1 Corinthians #30: an exposition of 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, August 28, 2011.
Intro:
It is the growth industry right now – “How to.” Books, television programs, infomercials, even entire networks are dedicated to it. You can get on the internet and find videos and other teaching materials for about anything you can name! How to improve your golf swing, do your own plumbing, loose weight, raise your kids, make a fortune, get out of debt – you name it you can find it. The interesting thing is they all say the same thing – “It’s easy!” Really? You just have to follow their easy 5-step program. Funny, it’s never as easy as they say. Sometimes we, in the church, fall into the same trap. You want to grow in Christ? You want to be His disciple? It’s easy just follow these five steps. The problem is – its not easy. Faith is difficult, frustrating and often discouraging. The life of faith is “messy.” It doesn’t fit into nice, neat categories. There are no shortcuts and it requires faith.
How does the Bible define faith? The evidence of things you cannot see; the substance of things hoped for. The life of faith is filled with bumps and bruises, skinned knees and smashed fingers. To make matters worse I have to do it with other people. We are called to live the faith together. I need you and you need me. And we’re both going to mess it up and that’s okay. The sooner we recognize that the better. We’re all stumbling towards holiness. If you don’t believe me just pick up the book and read. Start anywhere you like. Old Testament or New, you are going to find flawed, broken people struggling to live as God intends. At times they succeed. Sometimes they fail. Most of the time they are somewhere in between. “Boy pastor, have you had a rough week? You’re sounding a little cynical.” No. I’ve just spent too long trying to live up to an unrealistic understanding of what the life of faith looks like.
Sometime in the mid 50’s the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. The church in Corinth was one mixed up group of believers. Their problem ranged from immaturity to immorality and about everything in between. Yet Paul addressed them as “saints.” Set apart ones. Those in whom the Spirit of God dwelt. They had been set apart by the work of the Spirit marked as the genuine people of God but you wouldn’t know it to look at them. I’m encouraged by that. Don’t misunderstand – Paul did not look at their immature and immoral ways and say, “That’s okay folks. Nobody’s perfect.” No, he said, “Grow up!” He said, “You’re the people of God and you better start acting like it.” In fact the first 14 chapters are taken up with addressing errant behavior on the part of the congregation. Chapter 15 address errant doctrine. Then he ends the letter with a call to godly living. I want to conclude our look at this book with just a brief word focused on just two verses.
Text: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
He begins the chapter by reminding them of the offering he is collecting (1-4).
There we learn about giving:
Its a regular part of worship
All are expected to give
Our giving is to be primarily through the church
It is to be proportional
Then he advices them about his travel plans (5-9).
Ask them to look out for and take care of Timothy when he comes through (10-11).
Then there are some final words and concluding greetings (12-24).
I want to focus on his words in 13-14.
Here Paul gives 5 keys to steadfast faithfulness.
Five things to aim at.
Characteristics that will aid your growth in the things of God.
- To be steadfast demands that we be spiritually alert. (16:13)
- To be steadfast demands we be firm in the faith. (16:13)
- Steadfastness demands maturity. (16:13)
- Steadfastness demands strength. (16:13)
- Steadfastness demands that we love. (16:14)
Conclusion
Living the faith is not easy. We will struggle along this path until we reach our heavenly home. As we struggle toward holiness let’s set our eyes on these sign posts:
- Be alert
- Be firm
- Be mature
- Be strong
- Be loving