Sermon Tone Analysis

I. The Reading

A reading from 1 Corinthians 14:1-25

This is God’s Word.

If you receive it as such, will you say Amen - AMEN!

[ Scripture Reading ~6 minutes ]

II.

The Exhortation

After reading God’s Word in the gathering of the church, I urge us all to “say Amen.”

That is, after all, what it means to be a believer.

Here is a simple definition of what it means to be a believer:

A believer says “Amen” to the word and works of God.

A believer says “Amen” to the word and works of God.

Now, what does it mean to “say Amen”?

The word “Amen” is an expression of faith.

It means “let it be so” or “truly.”

It is a response to light that God has given.

When we “say Amen” at the end of prayers, what we are saying is that we agree with that prayer.

When a believer says “Amen,” it is a witness to the truth of God’s Word and the promise that God acts.

To “say Amen” is to say that I have a confidence in God and will act in obedience to His revelation by faith.

A believer would be a hypocrite to “say Amen” and then live contrary to the revealed Word of God.

The “Amen” holds us all accountable to live by what we have heard.

Part of the worship of the gathered church includes saying the “Amen.”

Saying “Amen” was, and is, a powerful witness for God.

It is a witness for both insiders and outsiders, believers and unbelievers.

On Sundays, after reading God’s Word here in the Sanctuary, and after praying, I invite us all to say “AMEN.”

It is a powerful moment when God’s people offer a resounding “Amen” in response to God’s Word and prayers together, and it is even more moving, when we actually then, obey the “Amen” and act upon it.

That is faith.

With this understanding then, God’s word compels us today to pay careful attention to what we say and what we do as the gathered church.

As a pastor, as I oversee what takes place in our gatherings, I continually ask:

Does our worship of God promote the building up of Christ’s church?

Does our worship of God move all people to “say Amen” to God’s word and works?

There is a dual-nature to our church gatherings.

On the one hand, we gather as the church, for the church, to hear God’s Word to the church.

In this we learn and remember who God has made us to be and how to obey God’s will and glorify Him with our lives.

The Sunday morning service and sermon is not intended to be an evangelistic rally to save the lost again and again, because it is the saints, the church, that is gathered.

It is those who are being saved who do not neglect to gather together as is the habit of some.

This gathering is of the church - called to be saints, in fellowship with God’s Son Jesus Christ.

If all we do is call the church, again and again to salvation, if that’s all “AMEN” means to us - “come be saved,” then we have little confidence in God’s salvation.

The church is not maturing.

The church remains as infants.

Never pressing on, never growing up.

Never going out to reach the lost.

Every sermon demands that we respond to God’s Word.

But for those who are saved, and are being saved, that response is not to be saved again.

Instead, our response, our “Amen,” is to stand firm in God’s revelation and in God’s salvation and obey by faith.

But on the other hand, outsiders are present.

Unbelievers do come in.

We even bring them in!

And if an outsider is present, or an unbeliever in attendance, it is our responsibility and our duty to be clear in our worship about who we are and what we are about - we belong to Jesus and we proclaim His Gospel!

It is our prayer and purpose, every Sunday, that our worship would be a spiritually empowered witness to God’s glory and salvation in Jesus Christ.

And that if an unbeliever enters into this Sanctuary for a service of worship, that person would leave changed, transformed, a new creation in Christ!

And that invitation is always present.

This is at the heart of what the apostle is saying to the church in Corinth, and to us.

This is what it means to “pursue love” —

Love points us always in two directions: to God first, then to our neighbor.

This same love should be reflected in our church gatherings.

Remember that Jesus was asked:

Whatever we do as Christians, we do first unto God out of a love for Him.

And it is from our love for God, that we act in love toward one another, our neighbors.

This is at the heart of what the apostle is trying to communicate to the church in Corinth, who allowed the exercise of certain spiritual gifts to hinder their public worship and witness because they were not exercising these gifts in love.

III.

The Teaching

This is why the opening and guiding command is to “pursue love.”

14.1

14.2

14.3

14.4

This phrase “builds up the church” is a repeated theme throughout this text.

It simply means “to increase the potential” “to strengthen” or “to make more able” (LN).

To build up the church means to become more like Jesus, together.

This goal summarizes each section of instruction and it is really the sum of our lives in Christ.

In these opening verses, the apostle contrasts two gifts of the Holy Spirit and two audiences receiving those gifts: the gift of prophecy and the gift of tongues.

On a basic understanding, prophecy is a gift of speaking God’s Word to people.

Tongues is a gift for people speaking words to God.

Both are gifts, and both have a purpose, and so both have a place in the Church, as God gives and God empowers.

The apostle also contrasts two distinct outcomes of these two gifts.

And as we desire spiritual gifts, we must prayerfully discern the outcome of their use:

The apostle shares that tongues builds up one’s own self, but prophesies build up the church.

When rightly deployed, these two gifts serve important functions.

But the Corinthian Christians were not deploying these gifts rightly.

They apparently over-emphasized the gift of tongues meant for personal upbuilding in their public gatherings, and under-emphasized the gift of prophesy, meant to build up the church.

And we do the same thing when we try to impose our private worship on the public worship of the church.

We need to continually be reminded of this, that this hour in which we gather, is not about you or me.

It is about “the worship of God" and the building up of His Church.

Love compels us to lay down any preferences “I” have for worship, so that we all may worship God together.

If ever we leave a service of worship and say “well I just couldn’t worship today, it wasn’t for me” then WE might be the object of our own worship and in danger of committing idolatry.

Some gifts are more exciting than others.

Speaking in tongues was likely much more exciting than prophesy.

We have a tendency to pursue after what moves us the most.

What touches our emotions the most.

What puts on the best show.

But God’s Word doesn’t say pursue after our emotions, or feelings, or thrills.

God’s Word commands us to “Pursue love.”

And rightly understood, love is unto God first, and then for the benefit of the other.

Notice again verse 3 how the church is built up through prophesy:

These three words, “upbuilding, encouragement and consolation” represent the work of the Holy Spirit.

The same Holy Spirit who convicts also encourages and consoles.

Let me again challenge us all not to view God, or love, or the Spirit’s gifts, or worship through one adjective only.

I have heard so many times, a person judge a worship service by one word alone — “conviction.”

As if, “if I don’t feel convicted when I leave, then there was no power, it was not worship.”

That’s a miss!

That’s a gross misunderstanding of worship.

You may not always feel convicted in worship.

There certainly is conviction, but if you leave here convicted then either one of two things is true: