February 8, 2004 1 Corinthians 14:12-20
Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church. For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.
The next time you have a birthday in your house of a small child, I want you to watch the child open his or her presents. I can’t help but laugh at it. With open eyes and pounding heart, my little two year old will tear the wrapping paper off with a reckless abandon. For about ten seconds he’ll look at the present, but even before the toy can be completely set free or have a set of batteries put in it, his eyes will be gazed on the next toy. That’s the way it is with kids. When you sit down to play a game with them, it doesn’t take long before they want to move on to something else more entertaining.
The same craving for entertainment has permeated our society. Star Wars was considered an action packed thriller in it’s day. But when you sit down and compare it to today’s movies, it actually seems slow and methodical. We’ve been groomed to move on from image to image every two to three seconds. And so some of us crave the next form of entertainment like a dog salivating over a steak bone.
That’s the atmosphere that there seems to be among many churches today - a competition for who can attract the most people. In order to do this, what they will try to do is use the latest technology and most intellectual philosophy and trendiest songs to attract the listeners. They’ll use surveys and research to try and create what they consider a proper “worship atmosphere”. So they’ll plan out exactly what kind of music you hear on walking in, who is greeting you, and what the layout of the service will be in the hopes of convincing you that this place or event is “filled with the spirit.” With catchy themes and well planned events they always want there to be a sense of excitement to give you the impression that this place is “happening” and the spirit is active. So I would imagine there is a certain crowd out there that stampedes from church to church in search of that ever evasive “spirit” - that cutting edge excitement that really puts them on “fire” for the Lord. They eagerly seek the church that they feel can offer them the most growth.
In a sense, this is a commendable thing. At least they are seeking a deeper relationship with their Lord. They aren’t contend just to stay where they are. When you compare this with the thousands of Christians who are content with staying where they are, and millions of other people who are spending hours and lives on making more money and improving their business skills - I’d rather have someone zealously seeking the spirit than apathy, or misguided zeal for fame and fortune. However, this zeal for the spirit has also led to a religious culture of people who no longer have any core beliefs. Instead, they just go to the church that makes them feel the best and has the nicest people. It’s part of our consumer driven culture that is only concerned with, “what can I get out of this service? How does it make me feel?”
You may not think so, but I can see this same culture within our own church. Attendance at the Lydia Society and Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society has waned in recent years. Interest in Bible classes has fallen. Small group get-togethers have fizzled. Most of it has to do with atmosphere. When a young mom walks into a meeting with a bunch of elderly ladies, she immediately thinks, “this is boring.” I know that some have tried a Bible class on Sunday morning, but when there weren’t any “hot topics” or fiery debates, they decided to themselves, “I didn’t get anything out of it.” One young lady came to a Bible class, but when she saw that there weren’t any members her age there, she immediately left. We make our decisions on what to go to and what to do based on who will be there and how exciting we think it will be.
As a pastor I’m not immune from it either. When I give a Bible class and have everyone stare at me like a zombie or witness a church only half full, I too start to wonder if the spirit is really present. I wish we did have a more exciting atmosphere - a seeming fire in our people for the Lord. If we want to be honest with ourselves, none of us sets out on Sunday morning hoping for a boring church service. We too want a lively spirit in our worship, even though most of us are German and Lutheran. We would like our people to be more willing to talk about their Savior and filled with more zeal for the Lord.
So the theme of today’s sermon is taken from that old Leonard Nemoy show where he would go looking for things that were seemingly lost called “In Search Of.” Today we are -
In Search of The Spirit
The Corinthians were definitely in search of the spirit, but it wasn’t because they didn’t have any. Paul started out his letter to them saying that, you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. They didn’t lack anything. Some of these gifts were quite extraordinary indeed. Paul said in chapter 12 that one had the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Co 12:8-10) Wow! Talk about talented. These people could do a little bit of everything. Yet, ironically, they weren’t satisfied with that. They all seemed to be attracted to one specific gift - that of speaking in tongues.
What was so special about this speaking in tongues? After reading Paul talk about it, we get a few clues about it. In today’s text Paul said I pray in a tongue. He also insinuated that with this gift of tongues that you are praising God with your spirit. He also earlier stated that there were “different tongues.” What it specifically was, Paul doesn’t say. In Acts it meant a different language. Here it may have been an angelic language (1 Corinthians 13:1) that was unintelligible to anyone but an interpreter. From these clues what we can tell that the gift of tongues involved a person’s spirit in a very personal way - it must have made him feel really good to be have this visible connection with the Lord through it. So when the Corinthians saw some people seemingly have such an experience, they all wanted to have it. Out of all of the gifts, healing, interpreting, even prophesying, they all put this as the number one thing they wanted - this experience of their spirit through speaking in tongues.
What were Paul’s thoughts on it, however? Paul wanted them to think twice about their priorities, because this gift of tongues wasn’t as great as they were making it out to be. He said, if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. . . . If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. Even though Paul spoke in tongues more than all of them, he actually downgraded the experience - why - because the MIND was not involved. All of this feeling of the spirit and all of these emotions didn’t really edify anyone else. Even though it may have made HIM feel good and close to the Lord - it really didn’t edify him in any other way. So how would it do any good in a worship service or for the congregation? It was tantamount to speaking into the air. (vs. 9) When unbelievers did come into the worship and saw people doing this, they only thought that these believers were crazy. They didn’t get anything out of it at all. Instead of being a blessing to the church, these tongues were in fact becoming divisive to the congregation in Corinth. It was causing jealousy and backbiting over who had what they considered to be the “greatest gifts.” It was in fact reflecting a selfishness and childish attitude within the congregation.
Do you see the danger, then, in being consumed with the “spirit” of worship? In Corinth - even with the wide variety of impressive gifts within the congregation, it turned into a selfish competition. There’s a great danger involved when we selfishly strive after feel good gifts and look to the spirit of things - when we follow movements and feelings - because they aren’t reasonable factors. It leads people to be like ships on the sea - going wherever the wind blows.
I can see this same danger in the desire for “the spirit” - in the worship wars of today - which are causing divisions in congregation after congregation. Some of you may like Michael W. Smith and others may like 15th century German chorals. Each song has a different melody that moves different people in different ways. But that doesn’t make one melody better than another or more spiritual than another. The size or the age of the group does not make one program more blessed or better than another. The style or topic of the Bible class does not make it more high powered than another. When you judge things in this manner it is only bound to result in legalistic judging. It has led some Christians to say, “you’re not really a Christian if you don’t speak in tongues like we do.” It has led other Christians to say things like, “that church just doesn’t have the spirit - they still use a dry liturgy and 15th century German chorals.” The opposite side says, “they’re liberal wing nuts - they use modern songs and drums.” When you have a congregation split in half in their search of a certain “spirit” - through contemporary or non-contemporary worship, they’re only having unnecessary divisions over a selfish desire for a personal feeling with the Lord. It’s like a husband and wife deciding to get divorced over an argument as to what color to paint their house. That’s what the Corinthians were heading for as they were after the seemingly more “flashy” gift of tongues. All they were concerned about was the color of their closets instead of how they could attribute to the aesthetic beauty of the house.
Since they were headed down this dangerous path, Paul had a better idea. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. . . . In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. What did it all boil down to for Paul? He understood that the spirit was important - but he put it on a tier below the MIND. It was as if Paul was trying to get them to calm down and remember what was really important. Intelligible words had to be conveyed - so that people knew what was going on and what was being said.
Those “intelligible words” weren’t just mathematical equations or history lessons. Paul said, Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Co 1:22-24) That was the main crux for edification in the worship service - clearly portraying Jesus Christ as crucified and risen from the dead. Why? Because Paul said in Romans 10:17 that faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Faith wouldn’t come from people jumping up and down and speaking in strange languages. It would come through the clear message of Jesus Christ. It would come from people using their God given gifts to the benefit of each other - giving others an opportunity to hear of Christ as well.
This is evident as we look at the wonderful miracle of Pentecost. The Jews from all around the world simply said, we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues! (Ac 2:11) When King Saul went to visit Samuel, the Bible says that - As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. (1 Sa 10:9-10) The king of Daniel said to him - I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. (Da 5:14) These were not men who were out of control and uttering things which could not be understood. When filled with the Spirit, they clearly declared the Word of God. And so Jesus told his disciples - “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Lk 12:11-12) Even though the Holy Spirit doesn’t need words or brains to work, He still uses them both to enter people’s hearts and souls.
That, my friends is the crux to the working of the spirit. Our words and our songs and our message needs to clearly connect us with Christ and help us to focus on the Word. Only Christ can give us the peace of knowing that we were crucified and paid for our sins. Only Christ can assure us that God doesn’t hate us anymore. Only Christ can assure us that we are going to one day rise from the dead. As long as our worship methods do that and don’t take the attention away from the message but help to enhance it, the style of the song or the form is really secondary. There’s no reason to argue over the instruments or the brand of the music.
So our hymnal has a variety of hymns. Some are rather complex, such as “Isaiah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old”. Others are more simple, such as “I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb”. Whether we stand up or sit down is not as important as knowing that Jesus Christ has died and risen from the dead for our sins. We need to simply ask ourselves, “what will get the message of the Bible across in the clearest manner?” Will this song or manner of worship detract from the message or enhance it? In Sunday School it will more likely be simpler songs. The choir might choose to take greater challenges. The congregation has a wide variety of people with different tastes. But what is most important is not the age or the number or the way in which we get together - but the message that we come together around - and that is Jesus Christ. That’s what we are to EAGERLY desire - the greatest gift of all - salvation in Christ. That’s the greatest gift that we can give. It’s not about how nicely we can sing or how wonderfully WE can teach - but that we can all use what gifts we have to bring others to a clearer vision of Christ.
When I was in grade school we used to do a cheer that went, “we got spirit yes we do, we got spirit how bout you?” Then the other team would try to yell it louder. The two teams would yell louder and louder until one of them finally gave up and said, “ok, you have spirit.” Did you come to this service in search of that seemingly illusive “spirit”? Have you found yourself being drawn to other forms of worship - hoping for a more meaningful experience? Did you come to the service expecting to be bored? Or have you been edified by the songs and message and style of worship? Whatever your judgment is - before you leave - ask yourself - are you looking at the right things. Instead of focusing on the style of the music, the age of the congregation, the seeming excitement of the members, or the mannerisms of the pastor - ask yourself one question - was the clear Word of God spoken? Did I hear Christ witnessed to me? Did the songs contain a clear message as found in God’s Word? Did the style of worship help me to focus on the message? When that is done - that is the key to giving you the spirit. The rest will fall into place. Amen.
