Encouragement To A Loved One

Text:

1Corinthians 15:55-58:

55:  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56: The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,   

       forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

 

Theme:

Encouragement To A Loved One

 

Introduction:

• The Apostle Paul wrote this first letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus when his plan to travel to Macedonia was interrupted by reports of problems at the church in Corinth. The letter address four sources of confusion to the church in Corinth:
  • Division
  • Immorality being practiced
  • Misunderstanding and misuse of Christian ethics and doctrine
  • Doubt in the resurrection of the dead. – which is where our text is found
• He letter was written out of not only difficult times for the church in Corinth, but also for Paul himself.
  • 2 Corinthians 2:4 says that Paul wrote “out of much affliction and pressure of heart…and with streaming eyes”
  • The old gospel song painted Paul’s picture well when it said, “I’m climbing UP on the ROUGH side of the mountain!”
  • As Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”
• Our text focuses on this very issue…trying to make it through tough times. Paul help the church in Corinth through their tough times by giving what our theme explains…ENCOURAGEMENT TO A LOVED ONE.
  • Paul does so by:
    • Stating the PROBLEM
    • Showing the RESOLVE
    • Working within a RELATIONSHIP
    • Giving the ENCOURAGEMENT
      • Encouragement is ineffective without a Resolve…no power
      • Encouragement is intangible without a Relationship…no connection

 

Body:

Problem

• v. 56, “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.”

• The problem is The Sting in death, sin, and the law

Resolve

• v. 57, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

• The resolve is our Victory through Christ Jesus
  • 1John 5:4 says, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
  • The song of praise says it well: “Victory is mine. Victory is mine.  Victory today is mine.  I told Satan get thee behind.  Victory today is mine.”

Relationship

• 58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren”
  • “Therefore”
    • After the previous condition has been met
    • After all has been said
    • Considering all
    • When you have processed everything that has been stated
    • After all of this information has been deposited, saved, stored in the mind
    • When you have faced the problem and accepted the resolve
  • “My”
    • Personal Pronoun
      • Makes the statement personal & establishes a relationship
    • Examples:
      • In the 23^rd Psalm, David said “The Lord is MY shepherd”
      • In John chapter 20, after touching Jesus’ hands and side, Thomas lost all doubt and said, “MY Lord and MY God.”
      • In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul wrote, “I thank MY God upon every remembrance of you”
  • “Beloved”
    • “Be-loved” OR “Be-lov-ed”
      • Toni Morrison wrote a book that was made into a movie recently named “Beloved”
        • The mother’s love for her deceased daughter was so strong that in the mother’s eyes the daughter yet lived even after her tragic death.
    • Paul uses this term to express that the church in Corinth is “Dearly Loved”
    • This term establishes the emotion of the relationship
  • “Brethren”
    • Other party in the relationship
    • A relationship requires another
    • Object of the emotion of the relationship
  • “Therefore, my beloved brethren”
    • Oh, if we could say:
      • Therefore, my beloved brethren
      • Therefore, my beloved spouse
      • Therefore, my beloved child
      • Therefore, my beloved Pastor

 

Conclusion:

Encouragement

v. 58, “be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,”

• “stedfast” – Stand
  • Ephesians 6:13 says it well, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
• “unmoveable” – Stand strong
  • Hebrews 10:23 says it well, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”
• “always abounding in the work of the Lord”
  • May Christ give us faith, and increase our faith, that we may not only be safe, but joyful and triumphant.

“forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord”

 

“your labor”

• All of the late night worrying
• All of the working
• All of the preaching
• All of the teaching
• All of the praying
• All of the studying
• Ephesians 6:13 says, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

• “is not in vain in the Lord”
  • Revelation 14:13, “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”
    1. “they may rest from their labours”
    2. “their works do follow them”

 So, HANG ON IN THERE!!

 

#77