Sermon Tone Analysis

Convicted for possession of drugs, lead singer of rock band Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland, talked to Rolling Stone about how being in jail impacted his life:

Convicted for possession of drugs, lead singer of rock band Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland, talked to Rolling Stone about how being in jail impacted his life:

Date: 28-07-19 840 Echuca

Convicted for possession of drugs, lead singer of rock band Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland, talked to Rolling Stone about how being in jail impacted his life:

Weiland keeps repeating the word humility.

“It’s not me thinking less of myself,” he says.

“It’s me thinking of myself less.

A lot of my ways of thinking have backfired on me.

My stubbornness.

My pride.

My arrogance.

The difficult thing is that those defects of character become assets in my business, the rock and roll world.

“It’s great being a rock star,” he crows.

“But you know what?

Being a rock star doesn’t give you the license to view yourself as more important than anybody else.

And if I am to become a better man, a man who has some compassion and humility instead of just expecting people to understand me, that doesn’t make me less of a rock star.”

- We have seen over the last several passages from 1st Cor. that the church at Corinth has become a battleground with factions & division among themselves

- There are a number of people, Paul says, who have become arrogant

- We looked at what that meant last week – to be arrogant is to be puffed up or full of oneself – full of self-importance

- Because arrogant people – are arrogant – it is very hard to reason with them – they find humility a difficult task

- Arrogance sits in the same booth as self-importance

- This person is trapped in this sin & their heart gets hardened against even contemplating the thought, that they have an attitude problem

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- These people have dismissed Paul as their apostle

- They have judged him a failure & reject him

- His word is Scripture & authoritative, yet, they see themselves as the authority

- Such arrogance, in this case, has set itself up against Jesus & God

1. Caring Enough to Warn

—6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

- Sometimes we just need to hear the truth, but sometimes, the truth often hurts

- Whether that has to do with pointing out character flaws or some wrong that’s been done, it is fair to say that none of us like to face up to these “infringements” against our liberty to be, who we want to be

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- But faithful are the wounds of a friend

- This means that when a person points out to you a truth that an aspect of your life requires correction, instead of arcing up, perhaps, we should try to see it in the best possible light

- Truth is always truth – if the shoe fits, we need to wear it

- Even when it hurts, it is better that we side with the truth, than continue to live with falsehoods & lies

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- The people who point these things out in love are friends, but it is the mollycoddlers, the cowardly, the ones who would rather kiss, kiss, kiss, & not rock the boat, who are this person’s true enemy

- Too often, people are afraid to point out some hard truths because it is uncomfortable to do so

- It is also uncertain, as to how a person will react to it as well

- So, people find that the least point of resistance is to say nothing

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- Now I can see that this could be taken to the extreme & I’m in no way suggesting that we have to be pointing out every little error in a person’s life

- I think we need to be mindful that we have all sinned & are, at times, trapped in certain sins

- Some sins have a greater or lesser impact on the person or on other people

- I think we need much wisdom to determine whether we need to step in & say something or not

- My suggestion is that when hurt or harm can be done to the person or other people, that it is right to say something, but just be careful that you can sin equally by making nit-picking your life’s ambition

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- My father found himself in a dilemma of having to say something or not, to a Christian friend (some of you may have heard this story, but it’s worth repeating)

- His Christian friend owned 2 petrol stations & my father wanted to give him his business

- However, when he would go in to pay, he was constantly disturbed by all the girlie books being sold alongside the newspapers in the stand

- These books: the likes of playboy & penthouse are totally contrary to Christian values

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- My father plucked up the courage one day to speak with his friend about it

- The response was that he can’t remove them because the suppliers determine what he sells

- Dad just said that it was inconsistent with Christian values to be selling those products

- It was left there, but after 2 weeks, something amazing happened

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- Dad’s friend came back to him with, “problem solved”

- He told the suppliers that he does not want to sell those books anymore & they said, OK

- He thanked my father for bringing it to his attention & here is the punchline – he had been battling with it for a long time

- In other words, the Spirit of God had been troubling his friend’s conscience about it & he had just dismissed the conviction of the Spirit

Q.

What would have happened, if he had gone before the Lord without responding to the judgement of his conscience?

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- He was living the Christian life with what he knew was a sin & yet did nothing about it, until a friend plucked up enough courage to say that this was wrong

- So often, we need people to tell us things that we already know about but lack the will to change the situation

- It is the love of a friend who points something out which becomes the straw that breaks the back of the sin & brings about repentance & renewal

- Dad’s friend was so thankful, as he could now go to sleep at night & sleep peacefully without his conscience constantly disturbing him

- No wonder the proverb says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”

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- In addressing this situation in Corinth, the apostle is giving them firm warning that if they do not repent, then severe action will follow

- Remembering that this apostle is acting, not by his own authority, but by the authority of Jesus

- With that authority, he is not wanting to abuse them, but to care for them as a father would care for his own children

2. Like Father, Like Son

- In this passage today, Paul uses the analogy of a father to his children

- I remember in Bible college how you would tend to have students emulate their teachers

- I know that many of my ways of speaking from the pulpit has been influenced by the pastor who was instrumental in leading me to the Lord

- In Bible College, I remember a discussion about Billy Graham & the way he used his Bible at the pulpit – the big floppy Bible that would sit open & he popularised a generation of pastors who used their Bibles in the same way

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- On the other side of the coin, people who have been brought into a cult have picked up the habits of the figurehead of the cult

- It’s important, also, for your children to pick their friends wisely

- Not to mention the fact, that it is important that your children are secure in themselves, so that they are not going to be led by the popular, but troublesome, kid in the school

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- It would appear that the Corinthians were led to Christ by Paul

—8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.

9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

11 And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

- Now we know that only God can convert the heart to Christ

- We call this being “born again” or “born from above”

- It is the work of God’s Spirit in renewing our heart, spirit & mind

- No human person can do this work

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- However, Paul, here uses a personal touch to explain the special relationship he has with this church

- He is their spiritual father – he is not asking them to call him father, but using the analogy of father to his children, he points out the intimate & special relationship that exists between them

"And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven"

[no one can have the title of "Father"].

- They have many guides or guardians in Christ, but only one father “in the faith” & he urges them to not forget that fact

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- Father’s held a special place, in particular, in the life of his sons

- The sons would imitate the life of their father – that is nothing knew, it happens even now (yes, daughters catch a fair bit too)

- Now some people love the fact that they can imitate the best of their father, but they bemoan the fact that there are traits in their father that they have picked up, but desperately want to shed

- Those traits may not stack up in the Christian faith, but I want you to notice how difficult it is for people to break those patterns established by their father

- It just goes to show how powerful the role of a father is in leading his children, either in the right path or the wrong path

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- But here, in this passage, Paul is wanting them to follow in the footsteps of their spiritual father

—16 Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.

- Copy my life as I copy the life of Jesus

—1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

—17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.

- It’s not arrogant to set an example of Christlikeness & to urge people to follow

- It is, however, hypocritical to urge people to follow Christ, when you don’t follow Him yourself

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- If we are serious in wanting to follow Christ, we shouldn’t take this as a negative, but as a challenge – we, including myself, know that we always need to press on, to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus

- Every single Christian is not there yet, & even Paul, himself, is the one who says to press on to the upward call of God, in Christ Jesus