19 August 2012
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (NIV)
1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
-- the story is told about the great missionary, Hudson Taylor, who founded the China Inland Mission in the 1800's -- one stormy night in Birmingham, England, Taylor was supposed to speak at a meeting at the Seven Street schoolroom -- but, because the storm was so fierce and so strong, his hostess told him there was no need to go out -- nobody would attend on such a stormy night -- but Taylor insisted on going -- “I must go even if there is no one but the doorkeeper.”
-- As it turned out, less than a dozen people showed up, but the meeting was marked with unusual spiritual power -- God moved within that small crowd of dedicated and committed believers, and half of those present either became missionaries themselves or dedicated their children as missionaries -- all of them became faithful supporters of the China Inland Mission for years to come
-- that night, Hudson Taylor demonstrated the quality and depth of character that has made him a continuing inspiration for Christians for almost 200 years now -- Taylor was committed to serving God "regardless of names (who showed up) or numbers (how many showed) or the nature of the situation (stormy conditions)"1 -- he was faithful to God and God honored and rewarded that faithfulness by increasing the ministry of the China Inland Mission
II. The Faithful and the Summer Sermon Series
-- we are continuing in our sermon series on pursuing holiness through the fruit of the Spirit -- and today, we are discussing the fruit of faithfulness
-- in my opinion, faithfulness is an aspect of Christianity in much demand in our churches today -- when Kim and I joined Morven Methodist Church and became active in their ministries, I began to realize for the first time in my life that churches are not homogenous groups but are actually comprised of different groups of people depending on the season and the day -- and when I started pastoring a few years ago, I really began to see the difference
-- as Rick Warren points out in his book, "The Purpose Driven Church," if you were to look at the people who attend established churches, you'll quickly see that they fall into one of three groups
-- first, there's the crowd -- the group of people who only come to church on the major holidays -- Christmas -- Easter -- and Mother's Day -- when we would gather to worship on these days, the churches I used to pastor would be overflowing -- just filled with people who I never saw except on these holidays
-- then, there's the congregation -- this is the group of people who come to worship on a regular basis -- they may miss a few Sundays here or there, but they are usually at church most Sunday mornings -- these are the people who make up the bulk of the church -- the majority of the people who fill the pews each Sunday
-- and, finally, there's the committed -- this is the core of a church -- this is the group of people who are serious about their faith and about their God -- these are the people who are there every time the door is open -- by and large, and this is generalizing of course, but these are the ones who carry the ministry of the church -- the rest of the congregation may join in, but it is this group who has the vision and the drive to develop and implement ministries in the church
-- these are the people who are the like the ones Hudson Taylor spoke to on that stormy night in England -- who come regardless of the season -- who come regardless of the weather -- who come regardless of what else may be going on in their lives -- these are the ones who are bearing the fruit of the Spirit called faithfulness
-- now I know that we're not at the point yet where our church is divided into these three groups -- we're certainly never going to be called a crowd -- I've got friends whose Sunday School classes are larger than our entire church -- but, to be honest, I hope and pray that we never get to that point where we see these three groups -- the crowd, the congregation, and the committed -- represented
-- our vision for Koinonia all along has not been to focus on numbers but on depth and maturity -- our vision has been to grow closer to one another and to God through focused discipleship so that we might express the faithfulness and commitment that is commanded through this fruit of the Spirit
-- that is the basis of our ministries here at Koinonia -- that's why we emphasize Bible studies and one-on-one discipleship -- that's why I try to make my messages a little deeper and a little more challenging than I used to when I preached to larger congregations in the Methodist Church
-- we are not trying to build a church here like all the others around us -- we are trying to build a church here that is filled with committed believers -- we are trying to become a people who are more mature in our relationships with God and who are actively pursuing holiness in our lives
-- it comes down to this concept of faithfulness -- this fruit of the Spirit that we are trying to acquire in our lives -- faithfulness is a commitment to something that we hold important -- I have heard it described as faith in action -- acting in accordance with what you believe and are called to do
-- Webster defines faithful as "maintaining allegiance; constant; loyal; marked by or showing a strong sense of duty or responsibility; conscientious; accurate; reliable; exact." -- The American Heritage Dictionary goes one step farther and defines faithful as, "Consistent with truth or actuality -- [as in:] a faithful reproduction of a portrait.”
-- the Greek word that we find translated as "faithful" or "faithfulness" in the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 is pistis -- you'll also see it translated in your Bible as "trustworthy," "steadfast," or "loyal"
-- in regards to the Christian life, these definitions carry with them two important concepts related to faithfulness -- commitment and copy
-- commitment to the message and ministry of Christ -- dedication to completing the task that Christ assigned us -- and copy -- the faithful reproduction of Christ in us -- in other words, becoming more and more like Jesus in our attitude, our motives, our behavior and our lives so that when others look at us, they see the image of Christ
III. Scripture Lesson -- 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
-- this idea of commitment and copy can be seen in these verses from the epistle of Paul to the church at Corinth -- Paul was dealing with a church that had divisions because some people were listening to Paul and others would only listen to Peter while others would only listen to the teachings of Apollos -- similar to what we see today as people tend to have their favorite preachers or favorite authors
-- the problem with the church at Corinth, though, was that these new Christians were putting their faith into the teachers rather than into the message -- they were becoming faithful and committed to the wrong thing -- they were following men rather than God
-- and so Paul reminds them here of their calling as Christians and gently points them back to the only message and only person they should be committed to
-- if you would, look back with me at verse 1 in 1 Corinthians 4 [read vs. 1]
-- we see here in this first verse the concept of commitment and copy -- like I said, the Corinthians were putting their faith and loyalty behind individual human teachers -- so the first thing Paul does is remind the Corinthians of who these teachers really were -- they were nothing more than servants and ministers of Christ -- yes, they were entrusted with the secret things of God -- yes, they were called to spread the good news of Christ to others -- but they were just men -- they were just servants pointing others to the truth of Jesus Christ
-- Paul is telling them, "Stop committing yourself to men -- stop putting your faith and trust in me or Apollos or Peter -- instead, you should be committed -- you should be faithful -- to the One who has appointed you His servant and His minister -- your commitment and your loyalty should be to Christ and Christ alone"
-- secondly, Paul points out the concept of copy to the Corinthians -- "You, too, are called to be a servant of Christ just like us -- you, too, are entrusted with the things of God -- so I want you to be so committed to Christ -- I want you to be so faithful to His call and His charge to you that when men look at you -- when they regard you -- they don't see you but they see Jesus"
-- what Paul is talking about here is the essence of what we have been going over in this sermon series on holiness -- Paul wanted the Corinthians to imitate Christ -- to copy Christ in their attitude and behavior and motives so that they would become mature believers -- so that they would be holy as Christ is holy
-- "Reach the point," Paul is saying, "where people look at you and see Jesus"
-- verse 2 [read vs. 2]
-- here Paul emphasizes the concept of commitment and faithfulness -- as Christians, we have been given a responsibility -- verse 1 tells us that we are not people who are called to sit on the pews on Sunday morning -- we are not people who are called to just follow other servant leaders
-- we are the people who are called by God to be His servants -- or, as the King James Version puts it, His ministers
-- this implies that every single one of us has a purpose in our lives -- God has given us a job to do -- just as there can be no Lone Ranger Christians who are not part of a community of faith -- there can be no passive Christians who just sit in the pews and do nothing
-- in verse 1, we read that we have been entrusted with the secret things of God -- the King James Version says that we are "stewards of the mysteries of God" -- Paul is referring here to the message of the gospel -- the good news that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that He rose on the third day to prove His victory over sin and death and give us the promise of eternal life
-- Paul call this a mystery or a secret thing -- in the Bible, mysteries are things that have been hidden, but are now being revealed through the power of the Holy Spirit -- the Bible tells us the natural man cannot understand the things of God unless they are taught by the Spirit -- and that's where we come in
-- Paul is saying that we should be a copy of Christ -- that we should be His hands and His feet and His voice -- that we should be committed -- faithful -- to the trust that we have been given by spreading the message of the gospel to those around us that can't understand it on their own
-- that's the purpose of the church -- that's why we exist -- to tell others about Jesus and His message of hope -- we are faithful only to the point that we fulfill this trust that we have been given
-- now, this doesn't mean that we have to be successful -- our call is to faithfulness -- not success
-- Senator Mark Hatfield tells the story in his book of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the so-called “House of Dying” -- this was the place where sick children were cared for in their last days -- and this was the clinic where hundreds of poor and lower caste people would line up for medical care
-- Hatfield spent several days watching Mother Teresa minister to these people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die -- he was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers face daily -- “How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?” he asked -- Mother Teresa replied, “My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful.”1
-- to be faithful means that you go where you are sent and you do what you are told regardless of the outcome
-- to be faithful means that you go out in a pouring rainstorm to give a message to only 12 people like Hudson Taylor because that is what God calls you to do
-- to be faithful means that you minister to the sick and dying like Mother Teresa even though in human eyes it makes no difference
-- to be faithful means that you serve God and minister to others where He has placed you -- giving of yourself and your time and your resources to fulfill the calling on your life
-- verse 3 [read vs. 3-5] -- real quickly here, let me wrap this up for you -- Paul says, "It doesn't matter what other people think of me -- I don't care how you or any human court view me or judge me -- I don't even care how I view myself or what I think of myself -- the only thing that is important is how God sees me -- how God will judge me
-- "at the appointed time -- when the Lord returns -- He will judge not only my actions and my behavior but also the motives of my heart -- it is Jesus that I am serving -- it is the praise of Jesus that I am seeking -- for, in the end, it is the phrase, 'Well done, good and faithful servant,' that I long to hear"
IV. Closing
-- for the last little while, I have been caught up in the book, "The Game of Thrones" -- if you're not familiar with these books or with the HBO series about them, it is set in an age of knights and chivalry in the fictional land of Westeros
-- in this land, there is a great wall of ice that has been built to protect the people from an unspeakable evil that lurks in the north -- this wall is manned by the men of the Night's Watch -- a group of men who sacrifice their lives in defense of their kingdom -- who lay down all allegiance to kings and queens and who give up the rights to have families of their own so they can faithfully fulfill the calling to protect the realm from evil
-- to join the Night's Watch, the men take a vow that seals them to their mission and their purpose -- if you would, let me share this vow from the book with you right now:
-- "Hear my words and bear witness to my vow -- Night gathers and now my watch begins -- It shall not end until my death -- I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children -- I shall wear no crowns and win no glory -- I shall live and die at my post -- I am the sword in the darkness -- I am the watcher on the walls -- I am the fire that burns against the cold -- the light that brings the dawn -- the horn that wakes the sleepers -- the shield that guards the realms of men -- I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come" [George R.R. Martin, "A Game of Thrones"]
-- when I first read those words, I immediately thought of our life with Christ -- in our churches today, we do not make vows such as this when we join our lives to Christ -- at the most, we ask people who are coming to join our churches if they will commit to supporting God and the church through their prayers, presence, gifts, witness, and service -- but experience shows that very few people take this commitment seriously
-- I wonder whether we would consider our Christian lives more seriously if we were required to speak words such as these when we stood at the altar or in the baptismal waters -- I wonder if we have not erred in the church today by not asking people to stand up and make a commitment as serious as the vow in this fictional book -- I wonder if that is why most churches are filled with crowds and congregations and not with the committed and faithful
-- what if we were to take this vow from this book and rearrange it slightly to make it a Christian vow? -- what if this was something that we spoke every day from the heart as we committed to live faithful lives for Christ? -- would this make a difference in who we were and what we did and how we lived our lives?
-- listen to this revised vow that I modified to make this a vow for those seeking to be faithful to Christ:
-- "Lord God Almighty, hear my words and bear witness to my vow -- Darkness and evil have gathered and now my watch begins -- It shall not end until my death, until I am home with You -- I shall make no allegiance to this world -- I shall not seek fame or fortune for myself -- I shall wear no crowns except those You give -- I shall win glory only for Your Name -- I shall die to self and pick up my cross and follow You where you lead
-- I am the sword who bears the Truth -- I am the city on the hill -- I am the salt of this world -- I am the fire that burns against the cold -- the light that brings the dawn -- the horn that wakes the sleepers -- the shield that guards the realms of men
-- I pledge my life and honor to Christ Jesus and Him alone, for this day and all the days to come" [Modified from George R.R. Martin, "A Game of Thrones"]
-- regardless of whether we ever actually take a vow like this or not, this is what we have been called to do as servants of Christ -- we have been entrusted with a responsibility from God to be faithful to His word and to minister to others the gospel of Christ Jesus -- we have been called to be His ministers -- to reflect His nature and character -- and to stand firm in the face of opposition and danger as we snatch others from the flames of hell
-- this is the essence of what we mean by the term "faithfulness" -- and this is what Christ is calling us to today
-- as I close in prayer, I want to encourage you to respond to God's word by rededicating your life to Him -- none of us are as faithful in our walk with Jesus as we should be -- none of us truly copy Him in all of our behavior or attitudes or motives -- none of us are truly committed in all our ways to Him
-- so, I want to encourage you to take a moment to commit your life to God again -- to promise to support God and His church through your prayers, presence, gifts, witness, and service -- to promise that you will be His faithful servants in all that you do
-- let us pray
References:
1. http://bible.org/seriespage/mark-14-faithfulness -- Mark #14: Faithfulness
By: J. Hampton Keathley, III, Accessed 1 August 2009
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