June 23, 2019 Real Maturity

Before we open up God's word. I want to invite you to join me a prayer blessing for our kids as they head out to Children's worship. Father thank you for the children that you have given us those for here. And also those who are not we pray for a blessing on them as they joined other teacher in special time of worship and learning design just for them in Jesus name we pray amen. All right, cuz it this time you're dismissed then miss Lana is going to join you at the back.

Morning, we're continuing our sermon series on the doubt. And in the midst of reorganizing a few things these past weeks we end up I ended up preaching on 1st Corinthians chapter 8 verses 1 to 13. And so that's going to be our texts this morning part of the joy of this sermon for me is that this is one that we put together as a sermon lab and how many of you are familiar but some of you are less familiar with this project that we've been experimenting with over the past couple years. I've been taking time out of my schedule once a month and about 8 to 10 people for my car gation have been doing the same and we've been gathering together to study God's word and to prepare a sermon and so we all come Read the text in prepared together and then one of us, we just discern through prayer and trying to listen to the Holy Spirit. One of us cents is God's call to bring that fruit of that preparation to to the pulpit a couple weeks after we gather together. And so we've been doing this now for over three years in one way shape or form and this will be the first time that got really laid it on my heart as we are gathering together and praying and had studied. This is really a text that he's laying on my heart to preach and so this is the fruit of the work of the sermon live together and I get the the honor and the joy of sharing God's word with you this morning. Cuz I said we've been continuing on this with the series on doubt and we said that doubt is really two things in scripture. There's two words that get translated as doubt. The first one is wavering. It's this kind of indecision or uncertainty that keeps us from obeying God. And the second the one that shows up the kind of doubt that shows up in this text is unbelief. It's not wavering. It's not being unsure of what God is calling us to its being unwilling to follow or unwilling to obey. And so what we're going to see as we open up this text is that there's an unwillingness at least among some of the Corinthians to do what it is that God is calling him to do to focus on what's most important instead as well. See they become distracted and enamored with their own knowledge rather than with what God is calling them to So the word of the Lord this morning comes to us from 1st Corinthians chapter 8. And Paul is writing to the Corinthians. We pick it up in the middle of the letter. It is now about food sacrificed to Idols. We know that we all possess knowledge knowledge puffs up while love builds up those who think they know something did not yet know as they ought to know, but whoever loves God is known by God. so then about eating food sacrificed to Idols we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God, but one for even if there are so-called Gods weather in heaven or on Earth as indeed, there are many gods and many lords yet for us there is but one God the father from whom all things came and for whom we live and there is but one Lord Jesus Christ through whom all things come and through whom we live But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to Idols that when they eat sacrificial food or think of it. Excuse me, when they eat sacrificial food, they think of it as having been sacrificed to a God and since their consciences week. It is defiled but food does not bring us near to God we are no worse if we do not eat it and no better if we do be careful. However that the exercise of your rights or your freedom does not become a stumbling block for the week. If someone with a weak conscience sees you with all your knowledge eating and Idols Temple will that person be emboldened to eat? What is sacrificed to idols? And so this week brother or sister for whom Christ died will be destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience you send against Christ. Therefore if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin. I will never eat meat again so that I will not cause them to fall.

The holiest person that I've ever known personally in my life is probably my mother. And it's good that she's not here this morning because she would be mortified to hear me say that because she doesn't want any attention drawn to herself. People like me, unfortunately who stand up in front of groups and tell what we know share what God is speaking to us that are often presumed to be the most. Holy among us and it is I think I'll invite you to think about the people in your life for you know, personally foremost home plate. I wonder whether it's not the person you expect. my mom the reason I think she's one of the holiest people I know I discovered when I was a teenager that my mom kept regular prayer journals for each of us for kids should spiral-bound notebooks by a fireplace that I was looking for a book and discovered one day and found out that she had been praying for us as kids on a regular basis for years. She's devoted her life to her kids and another kids have grown up and moved out of the house. She continue to devote her life to others often those who feel like they're on the margins of the church or the school where she taught or other places. In fact, she's so devoted to others that when my sister had her brain injury just about a year ago or just over a year ago. My mom went up and up and quit her job and move to Thailand for about half a year so that she could help my sister and her recovery. All the while made very little about it.

It's interesting to me that my mother and I disagree about some things that many of us probably think I rather important. We disagree for example about the age of the Earth. We disagree she disagrees with me about the role of women in leadership in the church. And that's really when we have these disagreements. I tend to think that I'm right. Maybe you have the same problem.

I tell you all of this story about my mom and and using her as an example because there's a tension in this text between knowledge and holiness. And it's not that we need to pick one or the other. It's not as though we need to choose either to know stuff or to be holy. But it's I think that the relationship often isn't what we expect it to be. And so I'm using my knowledge. I want to demonstrate for you some of these the ways in which this works wraps. You've heard these kind of things before all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Does that make sense rectangles have four sides squares have four equal sides all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares or maybe this one all men or tease me all gentlemen are men, but not all men are gentlemen. right And so this is this is the way that we we try and differentiate between some of these things. Right? And so I think when it comes to Holiness and knowledge, we would say that all holy people have knowledge, but not everyone who has knowledge is Holy.

And it's a subtle distinction, but I think it's a very important one. because often Following the Leader of our culture, we assume that in the church the smarter you are the holy are you are When in when in reality the relationship is something different?

Throughout history men have used knowledge as a weapon against others. And yes, it men has been mostly us perhaps there's been some instances of women using their knowledge of the weapon but in a way it seems to be men. A couple brief examples throughout history. You see the educated educated Tara store credit class looking down on the peasants than normal people and feeling sorry for them. If only they knew better.

But we know better and so we deserve to be in a ruling place or ruling division. We can look throughout history at cultural expansion. What for a couple hundred years was called colonization or again. Mostly white European men moving around the world and deciding for other people how they should live their lives. it's all people in other cultures people of other skin colors get called things like He called me ignorant. They called less than fully human even Savages. These aren't moments in our history. If it is a part of our history that we're proud of what they are good examples powerful examples of this idea that knowledge. He gets a certain position that if he gets power and also as Paul said that it leaves the pride knowledge puffs up especially knowledge Without Love. And closer to home for many of us in more recent history. We have the legacy of the Protestant Church in the United States and around the world. I know of a very few Church splits that have happened because a group of people believe that the body wasn't doing enough to follow Jesus. So they felt compelled to leave there are some examples. Far and Away far more common is a group of people believing that either the minister or most of the rest of the congregation doesn't have quite all the right answers. We share these four points of Calvinism but on the 5th when we disagree. And they don't just don't know they will never know or understand and so we need to start our own thing start a new church. Knowledge puffs up the Apostle Paul says but love builds up. Knowledge in our world begets positions begets power and begets Pride. And this is where this whole situation with the Corinthian Church enters in regarding food sacrificed to Idols. It's a it's an instance or an example of knowledge popping up and see what happened in Corinth at the time of Paul. Is that Corinth was one of the cities in the ancient world that had more temples per capita than anywhere else Corinthians were very religious or you might say very superstitious people until we have the historical record. And then we have the archaeological ruins in and around Corinth as well. And we see that there's temples everywhere. What would happen is not totally unlike the Old Testament people would sacrifice in these temples to the Greek and Roman gods Gods like Zeus and Apollo and Hermes Nike all God's probably that you've heard of and many that you have not. Any inside of these temples there would not only be an altar to the God but also a gathering space where people could eat the meat and celebrate the goodness of the quote on quote God together. Or worship him or her as at work. Until the food after it was sacrificed on the altar would be brought into this room of Celebration where people were gathered around and they could eat the meat. But there were so many of these temples and so much worship of the gods that even after all that there was still meat left over until that meat would be taken to the market and sold as a day-old just like day-old bread 40 50 60 80% off. And so Christians, especially those Christians who were poor. Could only afford to eat meat that has been sacrificed to Idols. If you wanted meet you had to buy the day-old stuff in the market that have been sacrificed in already kind of used or are you hoped perhaps that you were invited to one of these celebration so that you can have a very healthy meal. Does a Christian what do you do? You want to eat you want to eat? Well, you want to provide for your family. But if you recognize that the only way you can do that is by eating meat that's already been dedicated or sacrificed or interacted by this false. God.

and of course Christians as we always do made different choices according to their conscience some chose to refrain from participating. Out of out of either a sort of belief or worried about the other gods or association with the other gods or perhaps they chose to refrain because of their worried about what the impact would be to the name of Jesus or to the witness of the Christian Community. But others participated as we know there's no such thing as we know these guys are simply made up that they're not Gods at all. So what's the harm in getting a square meal for 4 more than half off?

You see there's a danger in this. In the story and there's a danger in this text for us. And it's not what you think it is. The danger is wow. Our pastor knows so much. He must be a holy guy.

What's wrong, but I think I'm not. I think some of you at least are thinking wow out if you do that much research and you have that much understanding of the Bible that must translate into holiness. And that's the danger of this story. But this instance in Scripture that Paul is that Paul is referencing the danger is that the people who know the most are automatically assumed to be the most holy.

Emma Paul says is what we started with. But yes, holy people all have knowledge. But having knowledge doesn't make you holy. That in fact knowledge apart from Holiness pops up. And leads us to to these abuses that I already mentioned. Abuse of position abuse of power they just the pride. But in fact, it's what we need and what God calls us to is knowledge with love knowledge with Holiness or Holiness that's informed by knowledge. Hunter the challenge in this text for people like me who make our lives standing in front of other people trying to offer wisdom and teaching an insight to others The challenge for our leaders as well that if we are to lead Faithfully. If we're going to try and give the knowledge or the wisdom that we have two others, then we should prove our knowledge by our holy lives. Rather than proving our knowledge by approving our Holiness by our knowledge. We should prove our knowledge by our holiness. Prove that we really are worthy of leading God's people by setting an example. That's worthy of imitation. Rather than trying to make everybody as quote-unquote as smart as I am.

the job of the Christian leader Elder Pastor Deacon of all of us as followers of Jesus is not try to make people smarter than they are. To invite us invite one another and invite others in our world to demonstrate their humility their willingness to follow Jesus in every area of their lives. See the Apostle Paul can make this challenge to the Corinthians because it's something that he demonstrates and his own life. Paul could have made his life as a Pharisee been supported by Jewish Christian, excuse me been supported by the Jewish religion and had had an easy life. But after God got a hold of him on the road to Damascus. He entered a life of suffering of self-denial. But more than that a life of obedience to God, he was no longer his own Master. He was conquered by Christ and and sought Union with Christ.

Nepal cannot only make this challenge because he imperfectly embodies what it what it is that he's calling got people to Let me guess he's pointing us to Jesus who perfectly does embody exactly this attitude. Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus is although he was God. Did not consider equality with God something to be grasped or held onto but instead. emptied himself Took on human nature. And made himself a servant or slave to all. Jesus demonstrated that he was worth following not by his knowledge, but by his Holiness which was informed by that knowledge And at the challenge for us as well, if if we think we're smart if we think we have knowledge to prove it with our holy lives to prove it with our love for others in our humility and that way to demonstrate that we are followers of Jesus.

Itchy when I think of people like my mother when I think of the people who I know and when you think of the people who you know, who are most holy my guess is they don't feel the need to prove it. They don't feel the need to to force it on anybody else instead. They allow their actions to be their testimony. And then they speak out of that action and out of the life that shows its Devotion to God.

I thought we conclude this morning. There's a challenge for those of us who might fall into pride and think too much of ourselves or think too much of our knowledge. And it's a challenge that the Apostle Paul gives to the Corinthians knowledge puffs up but love builds up. What is also comfort? For those of us who think too little of ourselves who thinks it well God could never love me because I'm not smart enough or perhaps not good enough. See the only way we begin to be reformed as a spiritual family people gathering together to follow God. Is when we prioritize our Holiness our relationship with God and our relationships with each other when we prioritize that over our knowledge or our lack of knowledge. And when we do that when Holiness becomes the thing that were pursuing rather than smartness. What Holiness becomes the thing that were pursuing then we learn to use the knowledge we have with love. We learn to teach with Grace. And you learn to share the good gifts that God has given us eagerly with others because our hearts are not to build ourselves up for to make our towels look good. But rather to share the amazing gifts that God has given us with those who benefit I thought we do what the Apostle Paul says to do and another of his letters rather than seeking the good of yourself would begin to look to the good of others that we do. So for the glory of God.

That's our calling as God's people to calling that we share as people baptized than welcomed into the family of God. It's a calling Rachel that you have stepped into this morning. And it's a calling that our leaders lead us in imperfectly but nevertheless willingly and humbly modeling for us what it means to live a life of Holiness knowledge with love serving God and others.

Father God we have so much to celebrate this morning. We thank you for Rachel profession of faith in for your Covenant love for her shown in baptism. We thank you for Scott Scott Williams stepping into this role of Elder in for the call The Art of Deacon and for the call that you have placed on his life. We thank you for Sue and for her stepping out in faith into the Middle East. And for Jenny and for Sarah as they prepare to celebrate worshipping you together with so many others in, Michigan.

but most of all Lord Most of all, we thank you for your son Jesus. We thank you that in his emptying himself of all his knowledge. If so much of his divinity. God that exemplifies for us what humility and love and christ-like character really looks like

Got thank you for the power of your holy spirit with all of us that makes our obedience possible that we knew we could not follow you on our own and we celebrate that you have given us your Holy Spirit to partner with us and lead us in the mission that you have for us whether that takes us far away or simply carries us through our regular week. So Spirit, we pray that you would fill us this week that you would go with us on our way, wherever our road takes us and that you would give us opportunities as you always do to share your goodness to share your love with our world who desperately need it in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

At this time we are going to stand and we're going to sing are sending song. So let's stand please stand if you're able and we'll sing together.