Sunday School Lesson for July 27, 2014: Seek the Good of Others (1 Corinthians 14:13-26)

Philippians 2:5
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

1 Corinthians 14:1
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

I’ve learned a lot in the several weeks about the church in Corinth. The topical teaching in I Corinthians is so in depth that this book serves as foundational instruction for a number of different themes within the study of Christianity. However, there is an overarching theme to the book of I Corinthians that I’ve previously overlooked. The Corinthians were a church divided. That division threatened to destroy; to completely destroy the fellowship of this body of believers. Paul’s desire in penning this letter was to prevent this fellowship, this church from breaking up.

Paul was addressing a church that was severely broken, and that not in a good, spiritual way. I’ve used the analogy that: the Corinthian church could be compared to a car that breaks down during a long road trip. You’re traveling with your family on a long trip and suddenly it breaks down. You don’t abandon the car (if possible). Duct tape and bailing wire are required to get you, your family and your car safely to a place where the car can be fully and correctly repaired. Your goal is to get safely to a mechanic. You won’t be driving the speed limit, probably something well below, and you won’t, with duct tape and bailing wire holding your car together, try to make it to your planned destination… unless it’s closer than the closest repair shop. In essence, the chief priority is to save the car, not to completely ruin it by trying to get it to your destination in spite of its dire need for repair.

Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

1 Corinthians 14:2
For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.

          It is this vein that Paul proffers this passage on the use of the gifts of tongues and prophecy within the confines of the local assembly during worship. I believe that Paul was confronted with written evidence and firsthand accounts of behavior in the church that was so completely counter to what would be considered normal, expected behavior in church, that he was moved to take strong measures to correct a lot of abhorrent behavior. How was that being demonstrated in the use of spiritual gifts? It was being demonstrated by the spiritual gifts being used in a prideful, contentious, competitive manner between factions of the believers against one another. Some of the believers had become so high minded, they were ‘using’ their ‘gifts’ to somehow demonstrate that they were more spiritual than some of their less esteemed brothers and sisters.

1 Corinthians 14:27
If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.

1 Corinthians 14:29
Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.

          The verses above indicate that there was error in the way that both the gifts of tongues and the gifts of prophecy were being used in a contentious manner that did not edify the congregation at large. So then, Paul is not trying to eliminate spiritual gifts from worship, but rather, it seems his intent is to establish guidelines for a church in dire trouble.

1 Corinthians 14:5
I would like every one of you to speak in tongues…

1 Corinthians 14:18
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

Jude 1:20
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

          Paul makes it clear that he doesn’t have any issue with the gift of tongues. After all, when one speaks in tongues, he edifies himself. He builds himself up in faith. He strengthens his spirit (! Cor. 14:4). For those of us who are called ‘charismatics’, it is this principle that encourages us. We want to build ourselves up in faith. However, there have to be boundaries set within the corporate worship environment. The gift of tongues should not be ‘lorded’ over others. Loud, insistent, seemingly disordered ‘praying in the Spirit’ can disrupt a service or ‘invade’ the personal atmosphere of a fellow worshipper.

          People sometimes come to church with the weight of the world on their shoulders. They don’t come to be spiritually assaulted, not even if your only intent was just to show off your ‘spiritual gifts’. Church should always be an oasis of healing in the spiritual and emotional desert that life can sometimes surround us with. In the corporate church environment, we should be mindful of the spiritual wellbeing of those we worship with. With that in mind, pray silently. Or rather, pray in tongues silently. You will still be speaking to yourself and to God. You will still be building yourself up in the faith.

1 Corinthians 14:39
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

1 Corinthians 14:28
If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.

          In regards to our corporate worship experience, the key ingredient should be LOVE. That’s not so hard to figure out is it. If people who visit our congregations are impressed by the Love that is expressed in our warmth and genuine concern for one another, then we can be the magnet of hope that is so needed in these last days. We need to be a magnet to the lost and the weak, to the fatherless and the widows, to the sick and the wounded. That is the great task that we, the Church, are commissioned with.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Mark 16:15
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Mark 16:17
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

Selah

.wb

See the video at http://youtu.be/82mQdYRuLlI?list=UUUg4PiFZaHV3h4tK084kxgQ

Sunday School Lesson for July 20, 2014: Overcome Temptation ((1 Corinthians 10:1-22) (23-33 added))

Numbers 21:5
they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

Numbers 14:36
So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it—

                “I’m just going to give them a piece of my mind.” That about where it starts,. A little self-righteousness, a little righteous indignation and suddenly… we’re outside of the will of God… and don’t even know it. Figuratively speaking, we’ve just locked the keys in the car with the motor running and we don’t even realize it. There are four areas of sin that Paul points out in this week’s lesson: Idolatry, sexual immorality, testing the Lord (complaining against God’s provision: manna from Heaven) and murmuring: they gave a bad report concerning the Promised Land that God had sent the twelve spies into. What we fail to realize is how significant our words are in the sight of God. That Paul includes murmuring and / or gossiping in his given examples to the Corinthian church serves as an indicator of how  serious this category of sin is. Couple that to the fact that gossip and murmuring so easily beset us. It only takes an idle word to find yourself fully engaged in this area of sin. It is no small matter.

Romans 1:29
They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

          But Paul tells us that God gives us the power to just say no. If we will submit our members, including the smallest of members; the tongue to the Holy Spirit, we can overcome. Paul encourages the believers to use God’s strength to overcome temptation. Then Paul encourages to one other thing; run… turn away from sin and… run.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 Timothy 6:11
[ Final Charge to Timothy ] But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

          There are so many pitfalls we would avoid if we would do just that, avoid them. Avoid keeping company with those who don’t edify. Avoid participating in ‘harmless’, idle conversation and behavior. That is the power the Holy Ghost imbues us with, the power, not only to stand, but to flee from unrighteousness. That was a word for the Corinthian church and it’s a word for us today. At least for me, it is.

Matthew 4:7
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

2 Peter 2:9
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

          When we think so highly of ourselves that we think that we are impervious to sin, so that we participate in it without conscience or conviction, the Bible tells us that we literally arouse the Lord, our God’s jealousy. Beloved, God is jealous for you. That speaks to the intimacy of the relationship that is available to us, if we will pursue Him with our whole heart (Shout out to Brother Eric C… Good word today). God desires nothing less than all of me… from me. In order to give Him all of myself, I have to get out of my way. Selah. Get out of your own way Beloved. Let go and let God. Let go of all of your wants and He’ll supply all of your needs. Let go of yourself (it’s not about you anyway) and He will come and abide with you and in you. If you will draw neat to Him, He will draw near to you… and love you with love that is beyond our ability to comprehend.

Ephesians 3:19
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

What shall we say then: Love God with your whole heart and flee temptation. Do this and live. Selah.

Blessings,

.wb

See the video version at: http://youtu.be/yTJ7NvOQsMQ?list=UUUg4PiFZaHV3h4tK084kxgQ

Sunday School Lesson for July 13, 2014: Exercise Freedom with Caution (1 Corinthians 8, 9)

1 Corinthians 8:1
[ Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols ] Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

          Envision a large clear glass jar or vase filled with rocks that vary in size and shape. Okay, this is not ‘that’ analogy, this is a different one. Bear with me. A large vase filled with rocks of various sizes and shapes. Each one fills an individual space within the vase and, while the jar is full to the top with these rocks, there is quite a bit of empty space within the jar that the rocks can’t completely fill in. That is what a church divided looks like, people from various educational, social and economic background all brought together by a common belief in a loving Savior, Jesus Christ. The very best we can aspire to as a local fellowship of believers is to be part of a body that includes people of different ethnicities and circumstances. In that scenario, everybody brings something different to the table. In doing so, we enhance the corporate experience with our individual background.

          Some of the big rocks in our jar at Corinth, correctly perceived that there was no harm in eating meat sacrificed to idols, but they incorrectly argued that if they could do so, so could their brothers and sisters of weaker conscience. Beloved, when next you attend church, look around you. In most cases, you see polished people wearing their Sunday best. However, you can’t possibly know what they’ve been though, what exactly they’ve been delivered out of. Subsequently, you can’t know where their ‘stopping point’ is. How much of any one thing can they stand, when it may have been that very thing that tormented them in their life before Christ?

          A moment of transparency: The Lord delivered me from alcohol. I used to like to drink…a lot. When Jesus saved me, He literally took the taste of alcohol out of my mouth. I may struggle with various kinds of sin, just like any believer. However, I don’t struggle with alcohol. I haven’t had a drink in twenty seven years. Thank you Jesus!

1 Corinthians 8:10
For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?

Proverbs 17:9
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

          I know as well as anyone that an occasional drink in social settings would not be harmful, but you know what? How would an occasional drink in social settings affect a brother or a sister who has struggled with alcohol before coming to Christ? Especially if they’ve heard my testimony, “I was delivered from alcohol”. Can you see how I might cause a ‘weaker’ brother or sister to stumble be cause of my ‘freedom’ in Christ? What would be the better response?

1 Corinthians 8:12
When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Matthew 25:40
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

          Beloved, we absolutely hold on to the promise in Matthew that ‘ what we do for least among us, we do for Christ. Are you aware, that when you cause the least regarded among you to stumble, you sin against the Lord? How then, ought we to treat those among us who aren’t as strong as we?

1 Corinthians 12:31
Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

          Back to our ‘vase’ analogy. Jesus desires to fill in all the gaps in our vase. He wants to close the gaps between us. He pours Himself into us and around us. We are filled with His Spirit and His love. What if, at every opportunity, we build one another up, we encourage one another, we defend one another? How much more powerful would our churches become if we concentrated our focus and effort on what makes us one with Christ, instead of allowing our differences to divide us and cause us to devolve into mere humanness? I can envision a dynamic vibrant church that the lost will flock to, looking for the eternal hope that Christ promises. Jesus envisions that too. A church fueled by His Spirit and driven by His love. Selah.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

.wb

See the video at: http://youtu.be/LamU5DgiMms

Sunday School Lesson for July 6, 2014: Glorify God with Your Body (1 Corinthians 6:12—7:40)

          Let’s talk about sex. Sex outside of marriage: bad. Sex within the bounds and commitment of marriage: Good. Simple and plain. No asterisks, No conditional clauses. Thank God.

1 Corinthians 6:12a
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial….

Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

          Thank God? Absolutely. Thank God that Paul had the opportunity to write this letter of correction to the church at Corinth. Otherwise, us church folk would just make it as we go along. And in doing so, we would end of with some of anything and everything in the Church. O wait. That describes a number of ‘churches’ in this present age. In this age of moral relativism, where truth is ‘whatever I want it to be’. See, thank God for Paul’s letter to the Church of Corinth. In it, we have God’s Word, in fact, God’s final Word on certain behaviors within the church.

1 Corinthians 6:12b
... “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.

Genesis 4:7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

          Point and counterpoint. In this first verse Paul offers a rebuke to a common saying of the Corinthian church patrons, “I have the right to do anything”. Sadly, this saying reflects a misconception of Paul’s teaching on the concept of Salvation by Grace. Beloved, whatever God delivered you from, don’t go back. Leave it and leave it outside of church. Make no mistake, sin will absolutely enslave you. You have the opportunity, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to be free of the pain and torment the sin can exact. This is not a game of ‘Dare’. Stay away from sin,

1 Corinthians 6:13
You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

          …. particularly sexual sin. Paul confronts another half truth that is really not truth at all. There is a hint of gnosticism in the verse above. Briefly, gnostics believed in a complete separation of the spirit of man and the body of man. However, they mistakenly concluded that no matter what you did in the body, there were no spiritual consequences. That led to a further mistaken belief that God was not interested in resurrecting the carnal bodies that we currently inhabit. Paul gets a two’fer in his response. Two responses to the misconception propagated by this gnostic thinking. One: God cares about the body you reside in. Two: that body should not be used for the purpose of self-gratification  alone, but to honor god in all that we engage it in.

1 Corinthians 6:15
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

John 14:20
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

          Paul delivers another two’fer. Your physical body belongs to Christ. You should not engage in sexual sin. Never. Let’s explore both. Paul’s first point reinforces the Christian teaching that God resides in the believer. Beloved, Jesus lives in you. God lives in you. The Holy Spirit lives in you. The possibilities are without end. The very force that hurled the stars throughout the universe at a Word, that same force live, resides in you. His name is Jesus. Rejoice!

Genesis 2:24
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

1 Corinthians 6:16
Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”

1 Corinthians 6:17
But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

          The other point that Paul wants to make is simply, if God resides in you, He (God) does not want to be joined with (sexually) someone whom He is not in covenant with.. Hey believer, sex is not a witnessing tool. (Selah) No excuses. No exceptions. Sex is a gift from God to be experienced within the confines of marriage between a man and a woman, preferably both of whom are Christians.. Was that clear enough?

Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

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So then, what should be the attitude of the believer?

1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

Genesis 39:9
No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Genesis 39:12
She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

          Don’t deceive yourself for a minute. God has not called you to ‘stand’ in the face of sexual temptation. God has called you to flee from it. Don’t put yourself in intimate situations with members of the opposite sex without some kind of accountability mechanism in place. Social and business situations occur that call for interaction with members of the opposite sex, but in short.. keep it clean. God doesn’t want to be in that, nor does He want that for you. For those of you that are single… wait. Save yourself for the woman or man that God has ordained for you, who is willing to marry you in order to be with you.. It will be well worth the wait.

1 Corinthians 6:20
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

          Beloved, we were purchased with the precious blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord. That is no small thing. We are not our own. We belong to God. Whether we regard ourselves as servants or as children, the mechanism that transformed us from sinner to saint, that commuted us from death unto life was the precious blood of Jesus. He loved us so much that He gave Himself for us… He literally died for us so that we could live in Him. Don’t under value the gift within you. Flee immorality, especially sexual immorality.

Selah!

.wb

All… you can see the video at: http://youtu.be/IzjvrZGfIEI

Blessings!