Sermon Video: Stay Strong (1 Corinthians 15:57-58)

what we're gonna start today's we're gonna start a brand new sermon series that it's going to lead us right up to to Easter to four hearts to be ready to to see what God would want for us for the Easter season and today what I would like to do is I would like to read a text that's written in the Bible if you have your Bibles please open to first Corinthians chapter 15 we're gonna be in first corinthians chapter 15 and if you have your bible great if not we have a Bible we can gift to you at our connect desk so we're gonna be in 1st corinthians chapter 15 verses 57 through 58 and the title of my my message today is stay strong turn your neighbor and say say stay strong perfect guys don't go anywhere you're gonna stay strong God God's got you okay so if you don't have the Bible don't worry it's on the text here on the screen let's read this together here's what the Word of God is saying to the Corinthian church and the same to you and to me today here's what Paul says so then Christian brothers and sisters as well because of all this be strong do not allow anyone to change your mind always do your work well for the Lord you know that whatever you do for him will not be wasted I want to read a paraphrase of this text as well it says therefore we should mortify emotion be steadfast unchangeable not erratic and scatterbrained easily discouraged and we should multiply our good works God's good works in and through us in the knowledge that the Lord will make them profitable the idea here is to stay strong or to be settled I want to talk about this concept of being settled for a few minutes if you've ever settled down in a hole settled down an apartment settled on getting a particular car you might be settled in your job you might be settled in your opinion when if you've ever drank a drink of some sort and there's like stuff that settles at the bottom there this is a a concept of being a moveable a concept of being unshakable a concept of being completely decisive in your mind about something and the Bible is teaching us today be being settled about you being strong in the Lord it's not your strength it's the Lord strength through you and so with Paulo saying get rid of unhealthy skepticism get rid of vacillating to-and-fro get rid of starting something and then stopping something Paul is basically trying to tell us to be settled to be firm why why should we be firm why should we be settled that God loves us why should we be settled that Jesus Christ is the wave salvation because polishing the resurrection happened Paul is saying so then he's saying therefore and this whole chapter chapter 15 is talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ Paul's seeing the resurrection changed everything Paula seeing the resurrection is not just a figment of somebody's imagination it's not just a fun fairy tale no it's a historical event rooted in cold hard facts that Jesus Christ came back from the dead and if Jesus Christ came back from the dead that changes everything so Paulo saying if Jesus did come back from the dead you can be strong in the Lord you can face anything that you're going through now I would say that belief affects behavior and I also want to say that a firm belief in the resurrection and a solid hope for the future gives incentive for service in the present there's a there's an idea about going around and in the culture today where people want not don't want to be religious they want to be spiritual but I'm fine with that as long as you tether your spirituality to the person and work of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is God Jesus Christ lived Jesus Christ died and Jesus Christ rose again that's what Easter is about it's about the resurrection my faith your faith it's rooted in a historical event that actually happened okay now let me tell you why it happened there is more than 500 people that saw Jesus Christ coming back from the dead in addition to that if somebody told you that they're gonna come back from the dead and then they actually did don't you think you would believe them like if your friend said hey man I'm gonna die three days later I'm gonna come back from the dead I'd be like bro I'll believe it when I see it right well Jesus did that in addition to that James half brother of Jesus wrote a book in the New Testament and James believed that Jesus was God now I want to ask you something if you have a brother how hard would it be for you to convince your brother that you are God it'd be pretty difficult right they already don't like you maybe they do but James believed that Jesus Christ was God and so when we believe in the resurrection and we have a solid hope in the future we can do things for the Lord in the present I wanted I want us to to pay attention to this particular text that that Paul is speaking to the Corinthians Corinthians were a Wild Bunch a lot of times people say to me isn't going to church and the Bible isn't it super prudish and it's like very like you're like a Quaker or a Puritan I'm telling you right now you read the Bible it's not a prudish book there's a lot of excitement here okay the Corinthian church was pretty crazy they were doing some crazy things so Paul is writing a letter to correct their behavior but this is the the great thing that I love about Paul because Paul says he says so then Christian brothers in other context it says that he says my dear brothers despite all the bad things they've done despite all the ways they've gone astray Paul is still writing to them and saying you are my beloved people this is why I believe for you and for me we must accept people in our life who are not perfect we must be patient towards them they're going through some sort of battle they're going through something in their life that we must envelop them with the love of God we must this is what we see Paul doing it here he has a a tenderness and an affection for these people it's a fact worth emphasizing because Paul has an agape love for them Paul has a love that is unconditional not based upon what the people will do for him but based upon what God did for Paul the only way you're gonna love your wife and love your husband and love your children and love your coworkers is if you have the love of God in you and the only way you're not gonna run out of the love of God in your life is if you keep remembering that the resurrection happened Jesus did come back from that he's our hope he's my hope he's your hope what I love about this Texas of Paul is talking to the Corinthians he's saying to them you're my dearly beloved brothers and there's a reason that I want to pay you guys to pay attention to the word brothers here because this word literally means from the same womb okay it the point is that the gospel is for people who are doing very well and the Gospels for people who think they're falling apart the gospel is for all people and I believe we're not too far from people who don't believe in God we've just been by his radical mercy and grace and I want to tell you right now you are one small step away from God changing your life entirely the whole point why we do church and we come together on Sunday and we read the word we want you to make one small step towards a big God and I won't be able to change your life a human being won't be able to change your life the only thing we believe can change your life is the Word of God this is the only thing that is powerful this is the only thing that is perfect so our job and our goal and my prayer is as you're listening to this we want on the Word of God to sift deeply into your heart that it causes a genuine heart change if you feel some sort of a stirring if you feel like man god I want to be more committed I want to be more settled in my walk with you I want to be committed to local church don't neglect that small voice that's happening in your mind only God can change you through his word the word here be it means to become or to be made it's a Impala saying be settled be strong it's a command calling I can split okay perfect it's a command calling for a continual attention to steadfastness and immobility in our faith Paul saying don't just continue to be but he's saying prove yourself to be policy if you truly believe that Jesus Christ came back from then if you truly believe that act like it live like it be settled once and for all in your mind that Jesus Christ is Lord and everything in your life should reflect that I want to tell you guys that um there's that there's such a thing as um I used to be brother okay I used to be person I used to be sister I used to be what happens is people people go through life and they're like you know what I used to be all about God I used to read my Bible I used to be committed to church I used to be a good husband I used to be a good wife I used to be somebody who obeyed the Scriptures I used to be a good employee and now I no longer am because you became movable in your faith don't become use to we want people to be strong in their faith we want the truth of God to settle so deep into the recesses of your heart that it controls and compels everything that you do that's the only way to live there's not nothing else in your life that must take more attention then your relationship with God because how goes your relationship with God so two will go the rest of your life it's so incredibly important this is the only place for us to have the faith that we understand in and I think a lot of times people come to church and they're like well how do I know that the Bible is reliable I want to give you guys a couple of reasons why the Bible is reliable number one is this the very words we're reading today about Jesus Christ he wasn't just a great teacher or a great prophet or somebody who did a great thing know that Jesus was God number one there's documentation about it thousands of ancient hand copied documents referred to as manuscripts provide proof of the New Testament and the Old Testaments historical consistency I want to tell you another thing there's significantly more documentation for the books of the Bible then there are for the other historically recognized authors and literature such as Plato and the Iliad the Bible is more reliable than all those other things if the Bible is not true church planting is useless if the Bible is not true me talking about the Bible is useless if the Bible is not true we don't need to pray if the Bible is not true we can just fall to our own devices and do whatever we want but if it is all my friends if the Bible is true that should change the way you live today and we believe that it is true not only is there documentation for it but there's archaeological findings in fact they say that in in Israel you can't do archaeology without the Bible they use the Bible as an action we'll guide for it excavation sites artifacts also provide evidence that many of the events people and places mentioned in the Bible really existed like city the city Jericho it's famous walls the Hittites a people group once thought by skeptics to be a myth third incredible proof that we have that Jesus Christ is alive and the Bible is true the life of Jesus Paul the writers of the Gospels they provide eyewitness accounts the forth ways that fulfilled prophecies think about it the Bible contains hundreds even thousands of prophecies that have been fulfilled including detailed descriptions of events that would later happen to the Jewish people and surrounding nations as well as prophecies about the life and death of Christ and I think one of the biggest ones is redeemed lives there's people around in this church right here who can tell you Jesus Christ saved my life I was addicted to drugs I was addicted to alcohol I had anxiety I had depression I wanted to end my life my marriage was gonna end and then God God God God God saved me there's no other explanation about it I'm living proof of that I can tell you so many stories think of CS Lewis one of the greatest Christian thinkers he was a former atheist who became one of the most one of the world's most influential Christian apologists think of the Apostle Paul this guy wrote 13 letters in the New Testament but before Apostle Paul became Paul he was Saul and he was killing Christians and he was closing churches and I feel like God came to Jesus and he's like look which guy are we gonna find to be on our team and Jesus like well I think we should go no further than then Saul he's smart he's intelligent he has all the degrees Quixote has the popularity let's put him on our team and they did and they did John Newton a slave ship master who converted to Christianity did you know this he's the one who wrote the famous hymn Amazing Grace a former slave ship master gives his life to Jesus Christ a former atheist that the entire world knows gives his life to Jesus Christ my friends the Bible is true because Jesus Christ is true he came back from the dead and if the Bible is true I can face whatever I'm going through right now knowing that my God is for me I'm not going to be defeated I'm not going to experience aaaa demise in my victory my faith is unshaken my faith is unwavering because it is built on a foundation that would last for eternity that's why we know the Bible is true because Jesus it's Jesus he came back from the dead and I think that very often uh Paul in 1st Corinthians chapter 13 verse 11 he says when I was a child I talked like a child I thought like a child I reasoned like a child when I became a man I put the ways of childhood behind me my friends it is time for us to put childhood ways behind us it is time for us to put a stake in the ground and say God you have saved me you have redeemed me your word has sifted into the deep recesses of my heart and I want to give you all the days of my life and I want to devote my life to you God I want to be part of a local church that is making a difference in the world god I want to be settled in my faith there must come a point we put away childish things we must say god I've been immature way too long I haven't been serving for way too long God it is time for me to step up and to be strong the time is now my friends that's what God God is calling us to do we must be people in our communities who set the standard for everybody else if you're a Christian and you're a business owner you should be the best business owner that people ever known if you're an employee should be the best employee people in the community if you're a Christian people are scoping you out they're looking at you they're saying is this really true people often say we like Christ we just don't like his followers me that not be said about us I love what second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 14 says Paul says the love of Christ compels us look what happened to Paul he had a burning passion he had an emotional fire he had a spiritual force that made him share the good news of Jesus and his death and resident resurrection Paul was shipwrecked Paul was bitten by poisonous snakes Paul was flogged Paul was put into prison Paul was falsely accused Paul was maligned and then he writes 13 letters in the New Testament and he continues to preach Christ my friend that's not just motivational thinking that's not new ages and that's Jesus Christ living inside of a person Christ was compelling Paul Paul knew he said to live as Christ - guys gain everything Paul had was obsessed about Christ Paul worked at night to support himself Paul preached during the day everything he did was to open more churches to evangelize more Christians to tell one more soul about Jesus Christ and I want to ask you do we have the same fervency that he did if not we must the gospel must get ahold of us the gospel must grip us in a way where we are compelled where we are saddled in our ways where we are we're confounded by by the love of Christ and we say God I don't know anything else but you and so my money will serve you my house will serve you my family will serve you my children will serve you God everything in my life will be surrounded by your love and me giving love to other people that's the only way to live my friends that's not being radical that's being a normal everyday Christian that's what it's talking about here where Paul saying the love of Christ compels us and I'm telling you guys right now there is nothing else that will make your heart compelled by Christ other than his word his word is the audience an activist sharper than a double-edged sword that can pierce through the bone and marrow of your heart that it often does not want to believe the things of God that's the only thinking changed people only Christ can change people only Christ can rescue a person from addiction to put a family back together again that was in complete shambles to help you with your emotional state to to fix your finances only Jesus can do that everything else is just applying a band-aid to a shotgun wound it's not gonna work so Christ needs to compel you if you're here this morning you're like man well what else do I need to do for Christ I don't know ask God he can show you um I need a volunteer can you Alex and can you grab your chair with you please I want to show you guys something alex is such a humble guy I always use him in my volunteering situations and he does such a great job I want you to put the chair right here okay and I want you to sit on it okay so guys I want to I want to show you something the Bible says be strong and be steadfast in the Lord knowing that Jesus Christ came back from the dead okay so here's what the word means it means be settled this word strong it actually means chair that's what it means when you're seated on a chair like this is he's pretty stable I know many things will not knock him over okay so look at this this chair alex is very securely sitting on this chair right look so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna try to I want to try to I'm gonna try to move him okay I'm gonna I'm gonna try I'm gonna try to see I can it doesn't matter which came see you look what I'm trying to do I can't move him he's so settled in this chair that he can't move okay look what happens so alex is sitting there in his chair he settled he's secure and difficulty comes up just difficulty problems his business or his wife or or some emotions what what's happening where where's Alex going is he falling off the chair no he's stable on it somebody comes to MIT says Oh Alex I don't think you believe in God or you believe in God but I don't idolan I don't believe in the Bible and why do you spend all your time at church and different things different difficulties come to Alex look what's happening where did he move milk he's settled in the chair I can't move him at all there's nothing that I can do no emotional issues that befallen him is gonna move him no physically she's no anxiety no worry no depression nothing nothing is moving him why he settled he's firmly fixed in Christ so impulses be strong and steadfast pulsing be as if you're sitting on a chair fully secured on the ground and nothing can move you and the reason he can do that is because every time a bump or an issue or a problem comes to him that tries to knock him off base do you know what he's thinking about he's thinking about the resurrection oh wait a minute Jesus Christ did die for my sin and he did come back from the dead he's facing a difficulty with whatever's going on in his life but he's like but you know what my Jesus is alive my God's not dead he's surely alive he came back from the dead so the point is every problem every issue you could ever experience in your life it has found its yes and amen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ amen ma let's give Alex a Livan applause what a great sport bro thank you uh so why might why would like want to show this to you guys because I want us to have a firmly fixed implanted thought in our mind of how settled we must be don't let anything move you don't critics move you don't let people who are naysayers move you don't let the culture move you don't let people who don't believe in God move you don't let anything move you remain steadfast or remain a moveable why because Jesus Christ came back from the dead that's what this text is saying and this word steadfast it's talking about that that it's talking about being steady being settled being being unshakable being stable it refers to something that is firmly fixed in place securely it is generally permanent why can I face whatever it is I'm going through in my life because I know Jesus Christ is alive I can I can face the ups and downs of my business I can face the ups and downs of my emotions I can face the ups and downs of the culture of the market of anything going on in life because Jesus Christ came back from the dead I have that security I have joined my heart even my external circumstances do not prove to be Joy's in my heart there is joy and I'm secure and I am a movable Amen that's what the Word of God is calling you in my friends what else could we want in our culture today then some sort of a stability something that could establish in the storms that we're going through look at the word steadfast again I wanna I wanna I want us to to pay attention to this it means steadying steadfast means steady as you move forward that's what it means I don't think I think we need to understand the word steadfast even more it means abiding constant dedicated dependable enduring established faithful firm fixed in movable intent loyal persevering reliable resolute single-minded stable stalwart staunch steady unfaltering unflinching unswerving unwavering wholehearted that's what the word steadfast means that's what Paul is saying he's saying be being stead fast because Jesus Christ came back from the dead steadfast in what your faith that God loves you that your whole life should be devoted to him that that's the only way you're gonna have Pitt plans and purposes in your life antonyms of steadfastness is faltering unstable vacillating or wavering a couple of weeks ago I was doing my taxes and I came in and the ladies CP is looking at me and we had to do some corporate stuff and she's like oh um how many shares does your wife own and how many shares do you own I'm like well there's not much shares in general for anybody to own anything but no she's like no we got to technically get this out well my look we both own everything she's like no you don't get it she's like California different separate property state like you need to tell us like what that what the shares are and I was like you know what whatever by default the corporate thing that the people that made my corporation did it default is fine it's all good and I'm looking at her I'm like don't worry about it like we're not breaking up I told her that and she looks at me and she gives me this look that she probably gave to like hundreds of other people and she's like yeah I've heard that before and I'm like of course you have you're an accountant and you do have thousands of people's taxes and I was like no no no I'm like you don't get it no my wife and I we've been married for 13 years trust me wearing it for the long haul she's like oh I'm sure you are I'm like no you don't get it and then I was like I realized how futile my argument was to her because she's like I'm just another number and I'm like no we really are gonna be together and she's like that's great I'm sure you will be but just to be safe let's figure out this whole situation and as I was going through that kind of a situation it kind of made me think I'm like man how steady is my faith in God if somebody came to me and asked me a question would I really be able to tell them the same exact thing that the word steadfast means steady as you're moving forward you're you're keeping on going and you don't let up you're not given to fits and starts come on somebody that's what's up somebody open the door for this little man right here awesome see he that's what I'm talking about guys when people are banging on doors to get into church that's awesome okay let's continue so the point is don't be given to fits and starts put your hand I think someone needs to care of that baby honestly it's it's do you guys see the baby right there oh he's in there okay the wife is in there all good thank you for that okay thank you so much brother okay so dude I love church planning guys it's awesome so check this out polishing put your hand on the plow don't take it off until your work is done no off-again on-again kind of Christian living is permitted this is what David the psalmist declares he says my heart is steadfast oh god I will sing I will sing praises even with my soul it means we're we're eMobile now I want to I want to have fast-forward to the following pulsing to be steadfast in what in your faith in God okay whatever you're going through keep following Jesus you will not regret it now Paul goes to the second verse that we read and he says be always abounding in the work of the Lord always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord I love what Jim Elliott a Christian missionary who died I think at the age of 33 he said he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose when we give up our life to get the eternal life we're not fools we're actually doing exactly what we need to do and this is kind of the image or the concept that Paul is talking about here Paul saying whatever you're doing for God be always abounding in the work of the Lord Paul saying don't just do the bare minimum jus don't just go halfway polishing be spent for the mission of Christ make sure that you're overflowing your your abounding in whatever it is that you're doing you're not doing it half way and the reason Paul is saying this is he's saying whatever you do for the Lord it's not in vain it's not in vain if you've ever shared the gospel to anybody if you ever invited anybody to church if you've ever prayed you ever had even a spiritual thought about God it wasn't in vain it wasn't in vain Paul saying do it abounding Li and I want ask you a question is your walk with God like the Dead Sea or is it like an over a bounding river that is flowing over the edges how is your walk with God and Paul is reminding us that whatever God is asking us to do it's not futile and you know there there's the Paul is talking about futility here because it's we read about it in Ecclesiastes you might have heard this famous thing that the Solomon says he says all is vanity so Paul sing here what you do for God is not in vain I want to talk about vanity for a minute Simon our Simon Solomon Solomon likes the word vanity the book of Ecclesiastes in Old Testament he uses this word thirty-eight times okay what does vanity mean it means emptiness futility vapor that which vanishes quickly and leaves nothing behind so basically Paul is saying the only thing in your life that will not vanish like a vapor is your service to the Lord and Paul is saying that you must be so abounding in serving the Lord that you should be weary and exhausted from it I think in the Christian circles or in the church today I too think the problem is not being burnt out from doing too much it's a lack of doing anything at all that's where the issue is and even Jesus in John chapter four verses five and six it says that Jesus came to the samaritan village of Sychar near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph Jacob's Well was there and get this Jesus tired from the long walk sat wearily beside the well about noontime it's not talking about that Jesus was burnt out it's that he was we read from the work that he was doing for the Lord if you've ever done a lot of work and you go to sleep at night and you feel satisfied with the work that you've done that's the kind of weariness that Paul is talking about here Paul saying be over abounding doing things for the Lord and you will be blessed by it you know what's what's really interesting is this that I love that Jesus Jesus comes alongside of us and he wants to walk with us I think many of us are burnt out because we haven't been walking with Jesus we've been trying to run with him don't run with Jesus just walk with Him Jesus wants you to walk with Him there's a very famous piano recital and a incredible virtuoso is playing the piano and he walked away for a few minutes during his set and this large audience and from the audience this little boy comes up and he starts playing on the piano and he starts playing like some crazy tune and all the people in the audience were like get that boy out of here like what is he doing like how did his parents let him up there and what happens is that this incredible virtuoso piano teacher comes up and instead of telling the boy to get out from from this chair he actually sits next to him inserts playing an amazing tune and he whispers into the boys ear he's like don't stop continue playing and to the amazement of the whole audience there became a performance that was happening and this man who was playing the piano pretty much understood he's like look I'm gonna come alongside of this person who might not know exactly what they're doing who have not reached their full potential but I'm gonna come alongside of them and I'm gonna walk alongside of them I think this is what Jesus wants us to do today there's a concept about the three mile an hour God there's a Japanese theologian that wrote about it and the reason that he wrote about the three mile an hour God is if you ever timed it when you walk the regular human walk without any exertion just walking steadily you're walking about three miles an hour that's how fast you're walking and so I believe what God is calling us today is to walk with Him and to remain steadfast in the faith that he is our God and that he came back from the dead that is what God is calling us to do today that is what I'm calling every single person here to do walk with God the way you're gonna be stay staying strong is not if you sprint or if you do a marathon not if you get burned out but because you're gonna be weary from doing the work of the Lord with the Lord of that work I think for many of us God is inviting us to a relationship with him God is inviting us to walk with Jesus alongside of us and do you know what happens whenever you try to run a marathon it's hard for you to talk to other people there because you're out of breath but if you've ever walked alongside of somebody on the beach or on a walking path what happens you're able to calmly and collectively speak to the other person and that's when a relationship is developed so that's what God is after we might come here this morning we're like God how do I stay strong in my marriage and my family and my walk with God it's simple walk with Jesus commune with Jesus be a part of him and give your entire life to him and that's you're gonna stay strong amen

Channel: Pastor Bogdan Kipko

Views: 1,404

Rating: 4.5294118 out of 5

Keywords: jesus, church, sermon, gospel, kipko

Id: Q0GC2d3LlTw

Length: 36min 39sec (2199 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 07 2019