Introduction:
Get a Grip! (1 Corinthians 3:18–23)
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You are not as wise as YOU THINK YOU ARE. (1 Cor 3:18–20)
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You are not lacking IN ANYTHING. (1 Cor 3:21–23)
John 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
In what way do you need to “get a grip” on reality in this season of life? What lies about God, yourself, and others are you tempted to believe?
What does it look like to be wise according to worldly standards? How do you see yourself falling into worldly wisdom right now?
What does Paul mean by “all things are yours”? How should this truth change your thinking and living?
Breakout
Pray for one another.
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1 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 18 through 23.
As Pastor Jeff admitted in a sermon a few weeks ago, we try to stay up to date on the
latest lingo since we worked with the youth group.
Emphasis on try because new and nonsensical words and phrases seem to be invented on a
daily basis.
New slang always sounds ridiculous to older generations, even though your slang wasn't
that much better back in the day either.
Do you ever wish a certain slang word or phrase stuck around a bit longer than it had that
caught on a bit more?
I know I miss saying things like big whoop or cool beans or I'm disgusted by something.
Gag me with a spoon or when someone says something really obvious I say no duh or how about whenever
someone's annoying me I lift up my hand and say talk to the hand because the face ain't
listening.
Another one of my favorites someone asked you to do something that you really don't want
to do.
Yeah let's not and say we did.
But you know which phrase I miss the most?
It's somewhat said today but not nearly as much as it used to be.
Get a grip.
Who's ever said that or heard that at some point?
Get a grip.
You say get a grip when someone is being unreasonable and is in desperate need of a reality check.
This person believes something that is not true and this bad belief leads to a bad action.
It leads to an overreaction.
This person needs to let go of the lies that he or she is believing.
This person needs to get a grip on reality.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 18 through 23 Paul gives the Corinthians a much needed
reality check.
He tells them to get a grip because they are believing some things that are not true and
these bad beliefs are leading to bad decisions, erratic actions and massive overreactions.
They are tearing the church apart with their selfish pride, with their worldly thinking
and their destructive division.
The unity and purity of the Corinthian church cannot be promoted and maintained until they
get a grip on some essential truths from God's Word.
Yeah we've been studying 1 Corinthians for almost two months now.
Now let's be honest.
As you read this book, as you listen to these sermons, it's really easy to look down on
the Corinthians, isn't it?
It's easy to think, "Oh man, these people are insane.
They're just wackos.
Go get them Paul.
They really need to talk into."
What if you are more like the Corinthians than you think?
What if you are believing some things that are not true?
What if you are making some bad decisions right now?
What if you are negatively affecting your family, your coworkers and this church?
What if you need to get a grip?
All of us, myself included, need to be grabbed by the shoulders and shaken back into reality
because we all tend to live in a fantasy world of our own making.
A fantasy world of lies, excuses and self-justification.
You and I need the same exact reminders that Paul gives the Corinthians in this passage
that we're about to read because you know what?
We're far more like them than we care to admit.
You and I need to get a grip and remember some essential facts from God's Word.
So before we get a grip, let's go to the Lord and ask that He would get a grip on us.
Please pray for me that I will faithfully proclaim God's Word and I will pray for you
that you will faithfully receive it.
Father, it's so easy to come into this room every Sunday and just pretend.
Just to go through the motions, to put on a show where I pray against all of those things.
I pray against pretending.
I pray against stuffing down what we're really dealing with.
I pray against hiding our sin.
This morning we asked that you would reveal what we struggle with.
You would reveal the sins that we need to deal with by your grace.
I pray you'd help us to deal with these things in a biblical way.
We ask all these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Get a grip.
You are not as wise as you think you are.
That's the first blank on your outline.
Get a grip.
You are not as wise as you think you are.
Let's read chapter 3 verses 18 through 20.
The apostle Paul writes, "Let no one deceive himself.
If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he
may become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.
For it is written, 'He catches the wise in their craftiness.'
And again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are futile."
Have you ever noticed that people who are the most confident tend to be the least competent?
The most confident tend to be the least competent.
That guy who praises his own handiness and fixes everything at home tends to make a lot
of obvious mistakes.
He does stuff around his house that no one would hire him to do around their house.
That woman who praises her driving tends to be a really bad driver herself.
She's looking down at her phone while she's driving.
She's applying makeup.
She's running red lights.
She's not using turn signals when she's going through lanes.
That guy who talks a big game in the golf cart tends to have zero game when he's driving
or putting.
Or how about that person who says, "Yeah, I'm really calm under pressure."
And then when something bad actually happens, they're just totally manic and panicked.
And all of these examples overconfidence causes someone to overestimate his or her ability.
And that is what Paul is talking about in these verses.
A human sense of confidence in yourself makes you incompetent when it comes to spiritual
matters.
Those who think they are wise by worldly standards are foolish by heavenly standards.
They may appear to be brilliant in the eyes of the world, but what are they in the eyes
of God?
Stupid, dumb, foolish.
When you're impressed with your own wisdom, you become a fool.
And that rule is without exception in Scripture.
Paul is crystal clear on this.
He quotes the book of Job in Psalm 94 when he says, "God catches the wise in their craftiness
and again the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are futile."
And earlier he says, "The wisdom of this world is folly with God."
You cannot outsmart God.
You cannot trick Him.
If you try, He will beat you at your own game.
And again, we see this all throughout Scripture.
Here are just two examples that spring to the top of my mind.
In the book of Esther, Haman hatches a scheme to kill God's people and to hang his enemy
Mordecai on gallows that he had specially made.
How did that turn out for Haman?
Anyone remember?
He ends up hung on the gallows that he had made for Mordecai.
Yeah, not great as Pastor Jeff said.
What about King Absalom?
Well, he tried to be king.
Didn't really work out for him.
He rebelled against his father.
He had this long, beautiful hair like Fabio that he really prided himself in.
He tried to steal his father's throne.
How did that go for him?
He ended up caught in a tree branch by his own prided hair with three spears through
his heart.
He ended up as a human pincushion.
Both men thought they were smart, but God caught them in their craftiness.
They were both competent.
Actually, they were confident in their own competence, but they ended up being incompetent.
They had their own thoughts and plans that were proven to be useless by God.
They were not as wise as they thought they were.
Are you confident in your own competence right now?
Are you trying to outsmart God?
Are you trusting in your own human wisdom?
Your own faulty understanding.
You know exactly what God thinks about that sin you're indulging in, but you think that
you can escape the consequences.
And without even realizing it, you are bearing the consequences of your repeated and unrepentant
disobedience.
You are dulling your conscience.
You are pushing down the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
You are pushing away faithful friends because you don't want to be found out.
You know exactly what God thinks about giving of your time and treasure to the church and
those who are in need.
But again, you think those rules don't really apply to you because your schedule is way
too busy.
Your bills are way too high.
Your stress is off the chart, so you can't do those things.
You know exactly what God thinks about your need to humble yourself and submit to others.
But once again, that doesn't really apply to you because you're always right and those
other people are always wrong.
I mean, yeah, sure.
Unity and all that jazz is really important, but you're the only one who really knows what
you're doing.
So if you don't get your way, everything's just going to fall apart, right?
You know exactly what God thinks about how you should treat fellow believers and handle
conflict in the church.
But surprise, surprise, once again, you're a special case.
You have been too mistreated to talk it out.
You have been too hurt to forgive.
Please stop elevating your importance because you will be humbled if you don't.
Stop thinking that you can outsmart God because you will get caught in a trap of your own
making.
Stop highlighting your wisdom because you are simply shining a spotlight onto your foolishness.
You become a fool by thinking that you're wise.
You may be wondering, okay, so how do I actually become wise?
Well, Paul gives us a very simple answer in verse 18.
Look at that again.
He says, "If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool
that he may become wise."
You become wise by submitting yourself to what the culture around you thinks is foolish.
You willingly swallow the pill that most people willfully spit out in God's face.
You passionately believe that God not only knows better than you, he knows what is best
in any and every circumstance.
You sit under the authority of God's word rather than standing in authority above it.
You care way more about the never-changing commands of God than your ever-changing opinions.
You are far more concerned with meeting the needs of others than satisfying your own personal
preferences.
Do you know what the greatest threat to harvest Bible Chapel is?
It's not ungodly politicians.
It's not ungodly public policies.
It's not other religions.
It's not persecution of Christianity.
It's not even social media or secular entertainment.
The greatest threat to this church is you.
The greatest threat to this church is me.
The greatest threat is you and I thinking that we know best.
You and I insisting it's my way or the highway.
That leads to stiff-arming one another.
That leads to division.
That leads to disunity.
Do you know what the greatest unifier in the church is?
A mutual agreement that God knows best and we don't.
A mutual submission to the Word of God.
A mutual agreement that we will do whatever the Bible says in regards to every subject,
every issue, every problem.
When a financial issue arises in this church, we deal with it in a biblical way.
When gossip is being shared, we deal with it in a biblical way.
When disagreement breaks out in a small group, we deal with it in a biblical way.
When problems arise with the building project, we deal with it in a biblical way.
How does that biblical plan sound to you?
Are you on board with that?
Are you willing to go down that path and do whatever this book says?
Let me warn you, it's not going to be easy.
If you are committed to that, you have to lay aside your temptation to show off, to prove
yourself.
You have to be unwaveringly committed to obeying the Word of God, even when it hurts, even
when it's hard, even when it smashes your ego to pieces and it will.
You need to stop saying, "I think, I think, I think," it starts declaring the Bible says,
the Bible says, the Bible says.
As Pastor Jeff said a few weeks ago, what you think doesn't really matter.
What God commands is of supreme importance.
You need to stop deceiving yourself.
You need to get a grip.
Get a grip because you're not as wise as you think you are.
Please do not resist this reality check because it is so freeing to admit that you don't have
all the answers.
What God does.
Get a grip.
You are not as wise as you think you are.
Get a grip.
You are not lacking in anything.
You are not lacking in anything.
We've already seen that this unity and Corinth cannot be solved until all the members of
the church put aside their pride and stop deceiving themselves.
Each person must have an accurate understanding of himself or herself.
But that's not enough.
Each person must have an accurate understanding of others, especially those who were leaders.
Paul talks about this at the beginning of verse 21, "So let no one boast in men."
For the third time in this letter, Paul is talking about the favoritism controversy in
Corinth.
Some think that Paul is the best pastor around.
Others believe that Peter is the goat of the apostles.
Most believe that Apollos is the MVP of preaching and teaching.
At this point in the series, you may be thinking, "Why do we keep talking about this over and
over again?
I get that this favoritism thing is bad, but why is it such a big deal to Paul?"
Well, imagine it with me this way.
Imagine that all the seating sections in this church are dedicated to one of the pastors
on staff and his specific groupies.
On the left side is Pastor Jeff's section.
You all sit there.
Are you guys the best section?
I guess you can prove my point for me.
On this section, you sit here because you love Pastor Jeff's conversational preaching
style.
You love his sense of humor.
And to show your support, you eat funyons.
You wear bright neon shoes.
You hold up "I hate Mayo" signs.
The middle section is Pastor Rich's section.
He's not here right now, so we won't give him a big head today.
I guess he has the most people.
You sit there because you're enthralled by Pastor Rich's intelligence and his in-depth
knowledge of God's word.
And to show your support, you tell puns.
You drink kombucha and you garden in your spare time.
And the right side is my section.
For the life of me, I can't figure out why you're all sitting over there.
Over lunch, you can decide why you're sitting there and what you would do to celebrate me
because I have literally no idea.
Let me ask you, what's the problem with that seating chart?
The church is literally and metaphorically divided.
One section is boasting in Pastor Jeff, another is boasting in Pastor Rich, and a third is
boasting in me.
In that scenario, who is not being boasted in?
God, the only one who is worthy of our boasting.
God deserves the praise, not the leaders he put into place.
Leaders are a window and God is the view that you see through the window.
When you are watching a beautiful sunset from inside your house, you don't praise how clean
and efficient the window is that you're glimpsing through.
You praise what you're getting a glimpse of.
Godly leaders are a blessing, but God is the source of that blessing.
Only leaders are a gift, but God is the ultimate giver.
You need to have an accurate understanding of yourself.
You need to have an accurate understanding of others.
You also need to have an accurate understanding of all God has given you in Christ.
Paul talks about this at the end of verse 21 and in verse 22.
He writes, "For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or
life or death or the present or the future, all are yours and you are Christ and Christ
is God."
That statement is absolutely staggering.
I could preach a series for an entire year just on that one statement.
There is so much to unpack here, so let's just slow it down and take a small bite at
a time so we can savor all the flavor in this passage.
For all things are yours.
Maybe you don't feel like you have very much.
When you pull up your bank accounts, your retirement accounts, you're not really happy
with the numbers that you see.
Your house is way smaller than you would prefer.
Your car has way more miles and way more issues than you would like.
When you compare yourself to others on social media, it really seems like very little is
actually yours.
But that couldn't be any further from the truth according to the apostle Paul.
The poorest Christian is wealthier than the richest non-Christian.
Jeff Bezos may be one of the most successful businessmen in the entire world.
As of this morning when I checked, he is worth $235 billion, far more than all of us if we
combined our net worths.
Let me ask you, does Jeff Bezos own all things?
No.
Elon Musk, he owns X, Tesla, and he's even taking on space now, I guess.
As of this morning, he has a net worth of $460 billion.
Because even Elon Musk owns all things.
He's not even close to owning all things.
If you have trusted in Christ, you are far better off than either of these men who seem
to be so far beyond you.
All things are not theirs, but all things are yours.
You may be wondering, "Okay, Taylor, I believe you because the Bible says so, but I just
don't get it."
Well, let me show you because Paul gives us a detailed list of everything that belongs
to you and belongs to me.
First up, Paul or Apollos or Cethus.
As they already said, all three of these men are gifts to be appreciated by the Corinthians.
Each man serves, each man gives something that is unique to the church.
And the same can be said for the pastors and elders here.
We are here to glorify God by serving you.
We are here to obey God by equipping you for the work of the ministry.
The pastors and elders at harvest belong to you.
We are here for you.
And the same is true for every godly leader who pours himself or herself into your life
and other avenues of life.
Why play favorites when all of us are here to bless you and increase your spiritual health?
It's like being gifted a house, only utilizing one of the rooms and blocking off the rest.
Instead of doing that, enjoy the entire house.
The kitchen can do things that your basement cannot.
The closet provide a function that your dining room doesn't.
Each room has a place and function in the house.
In a much greater way, each leader, pastor, and elder in the church has a place or a function.
Next up, the world.
One day Jesus Christ will return to rule and reign over this earth.
And do you know according to Scripture, you will rule and reign along with Him?
How's that going to look?
How's that going to work?
I have no idea, but it sounds awesome.
This may be a shock for you to hear, but there are a lot of ungodly people in authority
and power right now.
When you notice, a lot of ungodly people are in charge of communities, cities, and countries
across the face of this planet.
And it may seem like they have more power than you do.
But again, does the world belong to those ungodly leaders?
Does the world belong to you?
Yes.
But once again, you have far more.
All our apostles are seephis the world, life or death.
When you trust in Christ's perfect life, His finished work on the cross, and His victorious
resurrection, you are given eternal life.
And as Pastor Jeff often says, eternal life isn't just something you'll experience.
Someday eternal life is something you experience right now.
Jesus makes this clear in John 17.3.
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
you have sent.
You have God as your Father.
You have Jesus Christ as your personal friend, both now and forever.
You no longer need to fear death because Jesus took the hell that you deserve upon Himself.
Death can no longer lead you away from God.
It can only lead you closer to God.
For a believer, death is a homecoming.
The present or the future.
Once again, maybe your present doesn't seem very good right now.
Maybe your present is a place you don't really want to be.
But recognize every gift that you have is from the hand of God.
Your friends, your spouse, your kids, your church, the clothes on your back, the food
in your stomach, even the difficult circumstances in your life are used by God to mold you into
the image of Jesus Christ.
Every difficulty, every pain, every sickness is used to make you more like Him.
God loves you like His own Son.
But the Bible tells us that God not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all.
We also will have to go through hard times.
We will also struggle.
One day the pain of this world will give way to the glories of heaven.
Please know your God is so good to you right now.
Because your appreciation of His goodness will exponentially increase in the future
when you stand in His presence.
Finally, Paul provides a summary statement of what has been given to every Christian.
All are yours, and you are Christ, and Christ is God's.
Doesn't this statement kind of sound like one of those complex word problems on a math
test or on the SATs?
So break it down, understand it, let's reverse the logic of this text.
Because this is an awesome math equation that adds up to an infinite sum.
What does God own?
I'm going to try that again.
What does God own?
Who is God's Son?
If you were a believer, who do you belong to?
Jesus.
Therefore, if you belong to Christ, what belongs to you?
Everything.
I usually hate math, that's math even I can get behind.
You own all that God has.
You own literally everything.
Your net worth cannot be calculated.
You and I so often get sidetracked for our desire for more and more and more of what
this culture has to offer.
We get obsessed with accumulating more stuff that we cannot even take with us when we die.
You and I lose touch with the spiritual realities of this text.
You can lose track of all that has been given to you in Christ.
You can grumble.
You can complain.
You can act ungrateful.
There are some Saturdays where Kate and I pull out all the stops for the kids.
We have a great breakfast.
We go to the park.
We go see a movie so they can stuff their face with popcorn, icees, and candy.
We come back with them ride bikes.
We round out the day with a delicious dinner.
But then one of my kids is sulking, walking around upset.
And I'll ask Sam or Amy, "What's wrong?"
And one of them will respond by saying, "Oh, I'm just having a hard day."
And I'm just blown away by that response.
"How in the world are you having a hard day?"
Well, you and mom are being mean to me and you didn't let me have the second pack of
pirate's booty that I wanted.
Are you serious?
We gave you everything today and you're belly aching about one small thing that you don't
even need.
In those moments, I want to give my kids a reality check.
I want to give them a loud and clear message.
Get a grip.
You are so blessed.
You are not lacking in anything.
And Paul is giving you the same exact reality check.
He is shaking you by the shoulders and saying, "You are so blessed.
You are not lacking in anything.
What do you want that you really need?"
The answer is nothing, nothing.
You may be struggling with your job or your roles as a stay-at-home mom, but you must
remember that you have been given the greatest calling of all, telling others about what
you have received in Christ and what they can receive in Christ.
You may feel lonely right now.
You may feel isolated like no one cares about you.
But you must remember that Jesus has gifted you with the Holy Spirit who lives inside
of you and he will never leave you or forsake you.
You may have a very broken and dysfunctional family or come from a very broken and dysfunctional
family, but you must remember that the Lord himself has taken you in and he has given
you brothers and sisters in Christ who love you.
You may not like your house very much.
You may think it's the worst house on the block, but you must remember that Jesus himself
is preparing a place for you in heaven.
You may not receive the biggest inheritance from your family, but as you read earlier
in Romans, you are an heir of God and a fellow heir of Jesus Christ.
You may feel cursed right now when life is hard and it's just one thing after another,
but you must remember that you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places.
Get a grip.
You are not lacking in anything.
If you choose to get a grip and remember these essential reminders, you will experience
a sense of joy like you've never known before.
You will stop trying to build up more and more stuff and accumulate a kingdom for yourself.
You will no longer be envious of what other people have because you are content with what
you have.
You will enjoy true unity in the life of the church because you're no longer in competition
with other believers.
Yes, all things are yours in Christ, but all things are also theirs in Christ.
You own what they own and they own what you own.
God doesn't play favorites with His children.
We're all on the same equal footing.
In the body of Christ, we all own all things.
For most of this message I've been speaking to Christians, those who are Christ.
I know there are people in this room who are not Christians, who are not Christ.
I want to talk to you for a minute.
First of all, I want to let you know that I'm so glad that you're here.
It's my greatest desire that God would get a grip on you so that you can get a grip on
the reality of your situation.
No matter how much you think you have, you have nothing that lasts.
All things are not yours.
But I have great news for you.
Jesus offers you all of Himself.
He offers you all that belongs to Him.
And to receive it, you must let go of the garbage of this culture that you're holding
onto so you can grab ahold of His infinite riches.
Come to Him empty-handed.
Come to Him asking for forgiveness.
Come to Him admitting your need for His grace.
Why settle for nothing, both now and forever, if you can have all things for the rest of
eternity?
The worship team can now make their way forward.
You ever since childhood have had to deal with night terrors.
I have very vivid dreams where I think things are not true and see things are not there.
And this crazy thinking leads to some crazy behavior.
I'll yell things out.
I'll walk around the room.
I'll even jump on the bed.
Then all of a sudden, I'm snapped back to reality.
I come to my senses.
And every single time I feel so foolish.
I think to myself, "How could I have thought those things?
How could I have done those things?
Why did I act that way?
How can I stop this from happening in the future?"
Maybe the Holy Spirit has done something similar for you this morning.
I hope He has snapped you back to reality so you can stop living in that fantasy world.
I pray that He has caused you to come to your senses so you will stop believing the lies
of the enemy.
Brothers and sisters, let me just say this one final time with all the love and care I
have in my heart for every single one of you.
Get a grip.
Get a grip.
You are not as wise as you think you are.
You are not lacking in anything.
Until you get a grip, your relationship with God will not be as strong as it could be.
Until you get a grip, harvest Bible chapel will not be as strong in unity and purity
as it could be.
Let's pray.
Father, we come to You, and we all admit that we all struggle with believing things are
not true.
We all struggle with an inflated opinion of ourselves.
Even when we think very little of ourselves, we are still focused on self.
We all admit that we so often complain and grumble about what we don't have, and we fail
to remember all that you have given us in Christ, which is everything.
For those who are discouraged this morning, help them to walk out of here encouraged by
the truth of your word.
By those who came in here hard-hearted, may they walk out soft-hearted, Lord.
For those who came in with their arms crossed not wanting to listen, may they come out worshiping
You and glorifying You for all that You have done for them and all that You continue to
do for them.
Lord, we thank You for who You are.
We thank You for what You've done, what You are doing, and what You will do.
We ask all these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.