1 Corinthians 14:26-40

all may learn and all be encouraged. And the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.

For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,

the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should

be in submission as the law says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them

ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached?

If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing

to you are a command of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

So my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues,

but all things should be done decently and in order.

Well, friends, I don't know about you, but this week I've been particularly struck by how much

chaos there seems to be in the world. For weeks we've been hearing about the chaotic events in the UK,

the Brexit vote, and now the turmoil over choosing a new prime minister.

And much closer to home, we've been witnessing even more chaos, it seems,

with the tragic shootings in Texas and Minnesota and Louisiana.

On and on it seems to come.

And you know, these are just the chaotic things that happen to hit the headlines.

How much more are we not reading about in other parts of the world, in other cities of our country,

even behind the closed doors of our own neighborhoods?

Confusion, disorder, chaos.

And here we gather this morning, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And what should characterize our gathering?

Should the church just be more of the same?

Another place where chaos is boiling below the surface,

ready to break out at any moment, like water bursting through a rusty pipe.

Too often, you know, this has been the case.

Too often the church has looked just like the world in this regard.

A place of enmity and strife and confusion and chaos.

But our text this morning speaks to us in both challenging and inviting words.

The church should be a place, we read here, not of chaos, but of order.

An order that not just the church, but our world so desperately needs.

You'll remember if you've been with us over the last few weeks,

that Paul here is coming to the conclusion of his instruction to the church here in Corinth

on the topic of spiritual gifts.

And in verse 39 through 40, at the very end of the text, Paul, hopefully, sums it up as clearly as he possibly can.

Here's the big idea that he's been sort of working towards this whole chapter.

You ready?

Here it is.

Earnestly desire to prophesy.

That is, to speak timely, insightful, spirit-led words of encouragement and upbuilding.

Don't forbid speaking in tongues.

Okay, don't totally rule that out.

But all things should be done decently and in order.

Or as another translation puts it,

everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

So when it comes to spiritual gifts and public worship,

Paul says the bottom line is,

all things should be done decently and in order,

in a fitting and orderly way.

Order!

Okay.

But why?

Are we talking here about order just for order's sake?

Is Paul just sort of being a stick in the mud here?

A little nervous about things getting out of hand?

Like the school principal who walks into the noisy lunchroom and tells everyone to quiet down and stop having a good time.

This is school after all.

No, you see, that's not it at all.

You see, if the public worship of the church is not meant to be a sort of chaotic frenzy on the one hand,

neither is it meant to be a dry and stiff formalism on the other.

I mean, think about it, friends.

Nothing about the worship of the one true God ought to be boring and dry.

We are worshiping God, after all.

The creator of galaxies and quarks and canyons and everything that takes your breath away.

The author behind all poetry and music and every beauty you've ever seen.

The one we're told in the book of Hebrews is a consuming fire.

There ought to be nothing boring here.

And forgive us, preachers, if sometimes we bore you.

We're falling short of our calling.

Order for order's sake, not quite.

So what is the reason?

Why orderly worship of all the things that Paul could drive home?

Well, our text gives us three reasons.

And the first one is this.

Do all things decently and in order because orderly worship, Paul seems to say,

lets everyone take part.

Jump back to the beginning of our passage.

The vision here is of an incredibly participatory worship, is it not?

The way Paul would have it, corporate worship is not a spectator sport.

It's not like showing up to see a movie at a movie theater where you sit back,

eat some popcorn, and hope to be sort of mildly entertained for the next hour and a half or two hours.

You hope not two hours, right, when you come to church.

No, the way Paul would have it, the way the New Testament would have it,

corporate worship is more like showing up at one of those murder mystery dinners

where everyone has a role to play in the unfolding drama.

You show up and you're expected to participate.

And if you don't, well, you just don't have that much fun, do you?

Everyone comes with something to share.

You see that in verse 26.

And for Paul, that's a good thing.

Paul doesn't say, oh, you came with a hymn.

No, no, no, no, no.

You're just supposed to come with your popcorn bucket so you can sit back and enjoy the show.

Okay.

Now, if that's the case, if everyone comes with something to share,

if this is meant to be a participatory gathering,

at first, a little bit of chaos might seem like the best way to let everybody jump in.

Why have any guidelines or structure or order or service leaders?

Why not just let the spirit move?

Won't that ensure that everyone gets a chance to participate?

But, you know, the reality is that's almost never how it works out in practice.

Chaos almost always ends up meaning that the strong and the domineering are the ones who steal the show.

And they run roughshod over the humbler and the quieter ones.

You know, if the teacher in the classroom never says,

why don't we hear from someone who hasn't shared yet?

It's always going to be that obnoxious kid in the front row who blurts out the answers to all the questions.

Isn't it?

I know, because I was too often that kid.

So, you see, order in corporate worship ensures that the loudest voices,

the most domineering, pushy personalities, don't monopolize the meeting,

which seems to be what was taking place at Corinth.

In other words, an orderly service ensures that the quieter, humbler voices that we need to hear

can also be heard.

So then, in verses 27 through 31, Paul gives us some ground rules.

Only let two or three speak in tongues or in prophecy.

And make sure they speak in turn, not over each other, okay?

Take note of how Paul is implying self-control here.

If you want to do, if you can't happen to do what you want to do at this gathering,

just wait for another opportunity.

And by the way, tongues, speakers, you need an interpreter.

If no interpreter is present, stay silent.

Oh, and prophecy, speakers, look,

you can wait till someone is done speaking before you start speaking.

And don't blab on and on and on and on and on and on.

That seems to be what verse 32 is all about.

It's a bit confusing on the surface.

The spirit of prophets are subject to prophets.

I think what Paul means there is that you, prophet, whoever you might be,

you, speaker, you are in control of your own spirit.

That is, you don't just have to blurt something out

because there's something on your heart or in your spirit to say.

You can wait.

You can exercise self-control here.

But now note, even if you're not speaking,

Paul seems to be very strongly seeing that you're still participating.

You may be quiet, but you're not passive.

The tongue speakers are still speaking to themselves and God.

Those who are not prophesying are weighing what is said.

The vision here is of a gathering where everyone is engaged in heart and mind

with all that's being said.

Okay, fair enough.

Now, at this point, you might be thinking,

wait a minute.

I've been coming to Trinity for fill in the blank.

Three months, three years, 30 years.

Our Sunday morning services don't look anything like this.

Right?

Does that mean we have it completely wrong?

Are we missing the mark here?

Next Sunday, should we just set up a microphone in the middle of this stage

stage and say, okay, who's got a word?

Well, I think there are a few things to say to that.

First, we would actually love to see Sundays as a time

where more people are sharing encouraging words

to the congregation up front.

And not just when someone becomes a member or gets baptized,

as great as those times of sharing are.

But also, maybe when the Lord is just teaching you something

that will be edifying to share with the whole congregation.

What might that look like?

Well, the Lord's been teaching you something

that you think might be edifying to share with the whole congregation.

Come talk to one of the elders

so that we can pray about the best means

of actually communicating that to your church family

so we can help you discern the best means of building up your body.

Okay, the second thing to say

is that this gathering on Sundays

isn't the only gathering of our church.

There are different sorts of gatherings

that can have different sorts of purposes

and that give us different opportunities

to use our gifts in different sorts of ways.

In the church where I became a Christian,

there was a midweek service on Wednesday nights.

How many people here went to a church growing up

that was like Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night?

Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.

Some of you are like,

why would you ever go to church three times a week?

That's nuts.

Okay, well, the church I went to,

we had this midweek service, right?

And I'll tell you,

that midweek service looked a bit like 1 Corinthians 14.

Instead of the songs being planned ahead of time,

people would call out hymn numbers.

And then we'd hope the pianist kind of knew that one.

Then there was an open time

when what we called testimonies were given.

And when prayers were prayed.

And when scripture passages were shared and taught.

And you know, here at Trinity,

if you become a part of a midweek small group,

you might see something a lot more like 1 Corinthians 14.

In fact, I will say from personal experience,

I have seen the gift of prophecy at work

all the time in my small group.

I don't think the members of my small group

would have necessarily called it that.

But if we understand prophecy,

as we've been saying over the last few weeks,

as timely, insightful, spirit-filled words

that apply the truths of scripture

to a specific situation,

then I've seen that again and again and again.

Someone struggling with a sin

and a brother or sister shares a word

that's very encouraging and challenging.

Someone wrestling with anxiety or fear

and someone saying,

I've struggled with that too.

Here's how the Lord has helped me.

Someone just over our Bible study time

sharing something

that seems to hit the nail on the head

for all of us

and it ends up being woven through

a lot of our prayers

later in our time together.

I've seen the gift of prophecy at work

in our small group again and again and again.

No one has spoken in tongues yet.

I don't think anyone has the gift of interpretation

that I know of,

so, you know, we're good there.

We don't need to go there.

But it could happen, right?

And then we'd say,

does anybody have the gift of interpretation?

And maybe someone would.

Who knows?

But the point is

that these smaller gatherings

provide good context

to exercise gifts in different ways.

Now, it's also clear from the New Testament,

if you look at the book of Acts

or the pastoral epistles, for example,

that biblical preaching and teaching,

sustained exposition of the Bible,

and encouraging one another

through song and scripture readings

and taking up a collection,

these are also part of a healthy,

public worship life at the church.

And our Sunday morning gatherings

seem like a good time

to devote to those things.

Now, of course,

we could do all of those things

in one big service.

But with 200 to 300 people here on a Sunday,

that would probably make for a really long service.

Right?

And fortunately,

lots of people would probably be too intimidated

to speak up and exercise their gifts.

So,

we meet more than once.

And we meet in lots of different ways.

We meet in different forms

so that we can embody the breadth

of what a healthy church gathering looks like.

Okay, one more point to be made

as we think about the sort of,

maybe dissonance

between what we see in 1 Corinthians 14

and what we see here.

And that point is that

as we think

of how our Sunday morning service

is compared to what we see here

in 1 Corinthians 14,

I think it's true

that orderly worship,

which is what Paul's big idea is here,

orderly worship,

even in a large meeting

like this,

orderly worship

still facilitates

the participation

and mutual edification

that Paul really wants.

in other words,

even if things don't look identical

on the surface,

the principles are still

being embodied.

Orderly worship

allows everyone

to take part

in what's happening.

This is one of the reasons

why we have an order of service.

So that when we come together,

we're not just spectators

of what's happening

up on stage,

but so that we can enter

into

the worship service itself

with our spirits

and with our minds,

as Paul says back

in verses 14 through 15.

And we put a lot of thought

into making the order of service.

It's not just a random string

of songs and reading and prayer,

but something that actually

takes us,

if you notice,

week in and week out

on a journey

through the gospel narrative.

This is what we're hoping to do

with our order of service.

We begin,

did you notice,

it's right there in your bulletin,

with a time of adoration.

Right?

Praising God for who he is.

And then we move, what,

to a time of confession.

Acknowledging our sin

and our need of a savior.

And then we move to the cross.

And we sing and we speak

of what Jesus has done

for all who believe.

Paying the penalty for our sin.

Rising again to give us new life.

And then after we've

adored God for who he is

and we've celebrated

what Christ has done for us

to forgive our sins,

having celebrated God's grace

in that way,

we move to a time of sharing

what God's been doing

in our lives.

And particularly,

coming to God

as our heavenly father

who knows our needs

even before we ask them.

and pouring out our hearts

to him

with our needs

and our petitions

and our prayers.

So you see,

we're moving

through the narrative

of the gospel.

God,

we adore him.

We're sinners

and we need to confess

that before him.

Christ has done something

once and for all for us

and that opens up

a new kind of relationship

and response to God.

God,

we're shaping our services

around the message,

the story of the good news.

Why do we do that?

Friends,

so that week in

and week out

in a hundred different ways,

we can participate together

in the celebration

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Which 1 Peter tells us

even angels

long to look at

and look into

with wonder.

the gospel is something

that will never grow old

for all eternity.

So every Sunday,

we want to come before it

and in the hundreds

of different ways

in which we can celebrate it,

we want to be

diving into it together.

So I hope

that our orderly service

and our order of service

empowers your meaningful

participation.

You know,

this is another reason

why

we also

don't just have

an order of service,

but

we print out

the sermon text

ahead of time

on the sermon cards

so that we can be

engaging with the text

together

before we come

on Sundays

and so that we can be

praying for the message.

Just this week,

I actually heard

of a student

in our youth group

who uses the sermon text

each week

as part of his quiet time.

I think that's

a great example

for all of us.

I guarantee you

that you will get

more out of Sunday mornings,

you will feel more engaged

if you read

and you meditate

on the text

ahead of time

and pray for the message

on Sunday.

Pick up a good study Bible

like the ESV study Bible

or there's others out there,

you don't have to get that one.

But that will be

a good help to you

as you study the passage

during the week

and get your bearings in it

and start to meditate on it

to help you delve into it.

But you know,

it's not just leading up

to the service

but in the time

following the service.

You know,

what we do

after the benediction

here

is still very much

part of our

gathered worship.

We engage

with one another

over the text.

I know some of the

small groups

are actually using

the sermon text

as part of their

weekly small group discussion

to be carrying

what we're doing here

into their one anothering

throughout the week.

That gives them a way

to connect

what's happening

on Sundays

to their mutual teaching

and edifying

of one another

in their small group.

So there are lots of ways

in which

our services

through being orderly

are actually encouraging

this kind of mutual

full-on participation

that we're all engaged

in what's happening here.

Okay, let's keep moving.

I hope you see

that the first big reason

why orderly worship

is so important

is because

chaos can't produce

and maintain

a culture

of mutual participation

and mutual building up.

But Paul says

orderly worship can.

Okay.

Now,

let me say a few words

about verses 34 and 35.

Ah,

when was he going to

start talking about that?

Okay,

here we go.

These verses

in the text of our passage

seem to come out of nowhere,

right?

So much so

that some commentators

have even speculated

whether they were added

to the manuscript

at some later date.

Some people have wondered

maybe there was a scribe

who just sort of wrote

that in the margins

and eventually

just kind of got stuck in.

Okay.

The reality is

that these verses

are in every single manuscript

of 1 Corinthians

that we have.

So it seems that Paul

actually did write them.

So,

what do they mean?

You know,

it's very important

when we run across

a passage like this,

ones that at first

are very arresting

and seem very unclear

and on the surface

maybe seem a little offensive

or on the surface

seem a lot offensive.

Okay.

It's important

to interpret

the less clear parts

of Scripture

in light of the more

clear parts of Scripture.

and when we do that

we realize pretty quickly

that there's one thing

that this text

cannot be saying.

This text cannot be saying

that women

should never ever

participate verbally

in public worship.

How do we know that?

Well, look,

if you go back

three chapters

to 1 Corinthians 11

we see there

very clearly

that women

are praying

and prophesying

in the church

and Paul has

zero problem with it.

He just wants

to make sure

that they respect

their husbands

as they do so.

That's the deal

with head coverings.

So unless Paul

is hopelessly

contradicting himself

he can't mean

that women

should never ever

pray or speak

in church.

So whatever Paul

means by keep silent

that can't be it.

Okay.

So what does Paul

mean then?

Well here commentators

go in all sorts

of different directions

and if you're interested

in the nitty gritty details

you can come talk

to me afterwards

and we can have

a long conversation

about all the crazy ways

in which scholars

try to put these pieces

together.

But here's another principle.

If we should always

interpret the less clear

parts of scripture

by the more clear parts

we should also

always look at texts

in their context.

And what's the context

of these verses?

Verses 34 and 35.

Not just

speaking in church

in general.

The immediate context

in verses 29 through 33

is what?

The giving

and the weighing

of prophecy.

Now

as we just pointed out

from 1 Corinthians 11

and as we actually see

all across

the New Testament

women

were

most certainly

giving words of prophecy

and sharing all sorts

of encouraging words

in the church.

So

the best bet

seems to be

that verses 34

to 35

have something

to do

with the weighing

of prophecy.

That is

the evaluation

of prophecy.

And at this point

it seems

there are broadly

two directions,

two interpretations

that could make sense.

And here's where

some commentators

go with this.

One reading

would seem

to understand

these verses

to be saying

that married women

shouldn't publicly

evaluate and question

the prophecies

of their husbands.

Instead

they should talk

to their husbands

at home

lest

they run the risk

of dishonoring

their husbands

and undermining

the special relationship

that exists

in a marriage

between a husband

and wife

that's meant

to mirror

Christ in the church.

And so

in this reading

Paul isn't saying

that women

shouldn't speak

at all

but again

in the context

of weighing prophecies

they shouldn't speak

in evaluation

of their husbands.

Okay

that's the first way

of reading the passage

and that would understand

verses 34

through 35

as relating

to a particular

relationship

right?

To the relationship

of marriage.

The second way

we could understand

these verses

is to see them

referring

not necessarily

to a particular

relationship

marriage

but relating

to a particular

office

in the church.

That is

the office

or the role

that was responsible

for giving

the final

public evaluation

of anything

that was formally

taught

in the church assembly.

and held up

as true doctrine.

Think of it this way

when the first century

New Testament church

gathered

as Paul says

each one had a hymn

each one had a lesson

each one had a revelation

a word of prophecy

an interpreted tongue

who was entrusted

with the final

buck stops here

Jesus is going

to judge us for it

responsibility

to weigh

and evaluate

and make sure

that whatever

was being held up

as true doctrine

in the church

aligned

with

the apostles

teaching

and the deposit

of the faith

once for all

delivered to the saints

who was going

to make sure

that the teaching

was going to be upheld

in that life giving way

and we see that

in the New Testament

that responsibility

was entrusted

to the office

of the elders.

Yes, every believer

is meant to test

and weigh

what's being taught

in good

Berean-like

open your Bibles

and study the scriptures

fashion.

If you have no idea

who the Bereans are

I'm sorry for that

esoteric reference

come talk to me afterwards.

They were Christians

in the city of Berea

who really sort of

dug into the Bible

and understood

the apostles' teaching.

Okay.

Every believer

is meant to be doing that

but

the responsibility

of overseeing

and preserving

the faithful teaching

in the congregation

falls especially

to the office

of the elders.

Who are the elders?

We see from the New Testament

that the elders

are those men

whom the congregation

formally recognizes

as being able

to faithfully teach

and defend

the biblical

apostolic teaching

and whose character

consistently conforms

to the image of Christ.

Look at 1 Timothy chapter 3

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

if you want to see

a description of elders.

So what does this mean?

Paul in verses 34

through 35

of our text

isn't saying

that women

shouldn't speak at all.

But in the context

of weighing prophecies

he's saying

that they shouldn't speak

in the place

of an elder.

And I think

if we were to push Paul

on this

he would also say

non-elder males

shouldn't be

speaking in the place

of an elder either.

Because this isn't

an office that just

goes to every male

indiscriminately

but those whom

the congregation

all of us

have seen

and tested

and approved

to occupy

that office

for us.

Okay.

There are two readings.

Maybe none of them

seem satisfying to you

but there they are.

Which one is it?

Well again

I think both

are somewhat plausible.

And the reality is

we don't want to be

overly dogmatic

or close fisted

about the meaning

of text

that pretty much

everyone recognizes

are really tricky

to discern

the exact meaning of.

Every single

honest commentator

who looks at these

verses will say

man it's hard to know

exactly what Paul

has in mind here.

Personally

I find the second

reading to make

the most sense

in light of the rest

of the New Testament.

But

we don't want to

lose the forest

for the trees here

friends.

This passage

is helping us

see the importance

of orderly worship.

And part of

orderly worship

means at times

deferring to others.

Look at verse 28.

Those who speak

in tongues

should defer

when there isn't

an interpreter around.

They too

should keep silent.

In verse 30

those who prophesy

should defer

when another prophet

stands up to speak.

And all of that

is for our good.

And so friends

we can trust too

that whatever

Paul has in mind here

whether it's

regarding the relationship

between husband and wives

or whether it's

regarding the office

of the elder

that God

intends this too

for our good

and for our freedom

and for the

upbuilding of the church.

Okay

we've seen then

that orderly worship

lets everyone

play their part.

If you want to come

talk to me about

this passage

after the service

please come

I'd love to talk

more about it.

But there are more

reasons that Paul

gives for the

importance of

orderly worship.

And the next big

reason is this.

He tells us to do

all things decently

and in order

because orderly worship

is the Lord's command.

Look at verse 36.

Paul here is sort of

picking up the line

of thinking

from verses 32

and 33.

And in verse 36

he seems to be

responding to a

potential question

or a potential

sort of pushback

from the Corinthians.

They were probably

thinking something like

look Paul

won't this order

of yours

quench the spirit?

I mean

what if the spirit

gives me a word

that just has

to be said?

Do you really

want me to wait?

You surely

don't think

I should just

refuse

the leading

of the spirit?

Won't that stifle

God's work

in our midst?

Not to mention

squander the spirit's

gifts?

And Paul sort of

replies to that

critique or criticism

with a little bit

of sarcasm

doesn't he?

Oh really?

Does the word

of God

come from you?

Are you the only

ones with the word

of God?

Do you have a corner

on how God's word

ought to work?

Are you the authorities

on this matter?

No

Paul says

Jesus is

he's the Lord

and his word

is what we ought

to do

and his word

is that we ought

to do things

in an orderly way

and defer to one

another

and exercise

self-control

in our meetings

at the end

of verse 37

Paul says

the things

I'm writing

to you

are a command

of the Lord

and in Paul's

writings

the Lord

almost always

means

the Lord

Jesus

Jesus

himself

Paul is saying

wants worship

to be orderly

and friends

if that's true

if this is something

that Jesus

wants for us

isn't that enough?

If the one

who loved us

and gave himself

for us

and who rose

again conquering

death

and who sits

at the Father's

right hand

interceding for us

and one day

will come again

in glory

if that Jesus

says

when you

gather for

worship

do things

in an orderly

way

that should

be enough

if I happen

to get lost

in the woods

and suddenly

out of nowhere

Bear Grylls

comes down

on a line

and lands

next to me

and says

I'm not going

to try a British

accent

you can fill

one in

hey

if we do

things this

way

we'll find

our way

again

and we'll

make it

home

so trust

me

and let's

do it

this way

look

what am

I going

to do

I'm probably

not going

to say

well look

Bear

you're Bear

Grylls

and all

but I mean

really

do you think

that's what

we should

do

why

give me

ten good

reasons

why

I should

follow

your

advice

no

I am

immediately

going to

trust him

and do

what he

says

he's Bear

Grylls

do you know

who Bear

Grylls

is

if you

don't

go google

him

afterwards

he's a

stud

he knows

what he's

talking

about

friends

how much

more

ought we

to trust

the words

of the

risen

Lord

Jesus

when we

kind of

lose

our way

when it

comes to

what we

ought to

do

when we

gather

together

for

worship

it's

his

church

it's

his

world

he

rules

and reigns

it

in his

good

loving

merciful

patient

just

way

we

should

listen

to

what

he

says

and of

course

the million

dollar

question

is

well where

exactly

do we

find the

words

of

Jesus

today

in

verses

37

through

38

actually

point

us

to

where

we

ought

to

look

Paul

says

if

anyone

thinks

he

is

a

prophet

or

spiritual

he

should

acknowledge

that

the

things

I

am

writing

to

you

are

a

command

of

Lord

do

you

see

what

the

text

is

implying

here

the

commands

of

the

Lord

Jesus

the

words

of

our

risen

savior

and

the

head

of

the

church

how

do

they

come

to

us

today

where

do

we

find

them

through

the

teaching

and

the

writing

of

Jesus

appointed

representatives

the

ones

he

entrusted

to

speak

and

teach

his

words

to

the

church

that

is

the

apostles

then

Paul

says

something

really

bold

if

anyone

doesn't

recognize

this

he

is

not

recognized

that

is

not

recognized

by

God

now

that

would

be

the

most

insanely

audacious

thing

in the

world

to

say

if

Jesus

himself

hadn't

said

the

exact

same

thing

during

Jesus

earthly

ministry

when

he

sent

out

his

apostles

to

teach

you

see

this

in

Luke

Luke 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

for

instance

Jesus

told

them

this

to

his

apostles

to

those

chosen

twelve

that

he

appointed

for

this

task

whoever

hears

you

hears

me

and

the

one

who

rejects

you

rejects

me

and

the

one

who

rejects

me

rejects

him

who

sent

me

so

you

see

Jesus

himself

the

historical

Jesus

himself

is

drawing

a

direct

link

between

God

the

father

and

himself

and

his

apostles

do

you

want to

know

what

God

has

to

say

listen

to

his

son

do

you

want

to

know

what

the

son

has

to

say

listen

to

the

apostles

that

he

appointed

to

teach

and

preach

in

his

name

and

where

do

we

find

the

teaching

of

Jesus

appointed

apostles

today

in

the

new

testament

friends

that's

why

the

bible

is

our

well

spring

that's

why

Sunday

after

Sunday

we

open

it

up

and

we

read

it

and

we

try

to

teach

the

message

of

the

scriptures

here

we

have

the

words

Jesus

himself

gave

to

his

church

through

his

apostles

in

the

new

testament

and

through

his

prophets

in

the

old

testament

too

and

this

apostolic

word

that

Jesus

entrusted

is

preserved

in

scripture

for

the

church

and

isn't

that

good

news

that

instead

of

wondering

where

we

can

hear

the

voice

of

our

Lord

he

says

here

it

is

it

is

for

you

so

you

can

always

have

his

words

so

we

can

always

have

his

voice

leading

us

and

guiding

us

and

correcting

us

and

comforting

us

we

often

think

that

having

an

authoritative

bible

is

this

huge

problem

but

in fact

it's

this

great

gift

that

we

don't

have

to

make

things

up

on

our

own

that

we

don't

have

to

create

God

in

our

own

image

that

we

don't

have

to

guess

what

Jesus

says

but

he

38

is

that

truly

spiritual

worship

places

the

apostolic

words

of

Jesus

which

we

have

preserved

for

us

in

scripture

at

the

center

of

everything

in

other

words

they're

the

order

underneath

the

order

that's

why

our

orderly

worship

seeks

to be

just

saturated

with

the

words

of

scripture

our

songs

and

prayers

and

testimonies

and

sermons

we

want

them

to

be

infused

with

the

bible

why

because

we

don't

have

anything

else

better

to

say

yeah

we

don't

have

anything

else

better

to

say

than

what

God

is

saying

in

his

word

Beth

and I

recently

started

making

cold brew

coffee

at

home

do you

know

what

cold brew

coffee

is

the

process

is

really

easy

actually

you

grind

up

some

coffee

you

put

it

in

a

container

of

water

and

then

you

just

put

it

in

your

fridge

for

12

hours

rich

super

caffeinated

beverage

to

jump

start

your

day

or

you

can

go

to

Starbucks

and

pay

like

six

bucks

for

one

we'll

make

ours

at

home

okay

friends

that's

sort

of

what

we

want

to

happen

with

public

worship

we

want

the

scriptures

to

so

saturate

everything

we

do

that

you

can't

help

but

get

a

good

strong

rich

dose

of

Jesus

life

giving

words

on

Sunday

which

is

why

if

you

have

a

friend

who

is

seeking

God

or

if

you

yourself

are

feeling

far

from

God

bring

them

to

a

gathering

where

the

scriptures

are

being

explained

and

read

and

talked

about

and

prayed

and

preached

because

God

is

speaking

through

his

word

and

it

also

means

that

if

we

want

to

grow

in

our

maturity

of

using

our

spiritual

gifts

in

worship

the

best

thing

that

we

can

do

is

pray

earnestly

which

Paul

says