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1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NIV)
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love is the most excellent way.

True spirituality is completely unrelated to the gifts a person may have from the Spirit. Love is the indication of a person’s true spirituality.

With that said I want to first address 1 Corinthians 8b-10 and have a discussion on spiritual gifts in the church today.

1 Corinthians 13:8-10 (NIV)
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

There is quite a range of thought on where the spiritual gifts fit in to the church today.

Position 1: Signs and wonders ceased at the end of the Apostolic Age

BB Warfield – Counterfeit Miracles – Pages 5-6

Everywhere, the Apostolic Church was marked out as itself a gift from God, by showing forth the possession of the Spirit in appropriate works of the Spirit – miracles of healing and miracles of power, miracles of knowledge, whether in the form of prophecy or in the discerning of spirits, miracles of speech, whether of the gift of tongues or of their interpretation. The Apostolic Church was characteristically a miracle working church. How long did this state of things continue? It was the characterizing peculiarity of specifically the Apostolic Church, and it belonged therefore exclusively to the Apostolic age….These gifts were not the possession of the primitive Church as such… they were distinctively the authentication of the Apostles. They were part of the credentials of the Apostles as the authoritative agents of God in founding the Church. Their function (i.e. healing and other miracles) thus confined them to distinctively the Apostolic Church, and they necessarily passed away with it…The possession of the charismata (i.e the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in the early Church) was confined to the Apostolic Age…They (the miracle workings) were confined to the Apostolic Age, and to a very narrow circle then.

Here is the scripture used to support this position:

Position 2: Signs and wonders ceased because they belonged only to the earliest centuries. They ceased because they were no longer needed as divine credentials since the church had been widely established and officially sanctioned and the Canon was completed.

John MacArthur – The Charismatics

There he states the following:
“As we study the Scripture, we find three categories of spiritual gifts. In Ephesians 4 there is the category of gifted men: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, teaching pastors and teachers. These gifted men are called to be leaders in the church. Secondly, there are the permanent edifying gifts, which would include knowledge, wisdom, prophecy, teaching, exhortation, faith (or prayer), discernment, showing mercy, giving, administration and helps (see Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28). Thirdly, there were the temporary sign gifts. These were certain enablements given to certain believers for the purpose of authenticating or confirming God’s word when it was proclaimed in the early Church before the Scriptures were penned. These sign gifts were temporary. Their purpose was not primarily to edify, although sometimes edification did occur. The four temporary sign gifts were miracles, healings, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. These four sign gifts had a unique purpose – to give the apostles credentials, to let the people know that these men all spoke the truth of God. But once the Word of God was inscriptured, the sign gifts were no longer needed and they ceased. The gift of miracles and the gift of healing were both special sign gifts given for the single purpose of confirming God’s revelation.” (p. 131)

“The gift of healing was one of four miraculous sign gifts that were given to help the apostolic community to confirm their preaching of the gospel message in the early years of the Church. Once the Word of God was completed, the signs ceased. Miraculous signs were no longer needed.” (p. 149)

The scripture used as a proof text for this position is 1 Corinthians 13:8-10, which we are discussing now.

1 Corinthians 13:8-10 (NIV)
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

This position is based on a reading of 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 which says, “.. when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part is done away with”. The phrase, “… that which is perfect…” is interpreted to be the completed Canon of Scripture (that is the New Testament). This brings us down to approximately 400 A.D. The words, “…that which is in part will be done away with…”, refer to the Spiritual Gifts (miracles, healing, etc.). This is a widely held position by both Reformed and Dispensationalist scholars. The ARGUMENT follows these lines: 1) the word “perfect” is a neuter noun and refers to a thing and not a person. Since Scripture is a thing and is neuter in gender, it must be the “perfect” to which Paul is referring. 2) This concept fits well with Paul’s illustration in verses 11-12. Scripture and knowledge. These gifts were “childish” while Scripture is “mature”. These gifts give “dim” images and “partial” knowledge contrasted with Scripture which reflects perfectly and conveys full on knowledge. Some of the WEAKNESSES of this position are: 1) While “perfect” is neuter, it should not necessarily be equated with another neuter noun. A neuter noun or pronoun can be used to describe masculine and/or feminine things or even persons. One example is the word “begotten” (John 3:6) which is neuter as a reference to Jesus, which is masculine. The word “Spirit” is also neuter, but it is clear from Scripture that even though neuter, He is not an “it” but a “He”. 2) The interpretation calls for a leaving of the immediate context to determine the identity of “perfect”. The proponents look to 2 Timothy 3:15-16 when “Scripture” is neuter to file their case. Certainly the Corinthians did not have 2 Timothy at their disposal to help them interpret the text.

2 Timothy 3:15-16 (NIV)
15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

If not “Scripture”, then what is “the perfect”? A British scholar, F.F. Bruce, says that “perfect” is the second coming of Christ. (Bruce, F.F., 1 & 2 Corinthians, p. 122). This certainly fits well within the context of the overall book. 1 Corinthians 1:7 gives that very impression.

1 Corinthians 1:7 (NIV)
7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

Position 3: Signs and wonders continue today

In my opinion all of scripture supports this position as does church history.

Now, let’s talk about love a little more.

Paul tells us that love is patient.

The second half of verse four gives us some tips for being patiently loving or lovingly patient

1 Corinthians 13:4b (NIV)
…It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Love does not envy

Love does not boast (vaunteth)
(brag, vaunt)

Love is not proud

And we also see that

Love is kind

Paul tells us what love being kind looks like in

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

It is not rude

Are you aware of your own rudeness? Do you catch yourself being rude? Do you ever say “I don’t mean to be rude but ……” as though somehow this is an excuse for being rude. If someone says I don’t mean to be rude but.. to you, you need to kindly go (cover ears and go lalalalalalal). You are helping them.

It is not self-seeking

It is not easily angered

It doesn’t say love never gets angry, there is an appropriate anger.

It keeps no record of wrongs

Just like verses 4 and 5 fit together, so do verses 6 through 8. They point us to the source that makes living a life of love possible, they help us to get our eyes on Jesus.

1 Corinthians 13:6-8 (NIV)
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

Love rejoices with the truth

It is only possible to even hope to love this way by getting our eyes focused on Him and trying to live by doing the next right thing. With Jesus as our center of our lives we can begin to experience the love expressed in verses 7 and 8.

Love never fails

How does love never fail? Paul again helps to define this amazing love, this time by telling us what love does.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV)
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

It always protects

It always trusts

It always hopes

It always perseveres

This type of unfailing love is expressed to us by the Lord. As we can begin to recognize and experience this love for us by Him, we can then begin to love others in this way.

Related posts:

1. 1 Corinthians Chapter 12
2. 1 Corinthians Chapter 5 and 6
3. 1 Corinthians Chapter 10

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Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was. He could have come up with a very complex detailed answer, but He didn’t. His answer was simple and perfect. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. This was Jesus answer to being asked the big question, “what is the most important thing in life?” Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

If that is the most important thing then it just makes sense for us to make it a priority. Loving God and loving others is what comes out of a disciple’s heart. So, developing a disciple’s heart is where our journey must take us.

What does that look like in a practical way? For me, it looks like this. I remember to love God by being thankful for at least five things every day. Then, I try and encourage at least two people every day. This is how I love my neighbor. And as far as loving myself goes, I try to live each day by doing the next right thing. These three things really help me to stay focused and experience and enjoy Jesus moments each and every day. But life being what it is, it is very easy to get distracted and then get off course. As we said last week, the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

My deepest desire is to be with Jesus. To be His disciple, to follow and serve Him. But sometimes, my flesh, my selfishness, my issues get in the way.

So, in developing a disciple’s heart there is a need to get even more practical. Being thankful, encouraging and doing the next right thing are what I am shooting at in being a disciple, but I need something to help me stay on track, to stay focused.

That is where the Disciple’s Heart Primer comes in. We need to prime the pump.

This includes:
Get Focused – Hebrews 10:19-25
Get Thankful – Philippians 4:4-8
Get Connected – Matthew 6:9-13
Get Dressed – Ephesians 6:12-18
Get Encouraging – 1 Corinthians 13-4-8a
Git r done – Matthew 6:33 and Matthew 7:12
Git r done? (End of Day review) – Hebrews 12:1-3

Today, we are going to start looking at getting focused.

Scripture Reading

Hebrews 10:12-17 (MSG)
12 As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God 13 and waited for his enemies to cave in. 14 It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. 15 The Holy Spirit confirms this: 16 This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; This time “I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts.” 17 He concludes, I’ll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins.

We are going to dig a little deeper into the first of our getting focused verses:

Hebrews 10:19 (NIV)
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,

Let’s start by talking about the therefore

1. Therefore

When you read “therefore” in a passage of scripture, you need to figure out what it is there for. In this case it’s referring back to the verses of our scripture reading. Because of Jesus perfect sacrifice for our sins, God no longer remembers our sins.

Hebrews 10:17 (NIV)
17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”

This idea is one that you must take deep into your disciple’s heart. What Jesus did at the cross was a “perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people”. Because of what Jesus has done, not because of anything that we have done, we can enter into the Most Holy Place. We learn about the Most Holy Place in the book of Exodus. The Most Holy place was where the literal presence of God was. Because of Jesus, we can now be in the literal presence of God. In His presence we can get a

2. Throne Room Perspective

Ephesians 1:18-20 (NIV)
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

The eyes of our disciple’s heart can be opened so that we can know the Hope to which he has called us to. We can know the riches of His glorious inheritance. We can know the power that at is work in those of us who believe. It is the same power that was at work when Jesus was raised from the dead and seated in the heavenly realms at the right hand of the Father. He has us covered for eternity.

When you get a throne room perspective for the day, then you have a completely different way of looking at things that happen throughout the day. Problems become opportunities for God to move, worry and fear can be moved into faith and peace, we can have Hope in situations knowing that He is with us and for us. And we need to understand that our

3. Confidence is in Christ

Ephesians 2:4-6 (NIV)
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

In Christ, we too have been seated with Him in the heavenly realms!

In Christ. God sees and relates to us in Christ. Our confidence to be in the Most Holy Place is not in our own works or performance, it is in Christ.

See, in Christ, by His blood, we have the amazing blessing available to us that we can enjoy the presence of God 24/7. But how much time do we actually spend in His presence? That is a big question that as His disciples you need to ask yourself. Are you spending time with Him?

What keeps us from taking advantage of the amazing opportunity we have to hang out with Him? Maybe we struggle like Isaiah does in chapter 6:1-7. When he enters into the presence of God he is overwhelmed by his own unworthiness.

Perhaps, the reality of the presence of God and His holiness causes us to be overwhelmed by the reality of our brokenness. It is like a mirror that puts our sin and brokenness right in our face, and yet if we can just understand that our confidence in being in His presence is in Christ, then we can begin the process of being healed of the mess. Our guilt and shame stop becoming such easy fodder for the evil one to try keep us from the life we have been called to as Jesus disciples.

We are not worthy to be in His presence in our own right, but in Christ we can be there in confidence. I want to encourage you to start everyday by hanging out with God in the Most Holy Place in confidence because of what Jesus has done for you. There is nothing to be afraid of, or ashamed of. God is holy, but in His holiness there is love and acceptance and the power to transform and heal us.

Related posts:

1. Developing a Disciple’s Heart – Introduction
2. Doing Part 7
3. Doing Part 6

I think about all the work that has already gone into getting ready for the weekend. I think about all of the volunteers who will be busy this weekend preparing and serving food and coffee, teaching and caring for the children and youth, greeting and waving, praying, cleaning, and on and on. And I am humbled. This afternoon my thoughts lead me to this simple question, isn’t it amazing to be included in His story?

Related posts:

1. A Great Weekend

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1 Corinthians 12:1-31 (NIV)
1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

As we continue on in our study of Corinthians it should be pretty clear that as awesome as the early church was, there were a lot of issues to deal with. The qualities that are most important for the church were in full evidence, truth, love and transformed lives, but the church still had a lot of maturing to do. And it still does. We are still at work trying to maintain the dynamic balance of truth, love and transformed lives while we continue on the gradual process of maturity.

1 Corinthians 12-14 are going to tackle the issue of what real spirituality looks like in the body of Christ. Maybe paraphrasing the chapter from today will help shed some light on what is going on.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, you can’t view spirituality from your pre-Christian perspective. God is at work in each one of through His Spirit. But what the Spirit is doing in each of is different. He is the one who gives us different spiritual gifts which are to be used to help others. How He chooses to work in each one of us is completely up to Him. You see, as we are together in Christ, we are His body. We are many different part united in One. Just like the parts of the human body, we each have our own function. Like a hand, or foot, or eye, or ear we are all necessary to help the body function properly. Each part is important, and as a part of His body, you are an important part. Sometimes, people want to try and figure out what the Most Important part is, or what the most important gift is, but that is not what is really important. What is really important when it comes to being truly spiritual, is love. Spiritual maturity is evidenced by love not by gifts.

Let’s talk about a few key verses together in 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 12:7

Each one of us who is in Christ is gifted spiritually for the common good. The gifts are a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. The gifts are given as the Holy Spirit determines. Each and every Christian has had the Holy Spirit work in and through them in a divine capacity to move into the lives of others.

1 Corinthians 12:10

The gift of prophecy is brought up often in 1 Corinthians 12-14. I just want to make a quick note on prophecy and the ministry of prophets in the OT and NT. The emphasis on prophecy is not about predicting the future, but on making clear what God has said. Prophecy should always be linked to scripture, either as a way of making the Word more easily understood, or as a message that has to be validated by the Word.

1 Corinthians 12:31

Paul finishes the chapter by saying that he will now talk about the most excellent way, which is love, and 1 Corinthians 13 will cover the topic of love wonderfully.

The Corinthians had made the mistake based on their pre-Christian views on what spirituality looked like. That people exhibiting the gift of tongues were somehow closer to God. Paul says that the way to measure a person’s closeness to God is how well they love.

True spirituality is completely unrelated to the gifts a person may have from the Spirit. Love is the indication of a person’s true spirituality.
Let me close by saying that Paul did not attack the gift of tongues, or reject it. What he does is give a detailed explanation of how the Spirit does work in our lives, and in our churches.

Related posts:

1. 1 Corinthians Chapter 11
2. 1 Corinthians Chapter 10
3. 1 Corinthians Chapter 5 and 6

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Scripture Reading

Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV)
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was. He could have come up with a very complex detailed answer, but He didn’t. His answer was simple and perfect. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. This was Jesus answer to being asked the big question, “what is the most important thing in life?” Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

If that is the most important thing then it just makes sense for us to make it a priority. Loving God and loving others is what comes out of a disciple’s heart. So, developing a disciple’s heart is where our journey must take us.

1. Developing a Disciple’s Heart

What does that look like in a practical way? For me, it looks like this.

a. being thankful

I remember to love God by being thankful for at least five things every day.

b. encouraging others

Then, I try and encourage at least two people every day. This is how I love my neighbor. And as far as loving myself goes, I try to live each day by doing the next right thing.

c. doing the next right thing

These three things really help me to stay focused and experience and enjoy Jesus moments each and every day. But life being what it is, it is very easy to get distracted and then get off course. Maybe you can relate to the disciples in point number 2.

2. The spirit is willing

Matthew 26:40-41 (NIV)
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane, praying and crying out to God about the cross. He has brought all the disciples to the garden, but He has left most of them in one spot, and taken Peter, James and John to be with Him as He prays through this situation. He wanted His friends to be with Him. He separates Himself a little to wrestle through the anguish and sorrow He is feeling and then He comes back to His friends and they are asleep.

Could you not give me an hour?

It is interesting that the question is directed to Peter. Just before they had come to Gethsemane, Peter had said that He would never forsake the Lord. I believe that expresses Peter’s heart for the Lord, he means it when he says it. Yet here in the time of Jesus greatest need, Peter couldn’t even pray and hang out with Him for an hour without falling asleep. Jesus encourages Peter and the disciples to watch and pray and He also acknowledges the weakness of the human flesh.

And that is the issue for all of us. My deepest desire is to be with Jesus. To be His disciple, to follow and serve Him. But sometimes, my flesh, my selfishness, my issues get in the way.

So, in developing a disciple’s heart there is a need to get even more practical. Being thankful, encouraging and doing the next right thing are what I am shooting at in being a disciple, but I need something to help me stay on track, to stay focused. So I started thinking about developing…

A method – already taken, thanks a lot Methodists
A plan – could become an end in itself
A structure – sounds too rigid, might become legalistic
A strategy – too heady
A strategery – too Saturday Night Live
A guide – too mappy

I was dwelling on this when I believe I had a flash of spiritual insight. The heart is like a pump, and in order to make a pump run properly you have to keep it primed, so what I should develop is a primer …the

3. Disciple’s Heart Primer

Sounded good, felt right. I wanted to check out exactly what a primer was, so I looked it up:

Primer – provides instruction in the rudiments or basic skills of a branch of knowledge

Primer – a fuse containing an explosive (I like this, because the word for the power of the Holy Spirit is dynamis where we get our word dynamite from – See Acts 1:8 and I could run down a serious bunny trail with this, and I might at another time, but I am thinking more about priming our disciple’s heart so we can live as Jesus disciples.)

There is a song by the Kingston Trio called “Desert Pete”. The song talks about a water pump in the middle of the desert. In order for the pump to work it had to be primed with water. Left under a rock nearby was a note from Desert Pete and enough water in a jar to prime the pump so that you could get all the water you needed. Even though you were thirsty, you would have to pour out the water you had into the pump to get more water. The chorus goes like this:

“You’ve got to prime the pump, you must have faith and believe”
“You’ve got to give of yourself ‘fore you’re worthy to receive”
“Drink all the water you can hold, wash your face, cool your feet”
“Leave the bottle full for others, Thank You kindly, Desert Pete”

The song goes on to describe the actions of the thirsty desert traveler who has found the pump, the note, and the small jar of water:

Well I found that jar and I tell ya nothin’ was ever prettier to my eye
And I was tempted strong to drink it, cuz that pump looked mighty dry
But the note went on “have faith my friend, there’s water down below”
“You got to give until you get-I’m the one who ought to know”
So I poured in the jar and I started pumpin’ and I heard a beautiful sound
Of water bubblin’ and splashin’ up outta that hole in the ground
I took off my shoes and I drunk my fill of that cool refreshing treat
I thank the Lord and thank the pump and I thank old Desert Pete

Over the next weeks we will be working through what the Disciple’s heart primer is all about. We will be revisiting some things we have talked about over the past few years, adding some new things, giving you some tools to use, so that we can all be the kind of disciples He has chosen and called us to be.

The Disciple’s Heart primer is broken into seven sections with each section having its own Bible verses. The seven sections are as follows:

a. Get Focused – Hebrews 10:19-25
b. Get Thankful – Philippians 4:4-8
c. Get Connected – Matthew 6:9-13
d. Get Dressed – Ephesians 6:12-18
e. Get Encouraging – 1 Corinthians 13-4-8a
f. Git r done – Matthew 6:33 and Matthew 7:12
g. Git r done? (End of Day review) – Hebrews 12:1-3

I read and reflect on these passages of scripture every day. They are so helpful to staying connected to Jesus and doing the things that He did. They are critical in helping me try to love like He loved, think like He thought, see like He saw, and serve like He served, allowing a disciples heart to grow and flourish within me. It keeps me focused on being thankful, encouraging, and living by trying to do the next right thing. Even when the flesh is weak, ….

“You’ve got to prime the pump, you must have faith and believe”
“You’ve got to give of yourself ‘fore you’re worthy to receive”
“Drink all the water you can hold, wash your face, cool your feet”
“Leave the bottle full for others, Thank You kindly, Desert Pete”

Related posts:

1. Developing a Disciple’s Heart – Part 1
2. Take Your Stand Introduction
3. Doing Part 7

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We are in a series called “Doing”. It is about doing what Jesus did. About following Him. About what it means to be a disciple. Doing is what should spring forth from a life of being in relationship with God and others. We will be using the Gospel of Matthew as the foundation for this series.

Over the last few weeks, we talked about developing the heart of a disciple and about developing a private relationship with God, which includes giving, praying, forgiving, and fasting. We have talked about not being judgmental, treating people the way we want to be treated and the importance of having compassion for the people all around us. Today, we are going to look at an amazing promise that comes from being a disciple, the promise of soul rest.

Scripture Reading

Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
28 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Here is the same passage in the NIV:

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

1. There is nothing like a good yoke

Matthew 11:29a (NIV)
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

Jesus is giving us a great word picture. The yoke was a frame that fit like a collar on the neck and shoulders of two animals. When the two animals were yoked together, the tasks were easier to perform. And, if one of the animals was younger, it could learn from the older, wiser, more experienced animal.

Jesus is saying that we are to be yoked to Him. Teamed up with Him as we go through life. As we do, we can learn from Him. Because He is who He is, He will take the fullest share of all our burdens. Linked to Him, our burdens are truly made light. This doesn’t mean we never have to go through difficulties in our life. I have said often times that in this fallen world and broken planet we will have hard things to deal with. Jesus even said,

John 16:33 (NIV)
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

It means that we can experience rest and peace in the midst of difficulties because He is gentle and humble and He is with us and for us.

So..

2. Is the yoke on you?

Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
9 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

One of ways of knowing if you are in the yoke with Jesus and experiencing His rest for your soul, is that you will tend to be a joyful and more gentle person. You will be more eternally focused than temporally focused. More other centered than self centered.

Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

But, I have to tell you that being joyful and gentle is way easier when it is convenient.

Let me tell you about the gym the other day….

I was kind of stressing over a few different issues so I was kind of releasing some steam in my workout. I had my headphones on and they were cranked up to some Chris Tomlin and I was just kind of totally self absorbed. At one point, I dropped the weights a little heavily on the machine. I like the noise. I like to grunt a little. But this is a coed gym, not everyone likes grunting and the sound of weights crashing back into place. Some people like to sit quietly on the bike machines while they watch TV. They might actually dislike the grunting and weight dropping enough that they stop what they are doing, enter your space and ask you to be quieter.

This nice lady asked me to please be quieter. I said, “Oh, I’m sorry”.

Now, the miracle here is that those were the words that came out of my mouth, because that is not what I was thinking.

Who do you think you are?

Do you know who I am?

Get yourself an Ipod and wear headphones.

I will show you, I will go buy you a set of headphones. I will heap some coals on your head with kindness.

This a gym, there should be grunting and crashing of weights.

I am going to crash the weights again just to show you.

The whole time, this verse is going through my head

Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

If Jesus yoke is not on you, you are pulling your own yoke and you end up with a pain in the neck. Most times, it is not the other people that are the pain in the neck, it is our self focus making us feel like we are being bothered.

One of our favorite old sayings around here is, “If people are not on my heart, they are on my nerves”. If people aren’t on your heart, you probably are not …

3. Getting the yoke

Matthew 11:30 (NIV)
30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

If you are stressed, bothered, worried, fearful, anxious, and life seems like a giant pain in the neck, you are probably not getting the yoke. So what do you do?

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Pray. Stop pulling your own yoke. Get hooked into His. Change the focus from you to Him. Get thankful. Lord, my life is yours, my time is yours, everything I have was a gift from you, down to the next breath that I take. And as you do, this amazing thing happens, the peace of God which transcends all understanding, doesn’t make sense, enters in and guards your heart and mind. Rest for your soul. That is what disciples get to experience. Soul rest, the peace of God, in a broken and fallen world that needs to know there is hope.

His rest for our souls, allows us to move into His harvest field with compassion, without being critical and judgmental, loving others well and treating people the way we want to be treated. His rest for our souls allows us to seek first His kingdom instead of being consumed with trying to fix the broken things in our life in our power. His rest for our souls allows us to live without fear and worry. Make sure that the yoke is on you today, because that is where real life is found.

5 – 2 – 1

Related posts:

1. Doing Part 6
2. Being Part 3
3. Naturally Supernatural Part 3

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1. Time for A Jesus Moment
2. So What is a Jesus Moment
3. A Face lift ….. and so Young?

You can listen to the study by clicking here

There are two main subjects to look at in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11, both of which have to do with public worship. The first has to do with the Christian women in Corinth who want to attend public worship services with uncovered heads, to symbolize their equality with men. Apparently, some of them were trying to make their point by noisily challenging those who taught. The second subject is about communion.

1 Corinthians 11:1-34 (NIV)
1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you. 3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head–it is just as though her head were shaved. 6 If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. 11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice–nor do the churches of God. 17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not! 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.

As we look into the first issue, women having their heads covered, we need to consider what the veil they are talking about represented in 1 century Corinth.

The following is attributed to Sir William Anderson and cited by Robertson and Plummer in the commentary, Corinthians One, International Critical Commentary, p 311:

In Oriental lands the veil is the power and the honor and the dignity of the woman. With the veil on her head she can go anywhere in security and profound respect. She is not seen; it is a mark of thoroughly bad manners to observe a veiled woman on the streets. She is alone. The rest of the people around her are nonexistent to her, and she is to them. She is supreme in the crowd. . . . But without the veil the woman is a thing of nought, whom any man may insult. . . . A woman’s authority and dignity vanish along with the all-covering veil that she discards

The veil in the time of 1 Corinthians was used to affirm the woman’s dignity as a woman. Why would the Christian women in Corinth want to remove their cultural symbol of dignity? Because, they thought that with their new status as full participants in the body of Christ, they should worship unveiled, like the men, because they were equal.

Paul’s response that they should keep their veils is not a put down, it is saying that women have value, worth, and dignity as women. Equality doesn’t mean sameness.

Paul is saying that while men and women are equal, they are different. And there is no disgrace in recognizing the differences. Women are supposed to be the best women they can be, men are supposed to be the best men they can be. One is not better than the other. Men and women are different and have different roles but are both full participators in the Kingdom of God.

The differences between men and women are to make them interdependent, not to make one gender of less importance than the other.

As for communion, there were usually two stages, the first was a communal meal, which was called a love feast, followed by the bread and cup which was called the Eucharist. Paul is taking issue with the Corinthians, that the love feast, which was to be an occasion to demonstrate love for one another in the fellowship of a meal, had become all about eating and drinking. The Lord’s supper is supposed to be a remembrance of the ultimate act of selflessness, Christ dying on behalf of others, and yet the Corinthians had missed the point and had become focused on their own selfish needs.

Related posts:

1. 1 Corinthians Chapter 7
2. 1 Corinthians Chapter 10
3. 1 Corinthians Chapter 5 and 6

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Scripture Reading

Matthew 9:35-38 (NIV)
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Workers or laborers is from the Greek word ergatace from the root ergon which means doers. The harvest is plentiful but the doers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore, to send out doers (people that are doing) into His harvest field.

Disciples need to have compassion for the lost. We cannot look at them in judgment, we cannot label them by their sin, we cannot think of ourselves as better than they are, we need to see them as harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd and have compassion that leads us to pray for them and become doers, disciples, people that do what Jesus did.

1. Compassion is a trait of a disciples heart

There is a great picture of disciples learning to develop compassion in Matthew 14

Matthew 14:13-17 (NIV)
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

So the story is, that the disciples are hungry, they have figured out how to get enough food for themselves, and they want to eat. So they tell Jesus, “Hey Jesus, would you send these people away so we can have dinner.” Jesus response is interesting. “You give them something to eat”. You need to see these people like I do. It is not all about you. Have compassion. They are hungry, spiritually and physically.

2. But, what about me?

But we only have five loaves and two fish. This is just barely enough for us. What about me?

Matthew 14:17-18 (NIV)
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said.

3. Listen to and have faith in Jesus

Matthew 14:18-19 (NIV)
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

We need to listen to Jesus. And we need to know that when He tells us, or sends us we can trust Him. Jesus told His disciple to feed the people, but they couldn’t see how it could be done, and they were hungry. But Jesus said bring them here to me (the fish and loaves) and the disciple did. When they did, Jesus did the rest. And not only was everyone fed, each of the disciples ended up with their own to-go box of food. In our scripture reading today, we need to listen to Jesus, to pray for doers in the harvest field, and then be doers in the harvest field ourselves. You see

4. A little faith goes a long way

Matthew 14:20-21 (NIV)
20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Isn’t it amazing how the five loaves and two fish, offered to Jesus with just a little bit of faith, can have such a huge impact. This is one of the ideas behind our mission here at the Vineyard. Our mission here is One More. One More lost child back to Dad. And we like to say that the simple acts of being thankful for 5 things and encouraging two people every day, offered to God with a little bit of faith can have a huge impact on the world. Just like the five loaves and two fish offered to Jesus with a little faith fed a huge group of hungry people, offering our thankful5 and encouraging two with a little faith to Jesus can impact the world. The harvest is plentiful, but the doers are few. Be a doer for Jesus, and change the world for Him.

Related posts:

1. Doing Part 7
2. Naturally Supernatural Part 5
3. Doing Part 4

You can listen to the study by clicking here

1 Corinthians 10:1-33 (NIV)
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did–and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did–and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. 18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 23 “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” 27 If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake– 29 the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God– 33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

1 Corinthians 10 continues the discussion in Chapters 8 and 9. The church in Corinth has a dispute going on over doctrine. They want Paul to tell them who is right, but Paul begins to teach them there is something even more important than being right, and that is loving well.

We always need to remember that not only did Jesus bring truth, He also brought love. The impact of the church on the world depends on both elements. Without both elements at work there will not be transformed lives. When the church is operating the way it is supposed to, there will be truth, love and transformed lives.

The doctrinal issue is about food that has been sacrificed to idols and going to idol feasts. The Corinthians want to know who is right. That is all they care about. In response Paul tell them that approaching any issue from a standpoint of “superior knowledge” alone is not OK. Why? Because each side of the argument is likely to have at least some grasp on God’s truth. If our focus is on knowledge only, then we have a tendency to develop spiritual pride, that we are better than others “knowledge puffs up”. But none of us has it all figured out (“the man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know” (1 Cor. 8:2), so when we develop the attitude that we know the truth and we are right, we usually become just like the Pharisees.

Paul tells the Corinthians that in approaching the issue they had gotten off to a wrong start by focusing on knowledge and forgetting LOVE. They forgot to balance in grace and mercy and that all of us are imperfect in our understanding.

As we look at Chapter 10, Paul picks up his idea that our knowledge of truth is often incomplete. While it is true that an idol was really nothing at all in the world (1 Corinthians 8:4), Paul talks about the dangers of idolatry. He makes a point of saying that idol feasts were associated with immorality. Is a Christian, as someone who is identified with Jesus, someone who should be linked to what the culture associates with idol feasts?

Also, while the idols themselves are nothing at all, the act of idolatry has been used by demonic powers which are real. Should a Christian, who drinks from the “cup of the Lord” (takes communion) also drink of the cup associated with demons?

Paul then takes on again the issue of eating meat that may have been purchases at the temple meat market. What Paul is saying in these verses is that food itself is morally neutral, we are to seek God’s glory in whatever we do including eating and drinking. We are to be sensitive to the impact it may have on people around us.

Let’s some up Chapters 8, 9 and 10 to get some ideas about how we are supposed to handle doctrinal disagreements and issues.

1. We must always start with a commitment to LOVE. Even if we are absolutely convinced that our brother or sister is wrong doctrinally, we are not released from an obligation to love them.

2. We must still seek the truth. We can continue to love people on both sides of an issue while the truth is revealed.

3. We must understand that our understanding of one doctrine cannot cause us to justify ignoring other teachings in God’s word. All truths in the Word must be held in balance with each other.

4. The most important thing is loving well not being right.

5. We must understand, that we have to deal with each other with the premise that all Christians are expected to grow. We don’t need to insist that everyone is doctrinally correct NOW. In the context of a loving church, spiritual and personal growth and transformation will take place. The Spirit of God is at work in each of us, leading us and guiding us into all truth. This premise helps us to love and relate with people who might differ with us doctrinally. All of us have a lot to learn. All of us have an incomplete grasp of truth. But, if we continue to love well, the transforming power of God will continue to work in our midst, helping s to have a more complete knowledge of God’s awesome truth.

Related posts:

1. 1 Corinthians Chapter 11
2. 1 Corinthians Chapter 3
3. 1 Corinthians Chapter 5 and 6