Following The High Call Of God

Raul Ries: Every one of us are called out or sent out to fulfill the ministry of the Lord in whatever capacity God has called you right where you are. It is never according to my will and it's always according to the will of God when he calls us. This is what the scripture says. The will of God was for Paul to go to Corinth.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Rees in Diamond Bar, California. Thanks for joining us for Raul's continuing study of the sacrifices and blessings of a life well lived for Christ. Today you'll find that you have a unique calling from God and he will equip you with the grace and wisdom you need to fulfill his plans. Stay with us to see that the Lord utilizes each of us differently, drawing from our individual experiences and strengths to build his kingdom. Here's Raul Rees in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 with the study following the high call of God.
Raul Ries: Notice in chapter 1 beginning with verse 1 of Corinthians. He says Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God and Sosthenes, our brother. Now, Paul the apostle was not only an apostle of Jesus Christ, but Paul the apostle used to be one of the great persecutors of the church. His conversion came while he was on his way to Damascus in Acts chapter 8 and by the time you get chapter 9, you have Paul's conversion where Paul the apostle was actually going about persecuting believing Christians, putting them to death, putting them in prison because of what they believe. And it seems as we read the encounter of Paul 's conversion that Jesus not only appeared to him, but Jesus spoke to Paul face to face and asked him why was he persecuting the church of Jesus Christ? When Paul came to know Christ, Paul was never the same ever again. As a matter of fact, on his way to Damascus because of the shining light that he saw on the road, it blinded him for 3 days. And he went to the city of Damascus to wait while Jesus was speaking to Ananias, a young man that was there in the church in Syria. And there God spoke to him in Damascus and told him to go and lay hands on Paul for he was blind and he was waiting for him to come. When Ananias heard that Saul or Paul, the apostle was saved, he became very fearful. And then the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Ananias and said, look, Paul is a chosen vessel. I have chosen him. Go and lay hands on him. And that was the beginning of the life of Paul. Paul is the only one that wrote more letters in the New Testament than any other apostle. He wrote 14 epistles. And in those 14 epistles, he writes not only to teach doctrine, but to let us know that Jesus Christ is the center theme of the New Testament. It's so exciting when you read about each one of these men in the Bible, especially to me, my favorite is Paul the apostle hoping to meet him one day face to face. And it's neat because when he writes in the beginning of the letter, Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, he's letting you know that not only he is the writer, but he's telling you what he's been called to do. He's an apostle or one called out or one to be sent out to fulfill the ministry of Christ. Every one of us are called out or sent out to fulfill the ministry of the Lord in whatever capacity God has called you right where you are. It is never according to my will and it's always according to the will of God when he calls us. This is what the scripture says. Notice who the recipients are in chapter 1 verse 2. To the church of God which is at Corinth. Now, the church of God, the word church is or literally one called out in the Greek. The church is not really a building or a place of worship. Literally when you look at the church of Jesus Christ, he's speaking of living members, people like you and me, people that have come to the house of the Lord and yet we have become the temple of the living God and now God lives and dwells in us. And you and I have become the literal church of Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus said where two or three are gathered in my name, there will I be in the midst of them. It's so important that we understand who we are in Jesus Christ. So it's to the church of Corinth, but listen to what he says. To those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours. Now, Paul in writing to the recipients, he's reminding them not only who they are in Jesus Christ, but he also reminds them what they are in Jesus Christ and that is they have been sanctified. That is they have been set apart by Jesus Christ. Every one of us has been called by God to be set apart for the work of the cross of Jesus Christ and for the work that God intends to do in the church through you and through my life. The moment you come to repentance in Jesus Christ and you submit your will to his will, you become a sanctified one. That is a called out one, a holy one, which is the name given to each one of us as believers. And so Paul warns them to understand that they were sanctified or set apart or for exclusive service in Jesus Christ. He says call to be or literally to be saints or set apart for the use of the kingdom of God. Paul the apostle says that each one that comes to Jesus Christ and accepts Christ, he or she becomes a saint. You're either a saint or you're an ain't. So make up your mind what you want to be. Dr. McGee used to say that all the time. And so I think it's important that when we come to become believers and we understand our position in Jesus Christ, then we understand not only that we are called to be separated, but at the same time in every place where two or three are gathered in my name, as he says here, he says call on the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours. Now, when you see the name Jesus Christ and Lord, it's not his first name and middle name and last name. That's not the way it works. The name Jesus is the name given to him Joshua, which means God is my salvation. Jesus is salvation to everyone and anyone that repents and comes to know him as Lord and Savior. When he speaks of Messiah or Messiah, he's talking about his title as the anointed one of God. He is the anointed one of God sent into this world. And then when he speaks of Lord, he speaks of my submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has to be Lord of my life, not just Jesus Christ, but the most important thing about that title is that as we submit to his lordship, then we can be underneath him and then he can direct us and he can anoint us and he can use our lives. And this is what God is making a proclamation of this morning. Thirdly, we have the greeting. Notice the greeting in verse 3. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, I like to share with you that no one in this world can experience peace apart first of all from the grace of God. Very important. The word grace here is the Greek greeting charis in Greek which means unmerited favor. And then the word peace as we get our word in the Hebrew Shalom, which is the Jewish greeting to another Jew. Here Paul the apostle is wanting to make sure that in the greeting the Jew understand that God is given to you freely his grace and his love and his mercy so that you can come to that place to experience the peace of God that passes all understanding. The only way that you and I can receive the grace of God is by coming to the cross of Jesus Christ and recognizing that not only Jesus Christ died for me, but that I must as an individual person recognize that I need to be born again of the Holy Spirit by bringing my life to Christ and submitting my will to his will and then believing by faith and accepting him into my life that he will grant to me forgiveness of sins and he will write my name in the book of life and he will give to you and he will give to me his grace and then his peace that passes all understanding. That's why it's so awesome to know Christ and to know the power of his resurrection. Then Paul the apostle after giving the greeting in verses 4 through verses 9, in verses 4 through verses 9, he now begins with a prayer. Prayer is so important in the life of Paul the apostle. Notice his prayer. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Jesus Christ. Notice that Paul in the beginning of his prayer, he begins not with a petition for himself, he begins with thanksgiving to God for the grace that God has given to each one of us in Christ Jesus. Notice the importance of the grace of God.
Guest (Male): This is Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Rees. For Bible-based resources to help you walk in God's will for your life, visit somebodylovesyou.com. You can also download our free app for convenient 24/7 access to live-streamed Bible teaching and digital Bible studies. Now, back to more with Raul Rees.
Raul Ries: And then secondly, in verse 5 it says that you also were enriched in everything by him in all utterance and in all knowledge. Notice who's the one that gives you all of the knowledge and enriches you to speak that knowledge. It is Jesus Christ himself. No one can ever ever possess this knowledge and this wisdom that is given only to Jesus Christ, our Lord, and he is the one that Paul the apostle is thanking for all these benefits God has given to us as believers. And then thirdly, he thanks God for the charisma or the gifts that were given to each one of us as believers which Paul will deal in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, 13 and 14 which at this particular time when Paul is writing, he recognizes that there's an abuse of the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to the believers there in Corinth, which today we see a lot of that too. But look what he says in verse 6. Even as the testimony of Jesus Christ was confirmed in you so that you come short in no charisma or gift eagerly waiting for the revelation or the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ. These gifts of the Holy Spirit that God has given to you are given to each one of us individually. Not the same gifts, but there's a variety of gifts. God has empowered us. God has given to each one of us not only the gift of the Holy Spirit, but those talents and gifts that we are equipped with so that God can use my life to bring glory and honor to his holy name. And this is why Paul here in verse 7 says so that you come short in no charisma or no gift. And again notice eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think that it's so important that each one of us constantly are looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I think that that is one of the key things in the church of Jesus Christ that not only keeps people in alignment with Jesus Christ in completion. Whenever people began to lose the hope of the coming of the Lord is when people will get into deep sin, you see? Because we lose that hope of the coming of Christ where we have to every day look for the coming of Christ. Wherever Jesus Christ is ceased to be spoken to about the coming of the Lord, you will find great carnality in that place and great sin. It is with those people that believe not only in the imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but those that really believe and are hoping that every day the Lord may come, you will find such people living lives that are complete in Jesus Christ, trying to live lives that are blameless, lives with their hope in Christ, not being tangled up and ensnared by the things of this world because they recognize that they're pilgrims and strangers and they're only here for a little while and Jesus is going to come very soon. Paul the apostle believed that Jesus was coming in his own time, but he didn't come. Every one of those people died and went to be with the Lord. It's been 1,900 years since Paul wrote this letter and Paul is reminding us not to lose hope of the coming of the Lord. There's going to be a revelation. There's going to be an unveiling of Jesus Christ coming. And listen to what he says in verse 8. He says who will also confirm to you to the end that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, for God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Notice that God desires that each one of us would be blameless into the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that that is impossible because every one of us miss the mark every day. We sin with our minds. We sin with our mouths. We sin with our hands. We sin with our bodies. But it's so important that we understand that as we do fall short of the glory of God, as we fall short because we are human, that we need immediately to draw night unto God. We need to come to a place of confession and repentance immediately when we recognize that we have sinned against God. That is important because the moment you ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and you come to that place of repentance, God immediately will cleanse you and wash you by his precious blood and he will forgive your sin and sins and he will cast them as far as to the east to the west and will bury them in the deepest part of the ocean and he will remember them no more. That's what the Bible teaches. There's complete forgiveness to those that ask for forgiveness. Why? He says that in verse 9 because God is faithful. You're not and I am not faithful, but he is. This was the reason that God the Father sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ into the world to die for you and to die for me. So important. And the reason is that we may come into fellowship with him, each one of us into koinonia, into oneness, into communion, to be partakers of that fellowship together in Christ Jesus. He's called you and he's called me into fellowship of his son Jesus Christ. And then notice the problems begin here, verse 10. He now here is exhorting them concerning an appeal for unity instead of this unity. And now I am pleading with you, Corinthians, my brethren Christians, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all would speak the same things and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Notice what Paul is pleading for. He's pleading that every one in the church of Jesus Christ should be of one mind and one heart, not pulling in different directions. The problem here with the Corinthians was the problem that they were exalting teachers rather than Christ. They were saying well I'm of Apollos or I'm of Christ or I'm of Paul or I'm of Cephas. And then in realize that concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ is that one of us actually throws out the seed, the next one waters the seed, but God is the one that gives the increase and none of us can take the glory unto ourselves, but the glory belongs to God. That was the problem with these people. They were trying not only to take the glory upon themselves, but they were dividing themselves for such issues as true greatness in talking about their great teachers instead of reminding themselves that Christ is the one that died for them, not Paul or Apollos or Cephas, but Jesus Christ is the one that died for our sins. And that brought this unity to the body of Christ. And then verse 11, look what he says. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, that by those of close household that there are contentions among you. And now I say this that each of you are saying well I'm of Paul or I'm of Apollos or I'm of Cephas. Am I of Christ? Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized in the name of Paul? And then Paul the apostle says I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius. Lest anyone should say that I have baptized in my own name. Yes. I also baptized the household of Stephanus, besides I do not know whether I baptized any other. And here is the purpose. For Christ did not send me to baptize with water, but to preach the gospel. Not with wisdom of words lest the cross of Jesus Christ should become of no effect. That's the real reason for the writing of the epistle to the Corinthians. The importance is to each one of us that the reason that you and I come to church and the reason that you and I have been shared with and we have accepted Christ is that we may turn around and that we may make a proclamation to others as others came to us that the Lord Jesus Christ is willing to save them and to forgive them for their sins. That is the gospel message to the world. And the reason Paul brings about this thing is because the cross was the main issue. Look at verse 18 now. Men's wisdom versus God's wisdom. For the message and the word message here is the word logos, which is the same word for Christ in John 1 1 for the word. For the message of Christ is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Notice what he says. You see to the scientist, to the anthropologist, to the humanist, to the evolutionist, the cross of Jesus Christ is stupidity. They don't want to accept it, the intelligencia of this world. But to any person that whether he be a scientist or an anthropologist or whatever his occupation may be from lawyer to doctor to a blue collar person to a regular worker to a natural person, the message of Jesus Christ is powerful. Why? Because the knowledge and the wisdom of this world cannot save anybody. You see? Nobody can be saved to the knowledge and the wisdom of this world. And Paul says that through the knowledge and the wisdom of preaching, God made it available for anyone that would come to know Jesus Christ to repentance that they could divinely be not only saved, but their names could be written eternally in the book of life. Imagine that, what Christ Jesus has done through the simple message of the cross of Jesus Christ.
Guest (Male): Well, the cross of Christ might appear foolish to many people, but you have the daily opportunity to point others to his saving love through your God-given gifts and talents. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Rees. To hear today's lesson following the high call of God in its unedited form, just call 800-634-9165. And for a donation of $5 or more, we'll send a copy to you. And as you contemplate the Lord's unique call on your life, we'd like to offer you an inspiring series from Raul. His 10-part study titled Called, Chosen, and Committed is available on CD and thumb drive. Each lesson will challenge you to fully surrender to the Lord and walk in obedience to his will with a pure, undivided heart. To purchase Raul's 10-message study titled Called, Chosen, and Committed, visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165. We'll send you the CD collection for $22 or if you prefer the flash drive for just 13. The number once again is 800-634-9165 or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. This ministry is completely listener supported and we are thankful for your partnership as we keep sharing the good news of the Lord Jesus. Next time we'll continue this series with encouragement to shape our priorities in light of eternity, not allowing the world's influence to pull us away from the Lord's chosen path for our lives.
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