In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the message of the Apostle Paul in chapter 16 of his letter. The preacher emphasizes the importance of helping others and living in the will of God every day, rather than being selfish. He also highlights the significance of looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ, as every day can be Resurrection Day. The preacher mentions that Paul's signature at the end of his letters was a reminder of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, emphasizing the spiritual importance of using money correctly for the Lord.

Now to 1 Corinthians chapter 16, and we come to the conclusion of our series from 1 Corinthians. The Lord willing, we'll be starting a series in the Psalms, taking selected psalms during these summer Sunday mornings. 1 Corinthians chapter 16. By the way, this evening, before I read the Scripture, this evening we'll be having our 30th anniversary Songs in the Night radio program. Tonight will be the 30th year. The program began June the 6th, 1943, at the Midwest Bible Church with Torrey Johnson, and now 30 years later, we're here at Moody Church. It'll be a very special anniversary program. You might want to listen 1030 WMBI FM. Now 1 Corinthians chapter 16, but I'm going to begin back in chapter 15, verse 57. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem. And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me. Now I will come unto you when I shall pass through Macedonia, for I do pass through Macedonia. And it may be that I will abide yea and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go. For I will not see you now by the way, but I trust to tarry a while with you. If the Lord permit. But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost, where a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. Now if Timothy come, see that he may be with you without fear, for he worketh the work of the Lord as I also do. Let no man therefore despise him, but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me, for I look for him with the brethren. As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren, but his will was not at all to come at this time. But he will come when he shall have convenient time. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong, let all your things be done with charity. I beseech you, brethren, ye know the house of Stephanus, that it is the first fruit of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the saints. I beseech you, brethren, that ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboreth. I am glad of the coming of Stephanus, and Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied, for they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge ye them that are such. The churches of Asia salute you, Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord with the church that is in their house. All the brethren greet you, greet ye one another with a holy kiss. The salutation of me, Paul, with mine own hand. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, accursed. Maranatha, now we usually say Maranatha, but it's Maranatha, our Lord come. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. Apostle Paul dictated this letter that we call 1 Corinthians. He did not write it in chapters and verses. You can imagine Paul dictating this letter to his secretary and saying now verse 11, now verse 12, now chapter 3. He just didn't do that. These divisions were made by men many hundreds of years later. And so it probably comes as a shock to some of us that the Apostle Paul, in what we call chapter 15, gets to the heights of resurrection glory. Now thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Now concerning the collection, this bothers some people because they think that talking about the resurrection is spiritual, but talking about the collection is unspiritual. And of course, the Apostle Paul knew no division between secular and sacred. There's no division between material and spiritual. I sometimes hear people say in churches, now this group takes care of the material things of the church, but this group takes care of the spiritual things of the church. And dear brothers and sisters, in Christ the most spiritual thing you can do is use your money correctly for the Lord. There's nothing unspiritual about the things Paul talks about in chapter 15. Please don't get the idea that in chapter 15 he reaches the climax of his letter, and now he just begins to descend a little bit. Not in the least, he's keeping on going. When I get to the end of a letter, I usually start talking about the weather. I can always tell I should quit because I'm starting to talk about the weather and people don't really care about the weather in Chicago. Only the people in Chicago are concerned about the weather in Chicago and you can't do much about it. So when I start talking about the weather, I quit. But Paul never just simply stopped a letter. He had things he had to say. And in chapter 60, the Apostle Paul is dealing with some beautiful, beautiful topics. You know what he's saying here? He's saying to you and me, don't put a chapter division between 15 and 16, please. Don't say in chapter 15 Paul is talking about resurrection and chapter 16 miscellaneous matters. The commentaries tell us that. Paul is saying in chapter 15, I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I believe in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ at work in my life now. He won a victory 2,000 years ago and we today are living and working in the power of that victory. When he wrote to the Philippians, he put it this way, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. The resurrection power of Jesus Christ was not simply to raise Him from the dead. The resurrection power of Jesus Christ was also to raise me from the dead. Ever had dead days? Charlie Brown is walking to school and he says to Linus, this is going to be a dumb day. It's going to be a dumb day when I say dumb things and do dumb things. And Linus says, why don't you just go home and go to bed? And Charlie Brown says, I never do anything that smart on a dumb day. Have you had your dead days? I've had them. You know what Paul is saying here? Paul is saying that every day can be Easter day for us. That's what he's saying. He's saying every day can be Easter day. Every day we can live in the glow and the power and the radiance of the risen Christ. We're going to have trouble? Sure. We're going to have tears? Of course. We're going to have difficulties? That's what life is made out of. But we're just going to keep on going through in the victory through Jesus Christ. He's saying every day is Easter day to the believer. Did you ever notice what a difference it made in the disciples when they discovered that Jesus was alive? I love to read the closing chapters of Matthew and Mark and Luke and John. It's like getting to the last chapter of a detective story and everything just works out. When Mary discovered that Jesus was alive, she quit crying. And when Thomas discovered that Jesus was alive, he quit doubting. And when Peter discovered that Jesus was alive, he started following. And when the disciples discovered that Jesus was alive, they unlocked the door and stopped trembling. What's going to happen to you when you discover Jesus is alive? Every day can be Easter day if we follow the directions that Paul gives to us in chapter 16. You say, Pastor, I don't see any directions in chapter 16. He's talking about an offering. He's talking about some of his co-laborers. He uses strange words like anathema and maranatha. What are you talking about? I'm talking about this. Paul did not preach one thing and practice something else. In chapter 16, Paul is saying, I want you to know how I make every day Easter day in my life. Paul is saying in verses 1 through 4, every day is Easter day when you are helping other people. Now, do you want to turn off the joy and turn off the power? Just start being selfish. I visit people during the week. Some people I visit are just such an encouragement. How they thank God for what He's given them and how they share what they have with other people. There's some people you meet, they're grasping and they're bitter and they're saying, why is life like this and why did God do this to me? And you feel sorry for them because in their misery, they aren't helping themselves or helping anybody else. Here is the Apostle Paul in verses 1 through 4 concerned about poor people in Jerusalem. You see, back when the church started, the church in Jerusalem sold all their goods and they shared what they had with others and now they were broke. And on top of that, persecution had cut loose and they couldn't get jobs and they were in hard places. And here's the Apostle Paul going around Galatia and going around Achaia and going to different places. Here's Paul the Jew going to Gentile congregations, taking up a missionary offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem. Isn't that a great gesture? I get so tired of hearing people say the evangelical Christians don't believe in social action. You ever heard that? You read history and you'll find it's the liberals. Don't you kid yourself. You read history, you'll find out it's evangelical Christians who started hospitals. It's evangelical Christians who broke the slave laws. It's evangelical Christians who did away with the poor laws over in England. It was the preaching of Whitefield and Wesley that completely revolutionized society. Don't you ever believe that lie that we evangelicals are not concerned about poverty and food and clothing? That's a lie. Paul tells us here, every day is Easter day for me because I'm thinking about other people. I'm not trying to get something for myself, I'm trying to get something for others. I'm glad chapter 16 is here because Paul gives us here a beautiful pattern for Christian giving. Now the minute you mention giving to some saints, they have apoplexy. Don't talk about money. I suggest you go through your Bible and take a pair of scissors and cut out all of the passages in the Word of God that talk about money. You'd be amazed at how much you're losing from your Bible. Jesus said, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And dear friends, there is an invisible spiritual nerve that runs from my heart to my back pocket. And when this preacher is spiritually the way he ought to be, things go well. But when this preacher is not what he ought to be, one of the first places it shows up is in my wallet. You can't separate spirituality from generosity. Did you notice how Paul tells the church to get its money? Now concerning the bazaar that we're having, no. Now concerning the raffle, no. I'm not being facetious. I'm not being critical. If God's people were faithful to give the way they're supposed to give, these other things never would have started. They are human substitutes for divine provisions. Paul tells us, first of all, that giving ought to be systematic on the first day of the week. Now why did he choose the first day of the week? Why didn't he say the Sabbath day? The saints weren't meeting on the Sabbath day. The first day of the week, resurrection day. Every time you come to church on Sunday, you're giving testimony to your neighbors. I believe Jesus is alive. If you believe he's dead, meet on Saturday. We believe he's alive. And so every Lord's day is resurrection day on the first day of the week. Systematic giving. Let every one of you. Personal giving. Not just the rich. Not just the officers. Every one of you. I recall early in my ministry, I was pastoring my first church, and you make all your mistakes in the first church, although I've made several here, I'm sure. But we were talking about giving one day in a deacon's meeting, and one of the deacons, dear saint of God, oh, I thank the Lord for his influence. One of the deacons said to me, he said, preacher, don't forget this. We ought to pay our bill where we get our food. And if the people of God are coming to the house of God and you're feeding them, there'll be no problem. They'll want to give. I've always followed that policy. This church has always followed that policy. I can remember hearing Dr. Ironside use the illustration of the cow. I don't know if the congregation appreciated being compared to a cow. He said, you know, the farmer keeps going back to the same cow and milking the same cow as long as you're feeding it. It's personal giving. I'd be ashamed to be getting spiritual blessing in a church fellowship and not sharing in the responsibility of it, wouldn't you? It's to be proportionate giving. Let every one of you lay by him in store as God has prospered him. God doesn't ask us to give something we haven't got. And furthermore, God gives more to us than we ever give to him. There isn't anybody here who can out-give God. And so it's proportionate giving. My own policy is to tithe. Tithe. We've taught our family to tithe. And I think that tithing is what God wants us to do. I don't make this a test of spirituality or fellowship, but I believe the tithe ought to be brought to the local church for the service of the Lord. And then as God prospers us to give offerings to special ministries. This is between you and God, but it ought to be proportionate giving. I notice here that it's spiritually motivated. Paul said, when I come, I don't want to have to have any gatherings. Now, how did they lay by in store? Don't get the idea that Paul is saying, now, you and your wife at home, you take your offering and you put it in the little Argyle National Bank or under the mattress someplace. No. Every first day of the week, they brought their share of the offering to the local assembly. Otherwise, there would have had to have been gatherings when Paul came. And Paul said, when I come, I don't want to have to have gatherings. I want it all to be there. And so week by week, we honor the Lord Jesus Christ by coming with our offerings to use them for the glory of God. I like something else Paul says here in verses three and four. He said, now you appoint some honest people to take care of this money. Dear people don't support any work that is financially deceitful. I thank God that our policy here at Moody Church requires us to have missionaries who are with boards that audit their books. And the board is not composed of my grandmother, my grandfather, my uncle, and my sister-in-law. Paul said, you appoint dependable men and we're going to deliver this offering. Don't support any work that financially is not honest. Jesus said, if you're not faithful in that which is least, that's money, you'll never be faithful in that which is greater, the spiritual things. That is the things of the word of God. And a man says, well, I believe the doctrines of the word of God, but financially, I'm a little bit shady. He doesn't believe the doctrines of the word of God. So every day is Easter day when we're helping others. And how do we do it? We do it through our local church. We just bring the tithes and the offerings and it's channeled through to do a great job in somebody's life. Every day is Easter day when we help other people. I've got to hurry here. Every day is Easter day, he says in verses five through nine, when you're living in God's will. Now you may wonder why verses five through nine are even in the Bible. Paul is telling them what his plans are. Now he says, I'm going to stay at Ephesus. Most of us would have left Ephesus. We just had a wonderful, I want to just give thanks to the Lord for the wonderful pastors conference that Dr. Sweeding and Larry Pearson conducted at the Institute. Over 600 pastors there, a tremendous time of blessing. And so many of those pastors quietly would say to some of us who were sharing, boy, I'm in a hard place. Boy, the Lord's really put me in a hard place. My answer is always the same. There are no easy places. I don't know of any. If you're doing God's work, you're going to find an open door. Verse nine, why are you going to stay at Ephesus, Paul? Ephesus is a hard place. Oh, there's a great door open for me. An effectual door. It's a door that's going to bring something to pass. And there are many adversaries. Now, some people would only see the adversaries and never see the open door. That happens here at Moody Church. We bring up some, here's an opportunity for us to do something. But think of the problems. Well, you must consider problems. No one ever serves the Lord with his eyes closed. You don't blindfold yourself and say, now we trust God. That's not trust. That's superstition. That's chance. You don't blindfold yourself. But you look at the problems through God. You don't look at God through the problems. And Paul said, I'm going to stay at Ephesus. I'd love to come and spend the winter with you, but it's in the will of God. Would you have enjoyed traveling with the apostle Paul? Why, some of you dear folks, it would have driven you crazy. Because our lives are so rigidly planned. God can't break through and change anything. I like the way Paul puts it here. I trust to tarry a while with you if the Lord permit. Often in his letters you'll find Paul saying, now if the Lord will, if this is God's will. And you know, when you live in the will of God, every day is Easter day. As we step through the open doors and fight the battles and carry the burdens, God just gives us the power that we need. I used to run away from problems. I'd say, Lord, why did this happen? Don't you love me anymore? And finally, I learned a little bit that that's the reason God sends problems. He wants to show us his love. It helps you to flex your muscles and grow a little bit. Helps you to grow in your faith. Makes you pray a little harder. And God can do things for us. Behind every problem is a blessing. And Paul says, every day is Easter day for me. I just live in the will of God. And God can break into my plans. He can take my date book and rip out all the pages he wants to. I'm living an exciting life, achieving things for God's glory. Every day is Easter day for me. I wonder what would happen to some folks here if you'd say, Lord, here's my life. There are things that need to be done at Moody Church. There's visits to be made. There are jobs to be done. There's a bus ministry that needs help. There are things. Lord, here I am. I'll do what you want me to do. You'll discover resurrection power moving into your life. You won't be bored anymore. Won't have to be glued to the TV set to be entertained. Won't be sitting licking your wounds. You'll be so involved in doing the will of God. Every day will be resurrection day for you. Some of you folks know what I'm talking about. You've surrendered yourself to Christ and he's using you. And there are times you've got to say, Lord, let me have a little vacation, please. I really, I just need it. He says, fine, we'll work that out too. Every day is Easter day when you're thinking about others. And every day is Easter day when you're living in God's will. I've got to run now. Every day is Easter day when we're working together for Christ. Verses 10 through 20. I like when Paul gets to the end of a letter. He starts naming all his friends. Paul was not just a good soul winner. Paul was a good friend maker. You can tell people by their friends. He wrote back in chapter 15, evil communications, corrupt good manners, modern English, bad associations will tear you down. Paul had great friends. You can tell what a man's like by his friends. I think I counted here, eight different people mentioned that Paul was working with. Here's Timothy or some of you folks couldn't work with Timothy. You'd come to me and say, pastor, I can't work with Timothy. He's such a timid fellow. Whenever you read about Timothy, he's your, your read, you get these, the, the idea that he's just sort of timid. You know, some folks by nature are very forceful. Paul was very forceful. Paul didn't know what it was to meet a, to meet an enemy. He just faced everything honestly and went on with God. But Timothy wasn't that way. And yet how Paul loved Timothy. There's a place in the church for Timothy. Sometimes we have the idea it's only the forceful people, the leading people who are supposed to do that. Here's Timothy, quiet, youthful, just a little bit timid and fearful. Forgive me, I get the impression that Timothy occasionally went off by himself and sat and cried. Paul wrote to him and said, oh, I'm so mindful of your tears. Why, if we appointed a Timothy here to a place of responsibility, 50 people would descend upon me and say, preacher, I saw him sitting in the corner crying. I mean, you don't want him to be working here at Moody church, do you? Paul said, I can work with Timothy. And here's Apollos. Apollos, you recall, was a great orator, great philosopher, an orator, a brilliant man. Somebody says, oh, we can't use it. The dumber you are, the better God can use you. The meeting of the ignorant brethren. Paul says, hey, God can use Apollos. God can take Apollos' university training and put it under the blood of Christ and baptize him with the Holy Spirit of God and use him. There's a place in the church for the Apollos. There's even a place in the church for people like Stephanus, the household of Stephanus, and people like Fortunatus in Achaicus. I like what he says about them in verse 18. They have refreshed my spirit. Aren't you glad for refreshing saints? Refreshing saints. Now, some saints are like poison. They poison your spirit. Forgive me now. There's some of God's people who don't know the meaning of resurrection power. And when you meet them, they're sour and critical and bitter and jaundiced and they're looking at life through their own little spectacles. And when you go away, you say, oh, dear God. But then right around the corner, you meet a Stephanus or you meet a Fortunatus or an Achaicus, and these are the refreshing saints. Don't you thank God for refreshing saints? These are the saints of God through whose lives the water of the Holy Spirit of God is flowing and whatever they touch just has life to it and you enjoy being with them. It takes all kinds. We need the Timothys, the young people with their fears. We need the Apolloses, the university graduates with their eloquence. We need men like Stephanus and Fortunatus and Achaicus and we need husbands and wives like Aquila and Priscilla in verse 19. You know, if it weren't for Aquila and Priscilla, you wouldn't have Paul. Paul wrote in Romans that they saved his life at one time. They risked their own necks to save Paul's life. Did you know that? All across this congregation, there are people like Priscilla and Aquila who in their own homes are quietly serving God and standing behind the preacher and the pastoral staff and they're praying and their home is open for ministry. That's what builds a church. You know what Paul's been saying to me this morning? He's been saying, if you want to do the work of the Lord and every day be Resurrection Day, think about other people. It takes money. He's saying, live in the will of God. He's saying, learn to work together for Christ. And then finally, he's saying, every day is Resurrection Day if you look for our Lord's return. Paul dictated his letters, but at the end of the letter, to make sure that his recipients knew it came from Paul, he would reach over and take the pen. Now, Paul probably had bad eyesight. This was probably his thorn in the flesh. And for a preacher, this would really be a thorn in the flesh. But Paul would reach over and take the pen from his immanuensis and he would sign it. The salutation of me, Paul, with mine own hand. You know what his signature was? Verse 23, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. At the end of every one of Paul's letters, he would take the pen and this was his signature. This was his brand. This was his mark. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. But in between this salutation in verse 21 and the grace in verse 23, he uses two interesting words. He uses a Greek word, anathema, which means accursed. It's an awful word for an apostle to use, a curse. Originally, it meant devoted. If you were going to bring an offering to God, it was devoted to God. That's the word. That meant if you used it for anything else, you were accursed. So Paul says here, if any man loved not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. It's a strange thing to say. If he said, if any man commits adultery, let him be accursed. I could understand that. If any man goes around telling lies, let him be accursed. He doesn't say that. If any man loved not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Anathema. You know why he says that? There's somebody here this morning who's never trusted Christ as his Savior. Now you think, you think you can get away with this. You have the idea, my friend, that trusting Christ is something that you can decide if you want to or forget about it. But I think you should know something. It isn't just Jesus that you're rejecting. It isn't simply Jesus Christ that you're rejecting. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is saying here that rejecting Jesus Christ is high treason before the throne of God. To think that some petty little man or woman in the city of Chicago should look up at the Lord Jesus Christ. At Him who has that name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord. That he should look up at the Lord Jesus Christ and say, uh-uh, I'm going to live my own life. Bow down? No. I won't bow the knee and I won't bow the neck. Paul says, all right. In so doing, you've put yourself under a curse. A great deal is being said about Jesus these days. I've noticed that often when Paul talks about our Lord, it's the Lord Jesus. And he's saying here, look, if you love Him, you have no problem obeying Him. If you love the Lord Jesus Christ, then He's Lord. If you love me, keep my commandments. But if you don't love Him, He's not Lord. The love he's talking about here is not some kind of emotional thing. He's talking about that surrender of the life to Him. And Paul is saying every day is resurrection day when you look for His return. And you can look for His return if you have bowed before Him as Lord because he ties in an Aramaic word, a Greek word, anathema, a curse. Ah, but if you do love the Lord Jesus Christ, you're not a curse. He says, our Lord come. Now, actually, these two words can be translated three ways. Our Lord has come. Or our Lord is coming. Or our Lord come. I think that the latter is to be preferred. Paul looks at this world and says, if you won't bow down to Jesus Christ, then you are already under a curse. You don't have to die to be condemned. You're already condemned. Ah, but the believer who has bowed down to Jesus Christ is looking for His coming. The saints in the church back in Paul's day, when they met each other in the market, did not say, how are you feeling today? Do you ever start to think of how foolish that is? You know, we say to somebody, well, hello, how are you? We don't really care how they are. And we hope they don't tell us. The New Testament saints didn't waste their breath on how are you or isn't this a lovely day or oh, it's raining again. When the old when the saints in the scripture met each other in the market, they would say, Maranatha, our Lord's coming. Wouldn't you love to live with somebody like that who crawled out of the sack in the morning and said, Maranatha, the Lord's coming. And every day becomes Easter day when we're looking for the coming of Jesus Christ, for our citizenship is in heaven. From whence also we look for the Savior, our Lord, Jesus Christ, who shall change this body of humiliation to be made like unto His glorious body. That could happen today. Paul is saying to you today, look, the weather may be gloomy, your body may be aching, the prospects may be dismal, but every day is Easter day. If you live in the power of His resurrection, every day is Easter day when we're thinking about others. What are we doing with our money? Every day is Easter day when we're living in God's will. Are you in God's will today? You say, no, there's something in my life that's out of God's will. Then you've turned off the joy. You've turned off the power. It's not Resurrection Day. It's Good Friday. It's death and darkness. And discouragement and defeat. Every day is Resurrection Day when we work together for Christ. All kinds of people filled with resurrection power, using their gifts to serve God. My heart rejoices at the kind of people He's given us to work together here. Every day is Resurrection Day when you're looking for His return. Is today Resurrection Day for you? When you got up this morning, did you get off by yourself and take this book and say, this is the living Word. And I'm going to talk to my living Lord. And between the reading of His living Word and the sharing with my living Lord, resurrection life is going to come into me today. And today I'm going to live for others, not myself. And today I'm going to live in the will of God. And today I'm going to work together with God's people. And today I'm going to look for Jesus to come back. That'll turn Black Saturday into Easter Sunday for you. Every day is Resurrection Day for the believer who trusts in resurrection power. Now, some of you aren't believers. You aren't even saved. Why don't you come and give your heart to Christ today? Why don't you move out of the death and darkness of sin into the life and light of salvation? You say, how do I do that? Just open your heart to Christ. We make it very easy for you here at Moody Church. We sing a closing hymn. Our counselors go into a prayer room here. We invite you just to step out and go into the prayer room with them. And they're in that private place to open your heart to Christ and experience resurrection life-changing power. We'll do that now. We invite you to come. Heavenly Father, how thankful we are that the resurrection is not just a fact of history. It's a force of reality right now. Christ liveth in me. Oh, how precious this is. Now we pray that those who need to be saved will come and surrender. We pray, Father, that the saints of God, all of us, will examine our own hearts. And we ask that there'll be great victory now through Jesus Christ, our Lord. We pray in His name, Amen.