Handling The Church With Kid Gloves - [1 Corinthians 3:16-23]

Well, I'm not going to do this today, but it's interesting as I was reading the account of Christ this morning in Luke 14

When there began to have a lot of when there a lot of people began to follow Jesus He'd always preached to them a sermon about count the costs because he had to whittle down the size of the congregation

So they knew what it really meant to follow Jesus Christ. And so as we grow once in a while We'll have to have those sermons.

What does it really mean to follow Christ Jesus, but that's not this morning So take your

Bibles, please and open to 1st Corinthians We are going verse by verse through the book of 1st Corinthians and we're coming to a passage today that I call an obvious passage

An obvious truth. It's like a moment. They go that's obvious Everyone can see that yet God and his infinite wisdom knows that we need to be reminded of this truth

And it's a it's a warning passage, but it's obvious and we are a forgetful people

And so we need to be reminded what God says about Himself his son and his church, but as you're turning there

I found a few warning labels that were real But they were from the file of obvious since that's going to be the passage today and it's truth.

It's just so obvious warning on a real package a real warning label this product can burn eyes and I found it on a curling iron

Do not use while sleeping it was actual a sign on a hairdryer This one's for Scott walked in do not eat toner on a toner cartridge for a laser printer

Caution shoots rubber bands on a product called rubber band shooter simple

Do not iron clothes on body Warning wearing this garment does not enable you to fly on a child -sized

Superman costume Warning may contain nuts on a package of peanuts

The one I found the most interesting of all was do not put in mouth found on a box of pop bottle rocket fireworks

Okay, I'll give you another one the contents of this bottle should not be fed to fish On a bottle of dog shampoo, you know,

I never start off with humor So I want you to know the knife's coming this is just to get you relaxed and you are in so much trouble today

Hardy har har laugh all you can for use on animals only on An electric cattle prod.

Here's the warning label that comes on Christ's blood -bought

Church warning handle with care handle with kid gloves

Be careful how you treat the local bride because it is the bride of Christ If you turn your

Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 3 We're going to see that warning today fleshed out in chapter 3 verses 18 through 23

Paul is dealing with the carnal church a sinful church a church that says I think

I like the wisdom of the world So much that we should run our church that way

Whatever is hot in the business world Let's use in the church, whatever wisdom is available at the higher institutions of learning

Let's use that in the church and Paul has to correct them and he tells them from the get -go

This is all about a crucified Savior. That doesn't seem in the world's eyes too wise.

I Mean after all, can you imagine a man crucified naked tortured for hours on a tree in?

Calvary 2 ,000 years ago what you think about him determined your fate forever and ever and ever

What kind of sense does that make? and so Paul systematically is going to go through the the book in 1st

Corinthians and try to encourage the Church with truth because what you believe determines how you behave.

Did you know that? Say well, we want more practical application of this church Well, I think there is plenty of practical application

But here's where the practical application comes from what you think and what you believe

What you believe credenda determines your agenda what you do Doctrine duty belief and what?

Behavior and so he's after what you think because repentance means at its core to change your what?

Mind and if your mind has changed You'll do things commensurate with the changed mind. And so Paul's after their mind and he uses

More than monosyllabic words. He uses big words uses concepts that you have to actually think through and say

How does this fit and out of all the time he spends in 1st Corinthians? He spends the most time at this problematic church dealing with disunity

Marriages are important ministries important Spiritual gifts are important.

Would you say love is important? Sure chapter 13 love is important the resurrection

It's important, but based on the amount of verses that he spends on unity.

It seems like this is at the top of the list Because they were a

Fragmented church they were in a divided church and Paul spends chapter 1 2 3 and 4 you all know that by now on disunity and so he says

Basically be careful how you deal with the church after all the church is the bride of Christ.

I Don't know how you treated your bride when you were first married, but I think you probably treated her

Or attempted to treat her wonderfully kindly Compassionately with love didn't you and if anyone else came along that wanted to hurt your spouse?

Denigrate your spouse. I hope whether you are 6 foot 9 or 4 foot 2 you wanted to stand up for your bride

Paul had written to the church at Ephesus Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

He loved her and he gave himself up for her And so here's the question of the hour if Jesus loved the church so much that he laid down his life for her

How should you treat the church? How should you treat this church now, we're not talking about the building

I hope you don't scuff up the halls, but that's not the church if this church burned down burns down today this building

I Hope we carry on But how do you treat the church?

Each other that's the issue and I think we're not so careful When we're not thinking

Properly so this morning, let me give you two warnings from 1st Corinthians 3 18 through 23

So that you will love the church in a fashion like Christ And this will help us stay unified say

I I've heard enough about church unity I think the Corinthians probably were thinking the same thing From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride with his own blood

He bought her and for her life he died Knowing that truth.

How do you treat other people? and that's the sermon today two warnings about the local church that leaders and congregants need to put in the forefront of their mind so that we stay unified

Handling the church with kid gloves. I thought it was with kit gloves like kit

Carson Maybe but I looked it up this week kid gloves made from the skin of young goat or lamb

Became a symbol of elegance and gentility in the early eighteen hundreds

Softness and kindness handle something handle China with kid gloves. The opposite is you would take your gloves off I'm gonna take my gloves off and we're gonna wallop you

So handling the church with kid gloves warning number one God loves his church

So you ought to build it up now listen to these verses here

Verses 16 and 17. I don't know of a more powerful way to say something than Paul says it right here and it is fascinating it is

Convicting for those of you that are here today And you want to build up the church and you want to help the church and you try to say things so we might

Grow in grace and maturity great but if you're sitting here today and you're the church problem and you hop from church to church to church and you're the central problem with Gossip and factiousness and insubordination and lack of submission these verses

I hope Resonate with you because they're ferocious

Do you not know he says to the Church of Corinth that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you

If anyone destroys God's temple the local church

God will destroy him You say that again if anyone destroys

God's temple God will destroy him But God's temple is holy and you are that temple

How would you like to have Paul the Apostle come in for a guest sermon and stand up here today and say if you destroy?

The Church of God God's going to destroy you It's amazing and look at how he says it in verse 16.

Do you not know? Ten times Paul says in this book. Do you not know implying what?

You should know You should know this truth. Paul was at Corinth for how many months in Acts 18.

It's easy to remember Acts 18 18 months in Acts 18. He was there for 18 months teaching them the truth.

And what do you think he taught them? Taught them big eschatology maps and and here's the newspaper and let's put it up there and here are the seven dispensations

Let's figure it all out. I don't think Paul taught that at all I think Paul taught them things like the holiness of God the sinfulness of mankind the substitutionary atonement little or a resurrection

Paul says Church at Corinth, you know all those big temples over there in Corinth the gaudy beautiful huge temples

The pagan temples that are so big you are God's temple, even though you're sitting in some dingy dirty

Small living room with seven or eight other people Seventy or eighty other people you're the temple of God and you ought to know that he says

I Think BBC knows that truth as well and that God's Spirit dwells in you

This is between a mild rebuke and really scolding them You're gonna try to fracture

God's temple You know better You ever said that to one of your kids or as your father my father used to say this to me all the time son

You know better I've taught you you know better than that You are

God's temple now that you is plural, what does that mean later? He's going to talk about you are the temple of God.

And if you are sexually immoral, don't you know you're you're bringing God's holiness as it were with this prostitute or this undefiled this defiled

Relationship it's affecting the church. He's not saying that here. He's saying you are the temple of God you plural and That truth should make you live a certain way.

It should affect you and then he says and if you build

Let's go back to chapter 3 a little bit earlier if you build on the church with gold Silver precious stones good job.

You're helping build the local church a day We'll reveal what you've done and that'll be good. And if you build with wood hay or what?

stubble kind of shoddy work that'll do work government work Union work maybe if you're a lazy union worker,

I'm sure some union workers are not lazy, but you're building kind of just half -baked

Now he moves away from the good builders and the shoddy builders And now he says for those of you that are church wrecking balls that destroy the temple your days are done

This is not shoddy work. This is for church destroyers. And you know what? I've met church destroyers before and they think they're attacking the pastor

The elder board the deacon board the trustee board the fellowship board and they think they're trying to Personally run this person down or run them out of town and you know who they're after Ultimately who they're hurting and who they'll answer to God who hates factiousness and loves his bride and who will destroy those kind of people.

I Don't know about you, but I do not want to be on the receiving ends of receiving end of God's destruction

I Help the church. I want to keep her unified not because I want to win against another personality not because I don't like a

Certain elder I'm gonna try to run them out and do this or that but because it's Christ's bride

And it didn't even tell us how God's destroys them It doesn't say how when or anything else it just tells us why and with certainty you destroy the church by factiousness and follow me and don't follow that other person instead of saying follow

Jesus Christ the captain of our Salvation and God just hear it again. God will destroy you

How's that for a church growth sermon, but you know the good thing about our church you love the truth you want to know

People are starving for the truth Everyone in this building if you're a regular attender or member

Knows that we are a holy possession of God his bride the apple of his eye

Based not on our worthiness not on our looks and our goodness, but based on God's love and God his son laying down his life in our place dying for our sins redeeming us

Reconciling us making us friends of God if God has so loved us How ought we to love one another and not tear down?

We're the temple of God You know pagans They'd have a temple and inside the temple there'd be some little

God some little figurine some big God Some fertility God and you'd go in their temples and there was something tangible

Dagon the fish God but for the Jews They always got chastened by other people because when you go in the tabernacle or you go into the temple and you go into the

Holy of Holies What's inside the Holy of Holies? It's empty the invisible

God The invisible God there's nothing in there Paul says you are the temple of God now people we are the temple of God and when

God saves us the Holy Spirit What kind of spirit the Holy Spirit dwells in us and if God's building something don't you want to help build?

It's like the kid You know when you you your dad's out mowing the lawn and then what's the son want to do before you know it?

He wants to get one of those little plastic mowers green and yellow mowers those John Deere mowers And and he's just following the dad around I'm helping the yard

And you're thinking I just don't come over to this side because if I run over a bolt It's gonna go flying and enter into your temple, and you know you're just kind of being careful that happens

You just want to help Think my dad's building this and I got to hammer in a few nails and what

I didn't see was After I hammered in the nail crookedly dad had to pull it out and redo it, but I was apart

I wouldn't help build If you wanted to help your dad build how about God the

Father is building his church Jesus is building the church and don't you want to help? Because it's the flesh its carnality that says

I don't like this. I don't want that I grumble I complain I tried to do it at the last church, and I'll do it at this church, and I am anti authority anti submission

And you know what you are? anti God's Church If you act like that On the flip side for those of you and most of you are this way

I Want to build the church? God's sovereign over the sinful leadership

God's sovereign over other people that don't measure up and they let me down and God's gonna build this church and God I deserve hell

I deserve Lake of fire And you've given me a place to worship you and build I want to build and for the majority of you good job

You're building Paul says to the church of Corinth, and I say to you there should be a warning for each of you sobering warning that says do

I contribute strife and jealousy and Factiousness are

I do I build the church? with love This is not some shed.

This is the house of God. We are the temple of God Look at verse 17 again if anyone this is not just leaders

Although they're addressed in chapter 3 mainly if anyone destroys God temple Literally the

Greek is if you've got the temple of God destroyed destroyed God him for emphasis

Want to ruin the church corrupt the church corrode the church It's serious

It's sobering Message to all church wrecking ball people

God will destroy you. I don't want to mess with God's holiness.

I Don't want to attack Turn to me with me if you would to Romans 16 Let me show you a couple of the passages that highlight for us the importance of staying unified walking circumspectly

Not running around tearing down stirring up. You know there's always a few people at a church who love to stir the pot

They think that's their job. I'm the pot stir What's your ministry I stir the pot and I question things and I want to make sure that everybody knows my opinion about these things

Especially when they're in opposition to the leadership. You have to be very very careful.

It's not about you and the leadership It's about building Christ's Church and in Romans chapter 16

Paul is just kind of preaching like preachers do and it seems like he's kind of Ending it on a high note and Commending people chapter 16 verse 1 our sister

Phoebe He's doing things that no good Jewish man would ever do commend women for ministry

Eight women he picks out that have just served the Lord with wholeheartedness Who have built the church who have not destroyed the church and he commends them by name

Well, don't you know that there are women? Yes, he does because These women are equal in Christ.

Jesus equal to the Apostle Paul Salvificly and he's greeting people look at just all the the first words of all the verses verse 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 see a pattern 13 14 15 16 and then out of nowhere

Some people think Paul couldn't even have written this because why would he say this after all these lovely greetings?

happily ever after Be warm and be filled most likely

Paul picked up the pen himself and wrote these words. I Appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and Create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught avoid them

This is not some time for in love We debate and we have a get -together and we have a book club thing and we sit and talk

Avoid them watch them Microscope telescope Greek word here for watch scope scope them out

Check them out keep your eyes on them. There's danger. I don't know if you've ever walked near an animal

That's not in a cage. But somehow you just think to yourself. I probably should pay attention I'll never forget it.

I'm at a plans Berg Park and National Park in South Africa and I'm seeing the animals and you know

You wanted to see the big five about five big kind of famous animals And it tells you when you drive in obvious warning do not get out of your car lions

And so you're looking and a few places you can get out and they've got these big kind of open walkways where the animals would put their feet through and have a hard time getting through and We pulled up to the corner this kind of tea and there's

I mean it's just thousands of acres and tons of land and we came up to this little intersection and The pastor

Martin Holt said dear Lord, I just pray that you'd give pastor Abendroth I was the guest speaker just a great trip and show him some of your handiwork and I need

To know which way to turn and you know Basically, do I turn left or right because I want to show Abendroth some some lions

So he said, okay, I'm just gonna turn right so we turned right went down to this little water In hole and there laid this male tawny lion right out there and I'm trying to take pictures and I'm looking and we're stopped in the middle of you know,

Africa and I'm looking and thinking and then I had this dreadful most dreadful thought as I'm leaning over and looking

Who's behind me because I've got my window open here I am thinking about that and I've got to watch my back

Because some kind of lion could just come in this way as I'm watching over here It's all a setup that male lion sleeping.

So the female can come and just devour me Start looking around all the time.

This is lions around here. Paul says to the church at Rome and since the

Church of Corinth There's a danger lurking if God tries to build

Satan tries to what? Destroy you've got to watch out.

I don't want to be factious on Judgment Day. I Don't want to say, you know, my job was to get people to follow me and to create parties and factions and and dissensions

Obstacles, that's what it means there in chapter 16 of Romans verse 17 create obstacles literally scandalous traps

Put bait out and people fall into them What's the text say avoid them present imperative keep on turning from them

These are gonna be the people that want to talk that want to debate that want to get together and together and Paul says run

No countenance for them and Paul describes him a little bit. Here's the heart Would you like to take a magnifying glass and see in the heart of a factious person?

Here's what you'll see And if you thought the new airport scanners could see everything look at this

For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ Why because if they did they'd build they'd encourage they'd be part of They don't serve the

Lord They're not Lord. They're acting like Lord, but there is a Lord Christ, but their own

Appetites are some translations their own bellies They worship themselves in their own belly and by smooth talk

They're articulate they're powerful They know what to say and flattery.

They deceive the hearts of The naive you hear the contempt in Paul verse 18 for such persons for those kind of people those sorts

They're after their own private interests because if they were after God's interests, they would help and they've got praise.

They've got flattery They've got eulogies. That's a Greek word. They speak. Well people Listen to Adam Clark the

God Church of God has ever been troubled with such pretender Pretended pastors men who feed themselves not the flock men who are too proud to beg and too lazy to work

We have neither grace nor gifts to plant the standard of the cross on the devil's territories And by the power of Christ make inroads upon his kingdom and spoil him of his subjects on The contrary by sowing seeds of dissension by means of doubtful disputations and the propagation of scandals

By glaring speeches and insinuation they affect elegance and good breeding.

They wrench Christian congregations Form a party for themselves and thus live on the spoils of the

Church of God We're not to strive against one another.

We're to strive together for the faith of the gospel Philippians 1 passage number 2

I read it during scripture reading Titus 2, please Titus 3 rather Titus 3 Jesus is building the church if you're a

Christian you should help build the church as well And if you're going to attack the church, God will attack you so I don't want to be attacked by God and Paul says

I don't know about you, but it's either a Hot passage or I'm hot who's hot in here Some are all right.

I can just hear s Lewis Johnson saying no real gentleman takes his jacket off during a sermon And then he proceeded to take his jacket off Titus chapter 3 here these are obvious warnings

Paul gives the Corinthians obvious warnings and we're just showing how this is true any place including

Crete at the end of Titus 3, you know the context I read the entire book as for a person who stirs up dissension

You can just imagine somebody churning up butter can't you if you just keep keep churning long enough that cream.

What does it turn into? Turns into something Turns into butter and you can just I can almost

I in my mind I almost think of some kind of witch in a cauldron putting in some kind of frogs, you know and Snake heads or something just kind of boiling.

It's trouble from the get -go you go to the washing machine

You say son This is how you wash and you put all the whites in you turn it to cold and put this in and then see this

Right here. This is the agitator Same kind of thing for a person who agitates and stirs up division.

This is Jesus's Church You don't even give them four steps of church discipline it's bypassed it's shortened it's truncated because it's such a grievous sin

Say well, you know sexual immorality is bad. Yes, but there are four steps to those who are stuck in sexual sins but there's a

Faster route for getting kicked out of a church and that's this After warning him once and then twice have nothing more to do with him

No thing more to do with him knowing that such a person is warped

You've got to reject these kind of people because these people are warped

Literally perverted and that word perverted means somebody else is on the outside perverting them

It's a passive word. Where's there's it's like Satan is taking them and twisting them and torquing them and perverting them

These people are sinning present tense. They're always sinning. They're always missing the mark because the mark is unity

And he's self -condemned because he knows he's wrong. You said you know what that's way too harsh

It's not loving if you say that or if you think that then may

I remind you You don't know your sin until you realize how holy God is

And you don't know how bad Your actions are until you realize what the converse actions are the opposite actions are

Jesus is building the church We want to keep building so I ask you the question are

You a person who contributes to the unity of the church or are you a church destroyer?

By the way, if you're a destroyer Today can be the last day you can repent and say

God forgive me and I want to be a unifier Let's go back to 1st Corinthians warning number two warning number two the first warning is

Make sure you don't forget that. This is the apple of God's eye and when you attack a church you're attacking the

Bride of Christ Of course, that doesn't mean everything the leaders do is right But submission is you go along even if you disagree anyway

Submission to the word is God builds a church through leaders who are frail and fallible and finite and sinful second warning if the first warning is

God loves his church and jealously guards it and pays back those in kind who destroy it warning number two as a

Christian You have a wealth of heritage a wealthy heritage of Christian teachers. So enjoy them all

Since you're a Christian and God has given you every teacher who's gifted Why do you isolate one at the expense of everyone else in other words if Paul has given the church, excuse me

If God has given the church Paul Apollos, maybe Cephas, why would the church go?

No God, we don't want all your gifts I only want Paul. No, I don't want all your gifts either. I only want Apollos I don't want

I don't want to have anything to do with this other pastor. I'm behind this pastor We're gonna learn from this passages.

God has given you all the Christian teachers throughout all the centuries. Enjoy them Don't focus on one and be factious

Now this is amazing let's read verses 18 through 23 and I want you to just listen as I read him and see if you can

Hear this all things are yours refrain. He's talking about teachers. He's talking about the leaders

Let no one deceive himself verse 18 of 1st Corinthians If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise

For the wisdom of this world is folly with God for it is written He catches the wise in their craftiness.

And again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are futile So let no one boast in men for all things are yours

Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world our life our death are the present are the future all our are yours and You are

Christ and Christ is God He says Church of Corinth you're boasting

I don't listen to Apollos I follow Paul And Paul says they're all yours

Well, I don't listen to John MacArthur. I only listen to James Boyce fine. You can have your preferences

But both are for you. Well, I never listened to Chuck Swindoll. I listened to Sinclair Ferguson You can have your favorite preachers that you like their style or you think are more biblical, but they're all for you

I only show up when Mike preaches. I don't show up when What's -his -name

Jeffrey's preaches We're both for you We're all for you.

And what they thought was, you know, we would have picked up the ones we like the best It started to split the church and Paul says they're all yours

Enjoy the richly heritage rich heritage that God has given you it's like going to a five -star restaurant

When I used to be in medical sales early on we would just do crazy things and we'd say we're gonna walk into this restaurant

And we don't care about our appetites. Whatever is the most expensive thing on the menu?

That's just what we get So what's the most expensive thing sir? They tell us that's what we're getting that was in the old days

Wasn't a Christian at the time Although that might still be fun to do today when it took the

Schaefer's out for lunch the other day and said Oh, you know they've been ministering on the church will be glad to buy and I walked in it was

Panera and they had these lobster rolls for $16 .99, but I didn't see $16 .99. I just said lobster roll and I thought

I'm having me one of those And then I looked and I go so Lenita and Mark Mark actually, he ordered three and I had to pay for it.

You had to pay for it. Just kidding No, we didn't order him But you've got a five course meal and you go.

No, I only want this little bit. It's all for you Enjoy, it's been made for you Given to you.

You've got a wealth Lee. You've got a wealth of heritage for you That's why we've got a library full of only

John MacArthur's books and a book table full of only John MacArthur's books and Study Bibles that are only

John MacArthur study Bibles. Well, that may be true, but we sold out of the other ones No, I am affected by that man because I studied under him and as he imitates

Christ I want to imitate him Don't even really listen to him preach anymore. It's not that I'm against him.

I'm just listen to other people to be more well -rounded But what we do as leaders we want you to do enjoy the banquet of the gift of God How about even on the

Internet where you can pull up almost anybody alive or dead and listen to him? Now what you shouldn't do is say, you know what

I only listen to J. Verna McGee, by the way note to self he's dead Took me a long time to realize he had died even though he's still on the air

I only listen to him you meet somebody else in the church. I listen to John Piper. How could you J. Verna McGee's better?

J. Verna McGee really it was the Presbyterian in Baptist clothes and and when he got the hole -in -one he threw up his his his his

Iron and he said I even loved Baptist today. You got to follow J. Verna McGee No, if somebody says

I've been really listening to John Piper through Romans 9 and my life has changed God's sovereign

So what do you say? Good way to go way to listen

Well, did you know according to John Piper you've got this problem that problem the other thing and you know He believes this and he doesn't believe that and uh

You know people tell me they're listening to somebody and I think okay, maybe they're good better best I listen to somebody else, but I'm glad The church is learning and growing you type in oneplace .com.

I think I'd like to listen to Donald Gray barnhouse Okay, listen James voice. Listen Sinclair Ferguson s

Lewis Johnson. The wealth is all yours Why do you want to focus on one and then everybody else who doesn't study the guy you like?

You've got a problem with them. Paul said don't do that It's all yours And if you look at verse 18, he basically says this the wisdom of the world focuses on a leader.

I Follow him God's wisdom is I've given you a bountiful crop.

Enjoy them all And if you're not careful, yes, you can be tricked Let no one deceive himself.

We can be self -deceived And we try to justify our thoughts By the way, the smartest people that I've ever met in this life are the ones that can make the poorest decisions

The higher your IQ the worst decisions you can make because you're good at self -justification

You ever ask yourself the question. How can people with 200 IQs make such a stupid decision?

Because they're smart and justifying They're smart at self rationalization Paul says with the present imperative.

What's that mean? Don't ever stop thinking about it with the command form. Don't be deceived

We can hoodwink ourself we can trick ourselves. This is just what we do. We like to follow now

It's good to say as they imitate Christ I want to follow them but not at the exclusion of everyone else that just splits up a church of course if somebody's coming up to you and they're like I've been listening to a lot of sermons by this person who

Doesn't believe that Jesus is God and I'm learning so much and I'm becoming a better husband Even though this person denies the

Bible is true. Well, we don't just say oh good way to go I tell him

I'm glad you're listening, but let me help you replace the bad for the good Paul says reject the wisdom that's worldly that says line up underneath finite creatures and then he quotes from the

Bible How do you prove a point thus saith the Lord he quotes from Job 5 and he quotes from Psalm 94

Job 5 is in verse 19 for the wisdom of this world is folly with God He catches the wife wise in there he catches the wives

Well that verses for the wives the next ones we'll get the husbands He catches the wise in their craftiness and if you've got a study

Bible probably tells you Job 5 He catches the wise in their craftiness

The people that are so clever they devise their own schemes to catch other people they fall into the trap themselves it's like a hunter who sets up a trap for a wolf and then forgets where the trap was and walks over it and then got himself and God takes that kind of worldly wisdom and he just creates a straitjacket for the people who think that way

Catches them It's like Bishop Bishop Tonstall who bought

Tyndale's translations of the Bible and burned them, but then

Tyndale took all the money that was Gathered for the purchase of the

Bibles to burn and then he could actually Since he knew how to make him better made more and more and more and more

He gives another verse in Psalm 94 verse 20 the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are feudal

God's wisdom is hidden from unbelievers, but God knows unbelievers thoughts Let's not get caught up in following people.

It's not smart. It's not wise It's not biblical. And so what does he say instead so then verse 21, but no one boasts in men

For all things are yours It's like earlier. He didn't even call the men the

Apollos things of people They were things and so all these things all these people are yours

How do I know that they're things? And they're people verse 22 Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas are the world our life or death of the present things are the future are all yours

Don't boast in humans Everything's yours, by the way, this is very fascinating for all things are yours is a stoic slogan that Promoted self -sufficiency and Paul uses it and he turns it on there its head and says instead of Self -sufficiency all things are yours meaning self deficits

Self -sufficiency no dependency upon God Boast in the Lord praise him and then he uses something in verse 22 for you

English students he uses a Marism. What's a Marism? M -e -r -i -s -m.

Here's your new word for the day a Marism Mare just means to divide and it's a figure of speech that says let's put a few things in a sentence and there pulls apart

They're far apart from each other so that everything is included in between So he says

Paul Apollos Cephas world life death present a future it's all yours It's a figure of speech

It just says you've got it all if you're a Christian you have everything the word the spirit the

Bible Teachers everything the world you own it all so why follow a person. It's okay to have a favorite preacher

But not at the exclusion of not learning from other people are Dividing over that favorite favorite person

Paul just is kind of a lyrical It's song like song like whether Paul or Apollos Apollos or Cephas of the world, etc.

They're just all yours And they're all under the Lordship of Christ, aren't they?

verse 23 and you are Christ and Christ is God's So what about you for the most part?

I think we're good as a church in this particular regard We hold the church with kid gloves because Jesus bought the church and then we say we're gonna just enjoy all the leaders all the teachers and when

I think of Jesus and his death that makes me line up under him a lot more and With words that only

Spurgeon could come up with it seems He says this imagine for a moment that you're living in the age of the

Roman Emperor You have been captured by Roman soldiers and dragged from your native country

You have been sold for a slave stripped whipped Branded imprisoned and treated with shameful cruel cruelty at last you're appointed to die in the amphitheater to make holiday for the tyrant the poplice assembled with the light

There they are tens of thousands of them gazing down from the living sides of the Colosseum.

You stand there alone Naked armed only with a single dagger a poor defense against gigantic beasts a

Ponderous door is drawn up by machinery and there rushes forth the monarch of the forest a huge lion

You must slay him or be torn to pieces You're absolutely certain that the conflict is too severe for you

And that the sure result must and will be that those terrible teeth will grind your bones and drip with your blood

You tremble your joints are loosed you're paralyzed with fear Like a timid deer when the lion has dashed it to the ground.

But what is this? Oh Wonder of mercy a deliverer appears a great unknown leaps from among the gazing multitude and confronts a savage monster

He shrinks not at the roaring of the Devourer But dashes upon him with terrible fury until like a whipped curve the lion slinks toward the den

Dragging himself along in pain and fear the hero lifts you up smiles into your bloodless face

Whispers comforts in your ear and bid you be of good courage for you are free. You've done that for me

But I'll destroy what you're building or you've done that for me and I want to help build what you're building

The choice is easy The choice is yours. Let's pray Lord We believe that you have sent your spirit the

Holy Spirit to help us where we need help to comfort us to convict us

Father in these days ahead with our church Maybe a new place to go a new land new building new issues.

I pray that you'd keep us unified And I pray that you would make a resolution

By your spirit in every heart today, the people would be resolved to build up not to tear down So least we could do father

Father for those that are church destroyers that are here today. I pray that you'd grant them the wonderful gift of repentance confession and father if they won't confess our

Repent, I pray that you drive them far away for good And father for those that are here today that don't know anything of these things because They haven't even recognized the result of their sin yet and how bad it is against you a holy

God Father, would you grant them salvation? Would you grant them a new life and a new heart make them born again cause them to trust in you your son as their sin bear