because it covered the issues that we as a church
need to think about. And by talking about them
through this last year, we've established ourselves
regarding a number of these relevant issues.
As we come today to our text, beginning in verse
5, we cover some personal requests that the Apostle
makes, as well as some commands that he gives
to them that are very practical. After I go through
Macedonia, I will come to you, for I will be
going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay
with you a while or even spend the winter so
that you can help me on my journey wherever I
go. I do not want to see you now and make only
a passing visit. I hope to spend some time with
you if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at
Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door...
for effective work has opened to me, and there
are many who oppose me. If Timothy comes, see
to it that he has nothing to fear while he is
with you, for he is carrying on the work of the
Lord just as I am. No one then should refuse
to accept him. Send him on his way in peace,
so that he may return to me. I am expecting him
along with the brothers. Now about our brother
Apollos, I strongly urge him to go with you.
Rather, to go to you with the brothers. He was
quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when
he has the opportunity. Be on your guard. Stand
firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.
Do everything in love. You know that the household
of Stephanus were the first converts in Achaia,
and they have devoted themselves to the service
of the saints. I urge you, brothers, to submit
to such as these, and to everyone who joins in
the work and labors at it. I was glad when Stephanus,
Fortunatus, and Achaicus arrived, because they
have supplied what was lacking from you. For
they refreshed my spirit, and yours also. Such
men deserve recognition. The churches in the
province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and
Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord. and so
does the church that meets at their house. All
the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one
another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this
greeting in my own hand. If anyone does not love
the Lord, a curse be on him. Come, O Lord, the
grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love
to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen. Let's pray
together. Father, as we come to the conclusion
of this marvelous book that we've studied, I
pray that yet again the Holy Spirit would be
our teacher, quicken our ears and minds to understand
and our hearts to respond as they should to the
things that we'll look at today. In Jesus' name
I pray this. Amen. In the text that we have before
us, it seems to me that there are three subjects.
They fit together under this title of personal
requests and practical commands of the apostle.
Beginning in verse 5 on through verse 12, the
apostle reviews with the Corinthians how he looked
at his ministry to which God had called him.
Then, beginning in verse 13 on through verse
18, he speaks about how the believers there in
Corinth were to behave themselves. And then he
concludes, verses 19 to 24, by talking about
the churches and how they were to conduct themselves
as well, as bodies. Let's talk about each of
these three divisions of our text today and see
how the Spirit of God will lead us in application
to our lives. I want you to notice first that
Paul explains to them how he looked at the ministry
that he had. He says a couple of things here
that are of note for us. One is that he looks
at his ministry as directed by open doors. He
speaks about a great door for an effective work
that had been opened to him in Ephesus, the city
from where he writes this epistle. Secondly,
he sees his ministry as assisted by fellow workers.
Let's talk first about this matter of open doors.
Frequently you hear people speak about God opened
this door for me or God shut that door. And I
think that there are some misconceptions about
this matter of God using doors to direct our
lives. Certainly Paul looked at his ministry
that way and he frequently used this phrase of
an open door to speak about his work. For example,
back in Acts chapter 14. the apostle returns
to his home church, the church in Antioch, and
there he recounts with them what God had been
doing through him and Barnabas in their travels.
And he says in Acts 14, verse 27, Luke records
these words, On arriving there, they gathered
the church together and reported all that God
had done through them. and how he had opened
the door of faith to the Gentiles. The Apostle
Paul was primarily an apostle to the Gentile
world, and God used him to open the door of faith
to the Roman Empire. Up until his ministry, the
gospel had spread throughout Judea and Samaria
and up the coast as far as Antioch, but it had
made no major inroads into the Gentile world.
But through his ministry, the gospel went forward
with great power and was magnified, so much so
that there were those opposers of his ministry
who said, he has turned the world upside down.
That's the kind of an impact that Paul and his
preaching made upon the Roman world. Paul here
describes it as God opening the door of faith
to the Gentiles. Now turn to 2 Corinthians chapter
2, as we see him using this same metaphor of
an open door to talk about his work. Obviously,
this letter was written a little while after
the text that we've read today. But in 2 Corinthians
chapter 2, verse 12, we have Paul writing these
words, again to the Corinthians, Now when I went
to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, and
found that the Lord had opened a door for me,
I still had no peace of mind, because I did not
find my brother Titus there. So here he says
that the Lord had opened a door for him at Troas.
Now with that in mind, turn to Colossians 4,
verse 3, where we find another time that he uses
this picture of an open door in talking about
his work. In Colossians 4, Verse 3, he says,
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door
for our message, so that we may proclaim the
mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. And
so he says there that the open door is an opportunity
for him to preach the gospel of Christ, even
though he was in chains as a prisoner. What do
we learn from open doors, by open doors, from
the Apostle Paul? Let me suggest that there are
four things that we can learn about open doors.
Perhaps some of these will be practical to your
life. In the first place, an open door is simply
an opportunity which God gives to serve him.
It is an opportunity which the Lord gives in
which to serve him. In the case of Corinth, in
chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians, in our text, he
says it was a great door. In other words, this
was more than just the usual opportunity. There
was something very significant about his ministry
in Ephesus. In other words, many people were
listening to the Word. And he also says it is
an effective work, a great door for an effective
work. In other words, many people were being
saved as a result of his preaching in Ephesus.
So a door opening up for you or for me simply
means that God has given us an opportunity to
share the gospel or to serve him in some way.
Now the Bible says a great deal about open doors,
but it doesn't say very much about closed doors.
Often we hear more about closed doors than open
doors. The thing we need to zero in on are the
open doors, the opportunities that God does give
for us to serve him. The second thing that we
learn here about open doors is that open doors,
rather doors open as we lay plans according to
the wisdom that God gives us. Do you notice what
Paul does in our text? He says to them, well,
I'm going to go through Macedonia. And perhaps
I'll stay with you, maybe even spend the winter
with you. I'm not going to come now because I
want to make this a lengthy visit, not just a
passing one. I'm going to stay in Ephesus until
Pentecost, which would have been late spring,
because there is a great opportunity for me here.
What is he saying? Well, he's saying this. As
he plans, as he moves, as he progresses in the
work God has called him to do, God then opens
the doors. Some people have the idea that they
just need to sit down in a chair and pray and
say, all right, God. Now you open and shut the
doors and show me what you want me to do. It
doesn't work that way. God opens doors when we
are moving. According to his own wisdom, the
Apostle Paul was laying out his itinerary for
them. And he says that in the midst of that,
God opens doors. So remember that. If you are
praying, God, open and shut doors for me. Then
don't be sitting in a chair doing nothing spiritually.
Be moving. Be planning. Be working. Looking ahead,
because that is the sphere in which God does
open doors to direct our lives. The third thing
that we learn is that doors open when we practice
the spirit of surrender to the will of God. Some
people say, now, Lord, you show me what you want
me to do, and then I'll decide if I'm going to
do it. Again, that doesn't work. God first looks
for the attitude of surrender to his will, a
yieldedness to whatever he wants. When he sees
that, then he opens doors. The apostle says here,
I'm going to do this and that if the Lord permits.
In other words, has he laid out his plans? They
were subject to the will of God. And if God chose
to change them, that was fine with him. It's
that kind of a spirit that God is pleased with.
And when you and I possess and practice that
yieldedness to the will of God, then we can expect
that God will open doors for us and give us direction.
Then there's a fourth lesson that we see here
regarding open doors, and that is that doors
opened by God... may be accompanied by problems
and adversaries. Paul speaks here about a great
door that opened to him in Ephesus. But then
he goes on to say, there are many who oppose
me. Sometimes we have the idea that if God is
in it, there won't be any problems. Now forget
that concept. Sometimes God opens a door that
is marvelous. It's a great opportunity. And as
we're carrying out that opportunity, there are
many problems and adversaries. Just because you've
got problems doesn't mean that God is shutting
the door or that the opportunity is over. Paul
was going to stick to it right there in Ephesus
because God had opened the door, even though
there were many people who opposed him. Primarily,
they were the silversmiths of the city. They
belonged to a union, and they were quite upset
that Paul was turning. The worship of many people
from the goddess Artemis to the true and living
God. Because they were involved in making little
shrines and idols that people bought for their
homes to worship Artemis. And they were quite
upset that Paul was taking away their customers.
And so he had many opposers, some for spiritual
reasons, others for economic reasons. The apostle
looked at his ministry as being directed by open
doors. And I'm glad he talks about open doors
here because it helps us to know how to use open
doors in determining what God wants us to do
too. And then he says that his ministry is also
assisted by fellow workers. One of the things
I like about Paul is that he was a team player.
He was the kind of man who looked upon his co
-workers not as servants to him, but as team
members. He calls them fellow workers. He calls
them yoke fellows, Y -O -K -E fellows. In other
words, they pulled the same load as though they
were in a yoke, like a team of oxen. Paul did
not see himself as the leaders and others his
subservience. He speaks about Timothy, for example,
in verse 10. Timothy was a man who was discipled
by Paul. Paul had reproduced himself in this
young man. And he says, now when Timothy comes,
I want you to receive him just like you receive
me. We're on the same team. Personally, I believe
that's the way a pastoral staff has to be in
a local church. Any man who thinks he can do
it all is deceived. There is no pastor who can
do everything well. And that's why... We believe
in building a team of people to work together
to accomplish the ministry, of equipping God's
people so that they in turn can go out and serve
the Lord. I believe strongly in the team concept.
Not all pastors agree with that. And there are
some who have very strong opinions that they
are like kings who serve and those who are in
his kingdom serve him. I know of one pastor who
went through nine associate pastors in seven
years. It tells you something about his attitude
toward his co -workers. They were on the staff
a week before the church knew they were there,
and they were gone a week before the church knew
they were gone. Nine of them in seven years.
You can't imagine the scarred lives, even among
the members of the church, in a place like that.
Paul did not see himself as an overlord because
he was an apostle. He really saw himself as a
coach player. Yes, he was responsible for his
team, but he was out there working with them.
And I like that emphasis in Paul. He also speaks
about Apollos. Apollos was not really on Paul's
team. Apollos had his own team. He was an apostle
himself. in a different category than Paul, but
nonetheless one of the apostles who laid the
foundation of the early church, a mighty orator,
a powerful preacher. And Paul mentions Apollos,
and I think in a very diplomatic, tactful way.
Do you recall, those of you who have been here
a while, back in chapter 1 and chapter 2, the
apostle mentions, Paul mentions, that there was
division in the church in Corinth around personalities.
And two of the personalities were Paul and Apollos.
There was a group of carnal, fleshly people there
who said, oh, we're in Paul's party. And there
were others who said, oh, we follow Apollos.
There were still others who said, we're in Peter's
group. And then there was the super sanctimonious
crowd who said, we just worship Jesus. And Paul
doesn't commend them, by the way, because their
attitude wasn't right when they said that. They
were being egocentric in saying it. But they
were divided around personalities. Now here Paul
picks up one of those personalities, Apollos,
and he says, I strongly urged him to go with
the brothers. But he was quite unwilling to go
now. He's willing to go when he has opportunity.
Now the people in Corinth wanted to see Apollos.
Paul says to them, I'm not trying to keep him
away from you. I urged him to come. Notice he
didn't say, I ordered him to come. I urged him
to come. It wasn't his desire to do so now, and
that's fine with me. He's going to come when
he can. So you see what Paul is doing here. He
is showing these Corinthians that he and Apollos
have a good team spirit. And he's saying, you
need to have one too in your church. And instead
of one group pulling one way and another group
pulling another way after somebody else, you
need to follow the example that Apollos and I
have and realize you're all on one team and get
moving in the same direction. Isn't that great?
So the apostle just opens his heart here in a
personal way, and he talks about his own ministry.
He sees it as being directed by open doors of
opportunities that God brings. And then he sees
it as being assisted by his co -workers. He works
together with them as a team. And that's the
way I think it's got to be done. That's the spirit
that we work at here on our church staff, and
we want to exemplify that to you in every way,
that we work together on the same team. Occasionally
we may have differences of opinion. That's normal.
We may have different ideas about things. But
when it all comes down to the bottom line and
it's drawn, we are on one team. We're together
in this service for Christ. The apostle goes
on to speak about how the believers there were
to behave themselves. Verses 13 through 18. He
seems to divide his thinking here into three
aspects. First, he talks about how they were
to behave themselves personally in verse 13.
In verse 14, how they were to behave themselves
toward one another. And then in verses 15 to
18, how they were to behave themselves toward
their leaders. In verse 13, there are three very
crisp commands. He says, be on your guard, stand
firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong.
Those are all personal words, and they apply
to each of us today. He says, Be on your guard.
Watch out. In other words, keep spiritually alert.
Be awake and discerning. Be aware of what's going
on around you. You know, it is so easy for us
as Christians to be lulled into the twilight
zone of half -sleep and half -wake. And things
go on around us, and we don't really perceive
what's taking place. What the apostle says to
us is that we need to stay awake. For example,
you sit in a classroom and you hear a professor
teach a certain subject. God expects you to be
awake in that classroom to be sure that that
professor is saying what's true. You go to a
church, you need to be awake as the pastor speaks
or as your Sunday school teacher or small church
pastor teacher teaches. Stay alert and awake.
Listen to what's being said to make sure that
it passes the test. Peter puts it this way, be
vigilant. Stay on the cutting edge of things.
Stay on the front lines. Don't be shipped back
to the rear lines where you don't have responsibility.
Because you do have responsibility, stay alert.
And then he says, stand fast in the faith. Stand
firm in the faith. There are enemies to oppose
us. And our master enemy, Satan, cleverly disguises
strategies so that he can undermine and weaken
our faith. And what we are told here is that
we need to stand fast in the faith against the
enemy. Be stable. Be mature. Endure. Coupled
with that, he says, be men of courage. I think
the King James... puts that, quit you like men.
Some have taken that very literally regarding
their responsibilities. They quit. But that isn't
the idea. That's one of those old King James
English words that really means be men of courage
literally. Paul says, play the man. In other
words, be courageous. Put away your childish
fears and grow up. Then he says, be strong. Be
powerful in the inner man, is the thought. Have
moral muscle about you. Have a determination
for purity and righteousness that will make you
personally the kind of person that God wants
you to be. You see, these are our personal standards
for behavior that he's talking about. How do
you measure up here? Are you on your guard spiritually?
Are you alert to what's going on around you spiritually
and taking action? Are you discerning? Are you
standing fast or are you wavering back and forth?
Be firm. Be courageous. Even if it means standing
alone in some situation, at work, in that office,
or in your classroom. Even if it means being
the only one who will take the stand for what's
right, do it. Play the man. And then he says,
be strong in the inner man. Strengthened by the
Lord in the inside. Some people who are very
frail outwardly are some of the most dynamic
spiritually and inwardly. And that's where Paul
is emphasizing here. That's their responsibility
personally. Now let's look at their responsibility
toward one another. Verse 14, he says, Do everything
in love. Love is one of the key marks of a Christian.
Jesus himself said, By this shall all men know
you are my disciples, if you have what? Love
for one another. Love is evidence that the Holy
Spirit is in control. The fruit of the Spirit
is what? Love, and then from that love flows
out joy and peace and so on. The fruit of the
Spirit is love. I pray that God will be so in
control in our church that love will always be
evident. Two or three people have said in the
last couple of weeks, I sense such a love in
Grace Church. I praise God for that. That's not
something we can produce in ourselves. It is
produced through us as the Holy Spirit's in control.
Sometimes love means I'm going to have to rebuke
somebody or correct them. Sometimes it means
I'm going to have to expose or reveal. Other
times it means putting a clamp over something
and covering it. Sometimes it means a word of
encouragement. Whatever it means, in a given
circumstance, I am to do everything, it says,
in love. I see love as the fluid that lubricates
the church. Within any church, there are places
where friction can begin. I see love as that
marvelous lubricating fluid produced by the Holy
Spirit that keeps friction from heating up. Though
there may be differences, love does not allow
that to become a problem. I pray that that fluid
will always be a part of our fellowship, folks.
And every one of us has a responsibility to see
that it is. How do we do that? By loving others
personally. He's doing everything in love. And
if I do that, and you do that, and that person
does it, and the person over here, as all of
us do that, then love flows beautifully to produce
a harmony within the body of Christ. That's how
we're to behave toward one another. And then
he says, toward our leaders, we are to do some
things. In verse 15, He mentions the household
of Stephanas. He calls them his first converts
in Achaia. He says about them, they have devoted
themselves, or they have addicted themselves,
literally, to the service of the saints. I urge
you, brothers, to submit to such as these and
to everyone who joins in the work and labors
at it. I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus,
and Achaicus arrived. because they have supplied
what was lacking from you. They have refreshed
my spirit in yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
What is he saying here? Well, he's telling them
how they are to respond to their leaders. And
he mentions three of them, Stephanus, Fortunatus,
and Achaicus. There are two key words. He says
first that they are to recognize them. He says
they deserve recognition. Acknowledge them. In
other words, respect them for their position.
And follow them is the implication. Within our
church, we are governed by elders. I grew up
in a typical Baptist setting with a pastor and
deacons and congregation. It was called congregation
rule. Probably it should have been congregational
disunity, because that was usually the result
on any vote that was taken. Through the years,
I have, through the study of the Scriptures,
come to understand that that is not God's method
of church polity or government. God's method
is through the rising up of godly men to lead
the church. I see that... here in our text. God's
idea of church government is for the body to
begin praying that from their midst God would
call out qualified men to serve as leaders. When
those men become apparent, the congregation officially
appoints them as elders and then submits to their
leadership. That's God's plan. It doesn't mean
that those elders are overlords. I want you to
notice that he emphasizes here that these leaders
are involved in service to the saints. Leadership
is not dictatorship, and that is a distinction
that we have to continually draw. Leadership
is service. Now, it does mean making decisions.
It does mean taking responsibility, but always
with the spirit of being a servant. And I suppose
that many of us have been exposed to other spirits
regarding leadership, other ideas. I thank God
for the men who are called to be the leaders
of our church. After a year or more now of working
with them, I can say before you without any reservation
that to the man, not the majority, but to the
man, The men that are elders in our church are
men of God. It doesn't mean they're perfect.
They're not any more than I am or than you are.
But they are men who are spiritually qualified,
and they are men who are genuinely and deeply
concerned for our church. And it's a joy for
me to submit to their rule, to their leadership.
That's what is being said here. We are to recognize
those that God has called out. Let me just go
on a bit further and explain how this happens
in our church, because some of you may not know.
We do not form a nominating committee that looks
around to see who's absent at that service and
says, now they're the ones that should be nominated
for the job. You know, that's how it usually
works. Within our fellowship, how it works is
that all of us pray that God will bring forth
to the surface men who are gifted and qualified
to lead. And as we individually evaluate ourselves,
if we sense God's calling to do this, we present
ourselves to the elders and say to them, I believe
that God has called me to this office. That's
how it happens here. We don't consider that to
be arrogant or proud. It's just simply the way
that we believe God calls out leadership. Now,
there are three of us that have already presented
ourselves as elders from this church, and we
expect that before very long that's going to
come to fruition. And yet we are praying that
God will call out from amongst us others who
will take the responsibility of service and leadership
in our church as officially becoming elders.
Maybe you're one of those. And if that's the
case, I encourage you to come to myself or to
Dave Sulak and to tell us that you, as far as
you know before God, you sense that you are spiritually
qualified according to 1 Timothy and Titus. And
you sense God's call and you would like to talk
to us about what it means to be an elder and
so on. We'd be glad to sit down with you and
talk to you about it. That's so important. Folks,
as God raises up leadership. It is our responsibility
as a congregation then to respect them and to
submit to them. That's the second word that I
see there in verse 16, to submit to our leaders.
It doesn't mean that everything they do is going
to be perfect, but it does mean that they are
responsible to God for the decisions that they
make for us in their leading. Submit to those
who are in leadership. to everyone who joins
in the work and labors at it. And once again,
he emphasizes that being a leader is working.
It's working. That's so important. I have seen
churches torn apart, and maybe you have too,
because of disunity within. As we fulfill our
responsibilities of behavior toward our leaders,
it also produces a marvelous unity within the
body. I'd like for us to go on now to the last
section of our epistle, verses 19 to 24, in which
he talks about how the churches were to conduct
themselves. He says, Of course, they knew that
delightful couple. He says, What is he saying
here? Well, he's saying that, As churches, we
have a responsibility to lovingly respect one
another. He speaks about the churches in the
province of Asia, respecting, sending greetings
to the churches in Achaia, in Corinth, and other
places. That's a marvelous thing, a respect among
the churches. You know, that's what we need to
have in our spirit toward other churches, too.
that preach the gospel. It grieves me when I
hear anybody criticize and tear down another
church that's doing the work of the Lord. Now,
if another church is liberal, they do not believe
the Bible, they don't preach Jesus Christ, then
in a true sense, they are not a church, they're
a mission field. But if another church preaches
the Word of God, and they love the Lord Jesus
Christ, and they're serving Him. Even though
we may have some minor differences with them
in secondary doctrine, we can fellowship with
them, and we are responsible to greet them with
love and with respect. Do you understand what
I'm saying? I would hope that we don't have the
attitude that we're the only ones in Roseville
or in St. Paul doing a job. That's arrogant,
and it's sin. And it's not true besides. There
are other churches that are doing a work for
God. We may do it a little bit differently than
they. That doesn't mean that one of us is better
than the other. We need to respect and to love
others who also love our Lord Jesus Christ. A
fellowship needs to be based on doctrine. There
is abroad today the idea that... We need to throw
doctrine out the window and just fellowship.
That belongs in the theological garbage dump,
as far as I'm concerned, because the Bible emphasizes
that true fellowship can only take place when
there is a right doctrinal basis for that. But
let's remember that there are some doctrines
that are vital and fundamental and primary to
our faith. And then there are other doctrines.
that are non -essential. For example, the mode
of baptism. Now, we are strongly convicted about
what we say the Bible teaches, but that doesn't
mean that we call those who practice another
mode of baptism heretics. If they love our Lord
Jesus Christ and they're preaching the Word of
God, we respect them as brothers in Christ. That's
our responsibility as a church to other churches.
Now, he tells us something else that we're responsible
for as a church in our conduct. In verse 22,
if anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be
on him. That wasn't written by Dale Carnegie,
obviously. It was written by an apostle of our
Lord. And what he's saying here is that as a
church, we should be jealous for Jesus Christ,
just as a bride is jealous for her bridegroom.
So we are to be jealous for our Lord. The word
love here is not the word agape, the deep kind
of love. It's the word phileo, friendship love.
I think Charles Swindoll gives an enlightening
comment on this. He says, if any person does
not have the lowest form of affection for the
Lord, this is terribly serious. Not everyone
is worth your time. Our job is to share the powerful
message of hope through Christ. and in the process
to be discerning as we encounter those who do
not even have a friendly affection for him. Leave
them with the Lord. Let him handle them. That's
the thought there in verse 22. And then the final
responsibility we're to have in our conduct is
found in that marvelous word in verse 22, maranatha,
as we say it. Literally, he says, our Lord is
coming. Or it can be, as the NIV puts it, a prayer,
come, O Lord. But the thought is that after going
through all of these responsibilities and after
all the correction in this epistle, Paul lifts
their eyes to focus on the coming of Christ.
And folks, that's where our focus needs to be
too. Not on one another, but on Jesus and his
soon return. Because Maranatha is our watchword.
When you get discouraged and things seem futile
and you wonder if it's worth going on, remember
our watchword, Maranatha. It's an Aramaic word
that combines two words, which means, as we've
said, the Lord is coming. And apparently it was
a word that was used as a farewell in the early
church. The Hebrews, when they would meet, would
often say shalom, which means what? Peace, right.
It means peace. Shalom. You hear it today. Apparently
the early Christians picked that up, but they
also developed this word, Maranatha. So when
they would part from one another, they would
say in farewell, in benediction, Maranatha. Our
Lord is coming. That's our hope, our blessed
hope. And as we live our lives day in and day
out, Whether we are in circumstances that are
enjoyable or we're in circumstances that are
tough, let's keep our eyes focused on that truth
of Maranatha. He tells us here in these verses
how we're to conduct ourselves if we expect God's
blessing. You know, I believe the whole book
of 1 Corinthians can be boiled down to one basic
statement. It is this. Obedience brings blessing.
Disobedience... As we obey the word of God, God
is just delighted to pour blessing and joy and
fruitfulness and fullness into our lives. There's
nothing he wants to do more than that. When we
disobey God, he has no choice but to discipline
us, to educate us, to do better. He does that.
It's very easy. You're in a place of obedience.
If you stand back and look at your life this
morning, can you honestly say, say, my life is
a life of obedience. Not that you're perfect.
We all sin, and when we sin, we're to confess
that that's a step of obedience, too. Confess
our sins. But is your life one of obedience today,
or is it characterized generally by the other,
by disobedience? Folks, it's important to discern
that. It's important to discern that. There's
a story told about an engineer who was driving
his train out of New York City's depot a number
of years ago. He was gaining speed, and as he
was heading out, somehow there was a train coming
down the track in his direction. The result was
the inevitable, a head -on collision between
those two powerful locomotives involving all
the cars of the train. The result of the tragic
accident was 50 people who were killed. The engineer
who was on his way out was discovered lying mostly
underneath that large locomotive that he had
been driving. He was mortally injured and was
dying. Tears were running down his cheeks. And
as he was discovered there, he reached into his
pocket and pulled out a yellow paper crushed
in his hand, and he handed it to somebody, and
he said, Take this. This will show you that someone
gave me the wrong orders. What a tragedy. My
friend, God has given us the right orders here
in this book. Don't take the wrong orders that
the devil has for you. That'll lead you to a
life wreck and tragedy. Obey the orders God gives
and know his blessing. Let's pray together. And
toward you. And I pray today with all of my heart
that I may understand your orders for my life.
And that each of us will understand what you
want us to do so that we can obey. And then give
us hearts willing to obey. I pray for some brother
or sister in Christ today whose life is messed
up and they're in a wreck because they've been
following the wrong orders. Today, may there
be a change of mind and heart, a repentance that
will bring them to the place they ought to be,
the place of obedience. where they can know the
blessing that you so long to pour into that life.
I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. In just a moment,
we're going to sing an invitation hymn.