February 23, 2014 Rev. Teogenes Tawagon You Are God s Temple

Transcription

1 February 23, 2014 Rev. Teogenes Tawagon You Are God s Temple Psalm 119: Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. 35 Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. 36 Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain. 37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways. 38 Confirm to your servant your promise, which is for those who fear you. 39 Turn away the disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good. 40 See, I have longed for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 16 Do you not know that you are God s temple and that God s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God s temple, God will destroy that person. For God s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 18 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He catches the wise in their craftiness, February 23, 2014 You Are God s Temple Page 1

2 20 and again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile. 21 So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future all belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. * * * * * * * There is a popular story that I would like to share with you this morning. This story is about three little pigs. I m sure that you know this already. The story began when it was time for the pigs to head out into the world and build houses of their own. Each had a perfect plan for building. They chose their materials to suit their personalities. One chose straw, another chose sticks, and the third pig decided to build a house out of bricks. When the big bad wolf came around, it took no time at all for that wolf to huff and puff and blow down the house of straw. The pig that had built the straw house went running to the next pig s house. Together they huddled in the house of sticks, but the big bad wolf huffed and puffed and blew in that house, too. When two very frightened pigs showed up at the third pig door, it would have been easy to say, Sorry, you got what you deserved! But that didn't happen. The third pig let the other two in, and bolted the sturdy door and shutters against the big bad wolf. Safe at last! But when the big bad wolf couldn't blow down the brick house, no matter how hard he tried, he climbed onto the roof, and found the one opening that the pigs had left open: the chimney! As the wolf came down the chimney, however, he fell down right into the flames, where his tail caught fire. He went running out of the house as fast as he could, straight to the small lake, and jumped in the water to cool off his burning tail. The big wolf never bothered those three pigs again, and they lived happily ever after in their strong, brick house. Great story right? But it's a fairy tale. I m sure that the Apostle Paul never heard this story, but I m very much sure he would have liked the moral of the story: When you build a house, the materials and methods you choose matter. Straw and sticks won t work, when put to the test. A building that will last must be built on a solid foundation. As Paul writes to his friends in Corinth, he has some important construction advice to them. February 23, 2014 You Are God s Temple Page 2

3 Let me read again some highlights on his letter to the Corinthians. 1 Corinthian 3:10: according to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Do you know that you are God s temple, and that God s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God s temple, God will destroy that person, for God s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. This passage is the continuation of what Pastor Alicia was preached last Sunday about the division of which leader they are going to follow, either Apollo or Paul. Paul is dealing with a hard situation in Corinth. The behavior of the Corinthian Christians was not only damaging to themselves, but their witness in the larger mainly non-christian community was pending. So Paul uses the image of a building to help his audience understand his point. Like any good builder, Paul starts by laying a firm foundation, and that foundation is Jesus Christ. Nothing more, nothing less, will do. The only viable foundation for the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. In the verses we skipped, Paul goes on to explain that whatever material the church uses to build on, that strong foundation must be able to withstand the test of fire. Like the first two pigs in the fairy tale, the Corinthian Christians have settled inadequate stuff to build their faith. Paul is encouraged them to build with materials that will last. Then, Paul goes on to explain why the materials they choose to build are so important. Do you not know, he asked, that you are God s temple? The building that Paul is talking about is more than a simple building. It is the place where God s spirit resides. The temple is the people of God, it is a Christ church. And when Paul wrote this letter using the word YOU, it doesn't refer to an individual, but he refer to the whole community of believers. I think one of the materials that Paul emphasized that the church will last is unity. I like an idea I read from our United Church of Christ article. It states, Our society focuses on individual experience, on self-fulfillment that centers attention on personal satisfaction rather than personal piety. Contemporary culture values individualized spirituality, but our God is not a private God. Come, let us worship and bow down, and kneel before the Lord our maker, the Psalmist writes. February 23, 2014 You Are God s Temple Page 3

4 While personal piety is important to our spiritual growth, worshipping as part of the Body of Christ, in community, is essential to the development of our faith, and to the building up of the body to which we belong. It may be possible to be a believer in isolation, but it is impossible to be a true disciple alone. We need other disciples around us, living out our faith together in unity as the body of Christ. The Greek word Ekklesia, which is translated throughout the New Testament as Church, refers to a gathering of people, not a building or even a location. The church is a group of people, gathered together in Jesus name. But Paul is not done yet. He said to the believers, since you are God s temple, the holy place where God s spirit lives, does it make any sense to destroy yourselves with quarreling to each other? If you try to destroy the temple which is all of you, you will be destroyed in the process. You don t belong to any of us, Paul said. You belong to Christ, just as Christ belongs to God. Is this church built with materials that will last? Does this church belong to Christ? Remember that the materials of building a church matter. Paul reminded us to keep God at the center of everything we do, and to keep Christ as the foundation of the church. This is a solid material that we can build a church. I have worked in this church for more than three years now, and have been involved in so many different programs and activities. My position started from Youth and Outreach minister, Associate minister to Transitional Minister or Acting senior minister. Our conference minister, Felix Villanueva, talked to me a few months ago during our association meeting at the UCC in Redlands. He said, Pastor Teo, I m so glad that you are still in Sun City. I said, Well, I love my ministry, that's the reason why I m still there. That's the reason I know why I m here. One thing that I learned from my ministry here is that, we have so many good materials in this church that keep us going and give us the potential to last forever. Do you know what it is? Probably you know it, but I would like to say again that this Church has good materials. One is that this church is a very welcoming church (This is my personal feeling). People are excited in putting good materials to use like, Vacation Bible School every year, men s and women s bible study, contemporary service, bereavement support group, Children s ministry, doing youth ministry, giving support to Luis going to China, mission support to survival ministry in Perris and Community Cupboard. What else did I forget to mention? Of course, our fantastic and beautiful choir. February 23, 2014 You Are God s Temple Page 4

5 These are the materials I see that are beneficial to this church, these materials would make us become a church, a church that will last. And there are a lot of possibilities that we can create more materials, I believe we can do that because we are God s temple, God is the center of our lives. Let me close this sermon by summarizing what Paul wanted to emphasize to the church. Paul has given a good guide for building the church in this passage. Here are the ways Paul said we should build. First, Paul wrote According to the grace God has given me, like a master builder. We need to trust completely on God s grace, recognizing that it is God who does a mighty work in us. Second, we make Christ our foundation. With the focus of our attention on Jesus, we no longer worry about getting our own way. When being like Christ becomes the foundation of everything we do, and think, and say, our way simply doesn t matter anymore. Third, we work together in unity. There are so many ways we can allow ourselves to be irritated by one another, but none of these differences of opinion should matter to us, as much as being one in Christ Jesus. We are the church together, as the song goes. Fourth, we remain Spirit filled. If we are God s temple, then God s spirit lives within us. The Holy Spirit is at home among us. Lastly, let us continue to pray that our church will recognize Christ as the center and foundation of this church. Just like what the Psalmist prayed in Psalm 119: 33-36, it says, 33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. 35 Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. 36 Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain. Amen. February 23, 2014 You Are God s Temple Page 5