•I Corinthians 14:1-5
•To Gather to Build
•The Wide World
•Corinth
1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
(I Corinthians 14:1-5, ESV)
Main Point
• Paul lays the foundation for congregational worship
• Through love and various gifts given
• We should pursue love
• The gifts given should be utilized in service to each other
• Our focus for congregational worship should be on honoring God by being obedient to love
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Application Points
• To Gather to Build
– It can get the point we conclude we would be better off alone
– When we feel we are not receiving what we should it can become discouraging
– Is it possible that the majority of times we think this way it is because we focus on the wrong thing?
– What is the primary reason for gathering
– Is it to fill your own cup?
– If we come here with such expectations and demands on each other we will become dissatisfied and disillusioned
– You will not likely find these things if this is your primary motivation for gathering
Application Points
• To Gather to Build (2)
– What, then, is the primary motivation to gather?
– The first is God is glorified when His people come together to worship Him
– To have the prophetic word spoken to them glorifies God
– It also glorifies God when we serve one another which reflects Jesus Himself
25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:25-28, ESV
Application Points
• To Gather to Build (3)
– The purpose of gathering is to emulate Christ and glorify God by utilizing our gifts for each other
– To walk in love with one another utilizing your gifts not so you can be lifted, but that you can lift others
– What would happen if everyone sought to be obedient as possible to Christ by walking in love and utilizing their gifts for each other?
– Every need would be met
– To seek to serve rather than to seek to be served will naturally lead to everyone becoming served
– We can be so fixated on asking “What is my gift” that we can forget to simply love one another is our responsibility
– It also doesn’t help that we often have an incorrect understanding of the gifts
– Is prophecy about predicting the future?
– What if prophecy also included words to build up, encourage, and console?
Application Points
• To Gather to Build (4)
– Is it possible you have prophesied without realizing you were?
– Is it possible that by simply being loving, and seeking to bless another, you have been gifting others and not realizing it?
– By assuming only one kind of prophesying we have failed to see it happening around us
– It is just as much about the here and now
– We have focused greatly on building up the congregation
– Paul does emphasize prophecy as a means for building up the congregation in love
– But he does not downplay or say that the different kind of tongues does not have a place
Application Points
• To Gather to Build (5)
– The way Paul describes it thus far seems to be deeply personal between the individual and God
– Ever since the discussion on the Lord’s Supper Paul has been focusing on congregational worship
– He never says the individual is a zero or nothing
– He affirms both the individual and the congregation
– Each individual person in the congregation matters, and each is here for the glory of God
– Together in unity, in sharing our gifts, we are then building one another up in love
Application Points
• To Gather to Build (6)
– Oftentimes with our gifts we think that is what defines us
– We should not be defined by our spiritual gifts, which are being given by God for His purposes to each person, but by love
– When people walk into the doors of this congregation, the first thing they should experience is our love
– When we wake up on Sunday (every day!) we should be asking, “How can I pursue love today?”
– In this way our gatherings will be filled regardless if we have a prophet or not
– Regardless if we can speak in tongues or not
– We must first pursue love and trust the Lord to bless us with various gifts according to His will
– Our purpose on Sunday is to practice and exhibit love to one another in our relationships, rejoicing in the various ways God has bestowed gifts on each other for our mutual benefit
•Application Points
•The Gospel of Christ
–Origins
–Where we began
–Fall
–What went wrong
–Redemption
–How it is fixed
–Glorification
–Where it at leads
