Sermon “Let All You Do Be Done in Love”

is that song we just saying make us one and the debt should be our goal for the sake of your name Jesus Christ make us one for the sake of the cross and then the 2nd song the message of the cross friends that’s what we have is the message of the Cross that there’s no other place that we can find freedom that we can find victory over our sins but through the cross of Jesus Christ that is the message that we have the message that I have the message the church has for those that are lost that are balanced

in the sickness of their sins we have the message to set him free it is a cross May we all be faithful in May We do all that we do in love let all you do be done in love church if we walk that if we live that out

will be pleasing on to God if we do every thing we do which we do it in love not for ourselves not to lift our. Make us look good or to lift ourselves up but we need to do it in love

for the sake of his name a man that says go ahead and pray before I even read scripture this morning father I just praise you and magnify you I thank you for your holy presence here that the day that we know that you are here you are with us we can feel your presence Father we thank you for the way you have already minister to us Father through the song and through your your love and just through being with one another by that we thank you so much father I think sometimes just to come together and and love them one another and just to lift your name is what we need most evolved Father I pray that your spirit would continue to to be in this place to open our hearts up to you father to open up to what you have for us today father that we would leave encouraged that we would leave with boldness while the God that we would live our lives in a way that would be pleasing unto you father that we might hear some day well done by good and faithful servant Father help us to be true to you true to your love and Lord help us to do what we do in the love love for others Father God let that be what moves us and drives us in Jesus name Amen 1st Corinthians Chapter 16 verses one through 16 parents used up most of my time is more now that we all did and I thought I got it all right now concerning the collection for the Saints. As I have given orders to the churches of glacier so you must do also so it’s not just the church’s current that Paul is instructing to take up a collection for the Saints also glacier and other churches taking up a collection for the Saints and while we’re going to learn who those saints are Paul says on the 1st day of the week let each one of you lay aside some lay something aside storing up as he may prosper that there be no collection when I come in when I come whoever you approved by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem so there are now you know where the collections going to Jerusalem but if it is fitting that I go also they will go with me now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia for I am passing through Macedonia and it may be that I will remain or even spend the winter with you that you may send me all my journey wherever I go for I do not wish to see you now on the way but I hope to stay a while with you if the Lord permits but I will tarry in emphasis until Pentecost for a great unaffected door is open to me there and there are many adversaries and if Timothy comes see that he may be with you without fear for he does the work of the Lord as I also do therefore let no one despise him but send him on his journey in peace that he may come to me for I am waiting for him with the brother and now concerning our brother Apollo’s I strongly urge him to come to you with a brother in what he was quite on willing to come at this time however he will come when he has a convenient time

then Paul’s words watch stand fast in the faith Be brave be strong. Let all that you do be done with love

my friends that is the word for the church in every age let all that you do be done with love I heard you brother and you know the household of Stephanus that it is the fruit of the fruit 1st fruits of K.-A and that they have devoted themselves to the Ministry of the saints that you also submit to such and to everyone who works and labors with us may God out as blessings to the hearing and the reading of His Holy Word Paul begins with that talking about the collection instructions on when to take up the collection and for the Saints Who is going to be for it’s obvious this is a monetary and they’re going to put their money their cash in the in the plates in his collection for the Saints you know and he’s tellin this way ahead of time you know don’t wait till I come and then everybody have to rush around and take up a collection I’m telling you in advance so you know they’re going to raise this money to send a drizzle I’m you know you think when churches sometimes have fundraisers though they’ll make this big sign and no chart how their progress is gone no have a thing going up you know maybe they’re going to raise $10000.00 to try to send the Druce in on I’m telling you ahead of time begin to take up this collection so when I come it’s ready to go it will be prepared

the Christians or the saints he’s referring to are the Christians in Jerusalem and Judea. The blue believers in gruesome or experience a time of great need great hardship you know in the book of Acts when we read of when the Holy Spirit came in a church began to grow you know it grew to leave some balance for a while and could continue to grow but if you remember back in the 1st part they had believers brothers and sisters that were selling their possessions and they were all bringing it in they had all things in common they were taking care of one another they were providing want one another with the food and all the necessities and you know if everyone started selling all their stuff after Wow you’re going to run out of stuff right so it could be that there wasn’t as much prosperity there they’ve you know they’re down to their basic needs so they’re finding themselves in need there was also a great deal of persecution against the Christians living in Judea remember Judea was predominantly a Jewish state at that time Jews nation and the Jews were not real fond of the Christians at that time were they they were not real fond of them

there was still a lot of the vision because we know that the Apostle Paul when he was still saw all I mean he sought out those Christians to bring them in put him in jail watch Stephen be stoned to death a lot of division you know this the whole book of Corinthians is about division within the church my friends there’s a lot of the vision in the world a lot of the vision over different kinds of faith you know just look at the Muslim faith I’m not picking on just them but you look at the Muslim faith there’s those that are radical Muslims that they hate all Christians this is soon cut our heads off and they do not even like Muslims that on as radical was them. Because there are some Muslims that are peaceful people you know they they’re dirt just perfectly content to live among Christians in other face in build their homes builder Families and Work and just have peace and have their being right there’s lots of Muslims Muslims that are peaceful so these radical Muslims they don’t they do not even like them they would just assume kill them so there’s a lot of the vision in favor amongst people of different faith different denominations even There’s a lot of division because you don’t believe the way we believe and walk the way we walk or do things we do you’re a heathen that’s the belief of some a lot of the vision even in within the Christian faith so here you have some believers in Judea

that you know they probably became believers when they came to Jerusalem for Passover or whatever and they became a believer they wanted to stay there for a while I want to be among these brothers and sisters each of these new brothers and sisters mine I want to learn about this new faith this new this Jesus that I’ve just surrendered my sense to so they say they stay there so there’s a lot of believers there but they are still the minority right

and as I was working on this I kind of work on this in my mind the whole week and sometimes it’s just practical things that I think about you know today even in today’s world and I’m sure this was true even has been true for centuries when you go to look for a job you go to look for employment it is not always what you know is it.

Heard somebody say it is who you know it’s the connections you may have had a lot so and so’s looking for a job and you know what I think he’d be a good fit for you.

You know when I hired on the railroad 39 and a half years ago I didn’t know about painting I knew about that but the most important thing was it was who I knew how to not go that work there he put a good word in for me talk to the boss there’s a really long story to that but anyway help me get my position at the railroad and I a number of years ago they started hiring more people back in the late ninety’s and I know for a fact because the managers at that time shared with me when they started hiring and was hiring quite a few people when they looked at the list of people that the the a George send them they would look for names of people that they knew if they seen last names someone they recognize her that person have one particular gentleman that is working today a great worker and his last name is Ashton feller Larry his he has well no way men are going back up there was a Jerry Ashton founder that worked at the railroad and retired before Larry was hired Gerry was a very good worker too so when they seen the name Ashley feller they harden so when he gets to work they’re like are you Jerry’s nephew he said Jerry who.

Jerry Ashbury says no relation. So you know he’d laugh box we’re just talking about this a few weeks ago he goes I didn’t even know him.

But they got a good employee when they hired him because of the name so it’s sometimes who you know so let’s get back to Jerusalem you’ve got all these believers that may have came and stayed there are looking for a job well who do you think most of the landowners of business owners are going to be Jews you think we’re going to hard a Christian.

We just soon see him begone. We are going to hire them so they may have had a stream difficult time trying to find employment a way to support their families so they were in great need so there’s probably many reasons to why they was in this great need and to add to that.

Sometimes I leave my notes and then I come back and where I am on there was a famine there was a great famine in the region in that time so that’s adding to all the other problems in X. 1127 through 30 it says an end these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch then one of them name Agabus stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar then the disciples each according to his ability he termed to send relief to the brother and Welling in Judea so they also did this they also did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and solve so on top of the persecution on top of the lack of employment on top of everything else then we have a famine so they were very poor destitute in great need of help so Paul says let’s take up a collection that we can help them Paul said in verse 2 on the 1st day of the week let each one of you late something aside storing up as he may prosper that there be no collection when I come you know some will take this verse 2

on the 1st day that we just take up a collection and say There you go there you have an Earth while respond with a worship on Sunday the 1st day wait right that’s when it is that’s when to start a great tear I think they’re using that a little out of context. Because it didn’t say they were gathered together for warship and whenever you take up your offering He just says on the 1st day of the week store something up lays something aside it doesn’t mean that that was the day of worship

another explanation that some try to use to say well you know what I think back in that day maybe they were paid on the 1st day of the week that’s why they’re telling the story up on the 1st day of the week and when I think that I’m thinking I’m not going to pay him before they work.

No they’re not going to pay me for their work is a matter of fact you think Jesus’ parables in the stories he told were really relevant to that that day and age I think they probably were people would understand a lot of my sometimes they didn’t understand it but there’s one found a Matthew cloning verses one through 4 and verse 8 he says for the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard now when he agreed had agreed with the laborers for a tin Arius the day he sent them into his vineyard and he went out about the 3rd hour and saw other standing ato in the marketplace and he said to them you also go into vineyard and whatever is right I will give you so they went and he went out again I’m not going to read because I just up there he went out the 6th hour I want the 9th hour many worked only an hour or so back to verse 8 he says so when the evening had come my friends when evening had come at the end of the day right at the end of the day the owner of the vineyard said to his steward Call the laborers and give them their wages beginning with the last to the 1st

ones that tell me they got paid at the end of the day every day because they would go out and look for laborers to come in and work the fields they might not have see that labor again for weeks so they paid him at the end of the day not at the 1st day of the week. As that says he says to lay up so the focus is not only which they they were paid what this verse speaks to me is at the beginning of the week when we get our pay so let’s just let me just get away from those when we get our pay whether it be at the end of the week whether it be at the end of every $2.00 weeks whether it is the 1st of the month when we get our pay what Paul was saying set aside that portion for the collection set aside that portion for God before we do what we want to do with the rest of it don’t wait until the end of the week or the end of the bye week or the end of the month and oh if I happen to have a little bit left then I’ll give to that great ME OR then I’ll give to God we’re going to take care self 1st no that’s not what he’s saying you set aside for the need and then you live in what’s left Don’t wait and give the tenants what’s left over to take care of your needs or your wants no we set it aside 1st that’s what this passage speaks to me the 1st day the 1st part should be would be a better term for me said the 1st set apart as soon as you get it and being joyful about it and be generous about it

Paul says for all to give all for those that are very well think for those that have a little each one give as you may prosper

because we’re Why do we prosper because God is gracious we prosper because God has given us the ability to earn an income we prosper because God is good he blesses us it’s all it is.

Give back as you may prosper Proverbs 1125 says the generous soul will be made rich and he who waters will also be watered himself the generous soul will be made rich 2nd Corinthians 96 to 8 says but this I say he who so sparingly will also reaps sparingly and he who says bountifully will also rebound to fully So let each one give as he purposes in his heart not grudgingly or of necessity for God loves a cheerful giver and God is able to make all grace abound toward you that you always having also efficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work

let that sink in a minute got going to bless us it will have an abundance for every good work

a man that we can be law that we can be Christ will have what we need to give

and you know there’s another aspect to this collection that may just be hard to pick up on but there is another aspect to it if the Gentile believers were faithful one to raise a nice generous gift for the church in Judea Jerusalem

whenever they would receive that gift and know where it came from what effect you think that would have on their hearts

Well there are those people that you know just a while back we were telling them you need to be circumcised you should not eat this you should not eat that you need to wash dishes you need to do that all those little laws that they were so used to you know they were trying to force on to the Gentiles but here they are now man Schweder were about starved to death and now they helped us they blessed us they’re not so bad after all or that it might have changed their attitudes toward the Gentile believers a little bit it might have brought a little unity as care was talking about the beginning. It was mending that

little bit of divide between the believers

that’s probably the greatest blessing of giving and taking up a collection to bring peace to bring unity and love.

Giving my friends is a vital part of worship.

We are to respond to the needs of the church and God’s people in a loving sacrificial manner Leslie Leslie B. Flynn illustrated this this kind of personal giving in his book worship Leslie wrote a man was packing a shipment of food contributed by school for the poor yet contributed by a school for the poor people of Apple Asia he was separating the beings from the powder milk and the canned vegetables from the canned meats and just separate never think try to get organized when he reached into a box filled with various Kansi pulled out a little brown paper sack and apparently one of the pupils had brought something different from the item suggested on the list and out of the paper bag fell a peanut butter sandwich and the apple and a cookie and crayon in large letters was a little girl’s name Kristy Room 104 she had given up her lunch for a hungry person

gave what little she had friends that’s a generous heart that’s Love in Action James says in chapter 2 verse 14 through 17 What does it profit my brother and if someone says that he has faith but does not have works can fade save him if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food

and want to be says to him depart in peace be warmed and filled but if you do not give them the things which are needed for the body what does it profit us also faith by itself it does not have works is dead. Friends could you imagine walk up to someone that’s hungry yes or to whoever of pattern one have a bit of a brother will pray for you going to pray to God will send somebody to help you.

God needs a smack us on the side ahead and say I’ve sent them to you or sent you to him I mean sent you to him

we need to be the ones to help them in their time an age

poll says to watch watch against evil we need to watch for opportunities to receive good we need to watch for opportunities to do good

we need to watch over each other in love

we need to be strong we need to put in everything to do all of our energy to do what God has called us to do

we need to let everything that we do be driven by love love needs to be what motivates us to do what we do

you know there are 3 kinds of givers

the Flint the sponge and honeycomb to get anything out of Flint you need to hammer it right

and then you only get chips and sparks to get water out of a sponge What do you do yes squeeze it and sometimes out how hard is get stuff out of people right you got to squeeze it out of.

But honey come just overflows with its own sweetness which kind of give or are you and I’m not just talking about financially

I’m talking about your opportunities to help which kind of giver or you does it just flow out of you like honeycomb sweetness is it in love

why did God send us a son

why

because he so loved the world right God sent us his son because he loves us loved and loves us still does.

Why did Jesus minister to centers Why did he he ministered to

those that the others the religious leaders thought were heathens you know he ate with sinners tax collectors and those types of people

why did he minister to them

because he loved them

right

why do we help others

friends I hope it’s because we love them

why do I get up here and preach

I’ll tell you right now be a whole lot easier to just sit back on the porch every night and watch the wind blow must the vehicles go down on $51.00 it would be a whole lot easier to do that

whole lot less stressful

but I do it because I love those that I’m preaching to that I’m teaching with that I’m sure with that I’m having a relationship with because I love you guys and I love everyone that may hear this message today may hear months from now because I love them and care about their souls

so why do we do what we do why do we teach

is because of love why do we give is it because of love why do we help I hope the answer to all of these for each of you is because of love if we let love motivate and drive every single thing we do

then we are on the right track their love should motivate us in our work

in the way we work in the way we treat others love should motivate us in school the way we treat others

you know this morning with the kids we were

in Genesis Chapter 24

and Abraham had sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac because we all know the story found Rebecca

and whenever he got to the journey where Abraham and sending down to home where he came from and he said the servant prayed to God he said God of my. Master Abraham I pray that you would help me to have success today so as to kids why do you think the servant prayed that way

and they were very good in her answers because Abraham lived a faithful life before the serpent that Servan recognize God’s love in Abraham

so that was my question to them would your friends would your classmates do they recognize God’s love in you

do they recognize when they say I want to pray to the same God that my friend Landon plays prays to or Rowan prays to because I see the love that’s in them and I see their kindness I want that too

so that’s for people of all wages

do those around us see God’s love in us and they will if we do all that we do with love Amen amen.