Pastor Stephen Trail, from Sage, Arkansas, describes a family, which enjoyed an annual vacation. However, at the start of each vacation, when they were only a few miles from home, mom would wail, “Oh my goodness! I think I left the iron on.” And every year they would turn around and go back, but not once was the iron ever plugged in. Mom was just dominated by the fear that her forgetfulness would cause all their earthly possessions to disappear in a fire. This was a family ritual for about 14 years.
Then, one year, the family was headed out of Chicago for Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and sure enough, mom gasped, “I just know I left the iron on.” Her husband didn't say a word. He just pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, got out, opened the trunk, and handed his wife the iron” (Stephen E. Trail, The Crown Prince of Chaos, May 23, 2016, www.sermoncentral.com).
That man brought some order to the chaos, so the family could enjoy their vacation.
Our chaotic world is also in desperate need of order. Fear dominates the minds of many people, but that’s where the church can help. The church, in her public worship services, can bring some order to all the chaos and show the world a better way. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 14, 1 Corinthians 14, where the Bible shows us how our worship can edify people in a chaotic world.
1 Corinthians 14:26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up (ESV).
When the believers came together in Corinth, everyone wanted to star in the worship service, sometimes two or three at a time, as we shall see. They tripped over each other, trying to impress each other with their spiritual gifts.
But the Bible makes it very clear here. Worship is not about an exhibition of one’s gifts and talents. It is about the edification of others. God wants you to use your spiritual gifts to build people up, to strengthen them, to increase their potential.
In the late 1990’s, Matt Redman was leading the worship band at his home church in Watford, England (near London). They were creating new and influential songs, which impacted contemporary worship around the world.
“Yet,” Redman recalls, “there was a dynamic missing. So the pastor did a pretty brave thing.” Mike Pilavachi, pastor of Soul Survivor decided to get rid of the sound system and the band for a season. He told the church that they had “lost their way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”
Initially, Matt remembers, ‘unplugging’ just led to an embarrassing silence. But eventually the congregation rediscovered their own voices, singing unaccompanied, offering up heartfelt prayers and encountering God in a fresh way.
By the time they felt sufficiently ready to reintroduce the musicians and sound system, the church had found a new perspective on worship: that it’s all about Jesus, and that it demands a response from the heart.
Matt’s song ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred: When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart. I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus (Aaron Lewendon, Heart of Worship: The Story Behind the Song, www.eden.co.uk, April 27, 2013, www.eden.co.uk/blog/worship/heart-of-worship-the-story-behind-the-song-p11688).
When we come together for worship, we must remember what it’s all about. We must remember that it’s all about exalting Christ to edify one another. So how do you do that in the context of the worship service? Well, let’s read on.
1 Corinthians 14:27-28 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God (ESV).
Only two or three tongues speakers should speak in a single worship service, one at a time, with interpretation.
1 Corinthians 14:29-32 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets (ESV).
Only two or three prophets should speak, also one at a time, with discernment and self-control.
In the First Century Corinthian Church, worshippers acted in an ecstatic frenzy when they claimed to have a word from God. They believed that the Holy Spirit took complete control when they spoke in tongues or prophesied, eliminating any personal control. However, the Bible makes it very clear here: “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (vs.32). In other words, you don’t lose control when the Holy Spirit empowers you to speak. On the contrary, you retain control. After all, a part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), so you’re able to subject yourself to yourself to regulate the time and manner of your prophetic utterances.
1 Corinthians 14:33a For God is not a God of confusion but of peace (ESV).
When God works, there is peace, not confusion. When God works, there is calm, not disorderly insurrection or rebellion (which is the meaning of the Greek word translated “confusion” here). You see, chaotic worship is an act of rebellion against God, but edifying worship is orderly worship, when each speaks in turn without interrupting the other. So if you want to edify people in a chaotic world…
RESPOND TO THE SPIRIT IN ORDER.
Speak in turn during the public meetings of the church. Be disciplined when you worship.
Our culture values spontaneity above discipline, which has impacted some of our contemporary worship. However, the “spontaneous” person who shrugs off the need for discipline is like the farmer who went out to gather eggs. As he walked across the farmyard toward the hen house, he noticed the pump was leaking, so he stopped to fix it.
It needed a new washer, so he set off to the barn to get one. But on the way, he saw that the hayloft needed straightening, so he went off to fetch the pitchfork. Hanging next to the pitchfork was a broom with a broken handle, so he decided to go into town to buy a new broom handle.
By now it is clear the farmer is not going to get his eggs gathered, nor is he likely to accomplish anything else he sets out to do. He is utterly, gloriously spontaneous, but he is hardly free. He is, if anything, a prisoner to his unbridled spontaneity. The fact of the matter is that discipline is the only way to freedom; it is the necessary context for spontaneity (John Guest in Only a Prayer Away. Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no. 7; www.PreachingToday.com).
Mark Horst says, “Many people want spontaneous, free-flowing worship, looking for a powerful experience. And “[Worship leaders] can generate many powerful experiences. But when experience is the aim, this becomes cheap theater at best and manipulation at worst. Both are repulsive substitutes for an encounter with the power of the living God (Mark Horst in the Christian Century, Nov. 11, 1987; www.PreachingToday.com).
Do you want a real encounter with the living God, the kind of encounter that changes lives? Do you want to edify people in a chaotic world? Then first of all, respond to the Spirit in order or be disciplined in your worship. 2nd…
REFRAIN FROM INTERRUPTING OTHERS.
Keep silent when others are speaking, or be decent in your worship.
1 Corinthians 14:33b-35 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 also 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 (ESV).
Some men might appreciate the total silence of women, but you have to put this admonition in context. In the immediate context, Paul tells tongues speakers to “keep silent” when there is no interpreter (vs.28). He also tells prophets to “be silent” when someone else is prophesying (vs.30). In other words, when you speak in the public worship service of the church, your words should edify others without interrupting another speaker. It seems that some women in the First Century Corinthian church were speaking out of turn, perhaps when “the others” were weighing what the prophets said (vs.29).
You see, Paul just told the Corinthian believers to “weigh” what each prophet said (vs.29), i.e., to make a distinction or to differentiate the true from the false.
Warren Wiersbe says, “It was possible for a speaker, under the control of his own emotions, to imagine that God was speaking to him and through him. It was even possible for Satan to counterfeit a prophetic message (see 2 Corinthians 11:13–14).”
So the listeners had to weigh each message to distinguish which ones came from God, from the speaker himself, or from the devil. No doubt, they discussed each message, comparing it with the Old Testament Scriptures and what the apostles were teaching, which became our New Testament. Those with the “ability to distinguish between spirits” (1 Corinthians 12:10) also contributed to the discussion. The problem is that some women in the Corinthian church without biblical knowledge or discernment were weighing in on the discussion, as well. Perhaps, they were asking a lot of unnecessary questions, disrupting the discussion or even the speaker himself.
One commentator said, “Informed listeners customarily asked questions during lectures [in First Century Greek society], but it was considered rude for the ignorant to do so.” Then he notes that “women were far less often trained in the Scriptures and public reasoning than men were. In general, they achieved a given level of education only perhaps ten percent as often as men of the same social class” (C. S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary).
So if they want to learn, Paul says let their husbands teach them at home, so they don’t keep disrupting the church service. Paul had already allowed women to pray and prophecy in the public worship services of the church (1 Corinthians 11:5). So he’s not advising their complete silence here, just that they stop interrupting other speakers in the church.
And that’s the principle, not only for the women, but for the men, as well (1 Corinthians 14:28, 30). If you want to edify people in a chaotic world, refrain from interrupting others in your worship.
Randy Cohen, who writes "The Ethicist" column for The New York Times Magazine describes a big transportation hub in New York at 33rd and Broadway:
“Penn Station's right there. A lot of commuter trains stop there, a major subway stop. Thousands and thousands of people pouring out… and what everybody wants more than anything else is: They want a taxi.”
Cohen says, “The most appalling episodes of violence I've seen… were committed there. People did just terrible things.
“Then, [in the mid 90’s], someone did something very simple. They painted a yellow strip down the sidewalk, and they stenciled two words on the sidewalk: Cab Line. It utterly transformed behavior there. It's the most astonishing thing. Nearly everyone, almost all the time, simply waits in line. It's magnificent. It's never enforced—there are no "line" police there. But we changed the physical conditions and made it possible for people to behave, invited them to behave, and they do! (From an interview with Randy Cohen, “Jesus Has a Lot of Explaining to Do!” Homiletics, September/October 2004, p. 67; www.PreachingToday.com).
In the same way, when believers behave in worship, people find peace in the midst of all the chaos. So, if you want to edify people in a chaotic world, then 1st, respond to the Spirit in order or be disciplined in your worship. 2nd, refrain from interrupting others or be decent in your worship. And 3rd, if you want to edify people in a chaotic world…
RESPECT DIVINE AUTHORITY.
Humbly submit to God’s word, or be deferential in your worship to what God says.
1 Corinthians 14:36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? (ESV)
Evidently, the Corinthian believers thought that they were the beginning and end of all divine revelation, the origin and final arbiter of God’s Word. So Paul sets them straight.
1 Corinthians 14:37 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 (ESV).
Paul claims divine inspiration here, that His words are the commands of God, so…
1 Corinthians 14:38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized (ESV).
If people willfully ignore the divine authority of Paul’s words, they themselves are ignored by Paul, by other people, and no doubt by God Himself. They lose all influence whatsoever.
Warren Wiersbe says, “In these verses, Paul was answering the church member who might say, ‘We don’t need Paul’s help! The Spirit speaks to us. We have received new and wonderful revelations from God!’ This is a dangerous attitude, because it is the first step toward rejecting God’s Word and accepting counterfeit revelations, including the doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1)” (Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary).
You see, we come together around the Word of God in worship. It is the basis of our fellowship and the standard by which we judge the preaching and everything else that happens in the worship service. So if we want to edify people in a chaotic world, we must humbly submit to God’s Word, respecting the divine authority of God’s Word in both the Old and New Testaments.
2020 was a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad” year for many people. It was the year we endured a global pandemic, social unrest, and a contentious election. We’re still reeling from the aftereffects of that year, but many people have found hope in the Bible. In fact, in 2020, the American Bible Society, with assistance from Harvard University’s Human Flourishing Program, recently found a strong correlation between Scripture reading and hope.
Frequent Bible readers rated themselves 33 points more hopeful than irregular Scripture readers did in two surveys of more than 1,000 people done six months apart. The study also found that people are more hopeful when they read Scripture more frequently.
On a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the most hopeful, Americans who report reading the Bible three or four times per year scored 42; people who read monthly scored 59; weekly, 66; and multiple times per week, 75.
“Bible reading—along with other forms of community and discipleship, such as going to church or participating in a small group—appear to contribute to people’s sense of well-being and happiness,” said Tyler VanderWeele, director of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University. “The churches have an important and profound role in contributing to people’s well-being in general—and especially so during this time,” he said (Adam MacInnis, “When Covid-19 Hurts, The Bible Brings Hope,” Christianity Today, January/February, 2021, p. 59; www.PreachingToday.com).
Did you hear that? Churches have an important and profound role in contributing to people’s well-being in general—and especially so during this time. But those churches must be teaching and preaching the Bible. They must be humbly submitting to the Word of God, which is the only source of any true hope.
Mary, was a local drama student at a large university. The professor of her introductory acting class had asked all the students to present “something extreme” to the class. Mary decided that, as a Christian, she would write a hymn of love to Jesus and sing it.
Alice was the student presenting before her. Alice took a Bible, led the class out by a trash can on campus, and proceeded to slowly read portions of the Old Testament about commands to make war, God punishing the nations, and sending Israel into exile. She read imprecatory psalms. With each violent passage, Alice would say something like, “Who would ever believe in a God like that?” Then she would tear out the page from the Bible, burn it, and drop the page in the trashcan. It was extreme drama.
This was the warm-up for Mary. She pulled out her guitar, said a brief prayer under her breath, and sang a love song to Jesus. The class was silent and then went home. All, that is, except for Alice, who came forward with tears in her eyes. “That was beautiful. That is the God I want to know. Can you help me get to know Jesus?” And so, after a few days of Bible study and prayer, Alice gave her life to Christ (Scott Sunquist, Why Church? A Basic Introduction, IVP, 2019, p. 69-70; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s the power of God’s Word! It transforms angry, troubled people into genuine followers of Christ.
If you want to edify people in a chaotic world, then 1st, respond to the Spirit in order or be disciplined in your worship. 2nd, refrain from interrupting others or be decent in your worship. And 3rd, respect divine authority or be deferential in your worship to God’s Word.
The last two verses of this chapter summarize this nicely. Take a look.
1 Corinthians 14:39-40 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order (ESV).
Exercise your spiritual gifts, whatever they might be, but exercise them decently and in order. Exercise them in a pleasing (even beautiful) and proper way.
Skye Jethani, in his book Immeasurable, contrasts good and bad complexity in ministry. He writes:
“Bad complexity is like a Rube Goldberg machine. Those are the massive, jerry-rigged contraptions that fill an entire room with moving ropes, ramps, bowling balls, and buckets. One small motion, like a marble rolling or a domino tipping, begins a long and complicated chain reaction. A Rube Goldberg machine is a huge, inflexible apparatus that accomplishes one simple task. It’s not very useful, but it can be immensely entertaining.
“Good complexity, in contrast, is like a Swiss Army knife—an elegant, nimble instrument that can accomplish an impressive number of tasks. No one would say Swiss Army knives are simple. They are intricate, with many precisely engineered parts, but this complexity of design paradoxically makes them adaptable and easy to use.
Many churches are marked by bad complexity. They are like Rube Goldberg machines—not very effective, but very entertaining to watch. They construct massive systems of control that are far larger than what is required for the task, and they are dangerously fragile. If one element of the system or environment changes, the weakness of the whole church or organization is exposed” (Skye Jethani, Immeasurable: Reflections on the Soul of Ministry in the Age of Church, Inc., Moody Publishers, 2017, pp. 86-87; www.PreachingToday.com).
My dear friends, as a church, let’s not be like a Rube Goldberg machine, entertaining but not very effective. Instead, let’s be like a Swiss Army knife, adaptable and useful for building people up.
