Divisions in the Church (04/29/2001)

The Sunday school class we had this morning was interesting, it always is, and sometimes

I think about Ronald Reagan, when he was president he had an unusual style of management.

He would bring the brightest minds he could find from the business world, from the scientific world and so forth, put them at a long table and he'd have a bowl of jelly beans next to himself.

He probably shared some, I imagine they went all the way down the table, but he would throw something out on the table, kind of like Brother Otis does in Sunday school, and he'd sit back and eat jelly beans and listen to them come up with these ideas.

He would let them go for a while, and sometimes they would be very passionate. So he would be listening and eating jelly beans the whole time, and when the whole thing was over and the dust cleared he'd stand up and say, here's where we're going to go, because he would glean from all of the brilliant ideas, and yet he realized some of them contradicted.

So you have to bring it together into where the truth really is and move forward.

That's kind of the pastor's job, and the Bible's very clear in that. Some churches have more than one pastor as they grow.

They can be called elders, pastors, bishops, it's the same word in the

Greek language, but that is the job of those who are called with a special calling of leadership in the church.

It's hard for me to be quiet in the Sunday school, especially when Brother Otis asks me, David, what do you think?

I enjoy hearing what everybody says. Sometimes I'm afraid if I speak up too early then no one will say anything, so it's really best sometimes not to.

But it was fascinating this morning. In fact, let me take you to one of the verses that was in Sunday school that ties in with the message very well.

It's in 2 Corinthians chapter 7. If you remember what we're doing, we've had a three

Sunday series here, starting on Resurrection Sunday and coming down through today, where we've been discussing things accomplished by Jesus Christ, both in the resurrection, the power of the resurrection, and in the ascension, where it says that he gave gifts to men.

So we've been talking about the gifts that God gives to the church and to people in the church.

2 Corinthians 7 .12 came up in Sunday school this morning. It says, in fact, it was discussed for quite some time, and very many good things said about it, wherefore though I wrote unto you,

I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered the wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.

It's interesting that the Corinthian church is known as the carnal church. Let me show you why. Go back to 1

Corinthians chapter 3. Paul dealt with this problem in 1

Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. Apparently it had been resolved, and now he's instructing the church on how to go forward.

1 Corinthians 3, in verse 1, he says, and I, brethren, could not speak unto you as spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as to babes in Christ.

I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it. Neither yet now are you able, for ye are yet carnal.

For whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walk as men?

So when you see these things, rather they be envying, and not every church has all these going on at one time, but if you see any one of these envying, strife, divisions, that comes from carnality.

Paul's pointing that out to them. And he pointed out in verse 4, some of them were saying, well, I'm of Paul. Some were saying

I'm of Apollos. He says, are you not carnal? Don't you understand that God is the one who has given these gifts of teachers and preachers to the church?

They're not all supposed to be the same. You're not supposed to pick sides. And that's the problem they were having.

Now, it's interesting that in 2 Corinthians 7, 12, where he came and he dealt with this very open sin of immorality that was in this particular church, and he dealt with it in such a godly, strong fashion that by the time we get to 2

Corinthians, the problem had been solved. And the person had repented and rejected his sin, turned aside from his sin, and gotten right with the

Lord. And now Paul's instructing the church to receive him back into fellowship. But after all that happened, he said,

I didn't do any of this. Now, obviously, the people would think this was done either to help this young man who had done the sin or correct him, or to help the person against whom he had done the sin and make them feel better.

Paul says it didn't have to do with either one of them, didn't have to do with the one who did this or the one that suffered the wrong, but it had to do with allowing the church to understand the care that he, playing the elder role or the pastor role, had for the whole church.

In other words, the correction was made for the good of the church. And that is an amazing thing to understand as we get into our message this morning.

Let's go a little bit of review. The first Sunday, we talked about the administration of the gifts and how that is from God's sovereign will.

Last Sunday, we got into 1 Corinthians 1, verses 1 through 11, predominantly. And we saw several things.

It was interesting, first of all, that we were speaking of saved people in this chapter. And as you read it, you wonder, how could saved people do these things?

But it's written unto saved and sanctified people. You find that in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 2.

And then we saw in verses 3 and 4 that there was a portion of grace given to the members of the body, a portion of grace, which implies that some people have more grace, some less, but all for the purposes of God, or maybe more grace in one area, less in another, all for the purposes of God.

And then we found in verses 5 through 7 that also gifts were administered to these people in the local body, all according to the sovereignty of God as God willed to dispense them.

And then we found in verse 9 that these people were called into fellowship. Now we don't want to read over that one too quickly because fellowship is very important in a church.

It is the opposite of division. It's the opposite of schisms because true fellowship can only happen when you're in fellowship vertically with God, then you can be in fellowship horizontally with each other.

And so he calls us to be in fellowship first with God, and that then necessitates that we're in fellowship with each other because if any two of us are walking filled with the

Spirit, then we're in fellowship with each other. So it's a wonderful calling that he's called us to there in verse 9.

First John chapter 1 talks about that if you ever want to go read that. And then lastly, it ended with verses 10 through 11 where it says, and I'm going to read those to you.

It says, Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, in the same judgment.

For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

There's a lot we can learn from these passages. There's a lot we can learn doctrinally, but there's also a lot we can learn methodologically, or in other words, the methods.

We can learn how to do things in the church from this passage. That's so very important because as we each read and study the

Word of God, we'll find passages of scripture that the Holy Spirit is teaching us something, and it means a lot to us.

The tendency is to focus so much on that we forget how it fits in with the whole of the scriptures, and that is a very common thing among all of us as we're growing, and none of us have yet attained, so we all can have this happen.

And that's one reason we have church, one reason we have preaching from the pulpit, one reason God anoints that preaching and teaching is because it brings us back into seeing the whole picture so that we continue to have unity.

In these particular closing verses here in 1 Corinthians 1, he says that there should be no divisions, but he points out that some folks from the house of Chloe had told

Paul about the sin that was in this church and the division, not only the sin of this young man that was doing the horrible sin of immorality, but also the problems that Paul, I feel, thinks was just as important, these divisions, where they were picking teams.

One would say, Apollos is my team, the other would say, Paul is my team, and then the real spiritual group said, well, we follow

Jesus, and you know, it was all carnality. And so what

Paul is dealing with here is that there be no divisions. One thing we might learn by point of methods or methodology is that obviously someone had come to Paul and told him something about other people.

Well, to me, that is an obvious exception to the rule that God has made to make the church be able to work.

The general rule is you shouldn't talk about another person behind their back unless you're saying good stuff, unless you're pointing out the strong qualities.

If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. That's the general rule.

The exception to the rule is that sometimes you have to go to the leader. In our day, the leader is the pastor, or the pastors, if you have more than one, the elders of the church.

Paul filled both that role and the role of the apostle, the role of the evangelist, the role of the missionary, many in one, but he is showing clearly that it is not wrong to go to the

God -called leader and administrator of a church and tell him something that's going on that he needs to know about.

That is not gossip. It is gossip if you take that to any other person other than the one doing it, with the possible exception of your spouse, because you're one, but be very careful when you take it to another person if you're not the pastor.

Very, very careful, and we'll see reasons for that, but we see here some interesting things just in this verse 10, that there be no divisions, that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind, the same judgment.

God is showing us that the general rule of thumb in the church is that we should be focusing on the strengths of each other, not on the weaknesses.

Otherwise, we will have division, because the enemy, who's known in the Bible as the accuser of the brethren, in fact, his name,

Devil, when you look it up in the Greek, it means slanderer. So, his spirit would have us to find that which is not perfect in one another and focus on that, so that we can then be accusative.

We can be accusing one another, and that leads to schisms and making teams where we pick teams.

Well, I'm in agreement with you, and we know they agree that, so we'll gain strength over here so that we can help the church, and that's how

Satan deceives us into thinking we're helping the church. He deceives us into thinking we're helping the church by getting a group together, because we know that our way is right, and we're going to fight against this wrong way, and Paul rebuked that.

The thing to do, if you see a problem, go to the pastor, if you need to. If you don't, just go to the

Lord and pray. One thing that I think is overlooked by pastors, usually, but also by people in the church is the ministry of the

Holy Spirit, and that's what this study is all about. If we begin to think that it is our job to correct every problem in the church, or some problems in the church, or maybe

I pick which problem to correct, we have to be very careful that we don't take on the role in the ministry of the

Holy Spirit himself, and many times when I've seen pastors do this in churches where they want to set rules that everybody has to follow, and many times

I really believe they love the people and they're setting those rules to try to protect the people, but it shows an incredible lack of faith in God, because the

Holy Spirit lives within the body of every believer in this church, and that pastor stands there behind the pulpit knowing full well he probably shouldn't be there if everybody could see what he's thinking and doing with his life, and has done his whole life, and where he's been, what he came out from he feels totally unworthy, but you know what he knows?

He knows that he ain't what he used to be. He's not what he's going to be, because the

Holy Spirit's working in his life, and he has seen that work in his life, so he stands before you and preaches.

He knows God's working in his life, but you know where he stops sometimes? He stops there and he doesn't believe God works in your life.

You see? That's a real problem with fundamental independent Baptist pastors. We know that, don't we, Brother Roger and others.

They refuse to let the Holy Spirit deal in the life of the believers. They refuse to believe in him that he can make those changes, but he can.

In fact, when we let him make the changes, it avoids schisms in the church, because when we try to make those changes in people's lives, we have to deal with this thing called the human psyche, the psychology, the way the human brain works.

The human brain closes immediately when you begin to correct it or criticize it. It is totally closed to it.

We made the illustration last Sunday about how Charlotte's taken great years of learning how to know exactly when.

I mean, sometimes it's absolutely necessary for a wife to correct the husband, or at least show him right on the edge of that cliff there, could

I at least tell you that? And they figure out ways to do it, and it still is very difficult.

God probably showed me not to use myself and family very often as an example, because that very week we had one of those things.

It took me two days to receive what she said. But that's the human mind, and if you think it's bad with men, ladies, it's bad with ladies too, don't you think?

It's difficult to receive correction from your husband even, and you know he's the authority in the home.

It still doesn't make it fun or easy. So we have to understand that if we, in 90, who can say a true percentage, let's just say 95 % of the time when you see a problem in the church, if you would just go in prayer and say,

Holy Spirit, this is your job to fix this in this person's life, not mine. Would you please work in their life?

And pray every time the person comes to your mind throughout the day as you're working, whatever you're doing, pray for that person.

You'll be surprised that many times within a week the problem will be fixed and you never said a word. And there's no division because when

God does it, no one can argue with him. But I would say this, that if you want to make exceptions to the general rule, many times that exception should be made by the pastor.

In other words, if there's going to be rebuking or correcting of a problem verbally, you should go to the pastor and allow him to do it or allow him to do it with you if necessary.

Because he has been there and fought that spiritual battle so many times, he has insight into how people's minds are closed, how they're open, how to know when

God's working in their life and it's okay to say something, how to know when it's not. And it's safer to do it that way.

In fact, I challenge you to go look up the word rebuke in the New Testament and I think you'll find that most of the famous verses that you kind of remember in your mind about that, you'll find them in the pastoral epistles, which means it's where Paul was teaching the young pastor

Timothy or in Titus, he was teaching those people how to rule the church. It was not written for every person in the church to go out and practice these things.

And go and check that out. I think you'll find it to be true. And I'll make this comment too. We need to always remember as parents, think about your own children.

Those of us who are fortunate to have many children, or let's say several children, more than one is many, isn't it?

You'll learn, you'll learn. You and Rick will learn that thing. More than one is many, but you don't like it when you see a sibling correcting the other sibling.

You know why? Because they usually don't do it right. And we have an unusual situation in our family where we had a family and then we had a surprise years later and his name was

Ben. And so we have a group of children who are old enough, even one in college who really are old enough to parent

Ben and Matthew. But you should watch sometimes how

Ben responds to that. He doesn't respond well to it. Even if his big brother,

Paul, here they come. Even if he is trying to keep him safe, it doesn't work real well.

But guess what? If his dad walks up, what happens? Usually I'm in agreement with the older sibling.

It's just that I can discern better what to do. I can handle it better. Now, let me ask you a question.

Whose children are we? God's. Many verses that have to do with that.

Even some verses that deal with judgment. It says, how can you judge someone who's, they're not your servant, they're his.

So we have to keep that in mind. That's why it's always best to go to him and ask him to fix the problem.

That's the general rule. There are sometimes exceptions and I would say this, if you're going to tread over into the exception, at least get advice from your pastor.

Go to him and say, here's what I think I see. Should I go and talk to this person? Don't just go to the person because what you'll do is you'll create divisions in the church.

You may cause a younger brother to stumble because you may not say it in such a way that his mind is open.

He may not even come back. You never know. Now, as we get into this closing of this study on the gifts, we see through and through that we come back to God and his sovereignty on even the way that each of us are.

Our composition, our strengths, our weaknesses, it all comes back to this. It's interesting in this closing verse here in the first Corinthians chapter one passage there in verse 10, where it says that there be no divisions, but that you'd be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment.

The word mind is like the intellect or the mind.

The word judgment is the understanding, but it really can be translated opinion. So we're supposed to be of the same mind and the same opinion.

But what's even more fascinating than those two big important words is this little word saying, because you've heard

Brother Otis teach certain passages before where the same word comes up and you'll recognize it when

I tell you what it means. It's the word autos, which comes from a

Greek root word, which means to unconsciously breathe. You breathe without even thinking about it.

This word same is that word. So what we see is that if we're walking in the spirit, if we're a spirit filled church, it will be as natural as breathing to be of the same mind.

The only way that Satan can attack that is to place in our minds through imaginations and thoughts about the other brother that are not even true usually, or to take some bit of truth that's there and to blow it way out of proportion so that we begin to worry about it and think that it's our job to fix it.

Or if it's something that hurts myself, I make myself believe I need to fix that person.

But really what's happening is I know if I fix them, I'll be happier because they'll be like, I want them to be. And, and you say, well, but I'm spiritual.

And I know that that's not my flesh doing that. Then you're wiser than Paul. You're wiser than some of the saints of the old

Testament. And the verse that says the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.

Who can know it? You can't know your own heart. So you have to stick with scripture.

You have to stick with Bible methods or you get into a ground where Satan can enter in and have a field day.

We can think we're right when we're not. I had that happen to me this week. I'm glad brother Russ is gone because it happened with him.

I had a very strongly held position on a certain thing about the Bible that I just fact, in fact, knew was right.

And here he comes. So he's just like Paul and Ben, he comes in at the wrong time. If you go out,

I do talk about you by the way, but I was shown, you know, some facts that I did not have some facts about truth that I did not possess.

Therefore my strongly held position was wrong. Now that's your pastor talking.

Now, if that can happen to me, if that can happen to Paul, that can happen to any of you in this congregation. We don't, we're not always right when we think we're right.

And all of this was covered in Sunday school, which was amazing to me. It was really interesting sitting there thinking, well, okay, they're going to preach my message again.

So we have to stick to Bible methods. Now turn with me, if you would, to Romans chapter 11 and verse 28.

I wanted to get into the close of this message on the resurrection power and the ascension power.

It all relates to everything that we just said. It's just that the Sunday school lesson brought some of those things to my mind.

As a matter of fact, you're going to find some of these very verses in this study that I just talked about.

The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.

Look at this, Romans 11, 28 gives us the context.

And I will say that using this is a bit out of the context of what it's really written to talk about.

But I believe that in verse 29, we find a universal truth that can be applied. And I think you'll agree with me, but let's read verse 28 to get the context.

As concerning the gospel, they, the Jews are enemies for your sakes, but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes, father's sakes, and for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

For as ye in time past have not believed God, you have now obtained mercy through their unbelief. So obviously the context is talking about the, the

Jew being partially blinded so that the Gentile can be saved and so forth. But right in the middle of that, it says verse 29, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Now in the Greek language, the word repentance does not always bring up what it brings up.

When we say it in English, repentance, when we say it in English, it seems more like a human thing. And many, most times it is used that way, but this is talking about a thing that God is doing.

And this word repentance simply means irrevocable. It will not change.

God will not change this. So when God gives a gift or a calling, he doesn't change it.

It's according to his sovereign will. It's according to his hand, his plan, his pleasure, and his will.

And therefore it's without repentance. That's the first point we need to understand when we start thinking about the fact that each of us in this church, in this local church, have specific gifts and callings that some of the rest of us don't have.

The carnality of the Corinthian church was that it bothered them that there were people that were different. They did not like the fact that everybody's not like I am.

They wanted everybody to kind of be the same, but God made us all different because we're parts of a whole body and every part is supposed to be different to please

God and get God's will done in this world by this organism called the church.

And so we have to understand first of all in dealing with this in our own hearts and minds that these gifts and callings are given by God and he ain't taking them back.

He's not an Indian giver. The word gift is an interesting gift.

It comes from a very similar word to the word charis. We get our

English word charismatic from it. But what it literally means is to grant as a favor and the real

Bible word in the English that really we use the most from this word is the word grace. It is in fact translated into the word grace.

So these gifts are granted to us as a favor by God, not only like if he gives you a gift of singing.

It's not like it's a gift to you if you have that gift. It's a gift to the church. You see what

I'm saying? The fact that some of you can sing. It's not a gift to you. It's a gift to the church.

Now it is your gift in that sense. The Holy Spirit put that in you in that sense. Yes, it's my gift. But the purpose of it is to edify the church and the calling.

Well, what is kind of beautiful when you follow that word gift by the way down to its root meaning, you get about three different levels of meaning.

The first level is to grant as a favor. The second level means graciousness and that what God is when he gives the gifts.

And the deep level comes from the Greek word kairo which means cheerful or happy.

Isn't that amazing? Now you take the fact that the Holy Spirit administers gifts to each of us.

What is supposed to happen in a healthy church that's functioning according to the will of the

Holy Spirit and of God is that it brings great joy in the church and cheerfulness because everyone is exercising their own gift.

And they're not worried in the carnal sense that the other person can't do what they're doing or doesn't do it like they do it because they have a different gift, a different strength.

And that always implies with us since we don't have the whole package like Jesus did that we therefore have to have weaknesses.

We can't be strong in all the areas at one time. I shouldn't say we can't be, let me rephrase it, we won't be.

I remember Dr. Freeman saying so many times, show me in the Bible where it says you have to sin today or tomorrow.

So it doesn't say that anywhere. It doesn't say you have to sin, it says you probably will but you don't have to. That's how he would always say it.

But as far as the gifts, odds are no one in here has the whole package. In fact I think we've got some scripture that backs that up when it says that Jesus had the

Holy Spirit without measure. That implies very strongly that we have him with measure. So we have to be careful on the carnal side not to criticize those who are different, have other gifts.

What we should do, see if we walk in the Spirit, what it does is what their strength does rather than focusing on their weakness or the sin they just did or whatever, whatever little weakness they have right now, we focus on what they bring to the church.

What strength do they have? What can they, what can God exercise in their life that will bring joy to the church?

And then we come to this little word calling. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance. The word calling is the word klesis, which means an invitation and it has three levels of meaning as you go towards its root word.

The first one is an invitation. The second one means literally to call. So when you talk about a calling from God, that's just the word it comes from.

But the third level means this, to hail or to incite by word or to give command. So God not only gives gifts, he gives commands to us and says

I want you to be about doing that thing. And the Apostle Paul through the inspiration of the

Holy Spirit said we ought to focus on the gifts that God's given us because we'll be more fruitful if we do the things where we're strong than if we try to do everything and we're doing some things where we're not gifted.

That part of the role of a pastor I believe in a church is to help people to see their areas of gifts and strengths because sometimes we don't see that.

Part of the role of the church is to help a pastor even know when he's called to preach. I mean it is the church who identifies these called men and that's why they lay hands on them and say okay you're a preacher.

It is the church who identifies men who ought to be leaders and in the area of deacon and so forth.

The church bears witness to these things. So we have gifts, we have callings which are invitations but it's stronger than that word really.

It is a hail from the Lord or an incitement from his word for us to go and do that thing which he's made us strong in and to encourage the others in their areas of strength.

All of these are without repentance, they're irrevocable. Secondly I would say this, it is

God who sovereignly dispenses the gifts to men. If you would look at Romans chapter 11 and now verse 33.

Verse 33 says, oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments in his ways past finding out.

Now all this is in the context of the fact that he's given gifts and callings to people and then it begins to talk about the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God and how he is unsearchable in his judgments and his ways you cannot fathom them.

You can't put him in a box and in the context of this passage what is being said is that as God dispenses these gifts and callings he dispenses them to men according to his unsearchable wisdom.

Sometimes we try to search God's wisdom out when we look at a brother and we say why are they like that?

Are they here just to irritate me? Yes. Many times they are and we don't like it we try to get rid of them.

We either try to get rid of them by fixing them or if the fixing doesn't work we hope that it sends them away and they're not around me anymore.

Why? Because God put them in your life to make you grow. Haven't we talked so many times many of us in Sunday school about how when things are going perfect how many of you think we grow when things are going perfect?

I mean you probably do grow if you're written in the word but how many of you think the biggest bursts of growth come when things are everything is just smooth or does it happen more when things are going wrong and you're having to search the

Lord out? That's right. So we never need to doubt the sovereignty of God as he dispenses his gifts and his callings in our life but also in our brothers and sisters and we shouldn't question that it comes from a knowledge and wisdom that is unsearchable to us that we can't fathom from one and the only one who has all the facts and all the information.

He can't make a mistake. We can. Secondly under this idea of God's sovereign disbursement of the gifts to men

I would say this no one can know God's mind or give him counsel as to how to do a thing.

We find that in verse 34 look at it. For who has known the mind of the Lord who hath been his counselor.

Don't you think this is where this concept is where verses like Romans 14 for come from where it says why would you judge another man's servant yea he shall hold him up he is holding up for God is able to make him to stand.

An amazing verse the very brother that we would look at and say

I judge a weakness here I'm gonna this is not right that very one

Romans 14 for says God is holding this brother up it is his hand that's holding him up and making him to be who he will be the day he meets

Jesus face to face. God is able to make him stand we should underline the little phrase

God is able God is able God is able God is able I don't have to do it God will do it

I don't have to do it God is able God may choose to use me to play a small part in it he may choose to use any of you to play a small part in it but it's not you doing it as God and more often than not you have to be very careful if it comes to speaking with the person you should go to the pastor counsel with him about that and get him praying with you because it's a very dangerous realm of spiritual warfare when you get involved with with these kinds of things well you know most the time our brothers and sisters are the way they are because a sovereign

God with unsearchable wisdom has placed gifts and strengths which implies certain weaknesses that they have on purpose in their life so that they would be who they are so that they work together in the whole church to please

God and to cause his will to be done now if if in it's interesting to to think about this if we do not like the way

God has dispersed strengths and weaknesses in our own lives or in the lives of others are we not judging

God turn with me to James chapter 4 and verse 10 if we do not like the way

God has dispensed strengths and weaknesses in our lives in the lives of others are we not judging

God does this not then imply that our wisdom and knowledge is greater than God's James 4 10 says humble yourselves in the sight of the

Lord and he shall lift you up speak not evil one of another brethren now let me let me show you something this word evil is a strong strong word in English but in the

Greek it just implies that you're talking about the other person in a way that they would not like if they were hearing you it's like the accused you're accusing them maybe to another person of having some weaknesses and little areas they need to work on and we can see that we'll pray for them together be very careful and nowhere in the

Bible that it calls you to do that you're not that person's judge in fact look what it says speak not evil one of another brethren he that speaketh evil of his brother and judges his brother speaketh evil of the law and judges the law now what is that saying well according to verse 34 in the

Romans passage while ago it said for who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his counselor and he is the one who sovereignly places strengths and weaknesses in our lives so when we judge the brother we're judging

God God made each of you to be exactly who you are right now in the pew

I'm not saying everything you've done is right not everything I've done is right but God puts it all together and teaches us probably more from the wrong and the trouble we get into sometimes than when we did do right not that we should strive to learn that way but it just happens as part of life because the human nature and he brings us to the place we are right now today every one of you is exactly where you're supposed to be you won't find many preachers that will tell you that they'll focus more on the fact that your centers you need to change and you need to be perfect we know that we know that the

Holy Spirit's job is to accomplish that but you know what we we don't have to worry about him doing it if you're his child he will accomplish it what

I'm telling you is as you sit here today you're right where you were supposed to be you know how I know that because you're here and you're who you are and God is a sovereign

God and nobody can change what he does no man can change or affect what he does so you're exactly who you're supposed to be and those of us who don't like you that's our problem because we're judging

God's sovereignty and we're saying God is not quite what he should be or he'd have made you be different now you think about that ladies and gentlemen this is serious stuff the reason that Corinthians were a carnal church is that they thought they could judge these things sometimes they chose just to overlook it they they had perhaps an opposite problem they didn't even want to think about it which is an which

Satan will work it both ways when one thing he'll do is he'll make you overactive and you got to go fix everything another thing he'll do is to make it chicken

I can't I don't even want to be a part of this is spiritual warfare I may have to pray and fast about this so I'll just overlook it so they had it going both ways

Satan was having a field day with this carnal church because they were walking in the flesh now as we see then that God is the sovereign one who places the strengths and weaknesses and we look at a verse like James 4 all the sudden verse 11 makes sense

I mean I've always wondered what is this phrase many years I struggled with interpreting this verse try to find every commentary it's one of those verses the commentators don't want to say anything about you ever find one like that but I'll tell you what he that speaketh evil in other words not just don't even use that strong word he that just thinks in his heart or speaks to another brother about the negatives that the other brothers that's not they are doing all the sudden he judges his brother and he speaks evil of the law and he judges the law but if thou judge the law they are not a doer of the law but a judge you're not even in the word you're not even following God's ways when you get into that because what you're doing is you are acting as if God does not know what he's doing in the life of that believer so it's a very dangerous area to go into and you have to make sure you're fasting sometimes don't always have to fast sometimes

God will call you to fast and to pray as we think we see a weakness in another how do we know

God didn't make them that way for my own benefit it's kind of like trying to pray and ask

God to remove something that he put there in the first place and that he's going to remove anyway in his own good time as the

Holy Spirit works in that person's life now understand when a preacher preaches

I can't preach the whole counsel of God in one sermon so there's balance everywhere

I am NOT preaching against you with a heart for God and God's direction trying to help another brother and maybe even praying and saying

God would you open it up where in the conversation they bring this up or say something and they asked me for help then didn't you know you know then that you can intercede and say something if you really are so strong spiritually as we think we are try this pray and say

Lord if you want me to say anything to anybody or to this person have this person ask me for counsel on this matter have them ask me for help or have them imply in something that they say that I need help then

I'll know you want me to say something try that because it seldom happens but it does happen sometimes and when it does you don't have to be concerned you know then that the

Lord's leading you to to help this person with some words because now you know what his mind is open when he asked you for help his mind let's say it this way his mind is more open we sometimes as a pastor and giving counsel through the years people very seldom go home and do what you counsel them to do very seldom but sometimes they do but the mind is more open here so we see here that the scripture talks about whose children we are we are the

Lord's we're not each other's children's children's that sounded good preach is good anyway let me get you to turn to Hebrews chat the last chapter chapter 13 of Hebrews and let's look at verse 16 and 17 and we'll talk we'll switch now from doctrine to methods again okay look at verse 16 but to do good and to communicate forget not for with such sacrifices

God is well -pleased obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you now that refers to the elders it does not even include the deacons it refers strictly to the elders or bishops in the church that God called administrators and pastors of the church do you realize that that is the only exception to the rule in the

Bible if you made a rule that said we stand responsible for our own actions I'm not responsible for yours you're not responsible for mine

I'm responsible to the Lord for what I do how many of you generally agree with that statement okay the only exception given and the only other person in the whole world or in the whole

Bible even that that the Bible says is responsible for the actions of another person other than his own is the pastor and notice how it says that he watches for your souls as they must give account as they that must give account in this local body of believers other than you yourself there's only one other person right now anyway it has to give an account to God for whether you succeed or don't and that's me that's why at the top of the verse it says to obey me now that's a strong English word too and it's very hard for us to stomach that word and it is a little

I think too strong nowadays for our understanding of the word because I'm not a dictator

I'm not to be that but it means this me and you are the only two that answer for what you do it would not be fair to me since I also have to answer for you not to listen to me when

I give a warning does that make sense what if God had made it brother Richard where I have to answer for your whole life and he never made it where you have to listen to me so that I just have to sit back and watch and then

God tells me that David why did Richard do all that? You know he never came to me for help.

God says well you're his pastor you were supposed to go get him he's a sheep bring him back into the fold did you do that well

I you know I I taught up there that we're not did we have to be careful when we go into those areas and I'm not supposed to yeah

I'm supposed to let you do that wasn't a Lord he says no you were the pastor you were supposed to do it you

I called into question about his life but you know what brother Alfred he doesn't call you into question about Richard's life there's nowhere in the

Bible where it says that he does so there is a difference in practice between you guys going and rebuking one another and trying to fix things and me doing it that's why those from the house of Chloe went to Paul and reported to him what was going on it was not wrong for them to talk to Paul about it it would have been wrong for him to talk to some other person about it all of this is just methods

God's put it all there where we really can have unity in our church and fight against the enemy as he tries to bring schisms and divisions heartache you know it's like in a marriage if your spouse says something critical to you it can hurt your heart worse than if anybody else in the world said it can it but you know as brothers and sisters if one of us says something critical to the other especially if we say it to another person it gets back to me that that it was said or to you that someone said something it hurts worse than if some atheist had said it how many of you be bothered a whole lot if an atheist rebuked you and just said all horrible things about you but it bothers you if you find out a

Christian brother has been saying some negative things about you doesn't it and rightfully so what if they walk up and say it right to your face does that make you happier a little bit but not a lot you can go home for days and days and your heart hurt because that brother sister is thinking that there are things where you're not walking with God and maybe you know you are now what if what if you turn the tables and it goes the other way around and then they come to you next time and they say well you know

I've noticed this area in your life and I believe it could be fixed by this and such but if you don't fix it

I don't believe you're you're right how does it feel turn it the other way around see how it would be come in this direction that's why we're not to do it it's not the right method the right method is to pray and fast for that brother pray and if God opens the door for you to say a word say a word of edification to them say it wisely say it in such a way that they can take it and it'd be help and if that doesn't arise you go to the pastor you say pastor

I think that this person may need some help and I believe it might affect the church I believe it could affect the whole church what should we do we pray about it together those are right and good methods and those are the reasons why at what time is it brother

Richard okay all right but who sovereignly disperses the gifts to men and therefore

God disperses gifts to men according to his unsearchable wisdom and knowledge and no one can know

God's mind or give him counsel as to how to do a thing so oftentimes when we judge the brother we try to correct things we're actually trying to give

God counsel because he's the one that let that brother have the weakness and we have to bear that in mind all the time and now we go down to verse 34 for who hath known the mind of the

Lord or who has been his counselor and then it brings us to verse 35 and 36 or who hath first given to him and it shall be recompensed unto him again for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever and ever and that this

I think is spoken to the one who has the gift a gift of strength in a certain area and it's a reminder that God gave that to you by grace which means it was totally unmerited and it has nothing to do with you a person who can sing beautifully if they take pride in that it's foolish because there are some of us who can't and you might have been one of those if it weren't for the fact that God gave you that gift so who gets the glory then

God is supposed to so we might say this there is no merit in what we do nor demerit in the weaknesses we have now you have to take that in the context of this message there's a way in which you could say that and it wouldn't be true but in the context of this message since these gifts and strengths are straight from the sovereign hand of God and that implies that there are certain parallel weaknesses in the life also that neither is there merit in what we do nor demerit in the weaknesses we have we are in fact right where God wants us to be at this time and so are our brothers and sisters we are not what we shall be but we are what we need to be now in order to be what we shall be when we meet him face to face and it closes with verses 35 and 36 or who had first given to him and it shall be recompensed to him again are you gonna give something to God with your gift you're giving that to God and so now he owes us because we exercise the gift that he gave us that's bad thinking isn't it it leads to pride and look at verse 36 for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever amen the things we do occur because of who we are on the inside which is made to be true in our lives by the measure of grace caris that he has given us and our brothers and sisters let me read it again the things that we do occur the actions the things we do that we observe each other doing in the church occur because of who we are on the inside which in turn is made to be true in our lives by the measure of grace that God has given to each of us and to our brothers and sisters this is controlled by the sovereign will of God an

Arminian has very much difficulty with the message like what I preached today and we are not

Arminians we believe in the sovereignty of God in this church there's no disagreement in this church over that issue but we have to continually be working at practicing in certain areas of our lives that belief because we don't see how it bears on certain practices in our lives sometimes and this particular message on gifts and strengths and weaknesses it has a very very strong bearing because it is

God's sovereign hand that places those in our brothers and sisters lives and in our lives it will keep us from pride on the part of our own gift but it will also keep us from reaching out and touching or judging or trying to correct where God should be the one doing that on the other hand it corrects both problems because we understand who's in control did we give first to him or did he first give to us did we do thus and such for God and now he owes us in return or is it the other way around so who should receive the glory for our strengths and weaknesses the gifts that we have in our own lives and those of our brothers and sisters and the work that is done in this world because of these gifts

God should receive the glory God is a powerful God he dispenses the gifts he also has a hand that is able by the

Holy Spirit to reach into each life every day and make corrections we know that in our own lives look at yourself this morning and you see it you can go back to the day you were saved come forward to now and you can see the different corrective hands of God in your lives why can't he do that to the other he can and he is doing it and yes he works together with us but we must be very careful to live by the methods of the scriptures to stay out of trouble spiritual warfare is what's happening in all of our churches the reason we have 50

Baptist churches within a 30 -mile radius of course the Canada is because of divisions and schisms disagreements and people looking at others and saying well they're not where they need to be well that's right they're not where they're gonna be when they meet

Jesus face to face but they got another 30 40 years to go perhaps and every day of that 30 and 40 years the

Holy Spirit's working on the life of that believer and so is the Word of God and the same verses that we could use to rebuke or admonish or in that man's

Bible too he can find him the Lord can lead him there just like he led me there so the general rule is not to go there with him pray for him fast ask the

Lord to have him bring it up if God wants you to say something to him or take it to the pastor and let him pray and fast with you and if he sees a need he will go to the brother and talk that doesn't work you bring it to the church we know the methods there remember the sovereignty of God not only the strengths but also the weaknesses are there for a purpose let's stand and have prayer together this is not the end of the message by the way father we thank you for your word we thank you that you not only teach us doctrinal truths but you teach us methods about how to operate in the life of a church we thank you for the pastoral epistles that you wrote and Timothy's and Titus and we thank you that you give us instruction on how the church should be and father we thank you that you also give us the

Holy Spirit to lead us in our hearts and lives to know how to follow the Scriptures and father we thank you that you do give us a burden in our heart for our brothers and sisters and it does hurt us when we see them have a weakness or go the wrong direction help us though father to realize that they are your servants that you are the father we're merely siblings and help us to be very much under your hand of authority in these areas and father we pray more than anything else that you would rebuke the enemy and bind him and send him away from this church and not allow any form of disunity to occur over anything that especially over anything that's taught from the

Bible in Sunday school or church or discussed among us as brothers and sisters father we know sometimes that the enemy is so clever he'll even use our discussion of the

Bible to cause us to have divisions that's remarkable when we really think about it so we can only come before you and ask you to rebuke him and rebuy and bind him and send him away we do not have that power but you do help us to have love for one another that covers a multitude of sins help us to have the kind of love for one another that causes us to look for the strengths and the weak and in the areas of gift and what each person brings to the church and what the

Lord is doing their lives in a positive way to focus on these positive things not on the negative things and father we pray that as we walk together your

Holy Spirit would continually be making corrections in my life and all of our lives to cause us to be more and more like our

Lord Jesus Christ it's a journey to that end father and someday that journey will be over and we'll look at the