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Well 11 short days the country will celebrate Thanksgiving. I wonder what will happen when you wake up on Thursday morning next week for Thanksgiving. Wonder what you'll be thankful for. Maybe you'll look back and say God has been good to me.
I thank my God that he has done this and has given me that. But if you don't know who Jesus Christ is I wonder who you think. Always thought that was strange Thanksgiving. I guess you're just thankful for things.
Thankful for my mom and my dad and my kids and my friends and my health or whatever you might thank God for you might Be thankful for. But did you know to have proper? Thanksgiving you can't just have specific things to be thankful about.
You have to be thankful to someone. Proper Thanksgiving is not just I'm thankful, but I thank the right person in this particular case three persons the father. The son and the spirit. I'm thankful to God.
Did you know it is God's will for you to be? Thankful and so I love it that in the providence of God. We're going through first Corinthians and just before Thanksgiving. We have a message on thankfulness.
Can you imagine people waking up next Thursday saying I'm so thankful that I still have my job and I have my house and now let's see I have to be thankful to someone. Who might I be thankful to. This great evolutionary process person God goo.
Thousands of thousands of years. Chemical reaction. I just really bow my knee and thank God for this evolutionary process. I mean it just is very strange. Gratitude must be directed toward God. The psalmist knew that Psalm 50 offer to God a sacrifice of.
You think a lamb burn offering food? After offer to God a sacrifice of Thanksgiving. Psalmist also said let them also offer sacrifices of Thanksgiving and tell of his works with joyful singing. Did you know it is good to give Thanksgiving?
Of course you do because most people here are Christians. It's good to be thankful. The word good tove in Hebrew means it's beautiful. It's good. It's right. Could I put it in the vernacular? It's handsome.
It's a handsome thing to do. It's a good thing. It's pleasant. It's agreeable. I will give thanks to thy name O Lord for it is good. Sing praises to thy name O Most High it is good to give thanks to the Lord.
But what happens we live in a culture that is thankless. I think you'd have to agree with me for the most part people are thankless. 2nd Timothy 3 it says. But realize this in the last days difficult times will come for men will be lovers of self.
Lots of self-esteem lovers of money boastful arrogant Revilers disobedient to parents. And what's the other thing that Paul says you want to know if you're living in the last days? I'll tell you look at the culture and they will be on what?
Thankful ungrateful. Now if we're supposed to be thankful people thankful to God. Thankful for all things in everything give thanks for this is God's will for you. We learned last week that one of the things we need to be thankful for is the local church you say Yeah, but you don't know the local church.
Like I know the local church if you say that I'm not trying to be one-up Over you, but if anyone knows the local church this church, I know it just as well as you know, don't I? How can we be thankful for these people.
Which I'm included. How can I be thankful for us? I mean again as I said last week as I look at this motley crew of people by face, I just think thankfulness. The answer is Paul was thankful for Corinth and if Paul is thankful for Sin City, Las Vegas Corinth.
It wasn't that they were just in the town of Corinth. But the Corinthian culture seeped into every fibric of the being of the local church and they were far from mature far from Thessalonians. Godly, they were immature and not godly and Paul said but I still can thank God for the people at Corinth.
Let's turn our Bibles of 1st Corinthians chapter 1 as we continue the series in 1st Corinthians. Specifically, how do we give thanks to God for an imperfect church? By the way, this will apply towards maybe how can I give thanks to God for an imperfect wife?
Children parents spouse you name it. Very very interesting. Paul lots of times starts off letters with typical greetings. But there's no greeting like this one and I don't want you to go too fast in 1st Corinthians and all of a sudden start.
With chapter 10 I start with chapter 1 verse 10. We'll get there next week. And it's very interesting because it's very earthy. It's very Dirty as it were with your hands you're working with the dirt and because there's divisions and strife in the church.
But before he addresses the problems of the church, there's a report from Chloe's household. There are problems in the church. Paul says before I get to the problems I'm gonna thank God for you and people go.
Well, he's just kind of showing that a Apostolic sarcasm true or false. Paul uses sarcasm in 1st Corinthians. True I'll show you one turn to chapter 4 verse 8. Chapter 4 verse 8. There is sarcasm in 1st Corinthians.
1st Corinthians 4 8 if you don't read your Bible all the way through you'd never get this. You think Paul the Apostle being sarcastic. Paul says in chapter 4 verse 8 you already are filled. You have already become rich.
You have become kings without us and Indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we almost so we also might reign with you. Dripping with sarcasm. Who writes like that? But back to chapter 1 the sarcasm that is found in chapter 4 is Non-existent in chapter 1.
Paul isn't being sarcastic. He's not saying I really thank God for you. Well, I'm really thankful for you. That's not what he's doing. He really Sincerely is thankful to God for these people that are less than perfect.
What a good lesson for us who knows what the Lord will do. Maybe today's the day we all die are today's the day the Lord comes back. But between now and glory we ought to get used to dwelling with saints who are not quite glorified.
What's the option to run off to some monastery someplace to run off to Lancaster, Pennsylvania? I don't know and then hang out with other sinful people. And by the way, you can't run from you. When you get all the way to Mars and you think I'm finally away from these sheep who act like goats.
Then you look at the mirror and you go I Wanted to go bad, but I wasn't gonna do it. I wasn't gonna do it. You can almost feel with the laugh that we have. There's something there's pressure. There's tension in this body where we say in the sermon where we say There are people that just aren't that lovable and I have to love them.
How can I thank God for them? Well today we'll see from Paul a great illustration as Ephesians says watch Paul praise God you praise God that way. Here in first Corinthians watch Paul pray to God for less than perfect people and we'll be able to use the same principles That Paul uses for Bethlehem Bible Church.
I've said it every sermon. I'll say it one more time. I don't think we're Corinth. I Think we're far from the fleshly Corinth. Well, there are people here that act maybe like the Corinthians do but as a church body from leadership down to nursery I don't think we're Corinth, but if Paul can pray to God and thank him for Corinth.
Can't we pray to God and thank him for more mature people than the Corinthians. I think the answer is Yes, let me give you five reasons. Every Christian here can be thankful for This local church in West Boylston.
We saw two last time. I'll expand on them and try to give you the other three. This will be helpful. These five reasons are going to help you because if you're not careful, you're gonna fall into the.
I don't like the carpet color. I don't like the pastors tie color. I've said I've had people say to me I don't really like that tie and I go well, I wear it for Kim. Ha ha ha. No, I don't say that. You know, can you imagine I'm the pastor and I go let's see.
What tie do I pick out today? Here's the directory and I just look at my ties and just keep looking through the directory until I find out there. They'll all like that tie. But you know what? We don't have arguments here at the church about doctrine.
That's been established in our heart. We don't have arguments about church polity. It's been established in our hearts through the scriptures we talk about these other things. I don't like this and I don't like that.
Why does it want to start at 630 and all and the list goes on and on? Some people are just like that. And so this is good for all of us and it's good for you if you've kind of got that tendency. To see the glass half full five reasons you can be thankful to God for less than perfect saints at Bethlehem Bible Church.
Do you see the passage in verse 4 of chapter 1? This is one big sentence verses 4 5 6 7 8 and 9. It's one sentence and that sentence has one main verb, which is the key to the sermon. I Thank my god. It's all about Thanksgiving.
Paul is thankful for God. Concerning you and he's always thankful and he might not be thankful about their divisions their Immorality their lawsuits their wrong use of the gifts. But he is thankful for what God has done in their lives.
What things when Paul kneels down and says God I thank you and he remembers his prayer list and the Church of Corinth comes Up and he says every time I pray and every time I pray for Corinth. I'm what you know.
What if I was Paul what I would be I? Discouraged. God uses me to plant a church over here and they just take off and they're growing like weeds but but they're very righteous and. But now Corinth you'd think that'd be a thorn in Paul's side.
But when he he says whenever I pray, I thank God concerning you for what? Let me show you five reasons number one. The first reason you could be thankful for people at Bethlehem Bible Church is because God gave the people here His saving grace.
In other words God saved people here you can be thankful for their salvation. Do you notice a text verse 4? I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God saving grace unmerited favor of God given to sinners of all people which was given you in Christ Jesus at Corinth.
What could account for the church cropping up at Corinth? Management Business. Oh, I know if we got the right marketing. Let's have product place price and promotion and we'll just come with some kind of scheme.
We'll take business schemes from the Corinthian days. We'll do that at Corinth and up will pop a church. What can explain local Christians at Corinth where they're worshiping? Aphrodite they're worshiping Apollos.
They'll worshiping the Navy God Melcat. What can describe a look a group of people who say no longer do I worship this God that God or that God? I don't even worship all of them together. There's one God that I'll bend my knee toward and that is Jesus Christ.
What explains that kind of thing at Corinth? The grace of God. I Have another question. I drive around New England all the time. What explains a church here in West Boston? Would you pick this place to plant a church?
Maybe some of you that were here 25 years ago didn't pick this place and you knew what you were doing. But I wouldn't pick it. I'd pick other things about this. I'd say, you know I need to be down on the 495 and I need to buy a be by a Metroplex and I need to plant the church where all the rich people are.
That's how some people plant churches where the rich people. Yeah, that'd be good rich people need to be saved, too. What explains the church here as I've heard this place being called the Pizza Hut Church?
Because for some unless there's some steeple of a church built in 1600s for some the church isn't the people it's the building. What explains this church and I'll tell you the only thing that explains this church here is the sovereign grace of God.
That is an overstatement because all grace is sovereign. But to iterate reiterate it and put the focus there the sovereign grace of God nobody pulling God strings. Nobody's saying God if you do this, then I'll do that.
And if I do this you'll do that. It's the sovereign grace of God where God says I'm going to redeem a people after my own Likeness the likeness of my son and I'm going to regenerate them and you should say thank you.
Thank you. We're not running around worshiping false gods anymore, you know after service I see all kinds of things happening, but I've never seen in the 13 years that I've been here I've seen lots of things but I've never seen anybody immediately leave this church and go outside to the woods and Bend down before one of those oak trees and begin bowing and kissing the bark.
And you know there are worship services in the world that after they leave getting together. That's exactly what they do. What can explain people who used to be? Proverbial bark kissers to now I will kiss the Sun so we don't perish.
Psalm chapter 2 what can explain it? Who can explain it? The only thing that can be explained here at Bethlehem Bible Church is we are the recipients. The grace of God our pagan behavior and nature has been replaced by a divine nature and by divine works.
This is all about God. Paul doesn't say I thank God for you because you did this and you did that this whole passage. Paul says I thank God because he has given verse 4. He's enriched verse 5. He's confirmed in verse 6.
He's called in verse 9 and he will confirm in verse 8. It's all. God is the active one. We are the passive ones. What a pastoral heart he has and by the way as a pastor if I had to somehow take care of you with all my kind of Machinations and the elder board getting together.
How could we even minister to you short of the grace of God? If my resources for reforming a group of people in West Boylston would be anything less than the sovereign grace of God How would we do it?
There's only so many Barna chapters. You can read before you realize. I think I better go back with the Bible and Paul says for that then I can be thankful. So my question for you is here if you're attending and your regular attender you remember I?
Hope you're thankful to God for this body. Remember the church isn't the building. It's the body of Christ. How do you stop bad behavior you stop bad behavior by starting good behavior? How do you stop complaining about people in the church you start thanking God for what he's done at this local church?
God has graced people here with salvation. Number two, how can we be thankful for a lesson perfect church. Paul was thankful for Corinth. We should be able to be thankful for our church. Number one be thankful to God because he has saved people here.
Number two. You can be thankful for the people at Bethlehem Bible Church because God has graciously taught the people here biblical truth. And has given them the gift of understanding that truth they both had preaching and they've had the illumination of the Spirit of God.
Corinth had Preaching they had the word and they had understanding they had the utterances. God sent preachers. And then they also had an understanding that's found in verse 5. That in everything you were enriched in him in all speech.
It's a word logos and all knowledge. You were made rich God Thank you for Corinth Paul says because those people were living lifestyles of the rich and famous. Well, maybe they weren't practically doing that but positionally they had been given everything and so BBC has has been given everything.
Once you're given the Sun do you see the passage in verse 5 enriched in him once God gives you the Sun? He's given all that he has he's given the most and in the Sun. There's also the word proclaimed the word understood you have to be thankful that people here have been taught the Bible.
I don't mean just the pulpit, but I do mean the pulpit including but I do include the pulpit. You know the Word of God. If I say to you what Bible verse says God helps those who help themselves. You say it's not in the Bible.
That was Gandhi and it's works righteousness. Yes, you know, you've been taught. That's a grace gift when I when I moved to Los Angeles and then got saved I bought a house in the middle of the the LA Basin and I thought well, I Don't know where really to go to church because I would didn't care about going to church.
I was an unbeliever and then I realized by luck by chance by serendipitous Fortuitous nature five minutes down the street from my house was Grace Community Church in John MacArthur. Happy day. How lucky.
There's an amazing thing. And as I sat there I could think to myself God has given me faithful biblical preaching. Thank you, and God has given me now that I'm a Christian an understanding. I can understand the Bible say God.
Thank you for BBC that we've been saved and then God has given us biblical teaching and we can understand it. That's an amazing thing the Corinthians Didn't understand the truths of God because they had a good education and they went to Athens to get that kind of philosophy.
This was a gift from God the gift of preaching and the gift of understanding. Matter of fact turn to chapter 2 verse 14. Look at what happens to those who aren't Christians. They can't understand things.
They might read an English Bible, but they read it and remember when you weren't a Christian you read the Bible and you're like, huh? I know what that is. It's a different article. I know what a verb is, but I don't get this book.
I have no code. I can't decipher it. I need some kind of some kind of holographics or something to understand it. Well, we know the decoder ring if I could say it righteously. He is the Spirit of God verse 14 of chapter 2.
But a natural man somebody who's not a Christian does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him and he what? Cannot understand them why because they're spiritually appraised Verse 15, but he who is spiritual of praises all things yet He himself is appraised by no one for who has known the mind of the Lord that he will instruct him.
But we have the mind of Christ Received not earned, but we can understand things. We look at the text and we go. I get it. There are some difficult things. Yes, but for the most part when we read a passage we go.
Aha. I get it. Do we have that aha moment because we're smart because we're handsome. No, it's because it's a gift from God and Paul says God. Thank you. You've given them salvation. You've given them preaching and what would preaching be if you couldn't understand what I was saying if I got up and started speaking in.
I don't know Swahili who knows here Swahili might have one Dan Woodward. You don't know Swahili. Let's just close in prayer. I Saw a hand go up and I go wow one time I was preaching about in Eskimo this means such-and-such and after the service somebody came up to me and said I'm an Eskimo.
Wow. Wow, it's a sign from God the Church of Corinth was not left to fend for herself. We're not left to fend for ourselves. When's the last time you prayed God? I thank you when I think of BBC. Thank you.
We've received saving faith. We've had the word preached we can understand the word number three. The third reason why you can be very thankful to God for this less-than-perfect Church. By the way This should get rid of all the complaining all the mumbling all the groaning all the things that left to our old self.
We just like to do we have fun doing we absorb what the culture does and we do it too, by the way culture says. Through advertising be discontent. How do you sell things? I'll tell you how you sell things by fear.
Get the get the vaccine or you're gonna die. Well, somebody's gonna think that's a political statement. It's not a political statement agreed. Give me your money and God will make you rich. Give your money to the guy Cumberland Farms and then and buy $50 worth of scratchers and you're gonna become really rich.
Or how can you motivate people? What's another motivation for people to do things? Create discontentment through Advertising. Show me somebody watched his TV all day long and I'll tell you someone who has to fight their hardest to say I should be Content because everything has to be bigger better.
Oh, they've got to be prettier. They've got to be smarter. They've got to be more fantastic. Why doesn't my pastor? I remember there's an article online. What if your pastor doesn't preach like John Piper?
Should you still be thankful? What if your preachers not John MacArthur? So people sell things by creating a lack of contentment. What happened to the ordinary. What happened to the regular. So we don't want to buy into that.
This is good preventative maintenance for us. The third reason why you can be thankful to God is Found in verses 6 and 7 you can be thankful for the people here at BBC because God Confirmed the testimony of Christ to us.
Now this has some discontinuity between the Corinth and us, but I'll explain it. I think it's easy to get let's do Corinth first verse 6. Even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you Corinth so that you Corinth are not lacking in any gift.
Awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ Corinth. When you didn't know what the Bible was because there was no Bible written outside of the Old Testament. How did you know this word that came to you preached 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 2 Jesus Christ even him crucified?
How did you know that was true? Well, what did God use to confirm that truth to the church of Corinth? What did God used to churches back in those days when you didn't have a Bible you couldn't go? Oh, it's chapter and verse.
He said he's a true prophet. Yes, it's true. What if some guy just got up and said thus saith the Lord and another guy who got up here and says thus didn't say The Lord thus saith the Lord. How would you determine the difference?
Answer. God would confirm like a stamp of some kind of official pin at the court records. Official stamp. Confirmed true USDA approved UL approved. And how did he approve it by? Signs and wonders and Spectacular things.
If I would stand up 2 ,000 years ago and say God told me to have you give all your money to Jesus. This is my address. By the way, that's what people do on TV. And another person said God told you that you should be a sacrificial giver.
You should give with cheerful liberality and if you're not compelled to give. Then just don't give and then we say, huh? Well, they're different. Which one do we follow. And then all of a sudden I Walked down and I touched everyone on the forehead and everyone here who was sick was completely healed.
Not just of bad backs not just of leg lengthening not just of making fillings turn into gold. But new arms grew out. People could stand up out of their wheelchairs. People would say, you know what the doctor has given me five months to live and I am completely whole.
Who would you believe? You know who you would believe today. That's not an issue for us because we confirmed the word preached by the word canonized in the scripture. People show up at Corinth. Hey, you're in this big city.
There's all kinds of people saying God told me God told me God did this. God did that. Paul showed up and said Jesus Christ. And him crucified. Nobody else believe in him or you pay for your own sins.
And then he did signs and wonders and healings and the Church of Corinth said Confirmed. I believe it. That's what he's talking about here. The testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you first externally and then of course Internally confirmed with signed gifts.
Miraculous works of the Holy Spirit. Listen what BB Warfield said? It's a shocking quote. I've never read this quote by BB Warfield before and it just Reverberates. You hit a gong or something and it just it just resonates for a while.
This happens with this verse. Quote. Miracles do not appear on the page of Scripture vaguely here there and elsewhere indifferently with Assignable without a signable reason in other words. Why are there miracles in the Bible?
Take all of the history of the world and condense biblical miracles and you'll have about a hundred years of biblical miracles. Why are they just punctuation marks here and there? Why aren't they all everywhere all the time?
They belong Warfield said to revelation periods. When God reveals his mind and appear only when God is speaking to his people through accredited messengers declaring his gracious purposes. That word there in your Bible confirm means a legal guarantee.
How is this legal guarantee confirmed in your heart by the confirmation of your eyes and senses? And you say this guy is doing miracles. The next book 2nd Corinthians Paul says this the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance by signs by wonders and by what.
Here comes an apostle called by God thus saith the Lord and how is he confirmed? How is this message confirmed? And how is he personally confirmed answer signs miracles and wonders and what's the result?
There's this wonderful double result. Look at the passage chapter 1 verse 6 and 7. Specifically the double result of this confirmation in verse 7 number 1 so you're not lacking in any gift. Not lacking in any gift.
God has wonderfully given gifts and you're not lacking in one. What's the second result? That since you know the truth you can understand the truth. It's been preached to you. It's been confirmed outside of you.
It's been confirmed in you. It should all lead to what Jesus is coming back and I'm going to await eagerly if this is the foretaste Jesus saves from sin temporally. I can't wait till he comes back and deals with it altogether.
If he's taking care of the power of sin if he's taking care of the penalty of sin I want him to come back and take care of the what? Presence of sin if you know Jesus Christ has saved you from your sins now and you believe the gospel message.
Repent or perish. Jesus is the only Savior the risen Savior. You must trust in him. You'll say to yourself. I read the Bible. He's coming back. That's exactly what happened with Corinth. Not lacking in any gift that was the first result.
They're waiting eagerly for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans says the creation waits in eager expectation and then Paul says in Romans we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons. God, thank you for BBC their past benefits.
They're saved and you've confirmed the work in their life so much. They're anticipating future benefits. The second coming. How is how is the gospel confirmed in our hearts and our minds? We don't need sign gifts anymore because signs pointed to something they pointed to the close of the canon.
How is the truth confirmed in you? I'll tell you how the truth is confirmed in you. Chapter and what? Verse. I can confirm everything I say or not say because it's right here. Why do you think by the way, I say often look at your Bibles.
Why I could say for Casey's benefit look at your own gizzards. I think I've said gizzards twice now in the last three weeks. Look at yourself. Look inside yourself. That's what people say now. Just look inside yourself.
You've got to take a good long look and I with you have looked long enough to realize that's not a really pretty picture. So I need information from outside myself. How can I confirm God says I say to you?
You are going to die one day and stand before God and then there'll be a judgment and Jesus will either be the one who? Absorbs God's judgment for you or you will absorb God's judgment. How do you know that's true?
Lightning. No, you know, it's true because it's confirmed. What? Acts chapter 4 verse 12. Other passages. Number four the fourth reason you could be thankful a God. I think of BBC and I I don't think of the parking lot anymore.
People complain about the parking lot and Truth be told I probably complain about the parking lot too. I'd love a new parking lot. You go I'm gonna think about BBC and I'm gonna go man that parking lots week.
That person I met the other day I thought they were nice and I thought we were gonna be friends and they just. They haven't acted the way they should the list could go on and on. How about when you think of BBC you go.
God, I thank you. You've given us Saving grace. You've given us preaching. You've given us illumination. You've given us a confirmation that you're true and that you're coming back and number four you can be thankful for BBC.
The people here the sinful people here at BBC less than perfect because God will graciously one day glorify each and every Christian here. Because God one day will make them not just positionally perfect, but practically perfect.
Why worry about what's going to already happen? If I look around and I say myself boy, I sure wish you know. They wouldn't act that way, you know what one day you won't Say. I sure wish pastor was just he was kinder and he was more loving one day I'll be perfectly loving and perfectly kind by the way on a side note when people go.
Well, that's not a very loving Church. Here's what they mean. They have the wrong view of love because love means will tell you the truth. Love rejoices 1st Corinthians 13 with what? Truth. I love you.
I'll tell you the truth. Love is not. It's not that I guess it can contain that but the love I'm thinking about is agape love. Love tells you the truth. So when people say well, you know, you're not very loving.
I have a couple comments. One. Would you pray for me to be more loving. Two? Are you sure you understand what loving is and three are you just so convicted by the Word of God? You've got to say something to get relief to go to run to some kind of pablum place.
Okay back to the message, I'm glad people show up every week I preach and I go. I can't believe they showed up the next week. It's the jackhammer of the word right. Soft-hearted people want hard words from the pulpit.
Doug Wilson's, right? They say Lord. I got a hard heart. I Don't love my wife like Christ loved the church, but I want to. I haven't but I have that desire. I know that's what pleases you. I know that's what honors you.
So God convict me one of my favorite things in life, especially when ladies come to me and say after the Church or email. I think to myself. Not that I think God has worked in your heart. Because if you like hard messages, you don't just wake up one morning.
Just slay me God. That's what God is doing in your heart. Show me somebody who's mature and I'll show you someone who says I want the truth. And I don't have to be Stroked and I don't have to be coddled.
Tell me the truth. Now sometimes we need to encourage people and sometimes we need to comfort. I'm not saying we don't do that with the Word of God. Paul says this. I Thank God that these imperfect Corinthians are one day going to be in heaven and they'll be perfect.
That's good. I like that verse 8 who will also confirm you he confirms the message Christ crucified in. He confirms that earlier and now he confirms you it doesn't confirm in you now. He confirms you you will be confirmed To the end blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Not just confirmed in you but now confirm you in spite of the false gods at Corinth in spite of the thousand priestesses that would come down for communal worship sex with these people in Corinth to say their communion with the gods in spite of Satan and the culture and Self and everything else.
Paul said every one of these churches people at the Church of Corinth who's been saved. Guess what? Everyone is going to heaven. I have a question for you. Can God lose a Christian? People say well, can you lose your salvation friends?
Retreat back to point one. If God makes you a Christian then God's not going to in his immutability unmake you a Christian. God says I've given them saving grace and that saving grace will finish won't it?
I Sang a song even before I was a Christian. He who I want to sing it for you, but you know, it'll be he who began a good work in you, right? He'll be what? Faithful to complete it. That's Philippians 1 6 see in spite of my singing, you know the verses.
He who began a good and work good work in you will be unfaithful won't follow through. I am a prime example. Sometimes people say well. We just wish you could confess more of your sins in the pulpit. You'll feel like you're more one of us and we'll feel like you're one of us.
Hang out with me for a while. You'll feel like I'm one of you. It's not my job to confess all my sins, but I'll confess something here. How's that? I have great intentions to do things. It's hard for me to follow through and get them all done.
I Think you know, I'm gonna paint the trim in the kitchen and I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do that and I've got this to-do list that starts off really well. I can show you another illustration. I have literally in my house 20 books that have a bookmark in them.
Those are the ones that aren't hidden under the bed. So Kim can't see. There's books everywhere. In the old days I could say well if a neutron bomb hits they're good to kind of protect us from the fallout now with nukes.
It doesn't work. So I Say to myself I start jobs, but I don't finish. God started to work at Corinth, but I don't know if he's really gonna finish pretty sinful. Having incest with their mother-in-law.
How can how can God work in them? He says he is going to confirm you to the day of at the end and blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is absolutely amazing. He's not saying in their life.
They're blameless now, but on Judgment Day They will be blame less. Why because all the blame that would be poured out on them has been poured out on Jesus. They have a substitute they have they have blood over the the The door and in their hearts as it were that were blameless is very fascinating.
It means without accusation. Elders are to be without blame. You say well you you just committed you said you sinned. Without accusation in first Timothy chapter 3 means this the accusations don't stick.
Think about it if an elder woods gonna be taken out of the ministry for one accusation. Anybody at any time could go. I'm gonna get rid of that guy and he he's. I've been called all kinds of things. But the question is does it stick.
Is it's true and you can just imagine Satan with all his Ferocity says look at how they sin look at what they do and on Judgment Day. What will stick? Nothing, you'll be without blame not reprovable. I turn with me if you would to Jude verse 24.
There's no chapters in Jude you 24. Let me show you another passage. That's really close the same English word with a different Greek meaning that I think will encourage you where on Judgment Day. You will be blameless.
And I think that's worth thanking God for and by the way, I think it's worth saying to yourself. Why am I getting all caught up in people's imperfections when one day they will be perfect? Jude at the end of Jude.
Judah sitting down to write this letter kind of like Romans and he gets interrupted divinely. With some news and he has to contend for the faith and there's all kinds of bad teachers false teachers. Will people make it and then at the very end they will make it look at you 24 same English word.
But with a different meaning, but I think it's helpful for us to remember our King today this way now to him. Who is able to keep you from stumbling? Literally him who is able he's always able. He's continually able.
He doesn't slip. He doesn't forget. He doesn't make a mistake. He doesn't overlook this God who was continually able to keep you from stumbling. The word keep there by the way means a shepherd would watch his Sheep the flock and he would keep his flock by night.
What does keep mean watch protect guard? That's exactly what this means here. Case of attack. He who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory. Blameless with great joy who's able to do that by the way when sinful man or woman is around.
Holy God. What's the act? What's that? What's what happens there physically? Moses says he sees God and what does he describe the pavement underneath God because he can't see God live when Isaiah Sees the vision of God and he's transported into the heavenlies.
He sees Jesus. What does he describe starting from the Bottom up when Peter says hey Jesus, you just got us a lot of fish. This is pretty exciting. You're the God of the universe way to go knuckles high-five.
Wait, what did he do? He says depart from me. I'm what I'm sinful you're holy thrice holy and I'm sinful by word and by being. How do you stand in the presence of God how on Judgment Day do you stand.
I see too many people they go into court. They're hiding their face. They've got the thing on their head. They don't want to be seen. They try to get into court and and then the deputy or someone else face the judge.
The verdict will be read stand and face the person or whatever they say. How do you stand before God? Look at the text blameless with great joy. How does that happen? The word blameless there isn't the one we just looked at in first Corinthians.
But I think it's exciting to see first Corinthians is Accusations don't stick because the accused has been Christ Jesus. He's cursed in our place. This one means no defect. You've got an animal you want to slay the animal for Passover.
You couldn't give the one that somehow Wasn't perfect it had to be whole it had to be perfect. It had to be this something that was going to be sacrificial. If you give to God something, you know. The run of the litter then that's not sacrificial you give the run of the litter up.
Anyway, you give your best. This is that word here who's able to make you stand in the presence of his glory. Blameless with great joy. And by the way, I can't stop here and jump back to first Corinthians quite yet.
Whose joy is it? Will you be joyful in heaven as a five-year-old would say to me duh. This is God's joy. Who's got joy over the sinner who's been redeemed God's joy that is an amazing thing. The joy of God, how about Zephaniah?
It reminds me of that chapter 3. Speaking of the remnant of Israel the Lord your God is in your midst a victorious warrior. He will exalt over you with Joy joy. Sounds like Hebrews 12 fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him.
That's that kind of joy. Now, let's go back to 1st Corinthians chapter 4. I just wanted to show you that blameless word standing before God. We're without spot without blemish because we have the righteous robes of Christ and we have no Accusation that can stick.
Satan can say it but it won't stick because Christ has absorbed the just punishment do us. So Paul says I'm just thankful when I think of God he's gonna finish it you can't miss this by the way. In verse 8, this is just kind of a freebie who will confirm you to the end blameless in the day of our Jehovah Yahweh Lord remember that in the Old Testament the day of our what? the day of the Lord Cataclysmic judgment and now it's called the day of who's the judge.
Now we call it not the day of our Lord here. Paul calls it the day of Jesus Christ. This is the deity of Christ. Friends don't get people. Don't let people influence you because they're less than perfect here at BBC because one day they will be Salvation has been determined by God.
Left up to them. They couldn't do it, but it's been decreed by God and now number five. We need to finish this wrap it up. Can't talk about Thanksgiving next week for Thanksgiving. We have to get to the division section.
All right. By the way, I'm thankful I'm very thankful as a pastor that I'm not held here at the church to the hallmark holiday preaching schedule. When do you ever get a preach besides these other things?
I mean, how many Mother's Day sermons? Can I preach on Hannah and Proverbs 31 and other things? You just want the truth and you don't have to say well now it's this particular day and it's flag day. I read something very interesting.
By the way, this is a side note, too. It's easy to take a pulpit out of a church. But if you mess with a flag you're fired. Pulpit you don't need but if you take that sacred American flag, I'm patriotic by the way.
I wish I would have served our country in the military so I could say these things. It's kind of like when I say things about alcohol. I don't drink but it's not always a sin to drink I think to myself.
This church just wants the truth. And if I preach to you a passage next week and it should be during Thanksgiving time and it's on how not to have church Splits you'll go. Thank you. That's a great thing.
It's like Calvin gets kicked out of Geneva three and a half years. He comes back. You think you'd say it's great to be back. Here's my introductory sermon. What did he do? So now remember three and a half years ago.
We were in that particular chapter in verse turn your Bibles there. That's where we're picking up. I Pastor the greatest church in the world. I thank God for you that I could just preach the text. Actually this week I listened to some kind of how to be a good public speaker.
Unbeliever wrote it, but I just was listening. It was on tape. They said People will want you to speak less. No one will ever come up to you and say I sure wish you would have preached or taught a little bit longer and I Thought ha ha they don't know Bethlehem Bible Church because last week Person said oh, it's only 1130 and we're still got plenty of time.
Did I make that in you? Did you make that in you? You just come up with it and you're trying to flatter me as the grace of God in your heart. Will you say I used to hate biblical preaching? I was watching my clock the whole time and now the message is over.
I haven't watched my clock because I want to know what the Bible says. Who came up with that Paul could say I thank my god that that's the way people love to hear the word number five. First Corinthians chapter 1 verse 9 will tell us that you could be thankful for people at Bethlehem Bible Church because God is faithful.
Corinth might not be faithful. Bethlehem Bible Church might not be faithful, but God always is faithful. The same sovereign God that called the Corinthian Church will finish the work as I said earlier years ago.
We had this promise keeper movement, and I just thought I got enough promises. I already break. I don't need seven more and so promises in God chapter 1 of 2nd Corinthians verse 20. Yes, and amen only in Christ Jesus God is faithful.
The way the literal translation works is faithful is God to push to the front of the Greek order of wording the emphasis. So instead of taking a yellow highlighter for us, we'd underline faithful. They didn't have highlighters and they probably didn't have yellow highlighters either.
They would flip it around. Faithful is God for emphasis. You can't read first Corinthians without saying these people are faith. What? Less they're unfaithful. But God is faithful. How can you thank God for BBC less than perfect.
You go because God is faithful. Moses knew it. He is God the faithful God who keeps his covenant. Isaiah knew it. Because of Yahweh who is faithful. Paul said it to the Church of Thessalonica first Thessalonians 5 faithful as he who calls you and he also will bring it to pass.
Faithful means a prop or support or a crutch and you go and specifically this word is talking about a person not a thing. So it's not like a wooden crutch that Scott Goddard was using with his broken ankle.
It's more of a person who acts like a crutch, but they're a person here the person of God faithful absolutely relied upon. Psalm 33 said God is faithful in all he does. You say I'm suffering first Peter 4 and trust your souls to a faithful creator who does what is right?
I would be thankful for less than perfect people. God is faithful. AW pink said unfaithfulness is one of the most outstanding sins of these evil days in The business world a man's word is with exceedingly rare exceptions.
No longer his bond in the social world. Merrill marital infidelity abounds on every hand. The bonds of sacred wedlock being broken with as little regard as the disregarding of an old garment. The ecclesiastical ecclesiastical in the church realm.
Now the point of my passage in quote has no effect. I'm not gonna read and read the end. Okay, I'll read it in the church realm. Thousands who have solemnly covenanted to preach the truth make no scruple to attack and deny it yet.
Psalm 89 the Bible says God's faithfulness surrounds him. Envelops him. He is faithful. His faithfulness should help us not to worry. His facefulness should help us not to complain. His faithfulness should say.
To our hearts. I could be confident in this God. He started the work. He'll finish it. By the way, medical care can't stop this. Obamacare can't stop this. Nuclear bombs cannot stop this. The plunging dollar cannot stop this.
Your 401k cannot stop this. Woe to us if we're unfaithful. But even your unfaithfulness can't stop this because God is faithful. And for those that are visiting today I think I must say. If you're not a Christian God will be faithful in his judgment of you.
God faithfully has warned the wages of sin is death. God faithfully is told through his prophets if you do not bow the knee to Jesus Christ if you are not born again. You will pay Eternally for that transgression.
God has been faithful to show us in Scripture. Do you want to see unfaithfulness? Pharaoh wiped out Korah the rebellion taken care of Judas. We have been given if you're an unbeliever you have been given everything you need to know to say, you know what the way I'm leading my life will make myself throw my life into the hands of a Faithful God who is not my father and then comes judgment.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a God who is always a consuming fire. And so my words to you are repent. Run from your unfaithfulness. How about this God? I've tried to manage my own life.
I've tried to can make my own life get better. I've met so many people. Well, I'll just do better. I won't do that again. I've got all these resolutions. I'll try harder. I'm sorry that I got caught but you know now I'm gonna put my life in the right way friends.
Your prayer needs to be this. God help me. I'm a sinner and I can't save myself. I Reek of sin because I am sin and my only hope is your faithful word that says You delight in saving sinners. You delight in saving sinners.
It's your good pleasure. And when you bow your knee to Christ Jesus you repent from your sins and believe on the Lord's perfect work at Calvary. It's perfect resurrection. God is faithful to save. We have lots to be thankful for but let's not forget the one to whom we need to give thanks.
Let's pray our hope. Our father our God our faithful Redeemer. We just are thankful today for your word. We're thankful that time goes by fast for Christians as they hear the word proclaimed. We're thankful that there can be unfaithfulness around us.
Yet. You are faithful. We're thankful that we can be unfaithful yet. You're faithful. We're thankful especially today as we look back and we think about Jesus Christ faithfulness how he set his Mind and heart like a flint towards Jerusalem to do your will because it was his delight to do that.
Thank you that we can look to him in our faithlessness and see the faithful one and thank you Lord. You see us in him. Thank you. You've given us everything we need here. I personally thank you God our Father.
For Bethlehem Bible Church for these people. I thank you that you saved them. I thank you that you've given them the truth and you've given them understanding. You've given them the word to confirm these things as true you will make them perfect one day.
You're faithful. I pray also for those who are visiting or maybe a member who's not born again I pray that your faithful promise to prosecute sinners Will humble the unbeliever here today and drive them away from themselves and unto you Father for our church help us to be thankful help us to be just Enjoying your goodness attributing everything you give To us from your good hand and we know that we're Christians not just by our love.
But because you've made us faith you've made us thankful and you've been faithful in Jesus name.