The central message is a call to "get a grip" by recognizing one's own limited wisdom compared to God's and appreciating the abundance of spiritual riches in Christ, rather than focusing on worldly desires or perceived lacks.
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1 Corinthians chapter 3:es 18- 23.
23.
As Pastor Jeff admitted in a sermon a
few weeks ago, we try to stay up to date
on the latest lingo since we work with
the youth group. Emphasis on try because
new and nonsensical words and phrases
seem to be invented on a daily basis.
You know, new slang always sounds
ridiculous to older generations, even
though your slang wasn't that much
better back in the day either. Do you
ever wish a certain slang word or phrase
stuck around a bit longer than it had?
That caught on a bit more? I know I miss
saying things like big whoop or cool beans.
beans.
When I'm disgusted by something, gag me
with a spoon. Or when someone says
something really obvious, I say no. Duh.
Or how about whenever someone's annoying
me, I lift up my hand and say, "Talk to
the hand." Because
the face ain't listening.
Another one of my favorites. Someone ask
you to do something that you really
don't want to do. Yeah. Let's not and
say we did.
But do you know which phrase I miss the
most? It's somewhat said today, but not
nearly as much as it used to be. Get a
grip. Who's ever said that or heard that
at some point? Get a grip. You say, "Get
a grip." When someone is being
unreasonable and is in desperate need of
a reality check, this person believes
something that is not true. And this bad
belief leads to a bad action. It leads
This person needs to get let go of the
lies that he or she is believing. This
person needs to get a grip on reality.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 3 18-23,
Paul gives the Corinthians a much needed
reality check. He tells them to get a
grip because they are believing some
things that are not true. And these bad
beliefs are leading to bad decisions,
erratic actions, and massive overreactions.
overreactions.
They are tearing the church apart
with their selfish pride,
with their worldly thinking and their
destructive division. The unity and
purity of the Corinthian church cannot
be promoted and maintained until they
get a grip on some essential truths from
God's word.
And we've been studying First
Corinthians for almost two months now.
And let's be honest, as you read this
book, as you listen to these sermons,
it's really easy to look down on the
Corinthians, isn't it? It's easy to
think, "Oh man, these people are insane.
They're just wackos. Go get them, Paul.
They really need a talking to."
But what if you are more like the
Corinthians than you think? What if you
are believing some things that are not
true? What if you are making some bad
decisions right now? What if you are
negatively affecting your family, your co-workers,
co-workers,
and this church?
What if you need to get a grip?
All of us, myself included, need to be
grabbed by the shoulders and shaken back
into reality because we all tend to live
in a fantasy world of our own making, a
fantasy world of lies, excuses, and self-justification.
self-justification.
You and I need the same exact reminders
that Paul gives the Corinthians in this
passage that we're about to read.
Because you know what? We're far more
like them than we care to admit. You and
I need to get a grip and remember some
essential facts from God's word. So
before we get a grip, let's go to the
Lord and ask that he would get a grip on us.
us.
Please pray for me that will faithfully
proclaim God's word and I will pray for
Father, it's so easy to come into this
room every Sunday and just pretend,
just to go through the motions,
to put on a show.
Lord, I pray against all of those things.
things.
I pray against pretending.
I pray against stuffing down what we're
really dealing with. I pray against
hiding our sin.
Lord, this morning we ask that you would
reveal what we struggle with. You would
reveal the sins that we need to deal
with by your grace.
I pray you'd help us to deal with these
things in a biblical way. We ask all
these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Get a grip. You are not as wise as you
think you are. That's the first blank on
your outline. Get a grip. You are not as
Let's read chapter 3 18- 20. The Apostle
Paul writes, "Let no one deceive
himself. If anyone among you thinks that
he is wise in this age, let him become a
fool that he may become wise. For the
wisdom of this world is folly with God.
For it is written, he catches the wise
in their craftiness. And again, the Lord
knows the thoughts of the wise that they
are feudal.
Have you ever noticed
that people who are the most confident
tend to be the least competent?
The most confident tend to be the least competent.
competent.
That guy who praises his own handiness
and fixes everything at home tends to
make a lot of obvious mistakes.
He does stuff around his house that no
one would hire him to do around their
house. That woman who praises her
driving tends to be a really bad driver
herself. She's looking down at her phone
while she's driving. She's applying
makeup. She's running red lights. She's
not using turn signals when she's going
through lanes.
that guy who talks a big game in the
golf cart tends to have zero game when
he's driving or putting. Or how about
that person who says, "Yeah, I'm really
calm under pressure." And then when
something bad actually happens, they're
just totally manic and panicked.
In all of these examples, overconfidence
causes someone to overestimate his or
her ability.
And that is what Paul is talking about
in these verses. A human sense of
confidence in yourself makes you
incompetent when it comes to spiritual matters.
matters.
Those who think they are wise by worldly
standards are foolish by heavenly
standards. They may appear to be
brilliant in the eyes of the world, but
what are they in the eyes of God?
Stupid, dumb, foolish.
When you're impressed with your own
wisdom, you become a fool.
And that that rule is without exception
in scripture. Paul is crystal clear on
this. He quotes the book of Job in Psalm
94 when he says, "God catches the wise
in their craftiness." And again, the
Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that
they are feudal.
And earlier he says, "The wisdom of this
world is folly with God."
You cannot outsmart God. You cannot
trick him. If you try, he will beat you
at your own game. And again, we see this
all throughout scripture. Here are just
two examples that spring to the top of
my mind. In the book of Esther, Hmon
hatches a scheme to kill God's people
and to hang his enemy Mori on gallows
that he had specially made. How did that
turn out for Hmon? Anyone remember?
He ends up hung on the gallows that he
had made for Morai. Yeah, not great as
Jeff just Jeff just Jeff just Jeff just
Jeff just Jeff just Jeff just Jeff said.
What about King Abselum? Well, he tried
to be king. Didn't really work out for
him. He rebelled against his father. He
had this long beautiful hairike Fabio
that he really prided himself in. He
tried to steal his father's throne. How
did that go for him?
He ended up caught in a tree branch by
his own prided hair with three spears
through his heart. He ended up as a
human pin cushion.
Both men thought they were smart, but
God caught them in their craftiness.
They were both competent. Actually, they
were confident in their own competence,
but they ended up being incompetent.
They had their own thoughts and plans
that were proven to be useless by God.
They were not as wise as they thought
Are you confident in your own competence
right now?
Are you trying to outsmart God?
Are you trusting in your own human
wisdom, your own faulty understanding?
You know exactly what God thinks about
that sin you were indulging in, but you
think that you can escape the
consequences. And without even realizing
it, you are bearing the consequences of
your repeated and unrepentant disobedience.
disobedience.
You are dulling your conscience. You are
pushing down the conviction of the Holy
Spirit. You are pushing away faithful
friends because you don't want to be
found out.
You know exactly what God thinks about
giving of your time and treasure to the
church and those who are in need. But
again, you think those rules don't
really apply to you because your
schedule is way too busy. Your bills are
way too high. Your stress is off the
charts. So, you can't do those things.
You know exactly what God thinks about
your need to humble yourself and submit
to others. But once again, that doesn't
really apply to you because you're
always right and those other people are
always wrong. I mean, yeah, sure, unity
and all that jazz is really important,
but you're the only one who really knows
what you're doing. So, if you don't get
your way, everything's just going to
fall apart, right?
You know exactly what God thinks about
how you should treat fellow believers
and handle conflict in the church. But
surprise, surprise, once again, you're a
special case.
You have been too mistreated to talk it
out. You have been too hurt to forgive.
Please stop elevating your importance
because you will be humbled if you
don't. Stop thinking that you can
outsmart God because you will get caught
in a trap of your own making. Stop
highlighting your wisdom because you are
simply shining a spotlight onto your foolishness.
foolishness.
You become a fool by thinking that
you're wise.
You may be wondering, okay, so how do I
actually become wise? Well, Paul gives
us a very simple answer in verse 18.
Look at that again. He says, if anyone
among you thinks that he is wise in this
age, let him become a fool that he may
become wise.
You become wise by submitting yourself
to what the culture around you thinks is foolish.
foolish.
You willingly swallow the pill that most
people willfully spit out in God's face.
You passionately believe that God not
only knows better than you, he knows
what is best in any and every circumstance.
circumstance.
You sit under the authority of God's
word rather than standing in authority
above it. You care way more about the
neverchanging commands of God than your
everchanging opinions.
You are far more concerned with meeting
the needs of others than satisfying your
Do you know what the greatest threat
to Harvest Bible Chapel is?
It's not ungodly politicians. It's not
ungodly public policies. It's not other
religions. It's not persecution of
Christianity. It's not even social media
or secular entertainment.
The greatest threat to this church is you.
you.
The greatest threat to this church is me.
me.
The greatest threat is you and I
thinking that we know best. You and I
insisting it's my way or the highway
that leads to stiffarming one another.
That leads to division that leads to disunityity.
Do you know what the greatest unifier in
the church is?
A mutual agreement that God knows best
and we don't.
A mutual submission to the word of God.
a mutual agreement that we will do
whatever the Bible says in regards to
every subject, every issue, every problem.
problem.
When a financial issue arises in this
church, we deal with it in a biblical
way. When gossip is being shared, we
deal with it in a biblical way. When
disagreement breaks out in a small
group, we deal with it in a biblical
way. When problems arise with the
building project, we deal with it in a
biblical way.
How does that biblical plan sound to
you? Are you on board with that?
Are you willing to go down that path and
do whatever this book says?
Let me warn you, it's not going to be
easy. If you are committed to that, you
have to lay aside your temptation to
show off, to prove yourself. You have to
be unwaveringly committed to obeying the
word of God. Even when it hurts, even
when it's hard, even when it smashes
your ego to pieces, and it will.
You need to stop saying, "I think I
think I think" and start declaring, "The
Bible says, the Bible says, the Bible
says." As as Pastor Jeff said a few
weeks ago, what you think doesn't really
matter. What God commands is of supreme importance.
