Sunday AM Recap
July 19, 2026
Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/8gMdWbKhbHk?si=dRhca-8Nk44cRWTW
Pastor Jeff Spangler opened the service with a reminder of the importance of being informed and voting in the August 4th election.
Rachael Gilmore led worship.
Early Childhood Worship:
Link: Week 2 God's Got This
Bible story: The Israelites Cross the Jordan
Big Idea: I can follow God!
Verse: Jeremiah 29:11
Message: Pastor Jeff Spangler
“It is Written”
Incentive and reward….what’s in it for me?
There is a question before us to provoke us, to offend us even: what’s in it for me?
When God released His plan, He knew how we were and how we think. Incentives, benefits, and promises of God are all over the Bible. “If you will, I wil”l…God has a standard, and He will not bend it. But He will HELP you and BE with you.
The Lord is more committed to your change than you are!! You run out of juice for your change, but He doesn’t!
We need to switch the language:
What’s in it for ME? to
What’s in it for YOU?
What’s in it for YOU, Lord?
Foundational text: 1 Corinthians 4:1-13. God has asked us to dig in!!! Does He have your attention now?
4 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
6 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. 7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! 9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.
We need Him much more than He needs us - but He tells us all the time, “I want you!” We know God wants to level us up…we think we have achieved something and He always wants us to go HIGHER.
4 things from this passage:
We are entrusted with something.
Something has been revealed.
Something is required of us.
It must be proved in us.
It’s time to quit being childish and realize with these four things, we are being brought into a new season. We will study and break down these four things over the next few weeks.
Go back to the story of the owner giving the talents. The servants did not ask for these talents - the owner simply gave them in accordance with their abilities.
God is God and we are not. He has entrusted YOU with His talents…whether you want it or not!
He has REVEALED to you what these things are on some level…whether you want it or not. So when you ask “what’s in it for me?” God says “yeah, I don’t care about that.”
And He has a REQUIREMENT of us…whether we want it or not!
And it has to be proven faithful…the owner didn’t stick around. He left. He didn’t cease to exist, He just left. And it was up to them to prove themselves faithful…whether they wanted it or not.
It’s TIME to talk about these things. It’s time to look differently.
There is a difference between title and position. Think of a marriage. Kandy Spanger, when she married our Pastor, entered into the title of Mrs. Spangler - of wife. But she didn’t know all the things about “wife” and “Spangler” right away. At first, there is a title change, and then there is a process to the position change. (Teacher note: if you are reading John Bevere’s The Awe of God, you can find this illustration in more depth in Week 3, Day 5.)
When we become justified and accept Jesus as our Savior, we have a title change, we are a Son of the Living God. But we aren’t perfect! We haven’t “arrived”! People accept the title but don’t move into the position and learn the position.
Have we lived as the Bride of Christ without chasing other lovers? It’s supposed to be “I am His and He is mine”…but that’s not quite how we live.
But God doesn’t leave us there!
Verse 6:
6 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.
Message title: “It is written.”
This needs to become part of our vocabulary!!!
The context of this letter…
Writer: Paul
Recipient: Church of Corinth
(**Teacher note: remember, the Word of God is written FOR us but it was not written TO us…it is important to understand the context of each book of the Bible to understand the message and truly receive what is written!)
We need to get excited about this position! Think about this - He is going to ECLIPSE the sun! That’s how bright He is!
Paul says he has applied these to his life…FOR YOU. Who is in your circle who needs what you have?
“Do not go beyond what is written”…welcome to the Western mindset. We like to take things and make them our own.
What He has written IS ENOUGH. We don’t need skinny jeans and smoke machines. We don’t need to fluff it up and make it big and fancy. What He has written IS ENOUGH. Let it stand as the truth!
Currently, there is a hatred trending for the truth. One example is that so many are ignorant of the law and of the Constitution. People don’t read what is written, they listen to what they are told.
The truth is WHAT IS WRITTEN.
We put inferences into the text…but what is written is what is written.
Verse 6:
6 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.
3 key words (note: need NIV to fully see these)
NOW. When should we give what is written? NOW. Jesus said drop all your stuff and follow me. A young man said he needed to go bury his father, say good=bye to his family…and Jesus said there were those who would be called and say “Lord, Lord” but Jesus would say “I never knew you.” First I need to do this, first I need to do that…who are you making FIRST? What are you making FIRST? FIRST MUST BE GOD.
I have applied these things to myself for YOUR benefit. I’m not here to tell you how to live your life, but I don’t. I have applied this word TO ME. What level is your obedience to the Word? Jesus in His mercy has justified me and has given us a title. Sanctification is us learning the position…forever. THAT is your level of obedience. The two commandments Jesus said were the most important…love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength (look it up), and love your neighbor as yourself. APPLY THESE THINGS TO YOURSELF…FOR THEM.
“So that they will learn”…How will they ever know if you don’t reveal it to them? With your actions, with your words, with the Word of God. HIS WORD IS ENOUGH. (But the challenge is to obey it.) When we add things to God’s Word, we are amending His Word. God has told us “do not add to or take away from My word”…but we get into the debate of “did God really say?”
Data centers change, access to data centers change, but God has not relented from what He has written. The Word of God is a pretty good data center!
His Word is enough. We need to obey it. Not change it.
We are going to have unexpected things happen in our lives. The greater my obedience, the more inline I come.
He is omnipresent…but the more obedient we are, the more we experience the manifest presence of God. We have a God that WANTS to reveal Himself to us! But the level of obedience impacts that, because if we are out of obedience, if He comes to close it would kill us. And sometimes we have to suffer to continue His way.
Jesus suffered - but He completed the work. “It is finished.” He promises that our suffering will only be for a little while…to finish the work.
It is written: in the Hebrew, this is written as TANAKH. It’s an acronym - it means the written Work of God.
Torah (Instruction, Teaching, or Law): The first five books of Moses (Genesis to Deuteronomy).
Nevi'im (Prophets): Historical and prophetic books, including Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets.
Ketuvim (Writings): A collection of poetry, wisdom literature, and historical texts such as Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ruth, and Esther
It is written - it is “TANAKH.” All that we’ve been given is enough. So now is the time we need to understand what has been written.
This is how it is and how it will always be. This is the standard. And He is so involved in this for you that He gave His ONLY SON. FOR YOU. Jesus’s level of obedience was so high that He sits at the right hand of the Father - FOR YOU. And He told us to then “go ye into all the world” and have a level of obedience so He can come close to you…because if He came close now, it would ruin you. Do you want the things of God or do you want GOD?
Now is the time we must apply this to ourselves for THEIR benefit, and it is written, and it is enough.
Part 2 next week! 1 Corinthians 2:12-16…go study for a preview!
Ended with a drawing illustrating our separation from God and what fills the gap:
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