1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Order in the Church

We live in a great area to own a 4 wheel drive vehicle - Trucks and SUV's are convenient when it snows and fun if you want to get out in the back country. Yet today SUV's are among the most popular vehicles in even Southern California where everything is paved and it never snows.

Why own something that is never used? Most of us have running shoes - yet most of us only run to find the remote control for the TV. We like them for comfort, and convenience. Well the church in Corinth, had some things that were sent to them as tools, and giftings from God. But they did not employ them properly. They had the gifts - but used them in such a way that it caused division in the church instead of harmony. Whenever God's gifts of the Spirit are wrongly used, they actually tear down the work that God wants to do.

As we saw in chapter 12 that all the gifts of the Spirit were sent for the “common good” of the church, but in Corinth the big issue then, as it is today, was this thing called “tongues.” Last week we considered the first part of this chapter in detail. If you were not here, I encourage you to pick up the tape.

We have them available in the back of the church for a love gift of $29.95, but wait, there's more, with your order today, you will receive a prayer cloth and a autographed 8X10 picture of me with Billy Graham, suitable for framing. No -come on – don't be like that, I'm joking. But seriously, if you didn't catch last week – there are tapes available, but for quick review we saw.

First, the Overall principle. As with all the giftings of the Spirit they must be balanced with love. Let agape love be what motivates you, what guides you -otherwise your just making noise, your puffed up, you have no reward.

1 Cor 14:1 1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

Secondly, Tongues and prophesy are compared. As Paul carefully balances out the two gifts, and shows us why prophesy is better. Because prophesy always builds others up. Prophesy is seen whenever we speak God's word to one another, from the pulpit, in fellowship, or in prayer circles. Prophecy is better then tongues because it speaks to men - about God. Where tongues - speaks to God from men.

Third, Why we need balance. Corinth to their shame was out of balance, they were chugging down the communion wine, they were suing one another, they were allowing sin to go unchecked in the church. So Paul reminds them of the need for control and balance in the use of spiritual gifts in the church.

Fourth: Use gifts in order to build each other up. Some people may visit and God is calling them, and from what happened during their services – when too much emphasize is on outward manifestations, these people will leave thinking: “what a bunch of wackos.”

Finally we saw - Balance for Corinth and us.

1 Cor 14:19 ...In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

The church in Corinth had no model before them, they did not have a ministry handbook, or even the bible to guide them, they counted on the moving of the Holy Spirit to help them in every part of ministry. That is a good thing, today, we need more of that! But when you are not looking for balance with the Word of God, the spontaneousness of that type of ministry can easily get out of control. So Paul continues in his exhortation for Corinth, to show them how to be led by the Spirit and be used by the Spirit and still accomplish what God wants. What does God want out of the church? That we might Worship Him, / Build one another up, / and Show the world that Jesus Christ is Lord.

READ THE TEXT 1 CORINTHIANS 14:26-40

Three things I would like us to see today.

1. HAVE STRUCTURE BUT BE OPEN FOR GOD TO WORK. V26-28

1 Thess 5:19-22 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

Test everything, hang onto the good, and avoid evil. What we know about the true gift of tongues is:

· Tongues: Is a gift given by the Spirit.

· Tongues: Is an ability to speak a language never learned by the normal processes.

· Tongues: Is always seen in scripture as an expression of praise and thanksgiving addressed to God – not to man.

· Tongues: Is to be exercised in a public place where unbelievers are present as a sign unto them. But only with interpretation and in proper order.

· Tongues: Are a demonstration of how great God is and that he is going to fulfill his purposes.

· Tongues: When used wrongly, divide more then any other gift.

I have found, when a church is focused on tongues as the manifestations of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they will do things - that distract from the work of God. They will use the gift outside of these guidelines that Paul gives. They will try to help others get this gift - I have heard stories where people wiggle someone's throat. They tell them to repeat some strange phrase, like.... “Sell em a Honda.” Or who knows what. But when the focus is on the gift giver, we are doing what Jesus said.

Luke 11:9-13 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Do you desire a gift from God? Let God give you the gift of the Holy Spirit, the result, is just what Jesus said, just what we see throughout the bible.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;...”

Do you lack power in your walk with God? Do you need power to witness for Christ? Do you feel defeated in your faith, you need the Holy Spirit, and Jesus told us to ask for him. We love to give gifts to one another, that is how God is, he desires to give you the infilling of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of being a empowered disciple- empowered by love- agape. And its not just a one time deal, God desires to fill us over and over again.

1. (HAVE STRUCTURE) FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF THE CHURCH.

Paul, tells us that the church is to have structure but be open when someone has a hymn, a word, revelation or tongue. As I said last week.

We believe in all the gifts of the Spirit, but the way we use them in at High Sierra Fellowship, is in what we as the leadership of this congregation feel is the best way to follow God's instructions and his vision for us. In our weekend services we do not allow the public speaking in tongues because we have found this is the best way to agree with Paul, where he says.

1 Cor 14:19 ...In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

We want to worship God. We want to build up the believers. We want to draw the unbelievers. We want to instruct, and encourage, one another. We find, like in Corinth, an over emphasis on tongues will lead only to division and problems.

When we have believer meetings, at our retreats, in small group studies, and in private devotion and prayer, we encourage the use of tongues for those who have that gift. If you have sought the gift of tongues and do not have it. You are not less then any believer, for the result of the Holy Spirit working in the life of a believer is not tongues or any other outward manifestational gift. Rather the result, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is - love.

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love...

First Paul tells them to have structure but be open for the working of God.

2. HAVE GUIDELINES FOR ORDER. V29-35

In Corinth, people were interrupting one another, there were so many trying to talk at once, their meetings were doing more harm then good. There was disorder and the reason is not difficult to determine: They were using their spiritual gifts to please themselves and not to help others.

The key word was not edification, but exhibition. If you think that your contribution to the service is more important than someone else's, then you will either be impatient, or interruptive.

D.L. Moody was a great preacher from a century ago. Once he was leading a service and asked a man to pray. Taking advantage of his opportunity, the man stood up and prayed on and on and on. Sensing that the prayer was killing the meeting instead of blessing it Moody spoke up and said, "While our brother finishes his prayer, let us sing a hymn!”

So Paul tells us that those who are in charge of public meetings need to have discernment - and courage. Then he gives us some important guidelines. Two or thee at the most should speak, and if there is no interpretation, just keep your tongue between you and God.

1. WEIGH IT ALL CAREFULLY.

Weigh what happens in church, weigh what is said carefully. For us today, know your bible - if you find the church drifting toward legalism, or toward liberalism, speak up. Because, truly spiritual people are not the ones who tell you how spiritual they are -- they are the ones who always recognize the authority of the Scripture. This is very important in these days we live in, for I find many people, claiming to be led by the Spirit saying and doing all kinds of strange things. Often when you point out from Scripture where they are wrong, they will tell you about “their feelings” or “their experience” and you find they hold those superior to the Word of God. Paul says: The Spirit of God never operates contrary to the revealed Word of God. So anyone who is truly Spirit-minded, Spirit-filled, and Spirit led, will recognize the authority of Scripture – and not be boastful about what they think they know.

John Calvin said: “... The gift of explaining revelation, therefore, is (always) subject to the judgment and comment of others.

In Corinth it was expected that somebody who spoke would be subjected to the confirmation and the correction, if necessary, of others present.” For us, the word of God stands as the judge of what people say or what they experience.

Harry Ironside told of an encounter he had with a woman who came up to him after a meeting. He had spoken on First Corinthians 6:11, where Paul says, "such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus." This woman said. "Sir, you know you got those words mixed up; they are in the wrong order. You put sanctification before justification, but everyone knows that justification comes first, then you are sanctified." Dr. Ironside said to her, "Well, I was simply quoting the Apostle Paul." "Oh," she said, "That couldn't be. He would never have said that." "Well," he said, "Here is the passage." He turned to it and had her read it, and after reading it she said, "Well, Paul couldn't have been very clear on the doctrine of holiness if he wrote that!"

So there are some people who assume that they have deeper revelation and better inspiration then that of the bible, and they will even set aside the Scripture when needed to justify their actions.

Paul gives guidelines, weigh it carefully, and.

2. KEEP CONTROL OF YOUR MEETINGS.

Let one person speak at a time, keep order -simple controls. Understand that Paul is writing to small home type meetings - where there were probably 10 to 20 people present so they could each take turns prophesying. But he says at any one meeting - it should be limited to three speakers at the most. This would prevent lengthy meetings, and the quenching of the Spirit.

Someone once said, "The mind can absorb only what the seat can endure."

Paul also understood that there are some people who always dominate a meeting. They never listen to others, and want to always talk about themselves. Don't be that person. Let God speak through you, but let others share. I have found, that those who are shy often share the deepest incites.

Paul also says the Spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. Someone might say, "I can't help what I say. The Spirit of God is in me and he is speaking through me-- so everything I say is of God." Paul says, “Bologna!” The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. You can control yourself."

As someone has said, there are always two kinds of speakers -- those who have something to say, and those who - have to say something.

Paul wants to limit the latter. Another reason for keeping control of the meetings is, “The Spirit of God never creates confusion or disorder.” So no one is to dominate a meeting, to run away with it, because God does not work that way. Let it be orderly and decent because if there is strife, jealousy, confusion, argument, it is not a meeting led by the Spirit of God.

That brings us to another major area of difficulty in the church, and that is the ministry of women. Some would say, Paul was a chauvinist, but we need to understand a couple of things about the meetings in Corinth. Paul had already permitted the women to pray and prophesy in chapter 11. So his instruction to be “silent in church” must apply to the immediate context of evaluating the prophetic messages.

First, take yourself back to the setting of the day, as I said, the church was mostly small home groups. The men and women were separated and it could be that some of the women were calling across the room, asking their husbands questions and interrupting what God was trying to do. Paul says, “Shut up.”

But more importantly. Then - as today, the major responsibility for doctrinal purity rests on the shoulders of the men, the elders of the church. We know that God has set men as the ones to head the church. Why? Because as we go back to the fall, we find that it was the woman who was deceived, where the man just sinned.

1 Tim 2:12-14 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.

Follow this with me, back in the garden, Eve did not give into a temptation to sin, but an invitation to be something she thought she wasn't.

Gen 3:4-5 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God , knowing good and evil."

“Eve, God has withheld something from you, if you really want to be spiritual, then eat -- you will be like God, you will have knowledge.” Adam, just comes along and like so many men today, lets his wife take the lead spiritually, then he goes head long into deception with her. So God has ordained that the man would be the head spiritually. That pastor's, elders, bishops, would be men. Paul is not denying that women are used in ministry, in fact he recognizes that there are women who prophecy, who have all the gifts of the Spirit, and who are vital to the church. But he also recognizes that God has order and he does not allow women to have authority over a man. So here he says, women should not speak in a place of authority over a man in church. “Without being covered- 1Corinth chapter 11.”

First have structure, but be open to the work of the Holy Spirit. Second, have guidelines for the church services.

3. KEEP YOUR FOCUS. V36-39

I do not believe that manifestation of tongues is divinely inspired, nor do I agree with the camp that says tongues are “either satanic or self-induced.” But I have found it is unfortunate when believers make tongues a test of spirituality - that in itself should alert us that the Spirit is not at work. Paul tells us to keep our priorities straight and keep our focus on God.

1. EAGER TO PROPHESY.

Be eager, be excited to speak forth the word of God when you can.

Eph 5:19-20 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Every time you encourage someone in the Lord, each time you gab a person and say, “lets pray”, every time you speak the word of God to one another - You are doing what Paul encourages us here, you are “eager to prophesy.”

2. ALLOW TONGUES.

As I said last week, our understanding of tongues is. That you are speaking to God. In a believers setting, with interpretation, we are excited to see that gift used within proper guidelines. For your personal devotion and prayer, tongues are to be used. Where does that come from?

Eph 6: And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Jude 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit .

1 Cor 14:14-15 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.

I believe tongues are viable today, but mostly in personal devotion to God. When this same Paul was speaking about not being able to connect with God in prayer he spoke about how the Spirit will intercede for him.

Rom 8:26-27 6 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit , because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

1 Cor 14:28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

Use your gift of tongues for personal edification, and speaking to God. Keep your focus, be eager to prophesy, allow tongues, and finally.

3. DO EVERYTHING IN AN ORDERLY WAY.

If God is in charge, there can be no competition or opposition. But when folks are out of order, there will be confusion and contradiction. When things are done right, God is glorified, and people will say, God is with you guys.

Several years ago, our friend Jon Courson was holding a Pastor's conference in Southern California. The meetings were being held in a hotel ballroom, and part of the rental agreement was that they had to pay for a bartender to attend a “no host” bar. The organizers explained that no one would be using the bar, but the hotel rules and union regulations required that a bartender be present when the room was used for any event. So as the meeting was going on and during a worship session someone stood up and gave a message in tongues. The leader stopped everything and told the group they would wait for an interpretation. No one spoke a word. So he rightly announced that there would be no more messages in tongues - following the guidelines Paul lays out here. Well the meeting progressed, and speakers spoke, and at the break, something amazing happened. The bartender, who was from a small middle-eastern country -asked if he could speak to the man who spoke his native language. Well as it turns out, the message in tongues, that was not interpreted - touched that mans heart. He said, that whoever spoke it - spoke in his language and his dialect about how powerful and wonderful God is. Jon and some guys explained what had happened, they gave him the gospel, and right there - that day that bartender, committed his life to Jesus Christ.

That true story is a wonderful example of what Paul is trying to explain to the Corinthians, when things are done decently and in order, when the gifts of the Holy Spirit are used in the right way. The results will be good.

1 Cor 14:25 .... So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

When the church is seeking God, when we eagerly desire gifts that edify, as we look to the Spirituals, and understand that God is a God of order, we will find balance for the church. The result – whoever comes into the services, believer or unbeliever, Jew or Greek, male or female. Will know that God is real and working among us.

That is our heart that each week we will come together as a congregation, and each one of us will leave this place having connected with God. As the Psalmist said.

Ps 26:8 I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.

PRAY, INVITE, BENEDICTION, SING.

Series: 1 Corinthians -Through the Bible
By: Rich Lammay
Title: “ORDER IN THE CHURCH ”
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:26-40
Date: February, 2006

Order in the Church

(C) High Sierra Fellowship 2008