Called Together: Part 2 W/Pastor Brad

And amen.

Well again, everybody.

Good morning.

And um welcome to today.

Today we are in the second message of uh fall series that we're in on the letter to the first Corinthians.

I'm really excited for this series.

Uh last week we just started on the first three verses uh in a message called Called Together.

And today is really part two of Ministry Launch Sunday.

So last week and today, after really as a part of today's message and worship service, we're gonna open up these doors and in the commons are various tables and ministry signups and some hospitality for ways to learn more about the church, to get more connected, and to serve here at 450.

Um, to build up to that, let's pick up where we left off last week in verse four of chapter one, and a message simply titled Today, Called Together, part two.

In fact, turn to your neighbor and say, We are called together.

Get them both.

We are called together.

Um, and to really set things up before we read today's word, let's uh let's jump to Corinth right now.

If you were to take a trip, fly across the pond, and spend some time in Corinth.

This is what it looks like today.

Now just try to imagine in your mind's eye a city that looked like this.

Corinth was a major cosmopolitan city.

It was also a seaport and a major trade center 2,000 years ago.

It was the most important city in the Greek state of Achaea.

The author of the letter that we're about to read of 1 Corinthians is Paul.

God called Paul to plant churches.

Where?

In cities.

And he loved to do that.

He had a passion to do that.

He established the church in Corinth during one of his missionary trips that the Lord led him on.

Now, the church in Corinth, here's a little bit of a picture of it.

If we were to see it today, or back then.

The church in Corinth back then, it was urban, multi-ethnic, economically diverse.

It was young, it was small, but it was growing.

And this is key.

The church was essentially entirely made up of new believers, converts, uh, folks who are unfamiliar with church.

Here's why that fact is really important to understand and just to get a grasp on that today, because it's really easy to overlook.

Here's why.

Here in Grand Rapids, if you were to Google how many churches there are in Grand Rapids, easily it's more than 500.

Uh, you look up the state of Michigan, uh, there are more than 10,000 churches in Michigan alone.

Crazy.

Let's say you're a new Christian attending the Church of God in Corinth.

That's what its name was, the address.

Let's say you're spending time with Paul and standing here near this ridge, this hilltop, and you're looking down on the city and wondering, how is all of this gonna go?

Well, you're among the very first.

You're among the very first church in a new city in the entire state.

Uh, there's a scripture that I love to quote every once in a while, and uh where an angel of the Lord speaks to a prophet by the name of Zechariah.

And the angel of the Lord says to this prophet in Zechariah 4.10, the angel says, Do not despise these small beginnings, because the Lord loves to see the work begin.

The work had just begun in this church and it was planted intentionally.

I mentioned this last week and it's bearing to be repeated today.

It was planted intentionally at the intersection of two streets, one of immorality and the other of idolatry.

And Paul believed this was exactly the right place.

This is exactly the necessary location for this beginning of the church, a people to receive the light of Jesus, the light of the good news of the gospel, and then to share that light within the city, house to house, door to door, block by block in ancient Corinth.

So, in honor of God's holy, living, and active word, if you're able, please stand and let's read these six powerful verses together.

It's two slides, beginning after verse three from last week.

Let's pick it up.

Here we go.

Three, two, one.

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

For in him you have been enriched in every way, with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge.

God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.

Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

This is the holy word of God.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Man, this scripture, church, it essentially just preaches itself.

So let's dive in a bit closer here through this message, named Called Together, part two.

And let's begin with verse four.

He says, I always thank my God for you because of his grace given to you in Christ Jesus.

Let the church say, always.

Always.

Here, Paul always thanked God for these believers in the city of Corinth.

So, right, we're in September.

Uh November's around the corner.

Near the end of November, it is the season of Thanksgiving.

During that season, we're invited to praise God for blessings and to express our gratitude to God for them.

But Thanksgiving, it comes and then it goes.

Right?

Paul's saying, I always thank God for you.

It's Thanksgiving all year round for you guys, from my view.

His thanks is expressed every day, which means this we can never say thank you enough to God.

For folks who have come alongside us, folks who have encouraged us, mentors, teachers, parents, leaders, friends, to praise God for them.

When biblical gratitude becomes a part of your life, when it becomes a part of your heartbeat, ooh, watch out.

It's contagious and it spreads.

At 4:32 this morning, I got a text from a dear pastor friend who texted me this.

He said, Brad, I am praying to encourage you as you prepare to preach today.

Much blood has been shed so that we might have this great honor, above all, to preach Christ, Christ, him crucified and risen.

Amen.

He said amen in the text.

He's preaching to himself.

And then he said, preach the gospel.

That was so awesome to receive.

I wasn't up at that time, but he was.

And I'm feeling compelled to just pass that along.

Who is one person today to thank God for?

Please repeat after me.

One person.

Who is one person God's calling you to encourage today with biblical gratitude?

Because here's my encouragement.

Tell them.

L be your neighbor and say, tell them and tell them today.

Yeah, yeah.

Let's continue because each of these verses builds up.

Verse five.

He says, For in him, in Jesus, you have been enriched in every way, with all kinds of speech and all kinds of knowledge.

This is amazing.

God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.

He's saying, In Jesus, you have been enriched.

Let the church say, enriched.

Yeah.

You have been made in Jesus to flourish for him today.

In Jesus, our lives are set free, and then we have the honor and the joy and the privilege to live this out.

He's saying, listen, your lives are flourishing in Jesus through two things.

Through all kinds of speech and with knowledge.

A very important couple.

Here's a take-home to think about today.

And show me your ponder emoji as I ask you guys to ponder this.

We're living in an era quite different than this, where there is such a temptation today to use God-given speech and God-given knowledge instead to shift it and to focus on controversy, to focus on fighting, and to flourish in that, to even enjoy that, or pour fuel on that fire.

And can I go a bit deeper today?

All right.

I got permission.

Here's one way to consider this.

You go almost anywhere on any post online.

And if you dare, whatever the story or news or topic or issue, if you dare, you scroll through the comment section.

Indicator of humanity in the life of 2026.

No matter what the original post, the comment section, it almost instantly, the speech of it and the knowledge of it almost instantly erupts into some kind of crazy.

Consider Exhibit A.

A pastor I know was sharing about the website, nextdoorn.com.

Just stay with me.

Watch out for each other.

It's you'd think it sounds pretty harmless, caring for one another.

What could possibly go wrong?

On nextdoorn.com.

Well, someone posted this.

Hey neighbor, I saw a coyote on the street this morning.

Be careful with your pets.

Right.

Now, how innocent could this be?

Who could possibly take offense as you know with something as innocuous as this?

Well, well, well, my friends, it instantly devolves into a slugfest between neighbors on speech and knowledge.

Now, this didn't happen in Grand Rapids, so you're all good, right?

We we can relax.

This ain't us.

But somewhere else, someone posted, and I don't want to get so much into the weeds here, but watch the steps as they progress.

Someone said, I'm offended by your implication that coyotes are bad.

They have just as much right to be here as your cat does.

And then the next person said, Well, I'm offended by the phrase you just used, your cat, implying that I own animals.

I don't.

Animals should not be owned.

Right?

And then at this point, it's just nothing more than pushing button after button.

Someone then says, Well, I think coyotes, all of them, should be shot.

Another person says, Well, coyotes are people too.

It's just wild and it's crazy.

Then someone says, in all caps and exclamation points, I can't stand you all.

If you've ever come across any crazy in the comments section, raise your hand.

Yeah.

Wow.

Welcome.

And this is just 2026 nextdoorneighbor.com.

It's supposed to be a beloved and ever so helpful site to watch out for each other.

Church, what's happening around us and in us today?

We're living in a cultural moment where our knowledge and speech either leads towards fighting or this calling, it's about enriching.

Proverbs 20, verse 3 says, avoid a fight.

Proverbs 20:3

Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor.

Only fools insist on quarreling, or as our passage says, I love this, for in Jesus your speech and knowledge is made to flourish because what happens, your testimony is then confirmed.

In other words, you walk out the love of God with what you know and what you say.

Turn to your neighbor and say, Walk it out.

Walk it out.

All right, all right.

I love this next one, verse seven.

Therefore, and every time you see a therefore, you gotta ask, What's a therefore?

Hmm.

Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

Let the church say, you do not lack.

Oh, that's such a good promise.

Isn't this incredible?

The Corinthian church had all the spiritual gifts they needed to live for Him and to witness for Christ.

A little later in 1 Corinthians 12, we just did a whole sermon series on this last year.

He describes all of them: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, distinguishing between spirits, various kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues, apostles, prophets, teachers, helping and administrating.

Wow.

They've been filled to the brim, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, right?

And in Jesus, they have all they need.

When I was a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, anybody else?

80s, 90s kid?

Yeah, yeah, good couple of us.

Um my mom pretty much raised all of us five kids on clothes from garage sales.

She was a professional at garage saling.

And when I was a kid, I used to be embarrassed.

I just wanted to stay in the car.

As she would rummage around through garage sales.

I didn't want others to think that we were lacking.

But I remember one time finding a name brand, Toronto Blue Jays baseball cap.

Anyone remember the brand starter?

Starter?

Yeah, man, I came across that.

It was faded, but it was gold to me.

And I continue to wear that thing out.

Church family, consider what you may be facing.

What is right on the horizon for you.

Whether it's regarding your job or a new season of your life.

Yeah, consider what's ahead.

Maybe it's a new move.

Kendra, thank you so much for leading us in worship today.

This was powerful and memorable, and we honor you in anticipation for this upcoming trip to Texas, right?

Just take a moment and praise God for Kendra.

Yeah, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

So, whatever is on your heart or your mind or what's around the corner, maybe things might feel repetitious right now, like kind of stuck in a rut.

Maybe you had a disagreement with the family member or a friend.

Maybe it's been a crisis recently, or you've had a hospital visit.

Here's what's absolutely mind-blowing about this passage, this promise.

Paul saying, therefore, in Jesus, you do not lack anything.

All gifts of the Holy Spirit are right in front of us.

They're right in front of us, church.

And Paul is saying, essentially, we're in this hallway stage, right?

Between now and waiting expectantly for Jesus to return.

So between now and then, or as one poet once said, between the already and the not yet, we do not lack because he has given the church his gifts.

And he's saying, use them, walk in them for the sake of the coming risen Lord, live your life for him.

And not only that, but God himself is right alongside you to keep you steady.

These are our last two verses here from verses eight and nine.

Our God, he will keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

These are two verses and just power-packed with promises of God directly relevant for right now.

God Himself is right alongside us to keep us steady through all of life.

God is faithful.

He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

Never forget that, church.

He will bring it to completion.

It is his promise, and it is more real to us than gravity itself.

He is faithful, he is true, he is our life, our strength, our song.

This is where the good news of the gospel comes in.

That in another letter he wrote to the Romans, he said that the wages of our sin, right, is death.

That is what we have all deserved because of our sin.

And Jesus took upon himself our sin.

And he died in our place.

And three days later, he conquers the grave and he promises forgiveness, new life, abundant life in him for all who believe, all who commit to him, knowledge and speech to live for him for such a time as this.

A mentor of mine loves the passion version of the Bible.

And I didn't know much about it until recently.

And it's kind of a devotional reading, expressive personal reading of the Bible.

And I'm going to invite our instrumentalists back up as I'd love to read this over you today prayerfully as we anticipate a time of transitioning into the ministry fair.

So yeah, I'm going to read through this.

And since it's a prayerful reading of God's word, whatever you may be sensing, feeling, it's on your heart today, I invite you to just open up your hands and receive God's word for you.

It's just as relevant now.

It's just as relevant now as it was back in the land of Corinth.

Imagine an encourager, some who you're grateful for.

Speaking this over you all.

He says, I am always thanking my God for you because he has given you such free and open access to his grace through your union with Jesus the Messiah.

I love how this builds here.

In him, in Jesus, you have been made extravagantly rich.

It's more than we could ever know or imagine.

Extravagantly rich in every way.

You have been endowed with a wealth of inspired utterance and the riches that come from your intimate knowledge of him.

For the reality of the truth of Christ is seen among you and strengthened through your experience of him.

So now you aren't lacking any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the unveiling of the Lord Jesus, the anointed one.

Making your character mature so that you will be found innocent on the day of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our God is forever faithful and can be trusted to do this in you.

He has invited you to co-share the life of his son, Jesus, the anointed one, our King.

Our God is faithful and he calls us together.

He's called us together, not individually, but collectively as one, as the body of Christ.

Heavenly Father, God, oh, we love you, we praise you, we worship you.

We thank you for your word that's always on time.

We thank you for how every verse preaches to us.

You have called us together.

You have said that in you we lack nothing.

That in you we have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are meant to be used and applied today.

Lord, we don't want to sit on the sidelines.

We want to use our lives, our speech, and our knowledge for you.

As the scripture reminds us, we thank you that you are faithful, that you will keep us steady, you will keep us firm to the very end.

You are our comfort, you are our salvation, you are our true source of hope.

You are our joy.

In a world where there's so much sinking sand, Lord, we thank you that you are the firm foundation.

So collectively as one, Lord, we thank you for this invitation to be called together.

We lift up and consecrate this upcoming year to you.

We thank you that 2026, 2027, all the years are in your hands.

Thank you for the honor and the joy and the privileges of following you and the power of the Holy Spirit together.