Are you successful today? What measure do you use to measure success? The world may measure success by profit - how much are you earning? By prosperity - what do you own? By prestige - how high are you in the corporate ladder?
How does God measure success? We’ll see from scriptures that God measure success by faithfulness. How faithful are you to God?
· Faithfulness is not a virtue appreciated much today. We see that in marriages - relationship between spouse. In scholarships, breaking of bonds. Why should we remain faithful?
God wants us to be faithful to what He has called us to do. He is not going to measure you based on how many converts you have, how many years have your served the church, how great things have you done… These are all important, and we want them. But growth comes from God Himself. God wants to see our faithfulness.
Paul was experiencing some difficulty with his ministry in church in Corinth. If we go by popularity and numbers, Paul’s ministry at Corinth does not seem to be very successful. People are judging him, but listen to what he tells them: "I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me." (1 Cor 4:3-4)
True success is not to be measured in terms of what man can see, but in terms of what God sees. "My judge," says Paul, "is not man or even myself, but God."
And how will God judge me? He said it in the first few verses: 1 Cor 4:1-2
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
In other words, the important thing for us is to be faithful… faithful to God and the work God has entrusted to us.
Noticed the words Paul uses: we are "servants" of Christ; "entrusted" with a message of salvation; and "given a trust".
These words describing the work of a steward (or slaves). It is not our culture today but the people of Corinth understood immediately what Paul was saying - A steward was a confidential slave to whom the master entrusted his affairs. He was a administrator of the master’s household, but still a slave of the master. Although he has great responsibility, he is always and in everything, accountable to the Master. Both he (slave) and his work belongs to the master.
It is a description of you and me.
· We are redeemed of the Lord. We belong to Him. He is our Lord and Master, for He redeemed us by His blood and this life comes from Him.
· And He has given us all a trust - a work. The most basic one is the great commission - to share the Gospel. All of us have different calling. Some called to be pastors, some teachers, some evangelists… but whatever it is, it is God’s work and we are his servants.
WHEN THE WIND BLOWS
A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the farmer asked for his qualifications, he said, "I can sleep when the wind blows." This puzzled the farmer. But he liked the young man, and hired him.
A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace. The young man slept soundly.
The farmer and his wife then inspected their property. They found that the farm tools had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements. The barn was properly locked. Even the animals were calm. All was well.
The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man’s words, "I can sleep when the wind blows." Because the farmhand did his work loyally and faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke. So when the wind blew, he was not afraid. He could sleep in peace.
There was nothing dramatic or sensational in the young boy’s preparations – he just faithfully did what was needed each day. Consequently, peace was his, even in a storm. Paul says "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."
Look at a parable Jesus told and we would understand better - Matt 25:14ff. Faithfully using what the Master has entrusted to you.
Matt 24:45-46
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
Therefore, whether in big or small ways, we must do what God has entrusted us. We must share Christ - directly, bringing them to church, or praying for the unsaved.
Paul tells them in his second letter - 2 Cor 5:18-20
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation …And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us…"
If you are a boss or master, what one quality would you look for in a worker or servant?
- reliable, trustworthy, integrity, loyalty… Do what I tell them…and do it well.
The one quality that God looks in us is faithfulness.
Notice what Paul says about being faithful -"it is required." As servants of God, as God’s children entrusted with the Gospel, we are required to be faithful to this cause.
From the parable of the talents we saw earlier - God is not going to see your success in terms of quantity, output… no. of converts saved under you (you can’t save anyone unless HS works)… but you must be faithful - whether God has given us 5, 2 or 1 talent. We don’t have to compare our accomplishments… wrong measurement. Important question: How faithful are you?
God is looking for faithfulness. He has entrusted the work of His Kingdom to us, and wants to find us faithful. We must be prepared to see Him on His return and be accountable to what we have done. We have to be faithful to His Word and His Work.
The world interpreted success differently. Being faithful is not the key to a successful life, but not in the eyes of God. Look at the disciples - most of them died as criminals. Heb 11:36-37 describes what happens to many of Jesus’ followers - "36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned ; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated ..."
They suffered because they chose to remain faithful to God’s Word and God’s Work. According to the world’s standards, all of them were absolute failures! Yet Hebrews 11:38 says, "the world was not worthy of them."
All these people were called losers or failures by the world. Yet they were honoured by God. Why? Because they were faithful to their Master. They were faithful servants. They were successful not because of prosperity and power, not because of prestige or popularity, but only because they were found faithful to the Lord. They were faithful in obeying His Word and doing His work.
Years ago, I heard a story about a preacher who went to a small town to preach a series of gospel sermons. His attempt was to evangelize that little town. He preached for two weeks. During the whole time, only one little girl responded to the invitation at the end of one of his sermons. She confessed Christ, was baptized, and turned out to be the only convert during the entire meeting. The preacher judged the meeting a failure, and for years, bemoaned the great effort he had made for such little result.
However, he did not have the right view of things. That little girl grew up to be a strong, faithful Christian woman. She married a Christian man, and together they produced several sons, all of whom became preachers of the gospel. Those sons converted thousands of unbelievers to Christ.
Now, what do you suppose would have happened to that little girl and her family, had that gospel preacher not faithfully proclaimed Christ? Do you really think that preacher’s effort was a failure? Sometimes, what looks like a very small, insignificant effort on our part, turns out to be far greater than we think.
In his book Eating The Elephant, Thom Rainer tells of an interview Billy Graham had with an interviewer. The interviewer was facinated by Rev Graham’s success and asked if he anticipated being given great rewards in heaven for the millions of lives he had impacted through his worldwide ministry.
Billy Graham said that he was not sure of the extent of his own rewards, God is the final Judge, but he was certain that others would have greater rewards than he. He went on to say that there is a faithful elderly woman whom he knows, who is right now on her knees praying for her little country church, her family, and her nation. For nearly 80 years, the sweet lady has been faithful to her Lord. She has been constantly praying, and reading the Bible daily. To Billy Graham, that lady and many others like her, will receive the greatest rewards in heaven.
At the close of the interview, Billy Graham said these last words: "You see, we are not called to be successful. We are called to be faithful."
Whenever God give us a responsibility, let us accept it and do our best at it. Treat each small task as important and demonstrate that God can depend on us. One day, we are going to hear the Lord says, "Well done, good and faithful servants."
Matt 25:23 "His master replied, ’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’"
Luke 16:10 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
CONCLUSION
Dear friends, we are not alone in this world. We have a God who is our Lord and Saviour. One day we’ll all face Him. And give an answer to our life. Why? Because we received this life from Him. He made us and loved us. He wants you to know Him and that’s why He sent Jesus to this world. Come and believe Jesus today, and once you’re reconciled with God, you’ll experience life abundant and free.
