1 Cor 14: 26 ? 40

If we read vs 26 in a flat monotone as is so often then case when we are reading the word we do not get the full impact. We are not sure whether Paul is exhorting, correcting, teaching or we are not really concerned about it at all.Introduction

1 Cor 14: 26 ? 40

If we read vs 26 in a flat monotone as is so often then case when we are reading the word we do not get the full impact. We are not sure whether Paul is exhorting, correcting, teaching or we are not really concerned about it at all.

If we re-read vs 26 with some animation and expression as would imagine Paul would have had as he dictated the letter. When we read it that way we realize that Paul was actually rebuking the church for the complete disorder in their services.

If we look at the KJV we see that it reads quite differently

How is it then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation.

Let?s picture the scene imagine a house hold meeting where one person is busy singing a psalm, the next just starts speaking in tongues and another is busy preaching his heart out the rest who are discussing an issue of doctrine.

As you can imagine that could not possible work that is why Paul is rebuking them. Lets read on and see what else Paul has to say.

Read vs 27 ? 33.

I suppose I am not going to get away with not saying anything about the bit on women keeping silent. I found that the way the Message has it is rather good. So I am going to cop out and read it to you from the Message translation.

Wives must not disrupt worship, talking when they should be listening, asking questions that could more appropriately be asked of their husbands at home. God?s book of the law guides our manners and customs here. Wives have no license to use the time of worship for unwarranted speaking. Do you ? both women and men ? imagine that you a sacred oracle determining what?s right and wrong? Do you think everything revolves around you?

Let?s pick up again at verse 37 and read till 40.

Paul concludes this ?section? with the command ?Let all things be done decently and in order?

Definition

The prefix to every web site address is http://www… Who can tell me that the http stands for?

Http stands for Hypertext transfer protocol which is the standard protocol for web pages. Web pages are written in Hypertext markup language or html. This is the base language that web browsers use.
So the hypertext markup language is transferred over the hypertext transfer protocol. How many people have I lost?

You get lots of protocols in computers, ftp ? file transfer protocol, TCP ? transmission control protocol and IP internet protocol then you put the two together you have TCP/IP. That is transmission control protocol over the internet.

When you visit a web site you have the html page delivered via the HTTP over TCP/IP. So what does all that have to do with church you may ask?

On of the fundamentals of the Apostolic is to know the protocol of the house. How well do we know the protocol of this house? The section of the 1 Corinthians that we looked at defines the bases of the Apostolic Protocol.

First I want to take a step back and look at the origin of the work protocol.

(Diplomacy) (a) A preliminary document upon the basis of which negotiations are carried on. (b) A convention not formally ratified. (c) An agreement of diplomatists indicating the results reached by them at a particular stage of a negotiation

In other words before two diplomatic teams discuss an issue that will sit down and discuss the rules of how they are going to discuss the main issue, they will decide what will be discussed and what is outside the scope of the discussion.

Basically it set the ground rules.

The computer definition is

A standard procedure for regulating data transmission between computers.

A protocol basically defines the rules that govern communication and order. If one computer is operating with FTP and the other HTTP there will be no communication.

Getting back to Corinthians Paul is saying listen what you need is some type of protocol to operate in the house. So you all know what is happening and when. It makes communication easy and you do not land yourself in a confusing mess.

Over the last 2 weeks I developed a new protocol at work for our software so here I am teaching about the protocol of the house. So I have had protocol everywhere at the moment.

What is the difference between protocol and frequency? I have thought about this quite a lot and the answer I have come up with is that protocol is how we interact with the other people in the church be they people in authority or just general people. Frequency is where we are spiritually. Frequency defines where we are spiritually are we praying apostolically, are we living and speaking what we have been taught. Or do we still think and operate according to old paradigms?

I can go to a church is another part of the world and be bang on frequency, because God is speaking to them the same things as He is speaking to us about, because I have not spent time there I will not understand their protocol. There are times when we have visiting speakers and they are bang on frequency and very accurately prophetically, but because they are visitors they do not always know the protocol of this house. The wise ones will observe and ask, the others will just jump in thinking they understand and get it all wrong. This is especially true of our worship.

I remember going to a COC meeting at another church nearby. Nola was leading worship and we had our dance team there doing the dance. In the middle of the worship the speaker grabs the microphone and takes the worship in a totally different direction. The way he wanted not the way the Holy Spirit was guiding Nola. All the Harvesters got quite a shock and where upset about it. Why he did not understand the protocol of Harvester, or at least when the Harvesters do worship.

You see protocol shows up ambition and people who think they are spiritual. That is why Paul says if you think yourself spiritual or a prophet then you must agree with Paul. Protocol demands submission, because if you do not submit it will become very obvious. Think back to what Paul was rebuking the Corinthians for he said the way that they operated brought confusion. What does James say about confusion in James 3:16 ? Where there is self seeking and envy it brings about confusion.

If you have a house hold meeting or at work if there is confusion in a department the cause is either no protocol or business uses the term ?process? or there is someone with self-seeking and or envious of the others. The best is just break that in the spirit and watch what God does. I have prayed out two project managers.

The other important factor with protocol is timing. With the protocol that I developed timing was an important factor it is the same with the protocol of the house. Apostolic protocol has a lot to do with when the right time to something is and when is the wrong time. You can do something in a service and it is right for that moment, but if you do the same thing at a different time you land up getting rebuked. This can lead to you being rather confused.

In my second year at LOCBI there was a certain incident and the names of the people will be withheld to protect the guilty and innocent.

It started at the early morning pray meeti