as we looked at last time, had
originally planned to go to Corinth to be with the saints there,
but his steps were providentially ordered in another direction.
Almighty God sent Paul, instead of going to Corinth, Macedonia,
back to Corinth, the Lord sent him to Ephesus. And the reason
that Paul was there in his mind, providentially he was there,
but they were having the Passover. The Feast of Harvest was going
on. And Paul realized there's a marvelous opportunity to preach
the Gospel. There's going to be a lot of
Jews there. And so he went knowing that he was going to be able
to preach, which he did. And if you'd like to read the
account of what happened, it's in chapter 19 of the book of
Acts. I won't read it right now, but it's in Acts chapter 19. And the opposition that he had
to endure, I mean the resentment and the horrible way he was treated
They're in Ephesus by men that you'd think that claim to be
believers, but they were just mean, hardy, and Paul withstood
so much in Ephesus. And then later, after he left,
wrote them a letter back as an encouragement to the believers
that were there in Ephesus. And it's the book of Ephesians
that we have now. And you look what Paul was made
to endure for the sake of the gospel. and got the Spirit of
God moved upon his heart to write the book of Ephesians. And what
a treasure we have in that blessed book. So here he was. He sent
two men. He was in Ephesus. And he'd sent
a couple of men. You can look at Acts 19. I'll just look at a couple of
verses there. Acts 19 verses 21-22. What he did was he sent
two men. Acts 19. were 21-22. He said, after these things were ended, Paul purposed
in the spirit when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia
to go to Jerusalem saying, after I've been there, I must also
see Rome. So he sent into Macedonia two
of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus, but
he himself stayed in Asia for a season. And so he was sending
these two men, but also he had a man in mind named Timothy. Look at 1 Corinthians 4. So these
were gonna be the men. 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse
16, 17, it says, for this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus,
who is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring
you into remembrance of my ways, which be in Christ, as I teach
everywhere in every church He said, then also, now some are
puffed up as though I would not come unto you, but I will come
to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech
of them which are puffed up, but of the power. So he said,
I'm going to send these men, I'm going to send these three
men, and I want you to know I'm coming, I'm coming, but I can't
come right now. But he's going to send some some
men to preach to him. So here we are, over in 1 Corinthians
chapter 16, and he says now concerning sending Timothy, verse 10, he
says now, if Timotheus come, If he comes. Now that if right
there was one of those statements that Paul made after he had made
verse 7. For I will not see you now, by
the way, but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord
permit. He had already made plans, already
saw where his plans were changed by the Lord. Providentially he
wasn't going to be able to. I've sent Timothy to come to
you, preach to you, and if Timothy can be there, if he's not providentially
hindered, if the Lord permit, we ought to always speak in such
a way that our desires and our plans are directed by the Lord. And when we speak thusly, if
the Lord will, You know, James says, don't say, I'm going to
go to this town, I'm going to work a year here, and I'm going
to make money, and I'm going to do this, and I'm going to
do that. But rather, if the Lord will, we're going to do that. We exhibit a spirit of submission
unto the Lord and obedience when we preface in our hearts, if
the Lord wills, we're going to do that. If the Lord wills, we'll
be here Sunday. If the Lord's will, I'll be in
Arkansas. I'm planning to go, but if the
Lord wills, I'll be there. If not, I won't be. So he says, now if Timotheus
come, he said, see that he may be with you without fear. He wasn't fearful of being hurt
physically, but he was fearful, Paul was fearful of the people
there not treating Timothy with respect. You see, whenever Paul
wrote a letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 4.12, he said, let no man despise
thy youth, But be thou an example of the believers in word, in
conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. He wrote this church in Corinth. He said, I'm going to send a
young man, his name is Timothy. And he said, I want you to make
sure that he is with you without fear, that he has no hindrances,
that he is able to be fearless in what he's preaching among
you, to preach the gospel with boldness and with freedom. Now,
Satan, Paul knew this. Satan will use anything or anybody
he can to be a distraction to God's preachers. That's just
the calling that Satan has. He's going to do all that he
can to be a distraction to God's preachers that they might not
have the freedom to be able to preach with boldness. Paul says,
I want you to make sure that when he comes, he doesn't come
and have distractions. Don't treat him. Don't tear him
down. Don't question his intent, his
character, his message. Paul says, don't do that. He says, for he worketh the work
of the Lord as I also do. I can't come there right now.
I can't be with you right now. Providentially, I'm hindered.
And I'm going to send a man. I'm going to send some men. I'm
going to send these guys to preach to you. And I pray that if he's
able to come, may he come and you take care of him. Watch over
him, protect him. He works the work of the Lord.
God's called him to the ministry. God sent him to preach the gospel,
taught him the gospel, and he proclaims the same gospel, Paul
says, that I preach. He preaches the same grace that
I preach, the same faith that I preach in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he says he's worthy. of your confidence, he's worthy
to be sustained and watched over by you. He said, you take care
of him, you watch over this young man. It says in verse 11, let
no man therefore despise him. Timothy, that young man, Paul
knew what was there in Corinth and he said, don't you neglect.
Don't you dare neglect to take care of him. That's what Paul
meant by, I said, don't despise him. He's called the most demanding
and the most honorable of all callings. God's called him to
be a preacher, a preacher of the gospel. He's God's man. And
he said, you take care of him. You watch over him. But conduct
him forth in peace, that he may come unto me For I look for him
with the brethren." Now he said, that conducting, he said, now
when he's there, you watch over him. You defend him. Don't you talk about him. You keep his back. You watch
out for him. You watch for those that would
be a hindrance to him. Troublemaker. You watch him.
And he said, and conduct him forth in peace. He's talking
about now when he leaves. When he leaves, when it's time
for him to leave, conduct him forth. Send him forth cordially. You send him forth in God's speed. You send him forth in peace. And you aid him. You conduct
him, is what he's saying. Conduct him in a way that he's
provided for. Provide the things necessary
for his journey that he may be able to come back to me and report. to me, the welfare of the assembly
there in Corinth. That's what he said. He said,
watch over him. Take care of him. Defend him. Keep his back. And then when
he leaves, go with him if you need to. Accompany him. Make
sure that he's able to leave in such a way that when he comes,
I can have a good report. Watch out for him. Then he says
in verse 12, now as touching our brother Apollos. I greatly
desired him to come unto you with the brethren, but his will
was not at all to come at this time. But he will come when he
shall have convenient time." Now, Apollos, now that's a name
that the church at Corinth was very familiar with. Look back
at 1 Corinthians 3. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. When we were looking at this
right here, look at verses 3 to 7. Now this is Apollos. Paul was saying back in 1 Corinthians
3, 3, 4, ye are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you envying,
and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I'm Apoll,
and another, I'm Apollos, Are you not carnal? Who then is Paul? And who is Apollos, but ministers
by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I
have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So
then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth,
but God that giveth the increase." Paul was telling them, I greatly
desired to send Apollos back to you. Apollos might be one
of the ones that would also be able to minister. Paul was watching
out for this church. He was trying to make sure that
there were some gifted men that would be able to come and fill
the pulpit. I'll tell you this, I'm so guarded
of this pulpit. I'm not going to let somebody
get in this pulpit that I don't trust. If I don't know what you
believe, I had a man call me on the phone that actually called
me up. Look, number one, I've never
heard him preach. I pretty well know what he believes. But he called me up on the phone
and said, when are you going to invite me to preach? Never. I'm not going to have somebody
here that I don't trust. He said, I wanted to send Apollos. He said, but, as touching our
brother, I greatly desired, but it was not his will to come. Many of the writers seem to indicate
that Apollos, who truly greatly loved the assembly there in Corinth,
but he knew that there was a, because of what had happened
back in chapter three, may have been the reason. The Spirit of
God doesn't say the reason, so we don't want to jump to any
conclusions. We don't know. All we know is
that Apollos didn't feel at that time that it was the right thing
for him to come to Corinth. And he did, Paul did say, I do
know this though, evidently Paul had talked with him, but his
will was not at all to come at this time, but he will come when
he shall have convenient when the opportunity is right. Obviously,
he did not want to be there because he didn't feel led to be there.
Whether it was he felt uncomfortable coming, he didn't want to be
a distraction, I don't know. He just didn't want to. So Paul
says, Apollos is not going to be able to be with you at this
time. And Lord willing, he will later. But then Paul sets forth this
blessed admonition here after he had told him about watch for
Timothy. I'm going to send Timothy. Watch
out for him. Take care of him. Keep his back.
Help him. Be a defense to him that he can
preach the gospel with boldness. Our brother Apollos is not going
to be able to come right here, but then he closes with this
exhortation, verse 13-14. He says, watch ye. Set a watch to yourself. Stay spiritually awake. Keep your spiritual eyes open. Be on guard concerning false
doctrine, false teachers. Set a watch on your tongue. Set
a watch on your actions. Be watchful is what he's telling
you. Watch for dangers. Watch for trouble. Watch against
the wiles of the devil who will use the enemy to entangle you
and be mindful of his deceptive charms. Watch yourself. Put a watch on yourself. I think about that Brother Henry
talking about putting a watch He made a comment on this right
here, and he was talking about putting a watch on your tongue.
And I've always remembered this. He said, whenever you're going
to say something about somebody, number one, is it true? Number
two, is it kind? And number three, is it necessary?
Really? You know, that right there would
just pretty well shut them all up. I mean, all of us. I mean,
that would pretty well end it right there. Somebody said, well,
it's true. Well, is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it really
necessary? He said, put a watch. Watch over. Watch ye. Watch over one another. Be an
encouragement to one another. Keep each other. Defend each
other. Watch their character. Defend
their character. And be watchful in prayer. Praying
for them. Seeking the Lord. Asking God's
blessing upon them. Wake yourself. Watch yourself
waiting on the Lord and seeking him and his word. He says, watch
ye. And then he says, stand fast
in the faith. Paul had exhorted the church
at Philippi in Philippians 127. He said, only let your conversation
be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. Now, what he said,
your conversation. Your walk, your speech, your
attitude, your everything. Let your conversation, that's
just the manner of your life. Let your conversation be as it
gives honor to the gospel. Is what I'm doing, is what I'm
saying, does that honor the gospel? Does that exalt Christ? Does that lift up the brethren
and keep the brethren? He said, whether I come to see
you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you
stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for
the faith of the gospel, working together in unity. That's what
he said. So Paul is saying to these believers
there, In Corinth, he said, watch ye, and stand fast in the faith. Don't depart. Set your feet. Plant your feet. You might have
some shoes on, but look, get a good footing. Make sure that
you're standing on some solid ground here. Don't depart from
the grace of God's faith that he's given us, the grace given
from the Lord. Stand fast in what you believe.
Stand fast, guard against doubting or disbelieving God, which we're
all prone to do. I mean, we'll all do that. Stand
fast, he said, just, you know, set yourself, have a sure footing
in faith, praying, asking, thanking the Lord. Not looking to ourselves,
we can't, but we call upon the Lord and say, Lord, keep me,
Lord, direct me, Lord, help me. We believe in salvation by grace,
stand fast in grace, be gracious, he says, so watch ye. Stand fast
in the faith and then quit you like men. Be strong. Now, quit you like men actually
means act like men. Act like men taught of God. Be strong. The situation there
in Corinth obviously called for great courage. There was a lot
of opposition. there in Corinth. So Paul exhorts
the brethren. He says, quit you like men. Don't behave like children. Behave like mature men in wisdom
and understanding. Don't be unstable. Be a man. Be walking in the light
that you have, adorning the gospel. Don't be like a child, unstable
and weak and arguing and bickering and childless. Be strong in the
Lord and in the power of His might. Be strengthened in His
promise. Now here's a firm foundation.
I will never leave you. I'll never forsake you. Paul
said, stand fast in that. I was talking to Darwin today,
and as I said, when I saw that it said Darwin and Kathy, and
I answered the phone, and I said, hey buddy, how you doing? And
he said, the Lord took Kathy home last night. And I said,
Darwin, I rejoice. I rejoice with you. I'm so thankful. I said, I'm so thankful. I said,
I know to be absent from this body is to be present with the
Lord. And I said, my heart breaks for you because I know that she's
not there. And I said, I know, I know, buddy,
I know. I know how it feels. I know what
you're feeling. He said, I know you do. I said,
Darwin, you know this. You know that the Lord will never
leave us and never forsake us. And I said, I know how hard it
is at a time like this to rest in that. You're just tore all
to pieces. And in one hand, you know it's
so, and you believe it, you do believe it. And the other side,
you just don't know what to do. And I said, Darwin, I know how
you feel, but buddy, I'm telling you, he will never leave us. I said, you're gonna see the
grace of God. You will, you will. I didn't know what else to say.
I mean, what comfort can we have except in the word of God? This
is all we got. What have I got? I have nothing
else. Paul says, be strong, be strong. Be strong. Be strong in His faithfulness,
not in mine, His. He says, the Lord is faithful
who shall establish you and keep you from evil. Stand fast in
that, Paul said. Rest in that. There's opposition.
You know, when we start thinking we're strong, that's when we're
weak. When we think we've got this
thing handled. We think that we've got it under
control because without Him we can do nothing. Paul says in
2 Corinthians 12.10, therefore I take pleasure in infirmities. I take pleasure in infirmities. I take pleasure in reproaches. I take pleasure in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses. Why? Did Paul just like to be
beat up? Did He like to get whipped? Did
He like to get thrown in the ocean? Did He like to get stoned? Did He just like that? No. No,
no, no, no. For what God accomplished in
it, to Him. What the Lord taught Him concerning
the Lord's faithfulness to Him. He said, I truly take pleasure
in that which the Lord is doing, in keeping me. He says, for when
I am weak. When I know myself to need Him,
when I know that without Him I can do nothing, then I'm strong. That's when I can rest. Attempting
to handle situations in the power of our own flesh and wisdom exposes
nothing more than foolishness. Pride is all it'll do. While
I handled that one, No, no, the Lord just showed you yourself.
Paul says to this church that he loves, he says, watch, watch
you. Stand fast in the faith. Quit
you like men. Be strong. And then he closed
and said, let all your things be done with charity. Man, I
wish I could remember that. I wish I could remember. What
I do, let me do it. for my love toward Him because
He first loved me, and the love for the brethren. That everything
I would do, everything I would say, I would do it out of love
and respect for God's sheep. I'm thinking, here's some people
sitting here that Christ died for, shed His blood for, and
I would try to do something to harm you? Oh my! He said, let
all your things be done with charity. Let all that we say
be done in a true spirit of love for the Lord and others. A spirit
motivated by God's love for us. Ephesians 4.32. He said, be ye
kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. All this sweet
fellowship there in Corinth. I'm telling you, How many things
have they gone through that we learned from and how Paul had
to deal with them and reprimand them and tell them, but oh, what
profit that we gained from that. I pray that God bless the word
to our hearts tonight. And now what I want us to do
is I'm going to ask the men to come forward.