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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Callie Williams

The Self-Forgetful Praying Christian

It is a joy to be with you all this morning.

Whenever I introduce myself I say my name is Callie like California.

But this is my first time to California so I can no longer follow up with I've never been to California.

But it is a blessing to be here I've heard so many beautiful and amazing and encouraging things about Advent Hope so thank you for inviting me here with you this morning.

Before we begin I'd like for us to bow our heads 1 more time so if you'll pray with me please.

Father in heaven we thank you for another day of life and we thank you for your Sabbath day.

Lord, we have come from many different weeks.

We've come from encouraging weeks, devastating weeks.

But Lord, whatever we've come from, we are we all are in desperate need of you this morning.

Lord, we have not come here to hear from a person from Virginia.

We have not come here to hear from a human.

But Father, we need words from your throne this morning.

And so I pray that your Holy Spirit would tailor-make this message to each and every heart, that we would leave this place not just with more information but more in love with Jesus.

Guide us towards this end even now, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Please open your Bibles with me and go to 1 Corinthians chapter 4.

The title of my message this morning is The Self-Forgetful Praying Christian.

For those of you who title your notes, that's what it's called.

So 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 3 through 4.

The new King James says this, but with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by human court.

For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this.

Now Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians and the book of 2 Corinthians for the record.

And Paul is writing to these churches in Corinth.

Now in chapter 3 he starts talking about sectarianism being bad because people were saying well I'm of Apollo's, well I'm of Paul and Paul's like that's done, stop, don't do that.

And so he goes on to say about how we're stewards of God, how God has entrusted things to us, but the increase, the blessings, the goodness that comes from that doesn't come from us, it comes from God.

So some people had really good opinions of Paul.

Paul is literally like a step below Jesus.

He knows everything like the back of his hand.

Other people were like, I mean, Paul killed lots of people.

Also, he's really conceited all the time.

And so Paul kind of ends this idea with, but with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by human court.

Basically, I do not care what you think about me.

You know, they're just trying to talk to you right now but it's not just Paul being abrasive or Paul being in his face like I don't care what you think but there's reasoning behind that.

Why does it not matter what people think?

When I was in high school I went to Shenandoah Valley Academy 1 of my fellow alumnus here with me today, and I would often call home to tell my parents how I was doing.

My students suffer all the time, so they understand your pain.

But sometimes I'd call home and my dad wouldn't be able to understand what I'm saying.

He would just know by the tone of my voice if I was doing well or not.

But 1 day I called my dad and it was a bad day.

1 of my close friends had said something very unkind about me behind my back.

I don't remember what it was, but I remember I was really, really upset.

So I was telling my dad about this, how I was so hurt, how could this friend betray me?

I trusted them and they didn't even have the gall to say it to my face and said it behind my back and going on and on.

My dad cut me mid-sentence and said, not what I expected, Callie, you have green skin.

I'm emotionally distraught right now and you have the...

Dad, I don't know if you're trying to be cool right now, but it's not working.

I have known you every single day of your life, and I'm telling you that you have green skin.

But just because someone says something with authority and with conviction, does it make it true?

It's a tender moment between my father and I.

And he'll still tell me every once in a while, I love you, green skin.

But it proves a point of something that we see.

When someone says something, we are quick to believe it, right?

Something, someone writes something negative on Facebook, or someone says something behind your back, or someone says something to your face, our first inclination is, you're right, and I have to have a defense against that.

So we can say okay it's not true because it's negative, right?

A few years ago I was working at a different school than I am now and I was working with a particular student who was 1 of the educators in the room.

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The Self-Forgetful Praying Christian

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