In Case of Doubt, be like Thomas

Hello, and welcome to the Westside churches special Monday Morning Coffee podcast on this podcast, our preacher Mark Roberts will help you get your week started right. With look back at yesterday's sermon so that we can think through it further and better work the applications into our daily lives. Mark will then look forward into this week's Bible reading so that we can know what to expect and watch for. And, he may have some extra bonus thoughts from time to time. So grab a cup of coffee as we start the week together on Monday Morning Coffee with Mark.

Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to the Monday morning coffee podcast for April the 18th. I'm mark. I have my Bible open. I've got a great cup of coffee here. This was a really good cup of coffee with some beans that were not the best. They were a little bit older. I ran them through my arrow press was looking on social media the other day and saw some people drinking hotel coffee. Oh, don't do that. There's plenty of ways that you can have a great cup of coffee without all kinds of fancy gear and of expense. Arrow press is a good illustration of that French press. Lots of ways to have good coffee. I've got good coffee. You should have good coffee. Life's too short to drink bad coffee. I am in a really good mood this morning. Today is the day after Easter. That means all that Easter candy, particularly chocolate is on sale at half off or even more at the local grocery store. But even more than that, I announced the sermon series yesterday. We had a great day at west side. Lots of good things are going on. Let's talk about the sermon yesterday and let's talk about daily Bible reading. Let's get started Yesterday. I, preach the sermon titled in case of doubt break glass. This is about being a doubting Thomas in a world of believers. The sermon comes out of John chapter 20 verse 24. Now Thomas, one of the 12 called the twin was not with him when Jesus came. So the other disciples said, we have seen the Lord, but he said to them, unless I see in his hands, the mark of the nails and played place my fingers into the market, the nails and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. I just thought yesterday, we would have some people who maybe come to church on so-called Easter Sunday, because that's what they're expected to do. Or maybe their family members or friends are doing that. So they're there, but they're just not all that convinced that Jesus really did rise from the dead and that I, all this Christianity stuff is really true. So I wanted to talk a little bit about that as well as provide a format for any Christian, anybody who has some doubts, what do we do about that? Where do we go with that? How do we work with that couple of things then yesterday from Thomas and from his example, you need to be honest about your doubts to Thomas. Doesn't try to hide that. You need to tell somebody, tell others too many people, drown silently without ever saying a word that are afraid to share. I, I kind of wondering about this. And as a result, they go under spiritually and they are gone before anybody realizes something is seriously, seriously wrong. Then of course you need to do something with those doubts. You have to dig'em out. And by that I'm talking about, setting a standard where this is what I need so that I can believe again, doubting your doubts, being fair with the evidence, being willing to talk about it, not being unreasonable. Thomas, what he sets up here is not unreasonable at any stretch of the imagination because he actually can. He is living in Jesus's time. He can put hand in Jesus' nail prints if Jesus is really alive. So we have to be reasonable with what we can do today and how that's gonna work. We can't just say I'm out. I'm never gonna believe. I'm not gonna believe. No. In fact, the last point that I made yesterday is we ought to expect that we'll believe again, if we are openminded, if we are honest, then truth will compel us to true and honest faith. And let me just add an extra thought. Then I'd like to be able to say a few, few extra things in this podcast that just can't get into the pulpit with everything. And that is you have to do the work. You have to do the work. Thomas doesn't just sit on his hands and say, well, maybe I'll believe again. Maybe I won't ever believe again. I don't know, but I'm not gonna do anything about this. Thomas. Doesn't say, you know what? I will never come to the next meeting. Uh, won't come to any more meetings. And when Jesus appears Thomas, doesn't say, eh, I, I'm not willing to walk across room and, and put my hand in his side, rebuilding faith, answering your doubts can and take some time and take some effort. Thomas made that effort. It is truly distressing for people to give up their faith or refuse to build faith, but they won't do anything. They won't discuss. They won't read. They won't listen. Thomas does the work necessary to overcome doubts and you and I, if we get ourselves in a doubting situation, we need to be in the same kind of mind frame. I'm gonna do what it takes to investigate and see what the truth is in the, in this matter. That's what Thomas does and you and I should do the same thing. So coming out of that, then I announced the sermon series. May it's a quick sermon series, right before we get into summer. I'm not totally happy with pushing a sermon series out in may, because lots of things are going on. Graduations and things are happening, but really have been reluctant to do anything like this until I felt like we were far enough past the pandemic, that people would be comfortable accepting an invitation and coming to worship. So here we are. It's may, we're gonna go with this. The sermon series is about doubt and about resolving doubt and doing that work. I'm calling this series asking for a friend that's actually not true. That was a suggestion by a really good friend of mine. I did not have as good a title. As he suggested asking for a friend, May 3rd, can I be spiritual? Can't I be spiritual without Jesus. And the church May 10th has science eliminated the need for God may 17. Everybody's got a holy book. What makes the Bible so special? And then May 24th. Our are heaven and hill really real. I am very pumped about this series. I think there's a ton of doubt going on today. I think we need to meet doubt with evidence. We need to meet doubt with faith. We need to meet doubt with logic and with good arguments. And this series is designed to help or faith grow and to help somebody, you know, have faith that is going to grow. So make sure that you're availing yourself of the opportunity to give an invitation to other people and to encourage them to come. We're gonna start that the first Sunday in may and that'll be, that'll be something I think that will help all of us. So there's your sermon notes from the weekend? How about we get involved in some daily Bible reading? How about we talk about spiritual gifts out of first Corinthians, the 13th chapter, grab your Bible. I'm gonna get a sip of coffee. Let's talk about our daily Bible reading for the week It's Monday and today we're reading first Corine, the 13th chapter of the entire chapter, but that's only 13 versus so don't panic. This is the most famous chapter that Paul ever wrote. And it is the famous chapter on love. Unfortunately, not a lot of people stop to examine the context. Maybe they aren't doing daily Bible reading and reading through Corinthians to get the front. And the end of the argument first Corinthians 13 is the middle of the argument. And we need to set this in its context where Paul is dealing with the problems the Corinthians are having with miraculous spiritual gifts. And part of the problem there is that they are all enamored of the showy gifts, particularly speaking in a foreign language. And they're all about that. And they want to do that. And Paul says, I have something that is, is better than that. And that's what you ought be pursuing. And that's what would help the Corinthian church. Now we immediately say, well, of course the way of love, that's, that's the better way. But honestly, now what is better than doing a miracle healing, a sick person, or being able to speak in a foreign tongue. I mean the way of love, how is that superior? Well, Paul talks about how that is superior. First of all, he says that without love gifts are worthless versus one, two and three, he then gives the characteristics of the kind of love that he's talking about. And the real stopper here is love is permanent, but gifts will cease that really puts the punch in his argument. So some quick notes here, Paul speaks of the language of men, the tongues of men and angels in verse one that is not some kind of ecstatic utter inch. It's just the highest possible language. If you could talk an angel, instead, we need the way of love. And there is discussion here about agape. And this is the term agape, which many know means the highest form of love. It means self-sacrificing love actually in the new Testament times in the first century, it didn't mean that it did not carry all of the at freight. It will come to carry that freight later on as Christians kind of adopt that word and give it some special connotations, but we need to be pretty careful about flogging the word agape around and making it into more than it is meant to be. And Paul here, I think really is the making the E on agape being an active will not an act of emotion. And his point here, I'm gonna quote from a scholar Paul's point in his contrast of tongues without love used to teach the Corinthians that when they engage in tongue speaking, it is self centered and not other centered. And that results in all kinds of confusion that helps us see this in its context, yes, you have this great gift, but you must practice that with love. And then versus four, five, and six just fit the Corinthian situation to a T. They are divided. They are bickering. They are having every kind of problem because they are not, not patient and kind. They are not envy. They are envying and boasting. They are arrogant. They are rude and insisting on their own way. They are irritable and resentful. It is just a problem all the way through they're rejoicing in the wrong things and not rejoicing in the truth. This fits Paul's writing and fits the circumstance at cor Corinth. Absolutely perfectly. We need to think about that in terms of our own assembly. Are we rejoicing in the right things? Are we really loving and caring for one another? As we ought to for Corinthians 13 really helps us crystallize those kinds of ideas, particularly with the idea of putting away cell centeredness and selfishness and doing what's necessary so that we can have unity in the local church. And all of this reminds us that Paul says having spiritual gift, doesn't make you a spiritual person. There are some people in car who've got big time, real supernatural gifting, and that isn't helping them be better disciples. In fact, they're using those gifts to tear up the local church. What makes a person a better disciple is when they practice and use what they have and live in the way of love. And that brings us then to the end of the chapter versus eight to 13, where Paul talks about love is better than spiritual gifts because spiritual gifts aren't going to last. In fact, instead, love will never end prophecies. Verse eight will pass away. Tongues will cease knowledge. It will pass away. We know in part we prophesy part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. Options that we are presented here with are that this is a reference to the second coming, or this is a reference to the Bible, the complete revelation. And I'm just gonna say here, we could develop lots and lots of material. I've preached several lessons on this and talked about this. When I've talked Corinthians in Bible class. I don't think there's any question at all that the end of spiritual gifts come when the new Testament revelation is completed because the purpose of spiritual gifts was to certify the message and were to undergird the message and give the messenger credibility so that when someone says, I'm speaking for God, this is what God wants you to know. Then everyone could understand and be certain that this really from God, because they were able to certify that with a miracle. And we just see that again and again, in acts the Hebrew Hebrews, the second chapter talks about that mark 16, that's what miracles do once the new Testament is completed. The way we know that somebody has a message from God is we turn and look at the completed revelation of God's will. And we say, okay, just show me where you find that in the new Testament, that's what we need. That's where the focus is. And that is certainly what Paul is talking about. When he says the perfect will come. The perfect is full revelation. Notice verse eight, prophecies, tongues and knowledge. Those are incomplete revelations. That's spiritual knowledge, by the way, all knowledge chapter 12 has given us a list of some of those gifts and spiritual knowledge as part of that. So we know some stuff, but we don't know everything that we need to know, and that we would like to know. And the Canon, when the new Testament is complete, when the cannon of scripture is done, then we will have all that God wants us to have so that we can know, answer our questions, serve the Lord. It's right. Know that we are thoroughly equipped to every good work by the scriptures. And I might just note here that there are lots of people who want this to be the second coming, but what would be the argument here? Paul is saying, there's something that's less okay than something else, because this less than thing is gonna end. It's gonna cease, but everything ceases when Jesus comes. So what would that prove? How, how does that help his argument in any way? I could go into much more detail about that, but I, I will just let that stand for now. This is first thing in the morning, or maybe on your lunch hour, and we're doing our Bible reading. Maybe you're doing your Bible reading, trying to get it done before you get in bed tonight. And I'm not gonna go on and on about all of those things. If you have further questions, uh, talk with me about that. And I can give you more material about that. But first Corinthians 13, establishes that love is the way of law of is certainly superior to any spiritual gift, particularly because something is coming to replace those spiritual gifts. And that is the new Testament that you're holding in your hands. Tomorrow. Paul begins to finish up this material on spiritual gifts by giving some very specific rules about how to use them and when they can used and what can be done. That starts chapter 14. And that'll be our reading for Tuesday. I'll see you tomorrow. It's Tuesday. And we're reading first Corinthians 14 v ersus one to 12. This chapter f irst C orine 14 breaks into two pieces. The superiority of prophecy over tongues versus one to 25. And then the r ig o f gifts in worship v ersus 2 6 to 40. I'm just gonna give you a couple of notes here. I think this is very self-explanatory and really helpful to us. Just track how often Paul talks about doing something that builds up the church. That is what matters the most. So I h ave this u nderline in my Bible in dark blue, I use different kind of colors, and sometimes I get to run i t o utta colors. And so here, I'm using dark blue to highlight this special theme in this chapter, verse three, the prophet speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation verse four. He builds up the church verse five. So the church be built up. How will I verse six benefit you verse 12, strive to Excel in building up the church. The principle here is that prophecy giving a divine word from God. Remember prophecy is not just telling the future. Generally speaking in the Bible, prophecy is speaking for God, speak for God, giving a word of admonition, a word of her Beal. Word of encouragement that comes directly from God is far more beneficial than a fellow speaking. A sister speaking in a foreign language that he or she has not studied and learned. Yes, that's really cool. That really shows that the spirit of God has called upon this person. They're exercising the spiritual gift, but that is, is not nearly as, as important as what a prophet can do. And if that tongue isn't interpreted it, isn't doing anybody any good at all. You're just speaking into the air verse nine. And so this chapter really begins with a strong note that the Corinthians are, are emphasizing the wrong gift. And they're emphasizing more than just the wrong gift tongue speaking. They're emphasizing the wrong thing. They're emphasizing themselves when they need to be thinking about what builds up the church. Quick note as well, probably as you work down through this, you will be struck with how clear it is that tongue speaking is a certain foreign language, not just some kind of ecstatic gibberish that'll hold us for Tuesday. Tomorrow. We begin to get into some of these regulations beginning in verse 13. See you tomorrow. As we continue to think about the Roll of spiritual gifts in the church at Corinth. Welcome to Wednesday, we're gonna read verse 13 to 22 in first Corinthians chapter 14 today, as Paul continues to talk about and regulate the use of spiritual gifts in the assembly at Corinth notice in verse 14, we get kind of a difficult question here for if I pray in a tongue, my spirit praise, but my mind is UN fruitful. What am I to do? I'll pray with my spirit, but I'll pray with my mind. Also not entirely sure what to make of that. There's a difficult distinction here between mind and spirit that I'm unsure of. This may be that Paul is talking about praying in a tongue that he did not understand. I'm praying in this tongue. And my feelings are giving utterance in that speaking of foreign language in this prayer, but I can't understand that foreign language. So it doesn't really help me. I can't comprehend here. What I am saying. It's not a, not an easy passage to work with. The overall theme though, continues to be building up verse 17. The other person is not being built up verse 19 in order to instruct others and watch verse 20, don't be children in your thinking. Children prefer the showy children prefer that which dramatically grabs your attention. Paul wants them to grow up in their thinking and he can includes our reading today. Verse 22 tongues are assigned not for believers, but for unbelievers and think about that's exactly how it worked in act chapter two. On the day of Pentecost, the apostles are speaking in these foreign languages that they cannot possibly have studied and learn. There's all these different nations there represe at the table of nations that Luke gives us there. And that sign causes unbelievers to give attention to the gospel, to give attention to what's being said, to give credibility to the messengers of the gospel. And ultimately of course, the church begins as 3000 are Baptized. That's what tongues are for. They are not for believers. So the Corinthians just have this wildly wildly out of place. Let's continue those thoughts tomorrow. We'll read the rest of this section, verse 23 down to verse 32. And then on Friday, we'll finish the chapter. So a little bit more in first Corinthians 14, as we continue to think about spiritual gifts and their value and their worth and how they're to be used in the assembly. And tomorrow we may get a little bit that will help us with some of the difficult questions that will follow on Friday it's Thursday. And we are reading first Corinthians 14 versus 23 to 32. Please pick up on out of verse 23, that the church is to be sensitive to those who will visit our assembly. The purpose of our assembly is not necessarily and primarily evangelism. We're not driven totally by what those who are seeking the truth might need or would be response to in our worship assembly. Our worship assembly is driven by what pleases God, but as we do the things that God has instructed us to do, we do that with an eye on how can we help those who don't know about Jesus? And so verse 23, 24 and 25, certainly set forth that principle that we want to be sensitive to those who visit our assembly. And then Paul moves from there to dictate more than anything, a certain kind of atmosphere in worship. It should not be full of confusion and craziness and mania. One scholar said, Paul insist that the parts of worship should be conducive to instruction and edification just need to think about that a lot. Verse 26, let all things be done for building up verse 40. All things should be done decently. And in order can't do anything that violates that. I must say this much of what I see when I'm flipping channels. And I go past one of those channels where the TV preachers are there and the big assemblies and all these Pentecostal things are happening and so forth. I don't see anything that looks like what first Corinthians 14 instructs. I do see mania in confusion and everybody speaking in tongues at the same time, just everything violating what Paul is saying. In first Corinthians chapter 14, tongue speakers are not to dominate. They are expected to control themselves and they need to have an interpretation. They 27 and verse 28, please note in verse 28, the tongue speaker, if there's no one to interpret should keep silent. That term means yeah. To keep silent, to say nothing. That's why it's translated that way. But please notice in that context, that would mean that the tongue speaker is to keep silent about what about his speaking. It wouldn't mean that he couldn't sing or make the good confession, just hold onto that idea because there's, so there's a lot of confusion about women in tomorrow's reading, and we're gonna want to use what Paul says in verse 28 to help us better understand some of that. But there used to be no wild and out of control, dim demonstrations, like we see in so much that passes for modern day Pentecostalism today. The word in verse 33 for confusion is a very strong word. God's nature is not seen in out of order happenings. And that can't be how we worship a God who has made a perfectly ordered universe. Think about it, our entire world, our bodies nature, the water cycle. We just go on and on and on. There's so much order in our universe in creation. And we can't worship a God of order in a disordered kind of way tomorrow. We'll finish first Corinthians 14, read verse 33 to 40. I'll see you tomorrow. It'll be Friday. And the end of the week, here we go. It's Friday, first Corinthians 14:33 to 40 concludes this section on spiritual gifts. And I think as we've worked together through this, you just see, yes, it is about spiritual gifts, but there is so much more to be gained here so much about our care for one another, our interest in unity, our willingness to put ourselves aside for what does bring unity to the local church. And there does seem to be a problem in Corinth. And first 34, are there some women there maybe with spiritual gifts who think they can address and speak publicly in the assembly, they can lead the assembly. Paul says that can't happen. These women should keep silent. But I used this yesterday. I set this up yesterday. Silent here is the same word is in verse 28. So if the tongue speaker in verse 28, when he keeps silent is not being forbidden to sing or to make the good confession or any of those kinds of things. If he is not to be 100% silent in every way in the assembly, the meaning here is he is to keep silent with his tongue speaking. Then a woman here is not being prohibited from making the good confession or from singing. She used to be keeping silent in regard to what this business of addressing the assembly, stopping the assembly, taking control of the assembly, particularly here with maybe asking some questions that is not to be done. That's not the place for a woman in the assembly. She needs to not do that kind of thing. And of course, a fair question to ask here is this all women or is this just married women? The Greek term here is just woman. There's not a Greek term for wife in the new Testament Greek, but I don't think anybody would argue that a single woman can disrupt the assembly with her questions. That's obviously out of bounds here. So Paul presses, again, the idea it that there is not to be confusion. Instead, everyone needs to do the things that are gonna build up the local assembly that are gonna help the local church, not cause any visitors to think that we're a bunch of crazies and what we are doing, do the things that Edify and build up verse 26, do things decently. And in order verse 40, let me can include that with just a couple of summary notes. Then it's important to remember that the accounts of the new Testament say nothing about tongue speaking in worship, except for what we have just read in Corinthians. There's lots of accounts of worship in the new Testament, but there's nothing about miracles. And particularly again about tongue speaking, that conclusion that we have to make about that is that this is, this is not necessarily part of the worship of every church in every place that Paul or Peter or others would visit or establish. This is, it seems in many ways, limited to Corinth and maybe a, a few other congregations like them. But this idea that spiritual gifts has to dominate the worship of the church today. It should be our purpose for coming together. It's the main thing we do. No, that's, that's just not in accord with what the new Testament shows us. Uh, I would say secondly, the, and it is possible for Satan to pervert spiritual gifts. False prophets are mentioned quite frequently in the scripture. And it seems to me that there is much perversion going on today. If the gifts that we see exercised are even genuine spiritual gifts, I would argue that they are not. I talked about how gifts have ceased from, for Corinth chapter 13. But if people are going to say that spiritual gifts are still going on today, why is no one paying any attention to the regulations that we just read in first Corinthians 14? Why do we seem to just swallow hook, line and sink or anything that anybody offers because they said, oh, the holy spirit came upon me. Satan can pervert the gifts and was in fact doing so in Quran, we need to have more discernment with spiritual gifts. Then finally, I would say that first Corinthians 14, doesn't tell us everything about the role of women in our assembly, but it certainly says something about women, even women with the spiritual gift are not to take over and lead the assembly. I think there's probably more to be said about that outta first, Timothy chapter two. And when we get there, we'll talk a little bit more about that. But the pattern here is that women are not going to be in a leadership role in the assembly. Instead, the assembly is going to function where everyone can be built up and we can do things in decency. And in order, we should certainly pray for that in our assembly today. And we do all that we can to make sure that that is still going on today. That is a principle that we can take out of this. Even if we don't have spiritual gifts, we don't have spiritual gift supernatural gifting like that today, but we can still make sure that our assemblies do things verse 26 for building up, do things decently. And in order verse 40, There you go. That will be the Monday morning coffee podcast for this week. We'd certainly like for you to subscribe, follow rate and give a review on whatever app you're listening to. And especially, we sure would like for you to tell others about the show posted on social media, encourage others to read their Bible, to reflect on the sermon that was preached at west side on Sunday. Encourage people to listen to that, to think about that and be yes, be extending some invitations to people to come and be part of this. Just asking for a friend series beginning in may. So until next time I hope your coffee is delightful, that your Friday is blessed and the start of a really wonderful weekend. May the Lord be with you today all day? I'll see you on Monday morning. I'll have a cup of coffee and I'll be ready to read the Bible with you. Thanks for listening.

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