Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones

In one paragraph

This sermon was part three (week two) of an ongoing series on eternal reward. Brian walked Tribe fam through what the Bible calls "dead works," the idea that a Christian's work can be real, visible, even impressive, and still count for nothing when it is done from the flesh rather than the Spirit. The goal was to get honest about what burns before spending the next weeks talking about what lasts....

Read together

1. 2 John 1:8 anchor verse on receiving a full versus partial reward
2. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 fire testing each builder's work, reward or loss
3. Hebrews 6:1 introduced the phrase dead works as building material for the lesson
4. Hebrews 9:14 second use of the Greek phrase necron ergon, sinful or dead deeds
5. Ephesians 2:8-9 salvation is a free gift, not a reward for works
6. Matthew 7:21-23 not everyone who calls Lord Lord enters, I never knew you
7. Romans 8:6 congregation member quoted it to paraphrase Watchman Nee on flesh versus spirit
8. Psalms 139 the book of your life listing all assigned works to be compared at judgment

What was said

• Take a few quiet minutes this week and ask God to run a diagnostic on your heart, specifically asking him to show you where you are working out of your own effort rather than relying on his Spirit.
• Pick one thing you are currently doing in God's name and honestly ask yourself whether you are doing it in partnership with him or driving it entirely from your own energy and ideas.
• If God has been prompting you toward something that feels too small or too awkward to matter, do it anyway this week, even if it is only the granny shot of handing a cup of cold water to someone.
• Read or re-read 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and sit with the question of what building materials your daily life is made of right now.
• Find something you have been holding onto, a project, a habit, a direction, and genuinely ask God whether he is still asking you to run with it or whether he is calling you to set it down.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about letting God run a diagnostic on your heart, the way a hot tub panel surfaces things you would never notice on your own. What is one area where you sense God might be surfacing something in you right now, even if you can't fully name it yet?
2. The sermon drew a distinction between works done in the Spirit and works done in the flesh, saying that even good and godly things like praying, preaching, or going to the mission field can be dead works if they come from our own effort rather than reliance on the Holy Spirit. Does that distinction feel clear to you, or does it raise more questions than it answers?
3. Watchman Nee wrote that the old creation is willing to do anything, even submit to God, if only it is permitted to live and be active. Chris put it this way: our flesh will ride the bench just to stay on the team. Where in your own life do you notice your flesh doing something that looks like obedience but is really just trying to stay in the game?
4. Brian used the example of a podcast God calls someone to do for ten episodes, but the person keeps going after the assignment is finished because the response keeps growing. Have you ever found it hard to set something down that was successful and fruitful? What made it hard?
5. The cup of cold water came up near the end as the granny shot, the smallest possible act of obedience that still earns a reward when done in Jesus' name. What does your granny shot look like right now, the simplest step of obedience in front of you?