100 mission is that it's the quickest<\/p>\n
person that learns Thai okay so and his<\/p>\n
name is close to Thai his name is Ty and<\/p>\n
I got Thai Nasha<\/p>\n
[Applause]<\/p>\n
okay hello everyone that day in my cup<\/p>\n
if you're wearing translation can you<\/p>\n
hear<\/p>\n
that in my cup<\/p>\n
we're good<\/p>\n
okay okay we're good good great<\/p>\n
all right<\/p>\n
yeah glad everyone is here today<\/p>\n
we will be in um we're continuing our<\/p>\n
Series in First Corinthians and today<\/p>\n
we'll be in chapters 12 and 13. so we'll<\/p>\n
have some on the screen here this is my<\/p>\n
first time doing this and so there we go<\/p>\n
okay uh let me pray for us before we get<\/p>\n
started let's pray<\/p>\n
Father in heaven we we thank you<\/p>\n
just as niran said earlier or think that<\/p>\n
we can gather together and this is what<\/p>\n
you have<\/p>\n
this is what you've designed father<\/p>\n
to give us yourself give us your son<\/p>\n
Jesus give us your spirit and now we're<\/p>\n
together father as as your children<\/p>\n
Lord so we we pray that you would speak<\/p>\n
through the word that you've given us<\/p>\n
father<\/p>\n
direct my words God made thee exalt<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ father and would the body<\/p>\n
be built up today uh it's in Jesus name<\/p>\n
we pray amen<\/p>\n
Okay so<\/p>\n
if you have ever hung around after<\/p>\n
church you've probably seen my children<\/p>\n
okay I have three children and they're<\/p>\n
usually running just wildly around here<\/p>\n
I'm trying to stop them from ripping<\/p>\n
down the curtains<\/p>\n
but I want to share a quick story about<\/p>\n
my children<\/p>\n
that will help us better understand what<\/p>\n
is going on in First Corinthians 12 and<\/p>\n
13 today okay so but at the church in<\/p>\n
Corinth at that time right brothers and<\/p>\n
sisters they were looking at certain<\/p>\n
gifts and abilities and they were acting<\/p>\n
like some were better than others so<\/p>\n
that's kind of the context but for my<\/p>\n
kids okay<\/p>\n
they they love to act things out they<\/p>\n
love to play different roles they like<\/p>\n
to be Spider-Man or Batman or a<\/p>\n
policeman trying to catch the bad guy<\/p>\n
but in order to do this they need to<\/p>\n
choose which role they're going to play<\/p>\n
right<\/p>\n
and when they choose they always choose<\/p>\n
the best role they always choose the one<\/p>\n
guy that looks the coolest that acts the<\/p>\n
coolest and when they act things out<\/p>\n
they don't they don't care about the<\/p>\n
other roles they just care about<\/p>\n
themselves and they want to talk about<\/p>\n
how how cool their character is and they<\/p>\n
only focus on how they do the best job<\/p>\n
at acting<\/p>\n
they don't really pay attention to their<\/p>\n
brothers and sisters that are also<\/p>\n
supposed to be a part of the story they<\/p>\n
just focus on themselves and then when<\/p>\n
my wife Jen and I when we try and tell<\/p>\n
them how the story is supposed to go and<\/p>\n
teach them how to do it they get mad<\/p>\n
because they just want to focus on<\/p>\n
themselves and not others okay<\/p>\n
and this is a silly example and I know<\/p>\n
if you have kids you've probably<\/p>\n
experienced this before but what are my<\/p>\n
kids forgetting who taught them how to<\/p>\n
play those roles okay my wife Jenna and<\/p>\n
I did<\/p>\n
who bought the Spider-Man costume<\/p>\n
their parents did we did okay and who do<\/p>\n
they need while they're acting out these<\/p>\n
things they need their brothers and<\/p>\n
sisters and they need Jenna and me to to<\/p>\n
tell them what to do<\/p>\n
so the members of the torch in court the<\/p>\n
people who received this letter and<\/p>\n
honestly this is for all of us that<\/p>\n
we're like my kids we think that some<\/p>\n
roles and some gifts in the church are<\/p>\n
more important or better than others we<\/p>\n
think that we don't need others<\/p>\n
just like my kids forget that Jenna and<\/p>\n
I their parents provide everything that<\/p>\n
they need to be a certain role the<\/p>\n
church at Corinth has forgotten that God<\/p>\n
is the one who gives every gift he is<\/p>\n
the source God is the one that gives<\/p>\n
everyone certain gifts in order to serve<\/p>\n
one another so that the body is built up<\/p>\n
and then after Paul really rebukes the<\/p>\n
Corinthians for this he ultimately shows<\/p>\n
them what is the better way I think we<\/p>\n
know what that is the better way is love<\/p>\n
it's love for one another okay so before<\/p>\n
we dive in I'm going to give like a<\/p>\n
summary statement okay so when you're<\/p>\n
leaving church today and someone is like<\/p>\n
this Podium someone is like what was the<\/p>\n
sermon about today you can just tell<\/p>\n
them this so you can remember it all<\/p>\n
God has given each one of us gifts to<\/p>\n
build up the body<\/p>\n
but the greatest thing we are to pursue<\/p>\n
is love<\/p>\n
okay I'm going to say it again God has<\/p>\n
given each one of us gifts but the<\/p>\n
greatest thing we are to pursue is love<\/p>\n
all right so now you don't have any<\/p>\n
excuse to not know what my sermon was<\/p>\n
about I'm kidding okay so we're going to<\/p>\n
have three points for the sermon today<\/p>\n
if you're if you're a note taker if you<\/p>\n
want to organize this<\/p>\n
um<\/p>\n
try and use this guy<\/p>\n
oh sorry I didn't even already did it<\/p>\n
can we go back one there we go okay<\/p>\n
three points we're gonna start off with<\/p>\n
the context of the problem so this is<\/p>\n
going to kind of be like what did the<\/p>\n
church at Corinth look like at this time<\/p>\n
and then second is the problem right and<\/p>\n
that'll be kind of in chapter 12 and<\/p>\n
then three we'll talk about the solution<\/p>\n
and that'll be chapter 13. so we have<\/p>\n
the situation of the context then we<\/p>\n
have the problem and we have the<\/p>\n
solution to the problem<\/p>\n
okay so first we will go<\/p>\n
to the context of the problem<\/p>\n
okay so what did so the church was in a<\/p>\n
city right the city of Corinth what did<\/p>\n
this city look like when they would have<\/p>\n
received this letter from Paul<\/p>\n
and Trey and Iran have all mentioned<\/p>\n
this but the city of Corinth where they<\/p>\n
received this letter it looked actually<\/p>\n
would have been similar to Bangkok in<\/p>\n
the ancient times it was one of the<\/p>\n
biggest cities in the world<\/p>\n
it was about six kilometers wide there<\/p>\n
we go six kilometers wide and on each<\/p>\n
side of it we've got a map here there's<\/p>\n
water from the from the East and the<\/p>\n
West there's water<\/p>\n
and then from the North and South<\/p>\n
there's land so anyone traveling to<\/p>\n
by water would have had to pass through<\/p>\n
Corinth and anyone traveling through<\/p>\n
land would have also had to pass through<\/p>\n
Corinth so what this resulted in is a<\/p>\n
very diverse City because you have<\/p>\n
people coming from all different sorts<\/p>\n
of places and it also resulted in a very<\/p>\n
wealthy City because it's a great place<\/p>\n
for trade and business and people were<\/p>\n
coming there to do business one other<\/p>\n
thing it was also a very new city I know<\/p>\n
that might sound a little bit weird but<\/p>\n
when Paul wrote this letter it had only<\/p>\n
been around for less than 100 years<\/p>\n
which is not that old for a city<\/p>\n
so what this means is that there weren't<\/p>\n
like any old Corinth people you know how<\/p>\n
you kind of have like old status people<\/p>\n
Corinth didn't really have that at this<\/p>\n
time so all the people of Corinth were<\/p>\n
people who had come recently to kind of<\/p>\n
like do business and make a name for<\/p>\n
themselves so we have a lot of new<\/p>\n
people in a new place a very diverse<\/p>\n
people with lots of opportunity to make<\/p>\n
money<\/p>\n
to make a name for yourself to make<\/p>\n
status<\/p>\n
and so what this resulted is a lot of<\/p>\n
relying on your own efforts on their own<\/p>\n
efforts and working hard to make<\/p>\n
something of themselves<\/p>\n
and when you do what does that mean<\/p>\n
s you can be proud of yourself because<\/p>\n
you did that you came to this place you<\/p>\n
you earned that money you made a good<\/p>\n
name for yourself this is part of the<\/p>\n
culture of Corinth at that time<\/p>\n
so we talked that's the city what about<\/p>\n
the church at Corinth okay so the church<\/p>\n
in court was made up of people<\/p>\n
they were part of the culture of Corinth<\/p>\n
who'd come there they'd tried to make a<\/p>\n
name for themselves<\/p>\n
but then the gospel Comes The Gospel<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ comes and what does the<\/p>\n
gospel say<\/p>\n
the gospel says in a lot of ways the<\/p>\n
opposite of what the city of Corinth or<\/p>\n
the city of Bangkok says<\/p>\n
the gospel says that it's God who made<\/p>\n
us and it's God who's given us<\/p>\n
everything and even though we've turned<\/p>\n
from worshiping God<\/p>\n
and we worship other things and even<\/p>\n
worship ourselves and what we can do<\/p>\n
at that time God sent his son to die for<\/p>\n
us and this message is what changed the<\/p>\n
Corinthians the people in that church is<\/p>\n
what changed them to come to believe in<\/p>\n
Jesus it's the miraculous power of the<\/p>\n
Gospel<\/p>\n
and we can't boast in anything because<\/p>\n
it's God who did it and not us all we do<\/p>\n
is we say thank you God<\/p>\n
so even though the brothers and sisters<\/p>\n
there at the church of Corinth they were<\/p>\n
Christians other believers now<\/p>\n
which again they're following the way of<\/p>\n
the cross the way of the Gospel which<\/p>\n
looks like foolishness to the world but<\/p>\n
these willing sisters just like all of<\/p>\n
us they're very prone<\/p>\n
to boast in themselves and to divide<\/p>\n
over who is better and they would like<\/p>\n
fall back into their old ways the old<\/p>\n
ways of thinking and we saw this when<\/p>\n
needon preached on First Corinthians 1<\/p>\n
where people would divide over which<\/p>\n
leader was better which leader had more<\/p>\n
could this speak better had more<\/p>\n
charisma<\/p>\n
so it's all of this that we see the<\/p>\n
situation like the context of what's<\/p>\n
going on in Corinth at that time okay<\/p>\n
again they've been saved they're in the<\/p>\n
church but we're still prone to bring<\/p>\n
the ways of the city into the church<\/p>\n
where that was supposed to be living<\/p>\n
according to the gospel<\/p>\n
okay so we're about to dive into chapter<\/p>\n
12 though to look at the problem but<\/p>\n
before we go there though<\/p>\n
I want to look at my own heart and I<\/p>\n
want all of you to look at your hearts<\/p>\n
with this<\/p>\n
these words God's words are not just<\/p>\n
meant for us to point fingers and say<\/p>\n
look at how messed up the church at<\/p>\n
Corinth was okay these words are also<\/p>\n
meant to shine a light into our own<\/p>\n
hearts and to show our own sin and to<\/p>\n
show an even greater savior okay so a<\/p>\n
couple of questions<\/p>\n
where are we where am I where are you<\/p>\n
living according to the statuses and<\/p>\n
ways of the world and not according to<\/p>\n
the Gospel of Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
where are you prone to look at your own<\/p>\n
work<\/p>\n
your own status your own ability<\/p>\n
what area of your life what area of my<\/p>\n
life needs to be reminded that it is God<\/p>\n
who made us it's God who saved us and<\/p>\n
it's God that gives us everything we<\/p>\n
need this is all of Grace and this is<\/p>\n
foundational to who we are as God's<\/p>\n
children Okay so we've seen the context<\/p>\n
of the problem and now we're going to<\/p>\n
look at the specific problem this will<\/p>\n
be in chapter 12. I'm gonna grab some<\/p>\n
water<\/p>\n
great so now we'll be looking at the<\/p>\n
problem<\/p>\n
in chapter 12. so Paul he's about to<\/p>\n
dive into<\/p>\n
something about spiritual gifts and so I<\/p>\n
we need to Define that we need to know<\/p>\n
what's going on so I'm going to quickly<\/p>\n
Define what spiritual gifts are there's<\/p>\n
a couple places in Scripture<\/p>\n
that we'll talk about this we see it in<\/p>\n
Ephesians 4 and Romans 12 in our passage<\/p>\n
today but a very simple definition of a<\/p>\n
spiritual gift is it's a gift right<\/p>\n
you earn it it is given to you and it's<\/p>\n
a spiritual gift it's a gift that's<\/p>\n
given by the Holy Spirit we'll see some<\/p>\n
some examples here of T like teaching or<\/p>\n
wisdom or faith<\/p>\n
and the purpose of this gift is not to<\/p>\n
build up yourself but it's to build up<\/p>\n
others in the body okay so I'm gonna<\/p>\n
read<\/p>\n
start us off in First Corinthians 12<\/p>\n
verses one through three it's on the<\/p>\n
screen here I'm going to read it in<\/p>\n
English<\/p>\n
Paul says Paul writes this is the word<\/p>\n
of the Lord<\/p>\n
now about the gifts of the Spirit<\/p>\n
brothers and sisters I do not want you<\/p>\n
to uninformed<\/p>\n
you know that when you were Pagan<\/p>\n
somehow or other you were influenced and<\/p>\n
led astray to mute Idols therefore I<\/p>\n
want you to know that no one who is<\/p>\n
speaking by the spirit of God says Jesus<\/p>\n
be cursed and no one can say Jesus is<\/p>\n
Lord except by the Holy Spirit<\/p>\n
okay so the first thing that Paul says<\/p>\n
here is he just wants to be clear<\/p>\n
because at that time in Corinth and we<\/p>\n
could really say at this time in Bangkok<\/p>\n
there's a lot of spiritual<\/p>\n
manifestations a lot of spiritual things<\/p>\n
going on so Paul just gives you a very<\/p>\n
quick litmus test and says is this of<\/p>\n
God<\/p>\n
and the simple answer is is the gift<\/p>\n
exalting Jesus Christ as Lord okay it's<\/p>\n
very simple that's what he's saying here<\/p>\n
I'm going to go on and continue reading<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
4 through 11.<\/p>\n
he continues there are different kinds<\/p>\n
of gifts but the Same Spirit distributes<\/p>\n
him<\/p>\n
there are different kinds of service but<\/p>\n
the same Lord<\/p>\n
there are different kinds of working but<\/p>\n
in all of them and in everyone it is the<\/p>\n
same God at work<\/p>\n
now to each one the manifestation of the<\/p>\n
spirit is given for the common good<\/p>\n
to one there is given through the spirit<\/p>\n
a message of wisdom to another a message<\/p>\n
of knowledge by means of The Same Spirit<\/p>\n
to another Faith by The Same Spirit<\/p>\n
to another Gifts of healing by that one<\/p>\n
Spirit to another miraculous powers to<\/p>\n
another prophecy to another<\/p>\n
distinguishing between spirits to<\/p>\n
another speaking in different kinds of<\/p>\n
tongues and still to another the<\/p>\n
interpretation of tongues<\/p>\n
all these are the work of one in the<\/p>\n
same spirit and he distributes them to<\/p>\n
each one as he determines<\/p>\n
okay so we have the church in Corinth<\/p>\n
here right maybe a couple hundred<\/p>\n
Believers a couple hundred brothers and<\/p>\n
sisters or again we could even say for<\/p>\n
Grace city today for all of us right<\/p>\n
here maybe 70 80 people<\/p>\n
and each one of us each one of you and<\/p>\n
me we've been given a different gift<\/p>\n
chapter 12 verse 4 it says there there<\/p>\n
are many varieties there are different<\/p>\n
gifts<\/p>\n
verses 8-10 Paul goes on to list these<\/p>\n
outs wisdom knowledge Faith healing<\/p>\n
prophecy the ability to distinguish<\/p>\n
Spirits tongues<\/p>\n
so the all of these different gifts do<\/p>\n
they come from different places<\/p>\n
no Paul says this like five times in<\/p>\n
this section they're all different but<\/p>\n
they come from one place there is one<\/p>\n
spirit of God that gives all of these<\/p>\n
so we have God who is one giving a<\/p>\n
variety A diversity of gifts and why<\/p>\n
does he do it look at verse seven he<\/p>\n
does it for the common good<\/p>\n
so God gives gifts to his children for<\/p>\n
the building up of the body together not<\/p>\n
just one person okay and it this is<\/p>\n
really<\/p>\n
amazing how this all works if we just<\/p>\n
look at the logic of this<\/p>\n
as we've seen the way of the cross the<\/p>\n
way of the Gospel it is foolishness it's<\/p>\n
again it's in a lot of ways it's<\/p>\n
backwards to the way of the world<\/p>\n
so God has designed that we all have<\/p>\n
diverse gifts not to build like our<\/p>\n
gifts not for building ourself up it's<\/p>\n
for building our brothers and sisters up<\/p>\n
so let's say that someone over in this<\/p>\n
section has the gift of faith right<\/p>\n
you're like ready to go play in a church<\/p>\n
or start a minister you're willing<\/p>\n
you're ready to go do something that<\/p>\n
other people are afraid to do okay<\/p>\n
play someone here in the middle so you<\/p>\n
have the gift of service you're like you<\/p>\n
just see needs and you want to go meet<\/p>\n
those needs whether it be in our church<\/p>\n
or<\/p>\n
in the city<\/p>\n
okay someone over here<\/p>\n
teaching all right you love studying and<\/p>\n
you're really good at explaining<\/p>\n
difficult things so that other people<\/p>\n
understand it<\/p>\n
so our faith person over here they don't<\/p>\n
need to just go and hang out with a lot<\/p>\n
of other people that have faith right<\/p>\n
what do they need<\/p>\n
they need someone who is thinking about<\/p>\n
the needs of the people and how we can<\/p>\n
go and serve these people in the same<\/p>\n
way the service person you don't need<\/p>\n
just more of what you already have you<\/p>\n
need the teacher to come and help you<\/p>\n
understand God's word okay<\/p>\n
so<\/p>\n
it's again it's just amazing how this<\/p>\n
works<\/p>\n
I want to just point out two different<\/p>\n
things from this<\/p>\n
the first thing because this is the way<\/p>\n
of the Gospel this logic is<\/p>\n
number one you cannot boast in the gift<\/p>\n
that you have all right we're all prone<\/p>\n
to do that and we'll talk about that in<\/p>\n
a second but you can't boast in the gift<\/p>\n
that you have why because it's of Grace<\/p>\n
because God gave it to you second of all<\/p>\n
and this is what's crazy you don't even<\/p>\n
need it for yourself<\/p>\n
right your gift was given to you for<\/p>\n
other people<\/p>\n
again that this is just so gospel in its<\/p>\n
culture here that it's it's not about us<\/p>\n
it's about what God has given us<\/p>\n
and it's amazing how God brings this<\/p>\n
unity and diversity<\/p>\n
so another quick example as we've seen<\/p>\n
we all know how amazing Wawa is at<\/p>\n
playing the bass okay<\/p>\n
does Wawa need more base<\/p>\n
no you know what Wawa needs Wawa needs<\/p>\n
Susan on the violin right<\/p>\n
and Susan doesn't need more violin<\/p>\n
she needs mail singing right you get the<\/p>\n
picture here God has designed this so<\/p>\n
that the gift that we have or to support<\/p>\n
our brothers and sisters and the gifts<\/p>\n
that they have are used to support us<\/p>\n
it's an amazing picture<\/p>\n
but is this how the church at Corinth is<\/p>\n
operating<\/p>\n
no it's not how they're operating<\/p>\n
so what's their problem<\/p>\n
we're going to keep reading here the<\/p>\n
next slide we already there yeah<\/p>\n
okay<\/p>\n
just as a body the one has many parts<\/p>\n
but all its many parts form one body<\/p>\n
so it is with Christ for we were all<\/p>\n
baptized by one spirit so as to form one<\/p>\n
body whether Jews or Gentiles slave or<\/p>\n
free and we were all given the one<\/p>\n
Spirit to drink<\/p>\n
even so the body is not made up of one<\/p>\n
part but of many<\/p>\n
now if the foot should say because I'm<\/p>\n
not a hand I don't belong to the body it<\/p>\n
would not for that reason stop being a<\/p>\n
part of the body<\/p>\n
and if the ear should say because I'm<\/p>\n
not an I I don't belong to the body it<\/p>\n
if the whole body were an eye where<\/p>\n
would the sense of hearing be<\/p>\n
if the whole body were an ear where the<\/p>\n
sense of smell be<\/p>\n
but in fact God has placed the parts in<\/p>\n
the body every one of them just as he<\/p>\n
wanted them to be<\/p>\n
if they were all one part where would<\/p>\n
the body be as it is there are many<\/p>\n
parts but one body<\/p>\n
the I cannot say to the hand I don't<\/p>\n
need you and the head can't say to the<\/p>\n
feet I don't need you on the contrary<\/p>\n
those parts of the body that seem to be<\/p>\n
weaker are indispensable in the parts<\/p>\n
that we think are less honorable we<\/p>\n
treat with special honor and the parts<\/p>\n
that are unpresentable are treated with<\/p>\n
special modesty while our presentable<\/p>\n
Parts need no treat no special treatment<\/p>\n
but God has put the body together giving<\/p>\n
greater honor to the parts that lacked<\/p>\n
it so that there should be no division<\/p>\n
in the body but that its part should<\/p>\n
have equal concern for each other<\/p>\n
if one part suffers every part suffers<\/p>\n
with it if one part is honored every<\/p>\n
part rejoices with it<\/p>\n
now you are the body of Christ and each<\/p>\n
one of you is a part of it and God has<\/p>\n
placed in the church first of all<\/p>\n
Apostles second prophets third teachers<\/p>\n
then Miracles then Gifts of healing of<\/p>\n
helping of guidance of different kinds<\/p>\n
of tongues or Apostles or all prophets<\/p>\n
they're all teachers to all work<\/p>\n
miracles to all have the gifts of<\/p>\n
healing to all speak in tongues to all<\/p>\n
interpret now eagerly desire the greater<\/p>\n
so in verse 12 Paul begins a metaphor<\/p>\n
here of the human body to describe the<\/p>\n
church in Corinth and really the problem<\/p>\n
of what is going on there he says just<\/p>\n
as a body though one has many parts but<\/p>\n
all its many parts form one body so it<\/p>\n
is with Christ<\/p>\n
so the human body works together just to<\/p>\n
play out this metaphor our hands<\/p>\n
help us pick things up<\/p>\n
but they don't know where to go without<\/p>\n
our eyes telling them where the thing is<\/p>\n
they need to pick up okay but our eyes<\/p>\n
aren't going to do us any good unless we<\/p>\n
have a brain that is saying you need to<\/p>\n
go pick that thing up right but what<\/p>\n
what happens when the brain says to the<\/p>\n
hand I don't need you<\/p>\n
that they've missed the point they've<\/p>\n
missed the point of this is how the body<\/p>\n
works is how God has designed our<\/p>\n
physical bodies and his own body the<\/p>\n
body of Christ the church<\/p>\n
this is the church a Corinth problem<\/p>\n
okay the problem is that those in the<\/p>\n
church with more impressive gifts like<\/p>\n
knowledge or speech they're looking at<\/p>\n
others who have less impressive gifts<\/p>\n
and saying I'm more important than you<\/p>\n
here I don't need you you're not as<\/p>\n
essential as I am here<\/p>\n
okay we saw in Paul's earlier<\/p>\n
description of How It's one spirit of<\/p>\n
God who gives many gifts for the purpose<\/p>\n
of building up the body together<\/p>\n
the Corinthians have forgotten this<\/p>\n
the problem is that they're using their<\/p>\n
own gifts for their own good for<\/p>\n
boasting and puffing themselves up and<\/p>\n
then that divides the body instead of<\/p>\n
building it up<\/p>\n
okay the Corinthians and again this is<\/p>\n
for all of us okay<\/p>\n
all of us we act like my children do<\/p>\n
when we boast my kids boast and how<\/p>\n
great they are at being Spider-Man in<\/p>\n
the story but they forget who gave them<\/p>\n
the costume who taught them everything<\/p>\n
and in other their brothers and sisters<\/p>\n
that they need<\/p>\n
we've forgotten that God is the one who<\/p>\n
has given us these gifts<\/p>\n
and the problem is the Corinthians again<\/p>\n
are using their gifts to puff up<\/p>\n
themselves and not one another and this<\/p>\n
is not how the body of Christ is<\/p>\n
supposed to work<\/p>\n
at the core the Corinthians have<\/p>\n
forgotten the gospel<\/p>\n
using your gift again I'm looking at<\/p>\n
myself to using our gifts to boast and<\/p>\n
saying it's more necessary than another<\/p>\n
gift it's a symptom of not understanding<\/p>\n
the gospel and God and how he works<\/p>\n
that is that we've all been saved by<\/p>\n
grace alone in every ability that we<\/p>\n
have comes from God because of Jesus's<\/p>\n
death on the cross that paid for it<\/p>\n
so are you good at serving<\/p>\n
it is because Jesus death on the cross<\/p>\n
purchased the holy spirit that lives in<\/p>\n
you right now<\/p>\n
are you good at teaching or<\/p>\n
encouragement<\/p>\n
the reason is Jesus and what he did to<\/p>\n
pay for you to have that gift it's<\/p>\n
because of the cross<\/p>\n
of course for application I want to ask<\/p>\n
you what spiritual gift<\/p>\n
do you have<\/p>\n
okay think about it for a second<\/p>\n
and be honest with yourself are you<\/p>\n
using that gift to build up others and<\/p>\n
not yourself<\/p>\n
this is a pretty obvious that was a<\/p>\n
pretty obvious application question<\/p>\n
maybe a less obvious one is<\/p>\n
look around the room<\/p>\n
what spiritual gifts do you see in your<\/p>\n
brothers and sisters<\/p>\n
this should be the better application<\/p>\n
question maybe because what they have is<\/p>\n
what you need okay you should be look at<\/p>\n
it your own self you should be looking<\/p>\n
at what your brothers and sisters have<\/p>\n
and they should be looking at you<\/p>\n
because you have what they need and they<\/p>\n
have what you need<\/p>\n
because we get all that we need from<\/p>\n
Jesus we aren't jealous or envious<\/p>\n
of other gifts<\/p>\n
we aren't arrogant<\/p>\n
and we don't boast in what we have<\/p>\n
because it's all of Grace<\/p>\n
we don't insist on our own way but<\/p>\n
rather we look to serve others<\/p>\n
what do we do<\/p>\n
we do what's better than any spiritual<\/p>\n
gift<\/p>\n
we love<\/p>\n
and that is Paul's solution<\/p>\n
so I'm going to read First Corinthians<\/p>\n
13 here<\/p>\n
this is the word of the Lord<\/p>\n
I will show you the most excellent way<\/p>\n
if I speak in the tongues of men or of<\/p>\n
angels but do not have love<\/p>\n
I am only a resounding gong or a<\/p>\n
clinging symbol<\/p>\n
if I have the gift of Prophecy and can<\/p>\n
fathom all Mysteries and all knowledge<\/p>\n
and if I have a faith that can move<\/p>\n
mountains but do not have love I am<\/p>\n
nothing<\/p>\n
if I give all I possess to the poor and<\/p>\n
give them for my body to hardship that I<\/p>\n
may boast but do not have love<\/p>\n
I gain nothing<\/p>\n
love is patient love is kind it does not<\/p>\n
envy does not boast it is not proud<\/p>\n
it does not dishonor others it is not<\/p>\n
self-seeking it is not easily angered it<\/p>\n
keeps no record of wrongs love does not<\/p>\n
Delight in evil but rejoices with the<\/p>\n
truth<\/p>\n
it always protects always trusts always<\/p>\n
hopes always perseveres<\/p>\n
so if you've been around Christians or<\/p>\n
church any amount of time you've likely<\/p>\n
heard this quoted it's a very familiar<\/p>\n
passage and for good reason it's a very<\/p>\n
beautiful passage but I hope that today<\/p>\n
you're able to see this for the context<\/p>\n
that it's in<\/p>\n
all right so if we're the Corinthians<\/p>\n
we've gotten this letter we're reading<\/p>\n
it we get to the part about love<\/p>\n
they wouldn't have been like really<\/p>\n
excited and said like this is amazing<\/p>\n
poetry about love<\/p>\n
you know they probably would have said<\/p>\n
they probably said like<\/p>\n
oh no<\/p>\n
but Paul's talking about us<\/p>\n
we're the ones that boasted about<\/p>\n
speaking in tongues and prophesying and<\/p>\n
having great faith without having love<\/p>\n
in verses four to seven you can look at<\/p>\n
the words up here four to seven Paul<\/p>\n
describes love as not being rude<\/p>\n
not being proud not being self-seeking<\/p>\n
do you know what Paul has already called<\/p>\n
the Corinthians in this letter<\/p>\n
he's called them proud<\/p>\n
he's called them rude he's called them<\/p>\n
self-seeking okay so this is coming as<\/p>\n
more of a rebuke and it's a rebuke that<\/p>\n
points at the Corinthians the<\/p>\n
Corinthians think that speaking well or<\/p>\n
having great knowledge or seeming very<\/p>\n
spiritual is the most important<\/p>\n
and the Lord the Lord gives us with<\/p>\n
these things as we've seen to use it to<\/p>\n
well what does Paul tell them is better<\/p>\n
it's love<\/p>\n
and love is patient It's Kind it's<\/p>\n
humble it's forgiving it's truthful guys<\/p>\n
the these things are not flashy or<\/p>\n
impressive like some other spiritual<\/p>\n
gifts but they are the core the<\/p>\n
foundation of what it means to be a<\/p>\n
child of God we are to pursue love like<\/p>\n
Paul describes here more than the other<\/p>\n
there's a lot that could be said about<\/p>\n
these attributes and I want to make one<\/p>\n
observation<\/p>\n
these are all characteristics that come<\/p>\n
from difficult situations okay what do I<\/p>\n
mean by that<\/p>\n
um there are descriptions that come from<\/p>\n
someone loving someone else in a<\/p>\n
difficult situation<\/p>\n
so first love is patient all right you<\/p>\n
usually or I usually don't get called<\/p>\n
patients unless we prove to be patient<\/p>\n
in a difficult situation<\/p>\n
look at another one love does not boast<\/p>\n
this is only said when someone could<\/p>\n
have boasted what they chose to love<\/p>\n
instead<\/p>\n
love keeps no record of wrongs this is<\/p>\n
only described about someone where they<\/p>\n
could have very easily kept a record of<\/p>\n
wrongs but they chose to love instead<\/p>\n
so my an application for all of us here<\/p>\n
is when you read this and think wow<\/p>\n
love is great I want to be a more loving<\/p>\n
person<\/p>\n
realize this is a very difficult Road<\/p>\n
being patient not being irritable not<\/p>\n
insisting on your own way this sounds<\/p>\n
great right<\/p>\n
but what about when you've been waiting<\/p>\n
at the restaurant for an hour<\/p>\n
for your friend from small group to get<\/p>\n
there and they finally get there and<\/p>\n
you're really hungry<\/p>\n
how are you going to treat your friend<\/p>\n
not keeping a record of wrongs bearing<\/p>\n
all things again these sound great<\/p>\n
but what about at Bible study<\/p>\n
there's someone who always interprets<\/p>\n
scripture wrong<\/p>\n
are you going to treat them<\/p>\n
or we could go the other way what if<\/p>\n
there's someone at Bible study who<\/p>\n
always corrects always thinks that they<\/p>\n
know everything<\/p>\n
how are you going to treat them<\/p>\n
what I'm trying to show us is that the<\/p>\n
Corinthians and all of us<\/p>\n
if we're going to love like what Paul is<\/p>\n
talking about we need more than just a<\/p>\n
list of attributes that we have to try<\/p>\n
and do and be<\/p>\n
what do we need<\/p>\n
we need a person<\/p>\n
we need a savior<\/p>\n
we need a person to show us in body form<\/p>\n
what this kind of love looks like<\/p>\n
really we need someone to love us like<\/p>\n
this first so that we know what it's<\/p>\n
like and our hearts are changed and<\/p>\n
we're able to love like this<\/p>\n
love like this can only come from a<\/p>\n
changed heart<\/p>\n
and brothers and sisters<\/p>\n
Jesus is the only person that can change<\/p>\n
our hearts we need Jesus Jesus is this<\/p>\n
list<\/p>\n
Jesus was patient and kind to his<\/p>\n
disciples when they messed up over and<\/p>\n
over<\/p>\n
Jesus did not boast and was not proud<\/p>\n
when he could have been could have been<\/p>\n
he didn't hold up his equality with God<\/p>\n
as something to boast about and instead<\/p>\n
he went to the cross and died for you<\/p>\n
and for me<\/p>\n
Jesus did not seek his own will but he<\/p>\n
sought the will of his fathers and<\/p>\n
obedience<\/p>\n
and this is amazing<\/p>\n
Jesus could have kept the biggest record<\/p>\n
of wrongs ever done to him by you and by<\/p>\n
me<\/p>\n
but what did he do instead<\/p>\n
he went to the cross<\/p>\n
greater love has no one than this<\/p>\n
to lay down one's life for one's friends<\/p>\n
if you want a love like this you look at<\/p>\n
Jesus and see how he has loved you<\/p>\n
look at how he loved and died for you<\/p>\n
he did this to change our hearts to love<\/p>\n
like him and to love our brothers and<\/p>\n
sisters as he's loved us he's promised<\/p>\n
to give us his Spirit as we trust in him<\/p>\n
so brothers and sisters look on Jesus<\/p>\n
see how he's loved us and made us a<\/p>\n
child of God this is how we love let's<\/p>\n
pray<\/p>\n
father we are grateful for for your word<\/p>\n
we're grateful for how you speak to us<\/p>\n
Lord<\/p>\n
God we pray that that these words in<\/p>\n
this text Lord would go with us Lord<\/p>\n
that your spirit would work in them<\/p>\n
would change our heart sword would<\/p>\n
change our hearts to look more like<\/p>\n
Jesus as we grow to trust in your gospel<\/p>\n
more and more God again we love you we<\/p>\n
pray that we would love you more and<\/p>\n
more in Jesus name amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20230327","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OncGD3eJHl4","video_id":"OncGD3eJHl4","video_duration":"33:17","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":701,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions\/701"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}