1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:02,200 Good morning, Church of the Resurrection. 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:07,200 It is a glorious, glorious Sunday. 3 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:09,840 Deepak is playing the bass, right? 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,360 That's awesome. We're glad to see that. 5 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:15,440 Luke is playing the jembe, a sight that I have never seen 6 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:17,760 before. Steven is singing without a 7 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,040 guitar. It's I believe in miracles. 8 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:21,720 You all. Absolutely. 9 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:25,680 If you are new, my name is Sumani Megadi. 10 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:29,840 I'm one of the pastors here and over the last few weeks we have 11 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,920 walked through the 1st 3 chapters of First Corinthians. 12 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,200 And Paul has been addressing division in the church. 13 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,040 And the Corinthians were rallying around human leaders 14 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:44,960 and they were forming camps. They were boasting in wisdom. 15 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,360 They were forgetting about the cross of Christ, the thing that 16 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:51,640 they should look to. And so our passage today is 17 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:56,320 First Corinthians 4, verse 1 to 17 found on page 896. 18 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,000 And I invite you to turn to that to follow along. 19 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,240 Now this whole letter, keep in mind, is a it's part of a 20 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,519 conversation. And we only get to hear one side 21 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:08,760 of that conversation. Paul is responding to things 22 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:13,200 that don't, what we don't fully know about, but we can glean 23 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:15,280 part of the problems from the text. 24 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:20,240 One of the problems was how how the Corinthians venerated their 25 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,640 favorite apostles and they excoriated others that they did 26 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,560 not like. So in First Corinthians 41, Paul 27 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:32,440 effectively says to the church. He says to them, look, I want 28 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,120 everyone to think of us, me, Apollos, and all the other 29 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:40,080 apostles as servants. He uses the word under rowers or 30 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,440 officers on a ship, and the ship is the church. 31 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:48,200 Jesus points to the direction that he wants to go and the 32 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,640 underoers move the vessel in that direction. 33 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,600 He says please think of us also as stewards of the mysteries of 34 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:58,520 God. House managers is what he's 35 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,240 referring to. Jesus has entrusted to the 36 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:06,440 apostles his mysteries, the mysteries of God, and he's given 37 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,440 them the responsibility as house managers to dispense these same 38 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,360 mysteries to the House of God, to the Church. 39 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:18,600 And Paul's applying these images to himself and to Apollo's in 40 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:23,840 the context of the divisions tearing through the Corinthian 41 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,800 church. He's urging them to stop 42 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:30,920 treating apostles like celebrities or tribal leaders 43 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:36,200 and instead to see them as servants, stewards of Christ. 44 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,000 There are not personalities to rally behind or to use to 45 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,880 promote division. I believe the same is true for 46 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,880 us as well. Our unity is strengthened when 47 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:53,960 we all begin to see ourselves as under rowers on Jesus ship and 48 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,600 house managers in God's household. 49 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:01,280 Not not in the same capacity as the apostles, certainly not in 50 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,600 the same capacity as Paul or Saphus, but in whatever capacity 51 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,240 God has placed us in, in his house, on his ship. 52 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,920 So I want to talk about the disposition of servants and 53 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:18,240 stewards in God's house because how we see ourselves shapes how 54 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,360 we treat one another and it shapes how we guard against the 55 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,680 kind of the division that Corinth faced. 56 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:35,560 Let me pray for us. May the words of my mouth and 57 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:41,200 the meditations of our hearts be pleasing unto you, our Lord, our 58 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:47,240 Rock and our Redeemer. Let your word take root and draw 59 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,440 us closer to you and to one another. 60 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:52,600 In Christ's name I pray. Amen. 61 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,800 Amen. So we are stewards and servants 62 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,880 of Jesus Christ. What does that mean about how we 63 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:03,080 position ourselves? What do what? 64 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:07,680 What is our disposition? First of all, faithful stewards 65 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:12,960 and servants know that only Jesus's approval and judgement 66 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:14,920 counts. In the long run. 67 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:20,240 No one gets to judge the faithfulness of another servant 68 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,760 in the household of another under over on the ship. 69 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,400 And when I say faithfulness, I am not talking about sin. 70 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:35,440 Sin should absolutely be addressed and judged within the 71 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:38,080 church. In the next chapter, Paul begins 72 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:40,600 to do that. And then in the next chapter he 73 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:44,080 tells the Corinthians, Don't you know that there you are supposed 74 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:46,320 to be judging disputes amongst yourselves? 75 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:48,760 Wise people amongst you should do that. 76 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:54,040 So in situations where there is sin, there should be judgement, 77 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,320 right judgement, and it should be addressed. 78 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:58,680 But look at verse 5 in our passage. 79 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:03,360 It says do not pronounce judgement before the time, 80 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,160 before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now 81 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:11,720 hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the 82 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,600 heart when it comes to faithfulness related to things 83 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:21,000 that are hidden, motives, intentions, the purposes of the 84 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,480 heart. We don't get to judge that. 85 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,800 We can't judge that. Because you see, it's like the 86 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,080 Corinthians were saying, look, y'all, let's be honest, Paul, 87 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,720 he's not that great. I mean, his letters might be 88 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:39,760 weighty and heavy, but he's such an unassuming presence. 89 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,160 He's weak. Not my kind of leader. 90 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:46,040 Oh, he's not like Apollos. Now Apollos, that guy can hold a 91 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:47,840 crowd. That guy can talk. 92 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,640 You know what? He's not even one of the 93 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:56,240 original 12 apostles. I mean, he says he's an apostle, 94 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,760 but he's not like Saphus. He had like a vision or 95 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:02,000 something. Jesus came and talked to him. 96 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,160 If he was truly an apostle, would he be suffering so much? 97 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,880 I mean, wouldn't his life be more blessed, right? 98 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,120 I mean, we are reigning in Christ right now. 99 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:15,840 We have the Spirit of God. Why is he always talking about 100 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:21,200 suffering and weakness? And so Paul tells them, look, it 101 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:27,840 matters very little to me. What you think of me matters 102 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:30,600 very little. You cannot judge my motives and 103 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:32,600 my intentions and the purposes of my heart. 104 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:36,440 But he takes it further. I don't even judge myself. 105 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:40,000 I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a 106 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,920 faithful steward and a servant before you. 107 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,440 But that doesn't mean much anyway because only Jesus 108 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:48,000 actually knows the intentions of my heart. 109 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,760 Only he has the right to judge that. 110 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,240 It's like he's thinking of Psalm 139 where the psalmist says, 111 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,640 search me, O God, and know my heart. 112 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,320 See if there's any evil and wicked way within me, and lead 113 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,200 me in the path of righteousness. You and I don't know ourselves 114 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:08,240 well enough to judge our intentions and motives fully and 115 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:10,680 rightly. Only Jesus does. 116 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:15,560 You know, sometimes you write a sermon and something pricks you 117 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,120 as you're writing it. This is one of those, and it 118 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,560 might seem like a funny little example, but I think I think 119 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:27,640 it's right. I find myself judging fellow 120 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:31,280 Christians a lot when it comes to the things that I love, 121 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,400 especially Christian music and movies. 122 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:40,280 Yeah, You know, sometimes I intentionally watch badly 123 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:42,720 produced Christian films Intentionally. 124 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:44,960 Sometimes it's because I love to hit them. 125 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,120 Sometimes it's because I want to find out what our fellow 126 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,040 Christians are doing. And, you know, once in a while I 127 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,520 find a diamond in the rough, something that stands like, yes, 128 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,040 that one pops. And there was a movie that was 129 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,520 made in 2018, and I watched it. Was it this year or last year? 130 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,720 I can't remember 2018. And it was one of those movies 131 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:04,520 that Rotten Tomatoes didn't even bother to make a review about. 132 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,120 Completely understand. It was fine. 133 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,080 But the main actor was so good. It gave a compelling 134 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,280 performance. And I was like, yes, that guy's. 135 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,800 So I'm so glad he's on our side. And I rendered him, and I 136 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:19,440 rendered A judgement. I wasn't thinking about that at 137 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:20,600 the moment. I was like, yes, that's so 138 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:24,080 awesome. But then I decided to look at 139 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,120 his credits, his film credits, and I did some research and 140 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,960 found enough to be like, I'm not even sure this guy is one of is 141 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,400 in the same camp with me. I'm not sure he's a Christian in 142 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:37,960 the 1st place. And then again, I judged motives 143 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:42,360 and intentions just like that. I have no idea who this person 144 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,320 is, but because of his product, I was imputing to him motives 145 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:49,040 and intentions and desires. And I do this with all kinds of 146 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,720 things that fellow Christians produce with the work that they 147 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:53,160 do. I could seek the Christian music 148 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:55,520 that I find boring or uninspiring. 149 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,240 I look at the street preacher standing faithfully perhaps, or 150 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:04,560 unfaithfully on the corner there shouting Ouch out out that Jesus 151 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:06,840 loves us. And I'm like, hey, you are 152 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:11,280 making all of us look bad as if that's what matters. 153 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,440 And again and again I assign motives and intentions and 154 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,040 value. I don't have the right to do 155 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,920 that. I mean, how many of these 156 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,720 brothers and sisters, doing the best they can, what they've been 157 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:26,440 given, will one day hear from the Lord well done, good and 158 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,640 faithful servant while I was standing on the sidelines and 159 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:34,800 critiquing them. When sin is not involved, 160 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,880 faithful stewards of Jesus don't sit in judgement over the 161 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:42,760 faithfulness of other servants. We just don't do that. 162 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,960 We also don't pay heed to the world's judgement either. 163 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:50,520 The world doesn't even know what it's looking at when it sees the 164 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:51,840 church. It doesn't. 165 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:56,280 Again, not talking about sin. It's sad, but it's true that the 166 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:58,920 world can see sin in the church and say hypocrites. 167 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:00,640 That should not be. And they're right about that 168 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,320 sometimes because of us, the Gentiles or people who don't 169 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:08,320 believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, blasphemy our God, and 170 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:14,160 that should not be. But even then, they won't get it 171 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:15,760 right. Not only can they not judge 172 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:20,320 intentions and motives, they do not have the spirit of truth 173 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,040 like we read in the Gospels. They have a different standard 174 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:26,400 from Jesus Christ. I mean, for a simple example, 175 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,600 Jesus defines love in a way that the world does not understand. 176 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,840 And so we as faithful servants of Jesus know that we do not 177 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:40,160 live by the praise, the approval or judgment of the world. 178 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,360 Other Christians don't judge us, our intentions and motives. 179 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,080 We don't judge our own intentions and motives. 180 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,680 Rightly, the world can't do that either, but Jesus does. 181 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:54,400 So we need to Orient our hearts towards him, the one who will 182 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,440 bring to light the motives and intentions of every heart. 183 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:00,920 And when that day comes, and only when that day comes, will 184 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:05,160 we hear praise from God. There will be moments in your 185 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:07,360 life when others cry out. How could you? 186 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:12,360 And yet later God will say, well done, good and faithful servant. 187 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:16,760 So let's see ourselves as servants and stewards of Christ 188 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:23,920 who focus on Jesus approval only as servants and stewards of 189 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,160 Christ. Second point, we humble 190 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,240 ourselves. We maintain a posture of 191 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:35,880 humility toward the Word of God. Part of the Corinthian problem 192 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:40,440 was verse 6. They were going beyond what was 193 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:42,880 written. They were stepping outside the 194 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,600 clear teachings of Scripture, and they were adding layers of 195 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:50,880 human wisdom to judge things that only God can rightly judge. 196 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,800 And according to verse 6, when one goes beyond Scripture, one 197 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:58,360 becomes puffed up in favour of one against the other. 198 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,640 But servants and stewards of Jesus humble themselves before 199 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:08,720 God's Word and they obey it. No embellishments, no caveats, 200 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,760 no additions, no. Oh, but you don't understand 201 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:17,320 none of that. They not only believe it, they 202 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:21,400 obey it. They not only obey it, they 203 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,560 believe it. They accept God's Word as the 204 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:27,680 final authority on all matters, and they act like it. 205 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:34,800 And if they don't, pride comes in As servants and stewards, we 206 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,280 maintain a posture of humility toward the gifts that God has 207 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,960 given to us. Basically, between putting 208 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,480 chapter 1 and chapter 4 together, Paul is effectively 209 00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:49,440 saying, yes, I do give thanks to my God always when I think and I 210 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,280 pray for you because I know that he has enriched you in 211 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:56,400 everything, in all speech and knowledge, so that you do not 212 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,480 lack any spiritual gift. You guys have it all, but come 213 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:02,880 on, did you manufacture these gifts? 214 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:06,680 Of course not. And if you didn't manufacture 215 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:10,600 the gifts, why are you acting as if you didn't receive them from 216 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:14,640 God, Through me no less. Why are you acting as if you 217 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:17,760 earned it or you created it? What is all this comparison 218 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,520 nonsense when we're all supposed to be servants of God? 219 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:24,560 Paul is telling them to be humble about the things that 220 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:27,880 they have received. Now imagine that you are at a 221 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:32,120 wedding reception and someone wearing a perfectly tailored 222 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:36,840 designer suit walks in. Awesome shoes, great tie, and 223 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,760 all heads are turning and they're complimenting this man. 224 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:44,080 He stands up straighter, adjust his tie like he's on a runway, 225 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:47,560 and he takes in all these comments and he feels bold and 226 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:51,520 confident, but nobody knows the truth. 227 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:55,440 The suit is borrowed. He didn't even pay for it. 228 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:57,360 He's going to return it in the morning. 229 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,400 I imagine if he starts criticizing others for their 230 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:06,640 outfit or begins to pretend that he made the suit himself, that's 231 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:10,480 absurd. And yet how often do we do the 232 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:12,040 same with the gifts God has given us? 233 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:13,600 We wear them like we earned them. 234 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:16,840 We compare, we critique, we get puffed up. 235 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:18,960 And I'm not just talking about spiritual gifts. 236 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:21,200 I'm talking about your degree. I'm talking about your 237 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:23,680 influence, your status, your wealth, all the things that God 238 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,200 has blessed you with, the things you have received. 239 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,880 Faithful stewards know everything we have is borrowed. 240 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,240 And so we wear the suit with humility and with purpose. 241 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:40,880 And one of the purposes of God's gifts to us is to is to edify 242 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:42,960 the church. We steward our gifts for the 243 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:47,160 edification of the church. Paul practices what he preaches. 244 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:51,000 He took the mysteries of God, steward them towards the 245 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,320 Corinthian church, and he invested deeply in them, 246 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:59,960 specifically in training up Timothy as a faithful servant of 247 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:02,320 Christ. And the application for us is 248 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,120 clear. We should steward what we have 249 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,280 received in the same way, especially in the work of 250 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:10,480 discipleship. If you have been walking with 251 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:15,120 Jesus for a while now, you should be pouring into somebody 252 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:19,040 else what you have received. That's what faithful servants 253 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,360 do. So quick plug for the mentoring 254 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,880 program that we have here in the church, if you are interested, 255 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,280 and if you think you're you're the kind of person who has 256 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:29,960 experienced life in such a way that you can put into somebody 257 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,920 else, please talk to us so that we can connect you with others 258 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:34,720 who are looking for that kind of discipleship. 259 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,880 We also maintain a posture of humility toward discipleship 260 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,520 itself. Now Paul's primary focus in this 261 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:48,240 chapter concerns his Apostolic authority, and he returns to 262 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:50,240 that theme again in his second letter. 263 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,000 But here you see the Corinthians were struggling to submit to 264 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,600 him. They were questioning his role, 265 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,240 resisting his correction. Verse 15 and 16, he says to 266 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:01,320 them, I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 267 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:07,160 Therefore I urge you imitate me. I get it that we have a 268 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:10,960 discomfort with authority, especially spiritual authority. 269 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,480 We have multiple examples of how it's been misused. 270 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,480 There are many bad actors who wielded it wrongly, but 271 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,480 Scripture teaches us that we are to submit to the faithful 272 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:27,280 stewards God has placed over us. And not just your pastors, of 273 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,200 course, that includes your pastors, but looking for people 274 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:33,240 who have been in the faith longer than you have that are 275 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:37,560 emulating, imitating Jesus Christ such that you will grow 276 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,280 under them. That's what Timothy did. 277 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:43,080 Timothy did it. This young man did it to the 278 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:47,480 point that Paul felt confident to send Timothy to this church 279 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,160 that was having problems and say, hey, listen to this young 280 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:51,760 man. He's going to remind you of 281 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,000 everything that I have taught him. 282 00:16:55,560 --> 00:17:00,200 Timothy submitted to discipleship and so should we. 283 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,720 And again, there's a mentorship programme here in the church. 284 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:05,720 If you're interested in receiving discipleship from 285 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:10,119 people who have walked in the faith, please reach out to us. 286 00:17:11,079 --> 00:17:13,599 So faithful stewards and servants maintain a posture of 287 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:19,040 humility toward the Word of God, toward what we've received, and 288 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:24,520 toward discipleship. Lastly, Third Point, Third 289 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:29,000 Point, Stewards and servants expect to be treated like their 290 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:33,040 master. And again, hear Paul's voice. 291 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,920 Oh, Corinthians, So you think of yourselves as royalty now, do 292 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:39,880 you? Because of the manifestations of 293 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:43,480 God's gifts among you. All hail the Corinthian church 294 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:48,160 kings at last reigning gloriously apart from the very 295 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:50,520 ones who first delivered to you the mysteries of God. 296 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,600 You know, I wish you really were reigning Corinthians, so that we 297 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:58,080 might reign with you. If you have eyes to see, you'd 298 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:02,040 notice that the very apostles, even the ones you sometimes call 299 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:04,280 super apostles, don't exactly have it. 300 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:05,880 Great. Have you not seen what God and 301 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,560 His wisdom has done? He has made us apostles, like 302 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,760 slaves, like gladiators dragged into the Colosseum, put on 303 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,840 display as a spectacle of death to the world. 304 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:20,640 Watch, and to angels too. And Paul goes on and on to say 305 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,800 that while the Corinthians see themselves as wise, strong, and 306 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,880 honored, the apostles are treated like fools, weaklings, 307 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:31,080 and outcasts. They endure hunger, mistreatment 308 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:34,560 and shame with blessing, endurance and grace. 309 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,880 This is really biting language and Paul is using it to relay a 310 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:42,360 very important point. Faithful servants and stewards 311 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,400 of Jesus Christ live with the expectation that they will be 312 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,320 treated as their Master was treated. 313 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:50,520 They are not surprised by suffering. 314 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:53,120 They anticipate it. Sometimes. 315 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,880 They do not expect right now to live the kind of life that they 316 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:02,160 will one day have when the Lord Jesus returns that life of the 317 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:05,000 life, the life of those who will reign with Christ. 318 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:11,360 Instead, they understand that faithfulness in his house often 319 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:15,600 means receiving in some form the same rejection, the same 320 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,920 hardship, and the same opposition that Jesus himself 321 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:22,880 endured. Listen to the following verses 322 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,920 from Scripture. Three of them, four of them in 323 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:31,480 Hebrews. So Jesus also suffered outside 324 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,560 the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own 325 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,200 blood. Therefore, let us go to Him 326 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:48,720 outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured from first. 327 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:53,160 Peter, beloved, do not be surprised at the five year trial 328 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:57,280 when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange 329 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:01,160 were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share 330 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:05,240 Christ's suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when 331 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,040 His glory is revealed from Timothy. 332 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,640 All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be 333 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:20,000 persecuted. Romans 8 as it is written, for 334 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,760 your sake we are being killed all the day long. 335 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,720 We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 336 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:33,560 There are places in the world where Christians memorize whole 337 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,880 books of the Bible because if they own a physical copy, it 338 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:41,880 would mean imprisonment, torture, maybe even death. 339 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:48,000 Their prayers are whispered and silent because if they are 340 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,880 overheard, they'll be turned over to the authorities, even by 341 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:56,040 their own family. I say that with people that I'm 342 00:20:56,040 --> 00:21:00,600 thinking of right now, when there are worship services, when 343 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,000 they actually happen, they actually gather together in 344 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,080 darkness where there's no light, there's no sound. 345 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:12,240 They mouth the words of hymns because they Can't Sing the 346 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,440 words out loud. If they are heard, they're in 347 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:18,480 trouble. Yet they continue to gather. 348 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,000 They continue to pray, they continue to serve. 349 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:26,000 They don't ask why is this happening to me? 350 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:29,560 Because they know. They know the cost of following 351 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:31,400 Jesus who was crucified for them. 352 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:37,920 Now compare that with us. We pray aloud in public places. 353 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:44,280 We choose churches based on, you know, the style of music, the 354 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:48,280 colour of the carpet or the ceiling or how good the coffee 355 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:51,880 is. We gather openly, we broadcast 356 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,640 our sermons online, we sing with microphones and follow Jesus 357 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,760 without hiding and praise God. I'm not saying that to 358 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,320 shameless. We are blessed to have that kind 359 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:05,880 of freedom. We should be thankful for it, 360 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,280 but we should not be deceived by it. 361 00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:12,640 Because the moment hardship comes, or when obeying Jesus 362 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:16,560 costs us reputation, income, comfort, some of us are shocked. 363 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,680 We shouldn't be. We shouldn't ask why would this 364 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:24,040 happen to me? Because our brothers and sisters 365 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,120 around the world in return will ask us. 366 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:30,880 Why shouldn't it? Faithful stewards and servants 367 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:33,520 of Jesus don't expect to be treated better than their 368 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:37,200 masters in the here and now. They know that living between 369 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:42,320 the cross and the crown in the future sometimes means suffering 370 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:46,920 now, glory later. And many of us are going through 371 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:49,840 hard circumstances and hardship for different reasons. 372 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:53,440 Let us not be. Let us not be surprised. 373 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:56,200 Thank you Greg for choosing that song. 374 00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:01,840 Leaning on the everlasting arms. Let us lean on the everlasting 375 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:06,520 arms of Jesus Now. I started out by saying that our 376 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,800 unity is strengthened when we all begin to see ourselves as 377 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:14,920 under roars on Jesus ship and house managers in his house. 378 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:19,600 And when we adopt that posture, we stop competing, we stop 379 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:23,360 comparing, we stop dividing because servants aren't rivals. 380 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:28,600 Stewards don't claim ownership. So I want you to examine your 381 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,960 heart. Are you judging other people's 382 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,800 motives and intentions, the hidden purposes of their heart? 383 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:42,360 Are you living by the judgement of others, or are you trying to 384 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:47,200 be faithful to Jesus? Are you humble before God's 385 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:52,640 Word, humbly using your gifts, pouring out into the lives of 386 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:56,760 other people, or humbly submitting to discipleship, 387 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:58,880 receiving from the life of other people? 388 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:06,040 Do you have the steady faith of someone who knows that suffering 389 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:14,960 is part of following Jesus? We are not our own, we belong to 390 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,280 Jesus. Let's be faithful servants and 391 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:29,920 stewards and we pray for us. You are our Master and before 392 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:36,080 you we stand or fall. We pray that you would Orient 393 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,240 our hearts towards what you think. 394 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:47,000 Teach us to be faithful to you that your Son will be glorified 395 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:52,880 and magnified so that the world may see See Him lifted up in our 396 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:58,280 midst and they will be drawn to His beauty, His goodness, and 397 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,360 His truth. In your Son's name I pray. 398 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:01,920 Amen.