“When Pressing on Means Staying Put”
1 Corinthians 16:2-9
Introduction:
Exodus 14:13, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.”
2 Chronicles 20 (vs. 15, 17), “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. … 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you …”
Ephesians 6:13 (NAS), “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
1 Corinthians 16:2-9, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. 5 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you--for I will be going through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”
1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
I. Our Desires Concede To His Direction v. 7
“I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.”
1 Corinthians 11:1 (NAS), “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
John 14:31, “I do exactly what my Father has commanded Me.”
John 7:6, “The right time for Me has not yet come ...”
James 4:13-15, “Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."”
Psalm 37:23 (NAS), “The steps of a man are established by the LORD; And He delights in his way.”
II. Our Effectiveness Depends on His Endowment vs. 8-9
“But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”
Acts 13:4, “The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit”
Acts 14:27, “they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.”
Acts 20:22-24, “compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.”
Zechariah 4:6, “'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.”
1 Corinthians 2:12-14, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14, NAS).
III. Our Obstacles Convert to His Opportunities v. 9
“a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries”
Acts 20:22-24, “compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.”
“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12, NAS).
“when the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord” (Acts 13:12).
Acts 13:44, “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.”
Acts 13:46-48, “Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.' 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.”
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).
Conclusion:
“God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13, NAS).
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” “Most gladly, therefore,” says Paul, “I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NAS).
“In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (Jude 18-21).
“Stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you” (2 Chronicles 20:17, NAS).
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