Podcasts about Harvest Bible Chapel

Introduction: Mark 1:8 - I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Since I'm a Member of the Body of Christ… (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) I shouldn't DOUBT the Part I Play (1 Cor 12:14-20) Because That DENIES My Purpose (1 Cor 12:14-17) Because That DISHONORS God's Design (1 Cor 12:18-20) I shouldn't DOWNPLAY the Roles of Others (1 Cor 12:21-26) By Acting Like I Don't Need ANYONE ELSE (1 Cor 12:21-24) By Exclusively Focusing on My NEEDS (1 Cor 12:25-26) By Shining the Spotlight onto ME (1 Cor 12:27-31) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Questions and Answers: How is the Church Like a Body? Taylor Brown Download Audio Transcript 00:36Please turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-31. 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-31. Isn't it frustrating to witness someone not do his or her job correctly? Maybe you have an employee or a direct report who constantly comes late, makes excuses, or has a suspicious number of grandparents that he has funerals he has to attend.01:06How many grandparents do you actually have? You hire a contractor to carry out a project in your house and he makes huge mistakes. And he acts very inconvenient when you come, when you ask him to come back and fix those mistakes. Your waitress has a horrible attitude and never checks on your table because she is constantly texting. You know what's even more frustrating than that? Witnessing or experiencing someone else.01:36not allow others to do their jobs correctly. You watch your favorite team lose yet again because one key player can't get his act together and he messes it up for everybody. You have a boss who is an expert in incompetence. He expects everyone to do their jobs as well as his job. You have a co-worker who makes your job so hard you can't finish this project at work because she has constantly dragging your feet and she is not communicating with you.02:10And instead of accepting that blame, taking it on herself, she points the finger of blame at you and says that it's your fault.02:19You know what's infinitely more frustrating than all the examples I've given already?02:24Witnessing a Christian refuse to do his or her job in the church.02:30or experiencing another Christian attempt to hinder you from carrying out your job in the church. Instead of contributing to the team, this person backs away, tries to go solo and do his or her own thing. Instead of building others up and encouraging them, they tear others down and diminish them. Wasted potential is a sorry sight to behold. Misused talents are squandered resources.03:02Missed opportunities for ministry are to be grieved. As you learned over the past eight months in 1 Corinthians, the church is commanded to be unified and purified. Unfortunately, this unity is undervalued, ignored, and tested by many who should know better. This purity is jeopardized, abused, and cast aside by many who claim to know and love Jesus Christ.03:30Excuses are made and commitments are unkept. Complaints are spoken instead of genuine praise. Zooming in on me and what I want is far more common than focusing on us and what we need. Am I describing you? Am I describing your contribution to the church?04:00Ask yourself, am I contributing to the unity and purity of Harvest Bible Chapel, or am I subtracting from it? Are you neglecting to do your job in the church? Are you standing in the way of others and making it hard for them to carry out their jobs in the church? Take a moment to go before the Lord and consider those questions.04:32Quiet your heart and ask God to convict you today. Ask God to challenge you today. Ask God to change you today. Go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come before you as your people for the most important appointment of the week. May we not be distracted. Or may we truly dial in to what what you want to teach us this morning. Lord, may you show us who you've called us to be and what you've commanded us to do. I pray we'd all walk out of this room with a different vision of the church and a different idea of what we are called to do individually in the church. I ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. We are in the Q&A section of 1 Corinthians. Paul is addressing questions that this congregation asked him in a previous And last week, Pastor Jeff showed us Paul's answer to the Corinthians' question about spiritual gifts. Every single believer is given at least one spiritual gift that is to be used to bless the church and advance the gospel. No one is skipped over. No one is forgotten. No one is left giftless. And these gifts are to unite, not divide.06:00And Paul continues to answer this question in chapter 12, verses 12 through 31, by providing a powerful illustration. He compares the unity of the church body to the unity of a physical human body. Check out what he has to say in verse 12 of chapter 12.06:30So it is with Christ. I'm going to ask you a very easy question, and I'm even going to let you cheat to get the right answer. So everyone, look down and give yourself a quick once-over. Come on, go do it. Are you ready for my question? How many bodies do you have? It's not your question. Just one, you got the answer right. Great job.07:01I'm asking you an easy follow-up question. You can look down again if you have to. How many body parts do you have? Do you have more than one body part? Yes, you have more than one. According to Dr. Google, which is never wrong, you have 78 organs, 206 bones, and 30 to 40 trillion cells. You have individual body parts, legs, feet, toes, toenails, arms, Arms, Hands, Hands, Fingers, Fingernails, Heart, Lungs, Kidney, Stomach, Pancreas, Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Nose, Nose, Hairs, Mouth, Teeth, Gums, Tongue, Uvula.07:41And on the list goes. Sorry, Pastor Jeff's uvula was swollen this week, and you're talking about it a lot, so I had to add that.07:50He was sick. That was the reason why.07:54But these individual parts do not operate or function independently from one another.08:00Instead, they work together as one body. They serve different roles. They carry out the same mission to keep you alive and kicking. And Paul is saying this truth about your physical body applies to the church body as well. Yes, we all have different roles. We all have different functions. But we do not operate independently from one another. We work together as one body.08:30same mission to lift high the name of Jesus Christ by making disciples.08:37And you may be thinking, hold on a minute.08:39This illustration seems to break down a bit because I've always had my physical body.08:44It's the only one I've got.08:46How did I become a part of the church body?08:48When did that happen?08:50It's a great question.08:52Thankfully, Paul answers it in verse 13.08:55He says, For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. You realize at one point you didn't exist. There was no you. Then you popped into existence and you grew in your mother's womb. And at one point you were born into this world with your physical But if you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, if you have been saved and given new life in Him, you have experienced more than just one birth. According to God's Word, you've experienced a new birth. And on your spiritual birthday, you were brought into the body of Christ. You became a part of the body of Christ. And this second birth is a work of the Holy Spirit, who Paul That sounds really cool. What in the world does that mean? Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Well, 2,000 years ago, John the Baptist baptized men and women in water as a sign of their repentance. But John was up front. He was very clear that he was not the point. He was not the be-all and end-all. He came to point to someone greater than him. He says, He says, I baptize with water, but He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.10:37Who is this greater person?10:39Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit?10:42Jesus Christ Himself.10:46This has massive implications for my life, your life, and the life of this church body.10:52This means that I, Taylor Samuel Brown, wasn't just baptized in water on July 30, 2000 by Pastor Jesse Boggs at Northgate Church. Yes, that was an important day. That was an important baptism. But I experienced an even more important day, an even more important baptism years prior. Before that, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ. I was saved from my sins.11:25I was made into a new person.11:27I was brought into the body of Christ.11:32My water baptism was simply an outward symbol of the salvation I experienced.11:39Of this baptism in the Holy Spirit that I experienced.11:45And Paul even says that I drank of the Holy Spirit.11:50Again, sounds great, but what in the world does that mean? Well, think about it this way. When you drink something, you are filled with that liquid, aren't you? Whether it's water, coffee, wild cherry, Pepsi, or kombucha. When you drink a liquid, you are filled with that liquid. When you drink of the Holy Spirit, you are filled with the Holy Spirit. He lives within you. He takes up residence within you.12:20If you have trusted in Christ, you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. You have been filled with the Holy Spirit. In verse 13, Paul mentions different factors that would divide people back in his day. He mentions ethnicity and social status. In 2026, we live in a world where we are constantly being tried to be ripped apart because of our many differences. We have different backgrounds. We have different skin colors. We come from different financial situations. We have different careers. We have different personalities. We have different temperaments. We are different in so many ways. And as we'll discover soon, that is good news to celebrate. But we are the exact same in the most important ways. We have the same Heavenly Father. We have been redeemed by the same Savior.13:20been changed by the same Holy Spirit. We belong to the same body. Our differences may be great, but our unity in Christ and His Spirit is even greater. So after this long and theologically heavy introduction, you may be thinking, all right, this is all very interesting, but what's the point? I get it. I'm a member of the body of Christ.13:49Now, you need to be encouraged to do your job in the body of Christ. Now, you need to be encouraged to let other people do their jobs in the body of Christ. So on your outline, since I'm a member of the body of Christ, number one, I shouldn't doubt the part I play. I shouldn't doubt the part I play.14:19Some of you in this room and watching online struggle to truly believe that you have an important part to play in the life of this church. You may think to yourself, I mean, sure, this is my church and I'm involved, but if I left, nothing would change. No one would notice. I don't have an upfront role that matters. I don't play an instrument. I don't really matter here. And as one of your pastors, it deeply saddens me that some of you feel that way about you.14:51It deeply saddens me that you believe a lie about yourself instead of believing what God's word says about who you are. You do matter. You do have a part to play at Harvest. This church does need you and it wouldn't be the same without you. And I'm not just saying that to make you feel good. I'm saying that because that's what God's word says. Listen to what Paul says in verses 14 through 17.15:19For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?15:49I didn't doubt the part I play. Letter A on your outline, because that denies my purpose. Because that denies my purpose. You claiming that you have no part to play in the body of Christ because you don't have the gifting of another person is as ridiculous as your foot saying, I have no part to play in the body because I'm not a hand. I'll never be able to hammer a nail into the wall. I'll never be able to type on a keyboard, so I just give up.16:18I mean, sure, your hands can't do, your feet can't do what your hands can do. But your hands can't do what your feet can do as well, right? Walking is pretty important, right? Most of you don't agree with that. Walking is really important, right? Your hands can't do that. Okay, good. Man, you are sitting right now, but eventually you will have to get up and walk away.16:45You claiming that you have no part to play in the body of Christ is as insane as your ears saying, I have no part to play in the body because I'll never be able to look at the Grand Canyon. I'll never be able to stare up at a starry night. So I'm just going to tune out and call it a day. I mean, yeah, your eye is important, but your eyes can't do what your ears can do. Without your ears, you wouldn't be able to hear anything. Just imagine if your entire body was just just one feature. Eyes are beautiful, aren't they? I love my wife's eyes the most, and I could stare into her eyes for hours. But imagine if Kate was just a big eyeball and nothing else. There's a big eye bouncing around my house and sleeping in the bed next to me at night. That sounds like the premise of a horror movie. I mean, yeah, I'd still love her because I made a vow to her 12 years ago, but That'd be pretty rough. That'd be hard. A big eye has 20-20 vision, but it can't really do anything else. A big ear has great hearing, but it can't really do much else. Now imagine if every single person in this church had the same exact gifting and function. Would that be productive or disastrous? It would be a total and complete I have been in a room with thousands of preachers before.18:20Imagine if those thousands of preachers tried to carry out the same function in the same church.18:27There would be arguments about who does what.18:29The bills would never get paid.18:31The building would fall in disrepair and probably burn down.18:34Preaching is an essential function of the church, but is not the only function.18:41Some of you men in this room do have a preaching gift.18:44We are so thankful for you. You realize it's very different. It's very unique to have this many guys who can preach a message in a church. That doesn't happen everywhere. God has gifted this church. But others of you guys do not have a preaching gift. And that is not something to be upset about. That is not a bad thing. Not everybody has the gift of preaching. Not everyone has an upfront role.19:14If your part is behind the scenes, it matters. Maybe your part is in the AV booth. Without Mike back there, without all the AV team back there, no one would be able to hear the sermons. I'd just scream at the top of my lungs for you to hear me. Without Ben and Lincoln working on the sermons afterwards, people across the country and across the world wouldn't be able to hear it, which does happen.19:43Maybe your part is being on the prayer team. You show the rest of the body what it looks like to faithfully lift up the needs of the saints to the Lord. Maybe your part is security. You function as the antibodies of the church that keeps the rest of the body safe. Maybe your part is working at Harvest Academy or working as an adult leader in Arrow. You are training up the future generation in Jesus Christ.20:14is leading a small group. You are on the front lines of congregational care and discipleship. Maybe your part is on the relocation and building committee with Pastor Rich and the others. You help formulate the budget. You count on Sundays. I can keep going and going and going. Without a doubt, you do have a part to play. Stop believing that you do not matter. Stop being envious of others. Stop denying your purpose at harvest.20:45I shouldn't doubt the part I play because that denies my purpose. Letter B, I shouldn't doubt the part I play because that dishonors God's design. Because that dishonors God's design. Let's look at verses 18 through 20. But as it is, God arranges the members in the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?21:18When you badmouth a team's starting lineup and strategies, who are you ultimately dishonoring? The coach who decides who starts and designs the place. If you pick apart every single detail of a restaurant and complain about it to everyone that you know, who are you dishonoring ultimately? The manager, the owner, who decides who to hire, who makes all the big decisions. If you complain about your gifting and part in the body, who are you ultimately dishonoring? God himself. He is the one who created you. He is the one who designed his church. Paul says that God arranges the members in the body, each of them as he chose. When you are discontent with your part in the church, you aren't just hurting yourself, and you are hurting yourself.22:13You aren't just shortchanging your fellow members. You aren't just making ministry hard for the pastors, elders, and other leaders. You are accusing God. You are saying something about Him that is not true. You are shouting this message to your Creator. God, you made a mistake with me. I deserve a do-over. You could have done better. Is that a great message to send to the most important and powerful person the universe. No, it is not. Because God doesn't need a do-over. Because he nails everything on the first try. God did not make a mistake with you. He designs you purposefully and puts you into his church with purpose and design. It's a complete waste of time, energy, and effort to resist the Lord. So cut it out. Get on board with his plans for the body. Lean into your God-given part instead of backing away from it. Do your job in the church because it was personally chosen for you. Since I'm a member of the body of Christ, I shouldn't doubt the part I play. Since I'm a member of the body of Christ, number two on your outline, I shouldn't downplay the roles of others. I shouldn't downplay the roles of others.23:44from sabotaging yourself to sabotaging others. It is foolish to stand in your own way, but it is wicked to stand in the way of other people. As we just talked about, many of you struggle with a low view of yourself and how God has gifted you. Others of you have the exact opposite problem. You have a low view of others and how God has gifted them.24:13In the next several verses, Paul warns you to not downplay the roles of others in the church. Listen to verses 21 through 24.24:43which are more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it. I shouldn't downplay the roles of others, letter A on your outline, by acting like I don't need anyone else. By acting like I don't need anyone else. So Paul turns the tables on the Corinthians as well as you and me in these verses. He flips the scenario.25:13First, he says it's dumb for a foot or an eye to say that they're not a part of the body. Now he says it's dumb for the eye or the head to tell other parts of the body that they don't matter. This kind of attitude is arrogant. This game of comparison misses the point. You know, naturally, we all create lists of importance and systems of ranking.25:43a to-do list that you want to complete, right? Where do you put the items that you think are the most important? Top of the list, right? Where do you put the items that you think are probably the least important? At the bottom of the list. Several months ago, many of you took part in the college basketball brackets, right? You decided which teams you thought were the best and which teams you thought were the worst. If I were to ask you your favorite movies, you could list them very quickly. If I were to ask you to list your least favorite movies, you could do it even quicker. We naturally evaluate everything. We're constantly grading other people's performances. We form our own personal rankings. And this was happening in the Corinthian church back in the first century. There were the spiritual elite at the top of the charts who looked down on those they thought were weaker, less honorable, and even unpresentable.26:45Paul says those brothers or sisters who seem weaker are actually indispensable. Those who seem to have a less than honorable role deserve greater honor. Those who seem unpresentable should be treated with the utmost respect. You may be thinking, oh, Pastor Taylor, I'm not spiritually elite. I don't look down at other people. I don't act like I don't need anyone else.27:16Are you sure about that? Are you sure? Do you make excuses for why you can't be in community with other believers? Do you refuse to join a small group or be involved in other ministries that we offer here like fishermen, live, laugh, lunch, precepts, mugs and moms? You say you don't have time or energy for these things, but inwardly you know that's not true.27:43By not joining a small group or participating in any of these ministries, you are communicating a loud and clear message, I'm doing just fine on my own. I don't need anyone else. I am self-sufficient. Maybe you are a part of a small group of one of the other ministries that I mentioned, but as soon as you walk in, you put up your defense shields. You don't share a detail of your life with anybody. No one knows anything about what you're struggling with or how they can pray for you because you don't.28:13tell them. You don't want to trust anybody else because they might let you down. You were hurt in the past and so you think, well, it's going to happen again, so I'm not even going to try. Are you someone who comes in late and leaves early because you are terrified of knowing others and being known? You're acting like you don't need anyone else. Are there people in this room or the other service that you actively avoid?28:45Is there a guy in your small group that you intentionally leave out of conversations and hangouts? Is there a woman down the aisle from you who you are blatantly rude to face to face and make fun of behind closed doors? All of these behaviors are childish. All of these behaviors are reflective of the Corinthians, not Christ. All of those behaviors hurt the body and do not help the body.29:14I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by acting like I don't need anyone else. Letter B, I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by exclusively focusing on my needs. By exclusively focusing on my needs. Let's read verses 25 through 26. That there may be no division in the body, that the members may have the same care for one another.29:44All suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together.29:53Have you ever been walking around your house minding your own business whenever you stub your pinky toe on the bed or a bench or a chair?30:01Let me ask you, in that moment, is it just your pinky toe that reacts?30:07Does the rest of your body think, man, sucks to be pinky, too bad for him.30:11I'm just gonna kinda do my own thing for a little while he calms down. No, when you stub your pinky toe, the pause button is pressed on life and nothing else matters. Your whole body reacts, your face grimaces, your mouth yells out some things that you hope nobody else hears. Your back arches, your hands reach down and grab your damaged foot and you pogo stick around on the undamaged foot and then your eyes inspect the damage. Your whole body reacts to the pain.30:43You ever had a bad back problem? Or a nagging tooth pain? Are you able to compartmentalize that and not think about it? Now when your back hurts, it's game over for your day. If your tooth is throbbing, you have one all-consuming thought, end the pain right now. Your whole body feels the pain of even its smallest member.31:12The same should be true of the body of Christ. If one person is in pain, all of us should be in pain. If there is a need, we should all rise up to meet that need. If someone in your small group has a big surgery or a major medical issue, start a meal train. Go visit them in the hospital. Take care of tasks around the house.31:41If there's someone on your serving team who loses a family member, show up at the funeral. Show up at the visitation. Your presence will speak far louder than any words you could possibly share. Care about the pain of other people. Meet the needs of others. Care about what other people need, even more than what you need. If one member suffers, all suffer together.32:11If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Here's a question that's been nagging at me all week. Do I love to celebrate the victories of other people? Very often the answer is no. What about you? Do you love to celebrate the victories of other people? Do you rejoice with other Christians?32:41When something good happens to another Christian in your life, do you think, praise the Lord, what a blessing? Or do you think, man, when's it going to be my turn? Nothing good ever happens to me like it does to that guy. When there's a couple in this church that has a solid marriage and really great godly children, do you think to yourself, man, what a great example that I want to follow? Or do you think to yourself, when will my family get it together? I'll never be like Mr. and Mrs. Perfect. I wish they'd stop rubbing it in my face.33:13You have to understand that other people's success is not your failure. According to Paul, their success is your success because you are a part of the same body. Let's share in the pain together. Let's share in the joy together. Let's thank the Lord in the good times together. And let's trust the Lord in the hard times together.33:41I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by acting like I don't need anyone else. I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by exclusively focusing on my needs. Finally, I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by shining the spotlight onto me. By shining the spotlight onto me. Let's wrap up with verses 27 through 31. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, These verses are jam-packed with a ton of stuff that we cannot get into. We don't have the time right now.34:41But it's really important to see that Paul mentions an office that no longer exists today. The office of apostle. Some churches have not got that memo yet. God is not posting apostleship jobs on Indeed. He is not hiring or looking to fill that position in 2026. Paul also talks about the sign gifts like speaking in tongues, miracles, and healing. Thankfully, I don't have to wade into that controversial topic because Pastor Jeff did it last week and he'll do an even deeper dive this summer.35:11Sometimes it pays to be the associate pastor.35:15But for now, catch the principle that Paul is communicating instead of getting bogged down in the details.35:21And the best way to do that is to answer the layup questions that Paul asks.35:25Let's go through the list.35:26And you have to participate.35:27You have to answer the question.35:29There's one obvious answer for all of them.35:31Are all apostles?35:33Good job.35:34Are all prophets?35:36Are all teachers?35:38Do all work miracles?35:39Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? What's Paul's point? God has given every single believer a spiritual gift or several spiritual gifts, but he has not given any believer all the spiritual gifts. That's not possible. You know, we have a lot of talented musicians and vocalists here at Harvest, don't we? Let's give them a round of applause and thank them for all they do for us.36:13You know, Jesse Hogan, he can sing, he can play the guitar, he can play the drums, he can play the piano. He can play three instruments and I can play none. I guess I shouldn't rank our abilities, right? I shouldn't compare. I'm sorry, I'm still learning that lesson myself. I shouldn't compare with Jesse. Jesse can play all those things, but he can't play every single instrument in the world of which there are over 1,500.36:39Also, Jesse can't play all those instruments at the same exact time. If Jesse tried to come up here and do a one-man band and try to run between the guitar, the piano, and run between the drums, he would make a total and complete fool of himself. Because prideful exaltation always leads to forced humility. Jesse needs the rest of the band around him.37:09He needs everybody else. He needs the vocalists who can't reach the notes that he cannot. He needs Chris or Jay on bass. Jesse needs everybody else working with him. You know, the Corinthians were experts in self-exaltation. Many in the church wanted to shine the spotlight onto themselves. Look again at verse 31. Paul says, On a first glance, it may look like Paul is commanding the Corinthians to seek after the biggest and best gifts, but that totally misses the point of what he's actually saying. If you pay attention to the context, he's saying the exact opposite. This word, earnestly, is most often used in the context of envy and jealousy. A better translation of this verse is, But you are jealous for the higher gifts Paul is not commending them He is not celebrating them He is correcting the Corinthians Because they desired the flashy and showy gifts Serving wasn't on their mind because they wanted to show off Paul is telling them You're not the point So stop trying to be You're not in competition with one another You are working together Be in sync with one another do your job and help other people do their job as well. And he concludes by saying, and I will show you a still more excellent way. What is that still more excellent way? It is the way of love, which Pastor Jeff will talk about next week. This whole topic of spiritual gifts and the unity of the body should be viewed the lens of love.39:05The love of Christ for us, our love for Christ, and our love for each other. Otherwise, we'll miss the point of why God even gifted us in the first place. If you have been saved by Christ, never forget that you belong to Christ. Never forget that you belong to Christ's beloved body. Since you're a member of the body of Christ, you shouldn't doubt the part that you Since you're a member of the body of Christ, you shouldn't downplay the roles of others. As this sermon concludes, some of you in this room may feel a bit left out because you're not a Christian. You are not a member of the body of Christ. As of now, you are a detached hand or foot that has no function in the church body. As of right now, you are a detached eye or ear that is not connected to anything greater than yourself. As of now, the life-giving blood of Christ does not flow in you and through you. I have to warn you, if you continue in this state of self-isolation, you will wither away and die in your sins. You will experience a life without purpose, and you will endure an eternity separated from the giver of life.40:35and the other recipients of his life. If that's you, I beg you to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. Place the full weight of your faith upon him, what he has done through his life, death, and resurrection. And then, and only then, will you be forgiven and given new life. Then, you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit. You will be brought into the body of Christ.41:04you will be placed into the perfect role that you were made for. You will be given the high honor and responsibility of serving Christ and his body. We'd love for you to join us. Let's pray. Father, we come to you and we thank you for your word. We thank you for the encouragement and the conviction that we all experienced. Lord, if there is someone in this room who is currently not a member of the body of Christ, who is not saved. May today be the day where they finally say no to sin and yes to your son.41:43And for the rest of us, Lord, may we do our jobs.41:47May we let other people do their jobs.41:49May we work together and encourage each other.41:51Lord, we thank you for all that you're doing with this new building project.41:57Lord, none of that matters if we can't work together now.42:01May we be faithful now.42:03May we work together now. We ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 12:12-31What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Re-read 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 - What does it mean that we are baptized in the Spirit and drink of the Spirit? Why is this so important for church unity? Do you ever doubt the part you play in the body of Christ? How can you fight against this discouragement? How do you see professing Christians standing in the way of others and downplaying their roles in the church? How do you see this disturbing trend within yourself? What does it look like to prioritize the needs, hurts, and victories of other members in the church body over your own? BreakoutPray for one another.

Introduction: What About Spiritual Gifts? (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) Spiritual Gifts are FROM God and FOR Every Believer. (1 Cor 12:4-6) Spiritual Gifts Are to Be Used to BLESS the CHURCH. (1 Cor 12:7) Spiritual Gifts Come in Many FORMS. (1 Cor 12:8-10) 2 Corinthians 12:12 - The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. Hebrews 2:4 - while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Wisdom Knowledge Faith Healing Miracles Luke 9:1 – And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases Prophecy Distinguish between spirits Tongues Interpretation of tongues Spiritual Gifts Are Given at the HOLY SPIRIT'S DISCRETION. (1 Cor 12:11) SEEK God. Consider the INTERSECTION. Take an ASSESSMENT. Take the Spiritual Gifts Test! Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Questions and Answers: What About Spiritual Gifts? Jeff Miller Download Audio Transcript 00:38Open up your Bibles with me, please, to the book of 1 Corinthians 12.00:45While you're turning there, let's just pause for a second, and I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me00:53to be faithful to communicate God's Word accurately and clearly as I should.01:01And I will pray for you to be open to receive what it is that God said. All right, let's pray. Father, sometimes we come to your word and I guess some passages seem to hit some of us more than others. And we're about to enter into a section that according to your word literally is for every single one of us. So I pray.01:31That Your Spirit would be the power behind the wisdom of Your Word and that You would continue to conform us into the image of Your Son, not just individually, but as a church body. Father, glorify Your name as we immerse ourselves into Your Word now. We pray in Jesus' name and all of God's people,02:02Amen. Look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse 1. Paul says,02:07Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.02:18This section of 1 Corinthians has been a big Q&A section.02:25They had sent Paul questions and he was responding with answers.02:28And up to this point, we've mainly been dealing with earthly matters. We've been talking about liberty and marriage and gender. And now we're on to more, I guess you could say, spiritual matters. And he says, concerning spiritual gifts, look at that verse 1, I do not want you to be uninformed. I don't want you to be ignorant about spiritual gifts.02:58Spiritual Gifts. Wow, that's a phrase that really describes the church today. Right? Because as always, church, we will go to either side of the extreme. When we talk about spiritual gifts, immediately you're going to have some people on one end of the spectrum that just completely neglect or ignore them. And think, oh, that's just like,03:28Goofy, charismatic stuff, but we're like sober-minded people. You completely dismiss the role that the Holy Spirit has in the work of the church. They're just neglected. And we do church according to human intellect and creativity. And then you have people on the other end of the spectrum that don't neglect the gifts. You could say they misrepresent the gifts of the Holy Spirit.03:58And over on the other extreme, people are doing all kinds of goofy things in church saying that it's a work of the Holy Spirit. We're slain in the Spirit and we're hooping and hollering and barking and howling. It's a gift of the Spirit. Excuse me. Absolutely essential in your work for Christ. Absolutely essential04:28in the health of the church, in the health of this church, you have to understand what spiritual gifts are, and you have to use your spiritual gift in the church. All right, look at verse 2. He says, you know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols. However, you were led. What he's doing here is he's setting up a contrast.04:58by idols.05:00And we're going to see this as we go throughout this section,05:03but the Corinthians in their former pagan lifestyle05:07learned a lot of bad methods of worship.05:11Pagan methods of worship.05:13And they brought those into the church.05:15Like, I guess this is how we worship.05:17And Paul here is making the contrast.05:20Like, look, no, no, no.05:22You used to be led by idols.05:24Now, now you are led by the Holy Spirit of God.05:30The Holy Spirit. Somehow, despite how essential His role is in the church, He just doesn't seem to get the press that the other members of the Trinity get, right? I mean, we talk about Jesus a lot. His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. His resurrection from the dead.05:58We talk about God the Father a lot. But God the Holy Spirit, just is essential. The Bible says that every Christian, every born-again Christian receives the Holy Spirit. That's Romans 8 and 9, among other places. That's God's presence abiding in you. Why? Why does God's Spirit live in you? Well, there's two main reasons. One is for character, right?06:28The Holy Spirit manifests the character of Christ in you. That's the fruit of the Spirit. That's Galatians 5. That's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That's what the Holy Spirit does in the life of the believer manifesting those characteristics. So it's character. The other reason the Holy Spirit lives in believers is for service.06:58And that's what we're talking about in this passage today. Every believer is given a spiritual gift to be used in the church. And you're like, wow, you know, how do I know that I even have the Holy Spirit? Well, look at verse 3. Paul says, therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says,07:28Jesus is accursed. And no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit. So how do you know you have the Holy Spirit? Here's a foundational test. How do you regard Jesus? And I don't just mean what do you say about Jesus here in church on Sunday morning or at small group. I mean in your heart, in your innermost being privately,07:58How do you regard Jesus Christ? In your heart, is Jesus Christ everything to you? Because your true heart disposition towards Jesus is manifest by the Spirit. If you're born again, Paul says, you cannot curse Jesus. And apparently some of that stuff was happening in the Corinthian church. That's a whole other study for another time.08:28Paul says, if you have the Holy Spirit living in you, you absolutely will regard Jesus Christ as your Lord. The Holy Spirit. He's not just for preachers and missionaries, by the way. The Christian life, every Christian's life, is a Holy Spirit-led and empowered life. So the question that Paul's getting into here, and Pastor Taylor's going to be talking about this more next week, here's the question on the table.08:58They asked. He's answering, so what about spiritual gifts? I mean, what are spiritual gifts? And how is it that the Holy Spirit uses spiritual gifts in the church? So on your outline, what about spiritual gifts? What about them? Paul's giving us a great foundational teaching on Holy Spirit gifts.09:28Number one, write this down. Spiritual gifts are from God and for every believer. Look at verses four through six. He says, now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities,09:58is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. He says there's many kinds of spiritual gifts, but notice he says they all come from God. And he really wants to make that point clear because you notice he mentioned every member of the Trinity as being the source of spiritual gifts. You notice that? He talks about the Holy Spirit in verse 4. He talks about Jesus Christ, the Lord, in verse 5. He talks about God, the Father,10:28in verse 6. Spiritual gifts are gifts that come from God. Now, understand that spiritual gifts are different than talents. Okay? Like a skill that you have to play an instrument or to paint a mural. Spiritual gifts are different, but listen. I can show you biblically, and that's a study for another time.10:58come from God. Absolutely.11:03But here we're talking about ministry gifts.11:06Church ministry must be Spirit-powered, not done in the flesh.11:15Why?11:19Because if we're just doing ministry in our power, in man's power,11:25we're going to get man's results.11:27But when ministry is done in God's power, we get God's results. So which do you want? At the end of the day, I want to see what God can do in this church, not what I can do. But you notice the end of verse 6, beginning of verse 7, to everyone, to each. Listen, because every Christian possesses the Holy Spirit, all Christians, all Christians are given a spiritual gift.11:59It's so fascinating because every gift is a characteristic of Jesus Christ Himself. You realize He had everything perfectly. Think about that. Jesus, God in the flesh, who embodied every characteristic perfectly. You see the Holy Spirit giving us a spiritual gift. What's going on here? Here's what's going on. The church is called the body of Christ.12:29And each member is given a gift so that collectively, we as the body of Christ become a sort of representation of Jesus Christ himself. It's absolutely mind-blowing. But God wants the church to be Christ-like, and this is how it happens. We each use our spiritual gift. We're collectively built up in all of the characteristics that Jesus Christ possessed perfectly in the Incarnation.12:57So, spiritual gifts from God for every believer. All right, number two, spiritual gifts are to be used to bless the church. Look at verse 7. He says, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For the common good.13:28It's kind of funny when you think about it. You're given a spiritual gift, right? But in a real sense, the spiritual gift given to you isn't even for you. Isn't that strange? God's given you a gift, but He goes, oh, that's not for you. That's for everybody else. You see, my spiritual gift is supposed to benefit you.13:57benefit me.14:01And that's why we believe in every member of ministry at Harvest Bible Chapel.14:05If you're attending here, if you consider this your church,14:09we're not shy about asking where do you want to serve.14:15Not because we're like, we need help.14:18We do need help.14:21But that's not the primary reason.14:24It's because if you're part of the church, God has gifted you to bless the church. Right? So I have to ask you, how is God using you in this church? How's God using you? If you've been given a gift that's for the common good, how is that working in your ministry?14:55Now look, I've got to tell you, we are so blessed at this church. We were talking about this not too long ago, but we have a crazy high percentage of people who are actively serving in this church in so many ways. We're not there yet, but that number needs to be 100%. And if you're attending this church and you're not serving, please hear me.15:26I just want to lovingly tell you that God hasn't called anyone to warm a seat. Nobody's spiritual gift is attendance. We need you to be using your spiritual gift for the common good. All right? So spiritual gifts are from God for every believer. Number two, spiritual gifts are to be used to bless the church.15:54And number three, spiritual gifts come in many forms. Here's where we need to spend some time. In this section here, Paul lists nine spiritual gifts. Now, this list is not exhaustive, okay? Actually, we're not going to look there today. We're going to stick in this passage as is our custom. But you can see also Romans chapter 12. You can see Ephesians chapter 4. There are other gifts than the ones that are listed.16:24here. This isn't exhaustive. This is more just representative. Spiritual gifts come in many forms. Let's look at verses 8-10. Paul says, for to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit.16:54To another, faith by the same Spirit. To another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit. To another, the working of miracles. To another, prophecy. To another, the ability to distinguish between spirits. To another, various kinds of tongues. To another, the interpretation.17:24of tongues.17:27Alright, so with spiritual gifts there are two categories.17:31There are speaking gifts and there are serving gifts.17:35But there are also two kinds of gifts.17:38There are permanent gifts.17:40There are gifts that were given that will be active in the church until our Lord returns.17:46And there are gifts that are temporary that were only for a time and purpose.17:51And this is where we get controversial.18:00Because this is where a lot of people have a lot of different opinions. But are you ready to go to Sunday school for a few minutes? Three of you? Okay. Thank you. Tristan always has my back. Always. And some of you are like, I don't know if I want to get out of here.18:23this road. Well, we're going through 1 Corinthians. This is next. And we receive God's Word as presented, right? So let's do it. But I want to talk about temporary gifts. And please hear me out before you storm out. That door's hard to slam, but it can be done. Before you storm out, before you throw anything at me, I would like you to please hear me out for a few minutes, all right?18:53Because this isn't my opinion. This is what the Bible says if you read it straightforwardly. Temporary gifts, sometimes they're called sign gifts. Those are the more miraculous type gifts. Please hear me because this is where I'm going to be misquoted, but not you. Listen, those gifts are not normative today.19:23Do I believe that they still happen? 100% I do. But they are not normative. Okay? So if somebody's like, well, what is Jeff's position on some of these sign gifts? I do not believe that they are normative today. I'm going to show you why. Can God do them? Yes. But, listen close. These sign gifts, are these spiritual gifts19:53that are possessed by people in the day of Paul and the apostles. And the answer is no. They're not possessed by people as they were in Paul's day. God still does them on occasion, not normative, but they're not possessed by people. I want to talk about miracles for a moment. Pastor Taylor and I were talking about this last week.20:23I think when we read the Bible, we get this idea that miracles were just like happening all the time, right? Like Moses woke up and like before his oatmeal, he like fired off five miracles. Boom. Not a man a meal, not oatmeal. But actually miracles in the Bible were actually very rare.20:53And apart from Moses' day, and apart from the day of Jesus in the apostles' ministry, miracles performed through men were actually very rare things. So why did we see so many miracles, especially in Moses' day, and especially in Jesus' and the apostles' day? Because this is why.21:21God performed miracles through people to verify or prove when new revelation was given. That's why it was normative in Moses' day. That's why it was normative for the apostles. Because God was giving new revelation, and that was the way He verified it. Any knucklehead can run around and say,21:51this is the new word of the Lord. And like, how can you prove that? Anybody can say that. God would verify what is actually revelation from him by backing it up with people who were giving not just this message, but performing these miracles. That's why you see that in Jesus. Why did Jesus perform so many miracles? Why did Jesus perform miracles? He's putting on a show, right?22:21He wanted to dazzle people, right? Hey, check this out. Check out what I can do. Anybody got two fishes, five loaves? Let me show you a trick. No! Jesus wasn't an entertainer. Why did Jesus do all the miracles? Actually, He referred to them as signs. Why? Because they were done to prove He is who He said He is. He's like, I'm God in the flesh. And of course, you're going to have people that were like, pfft.22:51I'm not buying that. But when you see this man raising the dead, healing the sick, feeding multitudes, you're like, there's something more to him. Right? Jesus' signs proved he is who he said he is. You're like, awesome, but what about spiritual gifts? Well, same principle here. Listen, to back the apostles'23:21while the New Testament was completed, was being completed, God authenticated the gospel with sign gifts. That's what the Bible says. You're like, where does the Bible say that? Many places. I'll give you a couple. Okay? Like 2 Corinthians 12. Look, the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience with signs and wonders and mighty works. You see?23:51the true apostles were performing miracles. It was to authenticate the gospel message. Same thing in Hebrews 2.4. It says, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. Same principle as God was giving us the New Testament. You see, in those days, they didn't have the New Testament completed yet.24:21was being worked on by the Holy Spirit. So when somebody got up and said, let me tell you this message from God, how do we know it was from God? He backed it up with miracles. That's why when you go through the book of Acts, you see miracles less and less and less and less as you go through the book of Acts. We spent like three years in Acts, and that's what you see. In 1 Corinthians here, the book that we're studying, it was one of the earliest24:51written. So sign gifts were still very much a thing when Paul wrote this, but they were on their way out and they were ending as normative spiritual gifts when the New Testament was completed. That's why in none of the other epistles you see any talk about the spiritual gifts of miracles or healings or tongues or interpretation of tongues. You don't see that in any other25:21book in the New Testament.25:25Because it was phasing out.25:28We have God's word complete in written form,25:31so we don't need to verify it with a miracle.25:35God wrote it all down for us.25:37All right?25:39So, with that backdrop, I'm going to go through these quickly.25:44Each one of these could be a sermon,25:45and that's not the intention.25:49Interestingly, Paul does not explain them. He just lists them. I want to give you a little definition for each, a little understanding. So look at your spiritual gifts here, starting in verse 8. The first one is wisdom. What is wisdom? That's just skill in applying the Word of God. Do you know who typically possesses this gift are people that are counselors, whether it's formally or informally, people that are able to say, I understand how to incorporate God's truth.26:19into my life.26:21I can help you incorporate God's truth into your life.26:23It's applying the Word of God.26:24That's wisdom.26:26Next is knowledge.26:30That's understanding the Word.26:34It's somebody that can see Bible facts and knows how they fit together.26:39You know what's amazing?26:40Did you ever see these Christian authors?26:43They take like one subject and they write a whole book about it.26:46That's always amazing to me.26:48Like, how do they do that? They wrote a whole book about one subject? Well, I think a lot of them have the gift of knowledge. Right? Next is faith. Gift of faith. Now, obviously, this is faith beyond believing to get saved, because every follower of Christ has that kind of faith. Right? But you ever notice that there are some Christians that you meet that just seem to have a deeper,27:20Confidence in the Sovereignty of God. You know what I'm talking about? There's some Christians you meet, they could be going through just the worst trials a human being can go through, and they're just like, you know what? God's in control. He's got this. And they're just completely unflappable. They have the gift of faith. Those people are typically the best prayers. Right? Next on the list.27:48is healing.27:51Now again, I believe that this is one of the gifts27:55for people that was phasing out at this point.28:01But what is healing?28:02Well, it's just supernaturally healing a physical illness.28:12I wish I had that gift.28:14I wish it was still a thing.28:17And you might say, well, Pastor Jeff, I think it is still a thing. Because I saw this guy on TV. He was slapping people on the head deaf and they were getting up with full hearing. Interesting about those people, they never go to the cancer ward or the children's hospital. I mean, if I had the gift to heal people, that's the first place I'd go. You're like, oh, so you don't believe in healing? Oh, yeah, yeah. Look, listen.28:47Let's be clear. God still heals. I believe that 100%. And I have seen in this church God miraculously heal people. I believe that God heals. I'm not convinced that Benny Hinn ever did. All right? So next is miracles. Miracles. Like, wait a minute. What's the difference between miracles and healing? I'm not going to bore you with the long systematic Thompson Chain reference.29:17But here's the thing. That word for miracles, when you trace it through the New Testament, was most often connected with casting out demons. That's the difference. That's the distinction. See, that's what Jesus was talking about. Look at Luke 9.1. We'll have it on the screen. It says, and he called the twelve together, look, and gave them power and authority, here it is, over all demons and to cure diseases. So miracles.29:47In the New Testament referred to casting out demons. Again, I believe that was an apostolic era. Do I believe God still does that 100%? Absolutely, yes, He does. Normative? That a person has the gift and is running around doing that? No. All right, next is prophecy. Prophecy. Now, when we think prophecy, when we hear that word, what's the first thing we think of? Like future stuff, right?30:17Tell us the future. Well, sometimes, actually rarely, that's part of it. But you realize that's not what prophecy literally means at all. Do you know what the word prophecy is? It literally breaks down to a compound word that means speak before. You're like, speak before what? Speak before an audience. That's what prophecy is. It's somebody that stands in front of a group of people and says things.30:47Before Them. That's prophecy. It's the public speaking of God's truth. That's what happens when I get up here, Taylor or Brian or Justin or whoever stands up here proclaiming the Word of God. That is prophecy. We are speaking before. Right? Next is distinguishing between spirits. If you're interested, we did a whole sermon series on this.31:17A couple years back, this is what we more commonly call discernment. It's the ability to evaluate if something is from God or not. And in that sermon series, I'm not going to preach it all now, but I'd just like to remind you that that is something that we are all called to do. We are all called to discern what is from God and what is not from God. And again, I'll remind you that we live in a day that it is more crucial than ever because we live in a day where we have access to more information.31:47than we've ever had. You open up your phone, you're going to have 10,00031:51preachers giving you contradictory31:54message about31:55thus saith the Lord. How do we know31:57what God actually said? Discernment32:00is the gift to be able to32:01tell, he's not saying what God32:03said, but this guy definitely is, right?32:05Right?32:10Some people have that gift.32:13Alright, next gift is tongues.32:18Next gift is tongues.32:21You're like, are tongues for today?32:26People ask that, are tongues for today?32:31Yeah, tongues are for today.32:32How would you eat your ice cream otherwise, right?32:38Listen, I'm not going to go too far into this.32:42Oh, you're scared? No, not at all.32:43We're actually going to be doing a very deep dive in this. We're spending four weeks on this subject. But what is tongues biblically? Tongues is the ability to speak in a foreign language unknown to the speaker. It's a known language, by the way. It's not gibberish. It's somebody speaking an already existing language that that person doesn't know. They're just speaking it. Like I said, we're going to spend so much more time on this. And then interpretation of tongues is just simply that.33:13a person that was gifted with the ability to translate what the tongues speaker says. Many forms. One spirit. Oh, speaking of the Holy Spirit, number four. Spiritual gifts are given at the Holy Spirit's discretion.33:47Look at verse 11.33:52He says,33:54All these are empowered by one in the same Spirit34:01who apportions to each one individually as He wills.34:09As He wills.34:11The Holy Spirit, in His sovereignty, determines who does what. That's the Holy Spirit's job. Understand, as your pastor, I did not get to choose your gift. Like, oh, you want to be a part of our church? All right. Prophecy. Okay, how about you? You want to join the church? All right. Healing. You're like, you totally didn't listen to that sermon, did you? I don't get to determine that gift.34:41get to determine that gift. You know what? Preaching looks like a lot of fun. I think I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit for the prophecy gift. He is the one who determines the gift. It is a gift. And the gift giver determines the gift that he wants to give you. The gift giver determines the gift35:12that he wants to give you.35:19And I know this is a hard sell in our day.35:23I mean, Murph, you get it. You go back. We get it.35:27The gift giver determines the gift he wants to give. We get it. The younger people don't get that.35:33Like, why not? Because you know what we do in our day?35:38You know what we do in our day? We have a big event.35:42We have a baby shower, a wedding, little Joey's birthday party. He's turning five. Going to have his party at the Chuck E. Cheese. Do you know what we do today? We tell people what gifts we want, don't we? We do that. Little Joey's turning five. He's registered at Target. Right? Right?36:10Or, yeah, I'm getting married. Yeah, I'm getting married. Yeah, I'm registered at Target. We tell people the gifts that we want. I'm getting married. I want this toaster. I want this knife set. I want this vacuum. And then, I mean, we've done it. Aaron and I will go and be like, okay, this is the vacuum they want.36:40and we buy it and we wrap it up. And then they act surprised when they open it. They open it up and they're like, oh, you got me exactly what I was asking for. Oh, you shouldn't have. But you go back a generation, the gift giver determined what gift you got. Don't try that with the Holy Spirit, okay? You're baptized.37:11I'm registered at Target.37:15Well, we don't get a say in it.37:17It's His gift, right?37:19It's His gift.37:19Do you think I would have signed up for this?37:25Oh no.37:26Oh no.37:30He'll make a better choice than we would anyways.37:33Alright.37:35That's all well and good.37:36But that's really not the question37:39that we're asking right now.37:40The question that we're asking right now is how do I know what my spiritual gift is right I mean it's clear he's given all of us each of us a gift to represent the body of Christ and we're to use it in the common good we saw the kinds and you're like awesome what is my spiritual gift how do I find out what my spiritual gift is all right I'm going to give you three things we're going to close with this three things how do I know what gift I've been given letter A seek God38:10You're like, that sounds like a cop-out. No, look. If you make your life about on-your-face praying and in the Word and just get serving in the church, the Spirit's going to do what the Spirit does. He's going to be at work through you. You're going to figure that out real quick. So just don't worry about seeking a gift. Seek the gift giver. He'll do what He does.38:40That's what he does. Seek God. All right? Letter B. Consider the intersection. Like, what's the intersection? I was studying for this this week. I came across something. I thought it was super helpful. It's one of those diagrams where everything intersects. What do they call that? A Venmo diagram?39:10Venn. Not Venmo.39:20What's a Venmo?39:23Oh, that's giving money.39:26Also a spiritual gift. Right!39:30So you could Venmo your...39:31Alright.39:33I just feel like I had like an inception moment here.39:37Alright.39:38Consider the intersection.39:39Yeah.39:40All right. So I came across this Venn diagram. And I thought it was helpful. I'm going to try to recreate it here. But there's three things here. First of all, this circle here, we're going to call that, we're going to call this one ability. We're going to call this one ability. What is it that you seem, not complicated,40:10You seem like you're able to do this. Right? Of all the gifts. You're like, you know what? That's something that I seem like I'm able to do. I mean, I'm not boasting or anything. It just seems like something that I'm able to do. Okay? And then, with this one, we're going to call this one affinity. That's an idea. Okay. That's affinity. Like, well, that's an idea. Like, what do40:40I enjoy doing.40:42If somebody was like, you can do whatever you want in the church, whatever you enjoy most,40:46what would be the line I get to the front of first?40:50What's my affinity?40:53And then the third thing here, my circles are getting less and less circle-y, but I think you get the idea.41:01This one we're going to call affirmation.41:12You know, you have people maybe in your small group or other people in the church that are, they say to you, you know what? You seem like you have a real gift for teaching. You really seem like you have a gift for praying with people. So the point is this. Consider the intersection right here.41:39This is very likely your spiritual gift. I would say extremely likely. What you're able to do, what you love doing, and what people affirm that it seems like God has equipped you to do, that is very likely your spiritual gift. All right? Then letter C, assessment. Seek God, consider the intersection or assessment. We have a QR code.42:10Go ahead, take your phone out and give that a scan. Pastor Rich sent this along. But this is an online assessment. And really, I think between seeking the Lord, considering the intersection, doing the online assessment, I think that's going to get you all on your way to giving you a deeper understanding of what your spiritual gift is. So go ahead. Go ahead, do the...42:41Either scan that or Venmo me some money. Since you have your phone out and I just learned what Venmo is. Do I have a Venmo? Never mind. Aaron says I don't have a Venmo. All right. Our worship team would make their way up. While they're coming, you know, when I was in high school, I played soccer.43:11In my junior high year of playing soccer, the coach didn't like me. Why? Because I was unlikable. So I sat on the bench most of the season. Now, I knew I had the ability.43:39senior year, we had a new coach, and I didn't sit for one minute that entire season. In fact, I was co-captain of the team. But I got to tell you, I think back to that junior year of playing soccer, and I just remember feeling incredibly frustrated because I felt incredibly useless. You know, you put your shin guards on, you put your cleats on, you put your44:09your soccer uniform on.44:12And you just, I just sat there and watched the whole season.44:16Just sat there.44:21So many times I thought, why am I even here?44:25Why am I even here?44:26What am I doing?44:29I want to tell you, you don't have to worry about that with God's team44:34because there are no bench warmers.44:39God doesn't tell any of His children, you know what? You're nice and all, but you go sit over there. We don't really need you. Or you just wait, and if we decide there's a place we can squeeze you in, we'll see if we can do that. No, no, no, no, no. God's Word has made it very clear that He has called and He has gifted every single one of you.45:08this church. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, so often we get a gift and we don't say thank you, but Father, we thank you not just for the gift of your Holy Spirit himself who lives within us, but the gift that he has given each of us to serve you and your church. For some people here, Father, this is probably brand new teaching.45:38Never really considered this. And for some people here, Father, maybe we've known this and have sort of strayed from it. But I'm asking today, Father, that your Spirit would grip every heart in this church and grip the church collectively so that we truly, as the body of Christ, might represent the person of Christ.46:08as these spirits are at work in us. So Father, I pray for the person here who maybe has been coming to this church but just hasn't stepped up. Remind them, Father, it's not just a matter of the elders and pastors and ministry team would value your input. Remind them, Father, that you have equipped them to serve your church.46:38We do so to your glory and honor. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 12:1-11What was your big take-away from this passage / message?What does it mean that spiritual gifts are for the common good (1 Cor 12:7)?Are sign gifts such as healing and miracles still possessed by people today? Why or why not?Why is it important to understand that the Holy Spirit is the One Who chooses what gifts believers receive (1 Cor 12:11)?How do you know if a ministry is done by the power of the Holy Spirit, or done in the flesh (that is, just by “human power”)?BreakoutPray for one another.

Introduction: Authority & Submission: God's Plan for Order. (1 Corinthians 11:2-16) God's Plan For Order Must Be UNDERSTOOD. (1 Cor 11:2-3) God's Plan for Order Must Be APPLIED. (1 Cor 11:4-6) God's Plan for Order Started at CREATION. (1 Cor 11:7-10) God's Plan for Order Brings BALANCE. (1 Cor 11:11-12) DECISION TIME: Are You On Board with God's Plan for Order? (1 Cor 11:13-16) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Questions and Answers: What About Gender Roles in the Church? Jeff Miller Download Audio Transcript 00:36Open up those Bibles to the book of 1 Corinthians 11.00:42And as you do so, just please take a moment to pray for me to faithfully and clearly communicate the Word of God.00:53And I will pray for you to have a heart that is open to receive what God said.00:59Alright? Let's pray.01:05Father, we once again just ask for Your Spirit to be at work with Your Word in a supernatural way that we can't fully describe, but it always brings about life change when Your Spirit works that way. Father, I pray that You would help us to eliminate any distractions and to just take this time to laser focus on your word and what you've communicated to us here, Father.01:43We pray in Jesus' name and all of God's people said, amen.01:50Amen.01:51Amen.01:53When I was in college, I worked at Walmart.01:56This was in Ohio.01:58And one of my jobs at Walmart was when a customer bought something heavy, like a trampoline or an anvil or whatever Walmart sells, it was my job to get it in their car.02:13And I remember this one lady in particular, I was putting something heavy in her car, and she said, Are you married?02:24She wasn't proposing to me, by the way.02:26She was much, much, much older. And I was much, much, much younger. She goes, you married? And at the time, I was not. I said, no. She said, if you were, would you let your wife wear pants? And I got to tell you, I was young and a brand new Christian. And I was like, as opposed to what?02:59I just wasn't sure that I had a say in that matter. Is my wife going to wear pants? I'm like, that's a thing? I didn't know that was a thing. Well, it's a thing. It is a thing. In Corinth, it is a thing even more than ever today.03:26talking about, and I later discovered what she was talking about, gender roles, attire, what is appropriate, what is a woman? God created them male and female. We're going to talk about gender roles today.03:56And in this section, it's kind of a Q&A section. And here, next question up, we're going to see is what about gender roles? We're going to give you a little background here so you understand why Paul was writing what he wrote. But the church in Corinth, they had a lot of problems. And one of the problems they had was they had issues with feminism.04:28Now listen close because this, you have to understand this to understand why Paul is saying the things that he did here. But in that culture, in the Corinthian culture, married women would wear a veil or a head covering as a sign of modesty and submission to their husbands.04:56When a woman wore a veil, it was her way of saying, I'm taken. I'm not interested. I'm not available. You know, sort of like in our culture, we wear the wedding ring. That's your way of saying, look, I have been claimed. I'm not looking for someone else. All right? Some cultures today still use head coverings or veils in a similar custom. It was a sign of modesty and submission.05:26Well, some of the Corinthian women, in the name of liberty, would protest the traditional male and female roles. And they would make a statement that they're liberated women. They'd make the statement by throwing away their head coverings. And some would even take it a step further than that. And say, I'll show you how liberated I am. They would shave their heads.05:57and protest.06:02Now in past time and going through 1 Corinthians, we talked a lot about the prostitution in Corinth.06:10And let's just say prostitutes didn't wear veils.06:15Because prostitutes were going around saying, I'm available.06:21And you see some of the liberated Corinthian women were like, throwing their veils away too. Women rejecting their roles. Men abdicating their roles. It's an issue as old as the human race. Like, well, what about today? Well, obviously veils really aren't a thing in the American culture.06:58I'm not great at mincing words here, okay? But let's just be honest. In our culture, there are clear signs of masculinity and femininity, right? There are clear signs of that, right? Don't you dare leave me up here. There are clear signs in our culture of masculinity and femininity, right? I don't judge.07:24Okay, so if you come across a woman who has a purple crew cut, a skull tattoo on her face, and she's wearing combat boots, would you immediately think to yourself, that's very feminine? Would you? Would you? Okay. Or what if you came across a man, who was wearing mascara, and he had his fingernails painted pink, and he's wearing a pink mesh half tank top. Would you say, that's masculine? Would you? No. There's obvious signs of what's feminine and what's masculine. You're like, so this passage today is about clothes. Yeah.08:26And more than that, it's about men being men and women being women living the roles as God designed them to be lived out. And these roles for men and for women must be reflected in attitude, they must be reflected in conduct, and they even must be reflected in appearance.08:53This passage is about the fundamental way that God is at work in everything in the universe. It's a divine order that Satan would want to disrupt. Here's the real issue on the table in this passage. It's the issue of authority and submission. Now, as soon as you say the dirty S word in church, people get their guards up. Like, submission. Submission.09:23People get their guards up. There's already this like animosity. Submission. Really? This is the sermon you went with on Mother's Day? Submission? I do the preaching calendar in July. I did not see this coming until about like two weeks ago. And then I was like, oh dear. Here's the problem though with submission. You know what the problem is with submission?09:53Submission is people don't understand it.09:57I want to give you a couple biblical truths about submission to help us set up this passage.10:03It's an acronym, SOFT.10:08Listen, ladies, it's okay to be soft.10:11That's how God designed you, soft.10:14So what is submission?10:15S. S is for strength.10:18Listen, you know why people don't like to hear submission?10:21Because they think submission is weakness.10:23Submission is strength. I'll prove it very easily. Who was the most submissive person to ever walk the planet? Do you know? Jesus Christ. Jesus did not do one thing that wasn't in complete submission to his Father's authority. Jesus never had a day where he's like, well, the Father wants me to do this, but I don't feel like doing that. He never had a day like that. Jesus was He was completely submissive to the Father's will every second of His life, and He loved it. Okay, another question. Who was the strongest person to ever walk the planet? Jesus. The most submissive person ever somehow is also the strongest person ever. So is submission weakness? Submission is strength.11:24O.11:25Soft.11:26O.11:27O is for order.11:29Listen, when we talk about submission and authority, it's just the way God made everything to function.11:35It's just the way.11:36Everything that we see, everything that's unseen.11:38Submission, authority.11:40Authority, submission.11:41That's the way God structured the universe.11:44It's in the spiritual realm.11:48All right, we'll talk about that in a few minutes.11:51It's all over the earth.11:53The government, your workplace, the church, the home, authority and submission in every arena of life. It's everywhere. Authority and submission. The focus here in this passage has to do with men and women. Men and women are equal, but we're different. That's okay.12:23some roles for men and some roles for women. It has nothing to do with superiority or inferiority. It has nothing to do with that. It's your workplace. You are under your boss's authority, but that doesn't mean he's better than you or she is smarter than you. It's just about the structure that's been established. It's about order. It's about order. Somebody has to make decisions.12:52decisions out. It's just the way it works. Everywhere. All right? S, O, F and T go together. Faith and trust. Faith and trust. Do you have faith? Do you have faith? Well, one of the key ways faith is expressed is by submitting the authorities that God has placed over you. So long as the authority is not asking you to sin.13:22We express our faith by submitting to the authorities God has over us at our workplace, in the church, in the home. Faith says, God, I trust you by submitting to the authority that you placed over me. That's an act of faith. And it takes an incredibly strong person to be able to trust God to that degree. So here's the principle for this passage. Please really tune in here.13:52because this is the principle of this passage. And I was very careful I worded this. I'm going to read this to you twice, okay? But here's the principle of this passage. Christians should, in the name of laying down their rights, as Brian talked about last week, Christians should conform to their gender-specific patterns of dress and appearance that their culture identifies with being male, and female because God wants these roles embraced because authority and submission in these roles is God's plan for order. Let's say that again. This is the short version. If you want the long version, stick around. Christians should conform to their gender-specific patterns of dress and appearance that their their culture identifies with being male and female. Like, why? Because God wants us to embrace those roles. Why? Because authority and submission in these roles is God's plan for order. All right? That's the short version. Now, let's take a look at the text and see what exactly God said on your outline. Authority and submission, God's plan for order. That's what this is. This is God's plan for order.15:22This is the way God orchestrated everything. Authority and submission, God's plan for order. Number one, write this down. God's plan for order must be understood. It must be understood. Look at verse 2. Paul says, Now I commend you, because you remember me in everything, and maintain the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.15:52Paul is front-loading a very hard topic with praise. Paul says, you seek my counsel on everything. I appreciate that so much about you. You hold the traditions. Literally, that word is translated doctrine in other places in Scripture. Paul's like, you're people that care about the truth and harvest. Let me commend you. Listen, I know that this is a controversial topic. I get that.16:22And I know that this is an extremely unpopular topic. But you know what else I know about this church? That you come here because you want to know what God said. You come to this church because you believe that we want nothing more than to represent the Bible in our sermons, right? Check the record. That's all any of us have ever tried to do is just reflect God's truth. And I commend you for that.16:51Even when it's hard. Look at verse 3. Verse 3 is the thesis of the whole thing. Paul says, but I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ. The head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. You see, here's the thesis. Authority and submission is God's design.17:22He says the head of man, the head of every man, is who? Christ. You're like, Jesus isn't the head of every man. Wait 15 minutes. Every knee will bow, okay? But the head of every man is Jesus Christ. Man, we better get on board with that sooner than later. Okay, the head of the wife is what?17:56You are so much more reluctant to say this one, aren't you? The head of the wife is the husband, right? And the head of Jesus is God. You see, Paul's just giving the thesis here. There are roles that have been established. And I love how he puts the hard one sandwiched between two very obvious ones. Do you see that?18:25It's obvious, right? The head of man is Christ, obviously. And the head of Jesus is God, right? Jesus completely submissive to the Father in all things, right? John 14, 28. Jesus regarded the Father greater than Him. And He says the head of every wife is the husband.18:51that men are called to have authority. There's the problem. Another problem that we have with submission. Because we don't get what authority means either. People get this idea that authority means man sits on the throne and chop, serve me, everything for me, my way, my preferences. That's not what authority means at all. Do you know what authority means. Biblically, authority is I have to make decisions that are going to bless and protect the people that God is entrusting to me. That is true in my home. I have to make decisions to bless and protect my family. That is true in the church. I have to make decisions in this church, and our elders have to make decisions in this church that's going to bless and protect the congregation, the people who come to this church, the members, the sheep of this fold.19:52That's what authority is.19:57And you see, Paul lays out this thesis.19:59You can't deny any of these things.20:03If you look very close, in every case, it's about trusting God by submitting, right?20:10How does man trust God?20:12Well, man trusts God by submitting to Christ.20:15I want to jump to the last one.20:17How did Jesus trust his Father?20:21He trusted His Father by submitting to Him. So how does the wife trust God? Right there in the middle, by submitting to her husband. Also, the other side of that, the authority in every case is not dominating. It's lovingly leading. Do you see that? How does Christ lead man? Lovingly. How did the Father lead Christ?20:51Therefore, how should the man lead his wife? Lovingly. So if you believe this universal law of authority and submission, then you're going to get the rest of the passage. All right? Number two, God's plan for order must be applied. God's plan for order must be applied. Look at verses 4 and 5.21:22He says, every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.21:31But every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.21:43So Paul is applying this principle here.21:45He's talking about prayer and prophecy.21:47What's that?21:48It was just talking about women preachers, right? No. No, the women as pastor thing, Paul makes that very clear in just a couple of chapters. You can write it down. Chapter 14, verses 34 and 35, Paul talks about women as pastors.22:18about that in this passage. This passage, he's focusing on the head covering customs, and later, like the pastor thing, we're going to get into the other gender issues. Chapter 14. So, he says, men, when you pray, when you prophesy, wherever that is, he says, your head should be uncovered. And women, you should have your head covered. Why did Paul say that?22:48because in Corinth, again, this is a culture-specific tradition, but in Corinth, if a person covered their head, that was a sign of being feminine. That was a very effeminate way to present yourself. And what Paul's simply saying here is, men, don't do that. Men, in Corinth, hey, don't cover your head.23:18Don't do it.23:20You're like, well, what about the Jewish men?23:24Because, you know, the Jewish men covered their head when they pray.23:27Yeah, that is a Jewish custom.23:29Came from the rabbis, not from the Bible, because of Moses being veiled after he talked to God.23:36So what about the Jewish men in Corinth?23:39Paul's like, no.23:41Jewish men, don't cover your head.23:43Why?23:44Because if people in Corinth see you praying with your head covered, they're going to think you're effeminate. Right? And you're like, all right, is this for all churches? I mean, is this for us today? I mean, tell me, Pastor Jeff, should I go home and throw away my Yankees cap? Are people going to think I'm effeminate if I wear that? No. Look, this is obviously, obviously, it's a Corinthian-specific issue.24:21Because, you know, Paul only addressed gender and veils in Corinth.24:27You don't see this anywhere else in the New Testament, not to any other church.24:35So what Paul is saying to the Corinthians is this.24:39Accommodate yourself to the customs of the Corinthians.24:42In other words, church, here's the principle.24:45Here's the principle that does apply to us. Don't violate customs that have significance in your culture. That's what he's saying. Don't violate customs that have significance in your culture. Meaning this, men should do what men do, and women should do what women do. Don't try to make some statement of liberation by taking on the appearance of the other gender.25:18In verse 6, he addresses the feminists. He says, For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. Again, Paul here is speaking to the feminists. What he's saying here is this. Ladies, you want to protest?25:44Okay, you're making some kind of statement. You refuse to act like a lady. Is that what you're going for? Then just, okay, just shave your head. How about that? Because the response for these Corinthian church ladies would be like, shave my head. I'm not going to do that. That's like, that's disgraceful. Paul's like, then put a veil on Miss Corinth. Paul's being very facetious here. He says, look, you've got to go with the cultural norms.26:14when it comes to being male and female. You've got to know what's happening in that culture and you've got to go with it. Right? Like when we go to Thailand, some of the churches in Thailand, many of the churches in Thailand, when you go to church, the men sit on this side and the women sit on this side. They don't have a middle. All right? So when I go to Thailand, I don't just go strutting into the church like, I'm free in Christ. I'm sitting with the ladies. Because all the men are going to be like, that American guy. Is he a little weird, isn't he? Like, no, we sit with the dudes. Because that's just part of the custom. That's part of the culture. Right? That's what Paul's talking about here.27:14He's saying, look, boy, this is a hard sell. This is such a hard sell. When I got into ministry, I never imagined this would be a hard sell. But now that we live in a day of drag queen story hour and transgender stuff, the Bible just here says, embrace gender distinction. You know what it is in the United States in 2026. Your look, the way you act, your role.27:43If you're a man, be a man. If you're a woman, be a woman. That's what Paul's saying here. You've got to apply God's plan for order. Thirdly, authority and submission, God's plan for order. Thirdly, God's plan for order started at creation. Look at verse 7. He says, for a man to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. Stop there. Paul's saying, men, you are to lead. Not abdicate that role in submission. If too many men that just aren't stepping up, being the servant leader in the home that God has called them to be, that's a problem. There's a problem in Corinth. It's a problem.28:43in our day today. Man, you've got to step up and lovingly lead your family.28:50That's what Paul's saying here. Stop shrinking back.28:54He says, man, you're the glory of God. Then he says, woman, you're the glory of man.28:59This is how authority and submission was established. Man is the glory of God, means man was made to manifest God's will.29:10And woman being the glory of man means that woman was made to manifest man's will. You're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Since when? Since creation. Look at verses 8 and 9. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.29:40Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. Stop there. Authority and submission. The Bible says very clearly here and in Genesis 2 that woman was created to help man. And we need all the help we can get.30:10says the woman was made from man for man. Do you think God could have created men and women at the same time? Do you think that's possible? I think he could have if he wanted to. So why in the world did God create man first and then take woman from the man? Why did he do that? Why didn't he just create them both?30:40at the same time. And the answer is right here. He's establishing his plan for order.30:46Because look at verse 10.30:49He says, that is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels.30:59Paul's saying, so, if you accept God's plan, authority and submission, God's plan for order, if you accept God's plan, show it by dressing the way that's reflected in your culture because of the angels. What? Whoa, what? Because of the angels. Yeah, obviously, duh, because of the angels. What do the angels have to do with any of this? Here it is, listen.31:37God's plan for order, authority, and submission. Do you know who gets that more than anybody? Do you know if you scoured the universe and you were looking for someone who understood this more than anyone, do you know who you would get? An angel. They get God's plan for order. They get it. They're like, okay, there's authority, there's submission. God's my authority. He says to do something, I do it.32:07They get how it works. Do you know what else they get? Angels get that rebelling against God's plan is a very bad idea. Speaking of angels, look at Jude, verse 6. And we studied Jude a few years ago. You can look up this whole sermon online. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, God has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day. You see that? Because of the angels, Paul is pleading here. He goes, ladies, look, as soon as you talk about these matters of men and women and authority and submission, there's a lot of women immediately want to throw the whole thing out. And Paul is pleading here. He's like, ladies, look, God's plan is good.33:07And if you're not on board, learn from the angels who weren't on board that God takes it very seriously when his plan for order is rejected. God was serious about his plan for order at creation, at Corinth, and at Harvest Bible Chapel today. God's plan for order started at creation. Number four, God's plan for order brings balance. Look at verses 11 and 12. He says, nevertheless, in the Lord, woman is not independent of man, nor man of woman. For as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.34:07God's amazing plan of order to work. We all have to do our part. We all have to work together. We're not independent. That's what he's saying. We're not independent. God designed us to be interdependent. That's how order works. The home, the church, understand.34:37Neither were designed to function just by man. The home, the church, neither was designed to function just by woman. In order for the home and the church to be at their absolute healthiest, both men and women have to be faithful to the roles that God established in creation.35:07Let's look at verse 12 again. This is so beautiful and so profound at the same time. He says, for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman, and all things are from God. Yes, man is called to have authority. And moms, moms, You have the responsibility and privilege to make your son a man who is going to serve God faithfully in his role. That's what Paul's talking about here. Yes, woman was taken from man at the beginning, and ever since then, man has come from woman, and man has been shaped by woman. Meaning, those of you who are moms of sons, listen, you made a son and now you are making a man. So moms, you hone your son into a man who's going to lead with love. You hone your son into a man who's going to lead with kindness, who's going to show respect. Moms, you make your sons into men of humility and self-sacrifice. Because moms, your impact on your son will ultimately exponentially manifest throughout the whole world with the impact that he's going to have when you send him out of your house. So you see there's balance. Every role fulfilled God's way advances his kingdom and glorifies the name of Jesus Christ. That's why Paul says, All things are from God. Number five. Decision time. Are you on board with God's plan for order? Look at verse 13. Paul says, judge for yourselves. Is it proper for a wife to pray to God, with her head uncovered. Judge for yourself. Paul's saying, in other words, is it appropriate for a woman to fight being feminine? Is that proper? Verse 14, he says, does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is a disgrace for him? But if a woman has long hair, it is her glory, for her hair is to her for a covering. Judge for yourself, Paul says, authority and submission. Embracing God's gender roles. Is that proper? Is that appropriate? I think it's right back on the hair thing. Paul's like, hey, even beyond the Corinthian culture, he says, nature teaches men shouldn't have women's hair. He says, but it's It's right on a woman, though. So interesting. Paul says that the veil they wore, the head covering, it was just sort of an accent for the hair that God designed the woman to have anyways. Tradition came from somewhere, didn't it? And you're like, oh, all right, fine. Man doesn't have long hair. Woman should have long hair. All right. Here's where we get legalistic, right?39:06You ready for the legalism? We've got to define what's long hair. Four inches? Five inches? I don't know. Maybe the standard is just this. Every dude has got to shave their head. Women have to be tripping over their hair. It has to be that long. How about that? You guys, I'm not interested in legalism because God's Word certainly isn't.39:38Look, in our culture, men don't need to have a crew cut to look manly. In our culture, women can look extremely feminine with shorter hair. All right? Because in their culture and in our culture, it's about the heart. And that's why Paul says, judge for yourself. Look, be honest. If you've chosen a hairstyle because you're trying to be rebellious. That's a hard thing. If you've chosen a hairstyle because you're trying to make a statement with it, that's a hard thing. That's what he's addressing here. And if you're trying to make some kind of feminist statement with your hair or whatever, I just want to say this as lovingly as I can. If you're trying to make a statement with some feminist thing. Nobody here really cares about your statement.40:42But, God cares about your heart.40:48That's the bottom line.40:52That's the bottom line.40:54And probably my favorite verse in the whole passage is the next one.40:58Paul says, If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.41:06Paul says, because he knows, look, nothing's changed. He knows writing this, people are going to be like, I'm sending Paul an email. And I'm sure there are people thinking that about me. And this is what God says. He's like, look, if you want to fight about living out and representing your gender role, you're not going to sway the church. Because God made a distinction between men and women.41:34We are God's church, so we're going to keep the distinction. Because God has a plan for order. For men, for women. And it's godly authority. And it's godly submission. Our worship team would make their way up. That was the introduction. Now here's the sermon. Men.42:04Act like a godly man. Women. Act like a lady. Act like a godly lady. This is God's plan for order. Let's pray. Father in heaven, I pray that you would give us understanding.42:38Because our whole culture would just rail against this passage today. We live in a culture that can't even define what a woman is when you have made it very clear that you want us to be the people that you've created us to be. Father, I pray that we would find great joy and fulfillment and contentment and contentment.43:09And finding our identity in Christ.43:14And living out the role, whatever that is, wherever you have us, however that looks, God.43:23Let us be a people that are shaped by the truths of your word.43:28We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 11:2-11:16What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Explain 1 Cor 11:3. What does this say about authority and submission pertaining to God's plan for order?Is this passage teaching women should wear head coverings at Harvest? Why or why not? How does this apply today?Read 1 Cor 11:10. What do angels have to do with women understanding the roles of authority and submission? See also Jude 6.Why do you think this topic is such a source of contention (1 Cor 11:16)?BreakoutPray for one another.

Introduction: Are You Committed to Winning People with the Gospel? (1 Corinthians 9:15-23) SACRIFICE: Do You Give Up Your Rights in Order to WIN People? STEWARD: Do You See Yourself as ENTRUSTED with the Gospel? 2 Corinthians 5:19 - that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. SHARER: Do You Know the Joy of Sharing the Blessings of the Gospel? Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Audio Transcript 00:00-00:04Open up those Bibles to 1 Corinthians 9.00:07-00:10While you're turning there, let's just take a moment.00:10-00:18I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to proclaim the Word of God as I should.00:19-00:26And I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us today.00:27-00:28Let's pray.00:31-00:38Father, we understand that what is about to happen is supernatural.00:42-00:46This isn't giving some TED Talk.00:48-00:55This is the proclamation of your eternal word that somehow your Holy Spirit works with your word.00:59-01:01to conform us into the image of your Son.01:03-01:08Father, I pray that you would do a mighty work in all of us this morning.01:11-01:16Thank you, Father, in advance for the work that you're going to do.01:17-01:20We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.01:22-01:241 Corinthians 9, are you there?01:24-01:29Before we start this, Doug, did Taylor get paid this week?01:31-01:31He did not.01:32-01:34We don't usually do this publicly, but would you pay Taylor?01:40-01:41(congregation laughing)01:45-01:49You gotta keep the pastor humble, thank you, Doug.01:50-01:51You gotta keep the pastor humble.01:54-01:56Don't expect anything else for like a month.01:58-01:59You're gonna have to stretch it.02:01-02:03You got him the king-size Kit Kat, right?02:03-02:06Okay, then I don't wanna hear nothing about no second service.02:07-02:09You got plenty.02:10-02:10Don't be a hog.02:14-02:33When Erin and I were first married, we lived in town and we had a neighbor up the street that would often walk his dog right by our house and he would often stop in our front yard and let his dog do what dogs do on walks.02:35-02:37And there was no cleanup, by the way.02:39-03:09But this went on for some time and one day he was walking the dog up the street on the sidewalk in front of our house and Erin was outside and she said, "Hey, I'm buying you a shovel for Christmas." He got a little smile on his face and he goes, "So, you think I'd look pretty good with a shovel?" I think he thought that Erin was flirting with him.03:10-03:15And if so, that is a really weird pickup line to use.03:17-03:19Hey baby, you look good with a shovel.03:22-03:23It's pretty easy to miss the point, isn't it?03:24-03:25At least it was for him.03:25-03:28It was easy to miss the point.03:29-03:40And as we get to this next section in 1 Corinthians, I think that's what's going on here is I think Paul wanted to make sure that none of the Corinthians missed his point.03:42-03:42All right?03:42-03:44This is the Q&A section.03:44-04:03In this section in particular, they had asked him about eating meat that was used in pagan worship and they're like, "Well, it's just meat, but it bothers some of the weaker Christians that are, you know, just kind of fresh coming out of paganism." So what do we do about that, Paul?04:04-04:21Paul says, "You are free." But love says, "I will lay down my rights so that I don't offend a weaker brother." And then Paul, led by example, that's what we saw last week.04:21-04:24Paul goes, "Look, I'm showing you an example from my own life.04:25-04:36I have every right to be paid to preach." And he went through all the reasons it is legitimate for the pastor to get paid.04:36-04:38He gave us five very compelling reasons.04:39-04:43"Yes, the pastor should be paid." He said, "That's a right that I have.04:44-05:48That's a freedom that I have, but I'm laying it down for the sake of the gospel." And I think when you get to this point in chapter 9, Paul knew that some of the Corinthians were going to miss the point, and Paul's talking about paying the pastor, paying the pastor, while you pay the past year's while and they're like, "Ah, um. Yeah, Paul, we asked about meat. That was what we asked about. It's a bigger issue. It's not about the meat." "Oh, not about the meat. Oh, oh, this is about getting paid to preach. No, no, no, it's not about the money. That's like saying the fall of man. That's like saying Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden is a story about fruit trees. You missed the point.05:50-05:59The bigger issue is this, examining how does what I do affect somebody else?05:59-06:00That is the issue.06:03-06:12It's about not letting anything be an obstacle to not only loving a weaker brother, but winning people to Christ.06:19-07:26people to Christ. How high of a priority is that for you? I mean, can we just take an honest assessment today? How often do you think about winning somebody to Christ. How committed are you to personal evangelism? I thought so much about this this past week. And I want you to hear what I'm saying here because this isn't pack your bags we're going on a guilt trip. This is deeply convicting to me. And I'm right here with you, church. Please hear me, corporately and individually, corporately and individually, church, we are distracted and we are insulated.07:29-07:36We are, first of all, distracted. We're distracted. We are so distracted. Winning people to Christ, What are you talking about?07:37-07:38Oh yeah, I guess that is a thing.07:38-07:43I've been so distracted, distracted with good things.07:44-07:48Work and sports and home projects.07:48-07:53There is so much that demands our attention.07:56-08:00I think especially in a church like ours, we're insulated.08:02-08:10How much of our lives revolve around going to church, going to small group, going to event at the church.08:11-08:20And then when we're not at Harvest Bible Chapel, we are sending our kids to Christian school, or we volunteer at a Christian school.08:20-08:25And all of that is great stuff, obviously.08:26-08:31But I have to ask, how often are we even interacting with lost people?08:33-08:35I think we're insulated.08:38-08:40Look, there's so much.08:42-08:48There's so much that this church does so well when it comes to discipleship.08:49-08:51We have an excellent small group ministry.08:55-09:02We just had two excellent conferences, one for the men last month, one for the women yesterday.09:03-09:04Excellent.09:08-09:12Our giving to missions, I've never seen a church like this one.09:13-09:22Whether it's the Vision Appalachia or Thailand or somebody taking a short-term trip, our Forgiving to missions is excellent.09:28-09:34But when we get to this passage, we have to ask ourselves, "When was the last time that you led somebody to Christ?09:37-09:39When was the last time that happened?09:41-09:45When was the last time that you even shared the gospel with someone?09:45-09:51When was the last time that you even invited somebody to come to church to hear the gospel here?09:56-09:58Are you committed to personal evangelism?10:02-10:06Not just talking about the church at large, obviously that is a concern for me.10:06-10:07I'm talking about you as an individual.10:08-10:09Are you committed to that?10:12-10:14Look down at verse 23 here in chapter 9.10:16-10:27Paul says, "I do it all for the sake of the gospel." Paul says, "Everything in my life revolves around the gospel.10:27-10:41Everything in my life revolves around winning people to Christ." And this verse has a very special place in my heart because our missionary in Thailand, This is His verse.10:42-10:46This is the verse that fuels everything that He does.10:46-10:55Several years ago, He was at our house and He was talking to Erin and I about how this verse fuels everything in His ministry.10:55-10:58"I do all things for the sake of the gospel." He kept going back to that.10:58-11:04"I do all things for the sake of the gospel." Twenty-three churches, four children's homes, a Bible institute.11:06-11:12I do all things for the sake of the gospel." That's how that mission started, by the way.11:12-11:13Do you know how that started?11:14-11:20It was Barnabas, this Burmese man going through the northern mountain jungles of Thailand looking for villages.11:22-11:30Looking, looking for lost people in the middle of the jungle and finding a village and walking in and just sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.11:31-11:32That's how that started.11:36-11:38All things for the sake of the gospel.11:39-11:43He is like spiritually hilarious to talk to.11:43-11:50He was telling me recently about a telemarketer that was calling to try to sell him on some kind of goofy energy pills or something.11:50-11:52And do you know what he told her?11:54-11:54The gospel!11:55-11:56He told her the gospel.11:56-11:58He also told me, this was just a couple weeks ago.11:59-12:04He had a couple guys show up to pump their septic tank.12:04-12:05And do you know what he told them?12:06-12:08The gospel, yeah.12:10-12:13One of my favorite stories, he had to get some sound equipment.12:13-12:18They do this big outdoor Christmas program as an outreach.12:20-12:25It's kind of like open air preaching and the Lisu tribe, they're dancers and there's this whole thing, right?12:26-12:27But he had to get like this PA system.12:28-12:35So he goes into the store, the electronics store, where they sell these things, and he wants to buy one.12:35-12:37He goes, "I wanna try it out." Remember this, Justin?12:37-12:49He goes, "I wanna try this out." And they're like, "Okay, you can try it out." He's like, "I wanna make sure it works." So they fire up this PA system, and he gets on the microphone, and do you know what he says?12:51-13:06"He proclaimed the gospel to the whole store!" I'm gonna give you the short version of the story, I don't have time to get into all of it, but he told me about a village across the border that was guarded by four armies that needed fish.13:08-13:12And he took them fish, and I said, "How did you keep the fish from spoiling?" He's like, "What are you talking about?13:13-13:29"What do you mean spoil?" I'm like, "Well, he said it took him 10 days "to walk through the jungle with these fish." I'm like, "Fish is gonna get bad after a while." He goes, "No, no, no, no, no, no, live fish." I'm like, "How did you take live fish?" And then it hit me.13:30-13:31I said, "Hang on, hang on.13:33-13:53"Did you carry bags of water full of fish "through the jungle for 10 days "to take fish to a village?" And as a matter of fact, he just says, "Yeah, they needed fish." You carried an aquarium through the jungle for 10 days.13:54-14:00He's like, "They needed fish." Why would somebody do something like that?14:01-14:04What would possess a man to do something like that?14:04-14:06I'll tell you what possesses a man.14:07-14:09He does all things for the sake of the gospel.14:09-14:19He says, "The reason I'm taking these fish to them is it's going to open the door for me to share the gospel with them." Who does something like that?14:20-14:23A person who wants to win people to Christ, that's who.14:28-14:28So what about you?14:30-14:31Do you love lost people?14:38-14:53You're like, "Man, I guess I don't love lost people like that." Now, this section here in 1 Corinthians shows us what the heart of an evangelist looks like.14:55-14:56I think there's something here for all of us.14:56-15:09I just want to go through the text, and then I want to go back and pick up some of the key principles that motivated Paul here, but let's pick up in verse 15.15:13-15:21Paul says, "But I have made no use of any of these rights." He didn't use his right to get paid to preach.15:21-15:22That's what he's talking about.15:22-15:24Like, why didn't you do that?15:25-15:26Well we talked about that.15:27-15:32Paul didn't want anybody to think that he was using some new religion to try to get rich.15:36-15:38He didn't want people to assume that he had bad motives.15:39-15:40Time out here for a second.15:40-15:52They're like, "Well, if Paul had this conviction, why didn't the other apostles have this conviction?" I mean, it makes sense, but why didn't the others have this conviction?15:52-15:53And the answer is very simple.15:53-15:56Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.15:58-15:59He was reaching pagan people.16:00-16:06That Peter and the rest that were going to the Jews, the Jews already had this system in place about paying the spiritual leaders.16:07-16:08That wasn't a weird concept to them.16:09-16:11Paul going to the Gentiles, it was a different ball game.16:14-16:15All right, look, keep going to verse 15.16:16-16:27He says, "Nor am I writing these things "to secure any such provision." Paul's like, "I'm not writing this to you "to secure provision." Like, what's he mean by that?16:27-16:34Paul's saying, "To be clear, "I'm not trying to use reverse psychology here "to make you pay me." All right?16:34-16:44Paul's like, "I'm not trying to be like, "Well, you know, I'm just out here preaching for free." And then you're like, "Oh, poor Paul, preaching for free.16:45-16:46"We should pay him.16:46-16:47"He shouldn't have to do that.16:47-16:51"We should pay him." Paul's like, "I'm not trying to reverse psychology you, okay?16:52-17:00"This isn't, I'm not throwing this out there "so that you're convicted to pay me." He goes, "That's not it at all." All right, go on.17:01-17:09He says, "For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting." Wow.17:10-17:24Paul says, "I would rather die than somebody accuse me of using the gospel to rip people off." But what's this boasting thing?17:25-17:26You see that?17:26-17:35He says, "Deprive me of my ground for boasting." So that word for boasting literally is rejoicing.17:35-17:38Usually when we hear boasting we have a bad connotation with that.17:38-17:40The word literally is rejoicing.17:41-17:41Okay?17:42-17:45And boasting is really not a bad thing, it just depends on what you're boasting in.17:46-17:48Because we're called to boast in the Lord, right?17:50-17:52But the question is, what is Paul's ground for boasting?17:52-17:53What is it?17:54-17:55What's he boasting about?17:55-17:58What about this is occasion for boasting?17:58-18:01Well, first he tells us what it's not.18:01-18:08Look at verse 16, he says, "For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting.18:09-18:11For necessity is laid upon me.18:11-18:14Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.18:16-18:28If I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship." He says, first of all, the boasting is not about preaching the gospel.18:28-18:29Let's get that off the table.18:29-18:34That's not...because that's not in the actual preaching the gospel itself.18:34-18:47I'm not like boasting in the opportunity to preach, because you realize, church, the gospel leaves no room for boasting, right?18:49-19:00You can't earn your salvation not by what you do, not by who you are, not by who you You know, you cannot do a thing to earn your salvation.19:00-19:08You can't do a thing to make God happy with you because you are a guilty, rebellious sinner before the eyes of your holy creator.19:08-19:09That's reality.19:10-19:12There is not a thing that we can do.19:12-19:14We are guilty of sin.19:15-19:18But God, because of His great love, He's given us grace.19:18-19:30God says, "Because I love you, I am providing salvation, not through what you do, but through what my son did on your behalf." It is a gift, and when you receive a gift, there is no room for boasting.19:34-19:36So okay, so what is the reward?19:36-19:37What is it?19:38-19:40Well, he tells us, look at verse 18.19:41-19:43He says, "What then is my reward?19:44-19:59That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel." See, Paul says, "You know what thrills me?19:59-20:02Do you know what I'm really like fired up about?20:03-20:04It's this.20:05-20:19There's this one thing, this one thing that I can choose to do, and that is to preach the gospel for free." In other words, Paul is saying, "God's not making me do this.20:22-20:27God's not making me lay down my right to be paid." Paul goes, "I chose that.20:27-20:29That is my contribution.20:29-20:31That is Paul's contribution to the kingdom.20:32-20:38I choose to do it for free." He's so excited in this passage.20:39-20:45He's so excited to forfeit his rights so he can preach.20:45-20:52Paul's like, it is such a joy for me that I have the ability to love people in a unique way.20:52-20:56That I can give to them and not get a thing in return from them.20:56-20:58That is such a joy for me!21:01-21:05Right now, somebody's like, look good with a shovel.21:05-21:08I don't get it. I don't get it.21:10-21:19Who gets joy from denying themselves something that they are rightfully entitled to?21:23-21:24Who does that?21:26-21:29The person who wants to win people to Christ, that's who.21:33-21:48Verse 19, he goes on, "For though I am free from all, "I have made myself a servant to all "that I might win more of them." He's like, I'm free, I'm a child of God.21:49-21:55My salvation is not based on my performance, but I made myself a servant for the sake of winning people.21:57-22:00Paul is always about winning people.22:01-22:05And Paul would do anything to win someone to Christ.22:05-22:10He found so much joy that he could give up his rights to win people to Christ.22:12-22:21So what does that look like, to lay down your rights in order to share the gospel?22:21-22:25What does that look like, to lay down your rights for the sake of evangelism?22:26-22:27Well, he tells us what it looks like.22:27-22:28Look at verse 20.22:30-22:36He says, "To the Jews, I became as a Jew in order to win Jews.22:37-22:53To those under the law, I became as one under the law, though not being myself under the law, that I might win those under the law." So Paul says, let me tell you what that's like.22:53-22:57When I'm with the Jews, I'm not going to violate the law in front of them.22:59-23:04Paul saying, "I'm not going to walk into the synagogue eating a ham sandwich in front of them.23:04-23:06That would really offend them.23:06-23:08Like, "Look, I'm free in Christ.23:08-23:17I can eat a ham sandwich." Like, he goes, "I would never do something like that." I mean this is all through the book of Acts.23:20-23:24All throughout, you see in Acts chapter 15 with the Jerusalem council, that's what that whole thing was about.23:25-23:27You see it in Acts chapter 16, that was an interesting story.23:28-23:30Paul had Timothy circumcised.23:31-23:31Like why?23:31-23:32So Timothy can get saved?23:32-23:34No, no, no, that has nothing to do with that.23:36-23:42Paul had Timothy circumcised so that they didn't offend the Jews that they were trying to win.23:47-23:49Boy, that had to have been an awkward exchange, don't you think?23:53-23:53Did you imagine?23:53-24:28Paul's like, "I will do whatever it takes to win people!" And Timothy's like, "Yeah!" And Paul's like, "Make any sacrifice for the gospel!" And Timothy's like, "Yeah!" And Paul's like, "Circumcise Timothy!" And Timothy's like, "What?" Paul's like, "Are you committed or not?" That's the point, though.24:30-24:31Anything.24:31-24:32What's it going to take?24:32-24:33What's it going to take?24:36-25:05He goes on, verse 21, he says, "To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law," being outside the law of God, but under the law of Christ, clarifying. We'll talk about that more in a minute. He says that I might win those outside the law. You see, you also see that in Acts, right? When Paul was with the Gentiles, he acted like the Gentiles.25:05-25:11Not in a sinful way, but he assimilated with them. You see it in, what is it, Acts 17.25:12-25:14Paul quoted one of their poets.25:14-25:15It was a bridge.25:15-25:17He goes, "You know what one of your poets says?25:17-25:24Ah, he was on to something." And he uses that as a bridge, but he assimilated with them.25:24-25:25That's what he's talking about.25:25-25:33Verse 22, he says, "To the weak I became weak that I might win the weak.25:33-25:39I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some." The weak.25:40-25:41We've been talking about the weak.25:41-25:42These are the baby Christians.25:43-25:45These are the people that are coming out of paganism.25:45-25:50It's just so hard to let go of things that we were so used to.25:50-25:54And that's what really the whole meat issue was about, right?25:54-26:06And Paul goes, "Oh, if eating meat is a problem for them, I will be a vegan." And then we land on verse 23.26:06-26:06Here it is.26:08-26:20I do it all for the sake of the gospel that I may share with them in its blessings." That's the thesis.26:21-26:24That's the thesis of the passage.26:25-26:30That's the thesis of Paul's whole life.26:31-26:33Everything I do is for the gospel.26:35-26:36Is that the thesis of your life?26:41-26:45You see the passion for winning lost people in the past?26:45-26:45Did you see it?26:49-26:50Don't miss it.26:51-26:53You think I'd look good with a shovel, don't miss it.26:58-26:59It's passion for the lost.27:01-27:03So on your outline, I just want you to draw some things down here.27:06-27:17You see, three big ingredients, three things that motivated Paul that I have to ask myself and you have to ask yourself.27:20-27:22Are you committed to winning people with the gospel?27:22-27:22Are you?27:23-27:24Are you?27:25-27:30Are you committed to winning people with the gospel?27:39-27:42The first ingredient, it's the most obvious one, right?27:42-27:43It's sacrifice.27:44-27:47Sacrifice, do you give up your rights in order to win people?27:49-27:51Do you give up your rights in order to win people?27:53-27:58Again, Paul found laying down a freedom for the sake of the gospel to be an absolute joy.27:58-28:00He goes, "I will go along with whoever I'm with.28:02-28:19Gray areas, I'll give up anything that might cause an offense." You're like, "Wait, wait, so you're saying that you win people by accommodating them?" No, that's not what we're saying at all.28:20-28:23You accommodate yourself so that you have the right to speak to people.28:24-28:25That's what he's saying.28:26-28:34If you offend somebody because you insist on your freedom, you lost the audience.28:35-28:36They're not going to hear you.28:37-28:41That's what he's talking about, removing anything that would offend.28:44-28:45What does that look like today?28:48-28:50Here's a few examples today of what that could look like.28:50-29:04Let's say you have some Catholic friends that you've been witnessing to, and you know that they're faithful Catholics, but you're not sure if they truly know Christ.29:04-29:10And it's Lent season, and you invite them over to your house for dinner on a Friday.29:12-29:13You're not serving hamburgers.29:16-29:16You see?29:18-29:20You're gonna offend them right out the gate, and they're not gonna hear you.29:24-29:30Let's say you have some Muslim neighbors, and it's summertime, and you're like, "I wanna reach them with the gospel.29:30-29:34"I wanna have an opportunity to share Jesus with them." You invite them over to your house for a barbecue.29:34-29:36You're not having pork at your barbecue.29:38-29:41You offend them, you've lost your audience.29:46-29:48Let's talk about the big one.29:49-29:56Is there any issue in our day that really quickly brings offense?29:57-29:58Can you think of anything?29:59-30:00Say anything at all.30:00-30:03Anything at all that you could mention that people would immediately get offended.30:05-30:07Politics, right?30:10-30:18Let's say that you have a neighbor that is a true blue Democrat and you are of the MAGA persuasion.30:18-30:20This isn't a political statement, okay?30:21-30:22This is an illustration.30:23-30:29But if you're inviting your hardcore Democrat friend to your house, you're putting away the MAGA stuff, okay?30:30-30:32You're not wearing your little red ball cap to the dinner table.30:40-30:44Why would you want to offend them over something you don't need to offend them over?30:44-30:45It works the other way too, by the way.30:47-30:54If you're a Democrat and you have a Republican friend over, take down your Bernie Sanders banner.30:57-30:59By the way, it's 2026.31:01-31:02You've needed to take that down anyways.31:07-31:13And I think one of the biggest places where we're so quick to offend people is in social media.31:15-31:20Look, if you're one of these social media people, yes, post your Bible verses, sure.31:20-31:23Post your excerpts from the devotional.31:24-31:26But can I tell you this just lovingly?31:27-31:31Stop posting all the political garbage, because you know what you're doing?31:32-31:34You're losing half your audience.31:35-31:38And someday you're going to want to tell them about the gospel.31:38-31:47Someday you're going to have an opportunity, and they're not going to want to hear it because they know that you're on the other side of the political aisle, and we know that automatically makes you a demon.31:50-31:56Either way, all things to all people.31:58-32:00Not compromising the gospel.32:00-32:01We have to be clear about that.32:01-32:03Not compromising the gospel.32:03-32:05Church, this is a call for discernment.32:05-32:08You have to discern what is optional and what is not.32:09-32:12Some things are not optional, right?32:12-32:26Some things are not optional, like the truth, like Jesus, like the gospel, like God's command to repent, God's command to believe, not optional.32:28-32:29Truth is not optional.32:29-32:30You know what else is not optional?32:35-32:48walk." Meaning, in no way is Paul saying, he made this very clear, that you should sin to fit in. Right? You think, "Oh, I'm gonna win them. I'm gonna be just like them.32:49-33:03We're gonna get into the crude anatomy jokes so he'll know I'm one of the boys." No. No. Gossip. Well, they're all gossiping. I jump in the gossip with them. No.33:07-33:33Getting drunk. No. We're not compromising our walk. That's not optional. But there are some things that are optional. Like we've said, food, music played. Maybe you know they have a big issue with tattoos, and you go to tattoo, you wear long sleeves and cover it up, so you don't offend them.33:38-35:08Nothing at the expense of the gospel, nothing at the expense of being an ambassador of Christ, but if it's a gray area that might offend, I'll always seek to take the high road, because committed to winning people means committed to giving up your rights. So that's the first S and these are all alliterated. I get paid more when that happens. The second S is steward. What are the ingredients? What are the ingredients of somebody that's committed to people with the gospel? The second one is steward. Do you see yourself as entrusted with the gospel? Do you see yourself as entrusted with the gospel. Look at verse 17 again. The very last phrase, he says, "I am still entrusted with a stewardship." God is trusting you to give this out. He's trusting you. You got a Bible on your lap? He's trusting you with that, to give it out. You're entrusted. Like, "Well, yeah, that's good for Paul. I mean, he obviously was. What about the rest of us? He ropes us all in." Look at 2 Corinthians 5.19. Look, that is, "In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, thanks to Jesus.35:09-35:21Look at this last phrase, "and entrusting to us, us, the message of reconciliation." Do you realize how awesome that is?35:22-35:32That the God of the universe, your Creator and your Savior said, "Here, here, here is the message that's going to forgive sin.35:32-35:35Here is the message that's going to transform people.35:36-35:39Here is the message that's going to save people from hell.35:40-35:40Here it is.35:40-35:41Here it is.35:41-35:42And I'm giving it to you.35:47-35:48Do you know the gospel?35:50-35:51You know it?35:53-35:56If you do, that means that God's entrusting you to make sure that people hear it.35:57-35:58He's trusting you with it.36:02-36:13You know, last week, Bob Brown and Jesse Boggs went down to deliver some boxes that were packed.36:13-36:22Our small groups donated boxes for the needy that were given out through the ministry Vision Appalachia.36:24-36:28And to nobody's surprise, they packed way more boxes than our target goal, right?36:29-36:31How many boxes were sent, Bob?36:32-36:33250.36:34-36:38How many were asked, like, we were shooting for like 25 or something from this church, right?36:39-36:41And didn't we get like, we got 30.36:41-36:42All right.36:43-36:44Nobody's shocked, Bob.36:44-36:45Nobody's shocked.36:46-36:48Again, you guys are so generous.36:50-36:53But Bob and Jesse took the boxes down.36:54-36:58Let me ask you, they had the U-Haul trailer right out here.36:59-37:08Bob, want you another van we had out here?" With all these boxes with the donations for Vision Appalachia, let me ask you this.37:09-37:11Did Bob and Jesse have a choice in what happened with those boxes?37:13-37:14Did they have a choice what would happen with them?37:16-37:16No.37:17-37:17No.37:20-37:21Not convinced of that?37:21-37:21Okay.37:22-37:27What if Bob would have drove that U-Haul back to his house and him and Jesse threw the mother of all block parties with those supplies.37:31-37:32Would you have been like, "Good for you, Bob.37:33-37:36Live it up." Is that what you would have said?37:38-37:39You would have been like, "What are you doing?37:40-37:43That was given to you to give to them.37:44-37:51What are you doing?" We trusted that stuff to them, and they are faithful stewards.37:51-37:53They got it where it needed to go.37:53-37:54principle here, church.37:55-37:57God is trusting you with His message.37:58-37:59You don't have a choice.38:01-38:03Like, I don't really feel like a steward.38:03-38:04You are a steward.38:09-38:12God did not give you the option to keep it to yourself.38:13-38:14He didn't give you that option.38:17-38:25And somehow we get saved and down the road we forget and we get all self-focused and all we care about is our walk with Christ.38:31-38:39I'm going to tell you, it's so convicting to me, you know, you plant a church because you want to win lost people for Christ.38:39-38:43You want to win lost people, and then you get down the road, you know what we end up doing?38:43-38:47We end up swapping complaining sheep with other churches.38:47-38:48That's what we end up doing.38:50-38:59The guy complaining about his last church is now here, and the person leaving this church complaining about this one is going there, and we call that doing gospel ministry.39:04-39:11You know, we're talking about putting up this new building, an opportunity to win more people to Christ, but are we winning people to Christ here and now?39:14-39:26If we're not passionate for the gospel and reaching lost people here and now, what makes us think that we're going to get this new building and all of a sudden we're going to be magically converted into evangelists.39:32-39:35Committed to winning people means you've got to see yourself as entrusted with the gospel.39:37-39:38You're a steward.39:41-39:45The third S, number three, is shareer.39:46-40:00a word. You know how I know it's a word? Is my computer didn't give me a red squiggly line underneath it when I typed it. And in my world, that's a word. Share.40:02-40:27Do you know the joy of sharing the blessings of the gospel? Look, there is there is nothing more exciting than leading someone to Christ. Have you ever done that? If you have, you know, right? If you have, you know. There is nothing more exciting than that, seeing them baptized and knowing that God used you to reach somebody for eternity. There is nothing in the world greater than that.40:30-40:45Look at verse 23 again. This is the verse, "I do it all for the sake of the gospel," look, "that I may share with them in its pleasures," in its blessings, excuse me, "share with them and its blessings.40:51-40:53Think of everything you've experienced as a follower of Jesus.40:55-40:57Everything you experienced, think of it.40:58-40:59If you're a Christian, you get it.41:00-41:01You know the forgiveness of sin.41:01-41:03God will never hold your sins against you.41:04-41:17You know the joy that comes, the peace that you have no matter how horrible things get, The comfort God gives you in the tragedies of life, the fellowship of the church, oh and the hope of heaven that our best days are ahead of us.41:18-41:25Everything you experience as a Christian, to go to somebody that doesn't have that and say you can have all of that too.41:31-41:36Sharing the blessings, that should be a natural inclination, you know?41:37-41:37You know?41:38-41:40It's like, imagine this scenario.41:40-41:47Imagine Erin and I are at a restaurant and we order different dishes, something neither of us have ever had before, but we got different things.41:47-41:52And I take a bite and I'm like, this is the best thing I've ever tasted.41:54-41:55I gotta be sure.41:55-41:56And I take another bite.41:57-41:58I'm like, yeah, verified.41:58-42:02This is the best thing I've ever tasted in my life.42:06-42:08What's the next part of that story?42:09-42:18Oh, oh, Erin goes, "Can I try it?" I'm like, "No, eat your own." That's not how the story goes, is it?42:18-42:19That's not how it goes.42:19-42:21The story goes like this.42:22-42:23This is the best thing I ever had in my life.42:24-42:25Erin, you have got to try this.42:26-42:27You have got to try this.42:27-42:29And she's like, "I don't want to try it." You're trying it.42:31-42:33That's actually happened, hasn't it?42:34-42:34Both ways.42:35-42:37I'm like, she's like, this is so, I don't wanna try that.42:37-42:41Erin's like, you know, next thing you know, she's like, the fork can go in your mouth or in your forehead, pick one.42:52-42:53You gotta try this.42:54-43:02See, when you have something, when you experience something so glorious, so beautiful, there's something in you that wants to share that.43:04-43:05God put that in us.43:06-43:08That's how it is with the gospel, by the way, to that lost person.43:09-43:11Like, bro, you have got to get in on this.43:12-43:33You have got to get in on all of the blessings that comes in the gospel, knowing Jesus, the fellowship of the church, serving Him locally and in international missions, worshiping Him together, oh, and heaven, we'll get to share that one for all of eternity.43:36-43:42One of your greatest joys in life should be winning people to Jesus and sharing in the blessings of knowing Him.43:44-43:49Because committed to winning people means sharing in the blessings of the gospel.43:50-43:55Our worship team would make their way back up front.43:58-44:02Next week, our Easter series begins.44:04-44:05I don't really like the word Easter.44:06-44:07It doesn't mean anything to me.44:07-44:11I call it Resurrection Day, but you know what I mean.44:15-44:47Our Easter series begins next week, and it's a season where talking about Jesus and inviting someone to church is going to be much more natural. God is entrusting you to share the blessings of the gospel. Will you do whatever it takes to win someone? Let's pray.44:50-45:58Father in heaven, I confess before you in front of my brothers and sisters here that this passage tears me up because we look at the life of Paul and we look at the life of like Barnabas today, we look at people like that and we see Father Such passion to win lost people and we look inwardly and don't see that in ourselves sometimes, a lot of times. Father we come to you because you're the God who changes us, you're the God who transforms us, and I pray Father, I just pray simply this, that you would stir in the hearts of all of your people here to have the same mindset of Paul, an attitude of sacrifice, an attitude of being a steward, and the joy that comes in sharing the blessings of Christ.45:58-46:15Stir that spirit in us, Father, so that evangelism isn't some mechanical, obligatory thing that we think we have to do, but it's just so natural for us to to share the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.46:16-46:18It's in his name that we pray, amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 9:15-23What was your big take-away from this passage / message?How would you respond to someone who says, “I don't really share the Gospel with anyone. I don't know what to say.”?Reread 1 Cor 9:17. What does Paul mean that he was “entrusted with a stewardship.”? Is that true of all Christians? See 2 Corinthians 5:19.What are the “blessings to be shared” when you win someone to Christ (1 Cor 9:23)?BreakoutWhen was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone or invited them to church? What happened? Who has God put on your heart to win with the Gospel? What are you doing about it?Pray for one another.

Mary had the incredible privilege of birthing and raising the Son of God. And she also had the incredible pain that came with that, watching her son suffer and even die. As mamas, we all want to protect our children and shield them from suffering, but what if in doing so, we are shielding them from blessings and purposes that the Lord has for them? Stephanie Geisler joins me today to discuss how Mary's example has challenged her in this area of mothering. She shares how our desire for our children to follow God means allowing them to suffer for his sake and holding onto trust that God will use it for his good purpose. Stephanie Geisler serves as the women's director at Harvest Bible Chapel.  She has a degree in psychology and worship leadership, with a master's in counseling. Prior to coming to Harvest, She has served in several different areas, including student ministry, worship ministry, and private practice counseling before God led her to women's ministry. Her heart is for the local church and women worshipping God in spirit and truth. For fun, she enjoys traveling, singing, and being with friends. She is married to Larry Geisler, not related to Norm, and welcomed her baby Ryan in August.  I am a Connected Families certified parent coach offering small groups for moms, individual parent coaching, and workshops. To learn more, head to https://www.lyssastoyko.com/ Help other mamas find encouragement through Moms Take Ten by rating and reviewing this show. That would be a blessing to both them and me. Thank you for your time! Want to say hello? Follow me on Facebook and Insta @lyssastoyko Email me at momstaketen@gmail.com Image from John Heseltine / Pam Masco / FreeBibleimages.org.

Introduction: Three Valid Reasons for Liberty (that Don't Work When You Have a Weaker Brother). (1 Corinthians 8:1-13) I Have KNOWLEDGE. (1 Cor 8:1-3) Philippians 1:9 – And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment I Have WISDOM. (1 Cor 8:4-7) I Have GOOD THEOLOGY. (1 Cor 8:8-13) Matthew 18:6 - whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 25:40 - Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! AUDIO TRANSCRIPT 00:36-00:39Open up those Bibles to 1 Corinthians 8.00:41-00:49Oh, that sweet, sweet, quiet lull of early service on Daylight Saving Sunday.00:51-00:52So tranquil.00:54-00:55Let's kick that up, shall we?00:55-00:56Let's have a fight.00:58-01:01Amen, somebody came ready to rumble.01:04-01:06Not like a fist fight.01:07-01:09Let's just have a good old fashioned argument.01:10-01:12All right, that'll get the blood boiling.01:13-01:15All in favor of having an argument?01:16-01:16Some of you.01:17-01:18(congregation laughing)01:19-01:20Little too eager.01:21-01:22All right, here we go.01:23-01:24Is a hot dog a sandwich?01:27-01:29Oh, did you hear that Pastor Taylor?01:30-01:31Apparently we struck a nerve.01:32-01:34Show of hands, how many people say that a hot dog is a sandwich?01:35-01:36Okay.01:37-01:39Some of you, okay, how many people insist that it's not?01:41-01:41Whoa.01:43-01:46Whoa, you might wanna pump the brakes on that.01:46-01:49I mean, what, it's like meat and condiments in bread, right?01:51-01:53Isn't that the very definition of a sandwich?01:54-01:57And you're like, well, but it's shaped different.01:58-01:59Well, I'm shaped different.01:59-02:00Does that mean I'm not a human?02:00-02:01Like, come on, what's that?02:05-02:07Some of you are a little too emotional about that.02:09-02:10It's silly though, right?02:10-02:14We're not really going to fight about that.02:16-02:24But when we get to this next section in 1 Corinthians, believe it or not, and you will, it was a food controversy.02:25-02:26That's what's going on.02:26-02:31They had a food controversy, but it wasn't about hot dogs.02:33-02:40It was about something that was much bigger problem for the church.02:41-02:44All right, let's just stop for a minute.02:44-02:51This is a challenging text, but we are going to get through it together.02:52-02:55I'm gonna ask you to pray for me, and I will pray for you.02:56-02:58Let's see what the Lord has to teach us today in His Word.02:58-03:01All right, let's just take a moment and pray.03:09-03:11Father, fire us up to receive your Word.03:13-03:17We don't wanna go into a lull because we lost an hour of sleep or whatever.03:17-03:23God, this is your Word, and we should be excited to see what it is that you have told us in your Word.03:26-03:30and we should be looking to see how we can reflect the truth of your word in our lives.03:30-03:46So God, give us the faith to really believe what you said to the point that it takes root, to the point that it's manifest in our hearts, in our minds, in our attitudes, and ultimately in our conduct.03:47-03:57We pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and all of God's people said, Amen, amen.03:57-04:03In this section in 1 Corinthians, it's kind of like a big Q&A session, right?04:03-04:05And look at chapter eight, verse one.04:06-04:07Do you see the first two words in your Bible?04:08-04:13He says, in this chapter, he says, "Now concerning." We talked about that, right?04:13-04:17It seems to be like, okay, next subject, right?04:17-04:20That's his clue that we're moving on to a new subject.04:21-04:46And the next topic that again is going to span next three chapters is Christian liberty. Just in case we didn't offend anybody with the last part of it, let's talk about liberty, shall we? Am I free to do whatever I want? I'm free in Christ! I can do whatever I want to do, right? Right?04:46-04:46Right?04:46-04:46Right?04:50-04:53Oh, legalism versus liberty.04:54-04:58It's the issue literally as old as the church herself.05:01-05:02Legalism.05:04-05:05That's one side.05:05-05:06Legalism.05:06-05:11The people that are legalists say to be accepted by God, here's some things you can't do.05:11-05:13Here's your list of things that you cannot do.05:14-05:16And if you keep the list, you're accepted by God.05:17-05:19That's the legalist likes the rules.05:19-05:24But on the other hand, you have the liberty people.05:26-05:28The liberty people say, "Hey, I'm saved by grace.05:28-05:30My performance doesn't matter.05:30-05:35Nothing can change the fact that I'm saved by grace and I can do whatever I want to do.05:36-05:38Nothing will separate me from the love of Christ.05:38-05:55I am free to do whatever I want to do." Well their particular liberty issue that became a problem for the church is what Paul is addressing in chapter 8, 9, and through 10.05:57-05:57Here's their issue.05:59-06:01Look again, chapter 8, verse 1.06:01-06:15He said, "Now concerning food offered to idols." That's meat that was sacrificed to a pagan God.06:17-06:19Like what in the world is going on here?06:21-06:24Understand in the Greek culture, they had gods for everything.06:25-06:29It was part of every aspect of life.06:30-06:33There was a God for literally everything.06:37-06:48And when a pagan worshiper would offer a sacrifice to a God, that sacrifice was divided into three parts.06:49-06:59Part was burned for the pagan God, part went home with the worshiper, but then the third part went with the priest.07:00-07:02The pagan priest, right?07:04-07:05How much pot roast can you eat?07:06-07:11Okay, so you can imagine, these priests, they had an abundance.07:11-07:14So they would take the extra down and sell it at the market.07:17-07:29There was other pagan meat at the market as well, because in the Greek culture, they believed that an evil spirit could enter you through what you ate.07:29-07:31So they believed that an evil spirit could get in the meat.07:31-07:34And when you ate the meat, now you had the evil spirit inside you.07:35-07:41So they would sacrifice to a God who would make sure that there were no evil spirits in the meat.07:41-07:53And on top of that, because it was such a pagan culture, the temple was sort of the community center, meaning weddings and parties were commonly held at the temple.07:53-07:55You're gonna see that come up here in this text.07:55-08:04And here's the point, my friends, Almost all the meat in this culture was used for pagan worship somehow.08:05-08:06Almost all of it.08:10-08:11So maybe you begin to see the problem.08:13-08:19For the church, for the Christians, for the Jesus followers, there was division.08:20-08:27For some, they were like, "Should we eat the pagan meat?" Absolutely not.08:27-08:28I'm not touching that.08:29-08:32They use that meat in pagan worship.08:32-08:34I'm not touching that with a 10 foot pole.08:35-08:37No way am I touching that.08:39-08:46And then there were more mature believers that were like, a hamburger is a hamburger, bro.08:48-08:50The boogeyman doesn't live in the hamburger.08:51-08:52Just eat it.08:52-08:52Come on.08:55-08:57Can you see why that would be a problem in the church?09:00-09:16People saying, "Eat the meat." People saying, "Absolutely, you shouldn't go near it." So in chapter eight here, and we're gonna be looking at the whole chapter, Paul is addressing the mature Christians who insisted on their liberty.09:19-09:26These mature Christians who said, "Hey, it bothers some of the weaker Christians that we eat the meat, but look, I'm free in Christ.09:27-09:28It's not haunted meat.09:28-09:31Am I not free to eat the meat if I want to eat the meat?09:38-09:44I'm gonna go way out on a limb here and guess that this probably isn't an issue for this church.09:45-09:46Right?09:48-09:58I don't imagine you've had to sit down at the table debate whether or not the boogeyman was in the steak, if you should eat it or not.10:02-10:06But you know there's always been issues of legalism and liberty in the church.10:07-10:25Always. Always. Okay so we're not arguing about the pagan meat, but I mean look at look at church history. We have this, even very recently, we are constantly At odds trying to figure out some things.10:26-10:28Issues of legalism versus liberty.10:30-10:32Like things like playing cards.10:34-10:39I know young people that might be hard to believe, but there was a time that that was a big issue in the church.10:39-10:41Should you be allowed to play cards?10:43-10:50Things like dancing, movies, hairstyle, dress.10:50-10:50Yes.10:53-10:55Things you can do on Sunday.10:57-10:59You can't go to a restaurant 'cause you're making people work.10:59-11:00You can't wash your car on Sunday.11:00-11:01That's considered work.11:02-11:05And you're breaking the Sabbath and there's so much wrong with that thinking.11:05-11:06But it's an issue.11:07-11:08It's an issue.11:09-11:11Things like yoga.11:16-11:20Last and certainly my favorite, Trick or treat.11:26-11:27I hate Halloween.11:29-11:32Not because you dress up like Spider-Man and get a Kit Kat.11:32-11:33I think that's kind of cool.11:34-11:42But just what it does in the church, because you have people that are like, it's fun, let's let them dress up and get candy and see the neighbors.11:42-11:45And then you have people that are like, it's demonic.11:46-11:49And like, I don't know what to do.11:51-11:53That's kind of the flavor of what we're getting here.11:55-11:56See, all these things are gray areas.11:56-12:04There's nothing explicit in the Bible that we can point to where the Bible says, do not do this, do not go trick or treating, do not dance.12:05-12:09Yet we can't find verses in the Bible that explicitly say.12:09-12:12So what do we do with these gray areas?12:12-12:18And the liberty person would say, I'm free to do whatever I want to do.12:19-12:20'Cause I'm free in Christ.12:20-12:22I'm free in Christ, man.12:22-12:24I can do whatever I want, right?12:27-12:28No.12:29-12:37No, not if doing one of these gray area things could cause a brother to sin.12:40-13:34So Paul addressing their issue with the meat gives us principles that apply for all times even until today. I want you to think about this scenario as we go through this passage because here's a real-life scenario that could happen to you where you need to apply these principles, this could happen to you this week. Just imagine the issue of alcohol. First of all, are you free to drink alcohol? Well, the Bible warns about drunkenness, but yes, the Bible does not say, "Thou shalt not ever touch alcohol." Okay? So yes, technically you are free, you are free to drink alcohol.13:37-13:42If you're of age and avoid drunkenness and all that, sure, sure, sure.13:43-13:50Okay, but imagine this scenario, a man who recently comes to harvest decides he wants to go to your small group.13:52-13:55But this man is coming out of an addicted background.13:57-14:00He had a really bad problem with alcohol, he went to rehab.14:02-14:05And this man ends up coming to know Christ.14:05-14:06He's born again.14:06-14:08He received Jesus as his Lord and Savior.14:08-14:10He's been transformed.14:10-14:14And now this man hates how alcohol has wrecked his life.14:16-14:21And this man sees alcohol a whole lot different than you or I might look at alcohol.14:23-14:34All right, so that guy says, "Pastor Taylor, I want to get involved in one of your small groups." And Pastor Taylor gets the guy coming to your small group.14:35-14:43And this week, you're having a barbecue at your small group because the weather is oh so great as it has been.14:45-14:53And as a small group leader, you're wondering, "Well, can I have beer at our small group barbecue?14:58-14:58Can I?15:01-15:46We have alcohol at a church event?" And you're like, "Okay, well this guy's coming and Pastor Taylor sort of told me this man's background and I know that if we have alcohol at our barbecue, it's going to bother that guy. I know that, but I'm free. I'm free to drink it. Why is his problem my problem? Should I still have it even though this guy's coming? I mean, I can have it, so let's just go ahead and have it and he can figure that out, right? Well, that was the Corinthian dilemma. Some mature believers were eating the meat regardless of how it affected the weaker believers.15:47-15:53And I'm glad you're sitting down because you're going to be shocked that this resulted in more disunity problems for Corinth.15:55-15:57Those people fought about everything.15:59-16:00And here's another issue.16:03-16:12So on your outline, listen very closely to this next sentence because you have to understand the angle at which Paul's going after them.16:13-16:26Paul, in 1 Corinthians 8, is going after the three reasons that the mature believers were using to justify eating the pagan meat.16:29-16:33It's okay for us to eat it, and here's why it's okay for us to eat it.16:33-16:39Paul goes after those reasons, and they're the same reasons we use today.16:41-16:55And interestingly enough, Paul agrees with them, but he shows them why their reasons for eating the meat, their reasons for liberty, do not apply in light of how it's going to affect a weaker believer.16:57-16:58All right?16:59-17:03That's why the heading on your outline, it's a big one.17:04-17:10Three valid reasons for liberty that don't work when you have a weaker brother.17:12-17:17All of these are legit reasons for liberty, but they do not work when you have a weaker brother.17:18-17:18Y'all with me?17:19-17:20I can start over.17:21-17:22It's a hot dog and sandwich.17:25-17:28Three valid reasons for liberty that do not work when you have a weaker brother.17:29-17:31Here's the first one, number one, write this down.17:31-17:32I have knowledge.17:33-17:34I have knowledge.17:34-17:36I know some stuff.17:37-17:38I know, okay.17:40-17:40Back to verse one.17:40-17:50"Now concerning food offered to idols, we know that all of us possess knowledge." Stop there.17:52-17:57You see, they were saying, Look, I know I can eat the meat sacrificed to the...17:57-17:58I can do that because I know, I know.17:59-18:01I know what the Bible says about food, okay?18:01-18:05And Peter had that vision, Acts 10, the sheath, everything's clean.18:06-18:09I know about that, I know, I know, I know.18:09-18:11And look, meat is meat, I know.18:14-18:16We do the same thing, by the way, with alcohol, right?18:17-18:18We know, we know some stuff.18:19-18:22Okay, small group leader thinking about having beer at your barbecue.18:22-18:26I know, I know, I know what the Bible says, okay?18:26-18:31And in fact, you know, back in biblical times, they didn't have refrigerators.18:32-18:37So their grape juice fermented, and it was really only like a 3% alcohol on some things.18:37-18:40And it was, but some of the drinks was only 1% alcohol.18:41-18:48And (mimics barking) Look, knowledge is great.18:49-18:56Actually, God's word exalts knowledge, knowing God's truth.18:57-19:01But here's the thing, knowledge isn't everything.19:02-19:02Okay?19:04-19:06Knowledge isn't everything because look at the rest of verse one.19:07-19:18He says, "This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." Just having knowledge puffs up.19:18-19:20Knowledge makes people proud.19:21-19:22That's what he's saying.19:22-19:23Knowledge makes people proud.19:24-19:25Have you ever been around that guy?19:26-19:27You know that guy?19:28-19:30The actually guy?19:31-19:32You know that guy?19:32-19:33That's like actually.19:33-19:34You know, you've been around that guy?19:36-19:37If you are that guy, I hope you repent.19:38-19:39But you know that guy.19:39-19:43You're like, man, it was like 80 degrees today.19:43-19:47Actually, it was 77 degrees.19:48-19:49(sniffling)19:50-19:51You got me.19:52-19:53I'm a big fat liar.19:54-20:00Or you're like, strawberries are my favorite fruit.20:01-20:04Actually, a strawberry is not a fruit.20:04-20:05It is a member of the rose family.20:06-20:08Actually, a banana actually is a berry.20:09-20:09Actually.20:14-20:15Knowledge puffs up.20:15-20:19The guy that's just knowledge, obnoxious.20:23-20:29He says, "But love, love builds up." You see, knowledge is about me, but love is about you.20:30-20:32Love is about building you up.20:32-20:37And that's why you gotta have love with your knowledge.20:37-20:38That's Paul's point here.20:39-20:41Actually, he said the same thing, Philippians 1:9.20:42-20:51"And it is my prayer that your love may abound and more with knowledge. You see that? Love with knowledge and all discernment.20:53-20:59All your Bible knowledge does you no good if you aren't operating from a position of love.21:01-21:16So look at verse 2. He says, "If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know." Knowledge is a funny thing, isn't it?21:16-21:20You think you know something, and you don't.21:21-21:30The guy that's walking around thinking he's the expert and he knows everything, usually doesn't really know near as much as he thinks he knows.21:34-21:38You mature people, Paul says, you mature people insisting on your liberty.21:38-21:43You think you're so smart, but you don't know as much as you think you do.21:44-22:04because you're missing what the Christian life is all about and it is love. Biblical knowledge should move you to love. You're like, "Wait, wait, hang on.22:04-22:12How does that work? How does knowledge and love, how does that How does that work together exactly?22:12-22:17And Paul's like, "Like your relationship with God Himself." Look at verse 3.22:18-22:26He says, "But if anyone loves God, he is known by God." There it is.22:26-22:31Knowledge and love working together in your relationship with God.22:31-22:33Both of them have to be present.22:34-22:36So you can know about God without loving Him.22:38-22:45But you don't really know God without loving Him.22:48-22:49So what's he saying?22:49-22:50Here's the bottom line, alright?22:51-22:53Here's the CliffsNotes version of this chunk.22:53-22:58He says, "Your knowledge means nothing without love." That's what he's saying.22:58-22:59Your knowledge means nothing without love.22:59-23:06God doesn't care that you know stuff if you don't love your weaker brother.23:06-23:07That's the point.23:09-23:13So again, you're thinking about having beer at your small group barbecue.23:15-23:20Listen, and that guy's coming that's had the struggle in the past.23:20-23:26Look, that guy that's coming, he doesn't need your list of alcohol facts.23:26-23:27Okay?23:27-23:35What he needs is you to love him enough that you care more about him growing in Christ then you do you having your beer.23:39-23:48So if you're insisting on your liberty on the basis of, I know some Bible verses, you missed the big picture.23:50-23:52All right, I have knowledge.23:54-23:55Great, great.23:57-24:01Doesn't matter in the face of a weaker brother, you gotta love him.24:02-24:03I love 'em.24:03-24:06Number two, jot this one down.24:06-24:06I have wisdom.24:08-24:09I have wisdom.24:10-24:11There's a difference, right?24:12-24:13Knowledge, you know the facts.24:14-24:19Wisdom is like knowing how to apply the facts, knowing how knowledge works together.24:21-24:23Look at verses four through six with me.24:24-24:39He says, "Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that an idol has no real existence, and that there is no God but One.24:41-25:14For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords. Yet for us, there is one God the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." Wow. I could do like a whole series just on like the end of verse 6 there.25:15-25:16That is such an awesome verse.25:16-25:17You should highlight that in your Bible.25:21-25:23That's the gospel right there in verse 6.25:23-25:24This is the gospel.25:24-25:39God came to us in Christ, and we go to God in Christ.25:43-25:44That's awesome.25:47-25:50Regarding the issue at hand, Paul's here saying, "Look, right on, right on.25:51-25:52Hey, I'm with you.25:52-25:54The idol is just a trinket.25:54-25:55There's no boogeyman in the meat.25:56-25:57You have wisdom.25:57-26:03You understand the world in light of the truth of God's Word." Awesome.26:04-26:12Verse 7, "However, not all possess this knowledge." See that?26:13-26:14Paul's agreeing with him.26:14-26:15Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it.26:16-26:16I get it.26:17-26:18The idol's a trinket.26:19-26:19Right.26:21-26:22The meat's not haunted, I get it.26:23-26:23You're right.26:24-26:34However, however, look, God in his word has told us everything he wants us to know about him.26:38-26:42But we are all at different levels of understanding.26:43-26:50Some of us are just a little further down the road on our journey than others in maturing with Christ.26:50-26:51That's just the way things work.26:52-26:54We learn, we grow, we mature.26:54-26:56Some of us are more mature than others.26:56-26:57That's just reality.26:59-27:00And that's what Paul's saying here.27:00-27:01He's, "Look, good for you.27:01-27:02You know some things.27:02-27:04You know some things about the idols.27:04-27:05Guess what?27:05-27:07Not everyone understands.27:08-27:09Not everyone's where you are.27:12-27:13Not everyone gets it.27:15-27:42Look at the rest of verse 7, he goes, "But some," talking about the weaker brothers here, "but some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience being weak is defiled." Your conscience, he says, "These weaker brothers having a problem with their..." What is the conscience?27:42-27:44We talked about this way and through the book of Hebrews.27:45-27:46Your conscience, what is your conscience?27:46-27:57The conscience is the part of your mind that approves or condemns what you do, based on how you understand right and wrong.27:59-28:00That's your conscience.28:00-28:04And some, Paul says, have a weak conscience, meaning it's immature.28:06-28:28not fully understanding yet. And if a weaker brother eats the pagan meat, they go against their conscience and Paul says, "They are defiled." That word "defiled" actually means "guilty." They feel guilty for doing it. They went against their conscience.28:35-28:49Have you ever believed something for so long that even when you learn the truth, it's hard to let go of that old belief that you held onto for so long?28:51-28:52I think we've all been guilty of that.28:53-28:54You know, here's one for me.28:56-29:01When I was a kid, I've always been an excellent singer.29:04-29:06(congregation laughing)29:14-29:14What is going on here?29:21-29:23Learning to have grace with the weaker brothers.29:24-29:25(congregation laughing)29:28-29:30Pastor Taylor, you are absolutely right.29:30-29:32That statement was sarcastic, you are right.29:33-29:34He is absolutely right.29:34-29:36He's not the weaker brother, he's right.29:36-29:38But I have always been a great singer.29:38-29:49But anyways, when I was little, I would sing at the dinner table, 'cause I'm always singing, I'm singing, doing everything, but I'd come to the dinner table and I'd sing.29:50-29:51And do you know what my mom told me?29:52-29:57She says, "You can't sing at the table because it," anybody know?29:59-30:00She made this up.30:01-30:05My mom said, she says, "You can't sing at the table "because it makes the angels cry."30:07-30:08(congregation laughing)30:12-30:13I am dead serious.30:14-30:18Now I found, I just this minute realized she just made that up.30:20-30:21'Cause I was expecting somebody to shout that out.30:22-30:23Nope.30:25-30:29So I grew up like, don't sing, when I get to the table, I'm like, don't sing, why?30:29-30:38because all the angels in heaven are like, "Oh, please." At first I thought it was just like anybody singing, but I think mom meant my singing.30:39-30:41My singing offended the holy angels.30:41-30:56But so I was like, "Don't sing at the table "because the angels, it just made the angels cry." And you're like, "That's silly." It is, admittedly.30:57-31:05But I gotta tell you, to this day, if I'm eating somewhere and I hear somebody singing, do you know what the first thing is that I think of?31:08-31:09You're making the angels cry.31:10-31:11Way to go.31:13-31:14Do you know what I mean?31:14-31:22I know that's not true, but I do cringe when I hear somebody sing at the table because it was just so ingrained in me my whole life growing up.31:22-31:23Don't sing at the table, don't sing at the table.31:24-31:24Angels are weeping.31:27-31:27Like...31:30-31:34And it was true in this culture that Paul's dealing with here.31:35-31:40Imagine the person that got saved out of idolatry.31:41-31:42That's a huge change.31:44-31:57You know, all this time, for all these years, the evil spirits live in the meat, got to sacrifice to the gods, you get the spirits out of the meat, the evil spirits live in the meat, and then they come to Christ, They get the truth of the gospel, and they're like, "That's not true.31:58-31:59There's no evil spirits in the meat.32:00-32:07It's not true at all." It's totally safe to eat, right?32:08-32:12I mean, it is safe, right?32:17-32:23But, I mean, it is pagan meat.32:23-32:41eat. I mean, I guess it's okay to eat it. I mean, gosh, I just don't feel right about eating it. You see the dilemma? I know, but I...32:46-32:55See, mature believers, mature believers, maybe you understand the real truth about the idols and the mate.32:55-33:05Paul's like, "But your weaker brother, he's not there yet." And love says, "I will forego something that might bother the weaker brother." That's what love says.33:06-33:13Look, spiritual maturity is deeper than right and wrong.33:16-33:30The mature believer says, "How does what I do affect the baby Christians?" And you see with the whole alcohol, with the small group barbecue thing, it's the same principle in play.33:31-33:38If the weaker brother is coming to the barbecue, the loving choice is to not have any alcohol there at all.33:40-33:42Not being legalistic, being loving.33:44-33:48I don't want this to be a problem for you, so we're just going to take it off the table.33:49-33:51We'll have a Dr. Pepper.33:55-34:05Look, if you're insisting on your liberty on the basis of, "I have wisdom, I know the ways of the world and how it works," you've just missed the whole picture.34:08-34:08One more.34:11-34:15Three valid reasons for liberty that don't work when you have a weaker brother.34:17-34:19"I have knowledge." That doesn't work when there's a weaker brother.34:19-34:22"I have wisdom." That doesn't work.34:22-34:26When you have a weaker brother, number three, here's one that we often use, I have good theology.34:28-34:30And see, these all do kind of bleed together, obviously.34:32-34:33But I have good theology.34:36-34:37Look at verse eight.34:38-34:41He says, "Food will not commend us to God.34:42-34:55"We are no worse off if we do not eat "and no better off if we do." Interestingly, that word commend is literally draw us near to.34:58-35:01What you eat is not going to draw you closer to God.35:04-35:04And that's what he's saying.35:05-35:11Eating doesn't make you holy, nor does eating make you a sinner.35:13-35:15That's good theology, right?35:16-35:16It's good theology.35:18-35:20What you eat will not draw you near to God.35:21-35:24There's only one way to draw near to God, and that's Jesus Christ.35:25-35:29He provided access to God through his death, through his resurrection.35:29-35:32That's the only basis you have of coming to God.35:33-35:35The only way you can draw near is through Jesus Christ.35:36-35:38But it certainly isn't in what you eat.35:41-35:43That's great theology, right?35:45-35:53So God doesn't care what we eat, But, but God does care about his weaker children and the way we love them.35:54-35:55He cares about that.35:55-35:57Look at verses nine and 10.35:58-36:05He says, "But take care that this right of yours "does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.36:07-36:23"For if anyone sees you who have knowledge "eating in an idol's temple, Will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?36:27-36:30Stumbling block, stumbling block.36:30-36:33That's something that makes you sin, right?36:33-36:34That's a stumbling block.36:35-36:41And Paul here says, you're insisting on your freedom can make the weaker brother sin.36:45-36:45What do you mean?36:46-37:03Just simply this, if their conscience says, don't eat the pagan meat, and they see you eating, they're going to feel pressured to go against their conscience and eat, and that will make them miserable.37:06-37:11They're gonna feel the pressure, they're gonna eat, and then they're gonna immediately, I shouldn't have eaten that.37:13-37:20But you know, he makes me feel guilty if I don't join in and eat, but then I do eat, and now I feel guilty that I did.37:23-37:24You see an obvious application, right?37:26-37:33You decide you're gonna go ahead and have alcohol with your little small group barbecue, volleyball extravaganza thing.37:33-37:35And you're like, I'm still gonna have alcohol there.37:36-37:39And that recovering addict shows up.37:40-37:43And he's like, yeah, I don't drink anymore.37:44-37:45It ruined my life.37:48-37:50But everybody else is drinking.37:51-37:54Man, I kind of feel like the odd man out here.37:55-38:01Maybe I should, I mean, these are new friends and I should try to fit in, right?38:01-38:06So, I don't want to look like a weirdo.38:08-38:08And then he drinks.38:10-38:11How does he feel about himself afterwards?38:14-38:15I can't believe I did that.38:22-38:26Listen, never ever violate your conscience.38:28-38:36I have people come to me for counseling all the time and it can be a gray area matter and they'll say, "I just have this conviction about this.38:36-38:39"Is that right?" I tell them the same thing, ask anybody that's come.38:40-38:42I'm like, I will never tell you to violate your conscience.38:43-38:50If you have a conviction and it's different than mine, and it's a non-biblical issue, I am not going to tell you to violate your conscience on that.38:51-38:56And at the same time, do not ever ask someone else to violate theirs.39:01-39:06With your conscience, yes, understand, seek to understand why you feel how you do.39:07-39:11Evaluate if it is from God, but never violate your conscience.39:11-39:13Look, you're going to mature in Christ.39:13-39:19Your understanding of God's word is going to mature, but don't force it.39:23-39:27Let the growth happen naturally for you and for the weaker brother.39:31-39:48And I know at this point in the message, there's still somebody, somebody's inwardly protesting all this, saying, "Why should I care what my choices "have to do with somebody else's conscience?39:48-39:55"Like, why is that any of their business?" Well, look at verse 11.39:57-40:07Paul says, "And so by your knowledge, this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.40:13-40:13Why should you care?40:16-40:18Because Jesus does.40:20-40:23How much does Jesus care about this weaker brother, really?40:23-40:25How much does Jesus care?40:26-40:27Jesus died for him.40:28-40:30That is how Jesus regards this man.40:30-40:35That is how Jesus so loves this man that Jesus was willing to die for him.40:36-40:38And that's why you should love him too.40:41-40:57Verse 12, he says, "Thus, sitting against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ." Wow.40:59-41:00Paul ratchets it up.41:01-41:03This is the top of the mountain here.41:04-41:10He goes, "Do you need a reason to not offend the weaker brother?41:10-41:13Do you need a reason for that?" He goes, "Here's your reason.41:13-41:15Here's number one.41:17-41:21Jesus takes any mistreatment of his people very seriously.41:22-41:29You sit against that weaker brother, you're sitting against Jesus himself." And Jesus takes this very seriously.41:32-41:41Look, if you pressure my son into doing something he doesn't wanna do, we are having words.41:45-41:51Jesus has a much stronger stance on this than I do, actually.41:54-42:14Matthew 18.6, "Whoever causes," these are the words of Jesus, "Whoever causes one of these little ones "who believe in me to sin, "it would be better for him to have a great millstone "fastened around his neck "and be drowned in the depths of the sea." You sin against a weaker brother, you're sinning against Jesus.42:15-42:16He takes that pretty seriously.42:17-42:32And again, Matthew 25, verse 40, Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, "As you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, "you did it to me." Serious business.42:34-42:36And finally, verse 13.42:39-42:58Paul says, "Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, "I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble." Paul's like, "Look, run the risk of sinning against Jesus?42:58-42:59Nuh-uh, uh-uh.43:00-43:18I'm not going to insist on my liberty, my rights." Paul says, "I will become a vegan before I cause a brother to stumble, because loving Loving my weaker brother is more important than having a burger.43:20-43:24And loving my weaker brother is more important than having a beer.43:28-43:35So if you're insisting on your liberty on the basis of, "Well, I have good theology," you missed the big picture.43:37-43:37All right.43:38-43:39That was the introduction.43:41-43:42Here's the sermon.43:44-43:47Your liberty goes only as far as love.43:50-43:56Like the Corinthians, you can say, "Well, I know the Bible and I understand spiritual truths.43:57-43:59My theology is on point.43:59-44:06I am free in Christ to do whatever I want!" No, you aren't.44:09-44:14You must be willing to lay down your rights if it means protecting your weaker brother.44:17-44:19For communion servers would come up, our worship team.44:23-44:32I'll give you one more reason why we should lay down our rights out of love.44:35-44:37And it's because we have a great example.44:37-44:45You know, the Bible says Jesus did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped.44:45-44:46Wrap your head around that.44:47-44:55Jesus had the right to insist on all of the privileges that come with being God.44:58-45:02And he humbled himself to give them up.45:05-45:11The question I have for you this morning is, will you follow Jesus in that?45:13-45:19Are you willing to lay down your rights, your freedoms, out of love?45:21-45:22I want you to stand.45:25-45:31And when you're ready to receive the Lord's Supper, by the way, if you're a born again believer in Christ, this is for you.45:32-45:37You don't have to be a member of Harvest Bible Chapel, but you do have to be a born again believer in Christ.45:38-45:39And if you are, he invites you.45:40-45:49Come down the center aisle, receive the elements, and I'm gonna ask that you take them back to your seat by going to the outside aisle.45:49-45:56And when everyone has the elements, we will receive the Lord's Supper together as an act of church unity.45:56-45:57All right, please come.46:01-46:03Why should I choose to lay down my rights?46:07-46:11because I have a great example in my Lord.46:13-46:20The Bible tells us the night Jesus was betrayed, He took bread and He broke it.46:20-46:43He gave thanks and He said, "This is my body which is given for you. Eat this in remembrance of me." After the meal, Jesus took the cup He said, "This cup is the blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sin.46:45-46:47Drink this in remembrance of Me." Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 8:1-13What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Do you tend to lean more on the side of “legalism” or “libertine”? Why?What exactly is meant by “stumbling block” (1 Cor 8:9)? How could you be responsible for someone else sinning (1 Cor 8:12)?Besides alcohol, what are some examples of gray areas today that we need to be careful to “not make a weaker brother stumble”?BreakoutPray for one another.

Welcome to the weekly sermon podcast from Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. We're glad you're joining us. We're continuing our series, Rise and Fall of a King. In 2 Samuel 7:1–17, we come to a defining moment in the life of David—and in the story of redemption. David wants to build a house for God. But instead, God reveals a better plan, makes a greater promise, and points to a greater King. In a world where every leader eventually fails, and every kingdom fades, this passage reminds us that God's purposes cannot be shaken—and His promised King will never fall. Open your Bible with us to 2 Samuel 7 and let's see how God's better plan leads us to a better King. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Thompson Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Introduction: In a church dispute? Remember your Relationship… (1 Corinthians 6:1-11) To OTHER BELIEVERS: we RECONCILE. (1 Cor 6:1-5) 1 Corinthians 5:12 – For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? To THE WORLD: we REPRESENT. (1 Cor 6:6-8) To SIN: we RENOUNCE. (1 Cor 6:9-10) Genesis 2:16–17 – And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Titus 2:11–12 – For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, To JESUS CHRIST: we are RENEWED. (1 Cor 6:11) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Well, good morning.Wherever you are today, welcome.My name is Justin.I'm one of the elders here at Harvest.And as we get started, I would just like to ask that you would pray for me to faithfully and clearly communicate God's word,and I will pray for you to have hearts to receive it.Amen.Well, today we're going to be talking about dealing with disputes, disagreements, beef, as the kids say.Did the kids still say beef, Pastor Jeff?Okay, confirmed.I too was young once, but as a college student, one thing my roommates and I never had beef over was where to order pizza.Listen, four guys in an apartment, that's a big decision.But we found our place, Piazza's Pizza, home to the largest pizza that I've ever seen, the big Piazza.It was the best price to food ratio in the city.The box was so big, it didn't even fit through the door.You had to tilt it just to get it inside.It would feed all of us for a whole weekend.And actually one of those weekends, a few of my friends from home came up to visit.And so, of course, we wanted to treat them to a big Piazza.But there was a dispute.My roommates and I tried to explain to them how enormous this pizza was.But my friends kept insisting, "Look, we need to order two."And we're like, "Guys, you haven't seen this pizza."And they're like, "Guys, you don't know how hungry we are. We need at least two."Okay?So eventually we gave up and we ordered two big Piazza's.And, you know, after dinner, I couldn't believe it, but we actually finished half of one.And that's when the real dispute started.Because we tried to tell them we just needed one.But the problem is, according to them, we didn't eat our share.Because they insisted we needed two.So then wild claims started flying around both sides about how many slices each side ate.And this morning, I'd actually like to present you with some evidenceso you can draw your own conclusions.Exhibit A, this is the big Piazza.And even that, I tell you, the photo doesn't do it justice.But I added some analysis to this photo because one member of the oppositionhas repeatedly stated that he alone consumed 25 slices.Exhibit B, this is his claim.And I'm telling you, I was there that night.If he ate that much pizza in one sitting,we were going to spend the night in Rochester General Hospital.Okay?Church.It was crazy.Now, we are close to the 20th anniversary of that meal.And the battle is still raging on.As far as I'm aware, this is the longest-running dispute I've ever been a part of.Debating it step-by-step, recounting what happened.And of course, laughter.Because this dispute, though still being disputed,it didn't threaten our friendships.It's a silly dispute, but I share it with you because the way that we handle disputes,that often depends on our relationship to the other side, true or false.When we are in a dispute, our relationship to the personor our relationship to the situation, that determines our response.Best friends can accuse each other of pizza malpractice for decades and be totally fine.But for real disputes, think about it.Which ones are the hardest to resolve?The ones within a family,or with a close friend, or someone you looked up to.It's far more difficult to deal with offense from someone that you know deeplythan from someone that you don't know at all.An argument that escalates, a disagreement grows into something much more,most of us have been there.And that can even happen here, within the church family.How do we deal with those disputes?Well, if you have your Bibles, you can open them to 1 Corinthians chapter 6,where we're going to dig into that.We deal with disputes because we're going after a church unified and purified, amen.And last week, Pastor Jeff taught how to get purified when there's sin in the church,when someone claims Christ yet is living in unrepentant sin,and they refuse help, they want their sin to be accepted.What do you do with that person?The Bible says, "Let him who has done this be removed from among you."You might think, "Harsh, that doesn't sound like a thing a church should do."Well, if you missed it, read 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and listen to the sermon online.You'll find out that's what the church must do.Now, this week, we read Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,discussing disputes within the church.And just like arguments about pizza,we have to remember the relationships involved.So, on your outline today,in a church dispute, remember your relationship.Number one, to other believers, we reconcile.So, 1 Corinthians 6, are you there?Let's read the first verse.It says, "When one of you has a grievance against another,does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?"So, Paul is calling out the Corinthians for dragging their disputes out into the court system.He says, "Church, why are you going before unrighteous corrupt courts for this?"But please understand in this passage,Paul is talking about civil cases, not criminal cases.This is not about someone breaking the law and being charged with a crime, okay?This is about a private dispute between two parties,and they just can't figure it out.So, they end up taking each other to court over something trivial.Now, we see trivial lawsuits today, don't we?Have you ever seen those courtroom shows where they give you the rundown upfront?He's here suing for a $67 cell phone bill.You hired a lawyer and got on a plane to Los Angeles over $67.You're going to take someone to court over that.Same idea.You'll see the trivial part as we pick up in verse 2.It says, "Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?Do you not know that we are to judge angels?How much more than matters pertaining to this life?So, if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?I say this to your shame.Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers?We'll pause there for a moment.Paul is saying we should be able to resolve these disputes internally.He's saying we are called to judge.If that sounds familiar, we saw it in 1 Corinthians 5,where verse 12 says, "For what have I to do with judging outsiders?Is it not those inside the church who you are to judge?"Not judging motives, because we can't see the heart,but we are required to judge actions.We judge the fruit.Now, what does Paul mean with this "saints" meaning believers?What does he mean with this "judging the world and angels" business?Well, he's referring to the concept of the children of God reigning with Jesus Christ in his victory.True.But we're not even going to get into all that, because Paul is using it for irony.Like, "Oh, you who will judge the world, you who will judge angels,why are you taking all your disputes to small claims court?"That's what they were doing.And actually, it was even worse than that.Because history tells us that in Paul's day, civil courts were completely corrupt.You couldn't even bring a case against someone who had a higher social standing than you.And when a case did make it to the courts, judges and juries would expect a kickbackfor a verdict in your favor,either a payment or something to help them with their standing.So the church in Corinth was not only suing each other,they were using the legal system to abuse or shake down fellow Christians of lower status.It's childish.And parents know you train young children to resolve their disputes themselves,but it takes a lot of training.Use your words.Talk it out.How would you feel if she said that to you?But until they mature, what's most often the outcome?Running to mom or dad to make a ruling.And sure, parents do need to step in sometimes,but more often than not, it's a dispute that could have been resolvedwith a conversation and some humility.But they're kids.They don't have the required patience or wisdom just yet.Paul is saying the church should be mature enough to use wisdom to resolve things internallyinstead of using lawsuits.But even if we avoid the courthouse, we can still struggle with disputes as a church.If a church member offends you intentionally or unintentionally,you don't sue them, but how do you react?Do you let it go?Or if it's just too much to let it go, do you talk to them about it?Or do you just avoid them?Or how many churches have gone through gigantic disputes over decisions like the carpet coloror chairs versus pews or the volume level during worship?Is stuff like that worth disunity with your brothers and sisters?Now, 1 Corinthians 6 doesn't outline practical steps that we should follow instead,but we know them from other places in Scripture.Matthew 18, for example, tells us to go first to the person directly,and if they don't listen, bring some others.And if they still don't listen, bring it before the church.That's the general path things should run,and some situations point us to other Scripture too.But the charge in these verses is to judge wisely.But these Matthew 18 conversations or conversations going to someone for counsel,they cannot be about gossip.That's just as destructive as a lawsuit.These conversations must be done with one goal in mind, reconciliation.As believers, we ask for forgiveness and forgive each other in order to be reconciled.That's who we are. That's what God's family does.By His grace, some of us grew up in God-fearing homes that demonstrated that's how a family works.But many of us either grew up in or we've seen family situations where that's not the case,where there is no repentance, no forgiveness, no reconciliation.Some might think, "Yeah, I've seen bitterness and I've seen grudges in a family,but reconciliation, forgiving one another, I've never seen a family like that."And that's why as a church, we must show the world that in Christ we are different.We have to show them what God's family is like, which is why, number two on your outline,in a church dispute, remember your relationship, number two, to the world we represent.So as believers, what does our relationship to the world have to do with our disputes?Well, rewind to the end of verse five.It says, "Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers,but brother goes to law against brother?" And that before unbelievers?Before unbelievers. That's similar to what we saw back in verse one, before the unrighteous.We talked about the Corinthians lacking godly wisdom, but there's another problem.Taking all these disputes out into the world, what does that do to our witness?If the city of Corinth always saw the church in scandal or suing each other,what did that communicate to them about the gospel message?We have to remember that part of our relationship to the world is that Jesus called us to represent him to the world.Represent Jesus to the world.Now, listen, I'm not saying we should be concerned about image in the sense that we are marketing church,and reality is another thing.No, our concern is authentically following Jesus.We want people to see what it looks like to be transformed by Christ and living in a Christ-centered community.It's not about projecting some image, it's about our identity.Our witness is being like Jesus and telling people about him.So, infighting, legal battles, manipulation, that's what everybody else does.God's people are called to be different.If we act like the world, we've already lost.Just like it says in verse 7, it says, "To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you."Why not rather suffer wrong?Why not rather be defrauded?But you yourselves wrong and defraud, even your own brothers.Now, again, let me emphasize that we are not talking about criminal cases.But Paul is saying it would be better to just lose your money in the dispute than sue your church brother over these petty issues.Or again, maybe you're not actually going to court, but you still might need to suffer wrong.What do I mean?Have you ever been in a dispute where maybe you're 10% wrong and the other person is 90% wrong?Sometimes we still want to justify ourselves and bang the table about how less wrong we were.What about humbling yourself?What about taking the hit and saying, "You know, you're right. I was wrong. Will you please forgive me?"Our natural reaction is, "Why should I humble myself when they're wrong too?"Because of who we represent.Jesus is our example of humility, and we are that example to those around us.So to claim Christ and act like Paul describes here is a failure in our job as representatives.And you know, I talked a little bit about pizza earlier, but do you know what else I like?Frozen bananas.Well, I should be specific. Chocolate covered frozen bananas. Delicious.One time I went into an ice cream shop where I had gotten one before, but I didn't see any in the case in the front.So I thought, "Oh, they might have some in the back in the freezer."So I asked the woman working, "Do you have any frozen bananas?"And my friends who were there still quote her answer to me because she said, "Does it look like we have any frozen bananas?"Okay. I said, "Thank you." And I walked out without any dessert.Now, do you think the owner of the ice cream shop felt like she represented the store well that day?No. Just like employees represent their workplace as a body of believers, we represent Christ.If you claim Christ, you are his representative, period.In a world where everyone's flying off the handle at every disagreement, screaming or storming out of every issue,imagine the witness of a church that works through things together in love,using the highest authority of our life, God's word, to untangle the issue.No, it's not always easy. But the world will look and say, "What's going on over there? I want to be a part of that."But we have to step back and review for a moment because I don't want anyone to walk away with the wrong idea.So far, we've talked about resolving disputes in-house, not dragging disagreements to the court, and how we are presenting ourselves to the world.Those concepts could be sinfully twisted into an excuse to cover up sin.Now, we don't need to review all the sickening things that have been covered up by churches all over the world.Sinful men have tried to hide their sin, tried to hide abuse by saying things like, "Let's keep this in-house."No, they are wrong.This passage is not about covering things up or ignoring sin. Abuse in court or otherwise is sin.Covering up sin is sin. A forced reconciliation is a false reconciliation.Ignoring sin for the sake of the church's witness is a false witness.If someone's sinful act is a criminal act, then the correct response is to hand them over to the authorities.And that's God's idea, not mine. See Romans 13.I just want to be crystal clear.Paul, just like in chapter 5, is calling for the opposite of a cover up.He's calling us to recognize and remove flagrant, unrepentant sin.And that distinction is important because we all sin.It's not like, "Oh, I was coveting my friend's car yesterday."And last week, I had a lustful thought.Guess I have to leave Harvest Bible Chapel.No, of course all of us struggle with sin, but we commit that as a family,we're here to walk with each other in becoming purified by our Lord.We need each other's support and encouragement as each one of us turns away from our sin daily to become more like Jesus Christ.In fact, in him, we must renounce any relationship that we have to sin.Point number three on your outline today.In a church dispute, remember your relationship number three to sin.We renounce.Let's pick up in verse nine.It says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?Do not be deceived.Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves,nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers,will inherit the kingdom of God."Now, reading this after the previous section can seem jarring.Paul is talking about disputes, the courts,and then he drops into this list of sins for which someone will not enter heaven.Now, understand that Paul is talking about a lifestyle of unrepentant, continual sin.Committing one of these sins or any sin in isolationdoes not automatically banish a person from heavenif that person repents of their sin and believes in the work of Jesus for their forgiveness.But why does the connection here to verses one to eight?Well, two things.First, verse one asked if believers dare take their case before the unrighteous.And then here it says, "Do you not know that the unrighteouswill inherit the kingdom of God?"Sorry, the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.Paul is saying, "Church, you should resolve your disputesinstead of bringing them before people who are living in reckless sin for them to decide."You're like, "Don't worry, I keep beef out of the legal system."Okay, well, do you bring your church disputes before unbelieving friends or family?Do you complain about the church or people in the church at work or on social media?That is bringing your case before the unrighteous for them to judge.Now, as for the second connection, recall the underhanded dealings of these civil courts.People in the church were using their influence and status to manipulate other Christians via lawsuitsto take advantage of their own brothers for their gain.That sin belongs in this list, too.See, this isn't a random list of sinfulness.This list is about not being content and reaching out of bounds to get more.And really, that goes all the way back to the first sin, doesn't it?Back in Genesis, God told Adam,"And the Lord God commanded the man saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat,for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.'"But Adam and Eve ultimately were not content with that.And so they reached outside the bounds that God created.That's the same root as every sin in this list.God says that sexual intimacy is between one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage.But people say, "I'm not content with that."Be it adultery, homosexuality, or any form of sexual immorality,instead of receiving God's gift as he intended,they reached outside God's design to take something else, or idolatry.God says we should worship Him and only Him.But people say, "I'm not content with that."They worship money, success, celebrity.They reach outside of what they know in their heart to worship anything but God.What about drunkards or revilers, people who abuse alcohol or verbally abuse others?God set a boundary around drunkenness and a boundary on our speech,but they say, "I'm not content with that.I will drink how I want and I'll say what I want."Or thieves, the greedy, swindlers, whatever they have, they say, "I'm not content with that.I want more and I'm willing to reach out and take it, even if it means stealing from my own family."And that's where the Corinthian church was, reaching out of bounds to take from their brothers and sisters.Paul says their sin is the same as these.And if you live a life of unrepentant, habitual sin, a life reaching out of bounds,you will not inherit the kingdom of God.So church, we have to ask ourselves, what should our relationship be to sin?Titus chapter 2 verse 11 says, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age."We must renounce sin.That's our relationship, not embracing it, not excusing it, but rejecting it, turning away, running away.How do we do that?Well, praise the Lord, we are about to read some of the most incredible words in Scripture on that topic.Our last point today, you must remember your relationship, number four, to Jesus Christ.We are renewed.1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 11, it says, "And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified,you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.And such were some of you."Some translations say, "And this is what some of you used to be."Paul is saying, "You used to do these things, but God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment for your sin upon Himself."He bore that sin in His death on the cross and then conquering death rose again in victory.And this verse applies to anyone who will repent and believe in Him as their Savior.Now, you might think that stuff that you used to do is too much to overcome.You're afraid Jesus knows who you were.Well, Jesus knows your whole story and He still invites you into a relationship with Him.He wants to release you from your sin and bring you true contentment.So repent and believe.As it says here, "If you believe, you were washed clean.Sin from your past, present, and future has been washed away in the name of Jesus."You were sanctified, meaning you were set apart as holy and you are being made holy.God is shaping you into what He already calls you.And you were justified, meaning the charges of sin against you have been dropped.You're innocent.That lifestyle of unrepentant sin, that's who you used to be.You are made new.In a dispute, you must remember your relationship with Jesus Christ because that relationship determines all other relationships.But some might think, "If I have that relationship with Christ and if I'm made new, why do I still sin?Why do we still have disputes and disagreements and fights?"I read one scholar put it this way.Imagine, I know this is going to be hard to believe, that you were caught in a snowstorm.It shouldn't be too hard.You're covered in snow, totally freezing, and you feel like you might not make it.But somehow, you crawl and you make it back to your house and you get inside.The room is warm.Maybe fireplace is going.You're saved.But even though you're safe standing in the warmth,it's going to take some time for the ice in your pockets to thaw out.You see the picture.You are secure in Christ, but not all of your sin has melted away yet.That won't be totally complete until we reach heaven.Until then, through our relationship with Christ, we are safe indoors being justifiedand we're thawing out being sanctified at the same time.So as we close, I hope you see how and why the church must deal with disputes in a godly way.We should be able to handle that stuff through Jesus.Next time you're in a dispute, step back and remember, this is my brother or sister in Christ.My goal is to be reconciled with them.Remember that we are representing Christ to the world.The way that we interact should reflect our Lord, showing the world that Jesus works.Remember that we've renounced sin and we lovingly help each other do that.We don't manipulate others.We don't reach out of bounds grabbing for more.That's not who we are.Because who are we?Remember that in Jesus, we are a people renewed.We don't serve sin or our selfish desires anymore.Together, unified and purified, we serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.Let's pray together.Lord God, I thank you for your word.God, I thank you for the church.And I pray God that when we face disputes, we would face them with godly wisdom and character, love and patience, God,that we may be reconciled, that we may be a light into the world around us.We pray and ask for your mercy, God, upon us now and we ask for you to guide us in these matters.Let us be a church unified and purified for your glory, Lord God.In Jesus' name, amen.Amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 6:1-11What was your big take-away from this passage / message?How should disputes within the church family be resolved? How does that process differ for disputes with unbelievers?How and why must the church faithfully guard its witness to the world?Paul says those listed in 1 Cor. 6:9-10 will not inherit the kingdom of God. What does he mean by that?If we are made new in Jesus Christ, why do we still struggle with sin? How can we come alongside each other as believers in that struggle?BreakoutPray for one another.

Welcome to Harvest Bible Chapel. This message is part of our series The Rise and Fall of a King. In today's sermon, “Faithful Friends and a Foolish Father,” Pastor Jeff Bucknam walks us through 1 Samuel 20:1–42, where David's life hangs in the balance, and the depth of true friendship is put to the test. As Saul's jealousy turns deadly, Jonathan must choose between loyalty to his father and faithfulness to God's purposes. This passage invites us to consider the cost of covenant friendship and the call to place our allegiance to the Lord above every other loyalty. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the weekly sermon podcast from Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. We're so glad you're joining us. Today, we're beginning a new teaching series called The Rise and Fall of a King. Over the coming weeks, we'll walk through the life of David in 1 and 2 Samuel—a story marked by God's grace, human weakness, and the surprising ways the Lord works out His purposes. In this first message, we're in 1 Samuel 16:1–13, where God sends the prophet Samuel to anoint Israel's next king. As we contrast who the Lord rejects and who the Lord chooses, we're reminded that God looks not at outward appearance, but at the heart. We invite you to open your Bible and join us as we listen for God's voice and become more deeply rooted in His Word. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Thompson Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel sermon podcast. We're glad you're joining us as we open God's Word together. Today's message is a single stand-alone sermon titled A New Thing, preached from Isaiah 43:18–19. As we come to the close of the year, this passage reminds us of who God is—a God who makes a way where there seems to be no way, who brings renewal out of dry places, and who is always faithful to do what He has promised. Whether you're looking back with gratitude, facing uncertainty, or stepping into a new season, this message invites us to trust the Lord who is even now doing something new. Let's listen together with expectant hearts. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Christian Constante Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel sermon podcast. This week, we continue our Christmas series, Birth of the King, with a message titled “Wise Men and a Foolish King,” from Matthew 2:1–12. In this familiar passage, Matthew places two responses to Jesus side by side: the fearful resistance of King Herod and the humble, joyful worship of the wise men. As the story unfolds, we're invited to examine our own hearts. Do we cling to control like Herod, threatened by the idea of another King? Or do we seek Jesus as our greatest treasure, bowing before Him in worship? Wherever you're listening from, we pray this message helps you see the beauty, authority, and worth of Christ—and leads you to respond to Him with faith and joy. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the weekly sermon podcast from Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. We're so glad you're joining us. Today, we start our Christmas series, Birth of the King, in Matthew 1:18–25. While Luke's Gospel highlights Mary and the shepherds, Matthew draws our attention to what we might call the boys of Christmas—men like Joseph, Herod, and the wise men—each responding differently to the arrival of Jesus. In this message, Pastor Jeff Bucknam helps us see who Jesus truly is and what faithful obedience looks like through the life of Joseph. As we open God's Word together, we're invited to consider how we respond to the coming of the true King. Let's dive in and become more deeply rooted in God's Word. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. Today, we come to the final message in our series through the Book of James—True Religion. We've spent weeks looking at what genuine faith looks like in real life, and now, as we close, James gives us a sobering and hopeful word about “the wanderer.” From James 5:19–20, Pastor Jeff Bucknam will help us wrestle with a vital question: What should we think and do when someone drifts from the truth? We'll consider the problem of wandering, the danger it brings, and the loving calling of God's people to seek the wanderer out. Here's Pastor Jeff with this weekend's message: “What About the Wanderer?” Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome back to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. Today we're continuing our series True Religion as we look at one of the most hope-filled passages in the book of James—chapter 5, verses 13–18. In these final words of the letter, James gives us a simple but profound call: pray. Pray in suffering, pray in joy, pray in sickness, pray for one another—because God hears and God moves. In this message, we'll explore what it means to pray authentically, pray expectantly, and pray fervently, trusting the same God who answered Elijah's bold prayers to work powerfully in our lives today. Let's dive in. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Tommy Creutz Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. Today, we continue our series True Religion: The Book of James with a message from Pastor Jeff Bucknam titled “Attacks on the Rich,” from James 5:1–6. James confronts one of the most powerful idols of every age—money—and exposes the danger of trusting in wealth instead of in God. Pastor Jeff walks us through why James speaks so strongly, what the rich in this passage were doing wrong, and what it means for us as followers of Jesus today. Let's listen in to this timely and challenging message. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Introduction: It's Time to Grow Up… (1 Corinthians 3:1–9) Because your childish THINKING holds you back. (1 Cor 3:1–2) Because your childish BEHAVIOR hurts others. (1 Cor 3:3) Because your childish FAVORITISM highlights man and not God. (1 Cor 3:4–8) Because your childish SELFISHNESS hides your identity. (1 Cor 3:9) God, help me to grow up. Today, I need to stop _______________________________________ and start _______________________________________. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 3:1-9What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Why do so many Christians act like adult babies and why do so many churches pamper these adult babies? What is the solution to this problem?Define jealousy and strife. How do you see yourself being jealous or stirring up strife right now?According to Paul, why shouldn't there be any competition in the church?What identity does Paul assign to Christians in 1 Corinthians 3:9? How should this identity affect how you act and serve the church?BreakoutShare how you filled in the following blanks at the end of your outline: God, help me to grow up. Today, I need to stop _______________________________________ and start _______________________________________. Encourage and pray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 1 through 9.1 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 1 through 9.It's time to grow up.Have you ever thought that about someone else?You ever thought that about a neighbor, a coworker?Have you ever said that to someone else?To a friend, to a family member?And whenever you think or say that sentence, it always comes with a sense of frustration,a sense of disbelief that someone could be so immature, that someone could be so childish.I can distinctly remember a time where I thought and said that exact sentence.It's time to grow up.It was years ago as I was sick on the couch watching my favorite sick day show, Dr. Phil.And don't judge me for my favorite sick time show.You probably don't have one that's much better.Maybe it's helped me with counseling over the years. I don't really know.But I'll never forget this one particular episode as Dr. Phil interviewed a 24-year-old manwho considered himself 18 months old.He was an adult baby.He slept in a massive custom crib.He had customized onesies in his closet.He wore diapers and he ate baby food.And Dr. Phil asked him, "Do you think you'll ever grow past this age?"Is that decent? I've been working on that all week. Is that okay?My wife doesn't think it's really good, so I guess it's not.Pastor Jeff is encouraging me, though.And then Brett said, "I don't think so. I've done a lot of research.And this is the age that I feel, 18 months."I was so disturbed by Brett's delusions.I was so bothered by his contentment with never growing upand the unwillingness of his loved ones to call him out.As I was sick on that couch, I wanted to climb through the TVand join Dr. Phil in saying, "It's time to grow up."Do you know what's even sadder to me than Brett's childish behavior?The childish lifestyle of many Christians.Adult babies are in every church.Adult babies are men and women who are content to never grow up.Content to never mature.They are committed to staying right where they areand never making any progress.So many churches are content with pampering these adult babies,catering to their desires, and baby-proofing the Bibleto avoid any sharp edges or offensive truths.So many pastors are committed to playing along with people's delusionsrather than lovingly calling them out.Thankfully, the apostle Paul did not have that commitment.He had a much different commitment to the Corinthian church,who also had an adult baby problem.Paul was 100% committed to this church's unity and purity.He had no interest in playing along with their delusions.He was unwilling to clean up their toys,snap on their onesies, and tuck them into their adult cribs.He was unafraid to burst their bubble and to lovingly call them outbecause their behavior was unacceptable to Godand it was damaging to the entire church.Paul was bold in calling out the Corinthians and saying,"Okay, it's time to get your big boy pants on.It's time to grow up."And this message from Paul wasn't just for the Corinthiansalmost 2,000 years ago.This message from Paul is for Harvest Bible Chapel today.And I really don't want you to think,"Oh, man, I wish so-and-so was here.He or she really needs to grow up."Listen, that person isn't here, but you are.You really need to hear this word from the Lord.In some ways or in many ways, you need to grow up.I need to grow up.So before we continue any further, let's go to the Lord and ask for His help.Please pray for me that will faithfully proclaim God's wordand I will pray for you that you will faithfully receive it.Father, we just celebrated children in our church.Children are a gift. Children are a blessing.The Lord, when we as adults act like children, there's a huge problem.Lord, I admit to you that I can be an adult baby.I can be childish.And I know the same is true for every single person in this room.Help us to stop thinking that this is for somebody else.This is a word for each and every one of us.Maybe we'd walk out of this room as different peopleand we'd be put on the path to maturity.We ask and pray all these things in Jesus' name.Amen.It's time to grow up.Reason number one, because your child is thinking holds you back.Your child is thinking holds you back.In last week's passage, the Apostle Paul reminded usthat everyone who is in Christ has been given the mind of Christ.That sounds really awesome, doesn't it?But what in the world does that mean?What is the mind of Christ?God's Word.You have been given God's Word.You don't have to wonder what God thinks about anything.You don't have to wonder what God thinks about himself, salvation,or how you should live your life.He tells you in His Word.He not only gives you His Word,but He also gives you the Holy Spirit to help you understand this Wordand help you to understand how you apply it to your life.God doesn't tell you all that you could know,but He does tell you all that you need to know.Those who are spiritual are able to understand spiritual truths.Well, great. Thanks, Paul. I appreciate that.Here is a butt coming in chapter 3, verse 1.Listen to what Paul says."But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people,but as people of the flesh as infants in Christ."At first glance, it seems like Paul is sayingthat there are no Christians in Corinth.This church is only made up of unsaved peoplewho have no true life and no true relationship with God.But that's not what Paul is saying at all.There are true believers in Corinth,and there are two context clues in this versethat show us that Paul is talking to Corinthian Christians.First of all, Paul calls them brothers.Paul isn't Hulk Hogan. He isn't called everybody brother.That was just for Pastor Jeff.Paul only calls his spiritual siblings brothers and sisters.This is a term of affection.Paul isn't coming in hot saying,"Okay, idiots, time to shut up and grow up."That's not what he's doing.He's not putting them in a headlock and giving them noogiesuntil they do what he tells them to do.No, he's coming in with an arm around their shoulder.Brothers, sisters, I love you.You're my family. Jesus Christ loves you,but you're not acting like you love Jesus.You're not acting like Christians.You're not acting like you have the Holy Spirit within you.You are letting your sinful desires,you are letting your flesh control you.And secondly, Paul calls them by another name.Paul calls them infants in Christ.So they are in Christ.They are saved. Their sins have been forgiven,but they are stuck in their immaturity.They are standing still.And Paul is saying to them,"I want to have an adult conversation with you,but all you can do is goo goo, gaga, and spit up all over yourself."What is the proof of their baby-ness?Verse chapter 2 tells us it's their spiritual diet.Let's read verse 2."I fed you with milk, not solid food,for you were not ready for it,and even now you are not yet ready."When my kids were born,I didn't throw them a pizza party in the delivery room.I didn't try to serve them a hot slice of pizzawith extra cheese and pepperoni.Why not?Because they were not ready for it.Their systems couldn't handle that kind of meal.When we brought Sam and then years later,Emmy home from the hospital,I didn't try to force-feed them ribeye steak and corn on the cob.Again, why not?Because they could not handle it.They were not ready for it.Newborns cannot eat corn on the cob, pizza and steak.Newborns cannot eat solid food.Babies can only be nourished by milk.But that was years ago.Let's talk about now.Sam is six years old and Emmy is almost four.Should my kids be able to handle pizza, corn on the cob and steak now?Why is that?Because they're older.They should be ready for solid food.If they're not, there is something seriously wrong within themthat Kate and I should not ignore.The Corinthian church should be ready for the solid food of God's Word,but they're not.There is something seriously wrong within them that Paul cannot ignore.After years and years of being Christians,the Corinthians are still only drinking from the milk of the Bible basics.Their diet is way off because they have no desire to move forward.And to be clear, new believers do need the milk of the Bible basics.They do need the spiritual ABCs.God is holy, man is sinful.Jesus Christ came to die on the cross,and everyone who trusts in Him will be forgiven.Jesus loves me this I know for the...Yes, amen to all these truths.We do touch on these essentials every single week, don't we?These are the foundation of our faith.But do you agree there's way more to the story?There's way more to know.There's way more to learn.At the beginning of your spiritual life,you must be fed like a spiritual newborn.But as time goes on, your diet should progressso that you can progress,that you can grow in your faith and make improvements.I'm not a dietitian by any stretch of the imagination,but to grow big and strong physically,you need a certain calorie intake.You need to eat from a wide variety of food groups.To grow big and strong spiritually,you need to consume a significant amount of God's Word.You need to have a balanced understandingof the Old Testament and the New Testament.You shouldn't say, "You know what? That book isn't really for me."No, they're all for you.All 66 books of the Bible are essential for your growth.You should make the attempt to have a balanced understandingof the major topics of Scripture,the character and attributes of God,the person and work of Jesus Christ,sanctification, the church, end times,and on and on the list goes.As Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 through 17,"All Scripture, not just some, not just most,all Scripture is breathed out by God,and profitable for teaching, for reproof,for correction, for training and righteousness,that the man of God may be complete,equipped for every good work."It takes the whole Bible to make you a whole person.You should have an appetite for the solid food of Scripture.Your knowledge of and your love for God's Wordshould increase day by day, week by week, month by month,year by year, and again, if it's not, there's a problem.Your desire to obey God's Word should increase over time.If you truly have the mind of Christ,you should love the thoughts of Christ.And the author of Hebrews explains the long-term side effectsof only drinking milk.He says this, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers,you need someone to teach you againthe basic principles of the oracles of God.You need milk, not solid food.For everyone who lives on milk is unskilledin the Word of righteousness since he is a child."I'm going to be very blunt for the next few minutes.I've been praying for this section of the sermon all week longbecause I want you to receive what I'm about to offerwith the intention I give it.This comes from love and concern.Some of you have only been drinking milk for years,and it shows.Some of you are still spiritual newbornsand not spiritual adults,even though you've followed Christ for years,maybe even decades.Some of you should be ready for the solid food of Scripture,but you're not.Some of you should be ready to teach the Bibleback in Harvest Academy, but you're not.Some of you should be able to pray in front of other believers,lead prayer groups to prayer services, but you're not.Some of you men should be elder qualified by nowand ready to help shepherd this flock and shoulderthe responsibility, but you're not.If I have described you on any level,please understand I'm not trying to scold you.I'm not trying to push you down like the Apostle Paul.I only have the desire to encourage you and to pull you uplike the Apostle Paul.I want to put a shoulder around you, brother, sister,God has so much more for you in store.If you'll just take a step forward and make progress by His grace.Don't stay where you are.Don't be content to always drink milk feast on this book.Do not be content to always swim in the shallow end of the gospelwith your floaties on.Dive in, explore, challenge yourself.Do not be content with riding with spiritual training wheelsyour entire life.Ask God to give you a sense of confidenceso that you can ride with confidenceand help other people to ride with confidence.Repent of your laziness.Turn from your apathy to the things of God.Ask the Lord to give you a greater hunger for His word,a greater motivation to run after holiness,a greater commitment to the strength of this church.After service, ask a pastor or elder to pray for you.Ask a mature member of this congregationor a godly friend to help you and to keep you accountable.It's time to grow up because your childish thinking holds you backfrom being who God has created you to beand doing what God has called you to do.It's time to grow up.Reason number two, because your childish behavior hurts others.Your childish behavior hurts others.Paul goes on to give another exampleof the Corinthian sinful immaturity in verse three."For you are still of the flesh.For while there is jealousy and strife among you,are you not of the fleshand behaving only in a human way?"Childish thinking always leads to childish behavior.And the childishness of the Corinthianscan be summed up in two words, jealousy and strife.Jealousy is a serious case of dissatisfactionwith what God has given to you.You deserve more.You deserve better.You deserve whatever you want.When you are jealous of what someone else has,you cannot be content with what you have.If you are jealous of someone else's success,you cannot celebrate that person's success.Strife is needless conflict.Strife leads to dumb divisionthat can and should be avoided.Jealousy is an attitude,and strife is the aftermath.Jealousy is the root,and strife is the result.No one needs to teach you how to be jealous.No one needs to show you how to create strife.These sins are inherent within each and every one of us.If you don't believe me,just go back to Harvest Academy for a few minutes.You will see jealousy and strife soonerrather than later.Why does Suzy have that toy in her eye?I hate Tommy and Joey because they never let me play with them.I'm not inviting Ruthie to my birthday partybecause she didn't invite Betty to hers.You may laugh at that,but the adults in the church are not much better than the kids, are they?Listen, you can be jealous.You.Maybe you are envious of someone else in this room.That person who has the marriage that you want.That parent who has more under control kids than you do.That person who seems to be more talented than you.You should be celebrating and rejoicingand God's good gifts to that brother or sister,but instead you resent them.And you want them to be knocked down a few pegs to feel how you feel.You can be jealous.You can cause strife and factions in the church.You have a serious bone to pick with the leadership at Harvest.Instead of coming to the elders directly, you start whispering.You start spreading misinformation.You start spreading rumors.You are offended by someone else.Instead of going to that person directly,you go to other people to recruit them to your side.And you may say, "Oh, I'm just doing this to warn people."No, you're not.You're doing this to the other people who will like you more than that person.Just be honest about it.Maybe you enjoy getting into fights.You enjoy making a big deal out of nothing.You lace up your boxing gloves and get into worthless, pointless battles with people.Are you jealous right now?Are you causing strife right now?If you are jealous, if you are stirring up trouble,you're just acting like an adult babyand not a mature son or daughter of God.If you are stirring up trouble, if you have sinned against someone else,it's time to swallow your pride and admit what you've done.Kids sweep things under the rug and ignore it.Adults expose sin and confess it.It's time to grow up because your childish behavior hurts others,especially the people you love.It's time to grow up.Reason number three, because your childish favoritism highlights man and not God.Because your childish favoritism highlights man and not God.Jealousy and strife at Corinth played out in a specific way,and it led to people playing favorites with specific leaders.Let's see what Paul has to say about this in verse 4.For when one says, "I follow Paul,"and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human?Pastor Jeff preached on this favoritism controversy a few weeks ago,but Paul talks about it again, so what are we going to do?We're going to talk about it again.Paul was the one who planted the Corinthian church during his second missionary journey.And he was there for about a year and a half ministering, preaching, pastoring.And some people had a soft spot for Paul.They were nostalgic for him because he was the one who led them to Christ.After Paul left, Apollos comes to town, and he's a much better speaker,a much more dynamic preacher, so many people prefer Apollos.And this history of favoritism led to both men having their own personal fan clubs,even though both men do not want their own personal fan clubs.In modern day terms, there is a Paul fan page on Facebook,and there's an opposing Apollos fan page on Facebook.There are trading cards with these men's faces and pastoral stats.There are YouTube channels that highlight and spell out their sermons on why they're so great.But Paul says this kind of favoritism is childish.It is not the way of heaven. It is the way of this world.He's saying, "If you say I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos, grow up.You're acting like a child. You need to cut it out."And Paul gives a reason why he and Apollos are not worthy of these cult followings in verse 5.What then is Apollos? What is Paul?Servants through whom you believed as the Lord assigned to each.Paul and Apollos are not celebrities. They're not superstars.They're not mega church pastors. Who are they according to this verse?Servants.This word can also be translated as table waiters.Waiters do not cook the food. They simply deliver the food.Busboys simply clean up.Paul and Apollos are just lowly busboys in God's restaurant.Last time I checked, there are no busboy enthusiasts.There are no busboy trading cards. There are no busboy YouTube channels.When was the last time you had a restaurant and thought to yourself,"Man, this table is spotless. I don't even need a plate. I can just eat right off of it.I need to go find the busboy and congratulate him."Has that ever happened to you?Paul is saying, "I'm just a busboy. I'm not worthy of anything that you want to give me."He's knocking himself off the pedestal that the Corinthians have put him on.He's demystifying Apollos and putting him in his place too.They are just servants of the Lord. They are servants of the Corinthian church.But Paul isn't done lowering himself yet.He and Apollos are not just busboys.They are also farm hands, according to verses 6 and 7."I planted Apollos watered, but God gave the growth."So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God gives the growth.I've never farmed before.I've never even kept a garden before in my entire life.The last time I can remember planting a seed was in first grade with that cup on the window sill,that cup of dirt.I'm not a farmer, but I do know a farmer in our congregation.I spoke to Jesse Hogan last week and I asked him,"How much credit can you take for a good harvester crop?"Do you want to know what farmer Jesse said?None.All I can do is plant, pray for good weather, and trust that God will bring the growth.Trust the results to God.Jesse is a successful farmer because he understands his place in the process.He entrusts the results to God.He knows his limitations.Paul is successful as a pastor, as an evangelist, as a church planner,because he knows his place in the process.He trusts the results to God.Paul knows his limitations.Paul is saying, "I planted the church in Corinth."Paul has watered it with his faithful preaching,but who alone gets the credit?Who alone gets the glory for the growth?God and God alone.Once again, Paul and Paulos are nothing special.They are just farmhands who plant and water the seeds of the gospel.That's it.Paul goes on to give you another reason why he and Paulos shouldn't be pitted against each otherin verse 8."He who plants and he who waters are one,and each will receive his wages according to his labor."There is no reason for Paul and Paulos to competebecause they are on the same team.They are one.I've already admitted that I'm not a farmer,but I may be a better farmer than I am an athlete.Some of you were laughing too hard at that.But I did play basketball from sixth to twelfth grade,and I can remember distinct games where every man in our team was out for himself.Every man was trying to show off.Every man was trying to show everyone how great he was.And that never led to victory because we forgot that we were one.We forgot that we were on the same team.I can also remember other games when we did come together as a cohesive whole.Everyone wasn't trying to win for himself, trying to win for the entire team.In those moments, we were one.We were on the same team, which often led to victory.We are on the same team at Harvest Bible Chapel.We should be pulling together to be one in the Lord,rather than pulling apart to try and be special on our own.On my own, I am a zero.On your own, you are a zero, but together we are one.Our strength comes from our unity.Recently, a member of our church paid the highest compliment to this churchthat made my entire year.She said, "To be honest, I don't really care who preaches on a Sunday morning,because I know, I trust that everyone who preaches at Harvestwill be faithful to God's Word."That is the goal.That woman gets it.That is what Paul is talking about in this verse.It's not about the servant.It's about the one we serve.It's not about the bus boy.It's about the one who owns all things.It is not about the farmhand.It's about the only one who gives the growth.Playing favorites in the church is stupid.It is immature.It is childish foolishness to try to figure out who's the bestand who's the most important.We all have a role to play.No one's gifting or role is more important than another.And according to Paul, each worker will be paid by God Himself,and God never stiffs His employees.He always gives infinitely satisfying rewards.So please don't try to reward yourselfby seeking after the affirmation and praise of others.Wait diligently for the rewards of God,because they are coming.Adult babies live for the moment,but godly servants live for the long haul.It's time to grow up and start highlighting God and not man.It's time to grow up.Final reason, because your childish selfishness hides your identity.Because your childish selfishness hides your identity.Let's wrap up with verse 9."For we are God's fellow workers.You are God's field, God's building.I truly enjoy partnering with all of my coworkers,Missy, Gillian, Ashley, Pastor Rich, Pastor Jeff.I love all my coworkers,but do you know which coworker I enjoy working with the most?God.Pastor Jeff is a great boss,but do you know who's an even greater boss?The Lord.So many pastors fall into sinand disqualify themselves from ministrybecause their childish selfishness hides their identity.They think they're the ones making things happen.They think that the church growth is happening because of them.They're in charge. They're running the show.And they end up becoming bullies.They end up becoming tyrants.They forget they work with and for the God of the universe.Those pastors did not shed their own bloodon the cross for the members of their church.Their churches do not belong to them.Their churches belong to Christ.You do not belong to me.You do not belong to Justin Cady, Brian Beehe, Pastor Rich,or even Pastor Jeff.If you have trusted in Christ, you belong to Him.He's the one who shed his blood for you.He is the one who died for you.You are God's field.You are God's building.That is who you are.Do not let your childish selfishness hide your identity any longer.Do not try to find your identityin what the world says to find it in.The world will tell youthat you are the maker of your own meaning.Your worth is found in what you achieve.But that is not what Paul is saying in this verse.You are not a precious snowflakewhose every one preference should be met.Your story is not the main event of this world.You are not the point of anything.You are just a small part of the field that God is cultivating.You are just a single brickin the beautiful structure that God is building.You are a part of the church of Jesus Christwhich will never ever pass away.It's time to grow upand stop believing that life is all about youbecause it's not.It's about the Lordwho will do great things in and through you.It's time to grow upand start remembering who you areand whose you are.Some of you in this room do not belong to Christ.You are not even an infant in Christbecause you have not been born again.You are not a part of God's field.You are not a part of God's building.You are just a lonely seed.You are just a discarded brick.But your identity will change in an instantif you give your life to Jesus.If you trust in Him as your Saviorwho died on the cross for your sins.If you trust in Him as the Lord of your lifewho has every right to tell you what to do.If you place your faith and trust in Christ,you will be adopted into His family.You will be planted into God's field.You will be slid into the perfect spot in this churchthat is reserved just for you.You will be placed on the path to mature adulthood in Christ.The biggest temptation for a sermon like thisis to feel the sting of conviction in the momentand then do nothing with that conviction once you get home.But do you know what's the most childish thing of all?Knowing that something needs to changeand then doing nothing about it.Please do not fall into that childish temptation.Choose to put away your childish thinking.Choose to put away your childish behavior.Choose to put away your childish favoritism.Choose to put away your childish selfishness.Brothers and sisters, it's time to mature.It's time to grow up.But you can't grow up on your own, can you?You need God's helpbecause He is the expert on growth, not you.There are still two blanks left on your sheet that you need to fill in.These are a prayer to the Lord.God, help me to grow up.Today I need to stop blank and start blank.I have no idea what you need to fill in those blanks with, but you do.And so is God.Maybe it's God, help me to grow up today and He has stopped making excusesand start reading my Bible every morning at 7 a.m.Maybe it's God, help me to grow up today.I need to stop being jealous of so-and-so, it's small groupand start being content with what you have given me.It could be God, help me to grow up todayor maybe God, help me to grow up today.I need to stop sitting on the church sidelinesand start serving at harvest today.Don't be vague because vague goals lead disappointing results.Be practical, be specific,because that will lead to encouraging results.Take a few minutes to fill in those blanks.Take a few moments to go to the Lord, to confess sin,to ask for His help.Ask Him to empower you to change.Ask for His help so that you can be empowered.Take steps to grow up.Fill in those blanks and spend some time in the Lord with prayer.Father, I thank you for your immense patience with us.I know as a father I can be so impatient with my children at times,but Lord, you are so long suffering.But all of us in this room can be childish.All of us in this room can be immatureor may today be a brand new day of transformation.May today be a day where a first step is taken,where growth happens by your grace and by the power of your spirit.Lord, may we not just be convicted in this moment,be convicted the rest of today, the rest this weekand the rest of our lives seek after you and your Word,to pursue after the unity of the churchand to fit into our exact spot in the church.Lord, I thank you for what your Holy Spirit has done this morningand I thank you in advance for what He will do.I ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen.

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. Today, Pastor Jeff Bucknam continues our series True Religion: The Book of James with a message called “The Fight Behind Our Fights.” From James 4:1–10, we'll see that our conflicts with others reveal a deeper battle within — but God offers more grace when we humble ourselves and draw near to Him. Listen now. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Introduction: We're Not Putting on a Show (1 Corinthians 2:1–5) Because the show will replace God's MESSAGE. (1 Cor 2:1–2) John 17:17 – Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. Because the show will replace God's METHODS. (1 Cor 2:3–4) Because the show will replace God's MISSION. (1 Cor 2:5) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 2:1-5What was your big take-away from this passage / message?What are some ways you have seen a church make the Gospel into a show / performance?Why does God prefer to work through weak people instead of strong & talented people (1 Cor 2:3-4)?How can you tell if a “good preacher” is a real Spirit-filled preacher, or a talented man just using his own gifts?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Open those Bibles up to the book of 1 Corinthians. We're going to be in chapter 2.Let's just pause for a moment.And I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to be faithful to communicate God's Word accurately and clearly.I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what God said in His Word.Alright? Let's pray.Father, there are so many things that compete for our attention and devotion.Give us a hunger for your Word, because it is through your Word that we know you.So I pray, Father, that our appetites would be for nothing but the bread of your Word.Let us dial into what your teaching is here in this passage, Father. We pray in Jesus' name.Amen.Amen.1 Corinthians chapter 2, are you there?I was today years old when I learned what that phrase meant.How many people have heard that? I was today years old. How many have heard that one? How many of you used that?Some of you are like, I don't know what you're talking about. Well, maybe you're not hip like Justin Cady,knowing all the vernacular of the children.But let me give you an example. I was today years old when I learned that on a box of tic-tacs,do you know when you open it up, there's this little oval in here? Do you know what that's for?That is to serve the tic-tac. Did you know that?Have you been just eating your tic-tac straight from the box like a wolf?Did you know that you're supposed to use this thing to...Ta-da!Maybe you can flick it in your mouth.Never mind.I'm going to give you, in all seriousness, the biggest and most shocking thing.The whole phrase I was today years old means there's something I should have known.I'm just finding out this thing that I should have known my whole life and wow, it changes everything.Well, here's the biggest one of all time.Did you know that you have the ability to take power out of the cross of Jesus Christ?Did you know that? You might be leaving here today saying I was today years old when I learned.I can empty the cross of Jesus Christ of its power. Do you realize you have that ability?The Bible says we do have that ability. Look back at chapter 1 verse 17.We covered this a couple of weeks ago, but very briefly because I knew we would be hitting it hard this week.But chapter 1 verse 17, Paul says, "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,and not with words of eloquent wisdom lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."What? I can take power away from the cross of Christ? That's what he said.How can I take power away from the cross? How can I empty the cross of Christ of power?He tells us right here in verse 17 by relying on eloquent wisdom.Look at chapter 2. We're going to look at the first five verses, but I want us to read it all first.I want us to be very clear what the Lord is saying here.Paul says through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "And when I came to you, brothers,did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were notimplausible words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."See a theme there? Over and over and over he's talking about wisdom.And you're like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on, hang on, timeout Pastor Jeff, hang on."I thought wisdom was a good thing, right?And we've had whole sermon series on wisdom and there's books in the Bible called wisdom literature.I thought wisdom was a good thing. Why are we poo-pooing wisdom here today, Pastor Jeff?Well, wisdom is one of those words that can have different connotations depending on the context.A lot of words like that, right? Like the word aggressive.Is that a good word or a bad word?Well, depends on where we're using it, right? It's great if you're playing hockey.It's bad if you're in a meeting. See?Or how about the word judge? You hear that word judge, is judging good or bad?Well, depends how you use it. We are commanded to judge to discern.But we are forbidden to judge in the sense of criticizing people like we talked about in the sermon on the Mount.So you see, judge is bad or good depending on the context. And it's the same with wisdom.Because the Bible is clear there is God's wisdom and there is man's wisdom.And the obvious point of this passage, all circles around this idea of not man's worldly, earthly wisdom.That's the point. He says it in verse 1. He says it in verse 4. He says it in verse 5.So to sum up this passage, here's what Paul is saying.He's saying, "I didn't come proclaiming man's wisdom. My message was not in man's wisdom and your faith can't be in man's wisdom."You're like, "What's he saying? What's the problem here? Why is he so adamant about this?"Well, you have to understand something about the Greeks.You have to understand something about the people that lived in Corinth.You see, for them, public speaking was entertainment and competition.Now please dial in here, because if you miss this, you're going to be so confused as we go through these verses.Public speaking was entertainment and competition.They would actually compete for money and prizes and fame with public speaking.So for the Greeks, those in Corinth, public speaking was putting on a show.Public speaking was a performance.Remember, they didn't have TV.They weren't sitting down to entertaining themselves by watching the Judge Judy or whatever.They didn't have the internet where they would sit on their phone and death scroll through countless videos about cats.That's not how they were entertained.They were entertained in the Greek culture by two things, really.Sports, we get that, right? But their other form of entertainment was public speech.And public speech, listen, public speech was evaluated on eloquence.We get that, because how many countless TV programs do we have about judging talent?Right? The Americans got talent and American Idol and The Voice, The Mass Singer, what else is there?All these shows where, you know, so you think you can dance, we're constantly evaluating the talent level of people on these programs.Public speaking was that in Corinth.Now, do you see the issue?Paul came to them with a speech, the Gospel.He came to them with a speech and he came to a culture that evaluates a speech based on the performance of the performer.So if you look at this passage again, I'm going to look at it again, just abbreviating it, but you could substitute this phrase where it talks about wisdom.You could substitute putting on a show. That's what he was talking about here.Paul's saying, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming you the testimony of God by putting on a show."And then down in verse 4, "My speech and my message was not about putting on a show."And then in verse 5, "Your faith might not rest in the show, but the power of God."You see? That was the issue for that culture.And you're like, "Phew! Stinks for that culture because I get a... You know what, Pastor Jeff, it would be absolutely horrible.I mean, that would be terrible if people today turned the Gospel into our show.I mean, could you imagine how tacky it would be if people made church a performance?We don't have to stretch our imagination, do we?What do you see when you go to a lot of churches and Bible conferences, right?Fog machines and lights and how about a man pole dancing and swallowing swords?That happened at a men's conference.And oh, every spring I gag as I see churches promoting this summer at such and such church, summer at the movies.Life lessons according to Toy Story 2.I'm like, "Really? You've preached through the whole Bible and you're out of material and now we're turning to Pixar.Really?We made it into a show.Come to our church. We're dropping Easter eggs out of a helicopter.Oh, you know what the worst is. This could be... And this is personal opinion. This is the worst.The pastors that get on stage dressed up like a character.Have you seen this? Have you seen this nonsense?Pastor Taylor sent me a video for the record making fun of it.He sent me a video of a pastor that got on stage and their whole thing was Indiana Jones.And look, I love Indiana Jones, but the pastor was dressed like Indiana Jones.It was so stupid. He had a whip and he's just standing up there.It was so foolish.I have a... Noa guy who's a pastor, local-ish.We're talking about what's happening in church, what's going on in your ministry right now.And he went on and on and on bragging. He bought an evil-can-evil costume and preached as evil-can-evil.I'm like, "Great. Did you have to spend 20 minutes explaining to the people under 60 who evil-can-evil is?"Like, "Really? That's church?"What are we doing?If you sit these people down that are putting on these performances, these pastors,that are putting on these performances, like, "Why are you doing this?Why are you standing on stage waving a silly whip around like Indiana Jones? What are you doing?"They would say, "Well, that's how I get people to church.""Hey, no need to thank me, Jesus. I have a brilliant plan to fill the seats."And just as sad, churchgoers applaud these gimmicks because they get attention, right?That's why we're sharing these videos. They get attention.Oh, but then we get out to do each other, don't we?He dressed like Indiana Jones next week, harvest."You come to church next week. I'm going to be dressed as Darth Vader."[sighs]Your faith is weak.Won't that be awesome?You're like, "No, Pastor Jeff, that would be stupid."And you're right.We're going to top the other guy, and then we're going to top ourselves, right?Okay, so my thing with Darth Vader, people are clapping and giggling for that.So what am I going to do next week that's better than that, right?Just like one of those Lord of the Ring elves or something, and we'll blast fireworks on stage.What are we doing?This is exactly what Paul's talking about here.This is the principle. Lofty speech, human wisdom, plausible words.It's making the gospel into a show in order to win people.Paul says, "I didn't do that when I came to you in the Harvest Bible Chapel.We're not doing that either."And somebody right now is like, "Oh, Pastor Jeff, come on, what's the big deal?"Lighten up.I mean, if it draws people to church,why wouldn't we apply a little worldly wisdom?Listen, we are not putting on a show.We are not putting on a show.That is a hill that I will die on.You're like, "Well, what's the issue?"Well, let's revisit the text here, and we're going to see it's a much bigger issue than you think.We're not putting on a show.Write some things down. Number one, because the show will replace God's message.That's why the show, the show will replace God's message.Look at the first two verses again.Paul says, "And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to youthe testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you."Except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."When I came to you, you can revisit this story."Acts chapter 17, Paul was in Athens and he preached and responds, "Not so great."Then Acts chapter 18, he goes to Corinth.He's alone and he's looking around and he's like, "This place is even worse than Athens."And Paul here is saying, "So when I came to you, did I come with the fancy talk?Did I come like your public speakers putting on a show for you?"He's like, "No, no, no, no, the Gospel isn't about that.I didn't come to you like one of your philosophers.I came to you as a witness of Jesus Christ."And I love this.What is it?He says, "For I decided."It wasn't a whim.It wasn't one of those tweak and go things, last minute change.He goes, "No, no, no, no, no.I made the decision ahead of time that I'm not going into Corinth and I'm not going to try to dazzle them into the kingdom."By the way, do you think Paul could have?Do you think he had the ability to dazzle people with the knowledge that he had?Yeah, he could have.He said, "I will not do that."So what was your plan, Paul?He tells us this was my plan, verse 2, "For I decided to know nothing among you."Except what?Say it.Jesus Christ and say it.Him crucified.That's it.That's all I wanted to know.That's it.The only thing I wanted to know.The only thing I wanted to teach.The only thing I wanted to talk about was Jesus Christ and Him crucified.You're like, "Oh, time out question.Isn't there more to the Bible than that?"I mean, isn't there more to the Bible than that?Nope, there's not.Listen, the cross of Jesus Christ is literally everything.Everything.How is it that a person is saved?How is it that a person can have their sins taken away and the promise of being in glory with their God forever?How does that happen?The cross of Jesus Christ.How do we know that God loves us?How do we know that the God who created us has a love and compassion and He really cares for us?How do we know?The cross of Jesus Christ.How do we know that God is holy, that God is a God of justice?How do we know that God always upholds His Word, always does what He says?How do we know that?The cross of Jesus Christ.How does God feel about sin?How does God feel about our rebellion, our thumbing, our noses at Him and our...How does God feel about our sin?Where do we get our answer? Shout it out.That was the weakest shout it out I've ever heard.Come on, you can even hit the Sunday School Answer here.How do we know how God feels about sin?Where do we look? Tell me.The cross!That tells us.You know, I was really hitting this this week, hard thinking,is there anything that's not finding its foundation in the cross?I couldn't think of anything.And somebody's like, well, how about money?How about money, Pastor Jeff?Does the cross speak to money?Yeah, it does.Why do we give?Because God is a God who expresses His love through giving.And the cross of Jesus Christ tells us why we should be generous givers.Read 2 Corinthians chapter 8.He talks all about that there.So yes, the cross is a foundation even for giving.Oh, okay, okay, Pastor Jeff.Very slick.What about marriage and sexuality?I bet the cross doesn't talk about that.Oh, you got me. No, you didn't.Who did Jesus die for?His bride.Jesus died so that He could have a bride that was spallus.And heaven is described as the marriage supper of the Lamb.And husbands are to conduct themselves in a home in the pattern of Christbecause the purpose of a marriage is to put on a graphic displayof the relationship Jesus has with the church.Husbands represent the self-sacrificing love of Jesus Christ to their wives.Do you see how the cross speaks to marriage?We could do this all day.Fight me.Fight me.Show me something.Show me something that the cross of Jesus Christ doesn't cover.Doesn't explain.Paul says, "I wanted to know nothing.I decided I'm not going to know anything except Christ and Him crucified."Then I'm going to tell you, church,it is absolutely baffling to me when I see all these goofy gimmicks that people are doing in churches.It's absolutely baffling to me when we're dressed up like Indiana Jonesor Evil Can Evil or Super Mario or whatever.It's absolutely baffling to me.I'm like, do you realize the message that we have in the Word of God?Do you know what this message is?The message is God spoke everything into existence.He created us in His image.We rebelled against Him so God in His love came to this earth as a manand demonstrated supernatural abilities proving who He was.And then in the ultimate act of love, He sacrificed Himself on the crossso that we could be forgiven and then they put Him in a tomb and He rose from the dead.And that's not it.Then He flies to heaven and He's making a place because He's going to come backand He's going to take us so that we can be there with Him forever in a place that's so glorious.And like, is there anything better than that?There's the greatest message in the world.And somehow we think it needs bling.We think we need some kind of a gimmick to make Jesus exciting.What are you talking about?That's Paul's point here.It's the greatest message and it always will be in any attempt to put on a show.It's not going to enhance the gospel. It's going to replace the gospel.You know what I mean by that?Take our good friend Indiana Jones.I hope you weren't in that service.But if you were, could you imagine what people were talking aboutwhen they walked out of church that day?Do you think they walked out of church going, you know,after watching the pastor get around and waving his silly little whip around?Do you think people walked out of church going, Jesus Christ is so awesome?Do you think they walked out of church going, oh how wonderful the salvation of Godthat He would so love us?I'll tell you what people said walking out of that church.People walked out going, man I got to find my temple of doom VHS.We've replaced the message of how to be safe from hell with nonsense to entertain people.Well, at harvest Bible Chapel, Bible is our middle name.We are committed to pillar number one, proclaiming the authority of God's word without apology.Why are we so committed to nothing but expository preaching, representing the word?Why are we so committed to that?Like why are you so hard-nosed about that?I'll give you three reasons why.Number one, because it's commanded.God said this is what we were to talk about.So that's what we're going to talk about.It's commanded.Second reason that we're so committed to the word of God is it's literally the only thing that's effective.God said He is watching over His word to perform in Jeremiah 1.God says Isaiah 55, that His word always accomplishes the purposes for which He sends it out.It's effective.Nothing else will change a person.But the Spirit of God working through the word of God.That's it. That's the only way change happens.There's another reason that we're so committed to the word of God is because it's unifying.In John 17, Jesus was praying for us, and Jesus said, "Sanctify them in the truth."Sanctify means set apart.Jesus said, "Regarding His people, regarding us, we are to be set apart in the truth."Like where do we find that?Right there, Jesus said it.As He was praying to His Father, He says, "Your word is truth."So Jesus said, "The thing that must unify us, church, isn't some gimmick or a favorite form of entertainment.The thing that must unify us is the word of God. Get under the word."That's why we're committed to that.And you know what? I got to tell you this personally.This is so freeing for me.This is so freeing.I don't have to wonder what to say to you.See, we don't get in our offices through the week and we're like,"Oh, Pastor Taylor, what do you think we should say this week?Let's come up with some really great thing that's going to really fire people up."We don't have to do that.We just have to share the word of God.It's so freeing. I don't have to think, "How do I top last week's show?"I mean, people were really entertained last week.How do I top that?It's freeing for you, too.It's freeing for you.We talk about witnessing.One of the main obstacles people have about witnessing,I hear this all the time, Pastor Taylor,you've heard it a billion times as well, give or take.But you know what people say about witnessing?They say, "I don't know what to say."I would share my faith, but I'll be honest with you.I don't really know what to say. Yes, you do.You know exactly what to say.What do I say?Try this. Try Paul's technique.Nothing but the cross. How about that?Nothing but the cross. Share that.Do you know about the cross? Share that.You know, when people come to you and they're like,"Well, you know what does the Bible say about politics?"And like, Republicans and Democrats, you're like,"Well, do you know that Jesus Christ died for your sins?Did you know that?"And then they're like, "Well, what does the Bible say about AI?"I mean, AI is kind of scary.What does the Bible say about that?And your response is,"Do you know that God loved you so muchthat He sent His Son to die on the cross for you?That's how much God loves you."And they're like, "Well, does the Bible say anythingabout in vitro fertilization?"And she's like, "No, no, no. All I know is that Jesus died for you."That's all we need to know.We're not putting on a show because the showwill replace God's message of the cross of Christ.Number two, write this one down.We're not putting on a show because the show will replace God's methods.The show will replace God's methods.Look at verses 3 and 4 again.He says, "And I was with you in weakness and in fearand much trembling.And my speech and my message were notin plausible words of wisdom,but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power."Paul reminds them, he didn't come to themlike a boxer going to the ring.Like, "I fired up."Yeah!You see, there's really goofy, like,WWE professional wrestlers.Do you ever see these guys that come to the ring with the fireworks?Yeah!Yeah, and Paul's like, "That's not how I came to you.Like some goofy entertainer."He says, "I came to you. Use the three words, 'weakness,' fear, and trembling."What do you mean?What do you mean by that?Well, you look at how it's used biblically.Trembling is talking about mental anxietyover an important issue.That's when you feel something heavy in your heart and mind.You feel something so heavy that it's like weighing on you.And here's what I mean.Have you ever had the unfortunate business of having to give somebody newsyou didn't want to give them?Unfortunately, in my role, I've had to do that too many times.And it's so heavy on you.You're driving to the person's house because you have to tell them face to facethat there's been a terrible accident and things don't look good,that heaviness that you have while you're heading there.And delivering the message, just...That's what he's talking about.Or the heaviness, like if you have to confront somebody about their sin.Like, it's been brought to my attention that so-and-so is involved in a relationshipthat shouldn't be involved in.Now I gotta go talk to them about that.You see, you don't walk into that like a WWE wrestler, do you?Like, "Hey, guess what? I got news for you.There's been a terrible tragedy!"Like, what's the matter with you?No, that's the heaviness of having to deliver a serious message.That's what he's talking about here.Paul says, "This was my posture when I was with you.Not exactly the celebrity showman that the Corinthians would have preferred."Paul is saying, "I came in weakness because I didn't want to put on a showbecause I didn't want to get in God's way."Why, Paul? Why?Because the show will replace God's methods.You're like, "Well, what is God's method for reaching lost people?What is God's method?"It's the foolishness of preaching from a weak preacher.That's God's method.Did you ever say something like magnanimous, you have this really idealistic convictionand then the word of God kind of changes your mind on that?What I mean is, in past time I've said things like,"Well, you know what? The messenger is insignificant. The message is everything."After my study this week, I'm not so convinced of that anymore.Yeah, look, we established already that the message cannot be replaced.We already talked about that.But you cannot separate gospel content and gospel communication.Because according to this, in 117 that we already talked about at the beginning,you can suppress the power of the gospel message if attention is taken away from thatand put on the speaker.And you're like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on. Hang on a second, Pastor Jeff.Are you telling me that popular people can't be faithful preachers?"Sure they can.So long as the spotlight isn't on them, you see.You're like, "Well, where's the line? Where's the line?"It's a hard issue. I'm not sure that we can see the line, but I know that God can.And I know that there is a difference between preaching Christ and showing off.And please hear me. You don't need to dress up as Indiana Jones to show off in church.You can dress like Pastor Taylor.You know, you really hurt his feelings by laughing just there.There is nothing wrong with how you're dressed.I'm sorry, Pastor Taylor.Do you know what this thing is for in a tic-tac box?You put the tic-tac in there.Moving right along.You don't need to dress up as Indiana Jones to show off.You can dress like Pastor Taylor, but unlike Pastor Taylor, you can try to make yourself the star.Unlike Pastor Taylor, you can put all the attention on yourself.You know, the message of the cross, you know what the message of the cross is?The message of the cross is about the humiliation of God.And preaching and witnessing require the humiliation of man.If you're sitting here today and you're like, "Well, I'm not really anything special.I'm just a sinner saved by grace."Well, if that's your attitude, then that's exactly why God wants to speak through you.Because you've found nothing to boast of in yourself.And instead, all you can do is exalt Jesus Christ.The power is in the gospel, which is why it must be preached by someonewho isn't going to drown out the gospel message with the sound of tuning their own horn.So we're not putting on a show because the show will replace God's method of preaching through weak men.One more.We're not putting on a show, number three, because the show will replace God's mission.Look at verse 5.He says that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.See here Paul's landing. This is the end game.The results.Here's the bottom line.If you're dazzled by men, your faith is going to be in men.But if you are dazzled over the power of God, if your experience is with the power of God,then your faith is going to be in God.What you win people with is what you win them to.See we're not putting on a show, why?Because if we win people with the show, with entertainment, we've won them to entertainment.And guess why people are going to come to harvest?Because they want entertained.But if we win people with Jesus, we've won them to Jesus.And people are going to come to harvest because they want to know Jesus.Putting on a show replaces God's mission.Instead of making disciples of Jesus, I'm making disciples of me.There's a very pragmatic problem with that too.If the church is replacing God's mission for the show, it leaves the converts vulnerable.Why? Because there's always a more impressive performance.There's always a more charismatic personality out there.There's always a better show somewhere else.And that's why, listen, that's why people bounce around churches.People bounce around churches looking for something more entertaining.They're not going to use the word entertaining.They want something that is going to be more appealing to them.We hear it all the time."Oh Pastor Jeff, we love harvest.We love the people here and we love you.But such and such church has a better playground.We've got little kids and they need better facilities like that with playground and stuff.I had one family.I said, "Oh Pastor Jeff, we love harvest."But he said, "My kid, he had a 12 year old kid.He said, "My kid loves the concert atmosphere at such and such church, so we're going there."I'm like, "First of all, Dad,I seriously doubt the wisdom of leaving the decision of the spiritual direction of the familyin the lap of the most immature member of the family.That's a problem.But is that how we're picking churches who has the best concert?You see, if the faith of the responders is produced by the preacher's show,what if the preacher leaves?What happens when that preacher retires?What are we going to do now?Worse, what if the preacher fails?See, you replace the mission for the showand Paul says you're missing out on God's power.God's power, you're like, "Well, what is the power?What is the power?"You're like, "Oh, I know this one.I know what the power is because I've seen this on TV."Who's that guy that's...He slaps people and heals them?What's his name? Benny Hill?Hen, Benny Hinn.Benny Hill's different.I've seen that show.He slaps the people and they're down.And then he waves at a group of people and they all fall down.That's the power of God, right?Well, back in chapter 1 verse 18 of Pastor Taylor preached on last week,we learned what the power of God is.You know what the power of God is?The gospel.The gospel. Romans 1.16, the gospel is the power of God.You're like, "Well, do we see the power of God at Harvest Bible Chapel?"Yeah.Every time that we have a baptism serviceand you have somebody stepping in to the tubgoing, "I turn from my sin and I receive Jesus Christ, I am born again."You're witnessing the power of God.Every time somebody chooses forgiveness,"I was wronged, I was offended, I want to forgive, I want the relationship restored."Every time that happens, you're seeing the power of God.Every time somebody uses spiritual gifts to minister to others in the church,you're seeing the power of God.You see, the power of God is a changed life.You're the power of the Holy Spirit.That only comes from Jesus.In church, we are doing a major disservice to peopleto replace people experiencing His power with people enjoying my performance.I have no power at all.I can't save anyone.I can't change anyone.Only Jesus Christ can do that through His Spirit.So we're not putting on a showbecause the show will replace God's mission of making disciples of Jesus.The Harvest Bible Chapel, there's no tricks for results herebecause the Gospel just simply points to the bloodied Jesus Christ on the crossand says, "There, right there on the cross is your salvation.There on the cross is your example.There on the cross is your victory.There on the cross is your power."So this is a call for discernment.Look, are you new here?You're a first-time visitor here today?Have you been bouncing around visiting churches?And this is just one of many that you've been checking out.Or maybe you're somebody who's been attending for a while.Maybe you're even a member who's been thinking about moving on.I just want to ask you a couple of questions in light of what God says here.What are you looking for in a church?Wait, wait, maybe that's not the right question.Maybe the better question is what should you be looking for in a church?More fireworks?More pizazz?Or is Jesus what you really want?Are you saying, you know, I want to know the Gospel.I want nothing more than to experience the power of God in my life.Well, wherever you choose to worship,I would encourage you to make your decision based on the right factors.I have no say over what other churches do.I have some say here in a harvest Bible chapel.We're not putting on a show.We buy our heads as the worship team makes their way back up.Father in heaven, we bow before you as people who live in a culturebombarded by entertainment.Bombarded by churches trying to win people through goofy stuff.Father, your word is so clear on that in this passage.That your Gospel doesn't need help.It's just He's proclaimed.Father, I'm sorry for all the times that I thought it was about me.I'm sorry God for all the times that I was trying to factor in some element of creativityor something to really wow people and your Gospel doesn't need that.My efforts will just replace the pure, simple, clear message of the crucified Christ.Father, I pray for all of us that we would have the discernment that only comes from your spirit.That as we are evaluating where we are worshiping and how we are worshiping,we're evaluating the methods that you've laid out in your Word.We're evaluating the mission that you've laid out in your Word.We're evaluating the message that you've given us, Father.Give us discernment.We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast! We're continuing in our series True Religion: The Book of James—a powerful look at what genuine faith looks like in everyday life. This weekend's message, “Watch Your Mouth,” from James 3:1–12, reminds us just how much our words matter. Pastor Tommy Creutz teaches that our tongues hold incredible power—they can build up or destroy, bring healing or harm, reveal faith or foolishness. Let's listen together and ask the Lord to help us use our words to honor Him and reflect hearts transformed by His grace. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Tommy Creutz Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. We're in the series True Religion from the Book of James. This weekend, Pastor Jeff Bucknam opens to James 2:14-26 in our series True Religion: The Book of James with a message titled “Alone, But Not Alone.” James 2:14–26 reminds us that while we are saved by grace through faith alone, true faith is never alone. We are not made right with God by our works, but genuine faith produces visible fruit. As you watch and listen, pray for a fresh reminder of the power of the Gospel and its transforming work in our lives. May we utterly changed by who God is and what He has done for us in Christ Jesus!  Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Introduction: Philippians 2:3-7 – Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 3 Reasons I Want to Fight for Unity (1 Corinthians 1:10-17) Because I Am RESPONSIBLE for the Church's REPUTATION. (1 Cor 1:11) John 13:35 – By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 17:20–21 – I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Because FIGHTING is FOOLISH. (1 Cor 1:12–13) Because DISUNITY DISTRACTS from the Mission. (1 Cor 1:14–17) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 1:10-17What was your big take-away from this passage / message?What are some specific doctrines church members must agree on (1 Cor 1:10)? What are some doctrines that are okay to not all agree on? What makes the difference?What are some ways people overly attach themselves to certain preachers today (1 Cor 1:12)? Why do you think many Christians do this?Why was Paul thankful that he didn't baptize the Corinthians (1 Cor 1:14)? Is Paul saying baptism isn't important? Why or why not?How exactly do “words of eloquent wisdom” end up “emptying the cross of its power” (1 Cor 1:17)? What does this say about how we should evaluate a sermon?BreakoutPray for one another. Pray for unity at HBC among elders, staff, ministry leaders, and members. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Open up those Bibles.The first Corinthians in chapter 1.But as we turn to God's Word, I'm going to ask,we just pause for a second and please pray for meto faithfully communicate what God has said in His Word,and I will pray for you to have a heart open to receivewhat it is that the Lord wants to teach us from His Word today.Alright, let's pray.Father, just now we're turning to Your Word,and I pray that our minds and hearts would be just so focusedon what You said,and that we are eager to obey what it is You've laid out for usin Your Word.We pray in Jesus' name.And all of God's people said,"Amen."The first Corinthians, chapter 1.You know, every so often at harvest Bible chapel,we do a Q&A day where we take questions from the congregationand answer them,and I think it was the last Q&A day.We had a very - a question that kind of threw me for a loop.I was wondering who asked it and why.But the question was, do the leaders of the church like each other?Well, you know, we're working on seeking the Lordon building a church building on a piece of propertyup in New Sewickley.And there is wind of opposition to building,which probably means building is of the Lord,because that's what happens, right?Read the book of Nehemiah.But in our staff meeting,in my office around the conference tables,we were in a staff meeting,and our children's director, Missy Howes,I got permission to tell this story, by the way.But our children's director was telling us aboutone of the individuals who is sort of against us buildinga building on that property.And then Missy capped off her updateby turning to Pastor Rich,and she said, "Yeah, she's really going after you people."And I said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.You people."I said, "Well, at what point, Melissa,did you go from staff memberof the biggest demographic of our churchto now it's you people?"And we have been laughing about that ever since.And if you know Missy, it's even funnier.But how quickly some people actually seriouslydetached themselves from the church?How quickly people detach themselves,and they don't see themselves as part of the body,don't see themselves as wanting what's actually bestfor the body as a whole.How many people show of handshave ever been involved in a churchwhere there's been fighting?Raise your hand.All right?How many people have ever been involved in a churchwhere there was a split?Raise your hand.Way too many of you.All right? Way too many.But listen, it's nothing new.It's been happening from the very beginning of the church.And it just seems common nowbecause there's more churchesand there's easier ways to communicate in our day.But it happens.Fighting and divisions in the churchis unfortunately one of the sinsthat the church has been dealing with since day one.Last week as we started 1 Corinthians,the Apostle Paul told the Corinthian church,look, the foundation for unityhas to be in knowing your salvation.That has to be the foundation.You have to know the grace of Godby which you're saved.You have to know that He has gifted you to serve.You have to know that you are guiltlessin the day of Christ Jesus.He will sustain you.That's how Paul starts the letter.In Jesus Christ.Now, act like it.And that's the theme of the whole book of 1 Corinthians.You know, the Corinthian church,they had a lot of problems.Have you read this book?They had a lot of problems.They had a lot of problems concerning sexualityand marriage and libertyand worship and spiritual giftsand the resurrection of Jesusand money.And Paul wrote this book.He wrote them this letter to correcttheir sinful problems.But you know,Paul must have thoughtthat their biggest problemwas disunity.The fighting.Because this is what he addresses firstin the letter.Look at verse 10.And really, verse 10 could have beenthe only thing he wrote in the whole book.And this is like the point.He says, "I appeal to you brothersby the name of our Lord Jesus Christthat all of you agreeand that there be no divisions among youbut that you be united in the same mindand the same judgment."Now, verse 10 obviously flows from verse 9.And verse 9, he tells the church that they,by extension, we are called into the fellowshipof His Son.And that's a foundation herefor the Corinthian church and for Harvest Bible Chapel.This is not my church.This is not Pastor Taylor's church.Corinth was not Paul's churchor Apollos' church.Harvest Bible Chapel,it's not your church.Whose church is it?It's God's church.And you're like, "Man Pastor Jeff,if only there was a way that you could remind us of thaton the regular."What do you think this is?Do you know what this is?It's an arrow.That's all it is.It's a fancy arrow.But that's, people ask me,"What's this symbol mean?"It's just an arrow.And this is to remind us why we're here.We're here for God.We're here to exalt His Son.We're here to proclaim His Word.That's all that is.It's a constant reminder.It's not about me.It's about Him.So Paul says he's appealing that what?He says that all of you agree.Like, "All right, agree."Agree on what?Agree on politics.Agree on who is the best football team.Agree on who makes the best pizza.What are we agreeing on?Well, there's two things, church,that we have to absolutely agree on.And number one is doctrine.We should all agree on what we believe.Now listen, we might have different viewson things like an eschatological timelineor the doctrine of election or whatever, whatever.But on the major points of doctrine, we must agree.If you're like, "I'm not sure if I should agree on thisor if I should fight about this."Well, there's things that there are hills to die on.Things like the authority of God's Word.That's something we should all agree on.Things like the person and work of Jesus Christ.We should all agree on that.He is God who became man, who died to take away sin,who rose from the dead to give eternal life,who is coming again.We should all agree on that.Speaking of, we should all agree on salvation.How does somebody get saved?It's through faith in Jesus Christ.It's receiving the gift of eternal lifethat God has given through Jesus.We should all agree on that.All the stuff we talked about last week,we should all agree that is how a person gets saved.We should all agree on the mission of the church.We're not here to scratch itchy ears.We're not here to make a nice social club.We are here to make disciples.Those are things we should agree on.And that's what Paul goes on to say,that there will be no divisions among you.Literally, divisions in the Greekcan be translated no difference of opinion.Paul says, you should not have a difference of opinion.We should all have the same opinion.And you're like, what? Jeff, yours?No.We should all have God's opinion.See, that should be the mindset of this church.It's like, well, what do you think about abortion?What does God think about abortion?What do you think about marriage?What does God think about marriage?That should be our opinion too.What do you think about work?What does God say about work?What should share His opinion?What do you think about parenting?You got any opinions about parenting?Yeah, I do got opinions about parenting.It's God's opinion about parenting.What does the Bible say?We should all be agreeing on doctrine.And another thing we should all be agreeing on is submission.Look at verse 10.He says that you be united in the same mindand the same judgments.You see, doctrine speaks to what we believe.Submission speaks to how we act.In other words, unity - listen, unity will occur naturallywhen we agree on doctrine and live in submission to one another.Now, I hesitated to even bark up this treebut I felt like we had tobecause this could be a whole other sermon series.But look at what Paul told the Philippian church.What is the attitude that we're supposed to have,this attitude of submissionthat's going to result in unity?He tells the Philippians,he says, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.Each of you look not only to his own interestsbut also to the interests of others.Have this mind among yourselveswhich is yours in Christ Jesus.Though he was in the form of God,did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped.He got emptied himself by taking the form of a servantbeing born in the likeness of man."That's saying a lot.There's a couple of things I want to highlight from that.Regarding submission that unifies us,unity is destroyed when we start thinking,"It's all about me.My ideas are the best.My ideas are the smartest.Everyone should do what I want in the churchand the church will be good."He says, "Each of us, we have to humble ourselvesthat we consider others more important than you.That you walk in the doors and you're like,"Everybody here is more important than me."Unity comes when we all share that mindset.How do we do that?Well, he tells us in Philippians,"We have to have the mind of Christ."He says a lot like I said.We've preached on this a couple of times in past time.Look at that next to last statement.That's the one that really jumps out to me.Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, took the form of a servant.This is where the attitude of submission comes.When you walk in the doors, not to say,"Okay, things need to happen my way.I'm going to set everything straight.You need to walk in the doors and say,"I'm here to serve.I'm a servant."If God was willing to make Himself a servant,as an example, I should have the same mindset, right?So are you?Are you a servant?Well, we'll know when somebody treats you like one,whether you are or not.We'll know when you don't get your own wayif you really see yourself as a servant.Really, Paul could have stopped it.Verse 10 says so much here in 1 Corinthians 1.He could have stopped there.But he goes on to lay out three reasons whywe should each do our part for unity.So on your outline, I want you to jot some things down.Three reasons I want to fight for unity.Like, you want to fight about something?You want to fight? Okay.Let's fight for unity.Let's fight for that.You're like, "Well, why do I want to do that?"Well, Paul tells us, number one,because I am responsible for the church's reputation.Because I am responsible for the church's reputation.Look at verse 11.He says, "For it has been reported to me by Chloe's peoplethat there is quarreling among you, my brothers."There are Chloe's people.Do you know what we call them today?Whistleblowers. Right?Do you know what we called them when I was a kid?Do you know what we called whistleblowers when I was a kid?A "nark."How many people remember "nark"?Okay, somebody tattles to the teacher on you."You nark."They weren't getting. They weren't being narks.They weren't being narks. No.I don't know who Chloe's people are.The Bible doesn't really tell us.But here's what we do know.They were so concerned over the fighting that was happening in the churchthat they had to get a message to Paul.And it would have been a lot harder in that day.They couldn't have just posted something on Instaor sent Paul a text. Right?So Chloe's people were concerned.And Paul's like, "This is the reputation that's getting back to me."Chloe's people says, "All you do is fight."Not good.I heard a commercial just the other dayfor a product that I didn't even know existed.It's called the Reputation Defender.How many people have heard of the Reputation Defender?Okay, Randy. Okay, me and Randy.Okay, so only a few of us heard that commercial.All right? The Reputation Defender.Do you know what this is? I had to look it up online.I was so intrigued by the commercial, Randy.I had to look it up online.Since 2006, a leader in online reputation management.What they do is they - and again, this is from their website -they fix online search results and remove personal information.Meaning, if there's bad stuff about you on the Internet, they erase it.If somebody, you know, whether you're applying for a jobor you just want to sort of clean up your reputation,it's just, whoop, it's erased from the Internet.It's gone. Like, that part of you no longer exists.It's just, whoop, gone.And I heard that commercial.And I'm like, man, I wish we had this for other things.You know what I mean?You know what I mean? Like, I do something stupid at homeand I upset Aaron.I wish that I could just be like, whoop, gone.Or, have you ever been like at a partyand you meet somebody and you say something really awkwardand stupid and you're like, why did I say that?Wouldn't it be nice to just be like, whoop, now nobody remembers that?Right?Or you got ejected from the church softball gamebecause you lost your temper.Whoop.Well, you know, there is no such service for the church.I think with the church more than probably just about any organization on the planet,the reputation sticks.For better or for worse, the reputation sticks.And if you're like, well, I really don't care what people think about me.Okay, do you care what people think about Jesus?Because this unity doesn't just affect the church's reputation.It reflects on Jesus himself.Look at John 13.35 here. We're going to have it on the screen.Jesus said, by this all people will know that you are my disciplesif you have love for one another.Now, you know what I want to think Jesus said here?My mind wants to make it say that Jesus was like,the world is going to know that you love the worldby the way that you love the world.That's not what he said.He said the world is going to know that we are disciples of Jesus,not by how we love them,but by how we love each other.Our reputation for unity, according to our Lord,confirms our discipleship to the world,and it also directly affects our witness.Jesus, again, you jump over to John 17.Jesus praying specifically for us, for Harvest Bible Chapel.You see it right here. Jesus is praying.I do not ask for these only,but also for those who will believe in me through their Word.That's us.We believe through the Word.He says that they may all be one,just as you, Father, are in me and I and you,that they also may be in us.Why does Jesus want us to be one?Here's a reason.He says so that the world may believe that you have sent me.Our witness church is directly affected by our oneness.I mean, that just makes sense, doesn't it?I mean, it just follows.I mean, if you're talking to your neighbor about churchand you say things like,"Well, you know what at Harvest Bible Chapel,our worship leader can't stand our children's director."I mean, our children's director is constantly throwing fire at staff meetings,and the worship leader just has had enough.And then you tell your neighbor,"Oh, he is way too aggressive with people."And you're like, "Well, how's the youth group?"And they say, "How's the youth group?"You're like, "Well, youth group is nice, but you know what those youth group moms,all they do is fight."That's all they do.They're just constantly fighting and arguing and bickering about everything.And then you turn to your neighbor and say,"Hey, would you like to come to our church sometime?"And they're like,"Not a chance.Why would I want to walk into that circus?"Our witness is affected by our reputation.Jesus prayed that we would be one.He died so that we would be one.So our reputation that we should have is that we are one.So, nix the clicks.Alright?Nix the clicks.Why?Because you're responsible for our reputation.You're responsible for our reputation.Number two, why I want to fight for unity?Why I want to nix the clicks?Number two, because fighting is foolish.Fighting is foolish.Look at verses 12 and 13.Paul is calling them out on their foolish immaturity.He says, "What I mean is that each one of you says,'I follow Paul,' or 'I follow Apollos,' or 'I follow Cephas,'that's Peter, or 'I follow Christ.'"Is Christ divided?Was Paul crucified for you?Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?See what he's doing?He's pointing out how stupid this is.Why are you fighting about this stuff?Verse 12, he says, "Each one of you,each one of you, you should have that underlined."Why?Because when there's this unity, who do we blame?Everybody else, right?Paul's like, "This is not an everybody else problem.This is a you problem."Stop blaming everybody else.What are you doing for unity at the church?And you see, they were boasting about which ministerthey identified with.Some people were like, "I follow Paul."I mean, Paul was pretty great, huh?Like, what an awesome missionary, right?Apostle to the Gentiles and endured so much hardshipand was so faithful in his ministry.And it's easy to see why there were people that loved Paul.But some maybe overly attached to him, right?But then you have the people that were like, "Paul, okay."Paul's okay.But you know who really is the best minister is Apollos.Apollos was known for his eloquence.Apollos was a fantastic speaker.We learned about that in the book of Acts.And I'm sure that there were people here that were like,"You know what? Paul might have good theology,but there ain't nobody that preaches a sermonas beautifully as Apollos.He is the best preacher I've ever heard."And then you had people that are like,"You both are whack."Paul?Apollos?No, no, no, no, no, no.Cephas.That's Peter, right?Like, how can we even be arguing about this?Peter!OG!Peter!Right?Like, he wasn't just like one of the disciples.He was like one of Jesus' besties.And he was there for all of it.And he had some ups and downs.And look at what, look at like Pentecost.And Peter is the man.And then you had people that just had the Jesus Duke, everybody,that are like, "Oh, you like human ministers?"Well, I follow Christ.Doesn't that just sound so pious?I follow Christ.You see what the Corinthian church was doing?It was the adult version, the church version,of, "My dad can beat up your dad."Right?It's, "My pastor cannot preach your pastor."Aren't all four of these men preaching the same gospel?Oh, by the way, the last group there, I follow Christ.You're like, "Wait, wait, wait.Isn't that who we want to follow?"Yes.Jesus.Obviously.But somehow they turned even thatinto an occasion for fighting.And you're like, "Well, how in the world could somebody pull that off?"Well, people still do it today.People still do that today.Like, what do you mean?You heard these people that are like,"Oh, I don't need to go to churchbecause I have a relationship with Jesus.So I don't need church."You can't defend that biblically.There is no such thing as a Christian detached from a church body.There is no such thing.Several years ago, there was the whole short-lived15 minutes of fame of the whole,"I love Jesus but hate the church."You remember that?"I love Jesus but I hate the church."Doesn't that just sound so pious?It sounds so obnoxious."I love Jesus but I hate the church."Bad idea.You know what the church is?The church is the bride of Christ.And if you came to me and you said,"I love you, Pastor Jeff, but I hate your wife,"we're going to have some problems.I think that's what was going on here.That there were people that were like,"Oh, I don't need churches and preachersbecause I have Jesus."And look, there are some things,as we said earlier, that are worth fighting for.There are some things I will fight to the death for.Things like preaching the Word of God.Things like biblical music.Things like confronting unrepentant sin.Those are the things that the church should be fighting for.But sadly, when there's fighting in the church,those aren't usually the kinds of thingsthat people are fighting over.Honestly, church, we find weird things to divide over,just like the Corinthians.We just come up with all kinds of stupid things to fight about.You want to hear some examples of some of the stupidest things?I don't have time to give all of them.But over the years, I've heard so many stupid thingsthat people fight about.Here's one.I had a friend that attended a church.And I'm like, "Hey, how things are going at your church?"And he goes, "Oh, Jeff, we're really in a bad spot right now.Everybody's fighting."Like, what's the problem?People are really upset with each otherand people are not talking to each other.And it's gotten really ugly.I'm like, "What are we fighting about at this church?"He says, "Well, when you walk in the entryway,there's a bulletin board.And they're fighting about how to divide it up among the ministries.Because the Sunday school thought they were getting all of it,and they were told they can get half,and they wanted to divide it this way.But no, no, no, the mission department wanted to divide it this way, blah, blah, blah."And he goes, "It is nasty."I'm like, "Are you serious?"He's like, "Yeah."He goes, "What do you think we should do?"I said, "I think you should rip that bulletin board off the walland throw it in the garbage.That's what I think you should do."He's like, "Well, that's evangelism."I said, "No, it's not.The only people are seeing itare the people who are walking in the door."I said, "If it's causing that much division, trash it."Isn't that dumb?Here's another one.My old church, there was a familythat had four daughters at the timethey were early adolescents to teenage years.And there were people at the churchthat were upset with this family.They said, "Those girls are a clique.Those girls are a clique.Those girls are sisters."And now we're demonizing thembecause they like each other?There were people angry at thembecause they got along.Isn't that stupid?This might be the stupidestthat I have a pastor friend.He was a pastor for a church up in Canada.Every Christmas they had a tradition.Like, for years,at the end of the Christmas service,this is true, and I can't say without laughing,but this is true,at the end of the Christmas service every year,they sang "Feliz Navidad."You know that horrible song?You know the one I'm talking about?"Feliz Navidad.""Feliz Navidad."Oh, that's so cringe.Well, this new pastor cameand he's like, "You know what?There's not really spiritual contentin that song,and let's really focus our attentionof worship towards, I don't know, Jesus."So let's not sing that song this year.It caused a church split.And my pastor friend said,"I've never seen people so angry."Over one of the worst songs ever written.Isn't that dumb?We find such weird things to divide over.That was the Corinthians.They had their dumb thing too.He was the best preacher.That's why in verse 13,Paul gives some questions that we can unify here, right?Because these questions require us allto give the same answer.Right? Let's try it.Let's see if we get the same answer.Question number one.I'm going to ask the question,you shout out the answer.Is Christ divided?No. Obviously not, right?Christ is not divided.Alright, question two.And now they get harder.Was Paul crucified for you?No.Alright, final question.Were you baptized in the name of Paul?No.Meatballs.Alright, look.I want you to hear me very closely here.There is nothing wrong with having a favorite preacher.I do.There's a preacher who's podcast I listen to all the time.There is nothing wrong with that.Okay? We clear on that.There's nothing wrong with that.I encourage you to do that.But can we at the same time admitthat some people get strangely attachedto preachers and messengers?Like go back a generation to the Bill Gawthard people.Look, I used to go to Bill Gawthard conferences all the time.And you know what I saw there?There were people that were very strangely attached to him.They were like the "I follow Apollo's" people.Alright?And there were people that are like that with John Piper.There were people that are like that with Jack Hibbs.That we attach to these people so much so that we saythe gospel isn't the gospel unless you gospel their way.And when we do that,we're just as foolish as the Corinthians.So these men that you're attached to on what basis are you attached?Right? Paul would say,"Was Jack Hibbs crucified for you?"Were you baptized in the name of John Piper?No.Our union is in Jesus and with Jesus.So Nick's the Clicks.Paul shows us fighting is foolish.Fighting is foolish.And finally, number three.Why do I want to fight for unity?Because this unity distracts from the mission.This unity distracts from the mission.Look at verse 14.Paul says,"I thank God that I baptize none of you,except Christmas and Gaius,so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name."I did baptize also the household of Staphanos.Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.Listen, Paul is not diminishing baptism.Paul's not saying baptism isn't important.This is all Paul is saying.Corinthians, if you're going to fight about this stuff,I am so glad I didn't baptize more of you.If you're going to act like childrenbecause of who baptized you,I'll thank you God that I didn't baptize more of you.In verse 17, he says,"For Christ did not send me to baptizeto preach the gospel and not with words of eloquent wisdom,lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."Paul is saying, "I was sent to preach to make men one in Christ,not baptize to make teams."When you praise the messenger,you miss the message.When you praise the missionary,you miss the mission.And harvest Satan would want anything,anything to distract us from the mission of making disciples.Nothing's changed.Read the book of Acts.In the book of Acts, the church is born.Satan tried to destroy the church from the outsidethrough Acts chapter 4.From the outside attacks.What happened to the churchwhen Satan tried to attack from the outside?What happened?It got bigger and stronger.Kind of like the Charlie Kirk thing that happened recently.The outside attack resulted in getting bigger and stronger.But do you know Acts chapter 5, Acts chapter 6,Satan changes his strategy.Instead of attacking the church from the outside,he attacks the church from the inside,and he found out to be so much more effectiveto distract the church from the mission.And Satan will do that to us.You see, if Satan can get us dividedand fighting with each other,then we're distracted from doing what we're supposed to be doing.The gospel of Jesus Christhas to be the core of everything that we do here.It has to be the cause of everything that we do here.It has to be the motivation of everything that this church does.A pure focus on a pure gospel.Not with words of eloquent wisdom.In other words, we're not sugarcoating it.We're not dressing it up.We're not making it a performance.The power is in the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.So next the clicks.Why?Because disunity distracts from the mission.Our worship team will make their way forward.I'd like you to just buy your heads for a moment.Excuse me.I'd like you to just buy your heads.As we said at the onset,when there's any kind of disunity,when there's any kind of fighting,it's so easy to blame the other guy.God's Word tells us that we need to look at ourselves first.I just want you to buy your heads.I just want you to do a little self-examination.I want you to consider your role in this church,your interactions with people in this church.And I want you to ask yourself,am I an agent of unity or disunity in this church?Am I trying to bring people together?Or am I dividing people?Oh, another question that goes with that.Ask yourself this.If everyone in the church acted like I do,what kind of church would this be?And then finally ask yourself this.Am I committed to the pure doctrine of the gospeland submission to our Lord and to one another?Or have I really made lesser things my focus?Father in heaven,you have called us to unity.Father, it's real easy for us to sit in this roomand sort of laugh at the foolishnessthat was happening in the Corinthian church,bragging about which preacher is the best.It just seems so silly to us,but Father, we fight about thingsthat are much more silly than that.Father, I just pray for the unity in this church.We believe, Father, that Christ died to make us one.And I pray, Father, that we would do everything we canon our part to strive for unity in the body of Christ.Father, if there's any complaining,negative, divisive attitude within any of us,Father, I pray that you would grant repentanceand bring us to the place that we care moreabout your reputation and the ministryto reach the lost and to build up the saved.I pray that we would be so focusedon what you've called us to,that we're not distracted with personal preferences.So thank you, God.Thank you, God, for what you've clearly laid outfor us in your Word.Have us faithful to do it, Father.We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. We're in the series True Religion from the Book of James. This weekend, Pastor Christian Constante continues our series True Religion: The Book of James with a message titled “The Inconsistency of Partiality” from James 2:1–13. Faith in Jesus leaves no room for favoritism. James challenges us to examine how we view and treat others—reminding us that showing partiality contradicts the very heart of the gospel. True faith looks beyond appearance, status, or influence and honors people the way God does. As you watch and listen, ask the Lord to align your heart with His kingdom priorities. May we be a people who extend mercy, reflect His character, and live as those judged by the law of liberty…where mercy triumphs over judgment. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Introduction: Know Your Salvation (1 Corinthians 1:1-9) GRACE. (v4) Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. GIFTED. (v5-7a) Ephesians 6:19 – also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel... GUILTLESS. (v7b-9) 2 Corinthians 5:21 – For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 1:1-9What was your big take-away from this passage / message?If the Bible is so clear that we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8), why do so many people insist on earning your salvation or hold the idea that good people go to heaven?Explain 1 Cor 1:5 in your own words. How does this apply to your personal walk with Christ?What does 1 Cor 1:8 say about the doctrine of eternal security (once saved, always saved)?Why do you think Paul starts this letter by calling them sanctified (1 Cor 1:2) and reminding them of their salvation (1 Cor 1:4-6)? BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Today is our ministry year kickoff and that also means that today is our anniversary.So today we are celebrating 14 years of Harvest Bible Chapel and we're like alot of 14 year olds. We've come a long way but we have a long way to go.Right? What kind of church is this? We sit on four pillars we have from thebeginning. We've proclaimed the authority of God's Word without apology. That'swhat kind of church this is. We lift high the name of Jesus in worship. That'swhat kind of church this is. We believe firmly in the power of prayer. That's whatkind of church this is. And we share the good news of Jesus with boldness. Thoseare the four pillars this church was resting on when it was planted by God'sgrace. Those are the four pillars today. It may it always be. So I want you to openup your Bibles to 1 Corinthians and we're just going to pause. I want you to justplease pray for me to be faithful to communicate God's Word and I will prayfor you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach ustoday. Alright? Let's just take a moment.Father in heaven as we get into your Word now I pray that your Spiritwould work with your Word in the hearts of every person here. In the hearts ofevery person that is streaming or going to be listening to this podcast later.Father thanks to the technologies we have in our day. This goes out to somany people all over the planet and we thank you that you've given usopportunity and we want to use that opportunity to exalt your Word, to exaltyour Son. Father has to start right here.Father incline our hearts towards nothing but your glory. We pray in Jesus' name.All of God's people said amen. Amen. A couple of decades ago Aaron and I weredoing foster care and for about a year and a half we had a brother and sister.They were five and seven and it was at the time it was the worst case of childabuse in Butler County. I don't know if that's still the case but it was at thetime. But the five-year-old boy was pretty broken when he came to us. Hecouldn't even talk really and we tried our hardest to give them somesemblance of a normal childhood. You know? Well one of the things that we did tothat end was we signed our five-year-old, his name is Walter. We signed him up forsoccer and I played soccer in high school and in college so I was asked tohelp coach the team. Now anybody ever coach five-year-olds in soccer? It's areal hoot because coaches have to be on the field with the kids. Okay, not on theside shouting instructions. "Will, you're standing on the field with the kids andyou have to run." And did you ever see five-year-olds play soccer? Okay, it's notlike World Cup where they're all like spread out and passing. It's just thiswave of kids chasing the ball. Well we were really trying to get really tryingto get Walter to embrace this, right? It was a big part of my childhood. Justwasn't clicking. The kids would run by with the ball. We're like, "Walter, get theball! Get the ball!" And Walter would run a couple of steps and he'd go, "They're toofast." Like, "Walter, no, come on, come on, get the ball! They're too fast." And then hewould get increasingly frustrated. Walter's big insult for people was tocall them naked. So the kids would run by, I'm like, "Walter, get the ball!" He goes,"They're naked! They're naked! They're naked!" And I'm like, "Actually, they'reclothed, but we need you to hustle, right?" And I don't know if this is greatparenting or not. Probably not. But at one point, Aaron and I offered Walter 25cents for every time he even touched the ball. We paid up zero. Well the othercoach, she was the mom of the goalie. Before the first game, she pulled measide. She goes, "I just want to warn you. I can't remember her son's name. We'll callhim Joey." She goes, "I just want to warn you." She goes, "Joey doesn't like gettingscored on." I'm like, "Well, that makes sense." She goes, "No, he really, reallyoverreacts." Like, well, good to know. Well, sure enough, we got scored on. To saythat the kid lost his mind as an understatement, he started ripping hisclothes like trying to rip his jersey off. And it was this scene. It was likehe was turning into the Hulk. And I'm watching this. I'm like, "Oh, man, what isgoing on here?" And then all of a sudden, I realized, "Wait a minute. Where didWalter go?" All of a sudden, I lost the foster kid. You don't want to tell theagency that. I'm like, "Where did he go? Where is he? Where?" Then I looked down.Walter is celebrating with the other team. Hugs and high fives and...This unity on the soccer team, it was funny. But you know, when there's thisunity in the church, it's not so funny. Let's be honest, we're a lot like thosekids in the soccer team sometimes, aren't we? Irrationally losing our minds overstupid things, calling people names, not wanting to participate. That's the themeof this first stretch in 1 Corinthians. You're gonna be hearing this a lot,because it's important to the heart of God, so it's important to the heart ofthe leaders in this church. Get unified. Church, we need to get unified.1 Corinthians was written to the church in Corinth, and you have tounderstand a little bit about their background. The city of Corinth wascorrupt. Like, how corrupt were they? They were so corrupt that the city's veryname became synonymous with immorality.They were known for their temple to the false goddess Aphrodite, the goddess oflove, and they had about a thousand priestesses who served as prostitutes.So you can imagine what passed for worship in Corinth.Well, it's in that backdrop that the Apostle Paul planted a church. You can readabout this, little homework assignment for you. Acts chapter 18. Go home and read it.Not right now, but go home and read it, and you'll see how the church was planted.So you have this church planted in this horrible city, and the church, the churchitself, was absolutely perfect. They just had two problems. Bad doctrine and badbehavior. Other than that, they were perfect. What the Corinthian church neededwas unity and purity. Look at chapter 1 verse 1. Paul called by the will of Godto be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother Sostenes to the church of Godthat is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saintstogether with all those who in every place call upon the name of our LordJesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. Grace to you in peace from God, ourFather, and the Lord Jesus Christ. This church had a lot of problems, and we'regoing to be getting into that. And if you're familiar with God's word at all,you know. And it's so interesting to me that Paul starts this letter saying, hey,you Christians, those of you in Christ Jesus, you are sanctified. That word meansholy, I mean set apart. And then he goes, he calls them saints. Again, the wordmeans holy. Saint is a name for all true Christians, by the way. And when you lookat this little introduction, you're like, wow, Paul, that's quite a thing to saywhen you consider the rest of the book. And we're going to see as we go throughthis, but these Christians were worldly, and they were divisive, and there wassexual sin, and the list goes on and on and on. They were just, they were somessed up in so many ways. And why in the world would Paul kick this letter up bysaying you sanctified saints you? Like, why would he start that way?What, was it to butter them up? Like, I'm about to lay the hammer down, so I'm justgoing to make you feel good on the front. That wasn't it. Was Paul justignoring all their problems? Like, maybe if I don't mention it, they'll go away.No, that's certainly not it. So why did he start by calling them sanctifiedsaints? Why? Because it was true. Wait, wait, wait. How can they be holy and stillstruggle with being holy? Well, biblically, when we talk about holiness,holiness is two things. There's positional holiness, and there is practicalholiness. Positional holiness is when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord andSavior, when you believe in Him, when you are born again, God pronounces you holy.In God's eyes, He's looking at you through the lens of Jesus Christ, and from God'sperspective, He says you are perfectly holy. We're going to talk more about thatin just a couple of minutes. So while we are positionally holy, practicalholiness, that is the growing, living like Christ, growing in Christ'slikeness, doing the things that honor the Lord, growing in maturity as a Christian.Put it this way, the Christian life is growing to be what God already pronouncedyou to be. That's what the Christian life is. It's growing to be what Godalready pronounced you to be. It's like joining the army. When you enlist in thearmy, as soon as you enlist, you are a soldier. So why go to boot camp? Why doyou go to boot camp? So they make you a soldier. You're like, "Wait, I thought Ialready was." You are. That's what the army does. They're making you what they'vecalled you to be. That's what God does in holiness. He's pronounced you holy andJesus, and your sanctification, your growth, your maturity. He is making you whatHe's already pronounced you to be. So now do you understand why Paul started theletter this way? Paul says, "Granthians, this is who you are. This is your identity.You are holy people." So we're going to get to this down the road. Paul's saying,"If you're holy, why are you acting unholy? Sin is inconsistent with who youare." So if we, Corinthian church, if we harvest Bible chapel, if we are going tobe unified and purified, it has to start here. You have to know your salvation.That's where Paul starts. So on your outline, I want you to draw three wordsdown. Know your salvation. Now this passage we're looking at today says somuch in just a few short verses. It says so much about salvation. The Bibleitself says so much about salvation, but you're going to see here in this passageknowing salvation is really knowing three G's. Your cell phone might needfive G's, God only needs three. Know your salvation. Three G's, it's allstraight from the text. Here's what you have to know about your salvation.If you're going to grow in unity and purity, here's what you have to knowabout your salvation. Number one, write this word down. Grace.Look at verse 4. "I give thanks to my God always for you, because of the grace ofGod that was given you in Christ Jesus." And I get to tell you as a pastor, I lovethat. He says, "I give thanks for you." Again, the church had so many issues thatPaul needed to deal with, but notice he didn't see them for where they are. Hesaw them for who they are. It's like, "I give thanks for you." Why? They were given.Actually, that word in the Greek refers to being given something at a moment oftime in the past. You know, I'm thankful for you because at one point in your past,you were given one of the most beautiful words in the whole Bible. The word isgrace. You were given grace. You know, that's a word that we throw around a lotin church. Sometimes we don't wrestle down what exactly it means.You look up a theology textbook, grace is unmerited favor. It is undeservedkindness. But you know, the best definition of grace I've ever heard isthis, grace is God giving to you what He requires from you. That's grace. Godgiving to you what He requires from you. What does God require from you?Holiness, righteousness, perfection. God requires that. We don't have it. Grace isGod giving that to us in Jesus Christ. Sometimes we mix up grace with otherconcepts in the Bible like long suffering and mercy and things like that. Myfavorite illustration, some of you have heard this before. You're going to hear itagain. It helps me to really understand what grace is, is this. Imagine that youhave a teenage son. Some of you do and some of you did. Some of you will andsome of you can use your imaginations. But imagine you have a teenage son andyour teenage son goes to a party. And at this party there's another boy, same ageas your son, who hates your son. Something stupid probably, a girl andmurders your son. Cold-blooded murder, unprovoked murder. This other kidmurders your son. Now, if you track that kid down that murders your son, if youtrack him down and you kill him, that is called vengeance. But if you track himdown and you help the law, you help the police get him arrested, that's calledjustice. But if you track him down, help the police get him arrested and you showup at his court date and somehow, somehow, you're able to convince the judge tojust let him go. Like just let him go. That's called mercy. But you help thepolice track him down, arrest him and you show up at his court date and somehow,somehow, you convince the judge to allow you to adopt that kid as your own andraise him as your own son. That's called grace. And understand that's what God hasdone for us in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have sinned against him and wekilled his son. And what's God's response to that? God's response is, "I want toadopt you." That is grace. The Bible tells us, Ephesians chapter 2, "For by grace youhave been saved through faith." By grace we have been saved, we've been adopted, we'vebeen regenerated, we've been sanctified. It's all grace. Grace isn't withheldbecause of our sin. God is able to be gracious to us because Jesus Christ tookaway our sin. Our part is faith. That's our part. Faith is believing in Jesus.It's believing Jesus is who he said he is. He is God in the flesh. It's believingthat Jesus accomplished what he said he would accomplish. That his death on thecross was to pay the penalty for my sin and for your sin. He rose from the dead togive us eternal life. It's believing that. It's receiving that. Our part is faith.God has done all the work in Christ. That's His grace.Now, this is so fundamental.But at the same time, it's so hard to believe. It's so hard to believe becauseevery single area of our lives are performance-based. Every single one. Right?My boss is happy with me when I perform. My teacher at school is happy with me whenI perform. My family is happy with me when I perform. Every area of life it's justI gotta do stuff to make somebody happy and we bring that thinking into thechurch. Like what do I have to do to make God happy? This is salvation is notbased on your performance. It's based on Jesus Christ's performance.So as we start this stretch, as Paul starts this stretch in 1 Corinthianstelling the Corinthian church, telling Harvest Bible Chapel today, get unified.You have to know your salvation and you have to understand grace because it'sonly when you understand this that you take the first step to unity. What doesthis have to do with unity? Grace puts us all on the same level.We don't have time to do this but I'd sure like to. I'd like to get everyChristian to line up here like we do for communion. We will be doing that. I'dlike to get every Christian line up here. Just have testimony time. How were yousaved? By grace? Not because you were special or you worked for it? Oh that'sawesome, me too. Next. How were you saved? Oh by grace? Not because you were specialor did anything to earn it? Oh me too. Next. Do you see what that does?None of us deserve to be saved. None of us. None of us are any better thananother.We're not going to get unified until we come to grips with that. We're all onthe same level. We all, in Christ, are recipients of grace.It's the first thing you need to know about salvation. The second one, number two,write this word down. Gifted. Gifted.Look at verse 5 through the first part of verse 7.Paul says that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and allknowledge, even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so thatyou are not lacking in any spiritual gift.You are not lacking in any spiritual gift. You see grace speaks to the past.That's what was received. Gifted speaks to the present. You are saved to serve.Notice Paul says you are enriched. You are not lacking any gift. Jesus,Paul is telling us here, Jesus has gifted you everything that you need to serve him.You're like, well, can you be more specific? He was more specific actually.Do you notice that? What is that? Verse 5, all speech and all knowledge.These are two of the gifts that he highlights here. First of all, you weregifted with all speech. You were gifted with the ability to speak the truth.All knowledge. You were gifted with all knowledge. That doesn't mean you knoweverything. That means you know everything that you need to know pertaining to the gospel.So here's what Paul is saying. Listen, church, you have been gifted to speak and you have beengifted with knowing what to say. So the question is, how are you using that?You have the gift if you're a Christian. How are you using that?Here at this church, it can be used in teaching and preaching.All speech, all knowledge. It can be used in Harvest Academy,teaching the kids back there while we're teaching in here. It can be used in small group.It can be used in youth group, in conferences, in prayer services, in workshops, in precepts,in our witnessing.You've been given a gift. How are you using it?Because the reality is the biggest problem with most Christians is not that we don't know what to say.Our problem is just opening our mouths and saying.I hear that all the time when it comes to witnessing. Well, I don't really witness becauseI don't know what to say. If you don't know enough to share, then you probably don't know enough to be saved.Look what Paul says in Ephesians 619.He's talking about prayer. He says, "Praying also for me that words may be given to me in openingmy mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel." You see that? Paul didn't say,"Pray that I can't speak or pray that I would know what to say." He says, "I need boldness."Our fourth pillar, sharing the good news of Jesus with boldness. That's what we need to be praying for.Boldness isn't jerkiness. It's not obnoxiousness. It's just confidence in God's calling and God'sgifting. It's just confidence to say, "Look, God gave me a message and he gave me the knowledgeof what I'm supposed to say, so I'm just going to open my mouth and I'm going to say it."And again, if you know enough to be saved, then you know enough to share.Share what you know. Look at verse 6 again. I love as he says, "Even as the testimonyabout Christ was confirmed among you." What's he saying? He's saying the people of Jesus usingthe gifts of Jesus is confirmation that Jesus is at work in the church.When I was little, my dad, for Christmas one year, he wanted magnifying goggles.Because he was going to undertake this hobby of putting boats and bottles. Have you ever seenthese things where you have like a bottle and there's like a boat inside? You know what I'mtalking about? Okay, my dad was going, "I'm going to make those and I need magnifying goggles."Like I said, I was just a little kid. I'm like, "I'm going to get those for dad."Now listen, I can tell already you're not impressed. So I'm going to remind you of something.This was pre-Internet. I know right now you can get on your phone and get on Amazon's orEtsy or whatever. I don't know. But you can eBay, you can get on there and you can probably rightnow find me 500 pairs of magnifying goggles. This was pre-Internet. This was pre-smartphone.This was pre-cell phone.All right? So I'm like, "I'm going to find those for him." And you know, it took me forevermaking phone calls and going to different stores and talking to people and tracking.And do you know, I found a pair of them. I went to a jewelry repair storeand I found them and I saved my money. Those weren't cheap. I saved my money,especially for a little kid. I saved my money and I bought those magnifying goggles.I bought them for dad for Christmas. I got to tell you, I can't think of a gift that I was moreexcited to give in my life. See, one of them, I couldn't get them, but I tracked them down.And I was so, I was so proud to give dad those magnifying goggles for Christmas.Well, my father died in 2003. And you know, when somebody passes away and you start tokind of go through their stuff and figure out what to do with all that,found those magnifying goggles, still in the box, never used.And I wonder, church,when Jesus returns, how many boxes of magnifying goggles is he going to find?I wonder when Jesus returns, how many of his gifts that he gave to his people,is he going to return and find? Oh, we had them. We didn't use them.We didn't use them. You have been gifted so much. And we're going to talk about this later,the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We're going to talk about this later in 1 Corinthians.But have you been using the gifts that God gave you?Listen, if your mindset is this, you know what, Pastor Jeff, I just attend church.My spiritual gift is attendance. My spiritual gift is warming a seat. And you know, I just leavethe ministry to the professionals. I don't really have a gift. That's bad news. Because not havinga gift means you're not saved, because he tells us right here that Jesus' people are enriched in him.Paul is saying, church, you have everything you need. Everything has been gifted to you,to minister to each other, and to reach the world.So look, there's no bench warmers on this team.On this team, listen, if you're saved, you're starting.All right? Don't call the other players naked. All right? If you're saved, you're starting.Get unified. Get unified. You know, the biggest unity killer in the church is selfishness.My wants, my desires, my preferences, especially in this culture where we are right now,right here geographically where we are, this is a horrible place. Because the mindset of mostchurchgoers in this area is church is the place that I go to get. And I'm going to this churchbecause they have better coffee, and I'm going to this church because, you know, they have a zipline for their youth group, and I'm going to this church because they have fog machines and laserlights. And we have this idea that church is the place that I go to get. And that is completelyforeign to the Bible. Church is not the place you go to get. Church is the place you go to get.And anything you receive here is bonus. The mindset has to be church is the place I go to get.You're expected to. It's why you're saved, and it's why you have been gifted.Know your salvation. Three Gs, grace, gifted, one more.Guiltless.Guiltless. Pick up second part of verse seven,where he says, "As you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ."That Greek word for wait means to wait eagerly. Right? I don't have to tell you on that.There's a big difference between the way a kid is waiting to open his birthday presentsversus the way that kid's dad is waiting at the DMV. Right? This is wait eagerly. It's this idea ofanticipation like, "Oh, he's coming. He's coming. I can't wait. I cannot wait. Jesus is coming, and Icannot wait." Do you see that? What are we waiting for? He tells us the revealing of our Lord JesusChrist. I don't know if you noticed, but Jesus Christ is mocked now. He's about to show up.And he's going to make everything right. And he's going to make everything new.Are you excited for that? I sure am.In the verse eight, he says, "Who will sustain you to the end? Who will sustain you to the end?If you believe that you can lose your salvation, I want you to explain that verse to me.Will sustain you to the end?" Did you ever wonder if you're going to make it?Did you ever wonder,am I going to make it to the end? Loving Jesus, following Jesus, serving Jesus, am I going to make it?Listen, if you are legitimately born again in Christ, you will make it.On the authority of the Word of God, you are going to make it.Because you didn't work to earn your salvation, and you can't work to keep your salvation.And here very plainly, God's Word tells us that Jesus will sustain you to the end.How? That's His responsibility. He's going to get you there.You're like, okay, well maybe He's going to get me there, Pastor Jeff, but I got a lot to answer for.When I stand before God, He's going to tell me how disappointed He is in me.God's going to tell me how upset He is with me. And I've had people tell me, Pastor Jeff,you know what, when we're like in line to get to heaven, don't be standing behind me.Because God is, He's got a lot of stuff that He's going to, He's really going to let me have it.You don't want to stand behind me in line to get to heaven.Well, let's keep reading, shall we? Who will sustain you to the end? Look at this.Guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.Guiltless.In that day, when you stand before Christ, it is not going to be for Himto tell you how badly you messed up. In Christ, what does your Bible say? You have no guilt.2 Corinthians 5.21 says, "For our sake, God He made Him Jesus."God made Jesus to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousnessof God. There's a trade that's going on here. Jesus took our sin on Himself, on the cross,to the point that somehow He is personified sin here.He took our sin. What did He give us in exchange? So that in Him we might become the righteousnessof God. Do you see that this grace, it didn't just take away your sin. God's gracemade you as righteous as God Himself is. And look, you can talk to me about the trinityand creation and predestination, and I've never lost a moment's sleep over any of those things.To me, this is the most baffling doctrine in the entire Bible, the fact that God would takea piece of dirt, sinner like me, and because of Jesus Christ, He would pronounce me as righteousas He is. I don't even have the ability to explain how awesome that is.Guiltless. He's going to sustain you until the day that you stand before Him when Hepronounces you guiltless. You're like, "You sure about that?"Well, look at verse 9, "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowshipof His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord." Yeah, I am sure about that, because it's not basedon my ability, and it's not based on my integrity. It's based on God's ability,and it's based on God's integrity. He called you to this, the fellowship of His Son.You've got to know your salvation.And you see, it's past, present, and future, right? It's justification, sanctification,glorification. It's just in this particular passage, it's grace, gifts, and guiltless.And for them then, and for us now, this isn't new information.But these are foundational truths that we seem to forget about over time.Because church harvest Bible chapel like the Corinthians over time, we tend to forget aboutour identity in Jesus Christ. We forget that we were lost, hellbound sinners saved by His grace.We forget that we are here to serve, not to be served. We forget that Jesus Christ is comingsoon, and we forget that this is Jesus' church, not our church.And when we forget these things, unity goes out the window, because we start to thinkthat church is about us. Know your salvation. It's Jesus. It's Jesus. It's His grace. It's His gifts.It's His fellowship. So our worship team makes their way forward in our communion servers.You know, Jesus gave us a way to remind us of all these truths that unite us in Him.That's what I love about the Lord's table. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of Me."This keeps bringing us back when we are tempted to think this is about us, when we are tempted tothink that we are contributing to our salvation. When we are tempted to thinkthat God doesn't love us and we need to figure stuff out, this brings us back to the foundationaltruths of the way God purchased your salvation and what it means for us today.

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. We're in the series True Religion from the Book of James. This weekend, Pastor Jeff Bucknam opens James 1:27 with a challenging message called “Two Marks of True Religion.” What proves that someone really follows Jesus? According to James, it's not flashy rituals or religious talk, but two unmistakable marks—caring for the oppressed and remaining unstained by the world. Listen as Pastor Jeff unpacks these life-defining truths and calls us to a faith that shows up in love and holiness. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Jeff Miller is pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, Pittsburgh North. He is author of Forgiven People Forgive: A Biblical Response to Forgiveness. On Sunday, September 21st, a memorial service was held for Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, who was killed by an assassin's bullet on September 10th. In addition to President Trump and other dignitaries, also taking the platform during the memorial service was Charlie's widow, Erika. In reference to the assassin, she said, "I forgive him." She went on to note that this is what Christ did, what Charlie would do and that the answer to hate is not hate. What is forgiveness? Do we need to tolerate sinful behavior just because we forgive someone? Jeff answers these and numerous other questions while also providing insight on key elements in his book. For example, there are those who feel they have good reason for not forgiving, so they may say: I just can't respond to the person. The other person doesn't want to reconcile. (Does that take us "off the hook"?) Well, they'll just do that again! I will forgive, but I won't forget! They have to come to me. (If they don't, is the pressure off the person making that statement?) In the end, Jeff teaches that we are to forgive because we have been forgiven by Christ. In fact, to not forgive can lead to bitterness, hindering our testimony for Him. Learn more, and hear how listeners responded, by reviewing this edition of Crosstalk.

Jeff Miller is pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, Pittsburgh North. He is author of Forgiven People Forgive: A Biblical Response to Forgiveness. On Sunday, September 21st, a memorial service was held for Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, who was killed by an assassin's bullet on September 10th. In addition to President Trump and other dignitaries, also taking the platform during the memorial service was Charlie's widow, Erika. In reference to the assassin, she said, "I forgive him." She went on to note that this is what Christ did, what Charlie would do and that the answer to hate is not hate. What is forgiveness? Do we need to tolerate sinful behavior just because we forgive someone? Jeff answers these and numerous other questions while also providing insight on key elements in his book. For example, there are those who feel they have good reason for not forgiving, so they may say: I just can't respond to the person. The other person doesn't want to reconcile. (Does that take us "off the hook"?) Well, they'll just do that again! I will forgive, but I won't forget! They have to come to me. (If they don't, is the pressure off the person making that statement?) In the end, Jeff teaches that we are to forgive because we have been forgiven by Christ. In fact, to not forgive can lead to bitterness, hindering our testimony for Him. Learn more, and hear how listeners responded, by reviewing this edition of Crosstalk.

Everybody's got a story. This season, Pastor Jeff Bucknam is sitting down with guests to hear some of their journeys and to dig into big apologetics topics that matter for everyday faith. In this episode, Pastor Jeff talks with Dr. Mike Vanlaningham, elder at Harvest Bible Chapel, about the reliability and authority of Scripture—why we can trust the Bible and build our lives on it. Join the conversation and be encouraged by the evidence and the hope we have in God's Word. “Conversations with Jeff Bucknam” is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel. Executive Producer: Wesley Cassford Host: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Co-host: Pastor Tommy Creutz Guest: Dr. Mike Vanlaningham Sound design, mixing, and editing: Wesley Cassford Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Sherri Smith

Welcome to the weekly sermon podcast from Harvest Bible Chapel. This weekend, Pastor Jeff Bucknam continues our series through the Book of James with a message titled Jumping to Conclusions Ends in a Devastating Fall from James 1:19–26. Words matter. They reveal what's in our hearts and can build up or tear down the family of God. James calls us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger—because the righteousness of God is not produced by human outrage, but by hearts transformed by His implanted Word. As you listen, ask the Lord to help you not only hear the truth, but live it. Genuine faith doesn't stop at agreement; it acts. Let's join Pastor Jeff now. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Introduction: Signs That You are Self-Deceived (Matthew 7:21-23) You profess the truth without being CHANGED BY THE TRUTH. (Matt 7:21) Romans 10:9 – Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. You point to your works rather than CHRIST'S WORK. (Matt 7:22) Isaiah 64:6 – All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. You presume that you know Jesus but JESUS DOES NOT KNOW YOU. (Matt 7:23) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead Matthew 7:21-23What was your big take-away from this passage / message?How can you evaluate if you are self-deceived and lack self-awareness of who you are and whose you are?How has the truth of the gospel changed you? In what areas do you need to be further changed?What is the difference between knowing a lot about Jesus and knowing Jesus?Why do you love Jesus?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Please turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7.Matthew chapter 7.Have you ever met a person who thought they had a certain skillthat they actually didn't possess?Have you ever been that person?You were convinced that you had this talent, you had this ability.But then someone came along to burst your bubble,or you put yourself out there and you embarrassed yourself big time.I can think of no better example than this than American Idol.Who's watched American Idol at some point in their lives?I don't know about you, but I've never watched an entire season of American Idol.I always turn it off after the first round.Because what happens after the first round,all the terrible singers are sent home.And maybe this tells you something about me,but I love to watch those horrible auditions of those people who think they can sing,but they can't carry a tune in a bucket.They confidently stand before Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowellto claim that they are phenomenal singers.And then they belt out the most wretched noises imaginable.Today, I will sing Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."And I will always love you.Thank you.You'll never know if that's my real singing voice or my fake singing voice.After giving it their all, these individuals are absolutely shocked at the judge's reactions.They weep as Paula Abdul lets them down gently.Their jaws are on the floor as Randy Jackson gives his patented "pfft" to know from me, dog.And they fight back in Simon Cowell when he says something horrible like,"That was absolutely dreadful."And as you watch it at home, you can't help but think to yourself,how do they not recognize that they sound horrible?How do they not realize that they are terrible singers?Do you know the answer to those questions?The answer is self-deception.Self-deception.They are clueless to who they actually are.They are lying to themselves.Their view of themselves has no basis in reality.They lack self-awareness.And it's so easy for you and I to sit in our couches and pass judgment on these individualsas their delusions go before our eyes.But never forget an important truth.You too can be self-deceived.You too can lack self-awareness.You may not truly understand who you are and whose you are.Your self-deception may be far worse than believing that you're a world-class vocalist.Your self-deception may have eternal consequences.What if you think you're a Christian but you're actually not?What if you confidently believe that you are a child of God but you're actually a son or daughterof the devil?What if you believe that you are heading to heavenwhile you're on the path to hell?We're in the final section of the Sermon on the Mount, the heart ready for judgment.It's been made abundantly clear that Jesus is not going to pull any punchesas he rounds out his most famous sermon.Two weeks ago, Pastor Jeff unpacked the really tough truth that the gate to everlasting life is what?Narrow. And few people go that way because it is hard.While the gate to never-ending punishment is wide, it is massive.And most people go that way because it is so easy.And last week we learned that there are so many false teachers pointing to the wide gate.And it's obvious who they are because of the fruit that they produce.Maybe you heard those messages and even agreed with those messagesbut you didn't internalize what was said.You didn't truly evaluate your heart to see if you're on the narrow path or the wide pathto see if you are falling for false teaching.Well this morning, Jesus is going to tighten the net even more.The walls are going to be closing in on you so that there's no more wiggle roomto escape what the Lord has to say about judgment.Matthew chapter 7 verses 21 through 23 contain the most chilling words in the entire Bible.And for me, there isn't a close second.Jesus says that many are self-deceived in this lifeand they will be shocked that they won't end up in heaven someday.I want to encourage you, please do not tune out and think,"Well, there's no way Jesus is talking about me so I can just kind of daydreamand plan out the rest of my week."No, tune in and ask yourself, "What if Jesus is talking about me?"What if I am self-deceived?What if I am lacking self-awareness of who I am and who's I am?So before we continue, let's go the Lord and ask for His help.I ask that you pray for me.Are we faithful in proclaiming God's Word?And I will pray for you that you are faithful to receive it.Father, we come to you and we ask that your spirit will bring clarity,that He would bring illumination, that He would bring conviction and challenge.Lord, in the past 13 years of preaching, I don't know if I ever felt more inadequateto proclaim a text than this one.But I thank you in advance that you will preach a much better sermonin people's hearts than I ever could with my mouth.Show up in a great mighty way, Lord.Come to seek and save the lost.And for the rest of us, Lord, help us to be blown away by your awesome love.And we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen.Signs that you are self-deceived.Sign one, you profess the truth without being changed by the truth.You profess the truth without being changed by the truth.Let's read chapter 7 verse 21.This is the Lord Jesus speaking."Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven.But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."In this verse, Jesus talks about the here and now as well as the there and then.According to Jesus, what you say about who you are here and now may be proven to be wrongthere and then at the final judgment.What you profess to believe with your mouth here and now may be proven to not be a genuinereality in your heart there and then as you stand before Jesus.You can be confident here and now that heaven is in your future,but then be banned from heaven when that future finally arrives.You can call Jesus Lord, Lord, which means that you claim him as God.You can even claim Jesus as your God.You can say all the right things about Jesus, but still not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven.Isn't that terrifying?You may be thinking to yourself, "Taylor, how is that possible?"I thought it's all just about believing and confessing.That's it.Well, the combination of belief and confession is absolutely essential and you cannot be savedwithout it.Paul backs this up in Romans 10, 9, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lordand believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."What a glorious truth that you should cherish, memorize, and hold on to.But unfortunately, so many people misuse and abuse that verse.Well, as long as you pray the prayer, as long as you say the right words, you're good to go.God has stamped your one-way ticket to heaven.Doesn't really matter what you do or how you live from now on.Once saved, always saved.But people who say that miss a key word in this verse, heart.Believe in your heart.This belief in Christ must take root at the deepest level of who you are.This belief in Christ must take over every single aspect of your life.True belief isn't a mere acknowledgement of the facts.It is an act of faith that transforms you from the inside out.Some who say, "Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven because they were transformed by theirbelief." Many others who say, "Lord, Lord will not enter the kingdom of heaven because they werenever transformed by their belief." It is possible to profess the truth without being changed by thetruth. And if you have not been changed by the truth of the gospel, then let me tell you,you have not truly believed in the truth of the gospel.So how can you tell if you have been changed by the truth or not?It's a very simple test according to Jesus. He says, "You don't just say, 'Lord, Lord,' you dothe will of your Father who is in heaven. You say and you do."Last week, Pastor Jeff said that false teachers are revealed by their words and their actions.The same is true for followers of Christ. Genuine faith is proven by believing and confessing theright things, but that can't be the only standard according to our Lord. Genuine faith is also provenby doing the right things. Doing the will of your Father in heaven means that you obeyHis word. You have an internal desire to do what God says, and then you act on that desire.You act on what you say you believe. You say that you should passionately pursue after the Lordand His word and in prayer. So you do passionately pursue after the Lord in word, in His wordand in prayer. You say that you should daily repent and turn from your sin, so you do dailyrepent and turn from your sin. You say that you should share your faith more and make disciples,so you do share your faith more and make disciples. What you say carries no weightif it doesn't line up with what you do.I want to make something crystal clear to avoid being misunderstood.You are not saved by what you do. You are not saved by what you do, but what you do revealsif you are saved or not. What you do reveals if you are saved or not.You know, almost 20 years ago, I took the written test to get my learner's permit.I studied that PA Driver's Manual inside and out. I knew all the right answers about driving,and I could regurgitate them on a test. Let me ask you, did passing that 18 question permit testmake me a driver? No. For a number of years, I went to seminary. I went to a number of classes,read a countless number of books, listened to so many lectures, and I learned about what a pastorshould be, what a pastor should do. In 2020, I was given my Master of Divinity. Let me ask you,did receiving that piece of paper in the mail make me a pastor? Not one bit. You can get 100%on your permit test and still not be able to enter a car and drive it with any level of competency.You can get the best theological training in the world and still not be able to enter into a churchand be its pastor. You can ace a Bible Pop quiz and still not enter the kingdom of heaven.Do not be deceived and think that you're safe and sound just because you grew up in a Christianfamily and went to church when you were younger. Do not be deceived and think that you're safe andsound just because you fill a seat on Sunday mornings. It is not enough just to have thecorrect facts stored in your brain. The correct facts must change who you are.Signs that you are self-deceived. Sign number two, you point to your works rather than Christ's work.You point to your works rather than Christ's work.Let's read verse 22. On that day, many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your nameand cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?"Once again, Jesus is taking us into the future. He fasts forward the movie of life to show uswhat the final judgment will look like. As we've already seen, some who say, "Lord, Lord, willenter the kingdom of heaven." But many others who say, "Lord, Lord, will not enter the kingdom ofheaven." And that second group is the focus of this verse. In verse 21, "Lord, Lord was a professionof belief, but in verse 22 it is used as a desperate plea." This is a Hail Mary pass. It is a one lasteffort to avoid judgment. This is an attempt to convince Jesus that a mistake has been made.Lord Jesus, I know you have a lot of people to see and judge today. It makes sense that a fewpeople are going to fall through the cracks and a few mistakes are going to be made. Let me remindyou of who I am. Let me remind you of all the things I've done for you. Here's my resume.It's a really impressive resume, isn't it? Casting out demons,prophesying, doing many mighty works in miracles. You may look at this list and think,"How could someone with this resume not enter the kingdom of heaven? How could someone like thisnot be saved?" Well, there are three possible explanations that lead to the same sad result.Option number one, these mighty works are done by the power of the evil one.These mighty works are done by the power of the evil one.Pastor Jeff talked about this in depth last week, but Instagram, Facebook, YouTube,Christian TV stations are filled with corrupt and dishonest pastors who claim to proclaim the wordof God and do many mighty miracles in the name of Christ. They look really great with their threepea suits, their expensive sneakers, their luxurious jets and fancy cars, but they are nothing butfrauds and workers of Satan. They are not in ministry for you. They are not in ministry for Jesus.They are in ministry for themselves. They are after power, money and public adoration.At the very least, they operate in their own power, or at the very worst, they operate by the power ofSatan himself. And you may be thinking, "Taylor, you seem to be a bit too tough on these guys."Well, Pastor Jeff, I'm simply applying your message from last week. I'm evaluating the fruitsthat these false teachers produce. Could it be that you don't like what I'm saying because youare being fooled? Because you are being led astray. Could it be that you're mistaking their bad fruitfor good fruit? Option number two, these people are making false claims.Have you ever interviewed someone who patted out their resume with accomplishments they didn'tactually accomplish, with awards they didn't actually win? What leads a person to lie aboutthings they're so easily fact-checked in 2025? Once again, the answer is self-deception.There's no way I'll get caught. I can get away with it. They try to puff out theirchest and make themselves look better than they actually are. They polish their imaginary trophies.Is it a good idea to lie to your potential employer? Let me ask that again so you can wakeup a bit. Is it a good idea to lie to your potential employer? Is it a good idea to lieto Jesus Christ? Maybe you don't worry about where you'll end up in eternity because you have a highopinion of your ability to sweet talk your way into things or sweet talk your way out of things.I spoke into a lot of guys in the past that, "Yeah, I'm not worried about the afterlife.God and I will have a conversation at the pearly gates and he'll see why I should be in there.I'll be just fine." That is a horrible plan. That plan is foolishness. You cannot smooth talk Jesus.He knows everything and he sees everything. He knows what you've done and he knows what you haven'tdone. He sees right through your flimsy resume of fake accomplishments. Third option, God allowsphony believers to accomplish amazing things for his kingdom and glory. God allows phony believersto accomplish amazing things for his glory and kingdom. Let me just think about the storylineof Scripture and how this plays out in the Old Testament and the New Testament. God put hisown words in the mouth of a dirty donkey and then in the mouth of a wicked false prophet.The high priest Caiaphas who hated and opposed Jesus unintentionally prophesied that Jesus woulddie for the nation. In Philippians, the apostle Paul rejoices in the truth that men with horriblemotivations can truly proclaim the good news of Jesus. Let's step away from biblicalillustrations for a second and hit a bit closer to home. You can take the preaching class atharvest and deliver a killer sermon while you are engaging in a secret affair that you have no plansto confess or end. You can teach kids back at Harvest Academy while you mistreat your ownchildren at home. You can go on mission trips overseas and help a ton of people over therewhile you defraud and deceive your clients over here. You can be the number one most dependablevolunteer at harvest while being the most loyal customer at your local liquor store.God can use whoever he wants, whenever he wants to accomplish whatever he wants.God can use those who are walking in holiness and he can use those who are not walking in holiness.God can use those who truly belong to him as well as those who don't truly belong to him.Listen, you can keep yourself busy with religious activities while you destroy yourself behindclosed doors and travel down the highway to hell. Serving your church, serving your community aregood and godly activities, but those good and godly activities cannot save you. Only Jesus Christcan save you. Rip up your religious resume because I promise you it is not as good as you think itis. Even your best efforts are stained by sin, pride, and mixed motivations.Isaiah gives us a reality check about this when he says all of our righteous acts are like filthyrags. What are filthy rags good for? What's the answer? Nothing. Filthy rags should be thrown away.I assume that some of you will be going to a restaurant after church today with family andfriends. Imagine trying to pay the bill with garbage that you found in the dumpster outside therestaurant. Would your server and the manager be very pleased with you? Why? Because you're offeringthem worthless garbage. Trying to hand God your religious resumes that you can be saved is likehanding him trash and expecting that he'll be impressed. At this point, you may be kind ofconfused. Taylor, you spent a long time talking about the importance of doing the right things,but now you're kind of acting like doing the right things. Isn't that important?Well, again, I want to emphasize that good works must flow out of your salvation,but good works cannot contribute to your salvation, even a tiny bit. Salvation is 100%the work of God and 0% you. Some of you are operating as if you're responsible for half.25%, 5%, 2%, even 1% is too much. It's all of Jesus Christ.Listen, your resume stinks while Christ's resume soars. Your resume is imperfect whileChrist's resume is perfect. You are a loser on your own while Christ is a winner.But the good news is you can share in his victory by letting go of what you have to offerby grabbing a hold of what he has to offer. Jesus Christ lived the perfect life you could never live.He succeeded in every single way that you have failed. He then died the death that you deserve to die.He rose again to give you the new life that you can never work your way towards. Do not be deceivedand rely on your own goodness and track record. Do not rest your eternal destiny on yourself.Rest in Christ's work, not your own. Place your trust in Christ alone becauseHe alone can give you what you need, both now and forever.Signs that you are self-deceived, final sign, and this is the hardest one of them all.You presume that you know Jesus, but Jesus does not know you.You presume that you know Jesus, but Jesus does not know you.So after the religious resume has been read, Jesus gives the most devastating response.And then I will declare to them, I never knew you.Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.Can you imagine anything more terrifying than hearing that from the most important personin existence? Get away from me. I want nothing to do with you.You are nothing but an unrepentant lawbreaker and evildoer.Does that response shock you? You may be thinking, but how could Jesus say something so harsh?Isn't He the definition of love and forgiveness?Well, what's the reason He gives in the text? You are acting like you know me, but I don't know you.You know, as a preacher, I enjoy listening to a lot of preachers. I'm somewhat of a pastoral nerd.I follow a lot of pastors on social media. I have a list of my favorites that I've listened to some for decades.And I learn about their personal lives. I learn about their ministries and their messages and their books,and it can really feel like I know them. But do I actually know them?I know a lot about them, but I don't know them. There is no relationship. There is no back andforth. There is no give or take. It's just a one-sided admiration from afar.Imagine I drive across the country to the house of my favorite online preacher.I show up on his doorstop at 10 o'clock at night and I knock on his door,keep ringing the doorbell. Eventually, his poor preacher shuffles the door and his bathrobe and his slippers, the toothbrush in hand.As soon as he opens the door, I launch into, "Hey, man, it's Taylor. I got a lot of problems right now.I really need your advice. Can I come in and chat?" How do you think he's going to respond?Dude, you're acting like you know me, but I don't know you at all. You are a total stranger.My wife and kids are at home and they're sleeping. I'm not just going to invite you in. You need to leave right now.Is that an appropriate response? Yes, that's how he should respond. I should be turned away from him in that moment.Let's change up the scenario a bit. At 10 o'clock tonight, I show up on Pastor Jeff's doorstep.Knock on the door, ring the doorbell. He opens it and I give him the same exact spiel.Will there be a different outcome? Will there be a different response? Why?Because I don't just listen to Pastor Jeff from afar. I don't watch him on a screen.We've been close friends for 13 years and he is my pastor.I know Pastor Jeff and Jeff knows me. I don't just know a lot about him.Do you know a lot about Jesus or do you know Jesus?Does Jesus consider you a stranger or does he know you as his close friend,his faithful follower, his blood-bought brother or sister?Does he really actually know you?Maybe you're thinking to yourself, "Well, how can I know if I know Jesus and he knows me?What's the test of that?" Well, years ago, I heard a pastor say something in a sermon thatnever forgot sense. He said, "You can tell a lot about a person by how they respond to a simplequestion. Why do you love Jesus? Why do you love Jesus?"He said, "You'd be shocked by how many people have no idea how to answer that question."Because their intellectual knowledge of Jesus has not created affection for Jesus.Friends, why do you love Jesus? If you can't think of anything, that's a huge problemand you shouldn't ignore it. Imagine pulling me aside for a service and saying, "Taylor,what do you love about your wife?" And I respond, "What does that tell you? I don't have a personaland in-depth knowledge of my wife. I don't love her like I presume to. I should say, "Hey,do you have a couple of days because my list is very, very long. There's not just one thing aboutmy wife that I love. There's a countless number of them. My wife has my heart, so my list of whyI love her is very long. But how much longer should your list be in my list be when it comes to JesusChrist and why we love Him? Life is too short to plumb the depths of His awesomeness. Why do youlove Jesus? I love Jesus because He died for me when I wanted nothing to do with Him. I loveJesus because He loves me no matter what I do. I love Jesus because He is not ashamed to call meHis brother despite all the ways that I fail Him. I love Jesus because He cares about everythingthat I go through. And He sympathizes with all of my weaknesses. I love Jesus because right nowHe is interceding for me in heaven before the Father. I love Jesus because all the promises ofScripture find their yes in Amen in Him. I love Jesus because He is always with me and He willnever forsake me even to the very end. I could keep going and going and going. Could you?How can you say that you love Jesus if you don't even know why you love Him?How can you expect that you'll worship Jesus for all of eternity if you can't think of a singlereason to worship Him right now? Do not be deceived. Heaven is not a place for fans and admirers ofJesus. Heaven is a place for those who love Christ with a full heart. If you don't know Jesusbefore your life comes to an end, Jesus will deny knowing you in the next.For years, I used to laugh at the nickname that the Apostle John gave himselfin his own Gospels. Does anyone know what his nickname he gave himself was? The disciple whomJesus, what? Really, John? Ask him the nickname you gave yourself, the one whom Jesus loved.And for years, I thought John was saying, "Yeah, you know what? I was Jesus' favorite.Peter may be the most popular, but what can I say? Jesus loves me more."Recently, I've come to the realization that's not at all what John had in mind. John is claiminghis identity by saying, "I am the one whom Jesus loved." He was saying the love of Jesuswas the most important thing about him. It doesn't even matter what my name is. What matters is thatJesus loves me. The love of Jesus was the foundation of who he was and the motivation for all that hedid. How do you identify yourself? Do you primarily identify yourself as someone who has all the rightanswers and says all the right things? Do you identify yourself as a good person who has animpressive religious resume of good works? Do you identify yourself as someone who knows a lotabout Jesus? All of those identities are deceptive and destructive. All of those identities willlead you to everlasting destruction. If those are your identities, you are self-deceived. You lackself-awareness. I beg you to reject those identities and grab ahold of the love of Jesus Christ.Embrace who he is and what he wants to give you. Give your life to him and Christ will become yourlife. Give your identity to him and Christ will become your identity. You can be known as the onewhom Jesus loves by bowing the knee to him in unending submission. Make the love of Jesus Christthe foundation of who you are and the motivation for all that you do.It's so easy to lose sight of these spiritual realities in a physical world, isn't it?In His infinite grace, God has chosen to give us a physical picture of His love in the Lord's Supper.As we come to this meal together, we are graphically reminded of how Christ has shown His lovefor us. He took our place on the cross. He died for us and He took upon Himself the wraththat you and I deserve. Our worship leaders and communion servers can now make their way forward.You don't need to be a member of Harvest Bible Chapel to take part in communion,but you do need to be a member of the family of God.Communion is only for those who know Christ and are known by Christ.If you want to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, we're going to have two individuals back in guestreception, Pastor Jeff and Lexie Cole. They would love to talk and pray with you.And please just look at me for a minute. Please do not pass up this opportunity.The Bible says that today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow is not a great day for salvation.Next week is not a great time for salvation. When it's more convenient, it's not a great time forsalvation. Today is a great day for salvation. Jesus is commanding you to know Him today,to love Him today, to trust in Him today. So please push aside your pride, push aside anyembarrassment you may feel. And go talk to Pastor Jeff and Lexie in the back. They would love topray for you and point you to Jesus and what next steps with Him looks like.

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. Today, we're continuing our series True Religion: The Book of James. Pastor Jeff Bucknam is preaching from James 1:12–18 with a message titled ‘Dangers to Receiving the Crown of Life.' Trials and hardships can shake our faith, but James reminds us that those who persevere will receive the crown of life that God has promised. In this sermon, Pastor Jeff exposes two lies that keep us from trusting God and shows us why we can be confident that our God is faithful and good. Let's listen together. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. We're continuing our series in the book of James, True Religion: The Book of James. Today, Pastor Jeff Bucknam brings a message from James 1:9–11 titled “The Rich Poor and the Poor Rich.” We live in a world where wealth promises security, comfort, and happiness—but James flips that upside down. In God's kingdom, the poor are rich, and the rich can be poor. What truly matters isn't the size of your bank account, but where your hope is anchored. Let's listen together. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast! We're glad you're here as we continue our series in the book of James called True Religion. This weekend's message is titled “Here Comes Wisdom,” from James 1:5–8. In these verses, James reminds us that God generously gives wisdom to those who ask Him. We'll learn three key truths: to ask for wisdom, to ask because God is generous, and to ask in faith without doubting. Whether you're listening on your commute, during a workout, or in a quiet moment at home, we pray this message encourages you to seek God with confidence, knowing that He delights to give wisdom to His children. Listen now. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Thompson Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest podcast. This weekend, we begin a brand-new series in the Book of James called True Religion. In the opening verses, James wastes no time—he goes straight to one of the hardest and most important parts of following Jesus: how we face trials. Pastor Jeff Bucknam opens God's Word in James 1:1–4 and reminds us that trouble will come, but trials are not meaningless. In God's hands, they shape our faith, strengthen our perseverance, and form us into the likeness of Christ. This message, Here Comes Trouble, will challenge you to think differently about suffering and to see how God is at work—even in the hardest moments of life. Let's listen in. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Today, we're wrapping up our four-year journey through the book of Acts with the final message in our series, We Are All Witnesses. Over the past fifty-plus sermons, we've seen the risen Jesus build His church through ordinary men and women empowered by the Holy Spirit. This weekend, Pastor Jeff Bucknam closes the series with a sermon from Acts 28 entitled, The Final Word. In this chapter, we see three themes come into focus: the mighty God who delivers, the transforming faith that sustains, and the unchained Gospel that advances to the ends of the earth. Though Paul ends the story in chains, the Word of God is not bound. That's the lasting message of Acts—the Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be stopped. So let's lean in together as Pastor Jeff leads us through Acts 28, reminding us that God still keeps His promises, still changes lives, and still carries His Gospel forward—without hindrance. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. Today's message, Shipwrecked, takes us into Acts 27—an incredible true story of Paul's perilous voyage, fierce storms, and unwavering faith in the God who saves. Even in the midst of shipwreck, God's purposes stand firm. And the same God who carried Paul through the storm is the One we can trust with our own lives and uncertain circumstances today. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

What do you say when your faith is on trial? In Acts 26, the Apostle Paul shows us how to give a defense that isn't about arguments or clever words—but about a transformed life. In this message, Pastor Tommy unpacks how Paul's story, his consistency, and his mission all point to Jesus—and how we can do the same today. Listen now. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Tommy Creutz Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

This weekend's message is titled "Here We Go Again" from Acts 25. Maybe you've felt like you're stuck in a situation on repeat—trying to do the right thing, but facing the same resistance. That's exactly where we find the Apostle Paul today. As we dive into the story, we'll uncover two essential principles for those who are waiting on God: walking in His steps and trusting His outcome. Whether you're in a season of waiting or walking through opposition, this message will encourage you to stay faithful as a follower of Jesus Christ. Let's listen in. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Thompson Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Have you ever felt God calling you to step out, but fear kept you clinging to what's familiar? In today's message, guest preacher, Ron Zappia, Senior Pastor of Highpoint Church in Naperville, walks us through the powerful story of Jesus and Peter on the water in Matthew 14. You'll discover four compelling reasons to become a “Water Walker” and five “boats” you may need to jump out of to experience deeper faith, greater power, and lasting growth. It's time to move from comfort to calling. Let's dive in. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Guest Speaker: Pastor Ron Zappia Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

What does it mean to be truly gospel-ready? In this message from Romans 10, Brian White, Lead Pastor of Harvest Church in Carmel, Indiana, challenges us to examine three key areas of gospel readiness: our motivation to see people saved, our message—a clear understanding of the gospel itself—and our method, the call to go and proclaim Christ. Whether you've been sharing your faith for years or are just beginning, this sermon will help you prepare your heart, sharpen your message, and step into God's mission with confidence. Listen now. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Guest Speaker: Pastor Brian White Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

When life gets confusing, chaotic, and unclear, how do we move forward? In this message from 1 Samuel, our guest preacher, Todd Dugard, Lead Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Barrie, ON, Canada, walks us through David's desperate situation—and shows how God can lead us from a place of confusion to a heart of gratitude. Listen now and be encouraged to trust God in the in-between. Pastor Todd preached at Harvest Bible Chapel on July 5–6, 2025. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Guest Speaker: Pastor Todd Dugard Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. Today, we're continuing our journey through the Book of Acts—and we're reminded that following Jesus often means facing detours, delays, and even difficulty. In this message, we'll see the Apostle Paul moved from place to place under heavy guard, wrongly accused by powerful people, and caught in a waiting game that stretched on for years. But through it all, God's purposes kept unfolding. You'll be challenged and encouraged as we explore three truths from Acts 23 and 24: You'll move around a lot. People will falsely accuse you. It will take longer than you think. If you've ever felt stuck, misunderstood, or delayed in doing what God's called you to do—this message is for you. Let's dive in. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Tommy Creutz Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast, where we open God's Word together and grow as disciples of Jesus. This weekend, we're continuing our journey through the Book of Acts in Acts 22:30–23:30—a passage full of tension, trials, and God's sovereign care. The Apostle Paul finds himself in yet another unjust situation, and yet what we see is deeply encouraging. In this message, we'll explore three powerful truths: We're called to act uprightly, even when life feels downright unfair. The Lord never leaves His people—He encourages those He calls, just as Jesus promised in Matthew 28. And in the middle of everyday moments, God's providence is always at work. Let's listen in, and be reminded that no matter what we face, our God is near, in control, and always faithful. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Dave Learned Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sometimes obedience brings us straight into hardship. That doesn't mean we've missed God's will—it might mean we're exactly where He wants us. In this episode, we pick up Paul's story in Acts 21. He's falsely accused, dragged out of the temple, and nearly killed by an angry mob. But instead of retreating, Paul stands and shares his story. He tells of his past, his encounter with Jesus, and the mission he's been given. And along the way, we see three truths that still matter today: – It's not un-Christian to stand against unjust governance. – Every Christian has a God-authored story worth telling. – And obedience doesn't always lead to ease, but it always leads us closer to Christ. Let's get to work. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Dr. Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Everybody's got a story. Listen now as Pastor Jeff Bucknam talks with Louis Go, who serves on the production team of Harvest Bible Chapel. Listen to learn more. “Conversations with Jeff Bucknam” is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel. Executive Producer: Wesley Cassford Host: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Co-host: Pastor Tommy Creutz Guest: Louis Go Sound design, mixing, and editing: Wesley Cassford Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Sherri Smith

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for people—even churches—to divide? Whether it's over something as serious as theology or as silly as a favorite fried chicken, we tend to split off, form factions, and guard our preferences. But Jesus prayed for something better—for unity. In John 17, He asked the Father to make us one, so that the world would believe. In this episode, we're turning to Acts 21:15–26 to see what it takes to preserve unity in the body of Christ. When tensions rise and misunderstandings happen—as they always will—how do we stay rooted in grace and keep the peace? The Apostle Paul provides a powerful picture—not just of doctrine and conviction, but of humility, sacrifice, and deep commitment to the unity of the Church. Join us as we walk through this text and discover what it means to be on the same team, deal with disunity, and give of ourselves for the sake of gospel peace. Let's dive in. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Dr. Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Everybody's got a story. Listen now as Pastor Jeff Bucknam talks with Zuri Alvarado, who serves on staff in Harvest's worship ministry. Listen to learn more. “Conversations with Jeff Bucknam” is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel. Executive Producer: Wesley Cassford Host: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Co-host: Pastor Tommy Creutz Guest: Zuri Alvarado Sound design, mixing, and editing: Wesley Cassford Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Sherri Smith

Have you ever wished you could go back in time to warn someone you love? Maybe stop them from a painful moment or help them avoid a disaster? That's the whole premise of time travel movies—change the past, save the future. But in Acts 21, we meet someone who knew what was coming—and walked straight into it anyway. Paul was warned again and again that danger, imprisonment, and suffering waited for him in Jerusalem. But he went. Why? In today's message, we're exploring Paul's remarkable courage—and how we can have that same unshakable resolve in the face of difficulty. Whether you're facing uncertainty, pressure, or pain, you'll find strength and clarity in this powerful story of Spirit-led surrender. Let's dive in. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Dr. Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. We're so glad you're joining us today. In this message, we continue our verse-by-verse study through the Book of Acts by turning to one of the most personal and powerful moments in Paul's ministry—his farewell to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:17–38. In this passage, Paul offers a compelling example of faithful leadership and gospel courage. He shows us what it means to serve with humility, sacrifice for the mission, teach the truth, protect the church, and—above all—trust the Lord. Wherever you're listening from, we pray this message encourages you to follow Jesus more fully and live boldly for His kingdom. Let's get into the Word together. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Pastor Jeff Thompson Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Welcome to the Harvest Bible Chapel podcast. This weekend, we're in Acts 20:1–12 with a message titled “A Good Example.” There's something powerful about a life worth imitating. From the heroes of Hebrews 11 to faithful believers we've known personally, their stories stir us to live differently. In the same way, the life of the Apostle Paul in Acts compels us—not just to admire him, but to follow his lead. So what does a faithful example look like? Paul shows us: be encouraging, be a friend, and ultimately, be like Jesus. This is a message that calls us to build others up, link arms with one another, and carry the presence of Christ into every space we occupy. We're so glad you're listening in. Now let's open God's Word together. This podcast is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. Executive Producer: Flavius Herlo Speaker: Dr. Jeff Bucknam Sound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan Tripp Graphic Design: Wesley Cassford Social Media: Bryan Spahr Producer: Dave Putnam WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US: • Website: www.harvestbible.org/ WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: • Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/