No Mere Men-8--Sec. 2, Part 3 Series

NO MERE MEN—1Corinthians 3:1-23(3:1-9; 9-17; 18-23)

—SECTION 2(3:9-17)Their Building—part 3

Attention:

Blessed Shot?

A nun walks into Mother Superior's office & plops down into a chair.

She lets out a sigh heavy with frustration.

'What troubles you, Sister?' asked the Mother Superior. 'I thought this was the day you spent with your family.'

'It was,' sighed the Sister... 'And I went to play golf with my brother. We try to play golf as often as we can. You know I was quite a talented golfer before I devoted my life to Christ.'

'I seem to recall that,' the Mother Superior agreed.

'So I take it your day of recreation was not relaxing?'

'Far from it,' snorted the Sister. ‘Sadly in fact, I cursed today!'

'Goodness, Sister!' gasped the Mother Superior, astonished. 'You must tell me all about it!'

'Well, we were on the fifth tee...& this hole is a monster, Mother, a 540 yard Par 5, with a nasty dogleg left & a hidden green....& I hit the drive of my life.

I creamed it. The sweetest drive I had ever made.

And it's flying straight & true, right along the line I wanted...& it hits a bird in mid-flight!'

'Oh my!' commiserated the Mother. 'How unfortunate!

But surely that didn't make you curse, Sister!'

'No, that wasn't it,' admitted Sister.

‘While I was still trying to fathom what had happened, this squirrel runs out of the woods, grabs my ball & bounds off down the fairway!'

'Oh, that would have made me blaspheme!' sympathized the Mother.

'But I didn't, Mother!' sobbed the Sister 'And I was so proud of myself!

I quickly took off after the little furball & just as I was coming up on the dogleg hawk swoops down out of nowhere & grabs the squirrel & flies off, with my ball still clutched in his paws!'

'So that's when you cursed,' said the Mother with a knowing smile.

'Nope, that wasn't it either,' cried the Sister, anguished, 'because as the hawk started to fly out of sight, the squirrel which was struggling, the hawk dropped him right there on the green, & the ball popped out of his paws & rolled to about 18 inches from the cup!

Mother Superior sat back in her chair, dumbfounded as to what would have made the nun curse....At that moment, the lightbulb goes on in the Mother Superior’s head.

She folds her arms across her chest, leans toward the Sister, looks her dead in the eye with a knowing stare & says...'You missed the lousy putt, didn't you!’

No Mere Man/Woman could have held back after missing THAT putt!

Need:

All mankind realizes that their world is in need of a savior. Realizing that No Mere Men can accomplish the world’s greatest need…dealing decisively with sin.

Paul reveals the traits of unspiritual men.

Unspiritual men are unable to exist in harmony.

Why are the unspiritual unable to live in harmony?

Because...

As we discovered previously—No mere men can Overcome...

—SECTION 1(:1-9)—

1. IMMATURITY(:1)

2. DIET(:2-3a)Sustenance

3. ENVY(:3bi)

4. STRIFE(:3bii)

5. DIVISIVENESS(:3biii)

6. BEHAVIORS(:3b)

7. MINISTRY(:4-5)

8. SIGNIFICANCE(:6-7)

9. LABOR(:8-9)

—SECTION 2(:9-17)—

10—No mere men can Overcome…

BUILDING(:9-17)Edifice & Manner

A. FOUNDATION(:9-11)

B. EDIFICE(:10b)

C. QUALITY(:12-15)

Why is the Quality of the Edifice you build upon the Foundation(of Christ) so important?

10—No mere men can Overcome…

BUILDING(:9-17)

D.—PURPOSE(:16-17)

:16—“Do you not know that you are the temple of God & that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

An incentive for producing our highest quality product(giving our best to the Lord) is the fact that all Christians are “the temple of God.” Because of that fact, the Holy spirit of God dwells there permanently!(1Cor. 6:19-20).

The local body of Christ(“you/ye”—plural) is “the temple of God.”

The Holy “Spirit” “dwells” within the local church. He finds expression thru the local church.

We are the place where God resides without the presence of sin’s tainting.

1Cor. 6:19-20—“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, & you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body & in your spirit, which are God’s.”

2Cor. 6:14-18—“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons & daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”