The Glue That Holds Life Together 2/23/20

The Glue That

Holds Life Together

Steve W. Reeves

 

steve@wschurch.net

 

stevesermons.blogspopt.com

 

INTRODUCTION:

A. My Dad was a skilled carpenter. When I was young he taught me many things about
    working with wood. On one occasion a friend of his gave him a pickup truck load of
    “distressed” plywood. Plywood is made up of thin layers of wood that have been
    glued and pressed together. In this particular lot the glue had been defective and the
    layers were separating. We had to re-glue each piece, clamp it in place and allow the
    glue to dry for several days before it could be used. We must have used a gallon or 
    more of glue on that distressed wood.
    1. We see a lot of distress today.
    2. Families are distressed for many reasons.
    3. Our national government is distressed by political turmoil.
    4. International relations are distressed by competing ideologies.
B. When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth he addressed a church in
    distress. He addressed marriages in distress and people whose spiritual lives were in
    distress. As you read the letter in its modern form it seems that each chapter
    addresses a distressing situation.
    1. Divisiveness – Chapter 1.
    2. Worldly thinking – Chapters 2-3.
    3. Immoral behavior – Chapters 4-5.
    4. Harshness toward one another – Chapter 6.
    5. Misunderstanding about marriage – Chapter 7.
    6. Misunderstanding about Christian liberty – Chapters 8-10.
    7. Misunderstanding about the Lord’s Supper – Chapter 11.
    8. Misunderstanding about spiritual gifts – Chapters 12-14.
    9. Misunderstanding about the resurrection – Chapter 15.
C. What is the glue with which distressing situations can be mended?
    1. In the midst of all of these difficulties it is important to notice Paul’s statement in
        1 Corinthians 12:31, “But earnestly desire the greater gifts and I show you a still
        more excellent way.”
   
2. The gift of which Paul spoke is the glue that holds life together. Love.
 
I. THE NECESSITY OF LOVE (vss. 1-3).
   A. The words of this chapter are so beautiful that we often read them without     
        consideration of what comes immediately before them or after them.
        1. The Corinthians were characterized by a self-centered attitude. Even in their
            assemblies there was jealousy, envy and division. They were more concerned
            about themselves than others.  
        2. In chapter 12 Paul illustrated how the body of Christ (the church) is one but, like
            our physical bodies, has many members.  In chapter 14 he wrote that the
            spiritual gifts possessed by various members were not to be used for
            selfish reasons but to edify one another in love.
    B. Chapter 13 begins with three conditional clauses that refer to several spiritual gifts
         that existed in the church at Corinth.  “If I speak in the tongues of men or of
         angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal^{. 2}
         If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I
         have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³  
         And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be
         burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
        1. In these verses Paul was not calling into question the activities themselves.
            Rather it was the motivation that accompanied them.
        2. The most difficult question we face is the question of motivation. Why do we do
            what we do? Why do we attend worship? Why do we give? Why do we believe
            the things we believe?  Why do we teach? Why do we serve?
            a. Are we doing these things because of selfish reasons? Do we like to draw
                attention to ourselves? Do we like the fanfare or glamour? Is there personal
                profit? Does it make us feel good?
            b. Are we serving from a heart of love? Love for God? Love for one another?
                Love for those who need Christ?
    C. Paul’s plea was for the church to understand that all of the religious activity in the
        world is useless without the glue that holds it all together. Love.  
 
      
II. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LOVE (vss. 4-7).
    A. How would you define love? We’re fortunate that Paul has provided us with a
        divinely inspired description.
    B. Paul mentions 8 things love does not do.  
       1. It does not envy.
       2. It does not boast.  
       3. It is not proud. Love is not into self-glorification.
       4. It does not dishonor others.  It is not discourteous.
       5. It is not self-seeking.  “Selfishness lies at the root of a thousand evils” – Lenski.
       6. It is not easily angered.  
 
        7. It keeps no record of wrongs. Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Write injuries in dust.
            Benefits in marble.”   
    C. Paul mentions 6 things that love is.
       1. Love is patient.  Long tempered without a short fuse.
       2. Love is kind, helpful and friendly. It is used of Christ’s yoke translated: easy.”
       3. Love protects.        
       4. Love trusts – vs. 7.
       5. Love hopes.
       6. Love perseveres.    
    D. It is one thing to read these characteristics but quite another to see them.
        The best commentary of the Bible is the Bible! The best commentary on
        1 Corinthians 13 is found in John 13.      
        1. In verse 1 we read, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that
            His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having
            loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
            a. “The end,” means “the uttermost” or “the maximum.”           
            b. This love was perfect. It included the one who doubted Him, the one who
                denied Him and the one who betrayed Him.
        2. To demonstrate this love He took a basin of water, a towel and washed their
            feet. Then he said, “As I have washed your feet so you should . . . “ What did He
            say? Did He say, “Wash my feet?” Such would have been an honor. However,
            he said, “wash one another’s feet.” Share with others the love I have shared
            with you.
        3. In 1967 the Chicago Bears had two powerful running backs. They were a unique
            combination. They were roommates on the road. One was black, the other
            white. That was a first in the NFL. Those two men had never spent any time with
            someone of a different race. Over the months their friendship deepened. Their
            names were Gayle Sayers and Brian Piccolo. At the end of the season Sayers
            receive the prestigious George S. Halas award for his courage and
            achievements. At the awards banquet he accepted it, not for himself, but for his
            roommate Brian Piccolo, who had been diagnosed with cancer and was
            undergoing treatment for it. Before an audience of tough men and sports
            reporters Sayers said. “I love Brian Piccolo and tonight I hope that you will love
            Him too.”
        4. After washing the feet of the disciples Jesus went on to say in verses 34-35, “A
            new commandment I give you.” What was it? “That you love one another. By
            this shall all men know you are my disciples, that you love one another.”
        5. How often do we tell each other at church, “I love you?” There are people sitting
            here this morning who have not heard those words in weeks or even months or
            years. The place where love should abound is often the place where it is the
            hardest to find.
        6. May I challenge you to tell someone here today, “I love you.”
 
 III. THE ENDURING NATURE OF LOVE (vss. 8-12)
    A. All of the spiritual gifts that these Corinthians were so proud of were only
        temporary. All of them would cease. Notice, however, the final verse of this
        chapter, “ But now, faith, hope and love abide, these three, and the greatest of
        these is love.”
    B. How can we communicate this enduring quality of love. I recently ran across the
        following acrostic that may help you. Using the four letters L O V E.
        1. L – isten. The greatest way you can demonstrate your interest in another person
            is to listen to their story and hear not only with your ears but with your heart.
        2. O – verlook. Everyone has faults and failures. That includes you. Love takes no
            record of wrongs.
        3. V – alue. Value people more than you value things. Invest yourself in
            relationships with others.
        4. E – xpress. It is important to tell people you love them. Love must be expressed
            in other ways as well. When I fall asleep in my recliner I often wake up with my
            Arkansas Razorback blanket covering me. It is an expression of love from my
            wife.
 
CONCLUSION:
A. What is the answer to distressed situations? In 1965 Hal David and Burt Bacharach
    wrote a song recorded by Jackie DeShannon. “Lord, we don’t need another
    mountain, there are mountains and hillsides enough to climb. There are oceans and
    rivers enough to cross, enough to last until the end of time, What the world needs
    now is love, sweet love, It's the only thing that there's just too little of.”
B. Love is the glue that holds life together. The source of love is God. God is love. His
    love is extended to you today. Will you come to Him and share His love for you
    today?

Are You Worried?

 

Are You Worried?

Steve W. Reeves

West Side Church of Christ, Searcy, Arkansas

 

 Which is longer, your worry list or your prayer list? For many people the joy of life has been drained by the incessant and insidious foe of worry. Like the venom of a poisonous snake, worry infiltrates our hearts and minds to take us captive and make us its prey.  The irony of worry is two-fold. First, most of the things we worry about are beyond our control and, second, most of our worries are never realized. As the well-known holocaust survivor and writer Corrie Ten Boom expressed, “Worry is carrying tomorrow’s burden with today’s strength. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

 

In Philippians 4:6-7 the apostle Paul provides a divinely inspired remedy for the wearisome ill of worry. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Notice three important insights from this passage.

 

1. Worry about nothing. Jesus instructed His disciples to avoid worrying about the necessities of life such as food and clothing (Matthew 6:25-34). The most important thing, according to Jesus, is to “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (verse 33).

 

2. Be thankful. The certain cure for anxiety is thankfulness. Whenever I am tempted to bemoan my circumstances or worry about tomorrow I stop to reflect upon all of the blessings I have been given in life. It does not take long for gratitude to replace worry. The reality of God’s faithfulness in the past provides a foundation of hope for the future.

 

3. Pray about everything. You have no worry too small or too large for God to handle. What would happen in your life if you moved everything on your worry list to your prayer list? Remember that God is, “able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20).

 

The result of these actions are stated in verse 7. God promises us “peace that surpasses comprehension.” The time we waste worrying will be replaced by time filled with unbelievable peace, contentment and rest because we realiaze we are in His care.

- Steve W. Reeves

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's In A Name? 2/16/20

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Steve W. Reeves

steve@wschurch.net

stevesermons.blogspopt.com

 

INTRODUCTION:

A. In the famous play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare wrote, “What’s in a
    name? That which we call a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.”
    1. What if a person’s name reflected their personality?
    2. You might find names like: “Ima Mess,” “Frank Lee Bored,” “Iwana Napp “ or even
        Sonny Weathers. I have a friend who is a TV meteorologist in Memphis named
        Wendy Nations (her real name). 
B. What comes to mind when you hear the name, “Christian?”
    1. Does it have a positive or negative meaning to you?
    2. As an adjective it is used to describe a Christ centered focus (i.e. Christian
        publication, Christian education or Christian fellowship).   
    3. As a noun it means, “one who belongs to Christ.” The word Christian is a
        combination of the word Christ with the Latin suffix “ian” meaning “one who is of”
        or “one who belongs to.” Someone from Searcy might be called a “Searcian.” One
        who belongs to a civic club might be a “Rotarian” or a “Kiwanian.” All of these
        terms are indicative of possession or belonging.
    4.. The word “Christian” is found just three times in the Bible.
        a. Acts 11:26 – “The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” This is
            significant in that Antioch was a crossroads of the ancient world for both Jews
            and Gentiles.
        b. Acts 26:28 – When Paul spoke to King Agrippa about righteousness,
            temperance and judgment to come, Agrippa responded by saying, “almost you
            persuaded me to become a Christian.”
        c.1 Peter 4:16 – “If any suffer as a Christian he is not to be ashamed, but is to
            glorify God in this name.”
C. What is in the name “Christian?” 
 
I. IDENTITY
    A. One of the great themes of the Bible is the identity of God’s people through the
        ages.     
        1. The Old Testament tells the story of God’s deliverance of His people from  
            bondage in Egypt and the establishment of their identity as God’s people.
        2. The New Testament tells the story of God’s deliverance of the world from
            slavery to sin and the new identity we have through Christ.
    B. The New Testament uses some of the same words found in the Old Testament to
        identify God’s people and applies these terms to Christians.
        1. God’s people in the Old Testament were known as Israel. In the New Testament
            Christians are described as “Israel” in Galatians 6:16, “And those who will walk
            by this rule (faith and obedience to Christ), peace and mercy be upon them, and
            upon the Israel of God.”
        2. The language of the Old Covenant regarding Israel in Exodus 19:5, “Now then, if
            you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own
            possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to
            Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” is used in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a
            chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own
            possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called
            you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
            1.) We are a chosen race (spiritual).
            2.) We are a royal priesthood (this applies to all Christians).
            3.) We are a holy nation (this speaks to our character).
           4.) We are chosen by God to proclaim his excellence.
        3. In the Old Testament circumcision was an outward sign of God’s covenant
            with Israel. Notice what Paul said when he wrote to the church in Romans
            2:29, “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of
            the heart.”
    C. As a Christian we are God’s people. You cannot wear the name of Christ if you are
        not a person of God. During the reign of Alexander the Great a young man was
        caught stealing and brought before the great military leader. “What is your name,”
        asked Alexander the Great. “Alexander, sir,” replied the youth. Alexander the Great
        paused for a moment before replying, “Young man, change your life or change
        your name.”
       
II. INFLUENCE
      A. Not only does the New Testament tell us the identity of a Christian as a person
        of God, it also gives us a clear picture of the influence we must have on others.
        1. In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has
            become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
            anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.¹⁴ You are the
            light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵ nor does anyone light a
            lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who
            are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may
            see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
        2. Although we sometimes think of salt as being bad do you realize it is essential
            for life. Without salt our blood would not coagulate properly. Salt is a
            preservative and is used in many ways to enhance the taste of food. This is the
            type of influence Christians are in the world. We make a difference between
            spiritual life and death because we reflect the Savior.
        3. Christians reflect the light of Jesus in a dark world. Do not minimize the
            importance of your light. Your influence may light the way for another who will
            influence others and spread the light of God throughout an entire community.
        4. “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to
            convict you?”
    B. Most Christians have no idea of the powerful influence they possess.
       1. You were born with influence. When you came into this world you had an effect
            upon others. Their schedules were changed because of you. If you have older
            siblings the chances are their lives were changed by you. As you grew you
            learned how to use your influence to get what you wanted.
         2. Each of us has a vast network of people we influence.
           a. Family and Friends
            b. Students influence your classmates.
            c. Parents influence your children and your children’s friends.
        3. Those of us on staff have a degree of influence through our activities, ministries
            and visiting. Our elders have influence through people with whom they meet.
            Deacons have influence through the work they do. All of us combined cannot
            hold a candle to the network of influence you possess.
    C. In considering the question, “What’s in a name” think of Paul’s admonition to
        Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12, “in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show
        yourself an example of those who believe.”
   
III. INCREASE
    A. As one who is “of Christ,” we should have an interest in the increase of God’s
        kingdom. God’s kingdom is composed of all who are obedient to His will. In order
        to know His will people must hear the word (Romans 10:17).
    B. You may have heard the Parable of the Life Saving station. It is the story of a
        group of swimmers who formed a life-saving operation on the east coast.
        Whenever ships would capsize off the coast they would race into action to save the
        passengers and sailors. Each year they saved hundreds of lives. One year
        someone suggested they build a shelter for themselves so they would not have to
        wait outside in the bad weather. They built a small hut just for shelter. A few years
        later someone said, “Let’s enlarge the hut so we can have classes on life saving.”
        They enlarged their hut. Then someone said, “Let’s put in comfortable seats
        instead of these old benches.” Year by year they added comforts and amenities to
        their hut which by this time had grown into a building. No one seemed concerned
        that they were spending more time in the building than on the sea shore looking for
        storm tossed ships. One afternoon a large passenger ship hit a reef and began to
        sink. Hundreds of people drowned while nearby the lifesavers remained huddled
        inside their life-station.
CONCLUSION:
A. Could I be called a Christian
    If everybody knew 
    The secret thoughts and feelings 
    Of everything I do 
    Could they see the likeness
    Of Christ in me each day
    Or could they hear him speaking

    In every word I say 

    Could I be called a Christian

   If my faith I did not show

    If I did not go to places
    Where the Lord would have me go
    If I do not love His truth
    If I do not guard His trust
    If I cherish more than Jesus
    My greatest hidden lust
 
    To obey all He's commanded
    To do all that He said
    To be his true disciple
    To place no confidence in the flesh
    To glory in Christ Jesus 
    It's He who justifies
    How to find your life you must lose it
    To live you first must die
    Let every man examine his own life
    "Could I be called a Christian?”
 
B. What’s in a name? Everything! Are you a “Christian?” Have you come to Christ in
    faith, repented of your sins and been buried with Him in baptism? Are you walking
 ider the question carefully

Why The Church? 2/9/20

Why The Church?

Steve W. Reeves

steve@wschurch.net

stevesermons.blogspopt.com

 

INTRODUCTION:

A. A “loaded” word is one that provokes various responses – some good and some bad
    – to different people in different situations. Having said that, I believe the word
    “church”  can easily be called a “loaded” word.
    1. For some of you the word “church” stirs up precious thoughts.
    2. For others it is stale, boring and irrelevant.  
    3. The very mention of “church” produces suspicion, mistrust and anger among some
        while it brings hope and peace to others. 
   4. In a 2017 article written by Dudley Hall he observes, “So many caricatures of the
        church have polluted the minds of the casual observer, that many are now
        concluding that it is so irrelevant as to be dispensable.” 
B. Whether sanctioned or scorned, the church plays a critical role in God’s plan for our
     lives.
    1. With all of its imperfections the church continues to have an essential purpose.
    2. Our challenge is to understand God’s purpose for the church. This requires us to
        peel back years of tradition and human theology to understand what the Word of
        God teaches about the church.
    3. Thus, with Bibles in hand, let’s ask the question, “Why the Church?”
 
I. IT IS A PERSONAL PROMISE
    A. Jesus promised to build the church upon the truth that He was the Messiah.
       1. His promise was fulfilled following His death, burial and resurrection on the
           day of Pentecost pictured in Acts 2 when Peter and the apostles preached and
           three thousand were baptized (Acts 2:41). 
       2. Peter referred to this foundation in 1 Peter 2:5-9.
       3. The word “church” means “assembly.” We are the assembly of those called out.
    B. Jesus claimed it as His own it.  It is His church.
       1. It does not belong to any of us. It belongs to Christ.
       2. Not only did Jesus promise to build it. He purchased it by paying the price with
           His own blood.
           a. In Matthew 26:28 Jesus said, “For this is My blood of the covenant, which is
               poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
           b. When Paul left the city of Ephesus he instructed the elders of that church to,
               “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit
               has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased
               with His own blood.”
            d. We are not in the church because we are perfect. We are in the church
               because we are saved.         
       
II. IT IS A PRIZED POSSESSION 
    A. If I love you and you have a precious possession it is going to be relevant to me.
       1. For many years my wife and I had an old sofa that had belonged to her
           grandmother. It had been in her grandmother’s living room from Tami’s earliest
           childhood memories. It was precious to her because of its association with her
           family. We moved it around with us for years until it fell apart.
    B. The church’s importance is seen in what it means to Jesus.
       1.  It is His body.
           a. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 – “For even as the body is one and yet has many
               members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one
               body, so also is Christ. ¹³ For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
               whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to
               drink of one Spirit.”
           b. Ephesians 1:22-23 – “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and
               gave Him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His body, the
               fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
       2. It is His bride.
           a. John 3:29 – “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the
               bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the
               bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.”
           b. Revelation 19:7 – “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the
               marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
           c. In Ephesians 5:22ff, Paul says that the marriage relationship between a
               husband and wife is patterned after the relationship between Christ and His
               church.
 
III. IT IS A PREVAILING POWER 
    A. After Jesus said He would build His church He said, “the gates of Hades will not
       overpower it.”
       1. It may surprise you to know that Jesus only used the word “church” two times
           according to the Gospels. Matthew 16:18 and in Matthew 18:17.
       2. On this occasion He describes it as being invincible.
       3. The gates of death and destruction cannot withstand the strength of the church.
    B. God’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
       1. Daniel 2:44 – “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom
           which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another
           people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure
           forever.”
       2. Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” The church does not know
           geographic boundaries.  It transcends time and culture.
       3. This is why the church is always a relevant force. It is empowered by God,
           Himself.
 
IV. IT PROMOTES A POWERFUL PROCLAMATION
    A. The church proclaims a message that transcends the boundaries of time, culture,
        geography, race and ethnicity.
        1. The message we proclaim is not a message that changes from one generation
            to the next as shifting sands of the desert.
        2. The message we proclaim is not based on what is popular or politically correct.
        3. It is a message that comes from God Himself. Notice Paul’s words in 1
            Corinthians 2:12-13, “¹⁰For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the
            Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹For who among men
            knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even
            so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we have 
           received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we
            may know the things freely given to us by God, ¹³which things we also speak,  
            not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit,
            combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”
    B. In the article quoted previously, Hall goes on to note, “Culture without the
        influence of the transcendent message of the church is always moving toward the
        exaltation of mankind. When any part of creation takes precedence over the
        Creator, deception and destruction is just a matter of time.”
    C. The church’s validity cannot be measured by numbers, prestige, prominence or
        popularity. Its importance cannot be dismissed because of our failures but by
        God’s eternal purpose. The relevance of the church comes from God’s redemptive
        work in us. 
 
    CONCLUSION:
A. In his book, Living Beyond the Daily Grind, Chuck Swindoll makes a powerful
    statement about the religious activity of our society. “Much of our religious activity
    today is nothing more than a cheap anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life.”
B. Do not be discouraged when the church seems to be imperfect. It is comprised of
    imperfect people. May we never allow our imperfections to lower God’s standards
    and our desire to follow them.
 a