00:11:53.669 a battle raging within all of us. In every believer, 00:11:53.690 --> 00:11:56.750 there's a battle raging within us. Now understand 00:11:56.750 --> 00:11:59.070 this, this doesn't mean that the victory over 00:11:59.070 --> 00:12:02.370 sin is somehow in question. Christ is seen to 00:12:02.370 --> 00:12:04.789 that. We have the victory over sin and death. 00:12:05.149 --> 00:12:07.210 And thank God that he's done that for us, right? 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:11.580 We've been granted his righteousness. We have 00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:14.279 a new nature. We're not slaves to sin. We're 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:17.039 no longer under the control and domination of 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.799 sin. And now by the power of the spirit with 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:22.620 this new nature, we've been given the moral ability 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:27.500 to change and to resist temptation, to say no 00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:31.080 to sin and to hear that voice of the spirit in 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:33.440 our conscience and respond to it. Again, the 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:36.179 natural man doesn't have that. He's unable to 00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:39.679 do that, but we as believers can. But here's 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:42.519 the thing. There's a remnant of flesh in all 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:46.480 of us, right? Paul calls it the old man. It's 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.820 that old man or old woman from your past, right? 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:52.620 It's in all of us. We were once an atom, right? 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:57.059 And we built up a layer of sin in our hearts 00:12:57.059 --> 00:13:01.460 and corruption in our souls. And a remnant of 00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:04.990 that. and it's warring against the spirit within 00:13:04.990 --> 00:13:07.409 us. And so there are gonna be times for the believer 00:13:07.409 --> 00:13:10.730 where we feel the tug of the old ways. We feel 00:13:10.730 --> 00:13:14.450 that old man rising up within us. And so we're 00:13:14.450 --> 00:13:16.549 supposed to be in a process, Paul says, of putting 00:13:16.549 --> 00:13:19.889 on the new man, who we are in Christ now, becoming 00:13:19.889 --> 00:13:23.389 who God says we are, his child. And that's a 00:13:23.389 --> 00:13:26.409 lifelong process, right? That is a lifelong, 00:13:26.450 --> 00:13:29.149 we will all be doing this until we take our very 00:13:29.149 --> 00:13:31.779 last breath on this earth. submitting to the 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:34.980 Holy Spirit, listening for his voice, obeying 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:39.559 his voice until God takes us home. Now, here's 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:43.820 the challenging thing. As somebody who does counseling, 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.919 this is a difficult thing. There are no two experiences 00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:49.659 among believers that are the same when it comes 00:13:49.659 --> 00:13:52.740 to this process of sanctification. I wish it 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:54.759 were so. I wish there were like this step -by 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:57.159 -step roadmap and guarantees that if you do all 00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:59.259 these things, that your life is going to gradually 00:13:59.259 --> 00:14:03.659 get cleaned up. But there is no one type fits 00:14:03.659 --> 00:14:06.919 all Christian experience. It's a spectrum of 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:09.720 growth. It's a spectrum of maturity and obedience. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:11.840 And it's going to be influenced by all kinds 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:14.220 of things in your life, things in your past and 00:14:14.220 --> 00:14:16.679 things in your present. But the key question 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:20.039 to ask yourself, and if you've sat down for coffee 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:23.179 with me on this issue, you'll recognize this 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:25.379 phrase. The question we have to ask ourselves, 00:14:25.639 --> 00:14:29.830 are we in the battle? Are you in the battle, 00:14:29.929 --> 00:14:32.049 the battle being described in Galatians 5, where 00:14:32.049 --> 00:14:34.169 the spirit and the flesh are warring? Are you 00:14:34.169 --> 00:14:38.769 in that battle or have you surrendered? That's 00:14:38.769 --> 00:14:40.490 what the spirit wants for us, that we're in the 00:14:40.490 --> 00:14:43.710 battle. And if you are, praise God. If you are, 00:14:43.789 --> 00:14:47.049 the victories are going to continue to grow as 00:14:47.049 --> 00:14:49.330 you stay in that battle, even if it's not as 00:14:49.330 --> 00:14:51.809 quickly as you'd like it to happen. You're going 00:14:51.809 --> 00:14:54.610 to see victories over time. See, what Paul's 00:14:54.610 --> 00:14:57.559 referring to here is not that thing. The Corinthians 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:00.519 are not battling. That's what he's concerned 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:03.299 about. They are not paying attention to the prompting 00:15:03.299 --> 00:15:05.419 of the spirit within. They're doing the opposite. 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:07.919 They're turning back to their old ways. They're 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:10.820 turning back to the wisdom of the world. And 00:15:10.820 --> 00:15:12.500 they're responding to things that are happening 00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:16.059 in the church just like a fleshly, natural man 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:19.519 or woman would respond. And this is a concern 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:22.360 for him. And then Paul adds a second description 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:25.299 in verse one. He says, not only are you fleshly, 00:15:25.850 --> 00:15:28.909 Your babies. Your infants in Christ, he says, 00:15:29.009 --> 00:15:31.450 right? Look at the end of verse one. I can't 00:15:31.450 --> 00:15:34.970 speak to you except as infants in Christ. He 00:15:34.970 --> 00:15:37.330 says, I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, 00:15:37.470 --> 00:15:41.210 because you weren't ready for it. You weren't 00:15:41.210 --> 00:15:43.769 ready for it. Indeed, even now, you're still 00:15:43.769 --> 00:15:48.009 not ready. Why? Because you're fleshly, he says. 00:15:48.889 --> 00:15:51.009 Remember, how long had it been since Paul first 00:15:51.009 --> 00:15:53.940 came to Corinth? It's been somewhere around four 00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:56.399 years since he first came to Corinth and planted 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:59.600 that church. And then Apollos came in after him. 00:16:00.019 --> 00:16:02.620 And they both taught, right? So he's like, there's 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:05.419 no excuse for you to still be an infant. Can 00:16:05.419 --> 00:16:07.720 you imagine you sitting under the teaching and 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:11.039 discipleship of Paul and then Apollos and still 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:12.919 being an infant in Christ? How is that possible, 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:17.179 we ask, right? But it's happening. Now, Paul's 00:16:17.179 --> 00:16:20.000 not being critical of that initial. stage of 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:22.679 gospel life because infants, they need time to 00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:25.720 grow, don't they? We know that from the physical 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:29.500 world. So immaturity is expected when a person 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:32.860 first comes to saving faith. The issue is years 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:35.399 later, that hasn't changed. They're still immature. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.419 They're still fleshly. They're still worldly 00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:41.120 in the way they think about things. And this 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:43.740 is a red flag for Paul. See, steady spiritual 00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:46.580 growth in life. should be natural and normal 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:49.460 for us as believers. If we have the spirit, we 00:16:49.460 --> 00:16:51.700 should see that growth. If we're not seeing that 00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:54.779 growth, that should be considered abnormal. And 00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:57.240 in the case of Corinth, what was happening was 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:00.639 this lack of spiritual growth was now a little 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:02.600 bit of leaven that was getting into the whole 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.000 batch of dough and it was causing trouble in 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.680 the church. And can I just make an observation 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:13.000 about infants? They have a tendency to act out. 00:17:14.069 --> 00:17:18.589 Parents, can I get an amen? Infants do as they 00:17:18.589 --> 00:17:21.529 please. They act out in all kinds of challenging 00:17:21.529 --> 00:17:24.890 ways, don't they? Infants in the home, spiritual 00:17:24.890 --> 00:17:28.309 infants in the church are prone to getting into 00:17:28.309 --> 00:17:31.190 all kinds of trouble because their thinking is 00:17:31.190 --> 00:17:35.190 undeveloped. So they get in trouble. It shows 00:17:35.190 --> 00:17:38.210 up in their attitudes, the way they respond to 00:17:38.210 --> 00:17:42.220 people. It shows up in their choices. Infants 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:45.680 are, by nature, takers. You notice that? Your 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:48.099 infants don't give a lot back. I mean, they smile, 00:17:48.140 --> 00:17:51.380 right? They're cute, but they're takers. Giving 00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:54.279 back is not on their radar yet because they're 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:57.779 underdeveloped, and they often have trouble getting 00:17:57.779 --> 00:18:00.519 along with other people, right? They have trouble. 00:18:00.619 --> 00:18:02.640 Put a bunch of infants in a room, and what will 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:06.359 they do? Take things from each other, hit each 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:10.160 other, right? Why? Why do they do that? Because 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.960 in that stage of immaturity, they're completely 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:17.700 self -centered, like spiritual infants in the 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:20.779 church. They're self -centered. And anybody that 00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:23.339 gets in the way of what an infant wants is probably 00:18:23.339 --> 00:18:26.400 going to get an earful. The same is true of spiritual 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:29.940 infants. So the fleshly, immature character of 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:32.809 these Corinthian believers had first of all stunted 00:18:32.809 --> 00:18:34.670 their spiritual growth, there was a disconnect 00:18:34.670 --> 00:18:36.869 between what they were being taught and how they 00:18:36.869 --> 00:18:39.289 were responding to it. Rather than hearing the 00:18:39.289 --> 00:18:41.849 word being taught to them, rather than obeying 00:18:41.849 --> 00:18:44.130 the conviction of the spirit within, they were 00:18:44.130 --> 00:18:46.970 choosing to stay worldly in all of their thinking. 00:18:47.990 --> 00:18:50.710 And I have to say, if you've done any counseling 00:18:50.710 --> 00:18:53.390 in the church, you will recognize this pattern. 00:18:53.789 --> 00:18:56.170 I've seen it so many times, I can't even count 00:18:56.170 --> 00:18:58.250 it anymore. You sit down with somebody or you 00:18:58.250 --> 00:19:00.829 sit down with a couple and you walk through basic, 00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:03.619 just basic biblical principles that they should 00:19:03.619 --> 00:19:06.480 know. They probably do know because they've either 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.680 read it themselves or they've heard it preached 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:12.200 and you teach them these things and then they 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:15.980 go home and they don't apply them. And you thought 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:17.920 you were really clear and the Bible was really 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.000 clear and they go home and they don't apply those 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:22.940 truths. And you realize they were listening but 00:19:22.940 --> 00:19:27.400 they weren't really hearing. Why is that? Because 00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:30.019 they're losing that battle within their heart. 00:19:30.890 --> 00:19:33.470 They're losing the battle to the flesh. The flesh 00:19:33.470 --> 00:19:36.869 wants what it wants. So even though they're nodding 00:19:36.869 --> 00:19:39.789 their head, they're not fully committed to change. 00:19:39.809 --> 00:19:41.950 They're not fully committed to walking in the 00:19:41.950 --> 00:19:44.990 Spirit. Not fully committed, their hearts are 00:19:44.990 --> 00:19:48.069 divided. Not fully committed to change their 00:19:48.069 --> 00:19:50.670 thinking, to make new choices and create new 00:19:50.670 --> 00:19:53.009 habits. Yeah, they were listening, but they weren't 00:19:53.009 --> 00:19:56.230 hearing. And again, positionally, they're in 00:19:56.230 --> 00:19:59.279 Christ. But practically, they're still spiritual 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:01.900 infants, and they will continue to make poor 00:20:01.900 --> 00:20:05.339 choices and bring all kinds of trouble upon themselves 00:20:05.339 --> 00:20:09.779 if they stay in that condition. And still, to 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:12.039 my amazement, they will then wonder, I don't 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:13.960 understand why this Christianity thing isn't 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:21.400 working for me. Right? Now, in verse 2, Paul 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:23.259 says to them, when I first came to Corinth, I 00:20:23.259 --> 00:20:26.259 gave you milk to drink. Right? And that makes 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:28.339 sense. That's what infants need, right? They 00:20:28.339 --> 00:20:30.640 need to build a foundation. But then he says, 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:33.359 shockingly, years later, you're still drinking 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:36.539 from that same bottle. You haven't graduated. 00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:38.920 And the reason is, he says, because you're still 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:41.359 living according to the flesh. You're not responding 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:45.319 to the Spirit's leading. The milk that he's talking 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:47.619 about here is just the basic teaching about the 00:20:47.619 --> 00:20:51.230 gospel. that is uniquely designed to take a sinner 00:20:51.230 --> 00:20:54.250 who's been newly converted and start to drive 00:20:54.250 --> 00:20:56.630 them down the path of understanding who God is 00:20:56.630 --> 00:20:59.170 and what Christ has done for them. It's beautiful, 00:20:59.269 --> 00:21:01.029 right? Paul's already talked about it in chapter 00:21:01.029 --> 00:21:03.529 one. He called it the word of the cross. And 00:21:03.529 --> 00:21:05.269 then he talked about it as Christ crucified. 00:21:06.269 --> 00:21:09.730 But then solid food is the expanding on those 00:21:09.730 --> 00:21:12.230 same truths, right? That's the amazing thing. 00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:16.319 The word of the cross in Christ crucified is 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:18.980 still solid food. It's just expanding and going 00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:23.299 deeper in those things, right? In ways that now 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:26.220 drive the believer away from pride and towards 00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:29.339 humility. Because the person who has the spirit, 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:32.140 who is listening to the voice of the spirit within, 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:35.480 is moving away from self -centeredness and to 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:37.839 a greater desire to love God and serve others. 00:21:38.660 --> 00:21:41.819 He or she is moving towards laying aside worldly 00:21:41.819 --> 00:21:45.250 thinking. and cultivating a hunger for the truth 00:21:45.250 --> 00:21:47.829 of God's word. They're moving towards a stronger 00:21:47.829 --> 00:21:51.009 commitment to obey that voice of the spirit in 00:21:51.009 --> 00:21:53.769 our conscience who reminds us of what God's word 00:21:53.769 --> 00:21:57.009 has said. You know that voice, right? You know 00:21:57.009 --> 00:21:59.470 that voice because you're like, oh, he speaks 00:21:59.470 --> 00:22:01.849 to my heart and I know what's true. He reminds 00:22:01.849 --> 00:22:05.430 me of what God has said. But that's the crossroads 00:22:05.430 --> 00:22:09.049 of decision making, isn't it? It's not rocket 00:22:09.049 --> 00:22:13.049 science, friends. I can't tell you how many times 00:22:13.049 --> 00:22:15.569 people have asked me, Jeff, I don't understand 00:22:15.569 --> 00:22:17.890 how to grow spiritually. It's not rocket science. 00:22:18.529 --> 00:22:22.190 It's simply a willingness to cooperate with the 00:22:22.190 --> 00:22:24.250 work of the Spirit, what He wants to do in your 00:22:24.250 --> 00:22:28.789 life. Continuing to die to self, right? That 00:22:28.789 --> 00:22:31.589 is a lifelong process. Continuing to say no to 00:22:31.589 --> 00:22:34.589 the flesh, while at the same time, leaning into 00:22:34.589 --> 00:22:36.869 the things that you and I both know is exactly 00:22:36.869 --> 00:22:39.210 what God's will is for your life. You say, Jeff, 00:22:39.210 --> 00:22:42.130 what is God's will for your life? Well, study 00:22:42.130 --> 00:22:45.750 of his word, worship, prayer, fellowship, service, 00:22:45.930 --> 00:22:49.849 obedience. We all know these things. We all know 00:22:49.849 --> 00:22:53.069 these things. And trust me, that brief list I 00:22:53.069 --> 00:22:55.170 just rattled off, you will never plumb the depths 00:22:55.170 --> 00:22:58.410 of all that. Your entire life, you will never 00:22:58.410 --> 00:23:01.849 plumb the depths, right? And the deeper you dive 00:23:01.849 --> 00:23:04.809 into those things, both in knowledge and application, 00:23:05.230 --> 00:23:08.529 the more fulfilling your walk with Christ will 00:23:08.529 --> 00:23:12.769 be. Do you believe that promise? That if you 00:23:12.769 --> 00:23:15.410 continue to have one foot in the world, that 00:23:15.410 --> 00:23:17.569 you'll be more miserable? But if you continue 00:23:17.569 --> 00:23:19.589 to bow your knee to Christ and submit to the 00:23:19.589 --> 00:23:22.410 things that are clearly his will, that your life 00:23:22.410 --> 00:23:25.589 will be so much better. And yet we don't make 00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:29.170 those choices. And we have to ask the question, 00:23:29.329 --> 00:23:32.930 why not? And maybe it just comes back to this. 00:23:34.170 --> 00:23:37.289 Is this what you want? Do you want spiritual 00:23:37.289 --> 00:23:41.630 maturity? Do you want to grow? Because you have 00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:44.549 everything that you need to grow. God has made 00:23:44.549 --> 00:23:47.869 sure you have every spiritual blessing to grow. 00:23:48.609 --> 00:23:50.769 Do you want to grow? Do you want solid food? 00:23:50.990 --> 00:23:56.150 Or are you just cool with staying on milk? That's 00:23:56.150 --> 00:23:57.990 a decision of the will that you have to make. 00:23:59.490 --> 00:24:01.750 If you want solid food, it is going to require 00:24:01.750 --> 00:24:03.589 some things. It's going to require a change in 00:24:03.589 --> 00:24:06.349 your thinking. Paul calls it the renewing of 00:24:06.349 --> 00:24:09.619 your mind. You know, your body's never done anything 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:11.200 that your mind first didn't give it approval 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:14.740 to do, right? Like, oh, I'm doing this thing, 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:16.980 but my mind didn't say yes. It doesn't work that 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:19.079 way. It starts up here, right? I'm going to change 00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:22.880 my thinking and let my body follow. So it starts 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:24.400 with the thinking. Then there's the intentional 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:28.819 decision of the will, committing yourself to 00:24:28.819 --> 00:24:31.859 change, to application of biblical truth. Guys, 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:35.559 that doesn't happen magically. Sometimes we think 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:37.809 it's just going to happen. By accident, we're 00:24:37.809 --> 00:24:40.950 going to stumble into maturity. It's magical 00:24:40.950 --> 00:24:44.630 thinking. It takes a decision of the will. This 00:24:44.630 --> 00:24:47.109 is what I want, Lord. And guess what? The Spirit 00:24:47.109 --> 00:24:51.390 responds to that. Great. Let's go. And then third, 00:24:51.569 --> 00:24:53.710 it takes growing in your relationship with the 00:24:53.710 --> 00:24:55.930 Holy Spirit. Yeah, that means actual prayer. 00:24:56.589 --> 00:24:59.630 That means actually listening to His voice in 00:24:59.630 --> 00:25:03.470 your conscience. It means confession and repentance. 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:06.380 And it means trusting the Holy Spirit when things 00:25:06.380 --> 00:25:09.960 get tough. Because, right, as we lean into the 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:11.599 things of God, what's going to happen? There's 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:13.980 going to be pushback. Because the Spirit and 00:25:13.980 --> 00:25:16.180 the flesh war against each other. So when things 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:19.240 get tough, we trust the Holy Spirit that you're 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:21.519 doing things according to His will. It's interesting, 00:25:21.660 --> 00:25:24.299 in Hebrews 5, I'll show you a verse here. This 00:25:24.299 --> 00:25:26.980 process that I just talked about is actually 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:29.519 referred to practice and training. Look what 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:32.859 it says. For everyone who partakes only of milk, 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:36.240 is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, 00:25:36.420 --> 00:25:39.059 for he is an infant. Same language in Hebrews. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:43.279 But solitude is for the mature who, because of 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:48.880 practice, have their senses trained to discern 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:52.220 good and evil. Therefore, he says, leaving the 00:25:52.220 --> 00:25:54.599 elementary teaching about the Christ, let us 00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:58.880 press on to maturity. Can I drop a sports analogy 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:01.859 on you? I know some of you don't like that, but 00:26:01.859 --> 00:26:04.099 I'm going to do it. Did you know that the most 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:06.460 successful athletes in the world, do you know 00:26:06.460 --> 00:26:09.140 how they got there? It's not natural talent. 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:13.299 It's practice and it's training. They just worked 00:26:13.299 --> 00:26:16.559 harder. And so this is one of the keys. Again, 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:18.740 if you've been hoping for magical thinking, like 00:26:18.740 --> 00:26:22.279 maybe all this maturity will just magically appear 00:26:22.279 --> 00:26:26.380 in my life. No. Hebrews says it takes training 00:26:26.380 --> 00:26:29.180 and it takes practice. You've got to lean into 00:26:29.180 --> 00:26:31.759 it. Again, it's a simple principle. Do you want 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:35.410 it? And listen, if you say, no thanks, I'm not 00:26:35.410 --> 00:26:38.890 there yet, okay, I'm gonna stick with milk, I'm 00:26:38.890 --> 00:26:40.369 gonna live according to the flesh instead of 00:26:40.369 --> 00:26:43.210 the spirit, okay, I don't recommend it, but okay, 00:26:43.390 --> 00:26:46.069 but please then don't wonder why you're not seeing 00:26:46.069 --> 00:26:49.329 godliness happen in your life. Don't go back 00:26:49.329 --> 00:26:51.170 and go, I don't get it, I don't see any fruit 00:26:51.170 --> 00:26:53.750 of the spirit, I don't see peace or joy or contentment, 00:26:53.849 --> 00:26:55.910 because I'm gonna point you back to this and 00:26:55.910 --> 00:27:02.529 say, okay. Now, in verses three to four, Paul's 00:27:02.529 --> 00:27:04.369 going to go on and talk about a couple of symptoms, 00:27:04.650 --> 00:27:07.430 symptoms of fleshliness in the local church. 00:27:07.630 --> 00:27:10.869 Here's what's happening in Corinth. He says, 00:27:10.970 --> 00:27:13.710 for since there's jealousy and strife among you, 00:27:13.809 --> 00:27:17.990 are you not fleshly? Are you not walking or behaving 00:27:17.990 --> 00:27:21.930 like natural men? For one says, I'm of Paul. 00:27:21.990 --> 00:27:24.750 The other says, I'm of Apollos. Are you not acting 00:27:24.750 --> 00:27:30.720 just like unsaved, unbelieving natural men? Here's 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:33.940 what marked the infantile fleshly church in Corinth. 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:37.119 First Paul uses the Greek word zelos, which is 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:39.140 the standard Greek word for zeal, but in this 00:27:39.140 --> 00:27:44.000 context, it refers to a contentious rivalry that's 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:47.140 marked by what the NAS says is jealousy, or the 00:27:47.140 --> 00:27:51.420 CSB says envy. It's a description of what today 00:27:51.420 --> 00:27:55.000 we call factionalism. We group up or we click 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:57.000 up into groups and then we oppose one another 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:59.910 in the same church family. if you can believe 00:27:59.910 --> 00:28:03.250 it. And then the obvious result of factionalism 00:28:03.250 --> 00:28:05.529 in the church is the second word, eris, that 00:28:05.529 --> 00:28:09.170 he uses here, which means conflict, quarreling, 00:28:09.170 --> 00:28:12.730 or strife. So this is the same proud boasting 00:28:12.730 --> 00:28:15.289 that Paul talked about back in chapter one. I'm 00:28:15.289 --> 00:28:21.470 on team Paul. Right? I'm on team Apollos. Right? 00:28:21.670 --> 00:28:23.450 It's like a Hogwarts thing. It's just goofy. 00:28:23.569 --> 00:28:27.799 It's just silly. Right? These are people acting 00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:32.579 like bratty children. Bratty children. When what's 00:28:32.579 --> 00:28:35.359 called for is pursuit of unity in the body for 00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:37.640 the sake of Christ, for the sake of the kingdom 00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:40.240 of God, and for the sake of the testimony of 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:44.119 the church in a city like Corinth. Right? Because 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:46.359 unity is one of those things that Christ has 00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:49.960 promised us will be a testimony to the place 00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:52.440 that we live in. And yet look what the Corinthians 00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:56.230 are doing. Shameful. You're behaving like natural 00:28:56.230 --> 00:28:59.910 men, Paul says. This is what unbelievers do, 00:29:00.029 --> 00:29:02.789 without the Spirit. It's fleshly. So whenever 00:29:02.789 --> 00:29:05.809 you see division in a church, it's because the 00:29:05.809 --> 00:29:08.029 members of the body are acting out like spiritual 00:29:08.029 --> 00:29:11.829 infants. They're having tantrums like an infant. 00:29:11.890 --> 00:29:16.349 They want their way. I just want my way. I want 00:29:16.349 --> 00:29:21.230 my church to be like I want it to be. Infants. 00:29:23.049 --> 00:29:25.890 Tantrums, willing to lash out at others in order 00:29:25.890 --> 00:29:30.069 to get their fleshly desires met. Selfishness 00:29:30.069 --> 00:29:32.990 is the mother of all conflict and division in 00:29:32.990 --> 00:29:35.849 the body of Christ. Fleshly people responding 00:29:35.849 --> 00:29:38.609 in ways that mimic what happens in the world. 00:29:38.829 --> 00:29:41.210 Have you seen the comment section on any post 00:29:41.210 --> 00:29:46.390 on social media? It's abhorrent. But sometimes 00:29:46.390 --> 00:29:50.829 we act like this in the church. May it never 00:29:50.829 --> 00:29:54.150 be so. And dividing over the silliest things, 00:29:54.289 --> 00:29:56.410 right? Have you noticed the types of things we 00:29:56.410 --> 00:29:58.349 divide over? I mean, these guys are dividing 00:29:58.349 --> 00:30:02.109 over who's better, Paul or Apollos. Really? Can't 00:30:02.109 --> 00:30:05.910 we just be thankful for both of them? Again, 00:30:06.009 --> 00:30:08.230 the implication is clear. If you're not growing 00:30:08.230 --> 00:30:11.150 spiritually, if you're living a worldly life 00:30:11.150 --> 00:30:13.690 with worldly thinking, don't be surprised. Don't 00:30:13.690 --> 00:30:16.089 be surprised if you just want to stay on milk 00:30:16.089 --> 00:30:18.390 that when something happens in the church that 00:30:18.390 --> 00:30:22.500 you don't agree with, or you get hurt by, or 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:24.460 you don't think that should be happening, don't 00:30:24.460 --> 00:30:27.099 be surprised that you end up acting out just 00:30:27.099 --> 00:30:28.880 like the world does because that will be your 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:32.319 natural response because you're not listening 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:34.819 to the voice of the Spirit. Does that make sense? 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:38.720 I've seen it too many times in my ministry career. 00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:42.380 So let's keep going. Let's dive deeper into two 00:30:42.380 --> 00:30:44.720 things. Let's talk about church leaders. Yeah. 00:30:45.700 --> 00:30:48.619 Church leaders. What is their relationship to 00:30:48.619 --> 00:30:52.650 growth? Look at verse 5. What then is Apollos 00:30:52.650 --> 00:30:57.809 and what is Paul? Just servants. Servants who 00:30:57.809 --> 00:30:59.450 did a good thing, by the way. He says, servants 00:30:59.450 --> 00:31:01.549 through whom you believed, right? We brought 00:31:01.549 --> 00:31:03.230 the gospel. You believed through the word that 00:31:03.230 --> 00:31:06.509 we gave you, right? As the Lord gave opportunity 00:31:06.509 --> 00:31:09.450 to each one. As the Lord opened those doors. 00:31:10.390 --> 00:31:14.789 I planted, Paul says, Apollos watered, but God. 00:31:15.710 --> 00:31:20.059 But God. God caused the growth. So then, whether 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:22.519 we plant or whether we water, we're really not 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:25.440 anything. It's all about God who causes the growth. 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:28.619 So in the case of Corinth, Paul, remember, he's 00:31:28.619 --> 00:31:30.579 the builder of that original church. He's the 00:31:30.579 --> 00:31:32.940 planter. And then it was time for him to move 00:31:32.940 --> 00:31:35.880 on. And Paul, like a good pastor, says, I'm not 00:31:35.880 --> 00:31:38.599 going to leave you and just disappear. I'm going 00:31:38.599 --> 00:31:40.859 to bring in this amazing teacher named Apollos. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:44.140 He's going to shepherd you for a while. Both 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:46.819 cases, both of those men were intent on seeing 00:31:46.819 --> 00:31:49.359 the church planted and watered and growing in 00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:52.799 a healthy way. But, Paul says, it wasn't us causing 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:57.660 the growth. Can you see the difference? We just 00:31:57.660 --> 00:32:01.920 work, but we don't cause the growth. As much 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:05.240 as we admire the apostles, growth is above their 00:32:05.240 --> 00:32:08.319 pay grade. And we look at Paul and Apollos and 00:32:08.319 --> 00:32:11.819 we're like, wow, these are amazing men. But only 00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:14.859 God can cause growth. That's what he says here, 00:32:14.900 --> 00:32:17.240 right? This is one of the reasons why back in 00:32:17.240 --> 00:32:18.980 the day, if you were around in the church in 00:32:18.980 --> 00:32:21.880 the 80s and the 90s, and there was, you could 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:24.240 go into a Christian bookstore lined with books 00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:27.579 that were all on one thing, church growth. Every 00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:31.119 Christian guru was writing a church book about 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:36.559 how you can grow your church. And I remember 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:38.420 thinking to myself, had they not read 1 Corinthians 00:32:38.420 --> 00:32:43.849 3? How could they be so blind? But books sell, 00:32:43.930 --> 00:32:46.650 don't they? But they all wrote these books, How 00:32:46.650 --> 00:32:49.710 to Grow Your Church. And I'm thinking to myself, 00:32:49.829 --> 00:32:52.589 if Paul and Apollo said they couldn't grow the 00:32:52.589 --> 00:32:55.250 church, why would I think I could do it today? 00:32:56.269 --> 00:32:58.549 And so I just sort of rejected the whole concept 00:32:58.549 --> 00:33:01.769 wholesale. Now, that's not to dismiss that we 00:33:01.769 --> 00:33:03.849 should lead churches in a way they're warm and 00:33:03.849 --> 00:33:07.579 welcoming, right? That we should set the environment 00:33:07.579 --> 00:33:10.420 in a church for growth to take place. But the 00:33:10.420 --> 00:33:12.799 guys writing those books really did think that 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:17.640 if I just build a formula, I can guarantee your 00:33:17.640 --> 00:33:21.839 church will grow. Imagine the chutzpah in that. 00:33:23.160 --> 00:33:26.140 Right? The ego in that. Here's the formula. It 00:33:26.140 --> 00:33:28.299 worked for me. It'll work for you. I guarantee 00:33:28.299 --> 00:33:33.680 it. But at what cost? At how much compromise? 00:33:34.730 --> 00:33:38.390 Will that work? And by the way, is putting people 00:33:38.390 --> 00:33:41.809 in seats on Sunday morning, is that really spiritual 00:33:41.809 --> 00:33:45.430 growth? By whose standard? Is it God's standard 00:33:45.430 --> 00:33:47.869 or man's standard? Right? You see the problems 00:33:47.869 --> 00:33:52.009 here? The key to a healthy philosophy of church 00:33:52.009 --> 00:33:55.490 growth is right there in verse 6. Church leaders 00:33:55.490 --> 00:34:00.190 plant in water. Faithfulness. To plant and to 00:34:00.190 --> 00:34:03.779 water. That's it. That's your calling. Plant 00:34:03.779 --> 00:34:06.660 and water. You're not called to spin a bunch 00:34:06.660 --> 00:34:08.780 of plates and create all kinds of church programs 00:34:08.780 --> 00:34:13.400 and activities to keep everybody excited. Plant 00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:15.940 and water. Shepherd the flock that God has put 00:34:15.940 --> 00:34:18.300 under your care, whether it's 50 people or 5 00:34:18.300 --> 00:34:21.260 ,000. Shepherd the flock. The numbers are for 00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:24.659 God to determine, right? That's why at Oak Hill 00:34:24.659 --> 00:34:26.320 we talk about we have open hands. Whatever God 00:34:26.320 --> 00:34:29.300 desires for us, we want. 50 or 5 ,000. It's up 00:34:29.300 --> 00:34:32.260 to God. And so we say over and over again, and 00:34:32.260 --> 00:34:35.519 I hope you'll remember this mantra. It's not 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:37.539 about big church. It's about healthy church. 00:34:38.099 --> 00:34:41.199 Whatever that number is, it's about healthy church. 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:44.320 That's what Paul's trying to get through here. 00:34:45.219 --> 00:34:47.500 Now take note of two things that Paul says about 00:34:47.500 --> 00:34:50.139 himself and Apollos. And I want every elder and 00:34:50.139 --> 00:34:52.420 deacon here at Oak Hill to listen carefully to 00:34:52.420 --> 00:34:55.059 this. He says, first, the core of your role is 00:34:55.059 --> 00:34:58.000 to serve the body. We are servants, he says. 00:34:58.860 --> 00:35:01.280 Because we serve the Lord as we serve the flock. 00:35:02.099 --> 00:35:04.699 Now that doesn't negate other passages that speak 00:35:04.699 --> 00:35:07.300 of, yeah, elders have real spiritual authority 00:35:07.300 --> 00:35:10.179 in the local church. Deacons are called to high 00:35:10.179 --> 00:35:13.099 service. And there is a need among the congregation 00:35:13.099 --> 00:35:16.239 to esteem their leaders. All those things remain 00:35:16.239 --> 00:35:20.099 true. But Paul says, ultimately, we are table 00:35:20.099 --> 00:35:24.639 servants as elders and deacons. We are called 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:28.059 by God to particular roles according to his. 00:35:28.789 --> 00:35:31.929 That's what Paul says here. You may notice the 00:35:31.929 --> 00:35:35.630 assignment of God that is given to me is different 00:35:35.630 --> 00:35:38.489 from Grant's assignment. And it's different from 00:35:38.489 --> 00:35:41.050 Dave's assignment. Different from Glenn's assignment 00:35:41.050 --> 00:35:43.849 or Connor's assignment. And thank God for that, 00:35:43.929 --> 00:35:46.429 right? We all have different gifts and skills. 00:35:46.670 --> 00:35:49.550 And it's the diversity of those gifts and skills 00:35:49.550 --> 00:35:52.110 that God empowers and then brings together for 00:35:52.110 --> 00:35:55.809 his glory and the good of his church. Right? 00:35:55.849 --> 00:35:59.059 As each one is given opportunity. Paul says, 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:01.639 all we have to do is be faithful. Plant and water, 00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:04.699 shepherd, right? And as he says there in verse 00:36:04.699 --> 00:36:08.599 seven, if you compare us, me and the guys I just 00:36:08.599 --> 00:36:10.500 mentioned, all of our elders and deacons, if 00:36:10.500 --> 00:36:15.139 you compare us to God, we're not anything. We're 00:36:15.139 --> 00:36:16.880 not anything, he says. We're really not anything 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:19.360 at all. Now that may sound a little bit offensive 00:36:19.360 --> 00:36:21.559 because you're like, church leaders aren't nothing. 00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:24.860 But what Paul's doing here, he's using hyperbolic 00:36:24.860 --> 00:36:27.380 language. He's trying to bring the Corinthians 00:36:27.380 --> 00:36:30.219 back to their senses, right? About how foolish 00:36:30.219 --> 00:36:34.539 you are to put men on pedestals. How foolish 00:36:34.539 --> 00:36:37.000 that is when it's God who's doing all the work, 00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:41.019 but you keep lifting up us, people in the flesh. 00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:45.039 Why are you doing that? Stop it. It's as if he's 00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:47.099 saying, look, we're not heroes to be adored. 00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:51.280 We're not infallible. We're not mistake -free. 00:36:52.139 --> 00:36:54.260 We're not beyond stumbling ourselves. We are 00:36:54.260 --> 00:36:56.800 servants of Christ with a particular calling 00:36:56.800 --> 00:36:59.579 and gifting, and that is it. So don't break into 00:36:59.579 --> 00:37:03.639 factions over us. We're really not that great. 00:37:05.699 --> 00:37:07.599 And that should be the posture of every church 00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:10.579 leader, what we see here in Scripture. And then 00:37:10.579 --> 00:37:13.639 he says, important truth in verse 8, he who plants 00:37:13.639 --> 00:37:17.260 and he who waters are one. They have the same 00:37:17.260 --> 00:37:20.460 goals and purposes. We're one. And by the way, 00:37:20.460 --> 00:37:23.690 this... extends to churches, like -minded churches 00:37:23.690 --> 00:37:25.889 in a valley like Santa Clarita. We're not in 00:37:25.889 --> 00:37:28.789 competition. We're one. We have the same goal, 00:37:28.809 --> 00:37:31.170 the same purpose, to see people come to know 00:37:31.170 --> 00:37:36.070 Christ and to grow and mature. He goes on, but 00:37:36.070 --> 00:37:38.309 each will receive his own reward according to 00:37:38.309 --> 00:37:40.409 his own labor, for we are God's fellow workers 00:37:40.409 --> 00:37:43.829 and you are God's field and God's building. So 00:37:43.829 --> 00:37:46.519 me and Apollos, every other church leader, Church 00:37:46.519 --> 00:37:49.480 leader, our task is to build and plant and water. 00:37:49.659 --> 00:37:52.460 And he says, we're fellow workers. That means 00:37:52.460 --> 00:37:55.059 we're teammates. We're not in competition. Stop 00:37:55.059 --> 00:37:58.880 doing that. Our ministries are one. We are actually 00:37:58.880 --> 00:38:01.340 dependent on each other. Did you know that? I 00:38:01.340 --> 00:38:03.340 can get up here and preach all day long, but 00:38:03.340 --> 00:38:05.139 if the deacons aren't doing their jobs, we have 00:38:05.139 --> 00:38:09.900 problems. It's true, right? And if the deacons 00:38:09.900 --> 00:38:11.480 are doing the job, but I don't show up to preach, 00:38:11.619 --> 00:38:14.889 we have problems. Our ministries come together 00:38:14.889 --> 00:38:16.969 like this, right? We're dependent on each other. 00:38:17.010 --> 00:38:19.869 We are one. We're combining our unique gifts 00:38:19.869 --> 00:38:22.309 and striving for the same goals. So he says, 00:38:22.349 --> 00:38:28.170 stop dividing over us. Stop it. Refocus your 00:38:28.170 --> 00:38:31.449 eyes back on the Lord. We are simply workers 00:38:31.449 --> 00:38:35.170 through whom you came to believe and through 00:38:35.170 --> 00:38:39.730 whom you are now growing in maturity. So as the 00:38:39.730 --> 00:38:41.489 analogy goes, I don't know if you've heard this 00:38:41.489 --> 00:38:44.030 before, you can be thankful for the copper pipes 00:38:44.030 --> 00:38:47.650 in your home, but it's the water that is life 00:38:47.650 --> 00:38:49.969 -giving and refreshing, so don't focus on the 00:38:49.969 --> 00:38:54.429 pipes. You'll figure that out if you listen to 00:38:54.429 --> 00:38:56.869 it again, right? Because I'm just a pipe through 00:38:56.869 --> 00:39:01.789 which things flow, but it's not about me. Okay, 00:39:01.869 --> 00:39:03.190 there's so much more we could say about this. 00:39:03.289 --> 00:39:05.909 Let me close by coming back to where we started. 00:39:05.989 --> 00:39:10.480 Let me give you this list again. These are the 00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:13.539 marks of the fleshly immature believer. These 00:39:13.539 --> 00:39:15.619 are the things that cause conflict and drama 00:39:15.619 --> 00:39:19.480 and division in the local church. Pride, self 00:39:19.480 --> 00:39:23.739 -centeredness, poor emotional control, resistance 00:39:23.739 --> 00:39:27.420 to change, factionalism, making false assumptions, 00:39:27.639 --> 00:39:31.659 ambition for power, gossip and secrecy, unresolved 00:39:31.659 --> 00:39:35.000 conflict. May the Lord protect each one of us 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.320 in this church from ever ever bringing harm to 00:39:39.320 --> 00:39:42.960 the bride of Christ. Think about that for a second. 00:39:44.280 --> 00:39:47.980 There are people in this church world that their 00:39:47.980 --> 00:39:51.099 legacy is, I brought harm to the bride of Christ 00:39:51.099 --> 00:39:58.400 out of pride because I wanted it my way. And 00:39:58.400 --> 00:40:01.360 I brought harm to the church. Can you imagine? 00:40:02.559 --> 00:40:05.139 Protect us from that, from acting out like spiritual 00:40:05.139 --> 00:40:07.679 infants and then allowing any of these things 00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:11.179 to seep into this local church family. May the 00:40:11.179 --> 00:40:13.760 Lord protect us. And now to the other side of 00:40:13.760 --> 00:40:16.039 that coin, let me take us back to, this is our 00:40:16.039 --> 00:40:18.900 call to worship passage from earlier, Ephesians 00:40:18.900 --> 00:40:22.860 4. And this is so instructive for us in the local 00:40:22.860 --> 00:40:27.820 church. Here's what it says. God gave some to 00:40:27.820 --> 00:40:31.010 the church. To be apostles, and some as prophets, 00:40:31.289 --> 00:40:33.630 some as evangelists, and some as pastors and 00:40:33.630 --> 00:40:36.769 teachers, and with this purpose in mind. See 00:40:36.769 --> 00:40:40.309 it? He gave these offices and these workers, 00:40:40.610 --> 00:40:43.489 right, for these reasons. To equip the saints, 00:40:43.730 --> 00:40:48.409 that's you guys, for the works of ministry, for 00:40:48.409 --> 00:40:52.010 building up the body of Christ, until we all 00:40:52.010 --> 00:40:55.889 attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge 00:40:55.889 --> 00:40:59.519 of the Son of God to mature manhood, To the measure 00:40:59.519 --> 00:41:02.199 of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Guys, 00:41:02.239 --> 00:41:04.360 this is God's will for every believer in this 00:41:04.360 --> 00:41:10.300 room today. Right here. Being equipped to serve 00:41:10.300 --> 00:41:13.739 everybody else in this room. Not to be served, 00:41:13.820 --> 00:41:16.780 but to serve. To build up and strengthen this 00:41:16.780 --> 00:41:20.320 local body in Christ. To reach a place of unity 00:41:20.320 --> 00:41:23.760 with every other believer in this room. To find 00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:27.300 a way to reach unity. Then to possess a deep 00:41:27.300 --> 00:41:29.199 and abiding knowledge of Christ and what he's 00:41:29.199 --> 00:41:32.960 done for us. Right? And to mature in the faith 00:41:32.960 --> 00:41:35.139 to the point where you're experiencing the fullness 00:41:35.139 --> 00:41:37.039 of what it means to be conformed to the image 00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:39.480 of Christ. To be marching towards that until 00:41:39.480 --> 00:41:44.019 your last breath. Towards maturity. That is God's 00:41:44.019 --> 00:41:46.679 agenda for your life. Did you know that? Jeff, 00:41:46.679 --> 00:41:49.159 what's God's will? What's God's agenda? Is that 00:41:49.159 --> 00:41:53.119 your agenda? Ah, the question. Is that your agenda? 00:41:55.019 --> 00:41:57.739 Or are you on a different path, a roundabout 00:41:57.739 --> 00:42:00.260 path, right? Well, I'm partly committed to these 00:42:00.260 --> 00:42:03.780 things, but not entirely. Still trusting in your 00:42:03.780 --> 00:42:06.579 own wisdom, still with a divided heart, still 00:42:06.579 --> 00:42:08.300 seeing things through the lens of the world, 00:42:08.420 --> 00:42:11.880 still wanting to dabble in some fleshly pursuits 00:42:11.880 --> 00:42:14.440 with one foot in the world and one foot in the 00:42:14.440 --> 00:42:17.760 kingdom because you still think that those things 00:42:17.760 --> 00:42:19.780 out there in the world are gonna satisfy you 00:42:19.780 --> 00:42:23.940 and make you happy rather than seeing what God. 00:42:24.599 --> 00:42:28.539 says will make you joyful. Paul goes on in Ephesians 00:42:28.539 --> 00:42:31.199 4, he says, we're no longer to be children tossed 00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:34.500 here and there, but rather, speaking the truth 00:42:34.500 --> 00:42:38.159 in love, we're to grow up in every way. into 00:42:38.159 --> 00:42:40.880 him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the 00:42:40.880 --> 00:42:43.679 whole body, joined and held together by every 00:42:43.679 --> 00:42:46.420 joint with which it is equipped, that's us, we 00:42:46.420 --> 00:42:49.039 are joints in this building, when each part is 00:42:49.039 --> 00:42:52.579 working properly, makes the body grow so that 00:42:52.579 --> 00:42:56.780 it builds itself up in love. God's instruction 00:42:56.780 --> 00:42:59.619 to every one of us, stop acting like spiritual 00:42:59.619 --> 00:43:04.639 children. Stop it. Get off the bottle, lay aside 00:43:04.639 --> 00:43:07.920 the flesh, grow up in Christ. so that you can 00:43:07.920 --> 00:43:10.780 play a part, get this now, in the greatest mission 00:43:10.780 --> 00:43:13.639 that you've ever been invited into. Did you know 00:43:13.639 --> 00:43:16.179 this? You've been invited into the greatest mission 00:43:16.179 --> 00:43:18.840 the world has ever seen, the building and strengthening 00:43:18.840 --> 00:43:22.300 of Christ's church. And I know we don't often 00:43:22.300 --> 00:43:24.280 see it that way because we've grown up in this 00:43:24.280 --> 00:43:26.900 weird evangelical world where the professionals 00:43:26.900 --> 00:43:32.400 do the work. We just come and we listen. That's 00:43:32.400 --> 00:43:35.659 not the mission, to sit. You know, I won't make 00:43:35.659 --> 00:43:39.579 fun of back row people. To sit in the back row 00:43:39.579 --> 00:43:41.719 and just go, hey, get me a good cup of coffee, 00:43:41.820 --> 00:43:44.719 make sure the music is good, right? And give 00:43:44.719 --> 00:43:48.440 me a word for the day. You've been invited into 00:43:48.440 --> 00:43:50.719 the greatest mission the world has ever seen, 00:43:50.860 --> 00:43:53.440 the building and strengthening of the church 00:43:53.440 --> 00:43:58.840 of Jesus Christ. I hope that's your agenda. And 00:43:58.840 --> 00:44:01.380 if you're like, ah, that's a little harsh, Jeff. 00:44:01.460 --> 00:44:03.539 This is not Jeff's word, this is God's word. 00:44:03.929 --> 00:44:07.929 I'm just the copper pipe that's bringing you 00:44:07.929 --> 00:44:12.710 the water. Amen? So we should remember, in conclusion, 00:44:12.969 --> 00:44:17.650 salvation in Christ is a radical change. It's 00:44:17.650 --> 00:44:19.969 a radical change in your identity, in your nature, 00:44:20.110 --> 00:44:23.130 in your calling, and your purpose. It is not, 00:44:23.210 --> 00:44:27.590 I repeat, it is not adding a little Jesus into 00:44:27.590 --> 00:44:32.889 your life, which many of us were taught. It's 00:44:32.889 --> 00:44:35.210 a radical change. It is a change from death to 00:44:35.210 --> 00:44:39.170 life, you guys, from darkness to light. It's 00:44:39.170 --> 00:44:41.449 turning from worldly things that you once thought 00:44:41.449 --> 00:44:45.389 were so great and so precious to new affections 00:44:45.389 --> 00:44:48.250 that when you figure those things out, they far 00:44:48.250 --> 00:44:51.869 surpass the old ones. It's a radical change. 00:44:52.230 --> 00:44:54.389 Salvation in Christ turns everything on its head. 00:44:54.530 --> 00:44:58.039 Now, this takes time, okay? I want to give grace 00:44:58.039 --> 00:45:00.420 to this. It takes time, but your worldview is 00:45:00.420 --> 00:45:02.940 going to change over time. Your values, your 00:45:02.940 --> 00:45:06.860 motivations, your priorities, everything. And 00:45:06.860 --> 00:45:08.820 that means that if the Spirit is within you, 00:45:08.920 --> 00:45:11.800 you're going to see over time a trajectory of 00:45:11.800 --> 00:45:14.320 growth. Now, there'll be dips, ups and downs, 00:45:14.440 --> 00:45:17.000 lefts and rights, but you'll see over time a 00:45:17.000 --> 00:45:21.320 trajectory of spiritual growth. It's true that 00:45:21.320 --> 00:45:25.059 we are saved by God's grace alone. But wherever 00:45:25.059 --> 00:45:28.420 genuine faith is, there is also genuine godly 00:45:28.420 --> 00:45:31.059 works. It should show up in your life. It has 00:45:31.059 --> 00:45:34.900 to show up in your life. It has to. Otherwise, 00:45:35.079 --> 00:45:38.679 we're going to question your faith. So while 00:45:38.679 --> 00:45:41.139 a Christian can at times act out in fleshly ways, 00:45:41.360 --> 00:45:43.400 it's not going to be something that marks his 00:45:43.400 --> 00:45:46.000 or her life on a long -term basis. And we should 00:45:46.000 --> 00:45:49.170 remember this as well. If you're found in Christ, 00:45:49.289 --> 00:45:51.349 if the spirit's within you and you are rejecting 00:45:51.349 --> 00:45:55.550 his voice, there's gonna be consequences. Can 00:45:55.550 --> 00:45:57.449 I just share this because I love you guys and 00:45:57.449 --> 00:45:59.869 I don't want life to be harder than it has to 00:45:59.869 --> 00:46:02.889 be, but there will be consequences. God promises 00:46:02.889 --> 00:46:05.829 to discipline those he loves. He disciplines 00:46:05.829 --> 00:46:08.530 his children. He says, look, I've saved you. 00:46:08.730 --> 00:46:10.989 I've given you every promise. I've given you 00:46:10.989 --> 00:46:13.269 the spirit to help you. You've said no thank 00:46:13.269 --> 00:46:16.210 you. So like a good father, he is gonna discipline 00:46:16.210 --> 00:46:20.260 you. And that can be a painful process. There 00:46:20.260 --> 00:46:22.539 can be temporal discipline, loss of blessings, 00:46:22.760 --> 00:46:26.280 blocked prayer, the loss of the fullness of communion 00:46:26.280 --> 00:46:29.880 with God. There can be despair and confusion 00:46:29.880 --> 00:46:33.159 because I've said this before, the most miserable 00:46:33.159 --> 00:46:35.980 people I know are Christians who are still living 00:46:35.980 --> 00:46:38.360 with a foot in the world. It creates confusion. 00:46:38.659 --> 00:46:42.320 It creates misery. Get your foot out of that 00:46:42.320 --> 00:46:45.880 world, man. Listen to what God says. There could 00:46:45.880 --> 00:46:48.699 be lost rewards in the life to come. That's coming 00:46:48.699 --> 00:46:50.619 up in the rest of chapter three, the judgment 00:46:50.619 --> 00:46:53.239 seat, the behemoth seat of Christ. There can 00:46:53.239 --> 00:46:55.559 be loss of rewards. And finally, there can be 00:46:55.559 --> 00:46:57.820 a loss of mission in the here and now where you 00:46:57.820 --> 00:47:00.940 are so entangled by sin that you become useless 00:47:00.940 --> 00:47:04.579 in service to the kingdom. So there are consequences 00:47:04.579 --> 00:47:10.179 to failing to listen to this passage. Now, this 00:47:10.179 --> 00:47:13.239 is no small issue, but let me encourage you. 00:47:13.530 --> 00:47:15.809 Okay, because you don't want to end on that note, 00:47:15.909 --> 00:47:18.849 right? That was rough. Let me encourage you with 00:47:18.849 --> 00:47:21.550 two things. Because if you feel beat down today, 00:47:21.769 --> 00:47:24.690 I hope not. I hope you feel convicted. I was. 00:47:24.710 --> 00:47:27.369 I was convicted this week in this passage. Two 00:47:27.369 --> 00:47:30.889 things. If you belong to Christ, even if you're 00:47:30.889 --> 00:47:33.489 struggling with the flesh, even if you're struggling 00:47:33.489 --> 00:47:35.809 with that, nothing can separate you from his 00:47:35.809 --> 00:47:40.730 love. Did you know that? Not even your own waywardness. 00:47:41.360 --> 00:47:44.119 can separate, nothing can snatch you out of his 00:47:44.119 --> 00:47:47.420 hand. Man, claim that promise. Even as you start 00:47:47.420 --> 00:47:50.039 to say, I need to confess and repent and move 00:47:50.039 --> 00:47:53.659 towards the spirit, remember, he can't love you 00:47:53.659 --> 00:47:56.239 anymore. He sent his own son to die for you. 00:47:56.940 --> 00:48:03.900 He cannot love you more. If you belong to him, 00:48:03.940 --> 00:48:07.000 he's always gonna faithfully call you back to 00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:09.019 himself. It could be painful, but he will call 00:48:09.019 --> 00:48:11.860 you back. And then let's remember the truth of 00:48:11.860 --> 00:48:15.539 Romans 5 .20. Where sin abounded, grace abounded 00:48:15.539 --> 00:48:19.119 all the more. It's our gracious God. In Romans 00:48:19.119 --> 00:48:21.179 8 .1, if you're clothed with the garments of 00:48:21.179 --> 00:48:24.480 righteousness in Christ, there is now no condemnation. 00:48:25.579 --> 00:48:27.960 Do you believe that? Do you believe that God's 00:48:27.960 --> 00:48:32.239 not always mad at you? I used to believe that. 00:48:33.019 --> 00:48:34.920 That God was just always mad at me because I 00:48:34.920 --> 00:48:38.559 always disappointed him. He's your father. He 00:48:38.559 --> 00:48:43.400 loves you. So let's saturate our minds with the 00:48:43.400 --> 00:48:45.360 word of God so that our thinking is renewed. 00:48:45.539 --> 00:48:49.880 Let's practice and let's train our bodies for 00:48:49.880 --> 00:48:52.260 this battle that lays ahead. And out of love 00:48:52.260 --> 00:48:54.940 for God, out of gratitude towards Christ for 00:48:54.940 --> 00:48:58.579 what he's done, let's walk by the spirit so that 00:48:58.579 --> 00:49:00.440 we don't carry out the desires of the flesh. 00:49:00.460 --> 00:49:09.329 Amen? Let's bow our heads. Heavenly Father, thank 00:49:09.329 --> 00:49:15.170 you for loving us. As we live down here in these 00:49:15.170 --> 00:49:21.130 bodies, it's rough. It's hard, Lord. We wrestle 00:49:21.130 --> 00:49:24.210 with the flesh. We wrestle with the world and 00:49:24.210 --> 00:49:26.250 the devil and yet, Lord, we know that you've 00:49:26.250 --> 00:49:28.989 called us to something higher and you challenge 00:49:28.989 --> 00:49:31.909 us with your word that this is real and that 00:49:31.909 --> 00:49:34.489 there are consequences, but there's also great 00:49:34.489 --> 00:49:37.860 blessings, Lord, for... Spiritual growth. And 00:49:37.860 --> 00:49:41.460 so I pray, Lord, that you will seal these truths 00:49:41.460 --> 00:49:44.320 in our hearts and minds, that we will pursue 00:49:44.320 --> 00:49:48.800 spiritual maturities, pursue spiritual growth, 00:49:48.840 --> 00:49:51.199 that we would lay aside the flesh. God, thank 00:49:51.199 --> 00:49:55.460 you for your spirit. Thank you that you loved 00:49:55.460 --> 00:49:58.420 us enough to send the spirit to be within our 00:49:58.420 --> 00:50:02.159 inner man and to impact our hearts and minds 00:50:02.159 --> 00:50:06.239 directly from within. That you've made us temples 00:50:06.239 --> 00:50:10.920 where you reside. God, help us. Help us to lay 00:50:10.920 --> 00:50:13.059 aside the flesh. Help us to die to self. Help 00:50:13.059 --> 00:50:16.139 us to lean into the work you want to do in us. 00:50:17.159 --> 00:50:19.440 Most of all for your glory, Lord, but also for 00:50:19.440 --> 00:50:21.440 our good and for the good of this local church. 00:50:23.519 --> 00:50:26.199 Thank you, God, for this passage. I pray for 00:50:26.199 --> 00:50:27.760 my brothers and sisters this week that we'll 00:50:27.760 --> 00:50:30.519 go back over it and we'll pray it through, Lord, 00:50:30.559 --> 00:50:34.099 and be convicted all over again. And then strive 00:50:34.099 --> 00:50:37.360 to know you deeper. Thank you for this church. 00:50:37.500 --> 00:50:39.099 Thank you for your word, Lord. We love you. In 00:50:39.099 --> 00:50:39.880 Christ's name we pray.