January 5, 2020
Matthew 2:1-18
Fools and Wise Men
Pastor Bryan Watson
Before I begin the message, let us bow our heads together in prayer.
Loving and Eternal God, I pray that the message I speak today will be Your message, spoken through me, to Your people. I pray, O Sovereign Lord, that those who listen to this word will have a life-changing encounter with You, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by Your Grace.. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Our text for today is from Matthew 2:1-18.
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
2 and asked, "Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
6 " 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' "
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the Child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him."
14 So he got up, took the child and His mother during the night and left for Egypt,
15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called My Son."
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
Introduction
The story of the wise men coming to see the Christ Child is an amazing story. Artistically depicted in painting and poem as exactly 3 men; kings, if you will, wearing majestic clothing while riding camels across a barren desert; with a star just barely in front of the lead camel as if tied to the end of a stick being held by the lead wise man.
Were they really kings? Where exactly were they from? Did they ride camels, or horses? What exactly was the star? The Bible doesn’t give us the answers to all these questions, because they aren’t important to the story. That doesn’t mean it isn’t interesting to consider. But as Alistair Begg says, “Let the plain thing be the main thing.”
To be honest with you, there are so many different angles that can be preached, that I could probably preach a “wise men” sermon every year for 20 years and not have to repeat myself. The challenge I found with this sermon is that I wanted to preach all 20 years’ worth of lessons in one sermon, so I had to force myself to focus on one message today.
As I was researching the story of the wise men, a couple of things quickly became apparent. First of all, Jesus Christ is the main subject of the story because everybody else in the story is reacting to His presence. Second, there are three different reactions to Christ’s presence, as indicated by two groups of fools, and a group of wise men. It is these three groups, and their different reactions, that I want to focus on this morning.
The First Fools: The Religious Elite
The first fools are the “religious elite.” They were indifferent to the truth. When the wise men first showed up at the palace and asked about the new king, Herod immediately sent for the chief priests and the teachers of the law. As religious professionals, they had spent their entire life and career mastering the scriptures and the prophecies. They could recite the scriptures forward and backward, but although they had done all this memorization, they still couldn’t put it to use in a practical manner. To put it simply, they had the complete recipe book, and all the ingredients, but they still couldn’t fry an egg to save a life!
Think about it. Wise men from the east show up, looking for a new baby who has been born King of the Jews. They are bringing gifts! They said that they were following a star!
These religious professionals, they knew the prophecies:
They knew the Oracle of Balaam from Numbers 24:17 – “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel…” Hmmm…. A star….
They knew Isaiah 60 verse 6 – “A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.” Hmmm. Gentiles. On camels. Bringing gold and frankincense. Praising God….
And when Herod asked where the Christ would be born, the priests quoted Micah 5:2 – “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from everlasting.”
Now this last one should have really got them thinking. This should have been the “A-ha!” moment. Because it wasn’t very long before the wise men appeared that a bunch of shepherds were running around talking about seeing angels and finding a baby! The very night that Jesus was born, shepherds heard the news and spread it as we read in Luke 2:17-18 – “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
This should have been fresh in their minds. But there is no evidence of the priests investigating it, let alone believing it. And now these Gentiles, these Magi, kingmakers from the east show up with even more signs and confirmations of prophecy. Bethlehem was only 6 miles or so away from Jerusalem, and yet with all these signs, the religious professionals just sat on their hands.
I believe this is one of the main reasons for empty churches. People in the pulpits with a solid understanding but no personal relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. How can I introduce you to Jesus if I only know ABOUT Him but I don't really KNOW Him?
Who wants to invest their time being led by a phony or a fraud?
And so this was the first group of fools. They were indifferent toward Christ.
The Second Fool: Herod
Now let’s turn our attention to the second fool: King Herod. He was hostile to the truth.
In order to understand Herod’s reaction to the birth of Christ, we need to know a little about Herod’s background so that we have some context.
Although the Bible doesn’t tell us this, reliable historians such as Josephus tell us that Herod was born an Idumean. So what’s an Idumean?
Well, going back a few thousand years, we remember that Abraham had a son named Isaac. Isaac had twin sons named Jacob and Esau. Jacob’s descendants were the Jews. Esau’s descendants were the Edomites. The Idumeans were Edomites who converted to Judaism.
So, Herod was an Idumean with no legitimate claim to being the King of Israel, except that the Romans had appointed him as such as a favor to Herod’s father. So when these magi come sniffing around looking for the new King of the Jews as a fulfillment of ancient prophecy… well that got Herod’s attention right away!
Remember Numbers 24:17 that I read just a few minutes ago? The prophecy about the star coming out of Jacob? Well, I didn’t read the whole verse to you. Let me read it again, this time to the end, and including the beginning of verse 18.
"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
Edom will be conquered;
Edom will be conquered! Being an Edomite, do you think that Herod might view this new “King of the Jews” as a potential threat to his throne? History tells us how Herod dealt with perceived threats to his throne. He had a wife and at least 2, possibly 3, sons executed for threats to his throne, real or perceived.
Is it any wonder then, that Herod was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him? When Herod had a bad day, you might very well have a bad day, too.
We know that Herod tried to trick the wise men into revealing the location of the Christ Child once they found him, under the pretense that Herod wanted to worship the Child as well. Once that failed, Herod followed through with his true intent, which was to kill the Child and end the threat to his rule.
How did he attempt to do this? It is recorded in Matthew 2:16-18. When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
The reference to Jeremiah is from Jeremiah 31:15.
So unlike the priests and their indifference, Herod was our second fool. He heard the prophecies, believed them, and was hostile. Instead of worshiping the One whom Herod knew to be the Messiah, the fulfillment of prophecy, Herod outright rejected Christ and knowingly set his face against God. Scary.
The Wise Men
Now, we come to our third group of people, who definitely were NOT fools: the wise men, or magi. They were seeking the truth.
The term “magi” gives us a little insight into their identity. As magi, they were part of a group who studied astronomy, believing that the movements of the heavenly bodies had an impact on life and history. Not like in the superstitious nature of astrology, which says that the stars CONTROL our destiny, but more so like astronomy with a theological bent to it, in that they believed that God speaks through the stars, and they seek to understand it.
They were sincere individuals trying to figure things out. Like a lot of us. Trying to figure Christmas out. Trying to figure Christianity and the Bible out. Trying to figure ourselves out. Trying to figure God out. Trying to figure out where the evidence leads.
If that describes you, then you're in good company. That's what the wise men were doing. Christianity isn't about setting your brain aside and just smiling and nodding at what I say. Follow the evidence!
Now, we know that the group of people known as the “magi” existed at least all the way back to Ancient Babylon, when Daniel was there. If you recall from my sermon series on Daniel, Daniel was a Hebrew noble, a young man trained in the Hebrew scriptures, who was taken captive to Babylon and by the hand of God became powerful and influential in Babylon.
In the second chapter of the book of Daniel, Daniel interpreted the king’s dream about a statue made of four different materials, representing four different empires, before it was finally destroyed by a Rock that eventually filled the world. Daniel had received from God the clear insight that there was coming a day that God would establish a kingdom that replace all the world empires, and would last forever and ever. From this vision of Daniel alone, the magi knew that a New King was coming.
As a result of this vision, we read in Daniel 2:48, “Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.” Daniel became the head of the Magi. So, he was in a unique position to teach the magi about the ancient Hebrew prophecies, like Balaam’s Oracle about the star coming forth from Jacob. These teachings would have been passed down from generation to generation.
Later on in Daniel’s life, in Daniel Chapter 9 to be exact, Daniel records a prophecy that is famously known as “Daniel’s 70 weeks.” I’m not going to get into detail, but in that prophecy, Daniel gives some precise timing about the coming of the Messiah. It is likely that the Magi, knowing that the time had come for the fulfillment of this prophecy, were already looking for a sign when God provided them with the star.
The Magi were Gentiles who knew the scriptures. They were taught, and they wanted to learn. They looked for the signs. They were ready. They acted upon what they knew. They went looking for Him until they found Him.
That’s how God draws people. People aren’t born Christians. People, in their search for God, start from all different kinds of places and backgrounds and cultures. But God triggers something in their hearts to seek for Him. He prompts an investigation… but that investigation always in His grace leads to one place… Bethlehem. Christ. Many starting points leading to the One Way. Listen carefully now. I am NOT saying that there are many ways to God. There is only ONE way to God. Through Christ. But people BEGIN from many different starting points and backgrounds. That’s why we need to have grace and patience for each other, because we all have different testimonies.
Jeremiah 29:13 says that “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
That’s what the wise men were doing. They were seeking Him with their whole heart. With everything they had. And guess what? They found Him. They found Him BEFORE the religious professionals found Him.
And for what it’s worth, He is coming again, and wise men still seek Him; Still study the scripture for the purpose of knowing Him; Still watch for the signs; Still prepare.
But there is one other thing about the wise men that I think is very important for us to understand. At a certain point along the journey, they thought they had it figured out, and so they used their OWN logic and reasoning to search for the King in the palace, which is in the capital, Jerusalem. But their OWN logic and reasoning was incorrect. He wasn’t there.
They were off track. Why? Because they stopped following the star and instead followed their own deductions. Nobody can find Christ that way. But when they heard the Micah prophecy, then they turned toward Bethlehem. The wise men NEEDED THE SCRIPTURES to point them in the right direction.
And so we are also wise men (and women) when we accept the Bible as the true Word of God, and make it the daily guiding authority in our lives, over our own deductions.
Conclusion
As I conclude this message today, I want to ask you: which group do you fit into today? Because you fit into one of the 3 groups. You are either indifferent to Him, hostile to Him, or seeking Him. And if you say you aren’t any of the 3 because you just don’t think about it or you don’t care, then by default you are door #1. Sorry, but you are! When you walk out of here today, you are in one of these 3 camps. If you are in camp 1 or camp 2, I want to encourage you to reconsider your position, because your eternal destiny depends on it. If you think you are in camp 3, are you really? If you were accused of being in camp 3, is there enough evidence to convict you?
Listen, I’m not here to condemn anybody. But I want to make sure you understand where you stand. If you would like to become a member of camp 3, or if you are already in camp 3 and just want to learn how to stack up the evidence, come and talk to me after the service. I would love to discuss this with you and pray with you.
To quote from Alistair Begg – “You showed up in Bethlehem with the treasures of earth in your hands, but did you leave Bethlehem with the treasure of Heaven in your heart?”
Amen. Let’s pray
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January 26, 2020
1 Cor 3:1-9, 18-23
Dangerous Divisions
Pastor Bryan Watson
Introduction
Good morning.
Turn in your Bibles with me, if you will, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. We’re going to study verses 1 through 9, and 18 through 23, as I work through a message that I’ve called “Dangerous Divisions.” In a nutshell, I’m going to be speaking to you today about divisions in the church. Now, you might be asking, “Why on earth is he preaching to us about divisions in the church? Does he think we have a problem?” No, I don’t. And I’d like to keep it that way. Better an ounce of prevention than a pound of cure, and if I am preaching this message out of desperation, then I’m preaching it too late! The truth is, however, that as a congregation, we’ve got some weighty decisions ahead of us this next year or two. So, I want to give you ahead of time some things that I think we need to be watching out for… things that if we catch them early enough, we can head them off at the pass before they get out of control.
Background
Now, as I indicated, I’m going to be speaking from chapter 3 of the book of 1 Corinthians. As I like to do, I want to set this up for you with some background information that will help you to understand the context of this letter from Paul to the church in Corinth. I think it’s really important to study a passage in the context in which it is written.
Corinth was a city in the southern part of Greece. It took up pretty much all of a narrow band of land, about 4 miles wide, between the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf. People traveling on land had to pass through the city, and ships would often be carried on skids from one gulf to another through Corinth, rather than make the 250 mile trek around the southern tip of Greece. So, Corinth had a lot of transients.
And although Corinth was technically in Greece, it was actually within a Roman province, and was therefore primarily Roman in nature. In fact, it was kind of a “Roman resort city” by nature, and was well known for its debauchery and moral failure. It was, if you will, the “sin city” of Greece. Corinth was home to the temple of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 priestesses, who were “religious” prostitutes, lived there, just to give you an idea of the environment.
The Apostle Paul established a church there, and according to Acts chapter 18, Paul stayed there for about 18 months teaching and leading.
After Paul left, a man named Apollos preached in Corinth. I used to think that Apollos was a competitor to Paul, but that was based on the attitude that the Corinthian believers held, which we will see in a moment.
The truth is, however, that Apollos was a skilled preacher and on fire for God. Acts 18 tells us that Paul’s friends, Aquila and Priscilla, helped Apollos by completing his understanding of the Gospel.
But the immature Christians in Corinth ended up being more concerned about the messenger than the message, and they ended up nearly tearing the Corinthian church apart.
So that’s where we find ourselves as Paul is writing this letter to the Corinthian church.
Beware of Spiritual Immaturity
And that also brings me to the first of three things that I think we need to be on the lookout for if we are to prevent division in the church. Beware of spiritual immaturity. Beginning in Chapter 3 verse 1:
1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ.
2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
Paul is expressing his frustration and concern with the spiritual immaturity of the believers in Corinth. It’s OK for infants to need milk, but at some point, you expect a child to grow and begin taking solid food. If they don’t, then something is obviously wrong. The Corinthian church wasn’t a brand new church when Paul wrote this letter. Remember, Paul had ministered there for a year and a half before he moved on. And then Apollos ministered there for some time. These Christians in Corinth should have displayed some growth! Paul’s language here is very descriptive.
Milk vs meat. Immaturity vs maturity. Like being content to only learn Bible stories and never moving on to Bible doctrine. Like going to church to be entertained instead of to be enlightened.
Being content with being immature is like being a farmer who leaves his field to “whatever will be will be”. He doesn’t prepare his soil. He doesn’t consider the inputs like fertilizer and quality seed. And what does he get? Weeds! On the other hand, progressing in spiritual maturity is like the farmer who prepares his field. He cultivates, he fertilizes, he plants good quality seed, he neutralizes pests and weeds, and what does he get? A good opportunity for a bumper crop, that’s what he gets!
Continuing on, Paul says, “3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?”
The New King James version says it like this… 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
That’s a really important distinction because the use of the word “worldly” seems much more watered down than the word “carnal.” Now, whenever I want to know what a word means in Biblical context, I go to the 1828 version of Webster’s Dictionary. Here’s what Webster said about the word “carnal”:
1. Pertaining to flesh; fleshly; sensual; opposed to spiritual; as carnal pleasure.
So the people at Corinth, getting all wrapped up in their silly cliques and factions, were acting according to their flesh in such a way that it looked as though they weren’t Christians at all. They were acting as if they were still unsaved and didn’t know God.
They were stalled in their growth, and even worse than being stalled, they were CONTENT with being stalled. Listen, the reality is that if you’re not growing, then you’re rotting. When you start to rot, then all kinds of breakdown is set to ensue. That’s when the maggots and the rats show up and take over. If we want to avoid being set up for division in the church, then as a church we need to make sure that we are growing in our faith and understanding of the ways of God. Being “too busy pursuing God” to stop and fight with each other is a great way to prevent division in the church.
Beware of Getting Caught Up in Personalities
This brings us to the second thing to watch out for if we are to avoid division in the church. And that is to Beware of getting caught up in personalities. Continuing in verse 4:
4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
Again, the NKJV says, “are you not carnal?” You split up, dividing your loyalties between these two godly men, and you’re acting like a bunch of pagans!
Warren Wiersbe said, “Paul, Apollos, and Peter were not competing with each other. They all had an assigned task under the lordship of Jesus Christ.”
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task.
Based on 1 Cor 16:12, Paul refers to Apollos as a “brother,” and the language he uses leads us to believe that Apollos is actually with Paul in Ephesus when Paul writes 1 Corinthians.
It is likely that Apollos is trying to downplay the faction-building by staying away from Corinth at this time. Being a true brother in Christ, Apollos is likely mortified that people are idolizing and following him instead of the Christ that he was pointing them to.
Can you imagine if this kind of nonsense happened here? “I follow Nate.” “Oh yeah? Well I follow Bryan.” “Well you’re both wrong because Dennis is the only one worth listening to.” The truth is that the three of us form one unified ministry team, with each of us desiring to do nothing more than pointing you to Jesus Christ. Our styles might differ, but our doctrine is the same, and our authority comes from the exact same place: the Word of God!
Paul continues,
6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
You can see here how Paul was totally accepting of Apollos’ ministry to the Corinthians. Apollos was the real deal. Paul planted. Apollos watered. But Who made it grow?
Pheme Perkins, in her commentary on First Corinthians, said, “Those who preach the gospel take no credit for the faith of those who hear the preaching.”
Brothers and sisters, we should never get caught up in personalities and pit one pastor against another, or divide our loyalties between the pastors, so long as the pastors are being faithful and true to the Word of God and proper doctrine.
The truth is that if a Pastor has a proper view of himself, he will learn from Paul and realize quickly that regardless of his credentials, he is completely inadequate for service to God, and that is a GOOD THING! Because it is when we empty ourselves, and make ourselves nothing, God then has the room to come in and become EVERYTHING. It is when we put aside our own will and allow ourselves to be nothing but a tool in God’s hand, that God can then exercise HIS will and use us to ACCOMPLISH His will for His glory. “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:10.
So beware of getting caught up in personalities. Big personalities may not be able to submit their will to God. Besides, we shouldn’t be following personalities anyway. Our focus should be on following Christ.
Beware of Thinking that we Know Better than God
Finally, we need to Beware of thinking that we know better than God. Continuing in verse 18:
18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness." (This is a quote from Job 5:13)
20 and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." (This is a quote from Psalm 94:11.) Do you see how Paul is demonstrating what it means to be on meat instead of milk when it comes to spiritual matters? Paul’s deep knowledge of Scripture enables him to use the Bible as his source of wisdom in various circumstances. THAT is what a Christian looks like on solid spiritual food.
Each pastor and church leader, and the whole congregation when conducting church business must seek the mind of God for His wisdom. We’re in a lot of trouble if we expect to navigate the issues before us while on a diet of nothing but spiritual milk. Our wisdom cannot compare to God’s wisdom, so we need to be able to leave OUR wisdom behind. The Bible reaffirms this in Isaiah 55:8 when it says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.”
Continuing on from Verse 21:
21 So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours,
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (that’s the Greek name for Peter) or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours,
23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
The focus must be the glory of God. None of the pastors here should receive any credit for the success of the church. That belongs to God alone. All we do is plant and water. God causes the growth. Our reward is the privilege of being used by Him.
We may have personal preferences about building characteristics or pastoral style, but here is what matters: Is God being glorified? Or is the culture being glorified?
Is His Word being treasured and preached and obeyed? Or is His Word being disregarded, watered down, and treated as irrelevant?
Is His Word considered to be inspired, infallible, and inerrant? Or is His Word considered to be the imagination of men, and full of error and contradiction?
The way we as a congregation answer those questions is where we can and should find unity. In fact, it is where we MUST find unity.
“You are Christ’s”. Therefore, you have an obligation to conduct yourselves accordingly, in wisdom and in truth.
So here is my prescription for what we need to do going forward:
First, Pray for our current pastors. Pastor Dennis, Pastor Nate, and myself all need your prayers in order for us to stay strong, unified, and steadfast in the faith and in truth. There is a lot of transition that needs to happen, and as God-appointed shepherds of this congregation, we are ALL deeply concerned for the leadership of this church.
Pray that Pastor Dennis and Donna will know what they need to teach us as they prepare for retirement.
Pray that we will clearly see and hear God’s leading and instruction as we seek to serve Him.
Pray that we will continue to submit our wills to His, and that we will continue to grow as pastors. I’m sure Pastor Dennis will be the first to tell you that we never feel like we have arrived, but on the contrary, the more we grow as pastors, the more we realize that we cannot serve in our own strength.
Second, Pray for God’s will to be done in this congregation when it comes to what happens after Pastor Dennis retires. If you’re inclined to begin with, “I want THIS to happen, or I want THAT to happen…”, well… The real question is, “What does GOD want?” And that starts with a thorough study of the books of Timothy and Titus. Move beyond milk. Get into meat and understand what God’s will is for a senior pastor for this congregation. Seek and pursue unity. Submit your will to His.
Third, Pray that God will pour out His wisdom on this congregation. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” We need to seek God’s will with our whole hearts, all of us together, and then allow Him to be in control of the process.
Unfortunately, the Corinthian church failed to do that at first. Their immaturity, and their willingness to divide into factions, left them open to false apostles. This whole matter wasn’t settled with this first letter from Paul to the Corinthians. In fact, it actually got worse, and led to the necessity of Paul’s letter of 2 Corinthians, dealing with a direct and open threat to the Corinthian church by false teachers. It’s a sobering way to end this message, but it is a great warning to us. Let’s resolve to remain unified and seek God’s will and ONLY God’s will. THAT’S how we can move forward, in full confidence that God will look after His church.
Truly, I don’t want to end on that downer, so let me close with this promise from Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Amen. Let’s pray.