The Plowman

 

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An exposition of 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, September 26, 2010.

Introduction
Quarrel’n, fued’n, fuss’n and fight’n it’s just part of life.  We grew up in it.  We live in it and around it.  We participate in it.  And it starts early.  That beautiful sweet baby can kick up a huge fuss when she doesn’t get her way.  Well, that’s not true of my granddaughter but I’ve seen it in yours!  You’ve watch kids fight over a toy.  As kids grow they perfect the art of fighting.  Young boys eventually fight every other boy on the block because you have to find out who’s in charge.  As boys and girls progress to young men and young ladies they spar over boyfriends and girlfriends.  They learn the subtle art of sabotage and misdirection.  Husbands and wives fight.  Political parties fight.  Nations fight to the point of going to war.  Unfortunately the church is not immune from such disharmony.  At times it seems the favorite dish of the Baptists is “the church split!”  It’s not uncommon when traveling through the South to find more Baptist churches than there are people!  I heard about a man who was found on a deserted island after 15 years.  He had built three structures.  When asked what they were he said, “Well that one over there is my house.  That one is my church.”  When asked about the other building he said in disgust, “That’s my old church.”  No doubt he was Baptist.

We laugh but it is the nervous laugh of uncomfortable truth.  We know from the clear teaching of Scripture and from the inward witness of the Spirit that such quarreling is unacceptable in the sight of our God.  Yet we struggle.  We struggle because the church is not perfect and it never will be this side of glory because it is made up of people like you and me.  Frail children of dust.  Broken, flawed, sinful stumbling toward perfection by the work of God in us.  At the heart of sin is self-will.  A longing or desire to have all things “my way.”  Selfishness is the source of most of the strife and division within the church.  A divided church is not just a less than ideal situation - it is an affront to God.  It is a sin.  A fractured church robs the Christian of joy, robs God of glory, and it robs the world of the true testimony of the Gospel.

The psalmist declared, “How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1).  Unity that is the biblical aim.  Unity is a condition of harmony.  All the various parts working together.  It is the quality or the state of being made one.

Paul, in AD 56, took pen in hand, while in Ephesus and wrote to the church in Corinth.  He had spent a year and a half in Corinth laboring for the Gospel.  In the heart of that pagan, wicked, immoral city - a church was born.  It is clear from the letter this was one mixed up bunch.  Yet he addressed them as those who had been sanctified and called to be holy.  Those who have been marked as belonging to Christ, declared holy and pure because of Christ’s righteousness and those expected to live holy lives.  His letter is an appeal to godly living.  The basis of his appeal is laid out in 1:1-9.  The grace of God enriches them in every way, empowers them for life and service and establishes them in eternity.  And starting with verse 10 he begins to address the problems within the church.  Our text is found in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17.

Text
1 Corinthians 1:10-17

It is significant to note that given all the problems in the church at Corinth this is the one he addresses first.  It is an issue of first importance.  I’m just not sure we would put that on the front burner.  Or we might say, “Just start another church.”  If you’re not happy, things aren’t going your way, maybe you just need to move on - Paul says, deal with what is causing your divisions and come to a position of unity.  There is no place for ego here.  It’s not about you.  It’s not about me.  It is about the gospel.  Why is this so critical?  A divided church has nothing to say to a fragmented world.  When we are feuding and fighting what does that say about the power of the gospel to make us one?

A divided church sends a confusing message to the community.

I want you to note three things about unity from this text.

1. Unity requires doctrinal agreement.  (9:10)
2. Biblical unity rules out partisan loyalties.  (9:11-12)
3. Unity demands that your allegiance belongs to Christ alone!

 

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An exposition of Ecclesiastes 9:1-18. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, September 26, 2010.

Introduction
We live in a complex, complicated world.  The economy, world events, political unrest, and climate issues are only part of it.  You must add to the equation interpersonal relationships, family issues, strained marriages, wayward children and the redefining of what makes a family.  Did I mention health issues?  Of course no one knows what’s going to happen to health insurance or the quality of medical care.  Then we have to decide what is “truth.”  Is there really any such thing as truth?  What about religion?  Does it really matter what you believe?  Isn’t it enough that you believe?  These are complicated issues.  They require a great deal of thought.  It takes time to work through them and come to a reasonable decision but I don’t have time!  “I’ve got work, we’ve got ball games, school, piano lessons, cheerleading, dance recitals, I’ve got that business trip coming up, we’ve put off that little remodeling job too long as it is, I don’t know when we are going to get a chance to take some time off, then there’s the…” and so it goes endlessly.  Then tragedy strikes.  A life ended.  In the darkness of our grief we are left to wonder, “What is the meaning of it all?”

Our text this morning is found in the 9th chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes.

Text
Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

To live in faith is not to live in denial.  It is not to live and act as if all is well.  Faith does not require that I refuse to recognize the reality that surrounds me.  Quite the opposite.  It demands that I take a good hard look at the world as it is and cling to the certainty that God is good and God is sovereign.  The Preacher forces us to see life in this book.  He doesn’t sugarcoat it.  He doesn’t twist or tweak it, he says, “There it is.  Look at it.  Understand that if you choose to deny the existence of God and you refuse to live by His rules - this is it.  There is nothing more.  Life is an empty, vain experience.  But if you look to God in faith this is not the end of the story.  If you are His, not only does He give all things but He gives you the ability to enjoy life.”

As we come to chapter 9…

Thesis
The words of the Preacher remind us of the simple, yet profound truths of the Christian Gospel.

Please understand the difference between simple and easy.

To be simple means that it is not complicated.  It is to be straightforward and easy to grasp or understand.  That does not mean it is easy to live by.  It does not mean that there will be no problems along the way.  Those of you who play golf know that the game is simple.  Hit this ball until it goes into that hole.  But it is not an easy game to play!  I can’t even hold the club.

According to the Preacher life is pretty simple really.
He boils it down to three things in this chapter.

1. Death is unavoidable.  (9:1-6)
2. Life is unpredictable.  (9:11-18)
3. We trust God, live by faith and enjoy whatever blessings God gives us.  (9:7-10)

Thus the words of the Preacher remind us of the simple, yet profound truths of the Christian Gospel.

 

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An exposition of 1 Corinthians 1:4-9. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, September 19, 2010.

Introduction
Every now and then someone says to me, “I wish we could just get back to the simplicity and purity of the early church.”  That sounds nice doesn’t it?  It would be nice to strip away all of the unnecessary clutter that has accumulated over 2000 years.  Bloated bureaucracies and denominational structures have no doubt muddied the waters.  Every time I get a mailing from the state or national convention pushing the latest program or imploring us to increase our Cooperative Program percentage I breath a sigh and wonder how the church ever got along without Oklahoma City or Nashville.  When I hear of a church who did something new and wonderful - by getting out in the neighborhood and helping the people of the community through a “weekend of sharing” I wonder, “Do you really have to have a program to do that?”  Can you not love and serve your fellowman without a slogan, a scheduled day and six weeks of preparation?  You probably can’t tell that I’ve grown a bit cynical, I hide it so well.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we just lived our faith?  Wouldn’t it be nice if we allowed the Scripture to mold and shape our lives.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we simply sought to live out our faith together?  It think that is what most mean by “getting back to the simplicity and purity of the early church.”  But there are those who think that time has corrupted the church.  They really do think that the early church was a pristine environment.  That in the original blush of the coming of the Spirit those early followers of Christ didn’t struggle with the stuff we face.  If you think that way you haven’t read the story.  You’ve not looked closely at the book of Acts or the epistles.  The story of the early church is filled with pettiness, sin, corruption, division, strife and scandal.  Come to think of it if you want a return to the early church…I think we’re there!

The church is made up of people.  Frail children of dust, the fallen sons and daughters of Adam so it has always been less than perfect.  Given that the church of today looks a lot like the church of the first century maybe we ought to see what God had to say to them and consider how it applies to us.  I can think of no better place to look than the church at Corinth.

Some Background
Corinth was an important city in the first century.  Because of it’s location on that narrow strip of land separating the Aegean and the Mediterranean Sea it was a leading commercial center of the day.  Good’s and services passed through Corinth connecting East and West.  Rebuilt as a Roman city by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. Corinth, by the time of Jesus, had become a bustling metropolitan area comprised of many cultures and religions.  Corinth was infamous for its immorality and paganism.  In fact it became a verb.  “To corinthianize” was to engage in evil and immoral acts.  It’s population numbered 700,000, half of whom were slaves.  At the center of its life and culture was the temple to Aphrodite, goddess of love, with its 1,000 sacred temple prostitutes.  It was to this large, teeming, corrupt city Paul came on his second missionary journey to establish a church (Acts 18).  Later, from the city of Ephesus, Paul wrote to this struggling congregation to address some of the issues plaguing it.  This evening we begin a look at Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth.

Text
1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Written by the apostle Paul.
From Ephesus - AD 56
Wilkinson and Boa divide the book into three large sections:

• Divisions - 1:1-4:21
• Disorder - 5:1-6:20
• Difficulties - 7:1-16:24

I’m convinced the book of 1 Corinthians is helpful for us because it gives us insights into a church called out of and seeking to minister to a pagan society.  A society very much like what we are living in today - commercially motivated (it’s about money), highly sexualized, and anything goes.

In our text Paul reminds the corinthian believers and us that…

Thesis
God abundantly provides the believers’ every need by His marvelous grace.

Three things…

1. The grace of God enriches the believer in every way.  (1:4-6)
2. The grace of God enables the believer for service and for living.  (1:7)
3. The grace of God establishes the believer in eternity.  (1:8-9)

 

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An exposition of Ecclesiastes 8:1-17. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, September 19, 2010.

Introduction
Do you find balance difficult?  I don’t mean physical balance.  I’m not talking about if you have some inner ear problem that throws your equilibrium off or some other malady that affects your motor skills, I mean a balanced perspective.  I’m talking about the way you view the world or the way you interpret data.  It seems to me that balance is lacking most everywhere.  One news channel claims to be “fair and balanced” which is good marketing.  It certainly sounds better than “mostly fair and hardly ever unbalanced!”  Yet it seems to me we mostly choose up sides and take pot shots at each other.  In terms of our faith we are more interested in winning arguments than we are in seeking truth.  It even affects the way we understand and define our doctrine.  For instance, to say I believe in the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty is not to say my favorite song is “Que Sera, Sera.  Whatever Will Be, Will Be.”  Such a frivolous attitude is no substitute for the biblical doctrine.  To believe in God’s sovereignty is to believe that God rules over all things.  It means that I see the hand of God in everything.  That doesn’t mean I like everything that goes on.  It doesn’t mean that I happily embrace every experience but rather that I have confidence that the will of God is going to be accomplished on the earth.  Such a belief does not require me to ignore or deny what is happening around me.  I do not wear blinders, nor do I wear rose-colored glasses.  A biblical faith demands that I honestly assess the world around me in the light of Word of God.  That balance is crucial for understanding the message of the Preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Qoheleth, the preacher, is taking an honest look at his life.  He is taking stock of what he has experienced and what that experience has taught him but he is doing so - not from his own, limited understanding - but in light of what God has revealed.  Careful observation and biblical revelation bring him to this understanding.  His understanding is life under the sun (that is life apart from God) is an ugly business.  It is a vain, empty pursuit.  It is existence it is not living.  So this book is about joy and where you can find it.  It is about God giving us good things and the ability to enjoy them.  Our text this morning is found in the 8th chapter of Ecclesiastes.

Text: Ecclesiastes 8:1-17

The Preacher deals with some difficult subjects in our text.

• He deals with the power of unjust rulers.
• He deals with rampant injustice as the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer.
• He deals with our inability to comprehend or make sense of it all.
• He is not singing, “Que Sera, Sera.”
• He’s not jumping off a bridge either.
• He is facing reality in confidence and faith.

As we make our way through this chapter we are reminded that…

Thesis
Joy demands an honest assessment of life as we know it and an unshakable confidence in God’s good and sovereign rule.

There are three things I want to point out in our text.

1. The joyful seek to use discretion when responding to injustice and recognize the limits of governmental authority.  (8:1-9)
2. The joyful know that ultimately justice prevails and that unrighteousness faces sure and certain doom.  (8:10-13)
3. The joyful accept their limitations and leave the end of all things in the hands of a good and sovereign God.  (8:14-17)

Conclusion
We live in a fallen world.  This is not the world God made.  This is the distorted corruption of His good creation.  In this world evil, wicked things happen.  What are we to do?  How are we to know joy?  Joy is God’s gift to His people and…

Joy demands an honest assessment of life as we know it and an unshakable confidence in God’s good and sovereign rule.

 

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An exposition of Psalm 55:1-23. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, September 12, 2010.

Introduction
It is a story that is as old as time.  Yet its pain is real and devastating.  Is there an ugly concept than betrayal?  Is there anything that hurts as bad as being betrayed by a trusted friend?  We’ve all experienced it to a degree.  Its starts early when your best friend refused to pick you to be on his team just because you can’t run very fast.  When you’re a kid that is devastating.  As you grow older the situations become more intense and the pain is increased.  In junior high or high school you “opened up” to a trusted friend and revealed your darkest secrets only to have them broadcast throughout the school.  You were embarrassed that everyone knew - but worse you were hurt because your friend stabbed you in the back.  It may be that you have known the betrayal of a spouse or you’ve been the victim of office politics and your best friend got your promotion.  We all know something of the pain of being betrayed and so we identify with David in Psalm 55.  Psalms 52, 54 and 55 have something in common.  Each involves David’s betrayal by some person or group.  In Psalm 52 he is betrayed by Doeg, Saul’s chief shepherd.  In Psalm 54 he is betrayed by his own countrymen.  In Psalm 55 David experiences the pain of betrayal by a trusted friend.

Text: Psalm 55:1-23

There has been some speculation as to who this friend was.  Some suggest that it was Ahithophel David’s most trusted counselor who sided with David’s son Absalom during Absalom’s rebellion.  The story is recorded in 2 Samuel 15-17 but the circumstances surrounding that betrayal do not seem to fit with the words of this Psalm.  We are not given any clues in the title and we must remember that Scripture does not include everything David did or every relationship he had.  The bottom line is we don’t know who the betrayer was or in what context it occurred.

But as we walk through the Psalm together I think we learn a valuable lesson for those times when we feel the sting of betrayal.

Thesis: In times of great upheaval and crushing betrayal, the righteous find refuge in the covenant-keeping God.

This Psalm is divided into three stanzas.

1. The righteous instinctively turn to God in times of great trouble.  (55:1-8)
2. The righteous passionately plead for God’s intervention.  (55:9-15)
3. Ultimately the righteous submit to God’s sovereign rule.  (55:16-22)

Conclusion:
David expresses the same sentiments as Peter in 1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Casting your cares upon him enables you to be steadfast.  David says there are at least three reasons for why you should trust God.

• He will sustain you.
• He will never let the righteous fall.
• He will bring down the wicked.

What do you do when all hell breaks loose in your life?  Flee to Christ.  Find peace and comfort in the God who is faithful.  The righteous find refuge in the covenant-keeping God.

 

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An exposition of Ecclesiastes 7:1-29. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on September 12, 2010.

Introduction
I don’t know if you’ve noticed this but life stinks.  Life is hard.  It’s frustrating and irritating.  Life is confusing and unsettling and just when you think you have a few answers “they” change the questions!  The preacher’s not going to get any argument from me, in fact he’s going to get a hearty, “Amen!” for his insights.  Life under the sun is a vain, meaningless, monotonous existence.  Oh it has its moments.  There are those times, however fleeting, of joy and excitement it’s just that they do not last and when the good time is over I’m worse off then when the party began.  Life, apart from God, is an ugly business.  If you begin with the understanding that there is no God, there is no reality beyond this life, that life is whatever you can make of it here and now - then there is no meaning ultimately.  King Solomon looked back over a lifetime and said, “Vanity of Vanity!  All is vanity!”  Pointless.  Hopeless.  It all amounts to “striving after the wind.”  Even if you catch it - what do you have to show for it?  Nothing.  Now, before you conclude that Solomon was some burned-out, depressed, failed monarch with a gun to his head - you need to know this was not the end of the matter for the preacher.  The book of Ecclesiastes is not a suicide note.  It is a book about real, lasting, profound joy and where you can find it.

Joy is God’s gift to His people.  Joy is the fruit of trusting wholly in God’s character and work.  It is resting in his providence to the extent that you find joy even in life’s darkest, most difficult hour because you know God is in control of all things.  I’m not talking about a sentimental, surface level happiness with a pasted on smile but a deep, rich, abiding joy anchored in the presence of a good and sovereign God.   In chapter 6 Solomon makes it clear that prosperity is not necessarily a blessing and in chapter 7 he is going to show that adversity is not necessarily a curse.  Our text this morning is the 7th chapter of Ecclesiastes.

Text
Ecclesiastes 7:1-29

The preacher says some things in this chapter that seem extraordinary.  There are a couple of places you may have to reread to make sure he said what you thought he said.  The first 13 verses read like a lost chapter of Proverbs.  At first glance they may seem like Bizarro Proverbs, “Surely he can’t mean that.”  He does mean it and it is very helpful for godly living.

As we explore this chapter we discover that…

Thesis
The godly embrace wisdom and find perspective, clarity and strength to face life’s great challenges.

I want to point out three things from our text.

1. Wisdom brings perspective.  (7:1-10)
   Sorrow is better than laughter - (1-4)
   Rebuke is better than praise - (5-6)
   The long haul is better than the short cut - (7-9)
   Today is better than yesterday - (10)
2. Wisdom brings clarity.  (7:11-18)
   In 7:11-12 the preacher informs us that wisdom is better than a generous inheritance.
   7:13-15 remind us we are to see God’s hand in all things.
   7:16-18 - - we are to fear God.
3. Wisdom gives strength to face life’s harsh realities.  (7:19-29)
   The universal ruin of sin - (20, 26-29)
   To see my own wickedness - 7:21-22
   To admit my inability to grasp the meaning of all that God is doing in the world - 7:23-25

 

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An exposition of Ecclesiastes 6:1-12. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, September 5, 2010.

Introduction
It is as old as the Garden.  It is what tripped up our original parents - the sense that I’m missing out on something.  That there is more out there.  There is something that if I could just get my hands on it I would be genuinely happy.  Even when I have all my needs met, I’m satisfied, my life is in a good place, I can easily be conned into believing real life is just over there.  When I learn that someone has something I don’t have…I want it.  I don’t even know what it is but I got to have it.  While most of us would never admit it, we think that wealth brings fulfillment.  That’s why we read People magazine and want to peer into the lives of the “rich and famous.”  “Wow, it must be nice to have that kind of cash.”  “He’s guaranteed how many million whether he plays or not?”  “I don’t know what he’s complaining about I’d gladly trade places with him.”  We end up envying the most miserable people on the face of the earth!  It would be foolish of me to stand up here and say that the rich and powerful have no joy.  It would be foolish because you know I’d be lying.  Of course they have joy.  Of course they enjoy themselves and their wealth provide them opportunities and pleasure most of us will never know but that does not ensure satisfaction in life.  That does not guarantee lasting joy or fulfillment.  To be sure wealth in and of itself is not the problem.  Godly people through the ages have been wealthy and greatly blessed of God.  Wealth, power and influence are not inherently evil at the same time we must acknowledge that they do not inherently prove satisfactory.

Our problem is our scales are off.  As we weigh the evidence the results are skewed because the scales have not been zeroed out.  They are weighted it favor of wealth.  That’s because we view everything from our limited, finite perspective.  We live and think in the immediate rather than the eternal.  The preacher is trying to bring some perspective.  He hammers his message home again and again and again and again until we want to shout, “Enough already!”  The reason he is so persistent in his message is because he knows we really don’t believe it.  He knows that because he didn’t believe it.  Solomon is near the end of his life.  After careful analysis he is saying, “This is what I’ve learned.”  Solomon is like most of us he is thinking, “I wish someone had told me this when I was younger.”  The truth is someone was telling him this he just wasn’t listening.  We don’t listen because we don’t want to hear it - but hear it we must.  Our text this morning is found in Ecclesiastes chapter 6.

Text: Ecclesiastes 6:1-12

Keep in mind the book is about joy - real, lasting, robust, resilient joy - and where to find it.
It is not found in intellectual pursuits.
It is not found in abandonment to pleasure.
It cannot be had through personal achievement, the acquisition of power or the accumulation of stuff.

It is the gift of God to His people.

Chapter six is a discouraging chapter.  It is down right depressing.  If you pull chapter six from its context and read it outside of the preacher’s whole message you would have to conclude life is a dead end street.  Life is hard and then you die - have a good day!

You must read it in the context of the preacher’s whole message.  When you do so you understand that…

Thesis
The persistent warning of the preacher underscores the necessity of faith in Christ.

The whole of the book comes down to this - life apart from God is a vain thing.  Therefore fear God and keep His commandments.

In our text the preacher sounds three warnings.

• The preacher warns of the devastation of a full yet empty life.  (6:1-6)
• The preacher warns of the disastrous effects of discontentment.  (6:8-9)
• The preacher warns of the utter despair of a godless life.  (6:10-12)

Conclusion
Life is a dead end street.  There is no meaning.  There is no ultimate purpose.  Life is whatever you can make it here and now.  Life apart from God is a vain, worthless existence.  The Gospel is  the good news that there is life eternal and abundant.  It is a life that transforms from glory unto glory and it is yours by the grace of God.

 

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A Wednesday-evening Bible study from Genesis 32:22-32. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on September 1, 2010.