1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,120 Is it ever good to be back with you today? 2 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:05,600 It seems like forever since I've been here. 3 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,760 Thank you for praying for the ministry last weekend in Kansas. 4 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:17,040 Just a word about that, I went to speak at a Valentine banquet for a small church in 5 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:18,040 a Kansas town. 6 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:19,040 It's a rural church. 7 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:21,040 Of course, about anything in Kansas is rural. 8 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,680 It doesn't mean it's bad, it's just rural. 9 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:32,000 I suppose they have 200, 250 people in the little town and 135 to 150 people are in that 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:33,560 church. 11 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:38,120 They have one big event every year and that's their Valentine banquet. 12 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,200 That is their major outreach. 13 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:46,680 At the Valentine banquet a week ago Saturday night, they had almost 250 people out at the 14 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:53,120 high school or the elementary school gymnasium for a very delicious banquet. 15 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,520 I would guess that probably a fourth of the people there did not know Christ. 16 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,560 Only the people in the congregation can buy tickets to the banquet. 17 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:06,120 They give the tickets away to their friends and invite them to come as their guests that 18 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:07,120 night. 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,400 The banquet's not cheap either. 20 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:10,400 They packed it out. 21 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:12,400 It was a great opportunity. 22 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,080 One neighbor of ours from when I grew up was there. 23 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,760 He claims to be an atheist. 24 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:23,720 I don't think he's that dumb, but he claims to be an atheist and he had heard the gospel 25 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:24,720 that night. 26 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:32,200 I thank you for allowing me to be there and for your part in praying for the ministry. 27 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:36,480 Would you take your Bible and turn please to the two key passages for the theme that 28 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:40,360 we're looking at, life's ultimate purpose. 29 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:49,360 I'm thinking of 1 Corinthians 6 verses 19 and 20 and then 1 Peter 2, 9. 30 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:58,880 1 Corinthians 6 verses 19 and 20 say this, say this, or do you not know that your body 31 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:06,560 is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and that you are not 32 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:08,480 your own? 33 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:16,400 For you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. 34 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:26,600 And then in 1 Peter 2, 9, Peter brings to us a complimentary passage and he says, you 35 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:37,400 are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. 36 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:43,720 That you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into 37 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,560 his marvelous light. 38 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:53,440 Thinkers of the ages have pondered the reason for personal existence. 39 00:02:53,440 --> 00:03:00,040 Why am I here is a question that probably crosses the mind of everyone at some time 40 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,560 or another. 41 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:07,960 And the brevity of life makes that question all the more urgent. 42 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:14,000 For life is short and it's important that I understand why I am here and accomplish 43 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,720 that purpose. 44 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:23,200 The Bible alone tells us accurately what the purpose of life is. 45 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:30,240 Man's reason for existence is the glory of God. 46 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:35,440 The reason that God created mankind back in the garden was so that man would be in his 47 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:42,160 image, in his own likeness, and would thus glorify him on the earth through his rule, 48 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,600 his dominion of the earth. 49 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,840 Life's ultimate purpose is to glorify God. 50 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,360 And every dimension of life is involved in this. 51 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:59,360 The last time I was with you on January 30th we talked about three dimensions. 52 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,060 The dimension of salvation, for example. 53 00:04:03,060 --> 00:04:09,120 The reason for our salvation is not just to keep us out of hell, but it is to bring glory 54 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:16,600 to God for all of eternity for his grace and his mercy towards sinners. 55 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,840 We are to glorify God in the dimension of our bodies. 56 00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:26,820 And the way that we treat our bodies, the way that we use our bodies, we are to bring 57 00:04:26,820 --> 00:04:32,400 glory to God, and two specific sins were mentioned in the context of 1 Corinthians 6, which is 58 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:34,440 our key verse for that. 59 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:39,320 Those sins are gluttony and sexual immorality. 60 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:47,200 We are to absolutely avoid sins that dishonor the temple of the Holy Spirit, our bodies. 61 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:54,760 Anything that destroys them, that breaks them down, anything that displays them in a lustful 62 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,960 way is to be avoided. 63 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:04,040 And then we are to bring glory to God in the dimension of our lifestyle. 64 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:12,520 Even in those areas where the Bible does not give a specific yes and no, the gray area, 65 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:17,400 in those areas we are to bring glory to God by obeying the principles that we talked about 66 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,320 the last time in some detail. 67 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:24,760 Now this morning I want to look briefly at three additional dimensions of life in which 68 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,760 we should be concerned to bring glory to God. 69 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:33,840 First I want to talk about this morning is the dimension of our fellowship. 70 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:44,640 And the key passage for this is Romans chapter 15, verses 5 through 7. 71 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:55,560 Now, may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same 72 00:05:55,560 --> 00:06:01,520 mind with one another according to Christ Jesus. 73 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:07,840 That with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 74 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:09,160 Christ. 75 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:17,440 Therefore, accept one another just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. 76 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:23,160 What we are going to say will primarily be applied to the local church, but it can as 77 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:28,240 well be applied to your dormitory if you are a college student or to your room, to the 78 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:33,480 house that you live in if you are a career person living with others. 79 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:39,080 It can apply to your family, to your husband and wife relationship. 80 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:48,160 I'm talking about all of those spheres in which we have fellowship with other Christians. 81 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:52,640 How are we to bring glory to God in our fellowshipping? 82 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:59,880 The answer is through unity. 83 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:04,520 Do you know that if you have a group of two, you are going to have a difference of opinion 84 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:06,560 about some things? 85 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:11,120 You know that pretty well, don't you, because of your own home if you are married. 86 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:17,560 You and your wife may agree on a lot, but I bet you don't agree on everything. 87 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:26,120 How much more true is that in a church where people come out of diverse backgrounds and 88 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:32,800 bring to the fellowship of the church their differing opinions about things? 89 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,080 And sometimes even the way things ought to be done as well as perhaps some doctrinal 90 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:43,320 peculiarities and the non-essential doctrines. 91 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:48,980 And yet we glorify God, the Bible says, when there is unity in the church. 92 00:07:48,980 --> 00:07:57,560 He talks about with one voice glorifying the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 93 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:04,960 How do we achieve that unity in our fellowship which glorifies God? 94 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:13,400 The answer that is by each one of us subjecting his personal opinions about things for the 95 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,400 good of the whole. 96 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:22,400 In other words, instead of saying, well this is the way that I see it for the good of the 97 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:23,920 whole. 98 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,800 In those areas that are non-essential we say, well you know that's not the way I would 99 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:32,400 do it, that's not necessarily the way I see it fully, but I'm not going to let that bother 100 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:33,400 me. 101 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:41,960 I'm going to seek to maintain the unity of God in the fellowship of our church. 102 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:47,400 It is the maintenance of that unity that glorifies God. 103 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:54,560 Unity glorifies God and conversely division dishonors God. 104 00:08:54,560 --> 00:09:00,920 Now I suppose every one of us who is very old and who has been in more than one church 105 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:05,960 could testify today of what it's like to be in a church where there is disunity and 106 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,280 dissension and division. 107 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:16,520 It's just very open and at other times it sees and bubbles and boils below a seemingly 108 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,480 a calm surface. 109 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:27,480 Whichever way it's expressed, whether it be through gossip and innuendo or whether it 110 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:35,320 be through open rebellion as sometimes seen as annual business meetings, disunity dishonors 111 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:42,760 God, and as a child of God, as a part of a fellowship, I must do everything I can to 112 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:49,400 see that disunity does not develop in the church and dishonor God. 113 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:55,000 To put it on the positive side, I must do everything that I can to preserve and to guard 114 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:00,320 the unity of my church. 115 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:10,560 In Ephesians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul tells us how we do that. 116 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:18,920 This begins the practical application of the book of Ephesians. 117 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:23,040 And as he begins applying the doctrines, he is already expounded. 118 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:31,880 The Apostle says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk worthy of 119 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:40,720 the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, 120 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:46,960 showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the 121 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,560 Spirit in the bond of peace. 122 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:54,440 I want you to notice that he calls the unity here the unity of the Spirit. 123 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:59,480 I cannot create unity in the church, nor can you. 124 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,120 Unity is produced by the Holy Spirit. 125 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:09,040 When He is in control of lives, then unity is very natural. 126 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:16,640 But when the Holy Spirit is quenched or grieved by sin, then disunity erupts. 127 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:23,860 And so its presence or its absence depends upon the church's and the individual's relationship 128 00:11:23,860 --> 00:11:26,840 to the Holy Spirit at any given moment. 129 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:34,200 It is the unity of the Spirit that we are to seek to preserve, not create. 130 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:39,040 How do we preserve the unity of the Spirit? 131 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:46,440 He begins in verse 1 by telling us that it starts with a walk or a conduct of life that 132 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:50,040 is worthy of our calling. 133 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:56,280 Essentially what he is saying here is that unity in the church begins with a personal 134 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:01,160 holiness in the lives of its people. 135 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:08,760 In other words, a separation from sin, a care to be sure that sin is not dominating in the 136 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:09,760 life. 137 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:13,440 That is how it begins. 138 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:18,600 That is how the Holy Spirit is able to produce unity when people are living in obedience 139 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:20,640 to the Word of God. 140 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:25,000 But it is accompanied by humility. 141 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,280 Humility is putting others before oneself. 142 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:34,280 It is lowliness of mind. 143 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,920 He talks about gentleness. 144 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:39,200 Gentleness is the same as meekness. 145 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,400 It is not weakness. 146 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:49,240 The gentleness, as someone has said, is power that is under control. 147 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:55,560 It is that temper of Spirit that does all things without murmuring and complaining, 148 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:59,400 as the Apostle says in Philippians chapter 2. 149 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:05,600 It is that willingness to subject myself to others. 150 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,480 He talks about patience. 151 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:13,080 The word patience means to abide under a load. 152 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:14,440 It does not mean to be free from it. 153 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:18,200 It means to bear up under the load. 154 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,320 It is the opposite of despondency and discouragement. 155 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:27,360 Oh, how discouragement brings disunity to a church. 156 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:34,200 When people get despondent over some situation, it is the foothold for the devil to get in. 157 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:35,960 It is true in homes. 158 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,520 It is true on campuses. 159 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,560 He talks about loving forbearance. 160 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:45,720 And here the word means to bear with, to endure. 161 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:46,720 It is long-suffering. 162 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:52,040 It is the opposite of anger. 163 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:53,040 Anger is a sin. 164 00:13:53,040 --> 00:14:00,600 Oh, there is such a thing as righteous anger, but do you know even sinful anger boils beneath 165 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:05,140 the surface of so many lives? 166 00:14:05,140 --> 00:14:14,800 And when the life is pricked, that anger begins to spurt through and sometimes even to explode. 167 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,560 This word is the opposite of anger. 168 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:26,920 My friend, if you are angry toward another Christian, you are in sin. 169 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,920 And the Holy Spirit cannot use that to produce unity. 170 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:34,640 Rather, He uses loving forbearance. 171 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:38,840 And He says, through all of these, we are to be diligent to preserve the unity of the 172 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:39,840 Spirit. 173 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,200 I want to ask you a question. 174 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:47,440 In all of the realms, the dimensions, the spheres of your fellowshipping with other 175 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:51,720 believers—maybe it is a Bible study on some night during the week, maybe it is your growth 176 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:59,920 group, perhaps it is the church, the small church, your dorm, your campus, your roommate—in 177 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:05,720 all of those spheres for your fellowship, are you seeking to preserve a unity within 178 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,080 the bond of peace? 179 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,220 That glorifies God when you do. 180 00:15:12,220 --> 00:15:16,440 You say, yeah, but the other person—no, my friend. 181 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:17,720 It's not the other person. 182 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:18,720 It's you. 183 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:20,680 That's where the responsibility is. 184 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:22,680 It's me. 185 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:29,160 We, each of us, must guard the unity of the Spirit. 186 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:36,240 If there is anything I am jealous for in our church, it is this—that we maintain this 187 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,120 unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 188 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:46,120 Now having said that, does that mean that we should have a Chamberlain-like attitude, 189 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,200 peace at any price? 190 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:54,520 I watched a film last night on public television, which some of you may have seen, regarding 191 00:15:54,520 --> 00:16:05,200 the outbreak of World War II and the trace Hitler's rise to power. 192 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:12,840 Mr. Chamberlain of England made a drastic mistake by seeking peace at any price with 193 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:15,160 Hitler. 194 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:23,700 If he had courageously stood up against Hitler and checked his cruelty and his hatred earlier, 195 00:16:23,700 --> 00:16:27,180 who knows what the outcome might have been. 196 00:16:27,180 --> 00:16:32,120 But because he sought appeasement and compromise upon appeasement and compromise and peace 197 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:39,400 at any price, history records those awful years of a world war. 198 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:44,920 The same thing can happen in a family or in a church. 199 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:50,560 If we put peace and unity at any price, we're in danger. 200 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:57,760 If we say, I'm going to give my children anything just so they don't scream and yell—peace 201 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:02,040 and unity—that's a mistake, right? 202 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,160 It's those seeds that ultimately destroy the family. 203 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:10,460 And the same thing is true in a church. 204 00:17:10,460 --> 00:17:17,680 We are not to seek after peace and unity, for example, to the ignoring of church discipline. 205 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:24,080 In fact, in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, the apostle rebukes the Corinthians. 206 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,200 Oh, they felt like they had peace in their fellowship. 207 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,200 Actually, they didn't have much. 208 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:33,720 But he says, you are bragging and boasting about the fact that you are including in your 209 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,400 church someone who is living in open sin. 210 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:39,360 He says, you ought not to be bragging about that. 211 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:46,200 In fact, he says, I exhort you when you are gathered together to remove that person from 212 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,280 your fellowship, to turn him over to Satan. 213 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:51,400 Now, why? 214 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:57,480 Well, for the purity of the fellowship and for the repentance of that one who is living 215 00:17:57,480 --> 00:17:58,480 in sin. 216 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:03,280 And, in fact, in 2 Corinthians we read the man did repent, and he was restored to the 217 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:04,840 church. 218 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:09,680 But he would not have repented if the church hadn't taken the stand that it needed to 219 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,040 and removed him from the fellowship. 220 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:18,880 And later on in the verses, the apostle says, do not associate with any so-called brother 221 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:25,240 if he be guilty of living in open sin. 222 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:31,640 Those are strong terms, but there are limitations to seeking after peace and unity. 223 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:37,000 It is not to be to the ignoring of church discipline, for example. 224 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:46,560 Nor should peace and unity be sought after to the inclusion of unbelievers in our associations 225 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,300 and our fellowship. 226 00:18:49,300 --> 00:18:55,360 In 2 Corinthians, the apostle makes this clear in chapter 6, verses 14 through the end of 227 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:56,360 the chapter. 228 00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:58,540 In fact, it goes into chapter 7. 229 00:18:58,540 --> 00:19:03,840 And essentially what he says is this, do not be bound together with unbelievers. 230 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:06,880 Now, why does he say that? 231 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:11,120 Because what fellowship does darkness have with light? 232 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:14,720 They have nothing in common. 233 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:19,040 This is a day when people say that, well, if they call themselves Christians, let's 234 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:24,080 seek to put our arms around them and let's just love them. 235 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,600 And if they're not saved, well, then maybe they'll get saved. 236 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,000 My friend, that is not the attitude of the New Testament. 237 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:35,160 In fact, if you look at Ephesians chapter 4 carefully, you'll notice after he says, 238 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:39,600 we're to preserve the unity of the Spirit, he goes on to say that that unity is based 239 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:41,760 upon doctrine. 240 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:47,720 He says there is one Lord, one God, one baptism, one faith, and so on, right? 241 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:49,680 So unity is based upon doctrine. 242 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:53,560 We are told today that unity is based upon love. 243 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,080 Wrong. 244 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,980 Love is essential for unity to take place. 245 00:19:58,980 --> 00:20:07,040 But there can be unity only when there is doctrinal agreement on the basic things, not 246 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:10,880 talking about the non-essentials. 247 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:16,500 We are told today that we need to associate with unbelievers to do the work of the Lord. 248 00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:18,680 Maybe they'll get saved in the process. 249 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:23,320 That's in contradiction to the clear teaching of God's Word. 250 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:26,160 So there are limits, you see, to fellowship. 251 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:31,160 There are limits to our seeking after unity and peace. 252 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:32,840 It's not to ignore church discipline. 253 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,880 It's not to include unbelievers. 254 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:38,720 Fellowship has to do with Christians. 255 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:43,920 The larger that we become and the more diverse that we are as a grace church, the greater 256 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:47,240 the possibility exists for disunity. 257 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:52,840 And that's why it is so very important that all of us seek to glorify God in our fellowshipping. 258 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:59,240 I'd like for us to think about another area, and that is the area of our giving. 259 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,280 Second Corinthians chapter 9 is our key for this. 260 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:06,400 I'm going to ask you to look at beginning in verse 6. 261 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:13,000 I suppose that chapters 8 and 9 of 2 Corinthians form the largest body of revelation in the 262 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:19,240 New Testament dealing with our giving. 263 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:23,400 Beginning in verse 6 of chapter 9, 2 Corinthians, Paul says, 264 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:31,800 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully 265 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,360 shall also reap bountifully. 266 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:42,540 Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion 267 00:21:42,540 --> 00:21:45,960 for God loves, a cheerful giver. 268 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:52,040 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in 269 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:56,480 everything you may have an abundance for every good deed. 270 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:01,120 As it is written, he scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness abides 271 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:02,120 forever. 272 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:09,760 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your 273 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:16,280 seed for sowing, and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 274 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:21,360 You will be enriched in everything for your liberality, which through us is producing 275 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:23,640 thanksgiving to God. 276 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:29,400 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but 277 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:33,200 is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. 278 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:37,760 Now the needs of the saints here were the needs of the Jerusalem believers. 279 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:43,320 In persecution they had want, the Apostles taking a collection from these churches in 280 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:51,360 Asia and in Europe to take to the saints to supply for their needs. 281 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:56,400 And to the Corinthians he goes on to say, for the ministry of this service is not only 282 00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:02,320 fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings 283 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:03,880 to God. 284 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:10,000 Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to 285 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,940 your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution to 286 00:23:14,940 --> 00:23:21,480 them and to all, while they also by prayer on your behalf yearn for you because of the 287 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:25,000 surpassing grace of God in you. 288 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:29,160 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. 289 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:33,040 Now in these verses the Apostle says an awful lot about giving. 290 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:37,360 One of the things he says is that the attitude is important. 291 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:44,480 He says in verse 7, let each one of you do just as he has purposed in his heart, not 292 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:46,200 grudgingly or under compulsion. 293 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:54,080 In other words, as I give to the Lord it is not to be with a grudge saying, boy I wish 294 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,320 I didn't have to give that much. 295 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:02,080 Nor should it be with compulsion, you know with your arm twisted out of socket, so that 296 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:04,520 you feel coerced to give. 297 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:08,760 But he says rather let it be cheerful or hilarious is the word, right? 298 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:14,280 In other words, as the offering plate is passed we are all just to laugh. 299 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:18,800 Sometimes we cry, but God wants us to be cheerful in our giving. 300 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:24,240 There should be an overwhelming overflow of joy as we have the privilege of giving to 301 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:25,240 the Lord. 302 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:28,960 But I will tell you something else that is important. 303 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,480 The amount is important too. 304 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:37,200 For he says in verse 6, he who sows sparingly shall reap sparingly. 305 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,560 He who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully. 306 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,400 In other words, and he is applying this to giving money. 307 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:48,680 He says if I am sparse in my giving, if I am miserly in my giving, then the blessing 308 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:53,240 that I get from God is likewise going to be sparing. 309 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:58,200 But if I am generous, if I sacrifice, if I give liberally, then God is going to pour 310 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,720 into my life the abundance of His blessing. 311 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,840 It doesn't mean that God is committed to make us a millionaire if we give a lot of 312 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:05,840 money. 313 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,840 That's not the thought here, though some people try to twist it to that. 314 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:16,680 He is simply telling us that if we freely and cheerfully give to God in a liberal way, 315 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:23,440 and the amount is large, then God freely with a large heart pours blessing into our lives 316 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,240 like we could never imagine. 317 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:32,800 Not only that, but as we faithfully give, it says in verse 10 that God will multiply 318 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:34,360 your seed for sowing. 319 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:40,240 In other words, as God sees that I know how to give this amount, then He is going to multiply 320 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:45,000 my ability to give so that I can even give more. 321 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:49,300 That's one of God's basic principles for giving and stewardship. 322 00:25:49,300 --> 00:25:51,200 How does our giving glorify God? 323 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:56,520 Well, in the first place, it meets the needs of others, causing them to thank God. 324 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,160 That's what He says in verses 11 and 12 and 13. 325 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:05,640 He says, because their needs are met by your giving, they are going to glorify God. 326 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:14,320 Secondly, He says that as we give, we will learn what sacrifice is all about. 327 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:21,040 And that will help you and me to understand how wonderful, how indescribable is the sacrifice 328 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:22,880 that He made for us. 329 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:26,320 I think that's why Paul concludes with verse 15 as he does. 330 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,360 He says, thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. 331 00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:35,200 How do you begin to describe the sacrifice that God made so that we can be saved? 332 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:38,960 How can I begin to understand it? 333 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:45,280 The answer to that is I begin to understand it when I learn what sacrifice is myself. 334 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,080 And one way I learned that is through sacrificial giving. 335 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:54,720 That's one reason I'm glad for this theme, this sub-theme to our campaign right now. 336 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,680 Not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice. 337 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:02,800 My friend, that is a good paraphrase of what he says in chapter 8. 338 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:09,640 It's not that everybody gives the same amount, but that we all sacrifice to the same degree. 339 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,640 That's God's way of teaching us what sacrifice is all about. 340 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:17,080 And as we learn that, it glorifies Him. 341 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:22,800 And then as we give, God has glorified as we learn to trust Him to meet our needs. 342 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,160 Romans 4.19 is a verse that is so often taken out of context. 343 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:28,600 What does it say? 344 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:30,920 My God shall what? 345 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,840 Supply all your need, right? 346 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,400 According to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. 347 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:44,360 Does that mean that God commits Himself to supply the need if I'm unfaithful in my giving? 348 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:46,360 It does not. 349 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:52,160 If you look at the context there, the apostle says, Philippians, my goodness, you have given 350 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:54,880 once, you have given again to meet my needs. 351 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:55,880 I can't believe it. 352 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:56,880 I'm overwhelmed by it. 353 00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:01,760 Now, I want you to know I've learned to be content whether I abound or I have nothing. 354 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,800 But he says, you have given to the ministry that God's given to me. 355 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,960 There's no way I can repay you for it. 356 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,680 But my God will supply your needs. 357 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,640 You see how he uses that? 358 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:20,320 He says, you've given sacrificially and God is going to supply your needs according to 359 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:24,080 His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. 360 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:33,880 Let me just share with you a brief personal testimony about stewardship. 361 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,640 I did not grow up with much teaching on stewardship. 362 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:42,920 I can remember in high school thinking that I had really done a lot when I gave an occasional 363 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:47,800 dollar or five, whatever, and put it in the offering plate. 364 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,840 I felt like that was my part. 365 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:55,240 When I got into college, there still was no teaching about stewardship. 366 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:59,640 I can remember many times sitting in church and the offering plate would go by. 367 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:05,880 Everybody else was putting money in, so I pulled out my wallet and got a dollar bill 368 00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:08,400 out and I watered it up so nobody could see the amount. 369 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:10,760 It was green. 370 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:11,760 It was a bill. 371 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:13,760 It could have been 10. 372 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,140 It could have been 100. 373 00:29:16,140 --> 00:29:21,080 But nobody could tell because I put it in such a way that the figure wasn't clear. 374 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,040 Then I would drop it in the offering plate like everybody else. 375 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:27,320 I did that really to save myself from embarrassment. 376 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:32,800 Do you ever identify with that? 377 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:37,280 Then when I went to be an assistant pastor at the church in Covington, Pastor Wearsby 378 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:44,280 got me aside and he said, Brother Call, as they say it in the South, you're now in the 379 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:50,280 staff of the church and you need to set a good example for our people. 380 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:55,480 This is before I gave anything there and he had no idea what my practice was. 381 00:29:55,480 --> 00:30:06,920 He said, now in this church we teach tithing and we expect you to tithe as an example. 382 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:07,960 I wasn't getting rich. 383 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:08,960 I was single. 384 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,520 I still wasn't getting rich on the salary I was being paid. 385 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:17,280 Now I'm told because I'm on the staff I need to tithe. 386 00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:21,360 So maybe with less than right motives I began to tithe. 387 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:28,000 But you know as I began to do that I began to have joy in doing it. 388 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:32,560 We practiced that for a number of years and then God began to open my understanding to 389 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:40,960 stewardship to see that tithing really is not His basis for giving in the New Testament. 390 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:45,200 In fact tithing as we were sometimes taught it wasn't even His basis for giving in the 391 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:48,240 Old Testament. 392 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:52,760 And I began to see that there was giving beyond that and that actually giving should be based 393 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:59,360 upon sacrifice and free will and grace. 394 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:03,800 And so our family began to practice giving more than a tithe. 395 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:08,520 I don't say that to pat us on the back, but simply to show you the progression that we've 396 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,440 been through, the learning experience that we've had. 397 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,800 And I want to tell you that it's a great joy to give to God. 398 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:23,560 We're entering into a campaign now because we have great need as a church for expansion. 399 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:28,240 And our family we've been praying about what God wants us to do and I'm not about to tell 400 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:29,240 you what that amount is. 401 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:31,840 That's between me and God. 402 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:40,080 And yet God has laid a figure upon my heart which will be a sacrifice for us and it ought 403 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:41,080 to be. 404 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:47,800 It will probably be the most we've ever given to a ministry that we've been involved in. 405 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:55,000 And I don't begrudge that because frankly I see the need as much as anybody and I want 406 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:58,120 God to be glorified in this ministry. 407 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:03,080 Are you glorifying God in your attitude about your giving? 408 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:07,200 Is God glorified in the amount that you give? 409 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:11,120 Where to glorify God in every dimension? 410 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:14,240 And then I want to close by talking about a third dimension and that is the dimension 411 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:18,240 of suffering. 412 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:23,200 First Peter chapter 4 is our key text for this. 413 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,060 This will not be long. 414 00:32:26,060 --> 00:32:32,040 Verse Peter 4 verse 14, if you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed because 415 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:35,720 the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 416 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:42,200 Verse 16, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name 417 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:44,120 let him glorify God. 418 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:48,160 You know there are times when suffering means death. 419 00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:53,080 Jesus in John 21 said three times, Peter do you love me? 420 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:59,520 And just after he said that to Peter, he went on to say how Peter would die. 421 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:06,200 And the next verse John puts this comment, he did this to signify by what death he should 422 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:09,720 glorify God. 423 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:13,080 There are kinds of suffering that are different than that. 424 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:20,280 There are times when physical affliction, disease, to a Christian is suffering because 425 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:24,800 of the limitation or the uncertainty of it. 426 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:26,840 Glorify God in your suffering. 427 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:32,800 There are times when it involves mockery. 428 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:37,240 There are some of you that can't stand to take a position for righteousness on your 429 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:41,760 campus because others would make fun of you. 430 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:46,720 Are you willing to suffer as a Christian? 431 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:52,160 There are times when it involves physical deprivation or a spiritual burden like Paul 432 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:56,480 had when he said besides all these things I've suffered, I have the burden of the care 433 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,520 of these churches. 434 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:01,760 That's spiritual suffering. 435 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:06,760 Whatever kind of suffering my friends you're involved in, glorify God in your suffering. 436 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:11,240 It's not always by death, but sometimes it could be. 437 00:34:11,240 --> 00:34:14,360 We think in this land it can never happen, but I'll tell you what, after seeing that 438 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:18,800 film last night and getting a deeper insight as to what was in the minds of the German 439 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:25,720 people when Hitler came to power, I believe that we are ripe today in our society for 440 00:34:25,720 --> 00:34:26,720 another Hitler. 441 00:34:26,720 --> 00:34:29,200 You say, come on. 442 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:30,900 I'm serious. 443 00:34:30,900 --> 00:34:33,720 We are ripe for another Hitler. 444 00:34:33,720 --> 00:34:39,600 The thinking of our society is such that one like Hitler could step into power just as 445 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:43,760 he did back in the early 1930s. 446 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:50,240 For that matter, we are already sacrificing human life and flushing it down the drain, 447 00:34:50,240 --> 00:34:54,480 a million and a half babies every year. 448 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:56,520 Where is the protest in our society? 449 00:34:56,520 --> 00:35:05,120 Where was the protest in the 40s, late 30s about the killing of the Jews? 450 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:10,440 We're as quiet as the Germans were then. 451 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:18,280 We are ripe for another Hitler, and it was not long after Hitler consolidated his power 452 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:26,000 that anyone who could resist what he wanted was incarcerated or put to death. 453 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:33,320 How long do you think it would take a Hitler in this land to, for some national emergency, 454 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:40,880 lift the Bill of Rights and begin to close down churches and to arrest Christians because 455 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:47,440 their positions are contrary to what he wants to enforce in his amoral society? 456 00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:51,080 Don't think it so far away or so impossible. 457 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:53,480 Are you willing to suffer to that degree? 458 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:56,080 That's thought provoking. 459 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:58,680 In your suffering, glorify God. 460 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:03,040 Whatever the cost, it'll be worth it. 461 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:08,280 I suppose the greatest tragedy in life is to live it and to miss its purpose. 462 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,480 My friend, its purpose is to glorify God. 463 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:18,280 Are you glorifying God in your fellowship, in your giving, in your suffering? 464 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:20,320 If not, what decision do you need to make? 465 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:27,320 What action do you need to take today so that God is truly glorified in your life? 466 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:36,160 Father, I pray that you'll apply this message as it needs to be, and it needs to be in every 467 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,880 life. 468 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:44,800 I pray that none of us will live life and miss what it's all about, only to stand some 469 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:49,480 day before the judgment seat with tears and regret. 470 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:56,700 But help us now to live soberly and righteously and godly in this present age, for the glory 471 00:36:56,700 --> 00:36:59,760 of Jesus Christ. 472 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:01,800 We pray in His name, amen. 473 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:30,360 I'd like for you to take your hymnal and turn with me to 436.