A blessed Sunday is my hope for all of you this morning. Leanna and I want to thank all of you attending here on Paltalk and those who read and watch these sermons on all the various Christian and secular sites. We also want to thank Mylook Online, Lokey Sisters and A Far From Normal Faith Ministry for allowing the videos and sermons to be shared on their sites.
Let's continue where we left off last week on our series "Who Are We In Christ". We've been studying from the book of 1 Corinthians. As we've seen in the past few weeks, Apostle Paul has been addressing many issues that had been happening within the church, just as it has continued to be a huge issue since. We see there was a division, much being philosophy and the other traditions. We also see that there was much strife. As we looked into the first part of Chapter 3, we saw that there seemed to be a click happening within and again, I have witnessed the same thing in several churches that I've been a part of. So let's turn to 1 Corinthians 3:10. While you're turning there, I want to thank my beautiful wife Leanna for posting the scriptures that we read from each week. I also want to thank Tim and Leanna for moderating the room. 1 Corinthians 3:10 KJV According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. What a verse to get started with. I think, and am in hopes as we continue in this chapter, that the next verses might help you get an understanding of what was happening and why Paul had to address this. A couple weeks ago I shared why Jesus shared the things that He shared with His disciples. Why during most of His ministry, His closest friends were right there. They were to carry on His teachings. Amen someone? If there was no one to share what He had taught them, would we know now the things of Christ? No. They at that time were few, but after Jesus was ascended to Heaven, the Holy Ghost came down and filled the believers and then the church grew. Glory to God, and we see that even Peter who had denied Jesus 3 times, just as Jesus had said, preached with such boldness. I think Paul was trying to do the same... teach the things of God as the Holy Spirit instructed. Paul was speaking about Apollos and himself and their ministry to the Corinthian believers. I also believe that he was primarily speaking to ministers about the way they minister to God's people, and we'll see that as we continue. Friends, as I shared last week and the week before, we're all called to share the Gospel with this dying world. I've shared this many times and even as far as a whole sermon back a couple years ago. Now, in saying that, not all are called to be teachers, pastors, evangelists and so on. Doing what I'm doing right at this present moment was not my plan. As I share with many, I struggled for 2 months when I asked God where He would have Leanna and me go to church after there was much corruption that entered the church we were attending after our Pastors left and appointed a man to take over. For two months I heard every time I prayed or even thought about where we should go to church, "Right here and let Me guide you." You bet the doubts and fears came. I'm not a theologian. I don't consider myself a good speaker. People know that I used to be selfish, prideful and the list goes on. What about a church building? "Lord, people won't come to our house for services." I didn't see God's plan. I looked at it through my eyes. My thoughts and ideas and fear. Amen? But my friends, as we're going to see in chapter 13, those who minister under the leading and inspiration of the Holy Spirit will be like the gold, silver, and precious stones. They will stand the test. Leanna and I have stood some tests and I know that they will continue. However, those who minister carnal things that cause divisions will not stand God's test. Just like wood, hay, and stubble cannot withstand the fire, and we'll see that in a few minutes. Glory to God. 1 Corinthians 3:11 KJV For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Here we go. Boom, boom. Church, you and I as believers in Christ have a race to run, of service and sufferings, a course of active and passive obedience, in all of which you and I, my brothers and sisters in Christ need to keep our eyes fixed upon the Lord Jesus. Halleluiah. Have any of you been part of building a house? A tree house, maybe? For those who have, the foundation is the most fundamental part of a building, upon which all else is built. It needs to be strong. Actually, let's turn to one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Let's see what Jesus said about foundations and maybe you'll see what I'm trying to say here. Matthew. 7:24-27. It is possible to build wrongly on a good foundation, but if the foundation is wrong, nothing else can be truly right. Matthew 7:24-29 KJV Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: (25) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. (26) And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: (27) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (28) And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: (29) For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Friends, and I know the hate letters will come pouring in from what I'm about to say. Who is the foundation of the Church? Jesus. Yet, the Catholics theory is that Peter, or the office of Pope is the foundation of the church. Really? Do you want to see scripture that totally throws that out? Matthew 16:18 KJV And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Who died so that we could have an intimate relationship with God? Jesus. Who is the only man that shed innocent blood to not cover our sins, but to cleanse us of all unrighteousness? Jesus. Jesus is our Redeemer, Our Lord and Savior. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is our defense attorney. Amen. He Is The Head Of The Church, Halleluiah. Glory to the Lamb of God. Praise the Anointed One, Church. Now Paul is not saying, that it's impossible to try to use any other foundation. We see that happening today in some of the so called faiths. He's saying that would not be the true foundation, but a false one. Amen someone? And anything built on that foundation could not be the Lord's true church. This then forever forbids the possibility that any church, including the Catholic Church, could possibly be the true church when it openly professes to be built on a foundation other than Jesus. Do we get this? I've not studied much on the Catholic Church. I have asked people who do attend these places of worship about what they believe and most can't tell me. I find that very strange indeed. Let's look at one more passage and then get back to 12 in 1 Corinthians. I think it's important to see that what Paul is saying isn't just in one place and that is what I love about the living Word. Glory to God! 2 Timothy 4:1-5 KJV I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; (2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. (3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (5) But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. Friends, our salvation rests solely upon the completed work of Jesus Christ, but rewards are to be earned by spiritual service for God and will be according to the quality of our works. Friends, the important message in this is true service done in the power of the indwelling Spirit, is of eternal standing, but fleshly service is perishable and will bring the Christian loss of reward at the final day. 1 Corinthians 3:12-13 KJV (12) Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; (13) Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. What does verse 12 mean to you? (12) Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; I think we can look at it like this. We, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, are the building which the preachers are building up. Amen? We saw this in verse 9 and when we get there, we'll see it in verses 16 and 17. We see something similar in 1 Peter 2:5 KJV Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. back to 1 Corinthians 3:13. 1 Corinthians 3:13 KJV Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. In recent conversations on sites, there are two thoughts here. I believe it means this. The fire refers to the day of judgment because of how it says, "the day." I believe when we look at the materials said in verse 12, we're looking at the different kinds of Christians. I asked you earlier if any of you had helped to build a building. When someone builds a house, or any kind of structure, they usually know what materials they're going to use, right? Ok, now coming into this Paltalk room this morning, or when I post these notes, or when I share the videos, I know some of you who will listen or read, but I don't know everyone. Amen? Am I laying a foundation, seeing we are talking about foundations? Let's take the J and L Ministries site. In the past 2 weeks, the day that the site was visited the most, it had 717 hits. The lowest in the past 2 weeks was 111. Most of the visits are because of the prayer that's shared each morning and then there are those who watch and read these sermons. Now, do I know who reads and watches? I may know 10 at the most. Church, what I think Paul was getting across is, unlike a real building, preachers or teachers have no clue ahead of time what kind of material the people they teach will turn out to be. Do you see this? I hope, like I'm sure Paul did, that the messages being taught are sinking in. That spiritual ears are opened. Amen someone? Some people will prove to be weak and unable to stand. They'll be destroyed like the parts of a house that burn up in a fire. Others are faithful and strong and will endure, like parts of a house that are not destroyed in a fire. Let go to verses 14 and 15. 1Corinthians 3:14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. (15) If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Many people choose to do good things, thinking that that saves them. I know I've said this often, but it's true. They think good works saves them. We, brothers and sisters in Christ, were created with a purpose, and each one of us has a God given plan for our lives. God created you and me to have a relationship with Him and He gives us free will to do just that. Amen? Friends, many take the last part of verse 15 and argue between the idea of once saved always saved. I think we could go back and forth with scriptures all day long, and we aren't going there with that today. For those who are Pastors, leaders of Bible studies, if we're diligent in our work of teaching, then our salvation doesn't depend on whether or not the people we taught remain faithful. The final outcome of any man's salvation is between him and God. Amen? Glory to God. Brothers and sisters, if we do what Christ has us to do, we live in His obedience, keep our focus on Him, we know in faith He will bless us and we'll enter into the Kingdom of God. In closing, I ask you my friends. What is your life going to count for? That's the question. Every one of us here in this Paltalk room, or reading, or hearing this message, is investing his or her life in something. You can't live without making an investment. What is it in? Will it be permanent? Will it abide? Will it stand the test? In the great day when all the universe sees things the way they are, will you be filled with joy that your life was invested in what stood the test and contributed to the glory of the Lord? Or will you be ashamed that you wasted all these years making an impression on men and teaching and influencing others to do so, and it was all burned up in the fire. You might be saved, but is it as though you had to run through the flames and lost everything besides? I know there are people who don't like this kind of preaching, but as we continue in this study there are going to be many offended, because of what the Holy Spirit laid on Apostle Paul's heart to write. There are those who want to hear that ear tickling message. Many want to hear only about the grace of God, but the Scriptures teach us that we have some choice in this matter. Are our lives going to be lived on the basis of gold, silver and precious stones, growing out of that revelation of God by the Spirit, or are they going to reflect the empty, vain philosophies and speculations of the world around so that we live only for pleasure, fame and power instead of being an instrument of the living God? That choice is yours, my friend, but remember there are consequences for wrong choices. Friends, thank you for joining with us this morning. If this was your first time hearing us on Paltalk and you were blessed, please add this room to your list. If you read this on any of the social Christian sites, or secular sites, we thank you and please leave a comment. If you listened on our u-tube channel and want to continue hearing these messages as we continue this series, please subscribe and comment. I'm stopping this recording now, but will keep this room open for comments and questions. We love you and hope you have a blessed week in the Lord.
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