Alright brethren, let's turn
to 1 Corinthians chapter 4. 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Now Corinth, the problem of this
division over preachers, had done what this kind of division
always does. They not only were divided over
preachers, they had begun to be divided against one another,
one brother against another. They exalted one preacher and
they put down another preacher. And so they exalted the brethren
who followed the preacher they liked, and they put down the
brethren who followed the preacher they didn't like. And so Paul
says in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 6, We're not going
to get to this verse. Our text is verses 1 and 2, but
this will help us understand why Paul is writing what he's
writing. Verse 6, he says, "...and these
things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to
Apollos for your sakes, that you might learn in us, that is,
by the things that I've said about preachers, Not to think
of men, that means preachers as well as your brethren. Not
to think of men above, that is beyond, that's less or more than
what is written. That no one of you be puffed
up for one against another. So what we're going to see here
in our text is Paul's using the example of preachers. He's using
the example of Paul and Apollos. But this applies to every child
of God that's been called by God's grace. This is true of
all of us. And here's what we see here.
We don't have any reason to exalt one brother over another, to
exalt one and put down one, because we've been made what we've been
made by God. He's who made us what we are.
So we don't have any reason to exalt one over another or to
be puffed up one against another. Now, first thing our text says
to us is that all of God's true witnesses are to be accounted
as ministers of Christ. Look back at verse 1. This is
our text, verse 1 and 2. Let a man so account of us as
the ministers of Christ, he said. Let's just deal with this just
for a minute. He says, let a man so account of us. That means let a man so reckon
us. Let a man so impute to us what
God has really made us to be. account us to be what God's really
made us to be. Not what we're not, not more
and not less, but what God has really made us to be. Now, this
word account will help us to understand better what Paul's
saying here when he says, let a man sow a count of us as the
ministers of Christ. Look over at Romans 4 with me.
We're going to dwell on this a little while now. And hold
your place in Romans 4. We're going to come back to Romans
5 in a minute. This word, a count, is the same
Greek word that's found here in Romans 4, 6. He says, even
as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, and to
whom God imputeth righteousness without works. That word imputeth
is the same word as our text when it says, let a man so account
of us. And then in verse 8 there he
says, blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. God will not account sin to him. Now, when God imputes the righteousness
of Christ to a believer, He's accounting to us what we have
already really been made by Christ. When He imputes the righteousness
of Christ to us, God is accounting to His child what Christ has
really already made us. Look there at verse 7. Blessed
are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered. That's why He doesn't impute
sin to us. They are forgiven. They are covered.
They are covered. Now let me give you two verses
where the Lord shows us how He imputes, how He accounts. Look over at Leviticus 17. Leviticus
17. The Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Verse 1, Leviticus 17, 1. The Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, and to all the children
of Israel, and say unto them, This is the thing which the Lord
hath commanded. Now this is God's Word right
here. This is how God imputes. Now
listen to this. Saying, What man, soever there
be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat
in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, and bringeth
it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer
an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, blood
shall be imputed unto that man." Do you see that? Blood shall
be accounted unto that man." Now here's my question to you.
Is blood imputed to that man in order to make him to have
shed blood? No. No. Is God treating him as
if he shed blood? No. Blood shall be imputed to
that man because, look at the next word, he hath shed blood. You see that? And that man should
be cut off from among his people. God's not making the man sin
by the imputation of sin. Blood's imputed unto that man
because he hath shed blood. Now let's go to the New Testament,
back to Romans 5. And let's look at federal headship.
Let's look at the federal headship, the representation by Adam and
by Christ. There's only two heads. We're
going to be found in one of these two heads, either Adam or Christ. Now, let's look here. Now watch
this. Romans 5, 12. As by one man, that's Adam, as
by one man, sin entered into the world and death by sin now
don't pass over these next two words and so Because of Adams
transgression and So death passed upon all men Don't miss these
next through two word for that all have sin When he says for
that, it means because in Adam all have sin. Now, you see, death
passed upon all men because in Adam we really have sin. Therefore, death passed upon
us. And now he gives an example to show us that sin is imputed
to us because we were truly made sin by Adam's disobedience. That's why sin is imputed to
us. It's not imputed to us to make
us sin. It's imputed to us because we are sin. Just like we saw
with that other man there. Alright? Now look at Romans 5.13. For until the law, sin was in
the world. But sin is not imputed when there
is no law. He's saying just what I'm saying
to you. God is just. God only imputes what's right,
what's so. God would not impute sin, account
sin to someone unless he has been made sin. And there was
no law for them to actively transgress against God. Look at this, verse
14. Nevertheless, death reigned from
Adam to Moses. Until that law was given in the
days of Moses, from Adam to Moses, death reigned. Even when they
didn't have a law, death reigned. Now watch this, even over them
that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression. Death even reigned over newborn
babies that didn't actively rebelliously sin against God like Adam did. They didn't break a specific
law and rebel actively like Adam did in the garden. Now here's
my question. How was God just then to impute
to their account when there was no law? How could He impute sin
to their account when there was no law? Even to newborn babies
who hadn't actively committed a trespass like Adam, how could
He impute sin to them? God imputed sin to them because
God is just. And sin is what they really were. How was that? Because we all
really did transgress and were really made sin when we broke
that one law in the garden. Because we were really in Adam
when he broke it. That's true. But now look at
this. Here's the good news. Why are
you telling me that? Because here's the good news
of that. The last part of verse 14 says Adam's the figure of
Christ that was to come. Now, for time's sake, let's look
down at Romans 5.18. Now, Christ is head and representative
of all God's elect. Adam was the head and representative
of all men. Christ is the head and representative
of all God's elect, of all that shall be born of Him. And Christ
made His people righteousness by His obedience unto the death
of the cross. Now watch what it says, verse
18. Therefore, as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all
men, because Adam sinned, it came upon all who Adam represented,
to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one. the free
gift. You see, this is different than
that. This is a gift. This is God's grace. It's by
grace. It's a gift. And it came upon
all men, all whom Christ represented, unto justification of life. For
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. You see, We saw there, there wasn't a
law between Adam and Moses. It wasn't their personal transgressing
of a law that made them sin. Even those newborn babies that
didn't sin like Adam did. It wasn't that that made them
sin. It was that one man that made them sin, who disobeyed
God. And likewise, brethren, it won't
be your obedience to the law or my obedience to the law that's
going to make us righteousness. Just take the law out right now
and don't think of the law. How are we going to be made righteous?
By the obedience of Christ, by the righteousness of Christ.
And this is the gift of God's grace. God will come to everybody
for whom Christ died and God will quicken them and God will
give them faith to behold Christ and behold what Christ has done
for them. And in the court of their conscience, God will impute
to the believer the righteousness of Christ because that's what
Christ made us. That's what Christ made us. Not
by our works, but by Christ's obedience unto the death of the
cross in our place. You see what this word impute
means? You see what account means? My Greek lexicon says the word
account refers to facts, not suppositions. If we take an honest
look, and I mean an honest look into the Scriptures and see how
God accounts, how God imputes, how God reckons, we find that
God accounts to a person the fact of what that person already
really is. For example, if I have $20 in
my wallet, and I count that I have $20 in my wallet, I did not put
$20 in my wallet by imputing $20 to my wallet. I imputed $20 to my wallet because
I had $20 in my wallet. God's accounting, brethren, imputation,
is the act of God accounting to a person what the person has
already been made by his representative head. Imputation is the act of God
imputing to a person what the person's already been made by
his head. Men want to speak on the imputed
righteousness of Christ. And it reminds me so much of
when men used to, you know, we got carried away there for a
long time and talking about us not being justified by our works,
but justified through faith. And men started preaching justification
by faith. Justification by faith until
men started putting confidence in their faith. Faith didn't
justify me, and imputation didn't make me righteous. Christ did.
Christ did. But in the Scripture, God's accountings
never represented as Him treating a person as if they are something
that they are not. That's not how God accounts.
He doesn't just treat you as if you are when you're not. Don't
you like that? Isn't that good news to you?
Here's why it's good news. Romans 6, 2 says, How shall we
that are dead to sin live any longer therein? We are dead to
sin. Look at Romans 6, 6. Knowing
this, that our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of
sin might be destroyed. That henceforth we should not
serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin. See, God accounts
us dead to sin not in order to make us dead to sin. And He doesn't
account sin to us when we're not, or doesn't account us dead
to sin when we're not dead to sin. But God accounts the believer
dead to sin because we are dead to sin by Christ's death. He
commands His child to do the same thing. Look down at Romans
6.11. Likewise, reckon ye also," that word reckon is impute, "...account
ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto
God through Jesus Christ our Lord." It's just what Paul said
to the Colossians, set your affection on things above, not on things
below, because you are dead and your life is hid with Christ
in God. That's how God represents His
imputation. It's true. If He imputes and
reckons, it's because that's what you are. Now, back in our
text, I hope this gives us some more meaning to what Paul is
saying here. Paul just declared in 1 Corinthians
3.20, he said, there all things are yours. And then he said in
verse 23, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. And now
he says in Corinthians 4.1, Let a man so account of us. You see
that? This is how God accounts of us.
Let a man so account of us what we really have been made by Christ. What have we been made by Christ?
Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ. Now what's a minister? What's
a minister? You know, people want to be a
minister. They want to be a minister. They think that's something high
and lofty that's going to get them lots of honor and glory
and praise. You know what a minister is?
A minister is a servant. A minister is a servant. He's
not the one sitting at the banquet table that's being exalted, that's
being waited on hand and foot. No, it's the one that's waiting
on the person at the table. It's not the one that's being
ministered unto, it's the one who's ministering unto others.
That's what a minister is. He's serving others. An under-rower
is what the word's been translated. Some have used the word under-rower.
You know when they had those ships that had the paddles, the
rows that came out of the paddles, the paddles that came out of
the ship, and men sat in the ship and they rowed the ship?
Well, they say there'd be three rows there of paddles. And the under rower is the one
on that last row down there. That under rower is down there.
The captain appointed him to be there. And the captain gave
him a command to row there. And the captain gives him the
command on which way to row. Well, Christ is the captain. And His church is the fellowship. That's where we're in. And Christ
appoints His ministers where He'll put them. And Christ gives
the command to row and where to row. And Christ even gives
the strength and the grace to row. But that's what a minister... He's an under rower. He's an
under rower. You see, Christ's church is the
opposite. It's just the opposite of this world. Just the opposite
of this world. Look over at Matthew 20. Matthew
20. This is what Christ said. This
world, you know, considers great men to be those who are served.
It considers great men to be those exalted by men and ministered
unto by men. Listen to what Christ said. Matthew
20 and look at verse 26. I just want to look at the second
part here. Well, look at it. He said, but
it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among
you. You want to strive for greatness
in God's house? Be great in God's house. Whoever
will be great among you, let him be your minister. Look at
this. And whosoever will be chief among
you, let him be your servant. That's greatness in God's kingdom.
Why is it that way? Look at the next verse. Even
as the Son of Man came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister
and to give His life a ransom for many. You see that? That's
what Christ did. Christ is great in the Kingdom
of God. The greatest in the Kingdom of
God. Because He came and made Himself the lowest to serve His
people. To give His life a ransom for
many. So brethren, what He said to
us, you're Christ's? All things are yours and you're
Christ's. And He says, so let a man account of us. Now you
account of your brother and your sister, your pastors. You account of us and what God
has really made us. What is that? Ministers of Christ. Ministers of Christ. Seek to
serve and not to be served. That's what he's saying. Now
look here, unless we account... Now that puts a minister kind
of low there, when you say he's just a servant. And so lest a
man imagines, well, he's just a lowly servant, I'm going to
treat him like a lowly servant. He says, remember this though,
we've been made the ministers of Christ. We're the servants
of Christ. Christ is the one who made us
His ministers. Christ redeemed us. Christ redeemed
us. He made us the righteousness
of God in Him. He laid down His life. That ransom
that He gave for millions is those He makes ministers unto
Him. And then Christ quickened us and He called us. And not
only that, Christ qualified us. I don't have any gifts and you
don't have any gifts, but what Christ gave us, that's all we
have. He gave some more, gave some
less. But it's what He gave us, so we're content. If He didn't
give this, we wouldn't have anything. So we're content. He gave it.
And then not only that, He sent us to where He would have us
to row and united us with His people. You ever think about
your brothers and sisters here and think, How do we get united? How do we become united? Christ
put us together. He united us. That's why. That's why. And we're the servants
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have no authority of our own. That's the problem in most churches
today is everybody thinks they got authority over somebody else. We don't have any authority of
our own. Our whole business is to do what
Christ and Christ alone commands us to do. That's our business.
We're sent by Christ to serve one another, chiefly through
the preaching of the gospel. But to serve one another, not
to lord over one another. And listen to this, and not to
be lorded over by another. Both are true. We're not to lord
over one another and we're not to be lorded over. We've got
one Master. That's Christ. We've got one
Lord. That's Christ. We're the servants of Christ,
the ministers of Christ. We are the servants of Christ
and your servants for Christ's sake. That's the proper order. So brethren, we're not to exalt
a brother at the expense of another brother because here's why. If
we do that, we're questioning Christ's workmanship. And we're
bringing into judgment Christ who made that brother, that minister
of Christ, what he is. You see what he's saying there?
That's why I'm bringing these things before you, Paul said,
so that you see not to go beyond what's written of a man. And
don't go beyond in exalting him, don't go beyond in abasing him. And don't be puffed up one against
another, because if we are, we're doing it to Christ. He made us
what we are. Now look at the second thing
he says here, account of us as stewards of the mysteries of
God. A steward is a willing bondservant. Look at Exodus 21. A steward
is a willing bondservant. This is pictured here. A willing
bondservant. Christ makes us willing in the
day of His power. That's what the Scripture says.
How does He do that? Does He come and take you and
force you down into obedience and force you to serve Him and
make you a slave to serve Him against your will? No. He gives
you a new will. And He makes you willing in His
power, by His power. By doing what? By showing you
His redemption. Showing you what He's accomplished
on your behalf so that He set you free. and by His goodness
He makes you willing to serve Him. It's pictured here, look
at this, Exodus 21, 2. If thou buy a Hebrew servant,
that is a slave, a Hebrew slave, six years he shall serve, and
in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. Now Christ,
our Master, if He makes you free, you'll be free indeed. That seventh
year is that year of Jubilee. That's that year when all debts
are forgiven and we're set free. Christ said, and if I'll make
you free, you're going to be free indeed. He's the one who
makes His people free. He is. Now look here what He
says in verse 3. If he came in by himself, he
should go out by himself. If he were married, then his
wife should go out with him. But if his master hath given
him a wife, and she hath borne him sons or daughters, the wife
and her children shall be her masters, and he shall go out
by himself." Now Christ, He makes you to see too, He's given you
a life. It's His bride, the church. We're
married to Christ and to His church. And the children that's
born in that church are His children, our children. What's Christ is
ours. But now He says, if you're going
to go out free, they're mine. You can't take them. Look at
this. And if the servant shall plainly
say, I love my master and my wife, and my children, I will
not go out free." Why would he do that? Why would a man say,
I love my master, I love being a servant, I love my wife, my
children, I won't go out free. What would make a man say that?
That master would have to be mighty good, wouldn't he? A mighty
good master. who gave a mighty good wife and
some mighty good children. That's who Christ is. That's
what Christ has done. And when He makes you see this,
you say, I don't want to go free. I don't want to be free from
Christ. I want to serve Thee. I want to serve Thee. Well, He
said this, Then His Master shall bring Him unto the judges. This
thing's got to be just. And everything God does is just.
He shall also bring him to the door or unto the doorpost, and
his master shall bore his ear through with an awl." He's going
to open up his ear so he can hear. He's going to open up your
ear so you can hear. He's going to mark you. How are
you marked? This servant was marked by that awl opening his
ear. How are God's people marked? Number one way we can hear. That's
the number one way we can hear the Gospel. If a man sits there
and hears the Word of God preached and he begins to make objections
and rebuttals and reject it and object to everything that's said,
you know what he's manifesting? He hadn't been marked yet. His
ear hadn't been opened. He don't hear. That's how we're
marked. We hear the gospel. And he says,
"...and he shall serve Him forever." Now listen to this. You were
the servants of sin. But when that year of Jubilee
came and you heard the gospel trumpet blown and Christ blew
that trumpet in your heart and made you to see what He's done
and that He's redeemed you, Paul said this, "...being then made
free from sin." You became the servants of righteousness. That's what we became. The servants
of Christ Jesus, our righteousness. Now that's what a steward is.
Willing to be a servant. Willing to be a bondservant to
Christ. That's what we are. Now, what
have we been entrusted with as stewards? A steward is entrusted
with his master's property and his master's goods. That's what
he's entrusted with. When the master goes away from
the house, he takes the steward and he says, now you're over
the house and you're entrusted with all my goods and all my
property. Now what are the goods? and that
God has entrusted us with. What has our Master entrusted
us with as stewards? 1 Corinthians 4.1, He said we're
stewards of the mysteries of God. Stewards of the mysteries
of God. Brethren, do you realize that
God has entrusted you that He's made a steward? You know what
God's entrusted you with? You think how dear your children
are to you. If you brought your children to my house, you'd be
entrusting those children to me. And you'd be entrusting me
the most valuable thing you have. Do you know God has entrusted
to His stewards something more valuable than our own sons and
daughters? He's entrusted us with the gospel
of God. That's what He's entrusted us
with, the gospel of God. Paul said this, the glorious
gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust." Committed
to my trust. Now God alone can reveal the
mysteries of the gospel. That's why they're mysteries.
They have to be revealed by God. The deep things of God, only
the Spirit of God can make us to know them. So what does that
mean a steward is going to have to do every day? You picture
a steward. What's that steward going to
have to do? He's going to have to go into his master's, wherever
his mastery is, and ask his master, what will you have me to say?
What will you have me to do? Well, we have to go into our
master's chamber and ask him, what will you have me to say?
What will you have me to do? The preacher has to look into
this Word. This is God's Word. We have to look into His Word
and constantly be praying to God and saying, Lord, reveal
to me what you'd have me to say. Give me the message. Dispense
the gift to me that I might go give it to you people." And that's
what we're to do. The steward is to faithfully
deliver our Master's gospel to those of his household. Look
at verse 2. He says, moreover it's required
in stewards that a man be found faithful. The Lord said, who
then is that faithful and wise steward? That's what's important. Faithful, being faithful. Who's that faithful and wise
steward? What's this faithfulness? What
does he do to be faithful? "...whom his Lord shall make
ruler over his household to give them their portion of meat in
due season." That's Luke 12, 42. That's what Christ has done.
He made his steward a ruler over his household while he's departed. to give the portion of meat to
the children in due season. That's right. That's what he's
done. As every man hath received the gift, Peter said. As every
man has received the gift. Even so, minister the same to
one another. You receive the gift, minister
the gift to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace
of God." I received this gift, my own self, from God. Praying,
God, give me the message. Show me what you'd have me to
preach in this text. What is this text? What's the
message for the hour for your people out of these two verses
of scripture? Well, I didn't know how many
verses it was gonna be just what's from the next passage in Corinth
show me what it is So he gives the gift and then what am I to
do? I'm to minister that gift even as it's been ministered
to me to you minister it to one another God's children are the
members of his household. He says, give the children their
bread, and the children have to have the bread. Because this
gospel is what we live upon, and the children have to have
the bread. They have to have it. The children must hear his
gospel preached through his steward. And so therefore, the steward's
got to be faithful. He's got to labor in the Word.
He's got to pray to receive the gift from God so he can minister
that gift to his people. Stewards are the mysteries of
God. If a man's lazy, he's not a faithful steward of God. If a man's not a laborer in the
Word, not a laborer in prayer, he's not a faithful steward of
God. If a man preaches his own words and ideas rather than God's
Word, he's not a faithful steward of God. That's hard sometimes,
because sometimes when you preach what the Word of God says, it's
going against what men say, and sometimes men that are your friends. But you have to say what God
says and not what men say. That's just so. That's what a
faithful steward does. We don't come to hear the steward
though. We don't come to hear the steward, we come to hear
the glorious gospel of God. We come to hear the mysteries
of God. We come to hear Christ speak of God's electing grace,
how God chose us not based on any good or evil in us, just
simply by His mercy and His grace. We come to hear about God's predestinating
grace, how that God has ordered everything in this world and
is working everything in this world so that He shall conform
all His children to Christ, every one of them. We came to hear
the God, the message of God's redeeming grace. Not that Christ
tried to make salvation possible if you'll just now accept it
and make it effectual for Him. No, we come preaching the effectual
accomplished redemption that Christ Himself accomplished of
all God's elect on Calvary's tree and that's why He said,
it is finished. We want to hear the bread we
want to partake in is God's regenerating grace. We want to hear that I
can't come to God on my own. I couldn't come to God on my
own. All I could do was run from God on my own. But God blew like
the wind and I couldn't stop it. He came, the Spirit of God
came irresistibly, invincibly, effectually and gave me life
and faith in Him and made me willing. We come to hear the
message of God's preserving grace. You know the only way you're
going to be a faithful steward? You know the only way you're
going to be a minister of Christ and a faithful steward of the
mysteries of God? Is if God preserves you and makes
you persevere in faith. If God works in you, both the
will and the do of His good pleasure, that'll make you a faithful steward.
And that's the only way. That's the message we want to
hear. We want to hear the message of God's resurrecting, glorifying
grace. One of these days, God's going
to finish what He's begun. He's going to bring us into a
new heavens and a new earth wherein everything that dwells there
is righteousness and holiness because everything that's there
is the creation of Christ Jesus, our righteousness and our holiness.
And when we come into that place, He's going to show us The truth
like we've never seen it before. We're going to know Him and be
conformed to His image perfectly. We're going to be made righteousness
and holiness in spirit. and embody completely, truly,
fully, completely forever, finally forever. That's right. Now that's
what we come to hear, salvations of the Lord, A to Z, beginning
to end, all of God. And as that message is preached,
it's not the steward who feeds us, it's Christ who feeds us
through the steward. Paul said, we then as ambassadors
for Christ, ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
by us, We pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
But it's Christ who makes it effectual. It's the Spirit of
God that makes it effectual. So it's required in the steward
that he be found faithful. Faithful. Now turn over to Revelation
2. You bear witness of Christ, you
know, to your friends and to your loved ones, to your family,
and you do it for years. You do it for years and years
and years. But it seems to fall on deaf
ears. They don't hear you. So what are you going to do?
What are you going to do? It's required in a steward that
he be found faithful. You're just going to keep on
telling them. Just keep on telling them. Just be faithful to your
Master, to Christ. Keep on telling them. As a steward,
I preach, I pray, I write, I contact people who are interested in
the gospel. And as stewards, you bear witness of Christ. You
support this work here. And you support one another. And you help provide for others
outside of here. And as you do it, at times it
seems that every bit of it goes unappreciated. In fact, it seems
like not only does it go unappreciated, it seems like at times men hate
you and reproach you for the sake of Christ. What are you
to do? It's required in a steward that
he be faithful. What makes a steward of God faithful? I mean, a success? Just be faithful
to God. It's not how many people are
called out through the ministry. It's not how many people hear
Him or don't hear Him. Just be faithful to God. That's
it. But now, listen to this, and
I want you to hear what God says. When you get discouraged, listen
to this. Revelation 2.9. I know thy works. This is God
speaking. This is Christ speaking. I know
thy works. And tribulation, and your poverty,
but thou art rich." Can't you say that so? And I know the blasphemy of them
which say they are Jews, true believers, and are not, but are
the synagogue of Satan. He said, I know them. Fear none
of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall
cast some of you into prison. You don't believe that, do you?
I don't really see in my day how that would happen. But it
sure could happen. It sure could happen. And if
not a literal, temporal prison, He can very often, by God's permission,
cast us into a spiritual prison. That can't He? Where you can't
see God and know God. You have to depend on God to
come break you out. Look at this. That you may be tried, And you
shall have tribulation ten days. That is, you're going to have
tribulation till God's set time. No more, just till God's set
time. Because that's all that's needed, just at that set time.
But now watch this. Be thou faithful unto death. Why? I will give thee a crown
of life. That's why. Just be faithful
to Him. He said, I'll give you a crown
of life. So here's what Paul's saying
to us. He's saying, brethren, don't exalt one another over
another at the expense of another. Don't be puffed up one against
another. He's saying, do what you do for the glory of our Master
who's made us ministers, who's made us stewards. Do what you
do in faithfulness to Him. Do what you do in faithfulness
to His people. And do it all to honor Him. Do
it all not to bring any dishonor on Christ or His gospel. And
never seek the praise and applause of men. That's hard. Because we want that. We want
that applause. Nobody likes to be disliked. You don't like to be disliked,
and I don't either. Listen to what Spurgeon wrote. I thought
this was good. It's a little lengthy, but let me just read
it to you. Brothers, take care that you use your talents for
your master and only for your master. It's unfaithfulness to
Jesus if we preach sound doctrine with the view to be thought sound. or pray earnestly with the desire
that we may be known as praying men. It is for us to pursue our Lord's
glory with a single eye and with our whole heart. We must use
our Lord's gospel, our Lord's people, and our Lord's talents
for our Lord and for Him alone." That's what Paul's telling us.
I pray you make me do that. Make you do that. Amen.