Your Life in light of the Day (1 Cor. 3:10-15)

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

The Day is a real day of judgment. The Bema Seat judgment of Christ is not the same as the Great White throne judgment where unbelievers are given their deserved sentences but a judgment for believers concerning their works. (see also: Rom. 14:10 and 2 Cor. 5:10) On this day will be large plumes of smoke from so called 'good works' being burned. However we won't have the vantage of seeing other's works going up in judgment flames because the smoke from our own works fires will be blocking our view. Read these words and let them sink in deeply as you meditate upon them. "each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done."
Our heart is so wickedly deceitful but on this day the truth will come out. Does this at all motivate me? Do I live in light of this fact? Does it drive me at all? No, I guess it doesn't otherwise my secret sins would be much less palatable.
So what are the affects of this coming judgment upon our lives?
Security:  Other scripture are very clear, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Grace is given. Even though painful fires are coming He will wipe away every tear. My ministry in Christ is out of the reach of men and even my own feelings about it. I am hidden in Christ and that is enough.
Sincerity: These thoughts drive us to works that advance the Gospel. How many conversations do I have about Christ? Am I just mailing it in when I come to church for worship? We must resolve along with Paul to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
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Something more than 'merely' 1 Cor. 3:1-7

1 Cor. 3:1-7 This sermon was all about the Gospel as it applies to a changed life of the believer. Surely we should be acting like redeemed men and not merely as men.What does maturity in Christ even look like? Do I notice it in me? Do others?Am I still exhausted by my struggles with the flesh? Temptations? Shouldn't I be changing for the better? Am I still fighting the flesh in the same, old, tired ways that clearly aren't working? Maybe I need more or better therapy?
Its not what I know but what I've absorbed into my life. It's an acute awareness of the cross. What has become 'my life', my subconscious, involuntary response to all of life's trials, tribulations and tests. In other words, has my gut reactions changed any since Christ saved me? Immature responses to life reveal an immature person. Makes sense to me and at the same time is very convicting considering the way I respond to most trials and problems. After 24 years of being saved one would think that life's Biblical filter would be working much better!
Our MAIN PROBLEM is a lack of love for Him and His work on the Cross.

Spiritual diagnostic test: (Are we ready to take this seriously?)
1. Is the Cross/Gospel the central feature of my life? (3:1) Is it operational or just occasional? WOW! Is the Gospel between me and my world? Why? Well, because what Paul heard through the cup placed on the wall of the church sounded like a preschool class. They were all throwing baby temper tantrums.

2. How is my progress in growth? (3:2) Have I progressed in disposition? Am I changing at all? We are supposed to be growing. What are the indicators? Well for simple starters am I a nicer person? More compassionate? Do I see and respond quicker to other people's needs faster than say this time last year? What am I pursuing in life?

3. Is my life a testimony of grace? (3:3) Am I growing in grace? Does anyone see the evidence? Where's the proof?

How will I know?

• When my prayers are no longer for others to change. 
• When repentance is about deep heart issues and not just the externals. 
• When my responses are not pride, self defense but a willingness to die on any stage and any time.

Him Crucified (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Tweets from the seat: I'm taking a different approach to this week's sermon wrap up. There were so many quotes in this message that were worthy of tweets that I thought it would be fun to format with them. (What are tweets and twitter? Click here:http://twitter.com/)

Click here to read the sermon's key passage: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Listen to the sermon by clicking here: Him Crucified

Message and methodology can't be separated. "And when I came" methods match the message. simply the cross of Christ. 1 Cor 2:1

Every true conviction is fleshed out in your methods. How you are going about in ministry reveals your convictions

What are the primary aims of ministry? The gospel is driving it. The pressure for pragmatism is intense. 1 Cor. 2:1-5

Ministry aim 1: I hope to be an embarrassment to you, a fool for Christ. That my devotion to Christ would make you uncomfortable. 1 Cor. 2:1

Ministry should be raw, direct and the same like a guy mowing his grass in black socks and a wife beater t-shirt. No frills

Ministry aim 2: I want to be redundant. 1 Cor. 2:2 nothing but Christ. Paul was not the poster child of the church growth gurus.

Preaching is ignoring criticism especially when its, "your message was irrelevant to me!" Christ is the power not my program.

"May every sermon I preach sound like spikes being driven into human flesh"

Ministry aim 3: I want to be forgettable. 1 Cor 2:3 You wouldn't  follow Paul on a podcast. Same simple message over and over.

Paul's messages were like simple flannel graph kids Sunday school lessons. Basics on Christ and the cross. 2 Cor. 10:10

Paul's fear was not his audience but his message. He didn't want anyone to be impressed by him and thus minimize the cross.

Not what a great sermon but what a great savior

Your faith should not rest on the method or the messenger but the message of Christ and the cross. 1 Cor. 2:1-5

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1 Corinthians 1:17 The Centrality Of The Cross

Click on this link to find the audio to this sermon if you missed it.

http://audio.cbcnashville.org/index.php/site/listen/275


Here is the main verse for the sermon from 02/21/2010

1 Corinthians 1:17
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Here are a few thoughts I jotted down so we can get the discussion started:

We have church wrong:

* man pleasing is a major problem in our lives
* We must think about what God thinks about us more than what man thinks
* Paul was liberated from the fear of men
* Being bold for the Gospel is not a license to be an angry prophet jerk
* We are choking and exhausted by worrying about what others think of us.

The singular ministry of the church:

* The message of fulfilled happiness is not the Christian faith
* Unhappiness results from pursuing happiness
* Desire to be popular strips the Gospel of its power in our lives and ministry
* Christianity is content based not feeling based
* How did we make the Gospel into a self improvement remedy?
* The power of the cross is it's power to offend
* If I offer the lost something other than the substitutionary work of Christ in the Gospel I will damn them.
* Stop looking for evangelism openings or angles in conversations because they are always there in every conversation.

What was most meaningful for you and your main takeaway for a Cross centered life this week?

For me, the pursuit of personal happiness in my life is robbing all the power of the Gospel in my witness. What witness, actually! My happiness is in the way of the Gospel.

What say you?