Will You Withstand The Fire?
Notes
Transcript
Good morning and welcome to CCC. We are so glad each of you are here with us in person this morning and very glad to have those of you on our live stream. Welcome and we pray we can worship together in person very soon!
Let’s Pray
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This morning we are going to continue with our We Are The Church sermon series with Will you withstand the fire I Corinthians 3
I could not really find an appropriate place to break this message so we are going to tackle the entire chapter this morning. Since we are going to tackle the entire chapter I will again read the section of scripture as we go instead of reading all 23 verses at the beginning. I want to talk about 4 major things that God brought to my attention this week as I studied and prepared for this morning.
1. Who are Spiritual people?
1. Who are Spiritual people?
I Corinthians 3:1-5
I Corinthians 3:1-5
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“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.”
Anyone who has accepted Christ as Lord and Savior is a Spiritual person.
II Corinthians 5:17 addresses this by saying the old is dead and the new is here
Dead to self
Dead to sin
Dead to the world
Alive in and from Christ
Born again
New Creature
Newness of life
New beginning
When a person is saved they are like a new born baby they must be fed milk not meat as they are not ready for meat
The Gospel is milk
Understanding salvation is milk
The basics of faith
Sanctification....the process of maturing in Christ is solid food.....meat as the KJV says
Paul taught.....laid the foundation as we will later see…the basics
They should have moved passed milk to meat…solid food but they are still on milk the basics
How did Paul know they were still on milk?
Vs 3 “for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?”
That is a heavy....deep cutting statement
Notice what Paul used to come to this understanding.......their fruit....their works....how they were behaving.
He didn’t look at church attendance records
He didn’t look at the tithing records
He didn’t look at who was helping or leading what ministry
He looked at their behavior....judged them by their fruits.....not judged in terms of condemning them to hell that is only God’s job but he did judge them based upon their fruits....how they were behaving
What about you?
Are you behaving only in a human way?
Paul mentions jealousy and strife here but in Galatians he lays out the works of the flesh
Galatians 5:19-21
Galatians 5:19-21
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“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
I am not going to go through each of these this morning.....I challenge you to do that this week as you ask God to show you if they are present in your life
What I do want to point out is that there are 3 areas of life that are included in these fruits of the flesh
1 Sex
2 Religion
3 Human relationships
Sex
Humans are sexual beings....in fact the only animals who engage in sexual acts for pleasure and enjoyment in addition to create life
Humans are created by God so this is by God’s design by the way
Society says sex is just something we do and that you should be able to have sex with whomever you want whenever you want to
God designed men and women to enjoy sex only within the confines of marriage. God designed and defines marriage as one man and one woman. Anything else is a sin by the way
Jesus took sex to another level when he said it was not just physical sex that caused sin but lusting after someone in your mind is adultery
God wants us to have pure hearts
The easiest way to defile a heart is through sexual activity or thoughts
This is why porn is so dangerous
What begins as lustful thoughts or desires defiles the heart and destroys the humans involved
2. Religion
Religion is man made which is why God doesn’t want your religion He wants your heart
God demands and expects and deserves to be your only God
Most of us don’t have a shrine to another God set up in our homes......actually we do but we don’t call it a shrine we call it a TV or a computer or a phone or kids or jobs or spouses or hobbies or even ministries
All of those things can become idols in your life and make your heart impure
Seek First the Kingdom of God!
3. Finally Human Relationships
Jealousy.....
Fits of anger
Divisions
Sounds like a church pot luck....just kidding......kinda
If we don’t love and treat others as Jesus loves and treats us we are sinful
We are behaving in the flesh! What about you? Are you behaving in the flesh?
2. Only God Grows People
2. Only God Grows People
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I Corinthians 3:6-9
I Corinthians 3:6-9
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“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
When one is lost or even living from the flesh and not from Jesus they will not be maturing in Christ
There are many companion verses that go with this section of scripture but I want to turn to 2
Matthew 13:11
Matthew 13:11
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“And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
Ephesians 3:4-5
Ephesians 3:4-5
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“When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”
As I said last week Pastors....teachers…Bible Studies…Bible plans.....none of those things teach you anything…only the Holy Spirit teaches
Now He can and does teach through Pastors, teachers, bible studies, and bible plans
Sometimes He teaches through toppings falling off of your pizza
Nonetheless only the Holy Spirit teaches!
Only God grows and matures you as you allow the Holy Spirit to teach and apply God’s Word to your life!
If you never show up to meet the Holy Spirit or pastors or teachers or bible studies or bible plans you WILL NOT GROW because you cannot grow on your own
If you are not in the Word
If you are not in Prayer
If you are not humbling yourself and asking God to show you your heart and then humbling yourself further to confess and repent of the evil He shows you then God is not growing you and you are on milk at best and lost at worst
I used to worry about statements like that…what will they think....how will they take it…will they get mad at me
God has grown me past that because now I worry more about your salvation and maturing in Christ than how you take it or what you think or if you get mad at me or not.
The truth of the matter is we make so many excuses not to be Godly and make so many excuses to behave like humans that it is sickening
I am too busy
I have tickets to the big game
I deserve a break
I deserve time away
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What if God had been too busy to create you.....I really should create Josh (insert your name) but I have tickets to the Chiefs or I have to get away or i deserve a break....no He didn’t say that God would never say that!
Jesus wasn’t too busy to go to the cross....I know I should be headed to the cross today but I am just not feeling it today
We are not growing in Christ because we are behaving in human ways!
3. Christ is the only foundation that will last
3. Christ is the only foundation that will last
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I Corinthians 3:10-15
I Corinthians 3:10-15
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“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
Jesus is the only way
He didn’t say I am a way no He clearly said I am THE way.
A Christians foundation must be Christ and Christ alone
Isaiah 28:16
Isaiah 28:16
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“therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’”
God Himself laid the foundation with Christ as the chief cornerstone
The stone that everything else relies upon to be built square and secure
If the cornerstone is bad the entire building is bad
Notice it is not a pastor’s job to protect what is build on your foundation
Last part of verse 10 “let each one take care how he builds upon it.”
You are responsible for what is built upon your foundation. You are also responsible for making sure your foundation is Christ and Christ alone
Now as your pastor and as elders we do try to protect what is built upon your foundation here. None of us would ever intentionally lead you astray. We are human and so it is possible that could happen which is why being humble and in the Word and responsive to the Holy Spirit is a must for Christians to discern if what is being presented is of the Word or not…is it something to build upon your foundation or something you must reject
Pastor and false teachers who preach and teach wrong will answer for that.
Those who have led others astray will pay for that sin
But as I said YOU are responsible for what is built upon your foundation
Question what you hear
Get into God’s Word and through study and prayer allow the Holy Spirit to discern what should be used to build and what should be rejected
Your faith
Your foundation
What is built upon your foundation will be tested by fire
So many today both Christians and churches are more concerned with window dressing than building truth upon a solid Christ centered foundation
We see the results of this all the time....Mega pastors and worship leaders and elders and deacons walking away from their faith
Why.....most of the time their foundations were not centered or built upon Jesus
Then what they built on that foundation was for looks not strength
They were in love with religion not Jesus
You choose your foundation
You choose what is built upon that foundation
You must only choose Jesus and God’s Word
4. You Can’t hide living in the flesh
4. You Can’t hide living in the flesh
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I Corinthians 3:16-23
I Corinthians 3:16-23
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“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”
In vs 16-17 give a strong warning to anyone who would mess with or try to stop the building of God’s church and His people
You are God’s temple
The Holy Spirit lives inside of you as a Christian
That is the truth
Therefore how you choose to live either builds upon the foundation and temple or tries to destroy it
Understand when you turn to porn for comfort or to satisfy lust
When you turn to alcohol or drugs to numb the pain
When you turn to food to be your friend and comfort you
When you turn to hobbies and jobs for satisfaction and pride
When you turn to anything other than Jesus you are destroying the temple of God!
I pray this is getting through to you to either change you or edify you
Change you because you are destroying God’s temple and are going to burn up in the fire
Edifying you because you are building correctly upon a foundation of Jesus and God wants to encourage you to keep going
What you choose as entertainment shows your foundation
How you treat people shows your foundation
How you react to difficult and painful circumstances shows your foundation
How you forgive shows your foundation
We have talked a lot about wisdom.....Godly wisdom or demonic wisdom.....those are the only two sources of wisdom
There it is again......anyone who thinks he is wise deceives himself
There are people out there who think through human wisdom that they can destroy the church
Woe to them
We as Christians and here as Christian leaders, myself and the elders are here to protect the church from those people and efforts
You are also the church and face these attacks everyday!
Your foundation will protect you for fail you
I can’t beg you enough to be here
To be in Bible studies
To be in Sunday School
To make the secret place non-negotiable
To be in constant prayer
To eliminate ungodly
ideas
thoughts
behaviors
traditions
habits
words
I beg you to replace those things with
God’s Word and Wisdom
My prayer is we all stand the test of fire but if you try to do that on your own you will be consumed by the fire
You have to be all in when it comes to Jesus
Are you all in today?
Invitation