Abounding in the work of the Lord (1Cor 15:58)

1 Corinthians 15 and the Hope of the Resurrection

We'll go ahead and open up your copy of God's Word to 1st Corinthians chapter 15 our primary text for today will be verse 58, but we will be starting to read in verse 55 and. Some of you may be thinking wait a second.

I thought that you pastor were starting our study through the book of Ephesians today. And you can blame pastor Jeremiah on this one. He and now we we decided this week because of next week's Interruption with the pastors from Riverbend coming and preaching that we didn't want to do an introduction of the book.

Miss a whole week before we continued in the beginning of that study in Ephesians. And so God I believe has led us here as we prayed through and thought through what is needed for this morning. So let's read our text here in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 starting in verse 55.

Says Oh death. Where is your victory? Death where is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ therefore.

My beloved brothers be steadfast. Immovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. Let us stop now, let's go to the Lord once again. Let's ask that he would illuminate our hearts and minds to this great truth in his word.

Dear Heavenly Father God, I pray that you guard us from Error in our thinking about your truth and about your word. You know, I'd guard my lips from error guard the ears of the hearers today from hearing untruth.

Father I pray that you would be honored that as we glean from from your living words that it would be life-changing and within us that it would be encouraging that it would be challenging that it would be Edifying for us your Saints as you work that great work of sanctification with the Holy Spirit within us.

Father, I pray that you work in that today in Christ's name. Amen. Well as we come into a new year, it's it's common. Right for people to to do an inventory of sorts. Right to do a breakdown of maybe some of the highs and lows.

Maybe some of the the good and the bad the the successes and the failures of a previous year. That's pretty common practice, right? It's we see it in our New Year's resolutions that very few of us carry through the month of January but we'll see some of us may be successful this year and As we do that some years we look back and we think wow.

Wow, this was a productive year. I mean I had my share of failures and lows but but overall this year was a success. This was a good year. Then on the other hand, we all have those years where we look back on the previous year and think Wow, how did I survive that?

And you think well this year obviously this past year that goes into the loss category. Right and you begin to think well, maybe this year will be the year this year will be better. This year will be successful that year was a wash.

And a church body really is no different. You see churches like ourselves here gathered together have these ebb and flows of life that's the nature of this world and Just like with the short life of of this church here I mean we we not too long ago in September celebrated two years as a church plant and I look around the room and I think there's not a lot in here that was here from day one in that first year.

Pastor Jeremiah you and Ali were probably the closest right y 'all were there at week two. Okay, but but if you were here during that year, you've heard about it. It was a hard year. There was a lot of uncertainty as far as the direction of the church.

What this is going to be is this gonna actually flourish into a church? We were right in the peak of the pandemic. Right where people were wanting to wear masks and and and not gather together. And so it was a difficult time.

We had other churches and professing believers within the community. Slandering and lying about us hoping that that this never takes off that this never gets off of the ground. We had moments of doubt didn't we had moments of doubt?

I can look at my wife and Pastor Jeremiah and Ali and myself and there were times we Questioned is this the calling is this what you have truly called us to do. It was a difficult year but then God reminded us of his faithfulness to me.

Even through that difficult year he reminded us of his faithfulness, but he really showed off this past year. This past year has exceeded any of our expectations. I Was telling somebody the other day I'd told my wife when we first Started meeting there in the living room at the other house I said I said babe if if in two years if we have Five to six like families or individuals that are committed to this ministry.

Like we'll take that as a sign that like this is where God wants us to go. And at two years, I mean God has just he has exceeded expectations. We've we've had new families. We've had new individuals that are being drawn here Consistently that are always coming in we have guests coming constantly some with whom stick around and become part of us.

We have seen lives changed. We have we have seen minds and hearts awakened and hungry for truth. People that you can watch it in them the things that they just didn't know about God or know about his word and and that Light bulb has gone off and you watch that sanctification process.

We've become a community. Well, really I should say family. We've become more like family as we gather for our quantity of feast and as we gather on Wednesday nights. And we're all together. Everyone wants to be together be being formed into a body.

Well, we see that every single member is engaged and participating in in ministry. Every single person that's a member here is engaged in ministry and it's a great reminder for us. I'm just listing off a few things off the top of my head that.

That remind us that Christ is building his church. Christ is building his church. He is the one working in and through us. For what he sees fit and we should be grateful that he has done this in our lives this past year.

We can look back on this past year and see a lot of winds see a lot of things that produce visible fruit. That is encouraging and he uses the means of the obedience of his Saints. And so thank you for being committed to the ministry and the work here and he does that he uses that to carry out this work.

However, we we must be mindful of our own really sinful short-sighted infantile propensity. We often find it easy to be encouraged to be motivated when we see Physically with our own eyes the fruit of our labors.

That's it's easy for us. Oh, well, that's encouraging we we check that year off as a win and Maybe most of the time we would think of the previous year. Maybe that would be a loss we didn't see as much visible fruit as we've had a great year and We have no idea what God has in store for us in this next year in year 2023 we don't know what God has a store for 12 5 and so like I said pastor Jeremiah and myself we find it incumbent upon us to preemptively prepare our hearts for whatever comes and We believe that that preparation is found here in this text in 1st Corinthians 15.

Laboring from a Position of Certain Victory

Which we'll be diving into here in just a moment because what if let's just let's throw out some questions. We're not going to presume upon God this morning but what we are going to do is we're going to make our plans and hopes and in the in the Security that God is going to direct our steps but what if.

What if God decides to test our faith this year? What if what if this next year doesn't quite look like this past year? What if we go months without ever seeing any physical evidence of? Fruit as a church.

What if God shizzles us down to 20 people meeting in someone's living room this year? What if we experience heartache after heartache trial after trial? Difficulty upon difficulty. What if it's totally different than this past year?

We've experienced a tremendous amount of unity this past year. We've not even really had any strife. God's given us as beautiful I guess it's a honeymoon stage as a church plant. But what if this next year is the year of disunity and strife in our midst because our sinful flesh creeps up and it starts To overtake and it starts to cause problems and God allows it to happen within our midst.

What if these things happen or even worse will we I should say will you will you change your tune? Will we lose our momentum will we lose our heart? It's human nature, isn't it? We have a propensity towards that.

Or will we continue to run the race? Falling back on what we intellectually know about God and that Says that he builds his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it and he does it through the means and the ways that he sees fit even in the difficult times and The times where we see no fruit evident.

Now before you think Oh pastor I'm definitely more mature Christian than this like I get where you're coming from, right? But but I'm I'm gonna trust God no matter what I know. I understand the sovereignty of God and I trust it and I'm here for the long haul right, right?

I don't care what comes our way. I'm here before you say that just remember pride comes before the fall. All right, if any of us think we're above it I seem to. I seem to remember a gentleman by the name of Peter who who vehemently declared I will never deny you.

It's human nature because we're weak but thank the Lord thank the Lord that he knows our frailty doesn't he? He knows how easily we are distracted. He knows how easily dissuaded we are from the task at hand.

He knows and that is precisely why he led the Apostle Paul to write words like these here in 1st Corinthians 1558. Therefore my beloved brothers be steadfast. Immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord.

Knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. The Apostle Paul here is encouraging believers. We know that because he says my beloved brothers, right? He's encouraging believers to continue laboring to continue the work in the Lord.

And this statement is of course rooted in what Paul has just previously said. We know this because of the therefore at the beginning of the statement, right? What is it therefore? And what has Paul previously said?

We'll look back at the previous couple of verses there in 55 that we read. He's right here. He quotes a compilation of passages that come from Isaiah and Hosea these Old Testament prophecies. He's he's he's quoting this he kind of put this together.

Oh death. Where is your victory? Oh death? Where is your sting? And then he goes on and says the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law but Thanks be to God. Who? Gives us victory. You hear that victory?

Through our Lord Jesus Christ therefore and then he goes on and so I want us to see one major theme here and break that theme down and That theme of this passage here in verse 58 is that we labor from a position of certain victory.

This is a great reminder. This is something that many of us already know. But as we see in God's Word, we constantly have to go back and be reminded of it. We labor from a position of certain victory.

You see this imperative from the Apostle Paul in verse 58. Subsequently follows this this line of reasoning that he has begun all the way back at the beginning of chapter 15. As a matter of fact and look back at the beginning of chapter 15 as he starts out this thought process.

They're in verses 1 2. He says now I would remind you brothers again. He's speaking to Christians, of course the the church there in Corinth. He says I would remind you brothers of the gospel. That's the key.

Speaking of the gospel. I preach to you which you received in which you stand. That's key there in which you stand and by which you are being saved. If you hold fast to the word I preached to you unless you believed in vain.

And you see then Paul goes on in this chapter to remind them of this gospel and to remind them of what this gospel means for them in the future a Future resurrection with Jesus the resurrected Christ.

And that's what this whole chapter is building upon. Pointing to that resurrection that we have and that we share in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he leads up to this great Old Testament declaration that we read a moment ago to death.

Where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? It's gone the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law, but Thanks be to God who? Gives now I want you to notice something if you write in your Bible.

I want you to write. I want you to underline this little bitty word here us. Who gives us? The victory. Sometimes we think of the victory that God has won as something Theoretical out there that God has the victory and God alone has that victory and he does he's the one that's wanted.

He's the one that's bought it. He's the one that's fulfilled it. He's the one that carries it out. He's the one that sustains it but here Paul says that he gives us that same victory and It is through our Lord Jesus Christ.

You see sin Was our ultimate enemy and it led to what? What did sin lead to? Death right sin led to death, but now in Christ death has lost its sting death is no longer potent and What does that mean for you and I?

What does this mean? How how can Paul say that he has given us the victory? And what does this mean that death has been defeated? It means that we win. As simple as that we win the ultimate enemy death has been defeated we win.

It's a done deal. Yet, let's let's be honest for a second. Let's take off our pious mask for a second set that aside. Mmm. Yeah, I trust all the things of God and I stand firm in them. Set that aside for a second.

Let's be honest dig down into your own mind in your own heart at times sin and death still feels like an unyielding adversary. Doesn't it we still experience the external consequences of its carnage. Do you feel it?

It's it's all around us. We lose loved ones. We we lose we lose things that we hold so dear and it's so unnatural. You feel it when you lose a loved one like you're standing at the funeral and you're like this is so unnatural.

This is not the circle of life. This is not the norm. This is not the way it's supposed to be and you feel the consequences of it. You feel it in your own life whenever you fall prey to sin whenever you're constantly going back.

This is the Apostle Paul says all this wretched flesh. It does I do what I don't want to do and I don't do the things I want to do who will deliver me from this. We're constantly fighting it and that experience can be discouraging and it often leads to doubt and hopelessness.

It can cause us to throw up our hands and give up. Can't it? We feel like it's a losing battle wanting to throw in the towel. Want to wave that white flag out on the battlefield. I'm done. I'm tired. I'm done.

This is it. This is a loss. This year's a loss. I Give up and that's precisely why we need this reminder. This reminder that even in the darkest night, even when the battle seems most bleak. When victory seems lost and defeat looks inevitable.

We can continue pressing forward. And then. Because the absolute worst thing that could happen. Let's think about this for a second the absolute worst thing that could happen in this life Is what can't what can the world do they they can take this physical body from us?

Right. That's the worst thing. That's the worst thing that could happen. I could die. Okay. So I die. Because here's the thing in Christ. That physical death that we will experience is actually victory now.

Before it was a loss before it was it was destruction. It was eternal death under the judgment of God but now that physical death Releases us that death sheds off this remaining sinful old flesh from us and ushers us into life everlasting.

That that's a great reminder, isn't it? Because we now see that death has lost its sting. It has no victory. Giving us that victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And an old 17th century Puritan by the name of Thomas Matten some of you might read some of his works.

He made the statement. He said a man's greatest care Should be for that place where he dwelleth longest. Therefore eternity should be in his scope. That's the Christian life. We get so fixated on the here and now that we see these battles that we think we're losing.

The we don't see fruit evident. We don't see God working the way that he he he's promised in his word. We don't know what's going on. But then when we look at passages like this we see that this laboring is from a position of certain victory.

Certain victory, it's how we can be as verse 58 says steadfast Immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord. Now some of your translations here say firm instead of steadfast. It's a good translation.

He drives this further emphasis of this word firm or steadfast. He drives this point home further with the next command in the phrase. He says be steadfast or be be stand firm Immovable. Now you've heard you've heard in movies any of y 'all ever watched war movies or old cowboy movies or whatever.

You've heard the the phrase hold the line. Right hold the line as the soldiers are being commanded to hold firm to be Immovable to not let the enemy dissuade. You do not let fear or circumstances. Cause you to break rank.

Hold firm and Paul is telling us Christians to stand our ground. Now the question is what ground is he telling us to stand? What ground is Paul telling us to stand? So he uses this same language over in Colossians as a matter of fact flip over there with me if you got your Bibles in front of you.

Colossians chapter 1 verse 23. Colossians 1 23 the Apostle Paul also wrote this letter. He writes it to a different church of course, but we see the same Phrasing and I think it'll give us some clarity as to what Paul means.

Back in this passage in 1st Corinthians, but Colossians chapter 1 verse 23. He says if indeed you continue in the faith. Stable and steadfast which by the way that word. It's the same Greek word that he used back in the passage of 58.

He's a stable and steadfast and then here's the same type of language that he used not shifting. From the hope of The gospel that you heard not Shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard so Paul is telling us to stand firm in the gospel.

That was once for all delivered to the Saints that's what he's telling us to stand firm and movable our feet planted hold the line. This is what Paul is telling us. Do you want to know when to give up on this church?

That's kind of what we're talking about this next year and what God's doing. You know when to give up on 12 five church. You know when to throw in the towel and know for certain that God is not working in this place any longer.

I Can tell you right now and I'm gonna warn you if it ever happens even if I'm the cause of it run. It's if we capitulate in the gospel if we don't hold the line. If we if we veer from the gospel that was once for all delivered to the Saints.

That's when you lose. So that's when you know. Okay, I wasn't seeing fruit before. But now I know why I'm not seeing fruit. It's time to move on. The moment that we as a church are not standing firm steadfast and immovable on.

What's revealed in this word what's revealed in God's Word with clarity and precision is The moment we are no longer a church and it needs to burn to the ground. Now when Paul says to be immovable He's obviously not saying Set in the pew and do nothing.

You like how I went old-school and said pew instead of foldable chair. And and we know this because he goes on in the passage look back at verse 58 in 1st Corinthians 15. He says be steadfast immovable always Abounding in the work of the Lord.

This word abounding comes from a Greek word perisuo and It carries a similar meaning to our word preeminent. Which means Surpassing all others. It's an abundance. It's an overflow. It's excess. It's going above and beyond.

Reminds me of what Paul said in Romans 12 love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another and showing honor. Honor on honor on honor. Continuing to outdo each other. This is the idea of the Christian life within the church, but he uses this phrase always abounding.

Preeminent in the work of the Lord always Surpassing all others in the work of the Lord now Paul's not telling us to turn the work of the Lord into a competition. That's not the idea of where Paul is going.

He's he's telling us to pursue it with our utmost. To pursue it to continue in this work as we hold the line of the truth of the Word of God that we should be outpouring the work of the gospel and. And in doing so we're encouraging one another to do the same aren't we.

It's like iron sharpening iron. Might my job is to outdo Adam. Right. I'm to outdo you in the work of the Lord and your job is to outdo me not in a competition but in an abundance and it's an encouragement and it causes Adam to grow more and it causes Nathan to grow more and it causes Jeremiah to grow more and Travis to Grow more and we're just continuing to grow more and more and more in the work of the Lord because we're abounding in it.

It's moving forward while holding the line. I Think of it in a war example. Maybe you look back at the old like Civil War stuff or the Revolutionary War or these men stand there and and then like take A bullet and then hold their gun up and then shoot and then take a bullet and but they're holding the line, right?

But but in a good battle, these men are always progressing. Not only are they holding the line? They're always taking ground. They're always moving forward. They're always Pursuing because they know they have certain victory in doing so.

We'll look back there at verse 58 again. Notice a word in there always. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. I Don't know about you, but when I read phrases like that, it kind of intimidates me. How was this possible?

Right. How is this possible? To always be abounding in the work of the Lord. When I understand this we must understand what the work of the Lord is. Does it mean that we? Are all of you need to be here at this church working in some fashion or some way 24 hours?

Seven days a week. Is that the work of the Lord always abounding in the work of the Lord? Well flip over to Colossians again with me to chapter 3 if you've got your Bible there Colossians 3 17. I want to say Paul's words is they give us an idea of what Paul could possibly be talking about back in 1st Corinthians.

But in Colossians chapter 3 verse 17 very common verse many of you'd probably know it. Well He says and whatever you do in word or deed. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Whatever you do in word or deed now flip back over to 1st Corinthians, but go to chapter 10 31. 1st Corinthians 10 31 now. I want you to see very similar phrase again from the Apostle Paul. He says so whether you eat.

Whether you drink or whatever you do. Whatever you do do all to the glory of God. Whatever you do. Whether you're eating whether you're drinking with your setting where you're standing. Whatever it may be you may be washing dishes.

You may be running a tractor. You may be preaching the gospel to your neighbor. You may be performing surgery. You may be teaching children. You may be serving as a greeter at your church. You may be brewing a pot of coffee.

Or you may be as the old Pat the Prince of preachers Charles Haddon Spurgeon says you may be smoking a cigar. Whatever you do if it is being done to the glory of God is the work of the Lord. So Paul says if it's being done to the glory of God is the work of the Lord.

And here's the thing. Even if it doesn't seem to produce visible fruit. Washing dishes doesn't seem to be producing visible. Eternal fruit does it it produces fruit in a clean kitchen? But it doesn't seem to be an eternal fruit does it.

But Paul says that if you're doing it to the glory of God, that's the work of the Lord and has eternal consequences. You don't know who sees that effort and God is using that in their life to just Small in a small way slowly building what God has called his people to be.

So I say all this to say if you serve in ministry here and You go for an extended period of time without visibly seeing God at work. Yet, you know that you're doing it to the glory of God. You're not seeking self-glory in it.

You're not seeking Admonishment from it you're simply quietly. No one noticing. Doing the work of the Lord honoring. You're a great God in that act. Trust that he is honored in it and that he is working all things out for his glory all things.

Continue always abounding in that work always. Look back at our passage in 15 58 the next part there says Knowing I love I love this absolute language of the Apostle Paul here. Knowing that though that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

You can do these things. Because you have a sure hope right. There's many meaningless Minuscule tasks that seem to not produce anything, you know that you can carry them out with a sure hope. You can be steadfast.

You can meet be immovable abounding in the work of the Lord because just as John Piper He puts it with the phrasing that the Apostle Paul uses here and in this this Surety, he says it's like a child That's getting ready to jump into his father's arms.

You ever done that with your kids or you did that with your dad? Where he stands there and you're there on the countertop and you saying jump to me and your child. What do they do? They just well without hesitation.

They jump to their father. Why. Because they know with certainty that oh, hey dad's catching me. I Love that analogy that he is going to catch. But when we see that we look to the finished work of Christ knowing with even greater Certainty than that that our labor is not in vain.

We know it's not in vain because of these great promises that he has given us and what he's called us to do. Because all that God does is good and he has called us to this work. And this work is accomplishing his purposes even when we don't see it.

We know that it's being done and we know that because. No death. Where is your victory? No death. Where is your sting? And now we get to rest in this great truth. We get to rest by abounding in the work of the Lord.

There's great comfort in that right now. It brings all new meaning to whatever it is that your hand finds to do do it all is under the Lord. It brings meaning to that menace and seemingly minuscule task.

It brings meaning when someone comes into the building and does something that no one knows they're doing and no one even Notices that it ever gets done whenever you you're doing something for your neighbor.

For a loved one for another church member that no one's gonna ever see you know that God sees it and it's being used For eternal purposes and it's being carried out for his will you're doing it. Even when you don't see what God is being is doing in the midst of it because death has been defeated.

Therefore our labor is not in vain. That's a beautiful truth. We may not see the visible fruit. But here's the thing visible fruit is just icing on the cake in this life. It gives us years like this past year that have been amazing and we're like, oh my goodness.

Look at what God has done. We get to worship him, but that's just icing on the cake because we're not laboring for that. We're not laboring as a church so that we can bring in more people and be big and have money and have buildings and do All the things that's not what this is about.

Our purpose should be to glorify God and to honor him and to obey what he has called us to be. Even when it doesn't seem to be working. Because it is working and let me tell you how I know this because of what Jesus said back in Luke 14.

You probably remember this he says in Luke 14. He says but when you give a feast when you hold a feast when you when you put all the work and the effort into putting together a Party a feast a great Event for people to be at when you hold a feast invite the poor the crippled the lame the blind and You will be blessed.

Why? He goes on he says because they cannot repay you you don't see Visible evidence of fruit from that feast. Do you those guests can't repay you? They don't bring anything to a value to you in this world.

But Jesus goes on in that statement. He says for You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. So we as a church we we desire to be kingdom-minded Kingdom-minded with eternity in sight. Knowing that even the seemingly insignificant acts have eternal benefit and consequence.

So stay the course. No matter what comes our way this year, we don't know what God has in store no matter What happens feast or famine? Remain steadfast. Remain immovable in the gospel and. And continue to abound always in the work of the Lord.

We have a great promise in that. And that gives us great encouragement. So be encouraged this year. Pray be prepared. Pray that God would align your hearts and your minds. Your very being to this great truth.

That he would sustain you in this great work. So in light of that, let's do as we always do. Let's go to the table together.