November 25, 2001
1So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s secrets. 2Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. 3What about me? Have I been faithful? Well, it matters very little what you or anyone else thinks. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4My conscience is clear, but that isn’t what matters. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.
5So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether or not someone is faithful. When the Lord comes, he will bring our deepest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. And then God will give to everyone whatever praise is due.
6Dear brothers and sisters,? I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to the Scriptures,? you won’t brag about one of your leaders at the expense of another. 7What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?
8You think you already have everything you need! You are already rich! Without us you have become kings! I wish you really were on your thrones already, for then we would be reigning with you! 9But sometimes I think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world-to people and angels alike.
10Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you are so wise! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are well thought of, but we are laughed at. 11To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, without enough clothes to keep us warm. We have endured many beatings, and we have no homes of our own. 12We have worked wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. 13We respond gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash-right up to the present moment.
14I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16So I ask you to follow my example and do as I do.
17That is the very reason I am sending Timothy-to help you do this. For he is my beloved and trustworthy child in the Lord. He will remind you of what I teach about Christ Jesus in all the churches wherever I go.
18I know that some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will never visit you again. 19But I will come-and soon-if the Lord will let me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people are just big talkers or whether they really have God’s power. 20For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God’s power. 21Which do you choose? Should I come with punishment and scolding, or should I come with quiet love and gentleness?
The New Living Translation
Paul’s epistles are passionate if they are anything. His passion is for his people. Paul founded the church, and, as such there is in his heart a special sense of "Mother tiger".
Paul did not take it lightly that Judiazers had come to convince the young church that Jesus was incomplete without following the traditions of Judaism.
We call Paul’s letters "pastoral". That term might evoke passive scenes of shepherds sitting on the hillside, yawning while the sheep graze. However, that is not all shepherds do. When there is danger, the shepherd can turn into a wild man!
Pastoral epistles have been described as, when the pastor tells the people what God told the pastor about the people. That’s a good working definition for the principles we find in this chapter.
The principles fall in two categories, the weighing and warning of our stewardship.
The Weighing of Our Stewardship
It is good to inventory our stewardship occasionally. How can you know if you are making progress otherwise? We are forbidden, however, to inventory another’s stewardship.
Here is the principle:
Man’s judgment is imperfect; we must refrain.
There are two main areas to refrain when it comes to judging: Don’t judge another’s heart.
One reason we are not to judge another person’s motives is that we are not equipped with all the information.
Three young boys were discussing their father’s occupations. One said, "My father is important, he’s an attorney. He writes a few words on paper, calls it a brief, and they pay him two thousand bucks." The second one-upped with, "My Dad is a songwriter. HE writes a few words on a paper, puts some music to it and they pay him twenty thousand bucks." The third, not to be outdone said, "You don’t impress me. MY pop is a preacher. He writes a few words, calls it a sermon, and it takes six guys to haul the cash down the aisle."
Don’t seek the approval of another’s heart.
We are so prone to seek to make everyone happy (at least us type "B" personalities)! The problem is, you will never accomplish the task.
First - it is impossible; when did you ever hear of anybody ever pleasing everyone?
Second - other people are just as imperfect in their judging, as are you. If you have their approval, you have an imperfect judgment.
Paul didn’t even trust himself to judge his own ministry objectively. He was clear when he told the Corinthian church to stay clear of the trap of judging…man’s judgment is so imperfect.
This leads to the second category,
The Warning About Our Stewardship
…and the principle is the exact reverse of the first:
God’s judgement is perfect, we are to prepare
The Bible tells us that a judgment is coming.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die,
but after this the judgment.
Hebrews 9.27
God is the judge, and He will judge everything. Paul cared enough about the Corinthian church to warn them.
It was a classic match-up. Twenty-game winner Roger "The Rocket" Clemens took the hill for the World Champion New York Yankees in game seven of the 2001 World Series against 22-game winner, Curt Schilling, the Arizona Diamondback’s ace.
It’s not the first time they squared off. In the winter of 1991, Clemens noticed Schilling working out in an adjacent weight room at the Astrodome. The 28-year-old Clemens asked the younger 24-year-old Schilling if they could talk. Schilling thought it would be cool to talk some baseball with Clemens, but he had no idea what Clemens had on his mind.
Clemens got in Schilling’s face, telling him he wasn’t taking advantage of the gifts God had given him; he wasn’t respecting himself, his teammates, or the game.
According to Clemens, the conversation got heated. And it had an impact on Schilling. Schilling says, "I walked away saying to myself, (1) why would he care as much as he did? and, (2) if he did care, there must be something there."
Schilling says, "I began to turn a corner at that point in my career, both on and off the field."
That’s what Paul did for the Corinthian church…got in their faces. It was a pastoral message for sheep who had forgotten the shepherd.
We don’t have apostles anymore. We don’t need them; we have the Great Shepherd’s Word. It gets in our face sometimes. Sometimes it should.
When called to be part of God’s family we surrender to a lifetime of worship - this includes everything connected with life. It includes worship in and out of God’s house. It includes giving and witnessing. It includes our minds and hearts. It includes all. And it is not optional.
A little girl had won $2 as a prize for her Sunday School memorization. After worship the proud young lady was telling the pastor’s wife. "Wonderful," encouraged Mrs. Parson. "Yes," continued the little girl, "and I put it all in the offering plate."
"Well that is really special and unselfish of you, dear." Said the little one, "I know. Maybe now God will let me do some things I want to do."
You have choices in life. You are a free agent to choose to ignore God, or to obey God. If you ignore Him it will only be for a season - a short period of time we call life. Then comes the judgment. Other people may think you are wonderful or miserable - in the end, neither will matter. It will only matter what God thinks of you.
If you choose to obey God, then nothing is optional. Following Jesus means you surrender your life to him - everything.
There are those who surrender Sunday mornings and/or evening.
Some even surrender Wednesday night and special services.
Some even surrender to teach, preach or work.
But following Jesus isn’t about surrendering this time slot, or that money, or this relationship. Surrendering to follow Jesus means all…nothing less. Are you ready to stand before God and have Him ask you the question? You struggle with that the rest of this week. Amen.
