Latest / The Daily Word / March 29 - Pursue and Desire
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good wee hours of the night, whatever time you're joining us. Welcome to the Daily Word podcast from Lakeshore Christian Fellowship. My name is Cory Barnes and it's my privilege to pastor our Catawba campus. And I'm excited to be sitting down with you again for another episode where we're going to be diving into God's word and pulling out some insights that we can walk away with and apply to our daily life. Today is March the 29th. and the New Testament portion of our Life Bible Journal reading plan is coming from 1 Corinthians 14. Now little bit of context about where I'm coming from before we get to today's verses. It's important to see that 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 Comprise a section of this letter. Well, Paul is bringing some correction to the church at Corinth when it comes to spiritual gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. See, the church at Corinth were very passionate. They were very zealous. They were ready to jump in to spiritual gifts ⁓ you know, signs, wonders, healings, miracles, all those things that we see are scriptural and that the Lord does want to do. But the church of Corinth was so zealous for it and they were so eager and so ready to jump in that as they did so, they got off and they got into some ditches and they, they kind of needed some pulling back. And that's what Paul is doing here as he's just bringing things back into alignment, adjusting some perspective. and helping them to see the true purpose of these spiritual gifts. So 1 Corinthians 14 is the end of those three chapters, and it's where Paul is bringing some, he's brought some correction of doctrineally, he's brought some correction practically, and this is how he's bringing a correction for the church services practically in this chapter. And what stood out to me, are the first and last verses of this chapter, because I feel like they're kind of bookends to what the apostle has written here. They kind of summarize everything that's in the middle. It's kind of like the two Oreos and then the cream is in the middle. These two verses are kind of holding it together and we can kind of see how everything in the middle flows out of one of these two thoughts. And that is First Corinthians 14 one, pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. And then first Corinthians 14 40, let all things be done decently and in order. So let's talk about verse one first. He is telling the church of Corinthians to pursue love and desire spiritual gifts. Now, Remember this is being written to the church of Corinth. These people are already passionate about spiritual gifts. And I think what's important to recognize is that in that the apostle Paul is not telling them not to desire spiritual gifts. He's not telling them, Hey, settle down, calm down. You don't need all this. he's not saying that we don't also need spiritual gifts and that spiritual gifts should not be ⁓ desired. But before he talked desiring spiritual gifts, he first says pursue love. Now, previously in chapter 13, Paul had laid the fact ⁓ that the spiritual gifts, their purpose is love. in chapter 13, he basically said, it doesn't matter what you have to say, ⁓ doesn't matter what you can do, what gifting is on your life, it doesn't matter ⁓ you speak in the tongues of men or angels, it doesn't matter what you have to bring, ⁓ you're not bringing it in love, ⁓ ⁓ ⁓ ⁓ we can see that the spiritual gifts that Paul is talking about in these three chapters, they really are purpose. is to express God's love to his people. After all, first John tells us that God is love. So anything that God is going to be doing is going to be loving. So before you start desiring these spiritual gifts, Corinth, first pursue love. And in that pursuit of love, he goes on to explain. the different ways that they should be making corrections to the way they were having church services This is how you should do this. Don't do this Do do this ⁓ and then he gets down to that final verse. Let all things be done decently and in order Because if all things are done in love, I truly believe that those ⁓ that it be ⁓ Decent and order. Let me show you why I come to that conclusion in reading Paul's definition of love from the previous chapter, first Corinthians 13, four through seven. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. And if we're honestly walking out our journey with God and our pursuit, our desire for spiritual gifts, and we recognize that those things should be done in love, then it makes sense that when we come together as a church and begin trying to walk in these spiritual gifts, we can recognize that the most loving way to do it is decently and in order structured in a way that it doesn't breed confusion. And there's lots of different specific instances and issues that Paul points out in this chapter. And if you go back and you read through this chapter again, and you look at, don't do this, do do this, and you think about it, you can come to the realization of why whatever it was, was not loving. It wasn't loving to have all the things going on because anyone who was in the room that didn't know what was going on, they would just walk away confused. They wouldn't walk away feeling closer to God or like God loved them or saw them. It would have just been pandemonium. So that's a good study to go on on your own. You can look and you can imagine in a church service context, why would it be loving that only up to three people should prophesy and if one starts prophesying, they should stop prophesying when someone else talks. Why is that loving? Why does that embody love? It'll be a good study for you just to see how the Lord thinks about things and why he wants us to do things decently in order. But, but that's all just observation. Let's get to application application for my life. First off, am I pursuing love? And am I pursuing love before I desire spiritual gifts? And am I even desiring those spiritual gifts? You know, I think of if someone I know tells me that they have a gift for me the next time I see them, I'm checking what they're holding in their hands. If they were sitting somewhere, I'm like glancing under the seat to see if there's like a gift bag or. perhaps an envelope with a little bit of cashola in it. I'm looking for that gift. I'm desiring it. And the Lord said, I have gifts for you. And Paul is saying, desire these gifts. We should be desiring them. So am I pursuing love and do I desire these gifts? For some of you, you may not desire these gifts. You may not care at all. That's just a good place to open a conversation with the Lord would you show me father? why you have these gifts for me and why I should even desire them. I'll be honest with you, Father, I don't desire them. But if you're saying that it's a gift from you and that I should desire it, I'm willing to hear you out. I want you to show me. It's a good place to be. Just starting off with those two things. Because for those of you who already are desiring spiritual gifts, it seasons that pursuit, that desire with love. And for those of you who don't desire it at all, it's a good place to start a conversation with him where he can show you things. And then all that brings us back to the place of, I ready that in desiring spiritual gifts, in pursuing love, I am ready to walk that out in a body of believers decently and in order. Let's pray. Father, I thank you. I thank you for who you are. I thank you, Holy Spirit, that you do have gifts for us, that you want to show your love in us, to us, and through us. And that's what your spiritual gifts are for, is to manifest that love on the earth. I thank you that you have something for each and every one of us to walk in, to start taking steps in, to go further in or begin our journey on. I thank you that you are a loving God who cares about us personally. You are love and anything you do is going to look, smell, and taste like love. We don't want to be clinging symbols, Jesus. We wanna be loving and we want people to be able to see you in all that we do. We love you, Jesus. Thank you for sharpening us today. Amen.