Always Abounding in the Work of the Lord! I Corinthians 16:5-14

Always Abounding in the Work of the Lord!

I Corinthians 16:5-14

Introduction: This is an election year, and it would be easy to mistakenly try to find hope in the next human leader that comes along. Or, if you’ve been watching the debates, maybe not!  We need to let this year be one more reminder that we are sojourners, and that our hope is in the Lord!  Might these days drive us deeper in our walk with the Him. His faithful love endures forever! We believe every thing in the Bible is there on purpose, by God’s design, and has something to say to us.  So even as we look at these seemingly incidental comments that Paul includes at the end of I Corinthians, we can see some principles that can guide us as we seek to live and serve in a fallen world. In your outline I alluded to “principles of leadership,” but in reality these principles apply to the Christian life more generally as well.

       Remember Paul was writing to a church he had planted in a corrupt, immoral, and pagan city. The love of money, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life ran rampant. But before we are too hard on the Corinthians we need to recognize that many of the struggles then and there are not too different from what we must deal with here and now, half a world and 2000 years distant! In some ways you might say that in America, in the 21^st century, yes, we live in Corinth. Is there hope?

The Maine Idea: For our church to be successful, together we need to live by faith, as we carry out the mission He has entrusted to us.

I. Look ahead: We need to have a clear vision, and to remain flexible as God’s plan unfolds (5,6).

⁵ I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia,  ⁶ and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 

       Vision (5) is something we have talked about quite a bit recently in our church.  Here we see Paul looking ahead, planning, envisioning what God was doing and what God would have him to do. Mary Ann made a cross stitch sampler for me early in our marriage based on something Howard Hendricks had said in a teaching series we listened to.  He was reflecting on Ephesians 3:20, 21. The scripture says that God is able to more than we would ask or think, to His glory. Hendricks spoke about us being able to think big, to envision what God might do if we were available and willing, all for His glory. To challenge his hearers to have vision and to trust God Dr. Hendricks asked, “If you knew that you couldn’t fail, what would you do for the glory of God?” The idea was to encourage us to look ahead in faith, to believe that God is that powerful, and that he will work out His plan for our good and for His glory. Will we think big?  Remember the cartoon of two eskimos ice fishing. One had a small, standard sized hole in the ice with his line dropped in. The other had his line in the water as he sat by a huge hole the shape of a whale! Vision!  Our vision statement could be simply something we recite superficially, just words on a page, or it can be an ongoing reminder and challenge concerning what God would do in us and through us.

“We envision a community of Christ followers, rooted in the Word, treasuring God as supremely valuable, proclaiming the riches of His grace to the world.” 

       “We envision a community of Christ followers...” As we’ve been working through a curriculum called “Believe” in our youth meetings our theme for the teen message tonight is “Biblical Community.”  What does that mean? Why is it important?  Think about the kind of radical community that the early church experienced! Meeting together daily from house to house. Taking meals together. Sharing with those in need. I think that part of our vision statement is starting to take root, I see real expressions of the “one anothers” of the New Testament lived out among our people. And I think you will agree that we can excel still more in loving one another in such a way that the world sees something real here! What really distinguishes the community of God’s people, is God’s presence in our midst. We are His temple, His Spirit dwells in us!

       “...rooted in the Word...” One of our core values is understanding the importance of the Bible as God’s revelation to us. The God who is has spoken, and He inspired humans through the ages to write down those things that would be important to his people in every age. So we insist on biblical preaching. I hope that you will hold me, and those who come after me, accountable, that we would stay true to the Bible. We study the Bible in our Sunday School classes and in our small groups, we encourage each other to take time for daily devotions. We want to be grounded, rooted in the Word.

        So we are “...a community of Christ followers, rooted in the Word, treasuring God as supremely valuable...” The more we know God, the more we love Him. Ideally we get to the point of understanding How precious He is, the Pearl of great price that is more important, more valuable, more to be treasured, than anything this world might offer. It means to be able to say with Paul that nothing compares to the privilege and pleasure of knowing Christ,

...Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith... (Phil 3:8,9).

       When we arrive at that point, it seems to me, that the last phrase of our vision statement will be unavoidable: “We envision a community of Christ followers, rooted in the word, treasuring God as supremely valuable, proclaiming the riches of his grace to the world.” The news that has been entrusted to us is too important to keep to ourselves!  We need tell others of the hope that is in us. Are we there yet? Is that our vision?  I think we want it to be. We are in process, the idea of “vision” is looking ahead, in faith. It is what we are becoming, what we want to be. We need to embrace a clear vision. We need to not only see where we are, but we need to look ahead to what we can be, what God wants us to be. If love each other in the way the New Testament says we should, if we love God more than life itself, we are going to want to share the message of His grace with the people around us. 

       Listen, let’s get to an application right now.  Easter, Resurrection Sunday, is just three weeks away.  According to one seminar I heard recently, 90% of the people who don’t attend church say they would be open to going if they were invited.  Now it may not be that high in Maine, but even if it is 50%, people are more open to visiting church than we realize!  Every one of us have people around us, in our sphere of influence, who don’t know Christ, or people who have professed faith but drifted away from church attendance.  Easter is going to be a special service with great music and an emphasis on the Gospel.  We have been talking about outreach, and there are really two aspects of that. One is taking the gospel to the world. That is our day to day living out of our faith before our family and co-workers, our classmates and our neighbors.  There are also times when it is a good idea to invite, to bring our neighbors in so that they can hear the gospel. That is outreach too!  If we can each bring at least one, we’ll be needing to set up the red chairs in the back for supplemental seating! That would be great!  Be praying now for those you can invite. And be praying for the service that the name of Jesus would be lifted up, and that He would draw people to himself.  We need to have vision!

       Flexibility (6) - While it is essential that we have vision, while it is important to plan ahead, our plans must always be subject to the Lord’s revision. On Paul’s second missionary journey we encounter the following scene:

⁵ So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.  ⁶ And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.  ⁷ And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.  ⁸ So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.  ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."

We don’t have the details of the means God used to close the doors of ministry in Asia and Bithynia, simply that they weren’t allowed by the Spirit to minister in those areas. God had another plan, the gospel needed to go outward and cross over into Europe. And so the Macedonian vision. The point is that Paul and Silas and their team were sensitive to discern God’s direction.  We will make mistakes. We will decide to do things, even good things, at the wrong time or in the wrong way, or even with wrong motives. We need to together seek God and discern his leading.  It is rare that God speaks to us in a powerful voice from a burning bush. More common is a still, small voice. But He will lead us if we are seeking Him. For our church to be successful we need to live by faith as we carry out the mission He has entrusted to us.

II. Be Thorough: We need to take time and dig deep if we want to be well grounded and effective (7,8).

⁷ For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.  ⁸ But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost... 

        Paul moved around a lot during the thirty or so years between his conversion and his being martyred. But Paul moved so much usually because of persecution. So he would make some converts and establish a church, stay as long as he could to build them up in the faith, and then, when it seemed to be God’s time, he moved on.  I remember when we came here to this church, after a long search and with a tired search committee, one of the things that we were asked was how long we might stay.  As long as God wills!   My hope when I came was to stay to retirement which would mean another six or seven years, but we need to be discerning and obedient to God’s leading.  The idea is to invest ourselves in the lives of the people. To be here not simply to maintain the status quo, but to make a difference in people’s lives, and to be faithful in equipping the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. The mission of the church is to make disciples. That requires time, commitment.  We have a community that desperately needs to know Jesus. Our mission is to know Him, and to make Him known.  For our church to be successful we need to live by faith as we carry out the mission He has entrusted to us.

III. Be ready: Opposition will come (9).

⁹ for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. 

       First Paul states his positive reason for staying in Ephesus, “...for a wide door for effective work has opened to me...” That is what God does. He is in control. He opens doors, and He closes doors.  I remember when we were asking God about serving long term on the mission field it was quite a process of discerning God’s will and hearing His call.  He used His Word, He used His people, and He used circumstances in the process.  The great commission in Matthew was one passage that spoke to us.  His mission is the “Great Commission,” to go and make disciples (see Matthew 28:18-20).  So we needed to be available and obedient. As we sought counsel God confirmed that our training and gifts could meet needs in Brazil, pressing needs at that moment in history. And He made it possible for us to go as he supplied financially through the gifts of his people. He holds the keys, and what he opens no one shuts (Revelation 3:7-8).  God opens doors, and part of living by faith is being willing to step through. Whether it means leaving NJ to go to Brazil, or leaving Brazil to come to Maine, or taking your family for a short term project in Uganda or Haiti, He is the Lord of the harvest! He opens doors.

       Be warned however, that opposition will come, “...there are many adversaries...”  First of all we are in a spiritual war and “...our adversary the devil is going about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.”  Do not doubt it, he wants you isolated and vulnerable, and he is an expert on human weaknesses. Opposition will come, but be encouraged, God is in control, Jesus is building His church. Will we trust Him? For our church to be successful we need to live by faith as we carry out the mission He has entrusted to us.

IV. Be a Team: Working together, all engaged  (10-12).

¹⁰ When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am.  ¹¹ So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.  ¹² Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. 

       Respect the leadership God has raised up (10,11).  Paul is concerned that his young disciple Timothy, his son in the Lord, be accepted and respected by the Corinthians: “...put him at ease among you... let no one despise him...” Listen, if God sends someone to serve with us, we need to respect one another.  Paul was sending Timothy to the Corinthians. Perhaps he was younger than some of the other leaders the Corinthians thought much of, like Peter, Apollos, and Paul. But he was called and chosen by God. Jesus is the head of the church.  The context is a leader Paul had sent, but the principle of accepting one another, loving one another as brothers and sisters, making people feel welcome, is normal, healthy Christianity.  We are a welcoming church, let’s excel still more!

       There is no room for envy or mistrust (12).  Remember early in I Corinthians Paul pointed out a problem with divisions, people aligning themselves with one leader or another: “I am of Paul, I am of Cephas, I am of Apollos, I am of Christ...” It would be easy to get defensive, or to envy the popularity of others. It would be easy, but it would not be Christian. And it was not what Paul did.  He in fact urged Apollos to visit the Corinthians. Why? It seems that he felt they could benefit from his encouragement and spiritual gifts.  Their edification was more important to Paul than his own security.  Why should we be envious? After all, one plants, another waters, but God causes the growth.  Either He is the Lord of the harvest, or he isn’t.  If He is, then we can trust Him. For our church to be successful we need to live by faith as we carry out the mission He has entrusted to us.

V. Be Committed: It’s time to “man up” (13,14)! Paul ends with a series of exhortations that encourage us to be engaged in God’s mission.

¹³ Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  ¹⁴ Let all that you do be done in love.

       Be on guard! Be watchful!  According to some historians the success of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that decimated our fleet and catapulted us into World War 2 could have been the result of a failure on our part to be vigilant. We assumed that such an attack would never happen and our forces were not as watchful as they should have been. The Bible warns us to be watchful, to stay vigilant.  Because we live in a fallen world, and because we have an experienced, powerful adversary, we need to be on the alert.  

       Stand firm in the faith!  It’s the opposite of those described in Ephesians 4 who are easily “...carried about by every wind of doctrine...”  Positively it is the attribute called for at the end of chapter 15, “Be steadfast, immovable...”  We need to be rooted in the Word, well grounded in our understanding of Scripture, so that we can “stand firm” against the wiles of the devil.  Remember the serpent in the garden, “Did God really say...”  By knowing His word we can respond with scripture, as Jesus did when tempted of the devil. “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God...”

       Man up!  Be strong!  The imperative here is a single word, translated “act like men” in some English versions, followed by the exhortation “be strong!” There is an expression used today, “Man up!” The idea seems to be to be mature, to take the responsibilities of an adult. In light of the tone of the recent political debates you could see the application for the candidates, “Be adults already!” Remember the contrast in this letter, Paul has already told the Corinthians they were acting like mere “babes in Christ.”  They need to grow up if they were going to be faithful disciples.

       Do everything in love! I hope that immediately makes you think of I Corinthians 13, “Now abide faith, hope, and love, these three, and the greatest of these is love.” I hope it causes you to remember the first and greatest commandment: to love God whole-heartedly, and the second, to love your neighbor as yourself. Love God, love people. That should guide and motivate all that we do.  One of the most loving things we can do for our neighbor is to “bring the gospel to them,” or, “to bring them to the gospel.”  Think about the Easter service as an opportunity to pray, and to invite, motivated by the love of Christ.

What is God saying to me in this passage? For our church to be successful we need to live by faith as we carry out the mission He has entrusted to us.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? So, my brothers and sisters, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  ¹⁴ Let all that you do be done in love.” As we prepare our hearts for the table, let us reflect on the supreme demonstration of love: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins...” (I John 4:10).    AMEN!