Series: Action [#70]
A LETTER OF CONCERN- HOW TO KILL YOUR CHURCH
1 Corinthians 1:1-17
Introduction:
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Are you thankful for the Church? Paul told them that he thanked God for them. Everyone needs a Church home. A place where they know they are loved. A place where they know people care about them.
Paul also thanked God for Jesus. Without Jesus, there would be no Church. Jesus is the founder of the Church, and He must always be at the center if we want to succeed in doing what God has called us to do. Paul was thankful for God’s faithfulness. God remains faithful to us, in-spite of our failures. As we begin 1 Corinthians, I want you to notice that Paul had some concerns for this Church. This Church was not doing all that they were supposed to be doing. There were some in the Church that were really hurting it. In fact, they were allowing the devil to use them to destroy the church. If you want to kill your Church, let me show you how.
1 Corinthians 1:10
To kill your Church…
1. Kill unity.
The 1st way to kill your Church is by killing the unity within the Church. There are 3 ways to kill the unity within the Church listed in our text.
Forget…
* Whose you are.
Once you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you are no longer yours but God’s. When you forget Who you belong to, you stop acting like a child of God’s and start acting like a child of the devils.
Forget…
* Who you are.
As a Christian, you are a representative of God here on this earth. When you forget that, you are prone to live opposite of what God wants you to.
Forget…
* Your mission.
Why does God leave us here on this earth after we are saved? Is it to critique the pastor, the sermon, the church, the music, etc…? No, it is to lead the lost to Jesus Christ.
In order for the Church to be able to reach out to the lost, we must have unity within our congregation. The devil is going to try to cause you to forget Whose you are, who you are, and what your mission is so that he can destroy the ministry of this Church.
1 Corinthians 1:11-12
To kill your Church…
2. Kill harmony.
The 1st way to kill the Church is by killing the unity within the Church; the 2nd way to kill the Church is by killing the harmony within the Church.
There are 2 ways to kill the harmony within the Church.
Fight about…
* Everything.
Do you realize that Churches have been destroyed over the color of carpet or who is going to say the prayer during the service? The devil will use anything for us to fight about. Think about this- For those of you who are married, what do you fight about most often? Is it the things in life that are really important, or is it silly little things that don’t matter; like leaving the toilet seat up? We are the same way in Church. We will fight over anything, whether it matters or not and this will destroy the harmony within the Church.
Fight about…
* Who is in charge.
In every Church that I know of this is always a problem. We as humans want to be in charge. The problem with this is that everyone cannot be in charge- That is chaos. There is a reason that God calls a man to pastor a Church. It isn’t because the pastor is a better person than anyone else, but it is because that is the way God set it up. By the way, I am not in charge of this Church. Who is? It better be God or we are all in trouble. If you want to kill the harmony of your Church, fight one another for power.
1 Corinthians 1:13-17
To kill your Church…
3. Kill humility.
If you want to kill your Church- Kill the unity, kill the harmony, and kill the humility within the Church. There are 3 ways to kill humility within the Church.
Forget Who…
* Died for us.
We sometimes forget that it was Jesus on the cross because of our sins and not us on the cross. It is easy for us as good Church going people to start feeling better than everyone else but don’t forget that Jesus had to die for you too.
Forget Who…
* Gets the credit for what God is doing.
When God uses you to see great things happen, please never forget Who did that and Who gets the credit.
Forget Who…
* Has power.
We are just instruments of God and when we begin to feel powerful because God is using us, don’t forget that Jesus is the One that died on the cross and rose again. The power of the Gospel is not in this building or our programs but in the cross of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion:
Are we a Church that glorifies God and leads the lost to Christ? Are you a Christian that glorifies God and leads the lost to Christ? If our Church is going to be a lighthouse in our Community, we must remember verse 17, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel.”
