Where Do You Stand?

"⁸ You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. ⁹ For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. ¹¹ To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; ¹² and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; ¹³ when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now."
I Corinthians 4:8-13

Good Morning Beloved,
Welcome to worship!
We're so glad you're here with us today. 

The more you know the Bible and the more you know Christian history, the more aware you become that the work of God is born along by the innumerable millions of obscure and forgotten Christian men and women that served the purpose of the Lord.

Today's Message: Where Do You Stand?

The Corinthians believers were acting as though they had already received God’s praise and reward at the judgment seat of Christ. In other words, they should have kept their mind on the business of serving Christ, under-rowers however, instead they were acting as if they had already arrived at full maturity. Paul said he wished that were true because that would mean he’d be able to join them in that ultimate exaltation.

Some believers were acting as though their lives were full. The idea Paul projects here is them thinking they were perfected and complete. They felt they lacked nothing spiritually and therefore could judge these ministers.

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your Word for us today. Help us to acknowledge these truths we are about to receive in the Word. Open our hearts and minds, as we gather together in worship of You. Remind us to be humble, as Christ Himself was humble and may our humility be authentic. May we come away today with the understanding of who You are and who Christ is, so that we can see ourselves as we truly are. Sinners saved by grace, and nothing more.

Help us to understand that though we are the recipients of gifts, we are deserving of nothing. Lord, we thank You for this incredibly powerful Word to us from this rich portion of Scripture. Set deep within our hearts, our minds, so that it might become our pattern of life, in order that we may, as Micah said, walk humbly before God.
We pray these things in Jesus’ precious name
Amen
 
Open your Bibles with me to I Corinthians chapter 4. Today we'll be studying verses 8 through 13.
Beloved, I believe this a rich and very important text for those of us who serve the Lord. Sin manifests itself in many, many ways. Sin causes many problems. In the Corinthian church, in the powerful, instructive epistle from the apostle Paul, he is dealing with those problems.

Much like a father, teaching his children the reality of their behavior, in truth with love, Paul has some very strong words for these believers in Corinth. Follow along with me as I read to you from our text in I Corinthians 4:8-13.

"You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now."

Here in verse 8, Paul says, "You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you."
 
Paul telling them that he wishes they were reigning as kings, for then the ministers of God would be reigning with them. It would mean that God had already created the new heavens and earth and had rewarded the believers, exalting them to their promised reward. Take note: super spirituality is a dangerous state to be in.

So, in verses 9 and 10, Paul says, "For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.
We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor."

Now, the Apostle Paul, in this most poignant portion of Scripture, is dealing with one theme, and that one theme is humility. It isn’t easy at first to look at the passage and understand it, but I trust when we’re done, you will be able to understand it more thoroughly. As a servant of God, Paul realized
that humility was a vital and necessary part of his ministry. Humility is essential for the believer.

Paul says true ministers are put last. He sees ministers as spectacles. They are being marched across the scene of world history to carry on their combat as ordained by the King. They are mere spectacles to the world and to angels and men, with few ever understanding and fully accepting them. And from among the few who do accept them, some eventually withdraw and turn against them. The Corinthian believers were living in full satisfaction and comfort while the ministers of God were suffering as spectacles of the world.

The minister is expected to serve and to be put last. Ministers are often treated as some kind of different person, in a different kind of profession, the kind of profession other people would not want nor choose for their life’s work.

So Paul’s tells of the sharp contrast between ministers and believers.
Ministers are fools for Christ, but you are wise to Christ.
Ministers are weak, but you are strong.
You are honored, but the minister is dishonored.
Believe it or not, this sharp contrast between the attitude of many believers and the true ministers was not just a problem with the Corinthians, it is the problem with far too many believers and churches yet today.
 
Paul says, in verses 11-13, "To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now."

Despite the way ministers are viewed, true ministers will still serve no matter the cost. True ministers are the servants of Christ, so they pay any price to share the gospel and to minister to people. Paul says that he and the apostles were bearing these very sufferings "even unto the present hour." He then lists a few general things that ministers endure, but he was referring to all the apostles had gone through:
Sometimes they lacked food, water, and clothing.
They were tormented and beaten with fists.
They had no home.
They were not a burden to the church even if it meant them working at a secular job.
They were reviled but they blessed.
They were persecuted but they suffered it.
They were defamed or slandered, but they beseeched or exhorted and met it with kindness.
They were made as the filth and the scum of the earth.

I have said time and time again, as minister of God, in humility, you can never really say what you want to say to these types of people, those who slander them. So you just must accept it as hot air and continue to do the Lord’s work.
So through all this, Paul implants some unspoken questions in the minds of these Corinthians as to where their focus was. These questions are pointed at us as well:

What are you doing for Christ?
How much are you suffering to preach the gospel and to minister to people?
How many have honestly given all they are and have to share the gospel with the world?

Paul is saying if their focus was set upon these things, they could be accomplishing great things for the Lord instead of occupying our minds and hearts on these puffed up, hot air bag issues and the church would re-unite. The same is true for the believers and church today,
Paul contrasts the pride of the Corinthians with the humble service God expects. One of the essential characteristics of Christian leaders is humility.

What is humility? Humility involves self-forgetfulness and willful submission. Paul was so focused on serving Christ he ceased being preoccupied with their opinion of him being a success or failure. On the other hand, the Corinthians were all about appearances. Their mind was filled with themselves. When people are self-occupied they are protective, concerned mainly with their interests, and self-advancing. Little slights are big deals. That is a key sign of pride and self-occupation.

Paul is used two images to describe how the apostles were humiliated for the cause of Christ. One is the conquered captives who are forced to fight gladiators or wild animals in the arena. The other is what is scraped off the plate and thrown away as useless. The Corinthian’s were flaunting their pride and living like kings instead of suffering for Christ like their teachers. Their teachers were even willing to be called fools for Christ. 

The Corinthians exalted their abilities and competencies. And it caused them to look at the messenger and not the message. Paul admitted that he was a sinner, he had fears, and lacked exceptional skills and abilities, but his life displayed great power. People would ask, "Where does the power come from?" They would look away from the messenger to the message and there discover Christ. Paul says Christian leaders who are self-forgetful and willingly submit to the message and ministry of Christ are leaders that bring God glory. 

The challenge is to serve Christ by thinking of others and serving their needs. 
Pride is most concerned with who is right. Humility is most concerned with what is right. 

If you were to take a spiritual MRI of someone who is struggling with self-pity, at the root, you would find pride as the stimulus. Pride whispers "You have a right! You’re entitled." When you don’t get what you think is deserve you feel sorry for yourself. The solution is to change your way of thinking; then connect your thinking to your actions.

In Matthew 11:29, think upon these words from our Lord.

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." 

God, the Creator of the universe, allowed Himself to come to the level of human life that He did. In humility, He spit upon and mocked and scourged and beaten and rejected and crucified is indeed humiliation. He surrendered His sense of entitlement, and He chose a spirit of humility.

The world today is calling for unity. 

But how can we have unity? 

There's only one real way we can ever have unity.

That is to all be so attuned to God that in humility, we submit to Him, and in submitting to One God, we will equally submit to one another. 

Beloved, humility is the only thing that brings unity.

Where do you stand?

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

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