you have your outline tonight. And of course there's a little bit of homework on the back side, just some suggestions there that if you want to go deeper in the study, so maybe reading ahead in your own study. 1 Corinthians chapter number 1 tonight, we're going to find verse number 4. Paul says, I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ, that in everything you're enriched by Him in all utterance and in all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. What he's talking about here is that this church had every gift of the Spirit available to a local church. They didn't come short in anything. It's amazing that they were the most gifted church in the Bible, yet the most carnal. Isn't that amazing? So being gifted by God doesn't mean that a person is spiritual or that they walk with God or that they are using that gift to the glory of God. You can be gifted yet be very fleshly and carnal and an unspiritual Christian. Notice he goes on to say, "...who shall also confirm you unto the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." God is faithful. Boy, I ought to underline those three words right there, shouldn't we? God is faithful, by whom you were called under the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. What a wonderful passage of Scripture. The Corinthian church was less than ideal. I believe we'd all agree with that. I mentioned earlier, it's the most carnal church in the New Testament. There were division, there was disruption, there was chaos, there was confusion, there was the misuse of spiritual gifts, There was sin in this church. Matter of fact, it was so heinous that Paul said that what you're doing and what you're puffed up about and what you feel that you're so proud of, that you're open and progressive and all of this. He said not even the Gentiles participate in that kind of sin, the unsaved. I mean, it was just a church that had problems. But you know what I like about verse number 4? Paul said, in spite of all of that, I thank God for you. Isn't that amazing? Look what he says, verse 4. I thank my God always on your behalf. Paul said, I thank God for you. You know, I'm reminded that you and I in life at times face less than favorable circumstances, don't we? Things happen in our lives that maybe bring heartache, they bring heartbreak, they bring struggle. We face resistance almost every day of our lives. There is some form of resistance or difficulty. Sometimes it's just a nuisance. I'm coming into work. into the office. Was it Monday or Tuesday? I can't even remember now. It's just Wednesday, but I can't remember which day it was. It was Monday. So I'm on my way in. We got a staff meeting and there was some buzzards, a big flock of buzzards there on Highway 52. Anybody want to know what I'm talking about? They're getting them some Monday morning roadkill. I mean, they're going crazy. I'm getting closer and closer and closer, wondering if these stupid birds... I'm sorry I used that S word right there. These dumb birds would get out of my way. Well, you know what? They wait till the very last moment, they scatter, and one of them must have ate too much possum or whatever it was, and had a hard time getting up off the ground, and hit my side mirror on my truck. I didn't hit it. It hit me. It wasn't my fault. I'm just telling you that right now. It wouldn't get out of the way. I mean, knock the glass out of the mirror. Here's the worst part, okay? Because they're electric mirrors, there's a wire that's plugged to the mirror. So you're doing 55 miles per hour down the road, and the mirror's banging the side of your truck. And you're just trying to find a place to get off so you can either unplug it or stick it back in. I've got it back in the cavity. I'm not sure if it's the right way or not, but it works. How about that? I'm just saying, there's stuff that comes your way every day of our life. Isn't that true? But yet, we can be thankful. Isn't that right? Now I was having a hard time at that moment being thankful for a buzzard. I was having a hard time at that moment. But I was thankful that my insurance was going to cover it without anything going up. Hey, I can be thankful about that. How about that? And so there's always something we can be thankful for. Church, Paul is going to give us a thankful list. A list with items on it for which he was thankful. And I just want to remind us tonight, we have so much to thank Him for. Isn't that right? So much to thank Him for. Let's pray. Lord, thank You for Your goodness, Your mercy, Your blessing in my own life and the lives of Your people. Lord, we have hurting members of our church family tonight. Lord, we have some that have been sick for over a month battling these viruses and flus. Lord, it's just knocked them down and they're having a hard time getting back up. There's anxiety there. People have been hospitalized. Just difficult times. Lord, I pray that You would bring comfort and help and hope to Your people. And yet Lord, in the midst of life, that You would help us to learn to be thankful. And Lord, I pray You'll teach us from Your Word tonight as Paul gives us a list of things that we can be thankful for. And I'll praise You for it. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Could I tell us tonight that thankfulness, gratitude, is more than just an act in time. It's more than just an action of the life. It's more than just a moment. Well, you know what? I'm thankful for that. No, no. It's more than that. Notice what he says in verse number 4. He said, I thank my God, what church? Always. That's an attitude. That's an attitude. That's different than just an act of being thankful every once in a while or Thanksgiving season rolls around in November and, oh, I better get thankful because that's what you're supposed to do at Thanksgiving time. You're supposed to be thankful. I believe God wants a thankful people. I believe God desires that His children are thankful that we have a an attitude, a heart attitude of gratitude. And this is something that has to be intentionally cultivated in our lives. Notice verse number 4 again, he said, I thank my God always on your behalf. Paul said, I want you to know that while there's problems and difficulties, and I'm getting ready to address those in the coming chapters, in this coming letter, I just want you to know that I thank God for you. And here's what I thank God for. Notice first of all, He wasn't thankful for the division and the schism and the carnality and the sin and the disruption and the confusion and the chaos in this church. But I'll tell you what He is thankful for. Number one, He's thankful for the grace that had redeemed them. Notice what he says in verse number 4. He said, I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ. Friend, listen to me. Christian, you and I may not be thankful for a lot of things, but we sure can be thankful for one thing, and that is God's grace in our lives. He said, I want you to know I'm thankful for the grace of God. Do you know the word grace is found eight times in the book of I Corinthians? Somebody said it was the sweetest word in the Bible. I believe that. Don't you? Jesus, the sweetest name I know. Grace, the sweetest word I know. Just to define it for you, grace is the unfathomable love of God lavished on undeserving sinners like you and me. Somebody said, love that reaches upward is worship. Love that flows outward is affection. Oh, but love that stoops downward, that's grace. It is the downward stoop of God and reach of God's love for sinners, for lost sinners like you and I. Hey, where would we be tonight but for the grace of God in our lives? Notice, if you would please, the recipients of God's grace in your notes, the recipients of it. Verse number 4, Bible study tonight, which is given you by Jesus Christ. Did you notice He said it's been given to you? That word given means to give as a gift. It's God's gift to us. Grace is a gift. Grace by its definition speaks of something that is uncaused and undeserved. We don't cause God to love us and we don't deserve God to love us. Would we all say amen right there? Salvation is a gift that's received without merit or achievement. You see, so many people are out there trying to earn what only can be received, only that which God gives. The Bible calls it the gift of God. The gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus. I witness to people, and I'll talk to them about a gift, and I said, you know, there's a whole lot of folks out there, and I said, they're trying to do better, reading their Bible, praying, going to church, trying to straighten up their lives, do good things for other people, and none of that is bad. The only problem is you don't go to heaven that way. The only way anybody goes to heaven is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It cannot be bought or earned, only received by faith. Isn't that right? And then number two, not only it's a gift, but it's by Jesus Christ. God's grace is given to us through His Son. It cost us nothing, but it cost Him everything. Somebody define grace like this if you want to jot it down. God's redemption at Christ's expense. God's redemption at Christ's expense. Cost me nothing. Cost Him everything. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, says Paul in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich. I'm glad I'm rich in grace tonight, aren't you? Thank God. I like the hymn, My Father is Rich in Houses and Lands. He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands. Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold, His coffers are full. He has riches untold. I once was an outcast stranger on earth, A sinner by choice and an alien by birth. But I've been adopted, my name's written down, An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown. Isn't that a blessing tonight? Listen, I'm a child of the King. You know what? Hey, we can be thankful that our sins are gone. We've received God's grace and we're children of the King tonight. Amen? Not only are we the recipients of grace, but watch this, let her be. He talks about the revealers of grace. If you've received God's grace, you ought to reveal it. Look at verse 6. even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. Now that word confirmed means to establish. It means to be made firm. And here's what he's saying. That the testimony of God's saving grace was without question in their lives. It had been demonstrated by a changed life. I'm glad that God does not leave us where He finds us. Aren't you? Now in John, here before long, probably a week or so, we're going to be in John chapter 3 and we're going to learn something about the new birth. And we understand that it's a mystery. It's a mystery. Jesus uses the wind as an example. You can't see the wind. You don't know where it comes from. You don't know where it goes or where it's going. But you see the effects of the wind. It's a mystery. It's a mystery. And can I tell you, you can't see the new birth. You can't see the operation of God in the heart of an individual, but you sure can see its effects. Jesus is going to talk about people that believed on Him, but He wouldn't commit Himself to them. You know why He wouldn't do that? Because it was superficial. He's going to talk about that in chapter 2 before you ever get to Nicodemus. They believed on Him because of the miracles, but Jesus would not commit Himself to them because He knew what was in man. You know what He was saying here? Here was a group of people that they believed in the performance of Jesus, but not the person of Jesus. And there's a difference. There's a difference. You see, they wanted what Jesus could do for them, not what Jesus could do in them. There's people that they want to make deals with God. God, you give me my wife back. God, you give me my husband back. God, you give me that job. God, you do this for me. I'll do that for you. And they make deals with God. I made deals with God for years before I got saved. God, if you'll do this, I'll stop doing that. God, if you'll do this, I'll start doing that. God, if you'll do this. And you know what? God would do His part, but I never did mine. But thank God for the night that I quit making deals and I just received His grace. You see the difference? And grace in a life brings change to that life. Let's look over at I Corinthians 6 for just a moment. Now we'll get there. We're going to study it in more detail. Look at I Corinthians 6 and find, if you would please, verse number 9. Notice he says, "...know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind." Both of those last two have to do with homosexual activity. Look at verse 10. nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God." Can I go back to verse number 9 and notice that God puts heterosexual sin and homosexual sin on the same level? We divide it, God doesn't. Perversion is perversion. Adulterers, effeminate, abusers. Do you see that? They're both heinous sins in the eyes of God. Look down at verse number 11. They shall inherit the kingdom of God. Look at verse number 11. I love this phrase. And such were some of you. Do you like that? But you're washed, you're sanctified, you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. And notice, this is not an exhaustive list of sins. These were the sins that were true of the lives of the Corinthian people that they were saved out of. And He said, such were some of you. But not anymore. Aren't you glad we're not what we used to be? That's what grace does. Washed. They were cleansed from every sin. Cleansed from every sin. They were sanctified. They were set apart by God. They were saints. You see, grace turned sinners into saints. They were justified. They were declared right with God. See, that's what happens when a person gets saved. God makes a judicial verdict. When a person believes on Jesus Christ, the righteous judge, God the Father, puts the gavel down and He says, not guilty. But it's more than just not being guilty. It's beyond that. It's being justified. God said, no, you're righteous. It's just like you've never sinned. There's no record in heaven of our sin. Isn't that wonderful? There's a past and a present, a before and after, the life of every child of God. And it's all because of grace, isn't it? Isn't that amazing? We can be thankful for grace. Number two, let's go back to chapter one again. We can talk not only about the grace of God that redeemed us, but number two, the goodness of God that enriches us. Look if you would, verse number five. that in everything ye are enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge. That English word right there behind this word enriched is the English word plutocrat. It speaks of a person of aristocracy, a person of wealth, a somebody. How about that? You know what God does? He takes nobodies and makes them somebodies. Some people look at the rich and famous and think, well boy, if they would just get saved, they could do something for Jesus. You know God doesn't work that way. Now God will save anybody who will call upon Him, right? But God doesn't need somebody's fame or fortune or pedigree to use them. No, God uses people that are nobodies so far as the world's concerned and make them somebodies in the eyes of God. That's what God does. He uses people like you and me. But you know what? He said, here's what I've done with you. He said, I've made you a part of the heavenly aristocracy. How about that? By the way, in everything, in the true sense, we are spiritual billionaires. How about that? Somebody said a Christian is someone who doesn't have to consult their bank book to see how wealthy they are. You see, He's enriched us in everything, and so we should be thankful in everything. Isn't that right? We're told to give thanks in everything for the benefits of life. Listen to Psalm 103 verse number 2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Well, the benefit package of being a child of God is unbeatable. All that God's given to us in Christ. I think these verses are listed in your notes. We're just going to go through them real quick. Romans 8, 32. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Did you see that? Look at Ephesians 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us. Isn't that amazing? You're already blessed. That's what God said. With all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. God's given us every kind of spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. Look at II Peter 1.3, According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Colossians 2.10, And ye are complete in Him. I Corinthians 1.7, So that ye come behind, You've come short in no gift. You know what God's saying? I've given you everything necessary to live life successfully for Me. I have blessed you and enriched you with every spiritual blessing. I have given you everything necessary. Christian, listen to Me now. We have absolutely no excuse to fail to live our lives to its fullest for Him. None whatsoever. Now he's going to mention two benefits in verse 5. Let's look at them real quickly. So he mentions, first of all, and I'm going to invert these two in the last part. I'm going to deal with knowledge first. All knowledge. God's given you the ability to know Him. How about that? That I may know Him. Paul said, "...the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." All knowledge. Jesus Christ is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge. That word know, listen to me, speaks of a growing knowledge. Nobody knows all there is to know about the Bible. Nobody knows all there is to know about God. Nobody knows all there is to know about redemption and salvation and all the blessings of God in our lives. We're to know Christ better, to know Him more intimately, to grow in our knowledge of Him. And you see, you never stop growing. Listen, if you stop growing, you're dead. Spiritually speaking. You just wither. And then notice he says, all utterance. Not just to know God, but to speak for God. All utterance. The highest aim in life is to know God and to make Him known. When was the last time you shared Him with somebody? When was the last time you shared your testimony? When was the last time you blessed somebody else with what God's blessed you? I believe that's what this verse is all about. Look at what he said, verse 6. Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. I like that. We're to be living and breathing witnesses of Jesus Christ. They'll tell people, see Jesus in us. Can people see Jesus in you? Do you reflect Christ to those around you? Or do they just see a grouch? Do they see an angry man or an angry woman? What do they see when they see you? One of the things that I try to do whenever I preach someone's funeral is I try to think of a word that defines them. You know? I do. I was able to say of Sharon Lawson, she was faithful. I was able to say of Diane Alkin, she was a servant. What would I say about you? Now I promise you I've never got up in front of a family and said, well I just want you to know there's an old grouch lying here. I've never done that. But here's the truth of it. Everybody knows, don't they? They know. I've always tried to be careful that I don't preach in such a way that somebody comes up and looks and see who's in the casket. I'm serious. Have you ever been to a funeral and you know who's laying up there? And the preacher's up there giving this flowering eulogy and you know, you know that's not who that is. You know it. You're wanting to go by one more time and just see if they switched out the bodies. Because the reality of it is how we live is how people know us. Isn't that right? And we're reflecting something all the time. And God said we'll reflect Him. But it's not enough just for people to see Him. We have to share Him. You see, that's what they call lifestyle evangelism where it falls short. It's not through the showing of the gospel. It's through the telling, the sharing of the gospel that people get saved. Because they may not know why you're the way you are. And it gives me an opportunity to share with them who I am in Him. Isn't that right? Now, let's look real quickly because I want to give you a couple things in this matter of all utterance. Number one, He equips us. He equips us. You come behind in no gift. Alright? So He equips us to serve Him. And then He enables us to serve Him. He enables us to serve Him. He equips us and He enables us. How many times has it been said that God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called? How many times has it been said that where God leads us, His grace will enable us to do what it is that God gives us to do? God gives you something to do. He'll give you the grace to accomplish it for His glory. And the Corinthian church lacked no gift. They didn't come short. They were fully equipped to be and to do everything that God had for them, but yet they were falling short of that because of the spiritual temperature of this church. And church, can I tell you here at Calvary, we are a blessed church. We come behind in no gift. It's amazing. We have such giftedness spiritually and natural talent within our church. It is amazing. Just in the music ministry, the teaching, all the different areas God has given us and gifted us in a great way, alright? And we ought to be thankful for that. But we need to recognize that we can short-circuit what God wants to do in us if we become less than the church that God desires us to be. If we get filled with pride because this was a prideful church, we get filled with division or confusion or sin, start falling behind in areas in our own spiritual life, then what happens, it short-circuits what God wants to do. And so God has given us a divine enabler in the Holy Spirit, and the Corinthians had everything necessary to impact their city for Christ, but instead of impacting their city, the city was impacting them. and they were falling short of who God wanted them to be. Let's look at one more and we're going to close tonight. We'll finish up next week. And that's the blessings of life. Not only do we have His benefits, we have His blessings. I'm only going to give you one because I don't want to get too deep in the other one. It's too good. Notice what he says in verse number 9. God is faithful by whom you were called under the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. So we ought to be thankful for the benefits of life and we ought to be thankful for the blessings of life. And the first one is His faithfulness. God is faithful. Let me just say this and I'm going to close tonight because I don't want to get too far ahead. I don't want to open something up. I can't close. The Corinthians may not have been faithful, but God was. And you and I may not be faithful, but He is. And the sad part is there's times that I'm not what I ought to be. It's true. I wish I was what I ought to be all the time, but I'm not. I got a flesh just like everybody else. And I fall short. My attitude may not be right. Maybe I spoke sharply. Maybe I got angry. Whatever it might have been, but it's unfaithfulness to the Lord. But you know what's amazing? God's always faithful. We fail, but God never does. We can be thankful, can't we?