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El Cajon SDA

Vincent Bujor

Our Greatest Need

Father in heaven, Lord, we are so grateful that you are the life giver.

We thank you so much for your Holy Spirit.

And we just ask, Father, that you lead and guide our thoughts and minds right now, that every distraction will be put away, and that we will see Jesus uplifted, and that we will see your goodness clearly and beautifully displayed.

May my imperfections and impurities and my selfishness and pride be swept away.

Now, if you've been a Christian for quite a while, you might have noticed something going to church throughout the months and the years you've been around.

Maybe you've noticed that there are quite a few problems even inside a Christian church or a Christian home or even a Christian community.

You've been around and you've seen how the church is like, how families live, and maybe you've noticed something that I've noticed.

Some people in the church have the same problems that the people have outside the church.

There's strife, there's dissension, there's pride, there's relationship issues and bad habits, and there's divorces happening, there are addictions all over the place.

It seems like that at least for some people, the problems that you see outside are also happening here inside.

Young people are running away from the church, there's corruption, there's division, people are arguing, there's jealousy, and there's gossiping happening.

Like you go to church, you see year in, year out, you notice that there are some people, there are some situations, some communities even, where there are the same problems as in the world.

What's the root cause behind all of these personal and maybe corporate struggles?

I want to share a passage with you this morning, A few actually, but the first 1 we're going to look at together is found in 1st Corinthians chapter 2 Turn with me there, please 1st Corinthians chapter 2 today.

I don't have a PowerPoint presentation so I encourage you to take out your Bibles and If you don't have 1 take your phone take the ones in the pews, but follow with me.

It's gonna be more powerful and you will memorize it, you'll remember it better.

First Corinthians chapter 2, there Paul is talking to the church in Corinth and he describes certain groups of people.

1st Corinthians chapter 2 and there verse 14.

Do you mind turning my volume down a little bit?

1st Corinthians chapter 2 and then we're starting with verse 14.

He says here in verse 14 the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God But they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned So Paul talks about someone who lives in the world, someone who has no desire to please God.

And he says he doesn't really understand spiritual things.

If you sing a hymn called Holy, Holy, Holy, for him these words don't mean that much yet.

He doesn't fully grasp the beauty and the power of reading scripture and the words that are behind it.

If you put him in front of the TV, he'll enjoy watching this nice show that comes at 8 p.m.

But if you put him in front of the Bible and you just give him the words of God to read, it's gonna be hard for him at first, right?

Now Paul continues with verse 15, and he then talks about another group of people.

So first he talked about the people called the natural people right in the world and then he talks now in verse 15 about the spiritual church member.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him but we have the mind of Christ do you see the contrast here 1 understands the things of God and the other person in the world has no desire to understand the things of God right 1 judges things right the other person does not know how to judge things right, right?

So here's the contrast, and when I joined the church, I thought there are only 2 groups of people in this world.

There are those who follow Jesus, and there are those who don't follow him, right?

There are those who go to church and there are those who don't go to church.

There are those who pray and there are those who don't pray.

But look at what Paul says in the next verse.

In chapter 3, verse 1, there are no divisions or chapter summaries in, or yeah, just chapters in the original text, right?

So you go verse by verse by verse so the next verse is chapter 3 verse 1 and then Paul says this and I brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual Wait, what?

He says by the way He's writing to a letter to people in the church, right?

And he said, I couldn't speak to you as spiritual people.

He says, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ, or infants in Christ, other translations say, right?

I fed you with milk and not with meat For up until now you were not able to bear it neither yet now You are able for you are yet.

Carnal for whereas there is among you envying and strive and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as men?" And he continues to talk about this example that was right there.

People were talking about Paul and they were talking about Apollos, right?

And they said, oh, I think Paul is a better preacher.

And then another group said, no, Apollos is a better preacher.

And they were looking at people, they were looking at men instead of God, and Paul says, there's division, there's strife, you are carnal.

So wait a minute, Vincent, aren't there just 2 people, groups in the world?

Those in the church and those who are not?

There's the natural man, there's the spiritual man, women, and then he called someone carnal.

He's writing to someone in the church who's carnal In other words someone who is in the flesh who's trying things in the flesh friends.

I want to introduce you to this...I wasn't aware of this for a long time, this new group called the carnal Christian.

It's a person who lives from the power of the flesh, trying to do things on their own, in their own strength.

Yes, you go to church, yes, you do certain things, you pray, you call yourself a Christian, but you're trying it on your own.

And friends, those carnal Christians aren't only those who live in sin, or not only those who are hypocrites in the church, those carnal Christians aren't those who pretend to love God but they love the world.

There are also those who feel dissatisfied and disappointed in their Christian walk.

Those who don't have a purpose, they are under constant spiritual stress.

The carnal Christian, Paul says, is the 1 who started off very well, and over the years and the years and the years, his spiritual life kind of went down and down and down.

And then at the end, like many years later, he says, I remember those days when I found Jesus, it was so exciting, it was so beautiful, it was so joyful and I was so on fire, but now I got tired.

Friends, the carnal Christian, that group of people is a group of mini shades.

Others who could also be called carnal Christian just gave up the task of the command of trying to overcome sin.

The Bible tells us that with God's power, we can break our evil habits.

Now, there are some people, and I've met them, they say, oh, you know what?

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Our Greatest Need

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