THROUGH EYES OF LOVE

A Letter from a Pastor

Pastor Dennis Clanton

Woodland Church

Sunday, June 23, 2024

(1 Corinthians 1:4-6, The Message) “Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.”

1.  God will always be faithful to me

(1 Corinthians 1:9, NIV) “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

a.  Changed Life

b.  Changed Character

c.  Committed to Jesus Christ

2.  I anticipate the future eagerly

(1 Corinthians 2:9, NLT) “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

(1 Corinthians 2:7, Message) “God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes.”

• Wisdom comes from God
• Wisdom has been revealed in Christ
• Godly wisdom is the glory of passionate followers of Christ
• God’s wisdom will succeed
• God’s wisdom is hidden from people who refuse to believe
• God’s wisdom is for life today and eternally

3.  Humbly receive what God has given you in Christ

(1 Corinthians 4:3-7, NLT) “It matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. … What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?”

a.  Beware of being puffed up

(1 Corinthians 4:6, NKJV) “… that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.”

“Pride is essentially competitive—is competitive by its very nature—while the other vices are competitive only, so to speak, by accident. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. … a proud man will take your girl from you, not because he wants her, but just to prove to himself that he is a better man than you.” –C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

(1 Timothy 1:15, NLT) “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.”

b.  I want to be filled up

(1 Corinthians 1:2, Message) “I send this letter to you in God’s church at Corinth, believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life. I include in my greeting all who call out to Jesus, wherever they live!”

GROWTHWORK

1.  Admit my sins honestly

(Proverbs 28:13, Message) “You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.”

2.  Be honest about my strengths

(Romans 12:3, Phillips) “Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you all.”

3.  Enjoy my success gratefully

(1 Corinthians 4:7, LB) “What are you so puffed up about? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? 

4.  Care for one another

(Philippians 2:3–4, CEV) “Don’t be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves”

5.  Depend on Jesus daily

(Proverbs 22:4, NLT) “True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life.”