SCRIPTURE

1 Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia. 2 On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. 3 When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem. 4 And if it seems appropriate for me to go along, they can travel with me.

5 I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay awhile with you, possibly all winter, and then you can send me on my way to my next destination. 7 This time I don’t want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me. 8 In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost. 9 There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.

10 When Timothy comes, don’t intimidate him. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. 11 Don’t let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers.

12 Now about our brother Apollos—I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity.

13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 14 And do everything with love.

15 You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God’s people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, 16 to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion. 17 I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here. They have been providing the help you weren’t here to give me. 18 They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well.

19 The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings. 20 All the brothers and sisters here send greetings to you. Greet each other with a sacred kiss.

21 HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING—PAUL.

22 If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed. Our Lord, come!

23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.

INTRO

Hey family!

We’ll we’ve made it. We did it.

At work, one of my coworkers likes to say, “you’re doing it.” Look at you “you’re doing it.” Although, in this case, it’s more like look at you, “you did it”. You’ve made it through the entire book of 1 Corinthians.

You’ve put up with me saying 1 Corinthians over and over again and although you may have playfully made fun of me, you didn’t question it. In fact, in all of you’re banter I bet you’re never going to be able to look at this letter again without imagining me in your head saying 1 Corinthians. So mission successful.

The last year has just been one big practical joke. Although I’m not sure what the punchline is, so I guess it wasn’t a very good joke. But in all seriousness, we have did it. We have arrived at the last chapter of 1 Corinthians. Chapter 16. And I am very proud of you all for sticking through it.

There are a lot of challenging things in this theologically heavy letter. So, my hope is that we haven’t just survived, but that we have been and are being changed through it all. That’s Paul’s goal with the Corinthians is to see them changed.

As you know by now, they were being changed in a bad way, they were being influenced by their culture more than Jesus. They were good at being spiritual, but they were bad at following Jesus. So Paul is writing to encourage them to be changed by the Gospel, for their lives to be conformed to the image of King Jesus and then he outlines what that looks like.

And as we have arrived here in chapter 16, Paul does his usual thing at the end of his letters, he gives some final words, lays out his travel plans, sends greetings and tells them to greet those who are on their way, and gives his final encouragement.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE

It’s almost like Paul is saying in this particular letter, remember all the things I just wrote to you about. About being united in one faith, in one Spirit, under one Lord, for the one and only God. About living for God in a world that is overwhelmingly non-Christian and overall opposed to the message of Jesus. About laying aside your pride, preferences, desires, and not getting your own way. Lay aside your gifts and just love. Pursue the spiritual good of the people around you because it is so very worth it. No matter how difficult it may be, it’s worth it everytime.

Remember all that? Here are some ways you can start putting that into practice. Put it into practice. We’re collecting money for the church in Jerusalem. Here’s an opportunity for you to pour out of your personal freedom and what you do with your finances to bless brothers and sisters who you’ve never met. Sacrifice your treasure for the spiritual good of those who are in Christ. Here’s an opportunity to put it into practice.

Paul says I’m planning on coming to see you. When I’m there you can share with me the fruit of your faith. The love that should be growing in your heart. I can’t wait to experience all the ways God is changing you and reshaping your hearts and healing the divisions among you.

Not only am I coming, Paul says, but Timothy is coming. Please don’t intimidate him. Don’t treat him poorly. Here's an opportunity to love Timothy. Show all the beautiful ways God has changed you.

Apollos is probably going to come and Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus.

Stephanas and his house are the ones that Paul says are spending themselves for the Gospel and the glory of God. They are spending themselves. Here’s an opportunity for you to put into practice that whole discussion about submission we had. Submit to them. Serve them. They are doing wonderful work. Restore and encourage their souls.

Look at all of these opportunities that are coming your way to put it to work – to practice the expressions of the Spirit, of God’s love through you for the spiritual good of another.

I just want to say this before we move on and get to the main point for today. God is providing so many opportunities for you right now. We are not wanting for opportunity. If Paul was writing this letter to you, what names would be among this list? What opportunities would be listed? I know not everyone is a notetaker, although I would encourage you to start the habit. Don’t let these words spoken on a Sunday be left here. Let them flow in you and through you and work to change your heart.

Pull out some paper or open the notes app on your phone and just jot down a quick list of three opportunities that could be written for you. Here are opportunities to step away from self and toward the spiritual good for those around you. And the wonderful thing is that as you put into practice recognizing and acting on these opportunities, the more aware you will be of all the ways God wants to work in you and through you. You’ll see more and more opportunities.

These are the opportunities for you to put into practice all the beautiful things you are called to as a Christian, as a believer, as a disciple of Jesus.

AN IRRESISTIBLE DISCIPLE

Discipleship is in a way what we’ve been talking about this whole time. All the ways in which the Corinthians were being conformed into the image of the culture of the world rather than the image of Christ. When they should have been transformed into the image of Christ.

There’s that verse in Romans 12 right, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

If you know this verse, you probably know it in the NIV. Seems like that’s how we all memorized scripture back in the day.

“Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We’re talking about being conformed to the image of King Jesus. We’re talking about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and what it means to disciple others. It means teaching people how to know Jesus and to be like Jesus — to obey God and seek His best for our lives.

In preparing for our time together today, I came across a beautiful phrase that I think sums up Paul’s intentions to make irresistible disciples. Irresistible disciples.

I love that little phrase. That’s what I want to be, an irresistible disciple.

But how do we become irresistible disciples Zach?

I’m so very glad that you asked. I would love to tell you.

Paul gives us the four ingredients to make an irresistible disciple. Sort of the four necessary actions we must internalize to take the best advantage of these opportunities God is presenting us, to depend on the Holy Spirit and walk into obedience as God transforms our hearts.

Paul says, “13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”

There are four of them. They all reference sort of a military metaphor of soldiers on the battlefield.

“13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”

The first two reference the Christian warrior awaiting attack; the next two refer to the actual combat.

WAKE UP!

Paul says, be on guard. Be alert. Wake up.

Wake up.

This reminds me of many stories throughout the Bible. Gideon and the midianites. God keeps telling Gideon he has too many men, for then people might be under the assumption that they won the battle under their own power. One time God uses how the men drink water from a stream to send some home. The ones who bent over to drink were sent away while those who cupped the water and lifted it to their mouths so as to remain vigilant were kept. They were awake and watchful.

The disciples were invited to stay awake and pray with Jesus in the garden, but were continuously found asleep. Wake up!

Isaiah loves to remind God’s people to wake up! In chapter 52 he writes, “Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city;“

Jesus even tells the story of ten ladies invited to a wedding in Matthew 25. He says, ““Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Wake up!

Jesus says again in Luke 12, “35 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks.”

“You have to be there wide awake, at just the right moment. You need to not be distracted by unimportant things.”

There are sort of two purposes of being awake to think about. There is to be prepared for the arrival of the groom, of King Jesus. Then there is to be on guard against enemies or things that may distract us and catch us unaware, leave us distracted for when the King comes knocking. Watchfulness against various enemies and dangers and watchfulness for the coming of Christ.

“This changes the dynamic, does it not? Having a house fit for the king is not the issue, just as running out of oil is not the problem. Even if you are not ready, even if you are empty-handed, your home impoverished and your heart bereft of anything at all, don’t hide, don’t run off, scurrying about to make amends.”

The problem in this story is not necessarily that the ladies ran out of oil. Because they never ran out of oil in the story. There were afraid of running out of oil so they got distracted and left to go buy some as the bridegroom was arriving.

“When the king comes, just open the door as you are right now, and stand there, face to face. Give what you have, offer your simple presence, your empty hands, your expectant heart. That’s enough. Let the king have a seat in your humble home; let the bridegroom dance with all ten young women; let the feasting begin, ready or not.”

The Corinthians were not on watch against the culture that was creeping in and distracting them; divisions, litigation, self-satisfaction, the list goes on chapter after chapter. Wake up and focus on the outcome, the arrival of the King. We are lulled into a false sense of security, often thinking that there is a ceasefire in the battle. That the enemy is taking a break. Just because you may tire of the fight, doesn’t mean the enemy has. Wake up!

Vigilance is the posture of an irresistible disciple as we watch carefully for the Spirit’s moving and we guard ourselves against the barrage of the enemy so we are found awake and not distracted. Two more quick stories and we’ll move on.

In the secular usage of this command that Paul gives us, it describes people carefully crossing a river while stepping on slippery stones. We must pay attention as we walk so as not to end up in the water. That’s the image Paul is painting.

The second is from your favorite book in the Bible. That’s right – Habakkuk. Habakkuk seeks the Lord then He says, “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer…” (Habbakuk 2:1)

STAND UP!

Wake up! Paul says. Stand firm – stand up!

Wake up. Stand up.

That sounds like a Bob Marley song, “Get up, stand up. Stand up for your right. Get up, stand up. Don't give up the fight.”

Wise words for us as we strive to be irresistible disciples.

Stand up!

This is not the first time Paul has instructed the Corinthians to take a stand.

Last week we read, “1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved…” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)

Standing up has everything to do with what you are standing upon.

“The only way to "stand firm" is to be standing on a rock solid, unshakeable foundation and here the foundation is the faith, not subjective faith (believing) but objective faith (the object believed)”

As we learned from another parable of Jesus, we can seemingly build our houses on a firm foundation only to find out in the end that we were delusional. This is what Jesus says in Matthew 7, “24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Paul says a very similar thing just a few more chapters back in Corinthians. He writes, “12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Stand up. Not only that, but examine what exactly you’re standing on. An irresistible disciple stands firm in faith. Irresistible disciples stand firm together in one Spirit. They stand up on the firm foundation of the Lord.

These are three ways in which an irresistible disciple stands up.

Stand firm in faith.

We see that here in chapter 16. The ESV version reads, “stand firm in the faith.” Of course that appears elsewhere as well.

We stand firm in one Spirit.

1 Corinthians is full of Paul’s encouragements toward unity and oneness. Philippians 1:27 also joins in that crescendo, “27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.”

Finally stand firm in the Lord.

Paul also writes in Philippians 4:1 to stand firm in the Lord, but again for a bit of diversity He exports us in 1 Thessalonians 3 when he writes, “7 We have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. 8 It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.”

We stand up! We build our lives on Him. We are firmly anchored to the Gospel and to His promises. We stand firm in faith. In faith of our future resurrection even. We stand firm together. We stand firm in the Lord. He is our only rock and solid ground.

GROW UP!

Wake up! Stand Up! Paul tells us. The third ingredient of an irresistible disciple is the we are maturing. That we are growing up. Grow up! Paul says.

Grow up! Be courageous.

You may notice that some translations say something to the effect of “act like men” or “play the man”. This is kind of a shorthand for the Corintihans to stop acting like children in the way that they think, selfishly running after whatever they desire in the moment. Stop trying to self-gratify, but trust God for the future.

I’m not sure if you have noticed, but Paul has compared the Corinthians to children like three different times. And I know Jesus says that to such belongs the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 19:14), but I’m pretty sure Jesus and Paul had different childish characteristics in mind when they used those words respectively.

Which is kind of the point. The phrase that I have come up with over the years, I’m not sure if I’ve shared it with any of you or not. It’s more of a statement I suppose that sums it up. I am such a child in all the ways I shouldn’t be. Isn’t that about it. We are all childish in the wrong way.

Paul makes this distinction back in chapter 14 when he writes, “20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.”

“Maturity is one of the marks of love (1 Cor. 13:11), and something the Corinthians were especially deficient in.”

It’s interesting that this phrase that Paul uses to literally “play the man” or something to that effect only shows up here in the New Testament. Certainly the idea is captured in other phrases. You know where it shows up a whole lot? Obviously the Old Testament since it’s not the New Testament, that’s kind of the only other option.

But more specifically, it is repeated by Moses in his instructions to Joshua, and then reflected in Joshua’s commands to those under his leadership. You are probably familiar with this, though you may not yet know why.

In Deuteronomy 31 Moses instructs Johsua, “6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

And one of my favorite verses in the Bible Joshua 1:9, Joshua repeats, 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Here’s a quick list of 22 places this idea, this exhortation, shows up in the Old Testament. Feel free to write them down or take a picture for reference in your study throughout the week.

Deuteronomy 31:6; Deuteronomy 31:7; Deuteronomy 31:23; Joshua 1:6; Joshua. 1:7; Joshua 1:9; Joshua 1:18; Joshua 10:25; 2 Samuel 10:12; 2 Samuel 13:28; 1 Chronicles 19:13; 1 Chronicles 22:13; 1 Chronicles 28:20; 2 Chronicles 32:7; Psalms 27:14; Psalms. 31:24; Jeremiah 2:25; Jeremiah 18:12; Daniel 10:19; Daniel 11:1; Micah 4:10; Nahum 2:1

An irresistible disciple doesn’t pray for an easier life. Grow up! Pray to be strengthened by the Spirit of God.

Phillips Brooks. I don’t know who that is. Apparently he wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. So there’s that. Phillips Brooks said, “Do not pray for easy lives! Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle.”

Jesus has not called us to an easy, self-indulgent life. The easy life does not lead us down the narrow path. God promises us in His word that He will light the way, not that He will remove the bumps.

The irresistible disciples is growing up toward Heaven, toward holiness, toward the one who alone is holy. We must always be looking up, even as we trudge our way through the difficulties of life.

PRAY IT UP!

Wake up! Stand Up! Grow Up! Lastly, be strong.

I Know that doesn’t end in “up”. My fellow OCDers are really struggling at the moment. We can say, “Pray it up!”

Paul is always praying for spiritual strengthening to descend upon him and his brothers and sisters in Christ.

He writes to the Ephesians, “14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul wanted the Corinthian to be strengthened by Spirit, and so he prayed diligently for this. Pray it up, along with the saints in glory that you may be strengthened so as to not grow weary in practicing righteousness. Let me give you a quick definition of righteousness since it is one of those churchy words. Doing right by God and people. May the Spirit of God strengthen you to do right by people.

If we keep practicing this, what we practice becomes our second nature, then in a crisis and in the details of life we find that not only will the grace of God stand by us, but also our own nature. Whereas if we refuse to practice, it is not God’s grace but our own nature that fails when the crisis comes, because we have not been practicing in actual life.

The way I like to say it, and the way I pray for it is that my default would be righteousness. Not frustration. Not anger. Not sin and selfishness. But an irresistible disciple practices in life so that the Spirit at work is our default. That we would act from the Spirit and not react from our own strength.

“Herbert Spencer said people were trained to think like pagans six days a week and like Christians the remaining day; consequently in the actual things of life we decide as pagans, not as Christians at all.”

I pray the Lord would strengthen us. Not with strength of activity, but the strength of being. To change our nature and not just the appearance of our actions.

DO EVERYTHING WITH LOVE

So that’s it. The ingredients of an irresistible disciple.

" Wake up!" That is, stay vigilant. Be on the alert.

"Stand up!" Seize what is already yours! Retain it. Don't let it go! Don't go back on what God has already given you!

"Grow up!" Is the trend in your life and actions moving toward an increased likeness to Jesus?

And "pray it up!" Tough times lay ahead. We need the Spirit of God at work in our lives, strengthening us.

It is worth noting that there is more to this sentence. There’s a secret sauce that Paul reveals in the end, “14 And do everything with love.” Let everything you do be done in love.

This is not a command like the others, but rather the manner in which the four preceding commands should operate.

“In other words Paul is not saying do the previous four commands and then do this one "with" love or accompanied by love. No, the previous commands are to be carried out in the atmosphere of unconditional, God-like, God enabled love.”

“Love "keeps our firmness from becoming hardness and our strength from becoming domineering. It keeps our maturity gentle and considerate. It keeps our right doctrine from becoming obstinate dogmatism and our right living from becoming smug self-righteousness."

“This ingredient was in "short supply" among the believers in Corinth! And so I am immediately reminded of Paul's warning against doing anything without love.”

I just want to finish our time in this wonderful letter with those words once again, the climax of Paul’s teaching, chapter 13.

“1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

https://www.preceptaustin.org/1-corinthians-16-commentary#16:13

https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/help-others-grow/discipleship/what-is-discipleship.html#:~:text=The%20discipleship%20process%20is%20more,His%20best%20for%20their%20lives.

https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/francisclooney/blog/awake-night-waiting-beloved#:~:text=%22Ten%20virgins%20took%20their%20lamps,jars%20along%20with%20their%20lamps.

A WASTED LIFE

Hey family!

Good morning. Good morning.

Can we just dive right in? Can we go deep real quick? Just skip all the pomp and circumstance and get right down to it?

In the darkest nights of the soul, I have a fear that I’m wasting my life. I know I’m afraid of a lot of things. But when I reflect on what is most terrifying to me, what is most gut turning, it is to be at the end of my life, look back, and have the realization that I didn’t do anything of any value – of any real substance.

I fear that.

When I was in High School, as many of you may know, I went to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham – go Unicorns!

When I was in High School, I was fortunate enough to have a mentorship in an ecological lab at Duke University where I helped in their research studying the effects of climate change through the measurement of phosphorus levels in rainwater. Trust me, it’s as exciting as it sounds.

Do you know what some of my classmates were doing in their mentorships? One girl was a part of a team that discovered a link to a gene that causes breast cancer. How life changing is that? Another kid contributed to the discovery of a galaxy. Isn’t that incredible? What was I doing pipetting rainwater into a spectrophotometer? (Still as exciting as it sounds)

Many of my friends from those days have gone on to be neurologists/neurosurgeons, you know – brain doctors. Probably some are quite literally rocket scientists.

I’m not envious of them. It’s not wealth and status that I fear I’m missing out on. I’m not afraid that I’m missing out on life or accomplishment. That’s not what I’m talking about. I don’t envy these people. In fact, Paul actually insinuates in this chapter that we are the ones to be envied.

Jesus said in Luke 12, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” 16 Then he told a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

I love my life. I love my family. I love Jenny. I love Canaan and Ada. I love my job, both of them. I’m not in it for the money, I have no idea how much I make, probably less than you and more than I deserve. I love this family. Being relational is hard for me and challenging, but it’s good. I’m satisfied. I’m satisfied in God and with life. Would I like to own the house I live in? Yes. Would I love to travel more? Perhaps. But those aren’t necessities in life that I’m going to one day regret if they don’t happen.

When I peer into the future, what I fear most is that I will look back and that my life would have had no significant worth to the Kingdom of God. That’s what keeps me up at night. I’m not all that worried about not being welcomed into the open arms of God. I have assurance that my salvation does not depend on me. So, I’m not worried about getting into Heaven, you might say, even though, Biblically speaking, that’s not exactly the prize, I am worried about not bringing anyone with me.

To that, Paul has some encouraging words.

“58 My dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT)

Everything you do for Him is worthwhile. It’s all worth it. No matter how great or seemingly insignificant, and even if you can’t see it, if it’s for the Lord then it is valuable and your life is not a wasted life.

Therefore, devote yourself fully to the work of the Lord. Do everything no matter how great or small for Him. When you brush your teeth in the morning, brush the Hell out of them. Eh? “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

I used to believe that even if none of this is real then it would still be the best pursuit to set your heart to, to love selflessly, to care for people, to do good in the world. Isn’t it right, and admirable, and noble to try to leave this world better than you found it? Should it lead to more fulfilling relationships and a more fulfilling life to treat each other well?

Through these passages in chapter 15 I’m beginning to see what Paul seemingly knows and what the world at large understands. If there is no God then why not pursue self-pleasure, why not chase after what feels good, why not be lovers of self? Without God there is no purpose but to enjoy life in whatever way seems most enjoyable to you no matter what harm you cause to yourself or others. That’s what the world believes. If someone gets in your way of pursuing whatever life you want, then toss them aside because they don’t really love you anyway. “If there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” There’s no point. Waste your life in whatever way seems least wasteful to you.

But because God is real. Because Jesus lived on this earth. Because He died, was buried, and rose again forever conquering death so that Paul can write and the Scriptures be fulfilled, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:54, NLT) Because this reality points to an even greater reality where there is no pain, or hurt, no more guilt or shame, no more tears. Because all of this is true and really happened and will one day happen, our lives are not wasted and a life lived for God is to be envied. A life in pursuit of God’s presence is not a wasted life. A life lived in the presence of a God who sees you, who loves you, who cares for you, who is for you, who will never leave you, and will never abandon you, who is hear right not just in your corner, but fighting for you, a life lived in pursuit of God who reveals Himself to you to be experienced and enjoyed by you in a million different ways is not a wasted life.

That’s what we call the Gospel.

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL

It’s no wonder that the majority of this chapter centers around the good news that King Jesus has come. 1 Corinthians 15 may be the clearest definition of the Gospel in all the Bible.

“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, NLT)

Paul writes, I’m telling you what is of first importance: that Christ died…

“The gospel begins with [those] two words… Christ died. The first word in the gospel is Jesus, and the second word is died.”

The resurrection is important and inseparable and indispensable from this good news, but you don’t get there without this first part. Jesus died for you, to eliminate your guilt so that you can enjoy Him. Jesus died so that you may have a new full life centered around God and the enjoyment of Him now and in this life. Jesus died so that one day you will get to enjoy Him in the fullness of who He is with resurrected bodies and fear, and pain, and death will no longer be a thing.

There’s nobody for whom this message is irrelevant. Everybody will die, unless Jesus comes back first. Though it is a defeated enemy, we all have to deal with death. It is the last great trial.

The Gospel is such that “you have spectacularly good news about death. Nobody else does. Nobody. Muslims do not have good news about death. They’re crossing their fingers. Hindus don’t have good news. Maybe you’ll come back as a cat. Jews don’t have good news. It’s a conflicted message in the Jewish synagogue about death. Atheists don’t have good news about death. The world wants to run away from this because nobody has any good news — except you. You have phenomenally good news [for] people who are facing death.”

Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope in this life and for our own future resurrection. It gives us forgiveness. It gives us acceptance. It gives us freedom – an abundant life now. And it gives us hope for a life to come.

PROOF OF THE GOSPEL

As there were some in the Corinthian church who were doubting the resurrection, Paul doesn’t just leave us to trust him that Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection form the foundation of this hope in life and for the future. That you can’t just get rid of Jesus’ resurrection and say it didn’t happen. All of life depends on it. He provides evidence.

In our modern day, there are some who would say that evidence for the resurrection is non-existent, or at the very least worse than you may imagine. They would contend that Christianity is a baseless religion that is stuck in the past and as Karl Marx famously described an “opiate of the masses.”

These same people will recognize the historical accuracy of the events Paul talks about. That they did actually happen in history. But they deny the Biblical conclusion.

So in response we must demonstrate two things. “We must maintain a reasonable case that [the] biblical portrait is true. But in addition, we must also demonstrate that [Jesus] is worth following. We must show from Scripture and experience that this Jesus is not only true, but that He quenches the deepest soul thirst of all humans—that he is ultimately what all people long for.”

Paul seeks to do both of these things in what can only be described as his defense of the Gospel. He starts with the evidence.

He says, “3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.”

There are more than 300 prophecies in the Hebrew Bible about the anointed king of Israel that would one day come. Some Jesus had control over, like when He turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple. He could decide to do that. Others were out of His control such as being born in Bethlehem.

A mathematician named Peter Stoner set out to calculate the statistical odds of one man born of the time fulfilling all these prophecies. His scientific article was peer reviewed and approved to accurately represent the probabilities. He found that to even fulfill eight prophecies, the odds were one hundred quadrillion to one. That’s a one with 17 zeros. I think it’s something like a million billion to one. It is perhaps possible but you would have a far better chance of winning the lottery twice in a row.

If you expand that to fulfill even 48 of the prophecies in one person the odds are not in your favor. It skyrockets to one in 10 to the 157th power. That’s 157 zeros. I’m not even sure they have a name for that. This is what scientists would explain to be so improbable that it’s basically impossible. I mean what’s the difference. And of course the inevitable conclusion is that there is not a computer in the world that is powerful enough to crunch the statistical value of fulfilling all 324 prophecies. It is impossible.

And yet Jesus did it.

“5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.”

Paul is stacking on the evidence. Peter saw the resurrected Jesus. The twelve disciples saw Him. Then 500 followers all saw Him at once. It wasn’t a hallucination or something of the sort.

We can, at times, tend to look back unfavorably upon the more ancient generations. We believe ourselves to be more advanced, more sophisticated. Those superstitious fools believing that people can come back from the dead.

They didn’t think that. They knew people don’t do that. That’s why the apostles ran away when Jesus was killed. That’s what happened time after time when someone would claim to be the Messiah. The rabbi was killed and the followers scattered. But something changed within the disciples of Jesus. There was something different.

Not only that, but some of those 500 were still alive Paul says, so you can go ask them. Don’t just believe what I’m saying, go find out for yourselves.

Also, James saw the resurrected Jesus. James, the brother of Jesus, who would become the Bishop of the church in Jerusalem encountered the living God and He worshiped Him. James, who thought his brother was crazy when He was alive, worshiped Him after His death. Something changed in James.

“8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.”

Here’s the crazy part about all of this, Paul’s encounter with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus was only about three years after Jesus’ death. Already there was an established doctrine of the resurrection, within three years. Don’t you think someone could have checked to see if Jesus’ body was still there? Don’t you think Paul could have investigated to make sure?

Not only that, but pretty much every Apostle who would have been among those who could have potentially stolen Jesus’ body died horrible deaths holding fast to the faith that Jesus was alive.

Paul was not interested in Jesus before his conversion. Jesus was a dark stain on all that he cared about and had dedicated his life to. Yet, he suffered more than any of them.

In Acts 9 God told Ananias, “Go! I have chosen Saul for an important work. He must tell about me to those who are not Jews, to kings, and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Paul writes here, “30 And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? 31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily.”

Why would they do that if not for the resurrection?

Something had changed. Jesus is not only true, but He is ultimately what all people long for.

RESULT OF THE GOSPEL - GRACE

10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

By the grace of God, I am what I am. Our whole life is a dependence on the power of grace to be what we ought to be and do what we ought to do.

There is every bit the real sense that this whole chapter is to encourage you that no matter what it may appear to you, no matter how much you believe that you fall short, no matter how undeserving you believe yourself to be that by the grace of God you are becoming who you already are, who God sees you to be. You are preparing yourself for the imperishable body. You are in His eyes, precious beyond belief.

“Paul is saying the secret of contentment, the secret of satisfaction, is trusting the promises, “I’m going to strengthen you. You’re mine. I love you.”

“He’s saying, “Believe me. Trust me. Every hour of your life, trust me. I will help you. I will strengthen you. I’ll hold you up. I’ve got an avalanche of promises for you. Trust me.”

Grace is the unmerited favor shown to us by God. It is a blessing of standing, of status as God’s beloved children that we did not earn and we do not deserve. And grace is also the power of God for us who believe to do what we ought to do and to be who we ought to be. There is past grace that says you are mine. I have chosen you. I love you. And there is present and future grace that says I’ve got you. I am with you. I love you.

“The right response of the heart towards past grace is thankfulness, and the right response toward future grace is faith.”

Trust Him in all things, pour yourself out for Him, spend your life telling everyone you meet about King Jesus and demonstrating Jesus in the way that you live and the way that you love and in the end you will find a life not wasted.

“Our God doesn’t leave us to labor, and sing, and overcome, and run our race in our own strength. He has good works prepared for us ahead of time, and gives us his Spirit to empower them in and through us. He doesn’t demand a dead sprint, but invites us to walk in them, and to say with joy in the end, “Yet not I but through Christ in me.”

A LIFE NOT WASTED

“If Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”

We are not to be pitied – we are to be envied. Don’t let that puff you up, but let it lift you up. Don’t feel sorry for me. Don’t wonder if I’m wasting my life. “A life lived for personal pleasure rather than for the glorification of Christ is a wasted life.” A life lived to bring glory to King Jesus is a life not wasted.

The Corinthians had taken their eyes off of the purpose, off of the outcome.

There’s a joke from the comedian Jim Gaffigan that I’ve heard repeated in increasing frequency as of late. It’s when he’s talking about cake. He says, “Cake's a powerful food. Cake can actually bring people together. You know... "It's Bill's birthday" "Yeah I hate that guy." "There's cake in the conference room." "Well I should say hello."

If we could see the purpose, if we could see the value. If you could only peer into the future when you have shuffled off this mortal coil – if you could see what you will be. That’s a powerful motivating factor. When you can see what it's all for. Then you will know it’s not wasted. This is a life not wasted. Nothing you ever do for the Lord is wasted, none of it is useless.

Jim Elliot, the missionary who was famously killed in Ecuador with seemingly no fruit to his work, said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

Therefore abound in good works with an unshakeable foundation.

“58 My dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT)

We love, because it provides an unshakeable foundation for our life and purpose in all that we do. “Therefore, do huge amounts of Christ-exalting work because none of it is in vain.”

PRAYER

Lord, pour out your Spirit in such a way that your people desire Jesus more than they desire other things and other people. That we would experience the satisfaction that only comes from you, the satisfaction that quenches the deepest thirsts of the human desire. Lord, empower us to love, empower us to do good works, knowing that nothing we do for Your glory will ever be wasted. We are not wasting our lives, but we will spend them. We will spend them for You and You alone to proclaim Jesus with our words, to demonstrate Jesus with our lives, and to call all peoples in all places to join us as we step into becoming real people, who are a part of this real loving family, all to worship You – the real and true God.

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

https://midtowndowntown.com/sermons/jesus-resurrection

https://midtowndowntown.com/sermons/our-resurrection

https://sermons.love/skip-heitzig/13973-skip-heitzig-1-corinthians-1520-58.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/stand-firm.html

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/deal-with-death

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/living-by-faith-in-future-grace/excerpts/grace-arrives-when-you-need-it

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/labor-like-youre-loved

https://nickcady.org/2020/02/18/the-statistical-probability-of-jesus-fulfilling-the-messianic-prophecies/