6.5.45 10.3.2021 Leading 1 Corinthians 4
Embracing Hope by Eliminating Avoidable Errors • Sermon • Submitted
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Entice: Leaders conform their leadership to some kind of expectation.
An abstract ideal.
An abstract ideal.
An elite example.
An elite example.
The expectation of the led.
The expectation of the led.
When the leader conforms himself of expectation of the led, that group has become, by definition, a mob. The leader has forfeited his leadership. The final and best expectation for leadership is
An authoritative mandate.
An authoritative mandate.
Engage: The Church is not a mob and our elders, deacons, preachers, and teachers do not cotton to a mob. Our leaders are called by God and gifted by Him to lead in His Kingdom. We are ambassadors to outsiders. To those inside and to our sovereign we are stewards and servants.
Expand: The Church has always had to beware of the nearly overwhelming expectations of culture. In our text today Paul confronts those expectations head on.
1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.
5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!
9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.
10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,
12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.
15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.
17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.
19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.
20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.
21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
People in Corinth were largely self-made, new-money people. They wanted and expected teachers to be gifted orators. They wanted competitive attention seekers. They wanted to provide patronage to gifted and elite artists who told them how things really were, who dictated taste and fashion, who set the standards for modern society. Today these people are commonly called “influencers.” Paul refused to be that person. He had analyzed the culture. He analyzed scripture. He applied scripture to culture and corrected the Corinthian excesses.
Excite: So here we are in 2021 and many of the cultural pressures Paul experienced still exist. The forms have changed, but the expectation remains. The Church is not a democratic, representative republic. The elders, deacons, preacher, and officers are not elected to represent you they are selected to represent the purposes of God. 1 Cor. 4 prepares us for all the commotion to come. If we want the Church to truly represent Christ we must have courageous leaders who will stand only for Him.
Explore:
We should expect our leaders to reflect Christ not our culture
We should expect our leaders to reflect Christ not our culture
Explain: Paul examines three Biblical expectations we should have for our leaders.
A Biblical leader should
1 Serve as a faithful steward
1 Serve as a faithful steward
1.1 Our motive.
1.1 Our motive.
1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
1.2 Our mandate.
1.2 Our mandate.
2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
1.3 Our metric.
1.3 Our metric.
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.
5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
If a leader takes his stewardship seriously, he will also
2 Instruct as a fearless teacher
2 Instruct as a fearless teacher
2.1 Creatively Connecting people to Scripture.
2.1 Creatively Connecting people to Scripture.
6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
2.2 Creatively correcting people who are in error.
2.2 Creatively correcting people who are in error.
8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!
9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.
10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,
12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
When leaders serve faithfully and teach fearlessly they earn respect and have the final mandate to
3 Correct as a firm father
3 Correct as a firm father
3.1 Responsibility.
3.1 Responsibility.
15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
3.2 Visibility.
3.2 Visibility.
16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.
17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
3.2.1 Imitation.
3.2.2 Reminder.
3.3 Integrity.
3.3 Integrity.
18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.
19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.
20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.
21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
Shut Down:
Leadership is not a matter of power. It is not an issue of "who's in charge here." Leadership is not about doing for others what they cannot do themselves nor does it mean treating others as incapable of learning, knowing, and applying the principles of scripture. I've long quoted Max DePree about leadership.
A leaders first job is to define reality.
A leaders first job is to define reality.
His last job is to say thank you.
His last job is to say thank you.
Far too many Elders, Sunday-School teachers, song-leaders, and yes, preachers, have been treated like hired help whose contributions and sacrifices are dismissed as secondary to the desires of the led. Neither Jesus nor Paul ever thought the Church was a democracy. It is Kingdom. Those who lead are stewards of the King.
Others see leadership in the Church as a play for power. Driven by cultural, social, or political agendas they see the Church as their domain. They view people in the pew as spiritual peasants who should do as they are told and defer to their "betters." They see the Church as a Dictatorship and they "run it." Paul and the Apostles did not see the Church as a dictatorship. It is Kingdom. Jesus is Lord. Those who lead are servants and stewards of the King.
No Christian is a peasant. Each is gifted to serve. Each is called to worship. Each is expected to be in submission to Scripture. How is your serving? How is your stewardship progressing? If today was the day that each of us received our eternal review, what do you expect? It is those questions which lead us to our invitation.