The scripture reading this morning comes from the book of 1 Corinthians, beginning in chapter 16 and verse 1. This is the word of the Lord, amen. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of the week, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, or I intend to pass through Macedonia, and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey wherever I go. for I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord as I am. Let no one despise him. Tell him on his way in peace that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers. Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. And thus ends the reading of the word. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. And children, you are invited to children's worship at this time. Good morning. We come to the end of First Corinthians. I had to laugh last week at Park Lane. The pastor, Pete, he got up to introduce me and he said, looked at a difficult book in the New Testament, we ask now that you would make the book in your Bibles. Grandma, who once said, I would love to go back to the good old days as long as I could take my air conditioner, refrigerator, and TV. Well, here's what we find in the Bible, that ever since the fall of man in the garden, there has been no golden age. Do you agree with that? Now, Sean, what do you believe about end times? Well, we're not going to have a fight. I'm not going to go into it. But some people believe everything's going to get worse and worse and worse. You know, they're your peasants. Some people believe it's going to get better, better, better. You know, argue an optimist. Well, I tend to be a realist in the middle. I think things are going to ebb and flow until Christ comes. So my point is the golden age is in front of us. It's before us. It's ahead of us when Christ returns. Meaning, the application is simple. We're never going to have a perfect church, can I already make it? If you know your Greek, Paul will know this. Utopia. The word u is the word not. No. And tapas is where we get our topography from making maps. You know what utopia is? It's no place. with that? Okay. Well, here's another question as we begin. How do you end a difficult letter? And you know that letter you had to write that was difficult? Maybe an email Review. We don't want to go through all of them. Well, I'll just mention them in passing. There were divisions over teachers. There was tolerating incest. There were taking each other to court. There were lawsuits. There was sexual immorality. There was confusion over marriage and singleness. They were stumbling weak believers through eating meat offered to idols. There was issue of head coverings for women. They were abusing rather than celebrating the Lord's Supper. And at night, they were focusing on the gift of tongues and not using their gifts to build up. And so what is the Sermon of Sense this morning? Here it is. Whether we're giving, whether we're planning, whether we're exhorting fellow believers, we're to do so out of love for Jesus and by his grace. So he's gonna talk about giving, he's gonna talk about planning, he's gonna talk about exhorting. Well, he does exhort, he doesn't talk about exhorting. And you'll notice the text, now concerning, when he says now concerning in the book of Corinthians, right? He's done it in chapter seven and in chapter eight and in chapter 12. When he uses the word now concerning, he is highlighting something that they have written to him about. It's an issue that they have written to Paul about. And so he's answering their inquiry And the collection of the saints was a relief offering for the poor believers in Jerusalem who were being persecuted. You see that in chapter 15 of Romans. And he tells them a few things. I'm just going to fly through this. He tells them when on the first day of the week to celebrate Jesus what? Resurrection. Amen. So a dead savior does the same anyway. can't eat, when you're going to meet, when you're not going to meet, right? Here's my question. Chapter 16 can kind of look like a thud. Because he just talked about, you know, always a, I'm going to give you a little work of the Lord. And then he now just talks about giving. It's like, thud. What a way to end the letter. And here we've got a preacher talking about money again. I just love it when I go to these other churches. Because what they do is they pass the plate during, you know, during the service. They pass the bag and the plate. But I've often had it where they'll skip me because I'm the preacher. Right? They're giving me an honorarium to come. They don't want to take money from me, right? I think it's kind of funny. Well, don't deprive me of the right to put some money in the bag. You can give without worshiping God, but you cannot worship God without giving. There will be no collection when I come. When I arrive, I will send those whom you credit by letter and carry your gift to Jerusalem. So he just wants everything to be above board. But the word for gift, literally, in the Greek is what? Can you guess? It's grace. It's karos. So I have a question. Remember when we talked about how much under law in the old covenant? I love what A.J. Rogers said. He said, for a Gentile to give less under grace than a Jew gave under the law would be a disgrace to grace. Isn't that interesting? Well, you're not going to talk about how much we're going to give, are you? people will give less than 10% or nothing. But Paul doesn't mention 10% here. He doesn't mention an amount, which is amazing to me. He just says to set something aside, right? In fact, one of the guys just said work can mean whatever you can afford. So he says each of you you know, like the widow's mites, you give to God, right? What He has prospered you with, because He says, as you may prosper. So it's proportional giving, it's not just 10%. And why, you remember 2 Corinthians 9, 7, God wants my money or my heart? You may ask. Does God need anything? I'm so glad, Erickson. God doesn't need anything. We sung the song. You don't need anything. God doesn't need my money. And if I have to grudgingly give, He doesn't want my money. Then it's lovely you look to him. I will give not grudgingly or under compulsion Have you ever felt like that, like you have to give? When that bag comes along, I just confess, I feel like, what do I have in my wallet? I gotta give something, because they're passing the bag to me. I'll just confess it. But Paul here, though, he's not talking about any of these kinds of giving. He's talking about systematically giving. What does that mean? We regularly set aside money for the Lord's work and for those who are more needy than we are. And what he's getting at is that we can sacrifice an offering from Gentile believers to Jewish believers was a sign that they were all now in one family. God doesn't have two people. When he gets done with us Gentiles, he'll rapture us all out and then he'll start dealing with the Jews. I used to believe that. And then I read my Bible a little more carefully. God broke down the wall between the Jews and the Gentiles. And now how many people does God have? How many? he or she instantly becomes part of the what? Part of the what? The church, okay. Just that simple. What did he say? Your mileage on the end times is gonna vary. And that's okay. So secondly then, Paul not just talks about giving, he talks about planning with flexibility. Look at verses five through 12, and notice how tentative and certain Our co-idea was between November and was in February, the sea lanes were closed. You couldn't travel by ship. And he says, I will visit you. Again, that's very certain after passing through Macedonia. For I intend to pass through, OK. And then, verse, so that, his purpose, you may help me. So he's talking about help, them helping him on his journey. But look what he says, wherever I go. is what one commentator said, he's gloriously indefinite, which is interesting. That's going to bother people who want everything to work out exactly like they planned. Hasn't that ever happened to you? That life happens to you while you're making your plans? For some of us, we want everything to be mapped out, and we want everything to go as planned. He doesn't mention getting Godly counsel from other believers, but he does refer to three things. He mentions places, he mentions seasons, like the winter, and he mentions the help that he needs from the Corinthians. So, what do I gain from this? I just believe that while Paul doesn't lean on his own understanding, There are two ditches to avoid when we're trying to discern God's will for our lives, when we're seeking His will for us, and here they are. One is to be so frightened of making a mistake that we make no decisions at all. I have someone tell me, you know, if you don't have any expectations, you'll never be disappointed. The problem with that is expectation doesn't work for hope. We have to live with hope, don't we? So that might not work, but you can expect the unexpected. Someone said, I like what someone said, expect to be bothered and you'll never be bothered. It's kind of funny, but trust that God's wife It's video, we get our word video from it. It's a funny story in a sense. You know, everything was happening. It seemed like everything was happening to him. But really, everything was being directed by who? By God. To get him to be in charge of Egypt, to keep many people alive. And he told his brothers, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. You mean, man can be working in that dastardly plant while God is working it for my good? Yes. To accomplish his purpose. Or Job. I love the book of Job. We're safe now. That's the point. Expect the unexpected. And then when we get down to your pulse, he's not an optimist and he's not a pessimist. OK, so Paul's making plans here in Corinthians 16. But we read what actually happened when we go to Acts 19. And he's got the coppersmith, Alexander the coppersmith, and he cast a demon out. He's got all kinds of problems when he gets there, his adversaries. But he's not considering his life dear to him. What is that, Acts 20, 24, that he wants to accomplish that which my dispensable for the kingdom and for the gospel. Does my life matter more than the gospel? It doesn't, it shouldn't. But often we have to say, I'd like to save my own skin. What Paul's saying, he's saying that ministry is a battleground, not a playground, and we shouldn't look for the path of least resistance. He fled Egypt, but then there were other times when he stayed in fight. Paul did the same thing. So we have to ask the Lord. It isn't a one-size-fits-all. We're asking him for guidance of what we ought to do. But why then, in verse 10, does he tell them to put Timothy at ease? Have you ever been around people that cause you to walk on eggshells? Okay, I'm getting some nods. Have you ever had anyone that you just, you're around them and they put you at ease and you enjoy being with them? I asked myself when I was preparing this sermon, like, what would that look like? What would it look like to put someone at ease? Well, I would be like Jesus, I guess. Well, Jesus didn't put everybody at ease, did he? Well, it depended on them, didn't it? But it's an interesting point. If people have to walk on eggshells around me, it's not the Holy Spirit that's doing that. Can I hear an amen? It's the fruit of the Spirit. Love and joy and peace and patience, kindness, et cetera. Paul, he's saying, he realizes if they challenge his authority as an apostle, they're probably gonna give young Timothy a difficult time too. So what's the principle I'm getting from this? How we treat the Lord's servants is at least a reflection of how we regard their master. You would treat him the way you would treat me. I was thinking about this. You would treat Pastor Paul Yang as you would Pastor Bill Wilton. You say, well, I'm not crazy about Bill. Well, then you need your gizzard fixed. Because Bill's a gracious guy, ain't he? Word on you, Sean. I'll be gone for the summer, so you don't have to worry until I'm gone. doing the Lord's work as Paul was, Paul says, as I am. What is the Lord's work? Have you ever thought about it? The commentator said, well, the Lord's work is, he would have been leading Bible studies and prayer and discipleship, and he would have been instructing them, et cetera, et cetera. Well, I don't know. I read, Ray Stedman helped When the Lord comes and He works in our lives, He breaks down these illusions and He restores reality. We begin to see things as God sees it. Am I wrong or am I right? The Lord's work is a freeing work. It's bringing people out of bondage to evil habits and bad attitudes and seeing God set people free. This guy showed up at my office one time. And I don't know, he was embezzling funds at overseas. And I asked him, like, where are you at with God? And we talked about, I don't know, 10, 15 minutes. And he realized, I need Christ. So we prayed. And he prayed right then and there to receive Jesus. The guy was changed. He went home and, I don't know, interacted with his wife. Sunday, that guy was at church. right? She couldn't, you know, do what she was doing, whatever, because God had freed the guy. See, the Lord brings beauty from ashes. Do you have any ashes in your life? Maybe you're not at the beauty point yet. The Lord brings the oil of joy for mourning. Maybe you're in the you're waiting for that morning time to come in your life so value the Lord's workmen and work women for their work what's going on here, had Apollo said. and you guys got to accept that. This is amazing to me that he sends Timothy instead of Apollos, because they probably weren't impressed with young Tim. But boy, they liked how Apollos could preach. So here comes Timothy instead of Apollos, and he has to tell them, don't put him in fear, don't despise him, send him on his way in peace. But Apollos is not coming, which tells us, you ready, Paul viewed Apollos as a fellow laborer in the Lord and not as a rival. So Paul's not a one-man band, otherwise he's not gonna mention these other men, Timothy and Apollos. All right, giving, planning, and thirdly, exhortations and appreciation in verses 13 through 18. And Satan is seeking to devour us. And so some of them, he tells them back in 1533, were being corrupted by bad company. Because he says, bad company corrupts good morals, right? But even if he's not talking about Satan, he could be meaning that we need to be watchful for the Lord's return, right? Now let me ask you a question. Have you ever been watching TV and you start nodding off? Not as bad as when you're driving and you nod off. Open the window and let the air come in, right? OK. Well, when do we tend to grow spiritually sleepy? I'm going to ask. Is it in times of adversity or in times of prosperity? Which one? Which one? And we can say, thirdly, Jesus is coming again. Do you believe that? I do. That's why we've got to stay alert. But here's a question practically. How can I, how can you be committed, right, to these core truths of the Christian faith, of the gospel? I must know that Christ has triumphed over all his and our enemies. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. So the question is, are you, am I standing firm in the faith? Third, he says, now I translated it, be courageous, because that's really what it is. But if you've got an old King Jimmy, it says, quit you like men. We don't want you to quit, OK? That's an old English, but it's act like men. Is he against women? The answer is no. He's just saying, be courageous. And in the context of Corinthians, he's saying, when I was a man, I thought like a man. But when I grew up, I put away childish what? Things. He's saying be a grown-up, not childish. Interesting, three times God told this to Joshua before he faced the giants in the Promised Land, Joshua 1. Well, then I ask myself this question in the text, what's the basis of true courage? A lot of people today say you need to believe in who? You believe in yourself. You need to have self-confidence. Why? The Bible says he who trusts in his own heart is wise or a fool. Which one? A fool. My confidence must be in God. Amen? And so in God's presence and in power, his word and spirit in me, and even I can trust the Holy Spirit in other people. a really godly mother, but when McLeod visited him, he could barely hear the kid, and he reached down his ear to the kid, and guess what the kid said? I am strong in Him. I love that. For when we are weak, then we are what? How did Christ save us? Lots to be said about this. I'm tempted to bark here. But nothing is so deceitful as my estimate of my own strength. True? In each of the 10 issues that Paul has addressed in this letter, it came from the Corinthians embracing Rome's worldly values. So what this text tells us, it takes courage, it takes strength to live counter-culturally. I can't remember what the old writer said, that any dead fish can float downstream. It takes a live one to swim upstream. Which is why we're told not to be conformed to the world. J.P. Phillips, I love what he said, don't let the world squeeze you into its mold. So again, I'm asking, are you, am I, strong in the Lord in the strength of his might? And then this last one, let all you do comes from the Lord, and without that love, we are nothing. Somebody said, if truth is not spoken in love or shown in love, it's going to fall on deaf ears. And I love this question that I read. What comes more easily to you, strength or love? I don't like that question. Can I confess? I don't like it. It's searching. Well, again, here's the question. at the same time as being loving? Well, the answer is what? How do you pull that off, I'm asking? I would say that we can't. Can I just confess it? We can't. Unless the Holy Spirit enables us by His grace. The Christian life is a supernatural life, would you really agree with that? You can't do it yourself. Let me ask you, do you remember when you first got your driver's license? Remember how careful you were at that stop sign? I'll bet even for you, as me, when I first became a Christian, we would pray before we got, you know, we got in the car and we'd pray before we drove out on the driveway. Remember that? Do you still do that? I'm asking. You know, isn't it true that when you get sick and you're just really frustrated because that cough won't go away, boy, you're washing your hands all the time. But after you get better, you stop washing your hands. We let our guard what? Down. They said that Abraham Lincoln was called a man of velvet steel. I like that. But only Jesus is full of grace and truth. He's both strong and gentle, right? So here's the gospel truth. Jesus died and rose for me to take my life from me so that he would live his life through me. True? It's pretty basic, isn't it? Okay, well then here's another question from our text. What does love and action look like among Christians? Well, like Stephanus and his friends, notice what he says in verse 15, you devote yourself or addict yourself, that's what the word really means, to the service of the saints. Somebody said they were hooked on hospitality. Okay, if you're like me and your house is dirty and you don't wanna have people over, I get it. But what is he saying? Because of their devotion, he says, such servants, the text says, be subject, other translations, submit to them, which I think you would respect and listen to them, and you would even help them as they serve God's people in the local church. I think about, I think about, I shouldn't put him on the spot, but Mr. Houston. He's so helpful, and Shelley, they're hospitable, or I could think about, like, the credentials, but what happens is people that want All right? We are never at a shortage of need for servants in the body of Christ. And so he says, what? Respect them. Listen to them. Even what? Be subject. Help them out as they serve God's people in the church. And he says that we're to rejoice in them as Paul did these three men. He says that in verse 17, I rejoice that they came to me. Maybe even depression, we don't know. But I'm asking, do you know anyone like that? I'm not going to ask, do you know anybody who drains you? Because I know you do. But do you know anybody who refreshes your spirit? I mean, when you are around these people, you feel like you could charge out with a squirt gun. You don't talk about people that do that. the word really means in the Greek. You're gonna honor them. Give honor to whom honor is due. And why? I love this. Well, blessed. It's more blessed to what? Give than to what? These people are blessed. Would you agree? But these people are also great in God's kingdom. The greatest among you will be the what? The servant. You wanna be great in God's kingdom? though it may be a little inconvenient for you, just say what? Yes. You don't have to always say no, but you don't have to always say yes either. So you got giving and you got planning, we got exhorting, and finally, greetings and grace in verses 19 through 24. He gives a five-fold greeting here. First, he says the churches in the Roman province, not the continent of Asia, send their greetings. know that they had opened their home for the church to meet in in Ephesus. And then later in Rome, they did the same thing. And he says, notice the text, all the brothers greet you. He's probably referring to Paul's traveling co-workers, such as sostites that he mentioned at the beginning of the book in chapter 1. And then fourthly, he says, greet one another with a holy kiss. That was a common way that family members would greet one another in culturally appropriate ways. Like a warm smile, maybe? A handshake, a fist bump, a hug. And I noticed when the Yangs came, it was a what? It was a what? Tell me. Bow. It was a bow, which is culturally appropriate in Korea, right? So there's different ways we can do this that transfer over to today. And then fifthly, Paul, let's And why? He says, he gets ready to say something very important. He says, because, notice the text in verse 22. This caused a lot of people problems. If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. The word is anathema. Okay, what is Paul really getting at there? Well, what he's getting at is that if we do not love someone, that person's rejection to us is meaningless. Right? And his point here is that he's simply saying if someone chooses not to respond to the love of God in Christ, let him remain outside the blessings of the covenant community on the basis of his or her own decision. That's not going to bother you unless you want to be part of the community. I can think of lots of illustrations. But let's say some kids want to come over my house, but they hate my gun. my daughter well if they don't like me they're probably not coming in my house amen you get it I mean I'm not Jesus but you get the point that only a right relationship with Jesus can free us from the curse there aren't any curses in the new covenant for believers and so as one person Paul, what he's getting at, you could be neutral toward a lot of people, but you cannot be neutral toward Jesus. You're either for him or you're what? Against him. And Mark Devers said this, I love it, we either love Christ as our Lord or we will be cursed by him as our judge. It's not comfortable. It's not comfortable. And this is why we say no one can come to the Father except through who? Christ. He said it. you all in Christ Jesus. He ends it. Amen. But here he's using philetto, which is related to the word for what? You ready? Kiss. Philetto. It's an affectionate word. So I'm going to ask the question, do you have a tender affection for Jesus? Well, I think it's a great question. We can't be neutral to him, right? And notice what he says. If anyone Can a Christian have no love for Jesus? The answer is? No. Of course not. But maybe there were people there that were false teachers that were hanging out and they weren't real believers, but they wanted to benefit from the believers. And he's saying, look, you need to examine yourself and see if you're in the faith. Why? Because grace then comes and produces faith. And faith gives birth. What's the firstborn child of faith? What is it? The fruit of the spirit is? What is it? Tell me. Love. and that we love God because He first loved? Wow, you ready? You're gonna look inside your life and you're gonna say, do I really love Jesus? Well, that's a good thing to ask. But you say, but my love for Him is weak and it's feeble and it's hot and it's cold and it's more and it's less. Yes. Just like a marriage, love can wane, right? Love can decay, it can air an amen. But if God, by His grace, starts His love in you for Christ, it will never be destroyed. It can't, because it's a work of what? Tell me. Grace and the new covenant. Are you with me? That is so refreshing, it's encouraging, that even my obedience to God's word is an expression of my love for Him, and I only love Him because He first loved me. It's my response. It's His work in me to love Him and to love fellow believers. Our Lord, come. And so one indicator that you love Jesus is that you long for and you pray for his return. It's like saying, your kingdom, come. So, application. Pretty simple. How often do you think about Jesus coming? Question, if you love someone, you want to spend time with them. You actually want to see them. How often do you think about I want to live my life like that. He could come today. Are you ready? Am I ready? He could come tonight. He could come tomorrow. Am I ready? Am I living in such a way that he would say, well done, good and faithful servant? If I am, it's only by his grace. So again, it's Stedman said, I really love this question. If you don't have affection for the Lord Jesus, then what do you have affection for? We're told love not the world. and the things of the world. If anyone does, the love of the Father's not in him. Well, I don't like those verses. Sometimes I don't either. Can I say, okay, that's it. But it's true. But a warning of judgment will not be Paul's final word here. You notice what he says. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. What is grace? A whole sermon on this we could do. It's God's kindness given to us despite us. You ready? Here it is. A woman came to church who had never heard the gospel of grace. I would have done my duty, and now I deserve a certain quality of life." In other words, God has to, you know, not put me through anything really tough. She said, but if it's true that I'm a sinner saved by true grace at God's infinite cost, in other words, of His Son, Jesus, then there's nothing that God cannot ask of me. that the gospel has two edges to it. It cuts away a slavish dread of legalism. I have to measure up. Why? Because God loves us freely, despite our flaws and our failures. Can I hear an amen? OK. But on the other hand, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, it's not cheap grace, Drew. What do you mean? I am not free, somehow, now, to live any way I want. Shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we who died to sin live any longer therein? I can't live any way I want because I've been bought with a price, Christ's blood, I belong to Him. So here's the truth of it, God takes sin so seriously that He can only save us from it at an infant cost to Himself, His Son. So although Paul's sharply rebuking them on the one hand, Like faithful or wounds of a friend, he's had to tell them what they need to hear, though it's been tough for him, that he is saying, love your spiritual family. And from this text, how do we do that? How do we love our spiritual family? Here's some bullet points and we'll end. By giving generosity to those in need, by planning with flexibility, we saw that, by helping the Lord's servants, that was there, by maturing in purity and unity, by submitting or being subject to selfless servants of the saints in the church, by our affection for believers in other places, by greeting each other affectionately, you talk about a holy kiss, and lastly, by loving the Lord, eagerly awaiting his return, maturing by means of his grace, and warmly receiving which glorifies and enjoys God for how long? Forever. I was reading about a post office in Pittsburgh. They built this post office, a huge one. They only had one problem. out and delivered to the lost world. True or not? Okay, let's pray, shall we? Father, thank you for your word to give us grace, not only to believe, but to love you and others, and to live this message out. Lord, we confess we have nothing in and of ourselves, so we're dependent on you. Help us to, again, believe this and love it. Please stand.