October 25, 2009
Week 4
Community and Conflict
The Corinthian Story
“God Loves Cracked Pots!”
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
I love that Title because I am one! Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1:26
I love road signs…Just the other day I entered a cemetery and the road leading to the funeral home cemetery said, “Dead End”. Thought that kind of ironic!
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
PRAYER
Paul not only poses this question to his Corinthian readers…but also to us today…
Paul makes an important statement here about the members of the Corinthian church…
SLIDE
1 Corinthians 1:26
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. (Called meaning Saved, Converted, when you met Jesus) Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential, not many were of noble birth.”
• “Wise” – Sophoi – the same words that he used earlier – “The Greeks look for Wisdom”.
• “Influential” – Dynotoi – Not many of you were those with power. Not law makers, politicians.
• “Nobel birth” – literally “Well Born”.
What Paul does is describing is the social elite of this Roman colony!
Every one of these words could describe most of us here. When we came to Jesus - Not wise, certainly not men/women with power, and definitely not “Well-Born”. I am just the child of sinful Irish/German parents!
The early church had a special appeal to the poor and those with little social standing. The “foolishness” and “Scandal” of the Gospel was those who were attracted to it’s message!
Paul goes on to say…THIS IS MY STORY…I hope that it’s yours as well!
1 Corinthians 1:27
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things (lowly born) of this world and the despised things, and the things that are not (those who seem to the world to be nothing!) – to nullify the things that are.”
Listen to this from The Message…
26 Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families.27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.28 He chose what the world thinks is unimportant and what the world looks down on and thinks is nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is important.29
Now that’s more like it…those words describe us far better… “Foolish, Weak, Unimportant” NIV says “Despised”. Some of those words would certainly describe me when Jesus found me at the age of 16! Just a hurting kid looking to belong, to be loved, to have the answer.
If you want to hear more about the members of the Corinthian church – just look at Chapter 6. Tell me if this is a church you’d belong to!
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
9-10 Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit God's kingdom. Do not be fooled. Those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, those who are male prostitutes, or men who have sexual relations with other men, those who steal, are greedy, get drunk, lie about others, or rob—these people will not inherit God's kingdom.
Any of that sound familiar to anyone else? THIS SOUNDS MY FAMILY REUNION! My swap meet family! Love em, love em, love em…but so glad to have met Jesus!
And of course you know what Paul says next in chapter 6 …you sinned sexually, you were thieves, greedy, drunks, liers…Then Paul says…
1 In the past, some of you were like that, but you were washed clean. You were made holy, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
These Corinthians brothers and sisters were still far from perfect, as we will discover as we continue through Corinthians. BUT, like that caterpillar…THEY WERE BUSY BECOMING WHAT HE DECLARED THEM TO BE! WE all need to write that down somewhere…
I AM BUSY BECOMING WHAT HE HAS DECLARED ME TO BE!
I’M BECOMING WHAT I ALREADY AM!
If I’m not mistaken…as I’ve read through my Bible over the years – God chose some real doozies to do great things for Him! As the Title of this sermon says…
“God Loves Cracked Pots!”
So many of our Old Testament and New Testament heroes were far from all-stars at the beginning.
They were often insignificant…broken, hesitant, insecure, people in the right place at the right time, willing to be used by God…sometimes even unwilling! Sometime they started out great and ended poorly…often time they started out poorly and ended up great!
One of our first Old Testament All Stars…Moses! His life was a bit of a roller coaster!
THE STORY OF MOSES
Moses rescued from death as a baby, (remember when Pharaoh was killing the Jewish infant boys – Moses was hidden in a basket in the reed banks of the Nile River. Raised by the daughter of Moses – Pharaoh’s grandson! Raised as Royalty, given the finest education and given the advantages of life that Royalty could afford. THEN IT ALL WENT SOUR. Exodus 2:11-15 Moses in a moment of anger killed an Egyptian, buried his body in the sand. Was found out – ran to the desert to hide – 40 years later still in the desert! GOD WAS NOT DONE WITH MOSES!
If you ever feel like you are in the desert…HE’S NOT DONE WITH YOU EITHER! Just be faithful where you are and let God direct your steps. He was a young man when he feld Egypt – 40 years was the best part of a life time - Moses was now a married man to Zipporah. Had a family, was 80 years old – far past mid-life. And then Moses encountered God in the burning bush. And God said the most outrageous thing to Him
Exodus 3:10
“I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Q: Remember Moses’ reactions?
“O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, I am slow of speech and tongue.”
“What if they believe me or listen to me?”
And then of course remember what our great Old Testament hero says next to God…
“Oh Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
Q: Ever said that the Lord?
Of course we know very well what God does through Moses!
He does the same through so many of our Bible heroes! It would be through a beautiful, single, Jewish captive girl named Esther – who would somehow, out of 1000’s of young women win the Miss Persia pageant and become the wife to the Pagan King Xerxes. It would be through a series of events that God would save the whole nation of Israel! What’s with that?
Through a Prostitute named Rehab – She would protect the Jewish spies who hid in her home. Rehab…because of her actions – she was honored. Rahab, a prostitute would be wife of Salmon – the mother of Boaz – who would become the husband of Ruth and parents of Obed who would become the father of Jesse the father of the future King David! A descendant of JESUS the MESSIAH! All began with a Harlot willing to be used by God!
Pick an Old Testament character…many of them Swap meet People! Cracked Pots! All of them!
• Gideon
• A Fig Picker named Amos
So many others with obvious human weaknesses all to show that success came through HIS power not theirs!
Listen…let the author of Hebrews give you a few names…
Hebrews 11:32-34
I do not have time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Sampson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength…”
God is looking to invest in people who, when everything is said and done – and he uses them, and they’ve been successful – will say “IT WAS ONLY BY YOUR GRACE THAT WE MADE IT! WE COUD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!” I need you to turn my weakness into strength!
Let me describe a couple real winners for you…
• This guy is about 35 years old, he is strong, tall man, rough skin, with an even rougher personality. Whenever he enters a room, people stare, they listen to what he will say, because he is impulsive and has something to say about just everything. He usually talks and acts, and then he thinks about what he has said or done. Typically, he will get in to a fight once a week, because he is impulsive, acting first then thinking. People talk about him behind his back, and wish he wasn’t always around causing so many problems!
• Another guy, a business man who is only looking out for himself. Because he has the only business in town, people are forced to go to him even if they feel he is cheating them. He has cheated people out of money, lied to gain more wealth for himself! He’s a thief, a liar and if the truth be told - No one really likes him…
I’ve just introduced you to Peter and Matthew our Jewish Tax collector. Two of the great authors of our Bible. Two men that changed their world once them met Jesus!
This story could be repeated over and over again right in this room. Think of what you were…or what you were trying to be before you met Jesus!
GOD LOVES CRACKED POTS!
When Jesus touches you – You change! When people come to an honest realization of their own brokenness, their own weaknesses, their fallen nature before God. When a person is able to surrender completely to God, give it all away to Him, then God’s grace can bring change into life that only He can bring! And IT CAN BE A REMARKABLE SIGHT!
BUT FIRST YOU HAVE TO OWN IT…THEN DISOWN IT!
Give it to Him!
In Joel Osteen in his book “Your Best Life Now”
“I’ve discovered in the struggles of life that God is more interested in changing me
than He is in changing my circumstances.”
You’ve noticed just like me – something that we’ve addressed before…
Have you ever asked God for Patience? (I wouldn’t do if I were you!) – What I’ve noticed is He usually doesn’t suddenly give you patience, but instead he sends people your way that try the patience that you do have! You are forced to exercise your patience. You can the opportunity exercise patience?
When you struggle with jealousy, it seems that everybody around you has more or better material possessions that you do. He’s not taking away your jealousy – he just exposing you to just how ugly your jealousy is and how badly you need Him to help you with it!
I have also noticed that God will use people in your life…your own husband, wife, friend, your own children that will reveal areas where you need to change! Our kids can be ruthless…especially as they get older! IS IT TOO LAST TO GIVE THEM UP FOR ADOPTION? Your boss…maybe he is a jerk…GOD I WANT A NEW BOSS!!! What if, just maybe – IT’S NOT THE BOSS HE WANTS TO CHANGE…WHAT IF IT’S YOU HE WANTS TO CHANGE!
Your wife…God change her! Maybe it’s you He wants to change! That’s certainly been my experience!
You can pray, resist, you can bind, you can rebuke until your “rebuker” wears out. You can sing, shout, dance. You can do it all . . . until you get it that God is more interested in changing YOU than He is in changing the circumstances.
Listen, people spend their lifetime running form place to place, relationship to relationship, job to job, church to church – never learning they lesson they were to learn in the first place!
The sooner you learn to cooperate with God, the sooner you’ll get out of that mess!
WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP – meaning a work in progress…
WE ARE BECOMING WHAT WE ALREADY ARE!
From the book “Your Best Life Now”
ILLUSTRATION
Many years ago, fishing for codfish up in the Northeast had become a lucrative commercial business. The fishing industry in the NE recognized that there was a great market for codfish all over America, but their problem was distribution. At first, they simply froze the fish, as they did all of their other products, and shipped it out all across the country. But for some reason, after the codfish was frozen, it lost its taste. So the owners decided to ship the fish in huge tanks filled with fresh seawater. But to their disappointment, this process only made matter worse. Because the fish were lethargic and inactive in the tanks, they became soft and mushy and once again lost their taste.
Then one day, someone decided to put some catfish in the tank with the codfish. Catfish and codfish are natural enemies, so as the tank traveled across the country, the codfish had to stay alert and active and be on the lookout for the catfish. Amazingly, when the tank arrived at its destination, the codfish were as fresh and just as tasty as they were in the Northeast.
Like the catfish, maybe your adversity, your weakness, the crack in your pot was dropped into your path, into your life for a purpose. Perhaps to challenge you, to strengthen you, to sharpen you, to keep you fresh, to keep you alive and active – to MAKE YOU TOTALLY DEPENDANT ON GOD FOR HELP AND STRENGTH!
Remember Paul’s words,
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
“…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 11:30
30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
Q: Why does God allow brokenness/Weakness in our lives?
• Because it shapes who I am.
• Shapes what I DO..My healed brokenness can Help me help others.
• There are some things that happen to us in our brokenness that cannot happen in us any other way!
• To be a constant reminder that IF ANY GOOD COMES OUT OF ME – IT’S HIM!
• That’s where I find His strength! And that’s where I want to live!
I found this interesting little parable of the Cracked Pot…
THE CRACKED POT
A water bearer in India had two large pots,
Each hung on each end of a pole while he carried across his neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it.
While the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water
at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house.
The cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on every day
With the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water
In his master’s house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments,
Perfect to the end for which it was made.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,
And miserable that it was able to accomplish
only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure,
It spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.
“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”
“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”
“I have been able, for these pas two years, to deliver only half my load
Because of this crack in my side causes water to leak out
All the way back to your master’s house.
Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work,
And you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.
The water bearer said to the pot,
“As we return to the master’s house,
I want to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.
Indeed, as they went up the hill,
The old cracked pot took notice of the sun
Warming he beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path,
And this cheered it some.
But as the end of the trail, it still felt bad
Because it had leaded out half its load,
And so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot,
“Did you notice that there were flowers only on
Your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?
That’s because I have always known about your flaw,
I planted flower seeds on your side of the path
And every day while we walk back from the streams,
You’ve watered them
For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers
To decorate my master’s table.
Without you being just the way you are,
He would not have this beauty to grace his house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaws.
We’re all cracked pots.
But if we will allow it,
The Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father’s table.
Nothing goes to waste
As God calls you to the tasks He has appointed for you,
Don’t be afraid of your flaws!
2 Corinthians 11:30
30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
Prayer
Closing