Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20070805.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
1 Corinthians: Discipling Believers With Very Sinful Backgrounds
VII. Overcoming Sinful Dishonor And Disorder
I. Heeding God's Order For Edifying Church Worship
(1 Corinthians 14:26-40)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

If I were to ask if you as a Bible believing Christian would feel comfortable were you to know that your children a generation from now would worship God in Church by barking like dogs, roaring like lions, clucking like chickens or jumping, running or convulsing as have those in the "Toronto Blessing" (John F. MacArthur, "How Shall We Then Worship?" in The Coming Evangelical Crisis, by John H. Armstrong, gen. ed., p. 179), you would probably say, "Of course not!"

Be careful, though, for that is a loaded question! After all, the following practices common in today's evangelical churches were condemned just a generation ago in conservative evangelical churches:

(1) Loud rock music: Dave Hunt's newsletter, The Berean Call has often posted letters from readers who complain about such music. Yet, I remember when pastors condemned it as "worldly" and charged that musicians Elvis Presley and the Beatles were "of the devil"!

(2) Women in the pulpit: women now teach large audiences of men and women in nationally televised services. True, at least one of these women claims she does not like the fact that men sit under her ministry, but she still allows it! Yet, a generation ago, I remember when this state was tabooed by sound Christian pastors and churches!

(3) Popular psychology and experienced-based ideas instead of Scripture in the pulpit: even two non-Christian, Jewish writers have expressed concern over this. David Wolpe, senior rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles in his review of the book, The Transformation of American Religion by Alan Wolfe, another Jew, cited Wolfe who shared his concern, noting: "But somehow I am not pleased with this retreat from sin, for the ease with which American religious believers adopt nonjudgmental language and psychological understanding of wrongdoing is detrimental to anyone . . ." (Dave Hunt, "Road Map' to Armageddon," The Berean Call, January 2004, p. 3, emphases ours)

In view of the failure of many contemporaries in Christendom to condemn the Nazi abuse of Jews in World War II, which abuse was often in the name of Christianity, but apart from Scripture, we can see why these men feel SAFER if we Christians uphold a conscience of absolute righteousness by teaching written Scripture from the pulpit!

So, we may ask, "How would GOD want us to WORSHIP Him in church that SETTLES the question for ALL generations?"

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "Does Scripture clarify how God wants Christians of ALL generations to worship Him in the Church? If so, what does it say?"
  1. Paul used 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 to summarize steps needed to EDIFY believers in Church worship, 1 Cor. 14:26a, c with 14:40.
  2. From 2 Timothy 4:1-2, we know that these directives are applicable for Christians at least until Christ comes again!
  3. So, 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 has the following directive for ALL of CHURCH HISTORY on HOW we must WORSHIP in CHURCH:
    1. First, God always wants us to minimize distracting noise in Church so that hearers can focus on His spoken Word, 1 Corinthians 14:26-31:
      1. In the Corinthian Church, many ministered in many different ways at the same time so that the hearers could not focus on what was said and understand to be edified, 1 Corinthians 14:26 with 14:23.
      2. Accordingly, Paul directed those with the gifts of tongues and of prophecy to speak in turn, at the most two or three per service, and for another party to interpret the language or judge the credibility of the prophecy so the hearers could be edified, 1 Cor. 14:27-29.
      3. If God revealed a prophetic revelation to another believer during the service, the prophet who was speaking was to yield to the other as God wanted his message to be given then, 1 Cor. 14:30-31 NIV.
      4. So, in application to today's circumstances, though the Biblical gifts of tongues and prophecy no longer exist, since God still wants the hearers to be able to focus on understanding His spoken Word, nothing, including loud or boisterous music or any kind of program or fussy party must be allowed to disrupt the capacity of the hearers to focus on the ministry of Scripture, Col. 3:16; Mark 11:15-17!
    2. Second, God always wants church worship services to have worship leaders that are self-controlled in their behavior, 1 Cor. 14:32-33:
      1. Paul's claim that "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets" in 1 Corinthians 14:32 means "No true prophet can claim a hearing on the ground that he is under a power over which he has no control," cf. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn.
      2. Accordingly, as in Paul's era, so in today's church, God wants there to be no uncontrolled and hence prolonged or distracting activity by any so-called gifted worship leader so that order and peace might reign in the church service! (1 Corinthians 14:33)
    3. Third, God always wants church services to have men and not women leading and bringing His Word from the pulpit, 1 Cor. 14:34-35 et al.:
      1. Paul's 1 Corinthians 14:34 call for women to keep silent in Church is felt by some to be culturally conditioned, that God lets women lead and preach today, cf. Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 540-541.
      2. However, in 1 Timothy 2:11-15 where Paul also called women to be subject to men, he gave as one reason for this call the precedent of creation, noting that Adam was created before Eve!
      3. Checking Genesis 2:21-23, we note that when God created Eve from Adam's rib, he named her, indicating the man was sovereign over the woman, Zond. Pict. Ency. of the Bible , vol. Four, p. 363.
      4. Thus, at all times, God wants men to be sovereign over women so that men and not women lead, preach and teach in the services of the Church! (1 Corinthians 14:35 with 1 Corinthians 11:3)
    4. Fourth, God always wants church services to uphold and to teach Scripture versus any other content, 1 Corinthians 14:36-37 et al.:
      1. Paul's comments in 1 Corinthians 14:36-37 were intended to check an apparent tendency of some in the Corinthian Church to view themselves as the sole repository of God's truth, and so to continue to function as they did in the church regardless of the Word of Scripture or that of the Apostles like Paul or Peter, cf. 1 Cor. 1:12; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to 1 Corinthians 14:36.
      2. Also, from Paul's word to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-4:5, we know God wanted Scripture and no other source of ideas to be proclaimed from the pulpit in the church services!
  4. Paul then summarized his directives, encouraging believers to have fitting and orderly church services, 1 Corinthians 14:39-40.
Application: To benefit from the church service format that GOD ALWAYS wants, (1) may we trust in Christ as Savior to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit (John 3:16: Rom. 8:9b) to be prepared for worship in Church. (2) Then, may we heed God's ORDER given above for church services for His blessing!

Lesson: In church services throughout Church History, GOD wants everything to be done in gentle, orderly ways to complement and not compete against the ministry of Scripture; He wants men, not women, to lead and minister His Word; He wants those who lead and minister to be self-controlled and to exalt and not detract from the glory due to Christ, and He wants Scripture to be the content that is presented in the pulpit!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

God's directive that true worship involve proclaiming His Word in the pulpit becomes dramatically invaluable in view of the recent atrocious crimes that were committed in Cheshire, Connecticut!

We have all heard how two convicted felons with long records of serious crimes, and who were out of prison on early release, in the early morning hours of Monday, July 23rd, 2007 invaded a leading medical doctor's home, savagely beat him and tied him up in his basement. Then, they killed his wife who was afflicted with muscular sclerosis along with abusing and killing their two daughters, ages 18 and 13! Thankfully, the men were captured, but questions abound on how long it took the police to apprehend them, and state officials are scrambling to try to "fix" their obviously broken parole system!

Brad Davis' "Talk of Connecticut" show on Radio station am 610, Torrington, Connecticut has been inundated with calls and e-mails from concerned citizens about this event. Topics like crowded prisons, the cost of installing GPS ankle bracelets to monitor released felons, etc. were all discussed with many expressing how vulnerable they feel to "home invasions" with the laws of the State that seem to favor the rights of criminals over their victims!

Yet, had SCRIPTURE been HEEDED, this crime would NEVER have HAPPENED! Deuteronomy 21:18-21 directs the parents of an uncontrollably rebellious son to bring him to their town officials and explain their son was uncontrollably evil! The officials were then to execute him, purging evil out of their town and causing everyone else to respect the rule of law in the home and community!

If Connecticut had such a law and enforced it, the Cheshire atrocities would never have happened as the felons involved would have been executed years ago! Prison overcrowding, early release of violent men, the cost of ankle bracelets, home invasion, etc. would thus become obsolete as there would no longer be any such felons around!

Yes, the felons need to be given the Gospel prior to their execution that they might believe to be saved. Yet, regardless of their response to the Gospel, Genesis 9:6 demands they still be executed.

So, even SOCIETY needs us to preach the Word in the pulpit just as God calls us to do in our worship services! Only then can there be an effective guideline on handling social ills! May we worship God the WAY He wills, that His blessings might flow!