THE SAINTS SHOULD BE IN THE SUPERBOWL
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Three workers stopped to eat lunch as they worked on a high rise building. The first, a German, said, “If my wife gave me sauerkraut and sausage again for my lunch, I’m going to jump off this building!” The second, a Hispanic, said, “If my wife gave me tamales again for my lunch, I’m going to jump off this building!” The third, a Texas Aggie, said, “If my wife gave me a Turkey & cheese sandwich again for my lunch, I’m going to jump off this building!”
2. Unfortunately, all three got what they feared and all three jumped off the building to their deaths.
3. Their three widows got together to mourn. The German’s wife said, “If I’d known that Gunter hated sauerkraut and sausage that much, I would never had made it for him!” The Hispanic man’s wife said, “If I’d known that Juan hated tamales that much, I would never had made it for him!” They paused and then both looked at the Aggie’s wife.
4. She said, “Don’t look at me! He made his own lunches!”
B. WRONG TEAM IN THE SUPERBOWL?
1. Two weeks ago the New Orleans Saints played the L.A. Rams. The game went into overtime. And the outcome of the game hinged on a ref not calling a pass interference. Had he called it, the Saints wouldn’t have gone to 4th down, but “first and goal.”
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIrGoy4CC5Q
Begin 14 seconds in. Go until 1:45.
3. Many people are saying, “The Saints Should Be In The Superbowl.” I thought this statement could be transferred to “God’s Saints should be playing in the Superbowl of Life!”
C. TEXT: 1 Corinthians 3:5-9
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe— as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow-workers; you are God's field, God's building.
D. THESIS
1. Billy Graham said, "The Evangelistic Harvest is always urgent. The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is strategic. We are not responsible for the past generation, and we cannot bear full responsibility for the next one; but we do have our generation. God will hold us responsible as to how well we
fulfill our responsibilities to this age and take advantage of our opportunities."
2. Paul talks to us about four important aspects of the work and ministry of the Church: its people, working together, corporate, cooperative action, assurance of divine involvement, and lastly, the eternal results of what we do for the Lord. The title of this message is “The Saints Should Be In The Superbowl.”
I. THE PEOPLE FACTOR: "FOR WE."
A. WHO IS THE CHURCH? Q - Who is Paul referring to?
1. There are really two churches: the visible & invisible. Many people in the visible church aren’t really Christians. They attend the services, but they’ve never let Jesus take over their lives. He’s not actively living inside them. They don’t obey Jesus’ Word. They don’t seek to please Him alone.
2. But the real church is the invisible Body of Christ, made up of all saved people, born of the Spirit of God, who’ve been adopted into the family of God and made heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ!
2. WE’RE ALL PART OF THIS BODY.
a. I believe we, right here, have been ordained by God to be a part of this local Body for this moment in history. We’re not here by accident. We’re not pieces of drift wood floating on the ocean. The Bible says, “The steps of a good man (woman) are ordered by the Lord”.
B. GOD EXPECTS OUR GIFTS TO BE USED IN SERVICE TO OTHERS
1. Has God made you a part of this Body? Are you functioning? God created each of us for a purpose. God gave each of us certain gifts. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” I Peter 4:10.
2. Just as in the human body, each part has a function, so do we! Without each member fulfilling its function, the Body as a whole won’t work properly. [About the only member of the Body we don’t need is the “Bone of Contention”]. But without the lungs, heart, esophagus, liver, kidney, brain [well some could make it without that] we couldn’t live.
3. ILLUS. Now some don’t want to function.
a. A man visited a pastor’s office at a church one day to inquire into membership in the church. He stated that he would not be able to get involved or do anything, but he felt it was important to have a religious membership.
b. The pastor advised this man that his church might not be the best fit for him, but he knew of a place where he would fit in quite nicely. The man asked about a phone number, but the pastor only gave him an address.
c. On Sunday morning, the gentlemen followed the directions and pulled up into the yard of a dilapidated building. The roof was falling in, the doors were locked, and vines were growing into the windows.
d. The man called the pastor and told him that he’d given him the wrong directions. "Oh no," the pastor replied. "Not at all. That’s the place. That church has a membership roll filled with people who didn’t want to get involved or be committed. That’s what happens to a church whose members don’t care about its success."
4. We must understand, God doesn’t just want us to participate in His plan of SALVATION, but also in His plan of SERVICE. Too often, we only want to enjoy the benefits of salvation without having to make the responsibilities. If we’re are saved, then we ought to serve.
C. SINCE ALL GIFTS NECESSARY, NO ONE IS BETTER
1. The Apostle Paul in I Cor. 12 talks about the members the Body of Christ being like the parts of our bodies. ALL the parts are equally necessary. No one should think the gift he has is better than someone else’s.
2. EXAMPLE. a. Because Antonio’s voice was high and squeaky, he didn’t make the Cremona Boys’ Choir. When he took violin lessons, the neighbors persuaded his parents to make him stop. Yet Antonio still wanted to make music.
b. His friends gave him a hard time because his only talent was whittling. When Antonio was older he served as an apprentice to a violinmaker. His knack for whittling grew into a skill of carving and his hobby became his craft. He worked patiently and faithfully.
c. By the time he died, he left over 1,500 violins, each one bearing a label that read, “Antonio Stradivarius.” They are the most sought-after violins in the world and sell for more than $100,000 each. One sold for $15.9 million in 2011.
d. Antonio couldn’t sing or play or preach or teach but he could whittle and his responsibility was to use his ability, and his violins are still making beautiful music today.
4. If everyone respects and encourages others to use their gifts, there will unity in the Body of Christ, not divisions.
D. ACCOUNTABILITY OF OUR GIFTS
1. We are held accountable for the gifts we possess. Romans 12:6-8, “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So, … If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”
2. Whatever your gift is, don’t bury it. Jesus told the Parable of the Talents to illustrate the importance of using what God has given you in Matthew 25:14-30. Each servant was rewarded for how he used his talent, but the servant who buried his talent was condemned to a place with the unbelievers.
3. God cares a great deal about whether we use the gift He gave us.
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAMWORK
One of the core values of our church is: “Ministering in teams is preferable to ministering alone.”
A. NEW TESTAMENT PATTERN
1. Throughout the New Testament we see teams serving together in ministry. Paul and Barnabas; Paul and Silas; and Paul and Timothy served as teams in ministry. A husband and wife team, Aquila and Priscilla.
2. Jesus demonstrated team ministry when He chose 12 disciples, a very diverse team, from different socio-economic backgrounds, different personality profiles -- from quiet to boisterous, timid to impulsive. But the members of His team had one common characteristic…they were teachable.
3. Jesus was their coach and mentor. He gave them on-the-job training. They learned how to witness by watching Jesus witness to a Samaritan Woman. They learned how to pray by watching Jesus spend long hours in prayer. They learned how to handle conflict by observing how Jesus confronted those who were going to stone a woman caught in adultery. They learned how to love by seeing how Jesus loved his friend Lazarus, how “Jesus wept.” The disciples at the end of Jesus’ life witnessed His ultimate love as he died upon the cross.
4. Many times, in the church it’s difficult to get people to work together. HUMOR.
a. In one “Peanuts” cartoon, Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn't.
b. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold." "Which channel do you want?" asks Linus.
c. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?"
B. TEAMWORK IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN INDIVIDUAL EFFORT
1. Geese can fly 70% farther when they fly in formation.
2. Two horses could pull 4,500 & 4,000 pounds. They teamed the horses up and they could pull 12,000 pounds together.
3. Cooperation & unity are crucial: Baseball Coach Casey Stengel said: "It's easy to get good players. Gettin' em to play together, that's the hard part." What's true in baseball is also true in the ministry of the local church.
III. THE DIVINE FACTOR:
A. "WE’RE GOD'S FELLOW WORKERS"
“GOD WITH US” is not just a Christmas message.
1. Paul points out the most important factor about this partnership; we work with God, and He works with us.
2. We must be aware of God's presence and the availability of his power for spiritual work. We are fellow workers with God. When we step out to do His work, we can expect the supernatural to accompany our efforts.
3. Mk. 16:20 says, “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” Hebrews 2:4 adds, “God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
4. Moses had a staff, Joshua a javelin, Gideon a jar and trumpet ,Samson a donkey’s jawbone – but these powerless articles became the levers of power with God’s presence! Same with us!
5. We must allow this truth to fill our thoughts. When we go at God's call and direction, we do not go alone. When we work according to His plan, we do not strive alone. We have available to us all the power, blessings, and resources which God owns. His all is available to us.
B. THE ETERNAL RESULTS AS PARTNERS
1. In the business and professional world, only some employees are allowed to become partners in the business; but in the kingdom of Jesus, all members of the Body of Christ are invited to become partners.
2. Since partners join in the work, they also get a share of the proceeds. Paul says to the Philippians, “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus….all of you share in God's grace with me.” (1:4-7) Later (4:17) Paul said, “…I am looking for what may be credited to you account”. He used bookkeeping terminology.
3. Rewards are confirmed in several parables, such as the Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Vineyard Owner; also the Promises to the Overcomers; and in such statements as Matt. 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Word to the Taxi Driver
1. I was catching a taxi to pick up our car from a body shop. As I got in, I said, "How are you?"
2. The taxi driver said, "I don't want to beep jinx you. I'm beep awful. I've had a beep beep day," replied the driver. I said, "You can't jinx me." "Why not?" he asked.
3. "Because I'm a Christian. So what's happened, that you think your life is jinxed?" He described his father's death, his younger brother's relationship problems and subsequent suicide, the 5 times he'd had to have his bumper fixed in the last two weeks.
4. I thought it really did sound like his life was cursed. All the time I was praying, "Lord, show me how to reach this guy." The only thing that kept coming to me was: “How would you like to break this curse over your life? So I asked him and he said, "How can I do that?"
5. I said, "What do you think is your biggest problem?" He said, "This jinx on my life." I said, "No, your biggest problem is between you and God." "How'd you mean?"
6. "Would you agree with me that you've probably broken all of God's laws?" "Yeah, many times over." "That puts a barrier between you and God." So I explained the Good News about Jesus to him. "So how can I do this?"
7. “If you surrender your life to Jesus, He’ll take your curse and give you His blessings. That’s why He died on the cross. Would you like to do that?” “Yes!”
8. “Then pull over and let’s pray.” He pulled the taxi over and we prayed. He asked Jesus to save him from sin and separation from God & to take his jinx away.
9. When he dropped me off at my destination, his face was beaming. “I don’t feel the curse hanging over me anymore!” It was the best taxi ride I ever had.
B. THE CALL
1. How many of us want God to help us share our testimony with others more faithfully? God give us boldness!
2. Are you here this morning and you’re not sure, if you were to die today, that you would go to heaven? Do you have a separation between you and God, like the taxi driver? We can get that jinx off your life this morning. How many want to join me in prayer for that? Prayer.
