Intro Story- Red man suit
He was steadfast and immovable
Because of his training and stance he had taken
He was abounding in size
Which led to all the training to not be in vain
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Historical context is important to know to help us understand how to interpret this book
Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian church
It was a church that he founded
He was deeply and emotionally involved in the growth of this church
He kept in close contact with them
Most of this letter is a letter of correction
Paul saw things that weren’t lining up so he needed to address them
The Corinthian church wasn’t that old and was in a place of corruption
The church was allowing culture to infiltrate which led to questionable doctrines
Corinth was a port city which led to many different ethnicities and religions to be prevalent
It was a very perverse city with a lot of evil influence
Which led to the church to begin to compromise
One of the most significant factors which was compromising the church in Corinth was the unashamed sexual immorality that was normal to the city
The city was known for its sexual immorality and was even praised by many
The most prominent site was Acrocorinth
It was a mountain that rose to 1800 feet
On the summit of this mountain was the temple of Aphrodite
This was a symbol of sexual perversion
The temple was said to have maintained 1000 prostitutes
People could go there at anytime
It was considered worship to Aphrodite
Which was idolatry, another big problem in Corinth
But there were numerous other temples where people worshiped false Gods
There were animal sacrifices being made in these temples to the false Gods
All of these problems and more is what made paul address the Corinthian church as they allowed the culture to move into the church
The church had written paul a letter to ask advice on things that were being taught
Here are things that paul addressed in this letter
He corrected them on being divided between different church leaders
Some Christians were tolerating incest
They were bringing up lawsuits against one another
They were excusing sexual immorality
They were misguided about marriage
Eating foods sacrificed to idols
What women should wear
The way they partake in the lords supper
Prioritizing spiritual gifts
And denying that God will bodily resurrect believers
Which brings us to the scripture we are at
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Maybe you are thinking, what does all the cultural context have to do with the sermon
And I will answer with this
Have you seen what happening in the global church right now?
Its bad, and its only going to get worse
Like the Corinthian church, many churches and believers are falling victim to the culture of our society
Praise God that’s not us, we have sound biblical pastors that preach the whole counsel of God
But many others aren’t so blessed
They have been enduring false doctrines
A feel good message
No repentance of sin
Afraid to offend and they even pervert the word of God based on their own self gratification
There are “pastors” that are directly deceiving the congregations and they believe them
I will give you some examples that I’ve seen just in the last couple months alone
I’m not going to say any of their names because I don’t think the deserve even the slightest mention
They are ungodly and have done a disservice to Christs church
This one guy, I wont even call him a pastor, more like a deceiver, who is also a homosexual
Is using scripture to say that sex between 2 consenting adults is acceptable before marriage
Scripture doesn’t prohibit it
The reason? They transcribers wrongly interpreted words like fornicators
It doesn’t mean between to consenting adults
He says that referred to sexual exploitations and abuse
So all of these people over thousands of years all got it wrong, but you’re the guy that figured it out
I saw another guy in front of his church that was having a drag queen speak in front of the church and asking questions
Which the guy obviously tried to back by scripture using
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
He said see he is being transformed and disregarding the rest of the scriptures
We live in a very liberal area and I have even seen many pastors in our area that preached sound doctrine
Become ok with certain sin in the church, the biggest one is that homosexuality is ok
People, it doesn’t usually happen to believers overnight
What happens is they begin to compromise in their walk with the Lord and allow the world to dictate what the word of God says
Instead of allowing the word of God to dictate what culture is
This is why Christians must be steadfast and immovable
When paul wrote this he said brethren
He was talking to the church, to the believers
Being steadfast and immovable is how we protect not only our own spiritual life but the church as well
Do you remember pastor matts sermon titled The church is an ark?
That sermon has had the most impact in my life than any other sermon I’ve heard
Other than the Gospel message that led me to give my life to Christ
I’ve always loved the church, the body of Christ
But when he preached that message it stirred in my spirit
I wept 3 different times during his sermon
It imparted a love for the church that I never thought possible
And the setting was perfect
Even though the power went out it was like a word perfect word picture to me
As Noah and his family entering the ark, Noah the spiritual head
Having limited lighting, but was safe in the ark from the coming storm
It changed the way I feel about the body, I pray differently
I write every sermon through the thought of how it will affect the church
It is an unexplainable and overwhelming feeling that is difficult to explain
How much more does Christ love His church!
Husbands, do you love your wife?
Wives, do you love your husband?
I love my wife
She is perfect for me, she is a godly wife and mother that always puts Christ first
She is grounded in the word
She has more biblical knowledge and understanding than she even realizes
God knew what He was doing when he gave her to me
Picture this for a moment
A husband and wife have been married for many years
Their relationship was great, but something began to change
It was noticeable
So the husband approaches the wife and questions her
I’ve noticed that you’ve been distant lately
You’ve become selfish and doing what is pleasing to you
I cant seem to understand why now you have been twisting my words to your friends
What is happening
The wife replies
You know after all these years of marriage my view on it has changed
It’s a different time now
I took care of you for awhile but now I must care for myself
Don’t feel bad about me using your words differently then you said them
It makes me feel better about myself, also I look good to my friends
As the tears begin to well up in the eyes of the husband the wife says
I know when we were at the alter getting married that I said you were my one true love
But my view of love has changed, it’s a different time, things changed
I’ve broadened my view, now I understand what true love is
Its for everyone
And since I know that now, I’m ready to tell you, that’s why I have been sleeping around with all these other people
I’m not sure why you are upset
Its for you look how much love I’m giving, look how many people I’m drawing into your house
And as the husband stands weeping and pleading with his wife saying repent, please, turn back to me
The wife has made up her mind
And soon those tears of sadness from the husband will turn to judgment
We are the bride of Christ
He is coming back for a church that is Holy and set apart, above reproach, a virgin that is pure
Not a church that is self gratifying full of spiritual fornication
This is why we must be steadfast and immovable
We must protect our own spiritual life as well as protecting the church
Do not think that you are immune from the attacks of the enemy
Or that he cant deceive you, because he can
1 Corinthians 15:33-34
Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
Paul is speaking to believers
He’s letting them know that the evil company they keep will be to their detriment
We must safeguard ourselves against any perversion of Gods Holy Scriptures
Be careful of who you allow into your life
Or people that speak into your life
There are many people that love to distort the truth of Gods word
And to protect ourselves we remain steadfast and immovable
So what does it look like to be steadfast?
How do we become immovable?
By holding on to the truth of Gods word
Do not read the bible based on what the culture is around you
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Since He is the same, that means that His word remains the same
His word is relevant
Its all relevant, from genesis to revelation
Its not going to change with the times or generations
Its not based on how we perceive it according to culture
His word is pure and Holy
And we must take it as it is
2 timothy 3:12-17
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for [a]instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
All scripture is given by the inspiration of God
We must thoroughly read and study His word
He has given it to us for a reason
Staying in the word helps us to remain steadfast and immovable
It will guard your mind and your heart
It will correct every wrong thought that you have if you allow it to do so
It protects us and equips us
We live in a culture that is easy to be swayed any direction if you are not true to the Word of God
If you don’t know what it says you cant protect yourself
It allows us to see Gods true character and righteousness
Without it you can fall victim to any doctrine that is going around
and is profitable for doctrine
There are so many doctrines in the world
You may think that they cant get to you but they can
Look at the Corinthian church
This church was founded by Paul himself
And yet he is having to correct them on things being taught
They are all choosing different people as leaders and all sorts of doctrines were being taught
2 timothy 4:1-5
I charge you [a]therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead [b]at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
We must not be people that give into any doctrine that speaks to itching ears
Love only doctrines, do what you like doctrines, be you doctrines
Doctrines that make you always feel good about your self
And doctrines that have no correction
We are the church so I don’t need to go to church doctrines
If you listen to them it will get into your heart
I’ve seen many people be swayed by doctrines of demons and eventually leave the church
Because they haven’t been staying in the word and enduring sound biblical doctrine
You must protect your spiritual life and the church
Then you can be abounding in your work for the Lord
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Your work for the Lord is not in vain
If you are anything like me
There have been times where I think does any of what I’m doing matter
In your jobs and in your life
Do people even notice what I do for the Lord
I want you to hear this
It doesn’t matter if anyone notices
Because the Lord does
Its not in vain, He knows the work you do for Him
It glorifies and honors Him and that’s what matters
On the other side of that I will let you know, people do notice
Story- haircut
Her work is not in vain
People that enter her shop are going to see an open bible always
They will hear worship music
If they aren’t believers they hear the gospel
And if they are Christians even a pastor, you will leave encouraged
Her work is not in vain If you are living a life set apart for Christ
Then neither is yours
Keep being considerate to coworkers
Keep inviting them to church
Continue to speak the word of God
Believe me they notice, and it could only be a matter of time when the Lord reaches the ones you are working on
I will close with the scripture
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
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