 Okay welcome back everyone. So let's just pick up from the next chapter. We'll get it to chapter 15. Let me just post the notes. Sorry just give me one moment please. Sorry I'm just trying to get the notes. Okay for some reason I'm unable to present right now. Let me just check. Okay so we'll just continue and I don't for some reason it's not showing on the reject screen. Let me present it again. Yeah okay it's up now. Sorry about that. Okay so chapter 15. Now after addressing the topic of spiritual gifts and proper expression of those spiritual gifts Paul turns his attention to another topic which is very important which is the resurrection from the dead right now regarding the resurrection of the dead there were two main concerns. First was was there a life after death and two what kind of bodies we will have when we are raised from the dead. Now one of the things that we must understand is even the Gentiles some of them believed in resurrection. I mean they believed in an afterlife right and so let's see what Paul is teaching the church here. Okay let's get into chapter 15 verse 1 onwards. The gospel and the resurrection. So moreover brethren I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you which also you received and in which you stand by which you also are saved. If you hold fast that word which I preach to you unless you believed in vain. Now he goes on to the scriptures for I believe to you first of all that which I also received that Christ died for us since according to the scriptures right and that he was buried at it. He rose again and on the third day according to the scriptures and that he was seen by Cephas then by the 12. After that he was seen by over 500 brethren at once of whom the greater part remained to the present but have but some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen by James then by all the apostles then last of all he was seen by me also as by one born out of due time. So now it's so wonderful how the apostle Paul is bringing this whole aspect of resurrection. You see Paul doesn't you start off by saying yes there is a resurrection we have to believe with the resurrection. He doesn't say that he's giving a defense for what he's going to say. He's saying listen we as believers as a church we must hold fast to what is being preached because when I came to you at Corinth I told you about the Lord Jesus Christ. I preached the gospel with you what is the message I preached to you. I preached that Jesus Christ was buried. He died Christ died for us since he buried. He rose again and he rose again he was seen by Cephas and then by the 12 disciples and after that he was seen by over 500 people right and then he was also seen by James and the other apostles and he was seen I myself have seen him. So Paul is trying to bring out this now you can fool one person you can fool too you can't fool more than 500 people at the same time. So Christ's death burial and resurrection took place according to the scripture so Paul is trying to say we must hold fast. There will be winds of doctrines that are coming and that are saying that's what happened in the Thessalonica church in Thessalonians where they were saying oh the raptures already happened Paul is writing to them and saying no it's not happened because when we know that there will be a trumpet sound and a twinkling of an eye we will change. So there will be people who will enemies who will try to take away this understanding other influences. They'll try to you know take this away from us. Two there will be people when if we let go of this message of the gospel we have believed in vain. Now what is the point if Jesus died he took our sins he died he was buried but he didn't rise again. If we didn't if there is no resurrection our belief will be in vain because it's there's no victory there. If Jesus died on the cross took up our sins and he died and he's buried. If there's no resurrection there's no victory and if there's no victory we are still living in sin and if there's still living in sin whatever we have preached whatever we believed in it's all in vain. So Paul is saying you need to hold on to the gospel that we have preached. Then verse 9 onwards he says for I am the least of the apostles who are not worthy to be called apostles because I persecuted the church but by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace towards me was not in vain but I labored more abundantly than they all but yet not I but the grace of God which was with me therefore whether it was I or they so we preach and so you believed. Now Paul is again remembering that he was a persecutor of the church. He persecuted the church. Now here's the thing grace and works are two sides of a coin. Remember James what he says he says faith without deeds is of no use. I can have faith that move mountain but if I don't work on it it's of no use. Again there's grace there's work so Paul is pointing out any saying you put all the 12 disciples together I did more than all of them. I labored more than them and which is true he labored more than all the apostles and yet he says this labor was not out of his own ability but God's empowering grace that was upon his life so he's saying yes I labored I worked hard I traveled to places I went through all the turmoil challenges and difficulties and shipwrecks and beaten with rods and perils against my foes and I've gone through all of this I've labored yet I've labored through the empowering grace of God because if I tried to do it on my own I would have failed but I did labor. You see that it's two sides of one coin. So Paul is saying it's a very important lesson for us we have to work hard in our life but we depend on the grace of God so whether we reach high levels in our workplace or we become really great in ministry or God has just raised up raises up very high it may be our hard work but never forget it is the grace of God that has empowered us right yes we've worked hard we stayed up nights we stayed up work you know gave many hours working and then we are seeing success in our life we can't say because I worked hard and we have I can see success then if I say that then the grace of God is left empty there I say God by God's grace I worked hard by God's grace he has helped me gain success then he goes on to talk about the issue here now if Christ is preached verse 12 if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead how do some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead but if there's no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen and if Christ is not risen then our preaching is empty and your faith also is empty yes and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he did not raise up if in fact dead do not rise for if the dead do not rise then Christ is not risen and if Christ is not risen your faith is futile you are still in your sins then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished so so then he'll the last verses in if in this life only we have hope in Christ then we of all men are most pitiful right so Paul is saying listen the Christian faith depends on this one truth there has to be a resurrection if Jesus did not rise from the dead that means we are false prophets we are false teachers and we are being false witnesses have shared with you something false and you are believing something false your faith is you know is empty my faith is empty I will have to go through judgment of God and out of all the people better are the Gentiles than us because we are the most pitiful people if there is if the resurrection is not there so then Paul is saying so of course there is a resurrection there is a resurrection because Christ has resurrected he goes on verse 20 but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who has fallen asleep right I like that word first fruit we'll talk about it for since since by man came death by man also came the resurrection of the dead for as an Adam all die even so in Christ all shall be made alive very powerful but each one in his own order Christ the first fruits after those who are Christ at His coming then comes the end he when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till he has put all his enemies under his feet the last enemy that will be destroyed is death for he has put all things under his feet but when he says all things are put under him it is evident that he who put all things under him is expected now when all things are made subject to him and the son himself will also be subject to him who put all things under him that God may be all in all so what a powerful powerful defense here he's saying Christ has risen from the dead and he's our first fruits the Greek word for first fruits means a parquet which is the beginning of a thing right Adam was a first fruit of death because of Adam there is death but because of Christ because he resurrected from the dead we are the first fruits of resurrection so we all will get we'll be moving from this physical flesh body of the flesh to the incorruptible the spirit a spiritual body a glorified body and I love how Paul writes of the Thessalonians he says in the twinkling of an eye we will get a glorified body what a joy right and Paul is trying to let the church here in Corin known listen Jesus was resurrected 500 people and more saw him they testify of him he has a glorified body so he's our first fruit we also if we just die and if there's no resurrection what does he use how can it be that only Jesus resurrects and we can't know the resurrection of Jesus represents our resurrection look of John says because he lives we will live and this is such a wonderful assurance for us right imagine as believers you know that is something that we'll all have to taste one day or the other we can't run away from it but there's this wonderful assurance that to be absent with the Lord is to be present sorry to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord you have a resurrected body a glorified incorruptible body and Paul writes in many places he says that we will see him as he is right now verse 24 to 28 he's talking about where you know all the enemies including death itself will be ended and there'll be no death he's talking about this thousand year millennium period in where Christ will come after the battle of Armageddon he will come he will come to Jerusalem in the temple that is built he will come and sit there and rule there as king over a thousand year period right till all his enemies he will rule with the nine sceptre Isaiah says right and all his enemies will be brought under his feet the enemy which means the devil will be you know bound for those thousand years right so Jesus himself will come in his resurrected body and he will live in that thousand year millennium so so he's again Paul is trying to again encourage the church saying we have this assurance right it's not like Jesus is resurrected he's never going to come back no he's going to come back in his resurrected body he will come he will live for thousand years he will he will defeat every rule every reign of the enemy all the enemies will be under his feet and this is the resurrected king so much so verse 29 onwards he goes on there's in in light of this resurrection we also must learn certain things what is it verse 29 what will they do who are baptized for the dead if the dead do not rise at all why then are they baptized for the dead and why do we stand in jeopardy every hour I affirm by boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord I die daily if in the manner of men I have fought with beasts of emphasis what advantages is it to me if dead do not rise let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die you know be deceived evil company corrupts good habits awake to righteousness and do not sin for some do not have the knowledge of God I speak of this to your shame now remember in in the introduction of the current we talked about the place right and remember one of the belief system in Greece there were the stoics they were I forget what's the other one the stoics it's then the book of acts yeah the Epicurean and the stoics those two beliefs acts chapter let's give you that verse act 17 where Paul is in Athens again in Greece so they were they were these two beliefs the Epicurean and the stoics and one of the beliefs was there is no resurrection we die we there's no afterlife there is nothing we died we just become a star or we go back into the heavenly places and we're just there as a star or we are something else now that maybe we could say that some of those beliefs have tried to creep into the church thing how can we die how can they be a resurrection no when we die we just becomes a part of the galaxy or we become part of the cosmos around us maybe some of those belief systems have scripted into the church and Paul is addressing that and he's saying if if that's the case let's just eat and drink and for tomorrow we die he's saying why must I go through all these challenges right in Ephesus he says I fought beasts in Ephesus basically saying the the the wild the opponents the people who are opposing the apostle Paul's ministry they were like wild animals they fought him like wild animals at Ephesus right and he's saying that why should I endure all this why should I go through all of this if there's no resurrection from the dead I am looking at all my challenges and I'm and I'm saying why should I go through all this right verse 29 let's just go up he points that outside of the church there are people who are unbelievers this was another belief system where they would baptize the dead so there's a dead body they would take that body put it into immerse it into water and then it was it was in a way of saying that we have you know cleanse the body or we're believing that you know someday they will have life and they will do good or something like that right they have some kind of a belief system that was prominent at that time so Paul is saying outside of the church they do that now they themselves don't see a resurrection of the dead but we have seen it so Paul is not teaching that we should baptize the dead right he's just saying that there is a resurrection from the dead right outside the church people take a dead body baptize it in water but nothing happens they don't resurrect but here we have a resurrection from the dead so let that be our hope and then he goes on I think it's worse 33 and 34 let's just go back there 33 and 34 do not be deceived evil company corrupts good habits awake to righteousness and do not sin and he's saying don't be deceived evil company remember now this is some new understanding right if you we must always picture the church and Corinth probably the church is growing many people are accepting the Lord now people around are wanting to know what are they believe system why do they what is it that they believe in so they come in they're trying to bring in their ideologies there you know their forms of worship or their forms of understanding and then that is creeping into the church Paul is saying bad company corrupts good habits avoid it avoid evil company don't allow people to influence you so easily right be assured that there is a resident people come and say there's no resurrection don't just believe them but be assured right we must have the knowledge of God to to influence us in our lives more than what evil company does right just an application here we must live as people who believe and are convinced in the fact that Christ is alive and therefore we will also live eternally with him so no matter what the hardships no matter what the challenges we face when we face it for the sake of God for the sake of Christ there is a reward and we will you know there is a resurrection we see our challenges we see the things that happen in our life and we say okay one day we're doing it for God one day we will be rewarded for this it's not like what I'm doing is just nobody's going to see it no God is a rewarder right and he's gonna reward us for all that we have done to we have to guard our faith in the gospel and the resurrection right there are those who do not have this understanding people are there around us even right now in the day and age that we are living in who don't believe in Jesus don't believe in the resurrection and they may try to infiltrate try to influence us by their own understandings but how we live and the choices we make we must understand we must guard our faith say no one thing I know that the Lord Jesus is God and he died for my sins he resurrected from the dead and I know that one day I will see him I'm not going to die and then become a star in heaven and in the cosmos or become a you know something just merge with the sky no I will get a glorified body I will stand with him face to face right and and that's that's something that we must walk in every day of our lives when we see those challenges say God help me to overcome these challenges right then he talks about the glorious body verse 35 onwards a glorious incorruptible and a resurrection body so what does he say here this portion of scripture here let's read that together verse 35 but someone will say how are the dead raised up and with what body do they come foolish one what you saw is not made alive unless it dies and what you saw you do not so that body that shall be but mere grain perhaps wheat or some other grain but God gives it a body as he pleases and to each seed its own body you see how powerfully Paul is just he saying how can people will ask you how can the dead rise be raised up no our organs are not working the heart is not pumping there's no blood in the body there's no blood flow the brain is not functioning how can the dead rise so Paul is saying okay you look at a seed take a mango seed or a apple seed when you're putting the seed you don't see an apple when you're putting the seed so what he's trying to say here is there is no body to the seed it's just a seed but when you put it to the ground if it's an apple seed the it sprouts up and God gives the body to that seed that the to make it look like an apple or a mango whatever fruit it is but the seed is just a seed so Paul is using this he's just using this example and now he's going on verse 39 all flesh is not the same flesh but there is one kind of flesh of men another flesh of animals another fish another of birds there are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial terrestrial is one there is one glory of the Sun there's another glory of the moon another glory of the stars and for one star differs from another star in glory so also the resurrection from the dead the body is sown in corruption so when we die yes we are washed we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus but death itself is corruption we die you know the Bible says that sin has caused death we die because of the fact that there is sin in this world it is corruption because of what Adam did that one sin brought corruption into the entire world and now we die but it is raised in in corruption or a powerful sentence right as a physical body will die but it is raised in income in corruption so when we get a glorified body there's not going to be pride there's not going to be anger there's not going to be lust there's not going to be jealousy there's nothing an incorruptible body it's raised in in corruption the body is never going to die again it's a glorified body like how Jesus right now the body is not going to die they saw Jesus like they saw him Thomas says let me put my finger in only then I'll believe he said okay come but that's an incorruptible body it's not going to die again that's the body we are going to get it is sown in dishonor but it is raised in glory it is sown in weakness but it is raised in power it is sown a national body but it is raised a spiritual body there is a national body and that is a spiritual body so wonderfully Paul is explaining this to the church saying you look at the stars you look at the animals one star has another glory the other star has another glory you look at the moon and the Sun they have different kinds of glory those Sun looks beautiful in its own way the moon looks beautiful in its own way but they are all different so much so even each one of us when we die when we get a resurrected body we will all be different but we will all be a spiritual body in our own glory right verse 45 so it is written the first man Adam became a living being the last man Adam became a life big be giving spirit however the spiritual is not first but the natural and after that is the spiritual right so the natural happens the spiritual is not going to happen just like that first the natural should happen a natural death and then comes a spiritual the first man was of the earth made of dust the second man is the Lord of heaven as was the man of dust so also are those who are made of dust right and is also and is the heavenly man so also are those who are heavenly and as we have born the image the man of dust we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man it is so wonderful Paul is saying here Adam was born out of the dust of the earth we will also being formed we will go back to the dust of the earth but the second man was born of heaven he didn't go back to the dust of the earth right he came from heaven so but so each one of us also yes we will go back to dust but there will be a heavenly man he was the first fruit heavenly man son of man Jesus we will also become heavenly we have born the image of the man of dust we have two eyes nose mouth ears God created from the dust we all have the same image but we will all bear the image of Christ the heavenly man and the glorified body there's no sin there's no sin there's going to be the image of God we will be just like he is in this incorruptible body so Paul is saying these the resurrected bodies we will have our immortal incorruptible spiritual raised up in glory and in power we shall be like him John 1 John 3 to we shall be like him or we shall see him as he is you know this verse always gives me goosebumps we shall be like him how can you know right now we are trying to be more Christ like right yes that's good we that's our goal to live a life like how Christ lived but maybe we are we may achieve it to a certain level we may not achieve it to a certain level but what an assurance we have that the glorified body shall be like we shall be like him and we shall see Jesus just as he is and he's just telling the church listen there is a resurrection you get ready for your body to get a glorified body we shall be like him and we shall see him in his glorified body so then he's ending this whole chapter with a final victory I do he's brought this whole understanding stole the church listen people will come you hold fast to what we have preached because there is going to be a debt but there is also going to be a resurrection right finally verse 50 to 58 now this I say brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does corruption inherit in corruption behold I tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment again he's talking about what happens in the rapture in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet but the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed for this incorruptible must put on sorry for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal should put on immortality so when this corruptible puts on incorruption and this mortal puts on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed up in victory or death where is your sting or Hades where is your victory the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord powerful powerful powerful closing sentences by Apostle Paul there will come a time brethren if you want to understand this we know that Jesus is in heaven now how can flesh and blood cannot go to heaven one now the corrupt kid cannot inherit inherit something that is there where there is incorruption so what is going to happen and the twinkling of an eye this corruptible body will get an incorruptible body we shall be changed now this which is mortal which has a lifetime limit of maybe 80 90 years will put on immortality so in heaven it's not going to be okay 90 years and then I'm going to die there's no more death there's no more mortality the incorruptible for the corruptible will put on incorruption the mortal will become immortality now when that happens the saying is coming through death whereas your victory which means Paul is trying to say hey we have overcome death natural death yes that's true it's there we are away from this natural world but it's not that we've we are doing nothing no we've getting in incorruptible boy we get immortality and we get to live with Jesus for the rest of our lives there's no time limit there right now there's a time limit right so we're learning about God we're learning about God's word we are studying we're trying to be more Christ like we can do that till maybe 18 90 90 years old and then there will be death but when the incorruptible comes in when the mortality is changed to immortality and we're in heaven we are seeing him as he is there is no death there is no time limit the Bible says in the book of revelations there shall be praises to him forever and ever and ever there are no time limit we're not going to grow old and die we're not going to have body pain we're going to have headaches nothing at that moment for those who are alive in Christ in an instant we will have resurrected bodies death will be overcome and this is the most powerful powerful aspect of Christians for us as Christians that is not the end right why is it that when we look around the world you know somebody sent me this video sometime back they sent me a video of two let me just stop sharing stopped okay they sent me a video of two deaths two deaths I think it was a nurse in a hospital who took this video I forget but I remember watching this video two deaths two different instances in two different probably two different places both were on their final times of their death and there was this unbeliever in the video I don't know if that video is available but that's something that I saw it's my personal thing that I have seen where in the video the person who was not a believer was crying and mourning and weeping and was in pain and screaming and shouting just angry but the believer was smiling and there were tears of joy just coming and they're saying I can see him and they're waiting to go and this nurse is taking the video and she couldn't understand what was happening and I think there's also a small clip of what she says she says if this is the death that all Christians have I wouldn't mind becoming a Christian because I want this kind of a death there was no there was no hopelessness there was no anger hatred nothing there was a joy because she knew a person knew that they're going to be with the Lord Jesus and that is our wonderful hope that we all have Paul is writing to a church that is confused that you know probably are wondering what is my future when I die what is it people are saying I'll become a star I'll join the cosmos and I'll become something in the on the earth or some people are saying I'll become nothing there's no more nothing after life after that he's saying no there is going to be a glorious body glorious life ahead and he he he sums up this entire chapter in the last was he says therefore my dear brothers stand firm let nothing move you let no no person say this is false and move you you be assured of this they may say how is it scientifically possible you know the Greeks are all intellectuals they may say no people may say this is not possible it doesn't make sense it's a foolish philosophy they may speak all kinds of things but you don't let it move you always give yourselves to the work of the Lord do what God has called you to do do it in honesty do it with integrity work hard whether it's in ministry whether it's in your workplace work hard do it with integrity honesty and knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain and he closes with that chapter right so finally he goes into the next chapter and the next chapter is very small we'll just quickly look at it and then we will close any questions anybody have any questions okay yeah so yes Christopher please go ahead Christopher did you raise your hand okay I think we have by mistake raised your hand okay let's go to the last chapter let's quickly finish this and then next week we can move into second Corinthians okay so chapter 16 now after addressing the matters in the Corinthian Church he responded to questions that came in to a previous letter Paul ends this chapter by just making a few closing statements and it's more of you know caring and helping one another right oh there's a problem with your mic Christopher okay okay do you want to type in the question you can probably type in the question we'll just continue with the chapter and then maybe at the end of the class we'll try and answer your question right hope that's okay right so 16 was one to four now concerning the collection for the saints so he's going back to a few practical aspects stop before closing off he's wants to get practical giving them some instructions as I've given you orders to the churches of Galatia so you must do also on the first day of the week let each one of you lay aside something storing up as he may prosper that there may be no collections when I come and when I come whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem but it is fitting that I go also they will go with me now Paul is encouraging the church in Corinth to now the churches in Corinth Galatia Antioch Macedonia they in Jerusalem they were going through a famine right and we know that the Jerusalem church was a huge church they were also looking after widows they were looking after the needs of people and so they needed financial support so Paul is here he's encouraging the church first day of the week that means on Sunday just go ahead and as your heart leads you keep something aside for the church in Jerusalem and it is important to bless others meet people's needs we must also give to other people and we see that happening even in the early church later on Paul teaches the church you know he the people of Philippi always were giving to Paul he says I I enjoyed the gifts that were sent to me and they're a sweet smelling aroma in Christ so he's trying to encourage the church to support the church in Jerusalem right now notice here it says the first day of the week so the early church has transitioned from meeting on the first day of the week that is the Lord's day have transitioned from meeting on Saturday to the Sunday right and they come together first day of the week which is the Sunday right now this is very important handling money matters notice what Paul is saying he's being so careful and so prudent with his with this whole thing of gifts he's saying you send people whom you choose I'm not taking the responsibility of this because I don't want anyone accusing me saying I took some things from it or there's some misappropriation so Paul is saying as leaders you all choose the right people the people who you choose you bring the gift and come to Jerusalem and I will also come to Jerusalem there I'll be there at Jerusalem right so you see how Paul is being so careful he's being wise he's not saying I will come you send the money to me and I will take it to Jerusalem now now would they have done it yes but there could be a chance of people accusing Paul saying where's the money where where is the gifts that we sent we had sent so much but where is it now so Paul is taking things he's being very wise very prudent and he's saying send the money through people who you know they will be in charge of it but I will meet him in Jerusalem now why is this an important lesson for us you know in ministry or in now in anything that we're doing whether it's the workplace and especially if it's ministry be very careful when it comes to money right now some of the things that we do is we make sure that everything that we do is accounted for everything is accounted for whether it is given through cash or whether it's given online something's given through cash like our offerings of photos taken there's a group of three or four people volunteers they count and that there's proof counting and then they take a photo there is a register and the amount is written the Sunday the amount everything is you know put on paper as on document as well as you know it's there on our record so this way if there's any question that comes up we always have the records right and it's not the pastors who are doing all of this we always have a team we always have others so that we avoid this whole thing of you know getting into a problem and it's a wise thing right it's nothing wrong because now when we look at what's happening in around us there's misappropriation of funds isn't it sad when we see people have been taken to court and you know because of misappropriation ministries have been taken to court they don't know what has happened to the money money has come in money has gone but they don't know where is it gone so it's gone somewhere and the pastors held accountable so so apostle paul is just being very prudent here it may be something small but he's keeping his hands clean right uh and then he goes on talking about coordinating some ministry work he says i will come to you when i pass through macedonia uh and for i do not verse 7 i do not wish to see you now uh on the way but i hope to stay a while with you if the lord permits i will tarry in fs's until pended course for a great an effective door has opened to me and there are many adversaries very important now there will be times there are adversaries challenges and difficulties now in the midst of that god can open the right doors now we cannot say i don't want these challenges i don't want these difficulties uh i don't think that is a door which god is open look at this paul is an emphasis right and previously he said they were like beasts right they were like people who like animals they they they were against me they opposed me they were willing to even kill me but paul is saying i do not wish to see you now but i hope to stay a while because a great door of ministry has opened for me but there are many adversaries right so very important under learning recognizing divine opportunities right god may open a door for us but we must respond to that opportunity we must not see the adversaries the difficulties the challenges and stop entering the door right paul is saying the people nephers are terrible i'm being beaten i probably they can kill me anytime right i don't know when they can come and just kill me but there's a great door of ministry probably the door is there are many lives being touched many of them coming to christ uh you know many families are coming to christ so there's a great door of ministry i need to teach them a little more so i'll stay on uh and i will meet you later on in Jerusalem so very important we recognize what god is opening for us and we move in in spite of those challenges we move in in spite of challenges that may be there ahead but god knows how to help us overcome those challenges then he goes on finally he's encouraging young ministers saying ten and eleven and if timothy comes see that he may be with you without fear for he does the work of the lord as i also do therefore let no one despise him but send him on his journey in peace that he may come to me for i'm waiting for him with the brethren now this is a very important lesson right as ministers of god as we grow most you know established in ministry we become senior leaders we we become more seasoned in ministry sometimes we get absorbed by our own work okay this is me this is my ministry this is my thing uh but very important is to encourage and raise up young ministers of god so that they can rise up to the call of god look at this paul takes timothy when he's about 17 years old in his second missionary journey paul joins uh sorry timothy joins paul and silas and he sees the apostle paul in all the challenges and timothy was there he didn't run away but he was there and now paul is you know well advanced uh and and he's saying timothy is a man of god don't despise him he's young right but don't despise him because he's he does the work of the lord right uh and he's a next leader so treat him because he does the work of god which same thing that i do so paul is not saying uh you know i when i was in second missionary journey i took him because you know he he was just doing nothing much there i felt that god could use him so i was the one who took him i was the one who trained him doesn't say all that all that he says is he does the work of god just like how i do the work of god right so he's recognizing his leadership and later on he writes to timothy and say and he tells the leaders uh uh when he's saying timothy let no one despise you for your youth timothy you're the leader there there are bishops deacons overseers who are much seasoned and much learned than you but you are the overseer don't let people despise you right uh so that's something that we must learn raising up leaders on a constant basis like apollos now here he was an interesting person we know that he came to Corinth later on now concerning our brother apollos i strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren but he was quite unwilling to come at this time however he will come at his uh at his when he's when he has a convenient time now apollos remember uh he uh he's there in the church in Corinth right and he's people have recognized his leadership right and they've also said i follow paul i follow paulos now paul has recognized apollos as a minister of god and he's allowed him to make his decision he's not dictating terms to him he's not saying apollos you have to go but he's saying i've urged apollos to come and meet with you brethren but he will come on his own time right right now he's here but he will come on his own time when in his convenient time he will come but later on apollos goes he goes to Corinth right and then he ends it with the final words of exhortation he says watch stand fast in the faith be brave be strong and let all that you do be done with love yes i think somebody's raising their hands yes say he has raised your hand yes go ahead say a question sir oh yes could it be that apollos was actually fed up with the problems going on in the church of Corinth what do you think exactly must have got him you know reluctant to go back to the church of Corinth so say i i feel that it wouldn't have been that he's fed up with the church because we see that initially he was the one who came into Corinth right and probably he's doing some kind of ministry where he is at in parts of Ephesus right so maybe he also is doing a good work there he's seeing the fruit of his labor but we know that he's not upset with the church or angry with the church because later on he goes to Corinth he and priscilla aquila priscilla also joins later on so apollos goes there right so so we know that it is not that he was fed up with the church but probably he was doing something he was seeing some fruit of ministry happening in a certain place now we must understand apollos was had a very similar ministry to the apostle paul right he was also as learned so he was on the move always like he wanted to see he had this thing of teaching the word of god equipping them so probably he he saw a work he wanted to state like we know right now paul is in Ephesus he was there for three years just equipping the church there right so probably even he you know apollos was there but the the reason is not mentioned why he didn't but what is mentioned is that paul does not force him probably because there he's seeing a fruit of work that he's been now he's seasoned right apollos is seasoned and so yes say so i would say that maybe there's some fruit that's happening and what he's doing and he didn't want to disrupt the work but paul says he will come at his convenient time and he does come at his convenient time later on as well so yes okay just quickly let's see you raise your hand again oh so sorry i i don't know if you're going to also explain the latter verse where paul says if no one loves the lord let him be a cursed in greek i think it's atema maranata i don't know somehow they be thrown back but maybe you could throw more lights on why he might have made that statement okay oh which verse is this saying um sure let me let me go back to you it's the it's the concluding part of paul's the first letter to first karen tian 16 verse verse um 22 okay okay we we've not yet come there we were we are still at a couple of words prior to that uh yes yes so we are at versus 13 onwards uh so actually what we'll do is we'll stop because uh we have to get to the next session so we'll stop we'll just do this a little bit um next class and then we'll get into second currentians right we'll just bring this to a close and we'll start with second currentians next week right okay thank you so much for joining uh it was a good time of discussion uh hope you have a great week ahead i'll see you next week god bless you all god bless thank you master thank you master