OPEN: A man was stranded on a deserted Pacific island for years. But one day he saw a boat coming into sight, and he waved frantically … eventually he caught the skipper’s attention. The boat came near the island and the sailor got out and greeted the stranded man.
They talked for a bit… and as they talked the sailor couldn’t help notice there were 3 huts on the beach. After a while the sailor asked, “What are those three huts you have here?”
“Well, that’s my house there.” Replied the stranded man
“What’s that next hut?” asks the sailor.
“I built that hut to be my church.”
“Oh, ok… but what about the other hut?”
“Oh, that’s where I used to go to church.”
APPLY: Now that man had had problems in his first church and his solution was to build another church on the beach to worship in. HOWEVER the only person on the island was HIM!
Now, of course, that’s a silly made up story… but it perfectly illustrates a point someone else made in a poem they wrote:
If you want to have the kind of church like the kind of church you like,
You needn’t put your clothes in a bag and start a long, long hike,
You’ll only find what you left behind, for there’s nothing really new,
It’s a knock at yourself when you knock your church; because it ain’t the church, it’s you.
I. The church at Corinth had a problem
They were a group of people who seemingly argued with each other about just about everything
· They argued over food at their potluck dinners
· They argued over who was baptized by who
· They argued over who had the best spiritual gifts.
· They argued about church discipline
· And on…and on… and on…
A church like that would drive me nuts!!!
ILLUS: I once preached about the church at Corinth, and I told my audience that if I had lived in that day I’d have taken my family ANYWHERE OTHER than to that congregation’s church building. I wouldn’t have gone to their church one minute longer than I had to. I’d have given up on that congregation.
But God didn’t give up on them. God gave them every conceivable gift known to the church of that day. In fact, I Corinthians 12 mentions gifts that aren’t talked about any place else in Scripture.
NOW if I’d been God, I’d have packed up all those gifts thrown them into the trunk of the car. And I’d have got in my car and drove away as far as I could from them. But God didn’t do that. God didn’t give up on this group of believers.
And Paul - Paul didn’t give up on this congregation. He wrote two LONG letters to this church. He spent more ink on the letters to this church than any other congregation or individual ever received.
And now in 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul makes this dramatic statement: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
Paul was telling them that they were God’s church… And the SPIRIT of God dwelt inside their collective hearts.
You see… when the Church is collectively gathered in one place THAT’S where the Spirit dwells.
Jesus said “where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20
We have the promise of Jesus that – if only 2 or 3 of were gathered to worship Him and praise His name… He would be here! He would fill the place where we worshipped.
God gave us an image of how this works when the 1st Old Testament Temple was built:
“When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it.
When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, ‘He is good; his love endures forever.’”
Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD.” (II Chronicles 7:1-4)
It is God’s desire to fill HIS place of worship.
He filled the Old Testament Tabernacle when it was built by Moses
He filled the Old Testament Temple when it was built by Solomon
And HE HAS FILLED His church which was built by Jesus Christ
Jesus said “…on this rock I will BUILD my church….” Matthew 16:18
It’s HIS CHURCH… and whenever we honor Him by gathering together:
His Spirit is here
His power is present
Our worship has added weight
Our prayers have extra strength
Our singing gives greater glory.
You are the Temple of the Living God… and His Spirit is dwelling right here in power.
ILLUS: Henry Drummond once observed that if you put a piece of iron in the presence of an electrified field, that piece of iron will itself become electrified. In fact - in the presence of that electrical field - the iron rod is changed into a magnet.
AND as long as that bar of iron remains in contact with that field of power, it will continue to attract other pieces to itself. We are like that piece of iron when we are gathered as a church we’re in contact with His Spirit, we experience the love of Jesus and take on his likeness. We are changed, electrified by the Holy Spirit, and able to attract others to the same love of God that we experience.
II. Now some people believe that being a part of the “Temple” of God means that they simply show up on Sunday Morning and warm a seat.
But that’s not true.
Ephesians 2:21-22 tells us: “In (Jesus Christ) the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
You see… the idea is that we should be “joined together.” We should be “built together.”
1 Peter 2:5 expands on this by telling us: “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”
SO as a church, we need to be:
· Joined together
· Built together
· So that we can offer sacrifices that are acceptable to God
What does that mean?
It means my Christianity cannot be a “lone Ranger” faith. I have to find ways of being interconnected with other people within the church in order to take full advantage of the Spirit’s influence for my life.
How can I do that?
Well I can become part of a small study group
Ø Sunday School is a great place to this:
I mean, you’re already here on Sunday. You’ve got great teachers. It’s a small setting where you can get to know people better. And, in addition to the benefits you give yourself by plugging into this small group atmosphere, you also help build up the church. Because the stronger our Sunday School classes are the stronger our church becomes. And the weaker our Sunday School, the weaker the church.
Ø Mid-week Bible Studies are another great choice
They’re designed to help you learn more about Jesus. Once again you get to know other Christians on a personal level. PLUS they give you a mid-week booster shot of God’s presence.
OR you can become part of a small group fellowship
Ø We have groups like The Ladies Circle
Ø The Golden Agers
Ø Our bi-monthly Men’s prayer breakfast (July 16th)
Sometimes, it’s a matter of finding or creating a group that share common interests.
I understand there’s a breakfast group in our church that meets every week. They have a common interest: food. And this gives them a setting where they can fellowship and talk about their faith.
When Cross-eyed (our Heavy Metal Band) or The Son-Shine Boys (our Southern Gospel Quartet) sing together they become interconnected and feed off of each other’s love for Christ
By being part of smaller groups of believers we lay hold of Christ’s promise “where 2 or more are gathered – there I am” Matthew 18:20
III. Now… the church is BUILT BY Jesus
And so… He takes it very serious when something threatens to damage or destroy it.
ILLUS: Tom Cruise just came out with a movie called “War of the Worlds”. It’s a remake of the old black and white classic that starring Raymond Burr (of Perry Mason fame).
How many of you have seen that old movie? Does anybody remember what the Aliens destroyed just before they themselves began to die?
The aliens destroyed several church buildings. What I believe the director of that movie was trying to communicate was that in destroying the houses of worship they had incurred the wrath of God. And Martians perished – not because of the might of mortal man – but because God Himself went to war against them.
I Corinthians 3:17 tells us that this is a very true picture of what God would do to anyone who hurt His house of worship… His church. 1 Corinthians 3:17 says “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”
Now Paul is NOT talking about a building brick and mortar/ wood and stone. Paul is saying that when someone hurts or damages His people, God goes to war.
But, now notice, Paul’s word are not made as warnings to Martian invaders. Nor are they warnings to Supreme Court Justices or leaders of federal, state or local governments. Paul’s warning is directed to the Christians in Corinth.
Paul was warning the Christians at Corinth to be careful how they treated each other… because if they hurt the church there – God would take it personal.
In fact, God had already taken it personal. In I Corinthians 11, Paul chastised the church at Corinth for their mistreatment of the poorer members of the congregation…and then having the audacity to take communion afterwards. Paul informed them that God was bringing judgment upon them: “That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep (died).” 1 Corinthians 11:30
The church at Galatia received the same kind of warning:
“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy…. I WARN YOU, as I did before, that THOSE WHO LIVE LIKE THIS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” (Galatians 5:19-21)
God takes it seriously when people try to destroy His house of worship.
God responds negatively to anyone who would hurt a congregation in any way.
If someone brings sexual immorality into the church… God won’t look the other way
If someone creates discord or division into the church… God will deal harshly w/ them
If someone talks about another person behind their back – without ever going to them and trying to work it out… Well, you don’t want to go there.
ILLUS: My mom tells me about a church up north that had a problem within their congregation. There were several rich families that attended this congregation… one of which was the family of the youth minister. There arose a conflict between these families and the preacher over a fairly trivial matter and those wealthier families tried to force the minister out and replace him with the youth minister. But the preacher refused to go. At that point the offended families walked out… but they didn’t stop there. For several months the members who remained were bombarded with e-mails making offensive claims against the preacher and the church itself.
Now, if what my mom is telling me is accurate (and I’ve heard and seen of such things happening in the past at other churches) those families who engaged in such warfare against the church there are in serious trouble. They have not just gone to war against a preacher they don’t like… they may have gone to war against God Himself. And God will not overlook their arrogance.
We must understand, this isn’t OUR church. This isn’t YOUR church. This isn’t MY church. This a congregation of people who Jesus died to save. And if you or I hurt anyone within this body of believers because of our own personal agendas, then we UNDERMINE Jesus. We hurt and destroy the very people Jesus came to save. And we can find ourselves at war with God.
God will not permit his house of worship to be damaged. He takes it personal.
CLOSE: So, how do I avoid that problem
Many Christians have fallen into that trap. Many Christians have damaged their churches because of their own agendas. Preachers have done it. Elders have done it. Upstanding members of congregations have done it.
How do we avoid falling into the trap that has put others at war with God?
1st – We must always remember whose church this is. It belongs to Jesus – not us.
2nd – We must always seek to interconnect with others within this body of believers
Lastly – We must always seek to build each other up in Christ.
ILLUS: Craig Brian Larson related the story of Chad Kreuter, a reserve catcher for the Chicago White Sox.
In the summer of 1996 Kreuter severely dislocated and fractured his left shoulder on a play at home. He underwent surgery, and the Sox placed him on the sixty-day disabled list.
That’s the kind of thing that makes a backup player feel even less like a part of the team. But quite the opposite happened. Apparently Chad’s teammates had a strong liking for him; each player put Chad’s number 12 on his ball cap to show support. Chad was a member of the team whether he played or not.
As you can imagine, that meant a lot to Chad.
Later in the season when he was able to suit up again, he showed his appreciation by, you guessed it, putting the numbers of each of his teammates on his ball cap.
All devoted to one.
One devoted to all.
That is what makes a team, and that is what makes the community of Christ”.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES (3:16 and Us)
The Temple of Power - 1 Corinthians 3:16-3:16
The Power of Music - Colossians 3:15-3:16
The Power of Trust - 1 Peter 3:8-3:22
The Power Of Love - 1 John 3:11-3:24
