And I, brethren, could not speak
unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto
babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, not
with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither
yet now are you able, for you are carnal, for you are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you
envy and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walk as
men? For while one saith, I am of
Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal? Who then is
Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed,
even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos
watered, but God gave thee increase. So then, neither is he that planteth
anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth thee increase.
Now he that planteth, and he that watereth are one, and every
man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For
we are laborers together with God. You are God's husbandry,
you are God's building." And I titled my message this evening,
What is a carnal Christian? What is a carnal Christian? You
know, there are those who believe that a carnal Christian is somebody
that got converted and then they go live in the world for a long
time, and they get renewed up before they die. But that's not
what, we'll see here what one is. But Paul, when he began to
write to the Corinthians, he wrote to them because there was
divisions among them. He said, I hear that there's
divisions among you. And brethren, these things ought
not to be. I want you to be of the same mind. And then he began
to show them what they had in Christ. Christ was made unto
them wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And that his
message wasn't in human wisdom or in wisdom of men's words.
He never tried to entice anybody. Persuade anybody, he just preached
the gospel. And how he learned that gospel,
he learned it from the Holy Ghost. It says there in verse 10 of
chapter 2. But God hath revealed him unto us by the Spirit, for
the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. And so he learned the gospel
from the Holy Ghost. God taught me the gospel. God
taught me the wisdom of God in Christ, is what he's saying.
And if they had knew, if the world had knew this, and the
people had been in power and prestige and had all the authority,
if they had knew it, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord. But
they didn't know it. And then he talked about there's
a great difference in the natural and the spirit. He says the natural
man, in verse 14, he can't, he don't receive the things of the
Spirit of God, he can't even know them, because they're spiritually
disturbed. It's not a difference in degrees,
it's a difference in kind. The natural man, He cannot understand
anything spiritual. And the spiritual man, he was
once natural, and he's made spiritual. He becomes a new creature in
Christ. The Spirit of God takes him abiding in it and teaches
him the things of God, the things of Christ. And that's why he
went on to say, for we have the mind of Christ. When he talks
about us having the mind of Christ, he means by that that we are
like Christ in this sense, that we delight in the Word of God,
the wisdom of God, the will of God, to obey God, to bow to His
Word, and we want to be as Christ was. We want to submit to God
in every respect, and we have the mind of Christ, and we understand
the Scriptures, the will and decrees and purpose of God. And
that's what he did. Now he's going to return back
to this subject of division among these saints here and the cause
of it. But why in the world does he
call them carnal? Why does he call them carnal? I remember
years and years ago, fundamentalists used to go on about carnal Christians.
Carnal Christians. There was levels of degrees in
Christianity, you know. There's the carnal, and then
there's the fellas that just want spirituals as they ought
to be, and then there's those ones in the higher spiritual, and
there's ones that's way up there, you know. And so you down here
had to shoot to get up here. But of him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom." All believers. Righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. All believers. So we're going
to find out what is a carnal Christian. What they're called.
Why they're called that. First of all, just to soften
his rebuke, look what he says, "...and our brethren could not
speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto base." First thing,
to soften his blow. Paul was a wise master builder.
God used him. But here he calls them brethren.
He says, you're brethren. And when I speak to you or when
I preach to you, I couldn't preach to you and deal with you as I
would a spiritual person. But I had to deal with you as
carnal people, as men who act natural is what he's saying.
As babes in Christ. As babes in Christ. Now, this
carnal here, what it means is be acting like a natural man.
Now, all of us at different times act, we let our emotions get
ahead of us, our tempers get away from us, and we all act
natural sometimes and don't act very spiritual. But these people
here, they were doing it in such a way that Paul rebuked them
for it. And he called them babes in Christ. Now, to be a babe
in Christ is not a bad thing. It works for these. You know,
Paul said, I mean, 1 Peter says this, he said, Desire ye the
sincere milk of the words, that ye may grow thereby, as babes
in Christ desire the sincere milk of the words, that ye may
grow thereby. But when he talks about these
people being babies and babes in Christ, he's telling them
that it's something that's derogatory for them. It's something they
should not be. They shouldn't act this way.
But let me show you something over here in Luke 18, just a
moment. You know, being babies in Christ
is not a bad thing. I was a baby in Christ, and there's
elders in Christ, there's young men in Christ, there's fathers
in Christ, there's mothers in Israel, there's young women in
the faith. The Scriptures makes a distinction in the amount of
growth that people have. Now, those people here, there's
no doubt, babies in Christ. And you take milk. And that's
what Paul said, I couldn't feed you. You know, when I spoke to
you, I could not deal with you over the spiritual things that
I ought to deal with you because you act so natural. You act so
childish. You act like a little baby. And so over here in Luke 18,
17, look what it says. It's a good thing that most of
the times in the Scriptures, talking about babes in Christ,
it's not a bad thing. Verily I say unto you, Christ
speaking, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as
a little child, shall in no wise enter therein." Now what's the
difference in them being babes and a little child over here? And over here in 1 Corinthians
14.20, look what he says about it over here. He talks about
these people. I can't speak to you. We'll see why he does this here
in a minute. He says in verse 20 of 1 Corinthians
14, Brethren, be not children in understanding. Don't be children
in understanding. A 14-year-old don't understand
what an 18-year-old, an 18-year-old don't understand what a 28-year-old,
a 28 don't understand what a 48-year-old, and a 48 don't understand what
a 70-year-old is. And that's what he says, don't
be children in understanding, but how be it in malice you act
like children? You mistreat one another, you
have hatred towards one another, you're trying to hurt one another,
and yet you want to say your understanding is like a man's?
How can you? You're like a child, that's what
he said. Here you have this malice of a child, want to hurt as a
child, and yet you want to say you've got good understanding
of a man, but you act like children. And so we go back over here in
our text, and Paul is rebuking them here for the lack of understanding,
for the attitude that they have. It's an attitude they have. You
know, I know what they're saying is, is that nobody teach me anything.
I already know it. But Paul says, you're just a
carnal, you're just natural. And watch what he goes on to
say here now. And I'll tell you another reason why they're carnal,
because of their diet. Look what their diet. Veggie
with milk, not with meat. You weren't able to bear it,
and you're not able now. I fed you with milk, not with
meat. Now, let me tell you something
right here. Paul isn't saying that there's two doctrines. There's
a doctrine for babies and there's a doctrine for adults, matures. He's not saying that. He's not
saying there's a gospel for babies in Christ and there's a gospel
for the mature. That's not what he's saying. The substance of
the gospel is the same for everybody that's here tonight, whether
you're a baby in Christ or whether you're an elder in Christ, whether
you've just come to the faith or whether you've been in the
faith for years. But what he's saying here is that you're such
a baby and you're all so chill that you can't even receive meat.
You can't take meat whatsoever. And what he's saying is that
these folks haven't grown as they should have, and he says
you're not able to bear it. You can't bear meat. You can't
bear. And you know, if you've got a
three-year-old that can't eat meat yet, you say, there's something
wrong with him. Ain't that right? You walk around with a six-year-old
and he's still sucking on the bottle, it's time to do something
different. You know, it's time the parent
woke up and said, oh, what's going on here? And that's what
Paul said to me, and it's not, beloved, and I want you to understand
it. There's not two different gospels
he's talking about. I've got a spiritual gospel for
those that's mature, and I've got a gospel for little babies.
No, God takes the gospel, and He knows exactly how to take
care of His children. That baby will get what's necessary
for him. That intermediate will get what's
necessary for him. The adult will get what's necessary
for him. God, the Holy Spirit, takes what every person needs,
and everybody don't get the same thing out of a message. Some
people will get a hold of one thing, and it just really blesses
them. Somebody else gets a hold of something over here, and that
just ties home to their heart that somebody else gets something
else. God's responsible to feed His sheep. My responsibility
is to set the table, and you eat when God will see that you
get what you need. But third growth was impeded
by carnality, by childishness. You know, our Lord Jesus told
His disciples, He said this, He said, I have many things to
say to you, but you know what? You're not able to bear it. You're
not able to bear it. He told them one time, you know,
about He's Lord and Master, and that they're all supposed to
humble themselves. And He got through talking to them, and
they turned around walking away, and they started talking about
who, which one of us is the greatest? Now you can't get no more crawled
out. Who's the biggest among us? Who's the greatest among
us? Who's got the most authority? Who's the best preacher? Which
one does the Lord love the most? You can't get more childish than
that. And there's one of the apostles. And that's what he
told, you know, he taught him one place and he says, you know,
He said he taught them in parables as they were able to bear. Now
look with me, you keep 1 Corinthians 3 here, and look over with me
in Hebrews 5. Paul had dealt with the same
thing over here in Hebrews chapter 5, verse 11. And I know this,
I know this without a shadow of a doubt. The gospel contains
everything necessary to be known. And these people's problem is
not with the gospel they're hearing. It's with their understanding.
It's with their attitude. It was with the way they would
receive the gospel. And that's the way a lot of people
are. You know, there's nothing wrong with the gospel. It's how
they hear it. It's how they receive it. It's
their attitude toward it. And that's what these people
were. If the understanding was their problem, not the gospel
they heard. Look what he says here. Now,
Paul's talking about Christ being a high priest, and he said in
verse 11, of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be
uttered, but you're dull of hearing. What do you mean by dull of hearing?
Let me give you an illustration of that. How many times have
you sat and looked at somebody, and you hear everything they're
saying, but yet you don't hear it? You hear the words, you're sitting
looking at them, but it ain't ready to share. It's just not
sinking in. You're in a trance. That's what
Paul said here. You're so dull in hearing. And
he says, For when you ought to be teachers, you have need that
one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracle
or the word of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and
not strong need. I've got to just start all over
again with you. For everyone that uses milk, is unskillful
in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong
meat belongs to him that is of full age, or mature, even those
who by reason of use, using the Scriptures, using the word of
God, using the things that God gives him, have their senses
exercised to judge between what's good and what's evil. And these
folks here didn't have that ability. Their problem, and here's evidence
of their carnality. Here in verse 3 of chapter 3.
Their diet was milk, not meat. Aged in Christ. Couldn't take
it. And he goes on here in verse
3. Look what evidence. For you are yet carnal. And again,
I want to tell you, this carnality means natural man. The carnal
mind. The natural man. They acted so
natural. They acted like a natural man
does. They acted like what they did there in verse 14, where
the natural man receives not the things of virtue. But he
said, if you are yet carnal, and here's one reason he gave
it, for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and
divisions, are you not carnal? That's the way the world acts.
That's the way people on regenerate act and walk as men. Oh my, this
envying, and strife, and divisions among you. He says, this is not
the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
and joy, and peace, and gentleness, and goodness, and faith, and
meekness, and temperance. Against such there is no law.
These folks, they're doing just the opposite. Envy. You know, you've heard that saying,
people are green with envy, green with jealousy. That's what, when
somebody's envious, they want to automatically say something
bad or negative about that person. And that's what these people
were doing. And that ends up being in strife, ends up being
in divisions. And, beloved, out of envy comes
strife. As quick as you get envious of
somebody, there's going to be some strife. And out of strife
comes some division. You know what division means?
I've got a little clique over here. I've got a little clique
over here. That means I'm going to stand apart. I'm not going
to have anything to do with them. They think they're better than
the rest of us. They think they know more than the rest of us.
They think they're better than I am. And that's what they're
saying here. That's what that leads to, strife
and division. And they're standing apart. Next
thing you know, you've got people standing apart all over the place.
And that's what Paul said. And he says, you're acting like
unregenerate men. You're walking as men. You're walking as men. And I'll
tell you where most of this stuff starts, and I'll show you that
here in a minute. Most of it starts right in the pulpit. If
there ain't the right message in the pulpit, there won't be
the right character in the congregation. Now, I've seen that years and
years ago. I learned that years and years
ago. You go to some place where the preacher's argumentative,
divisive, and negative, and fighting, and quarreling, and finding fault
with everything and everybody. Next thing you know, you've got
a congregation that's going to fight. Be negative and be mouthy
and all that. And if you've got a preacher
who's preaching the gospel, and he preaches it in love, and he
preaches it in some wisdom, and he shows that he loves you, and
you hear that gospel, next thing you know, you're going to be
living by that gospel, even though you're not even conscious of
doing it, because of the difference in the message that's coming
out of the pulpit. Ain't that right? It's the God we have.
And oh, beloved, here's the real reason for calling them carnal,
and they were. This is what carnal Christianity
really is, right here in verse 4. For while one saith, this
is what caused the division, the division and the strife.
One saith, I'm of Paul. And another says, I'm of Apollos.
Are you not carnal? Somebody says, I was converted
unto Paul. I don't want to hear nobody but
Paul. He's my master. He's my father. Nobody else got any right. Nobody
else got anything else said. Paul is the only one that I believe. He's the only one that's got
the message. He's the only one that understands. He's the only
one that has anything, can do anything for me." Well, another
jumps out and says, Man, I tell you, you're talking about a preacher.
Apollos is a preacher. After Paul left, Apollos come
in, and what an orator this fella was. Oh, he could just ring the
bells, preach down the glory of God. Oh, I've never heard
anybody like him. Oh, Paul won't hold him alight? You know, let me tell you something.
This is the very reason why there have been so many churches established
over the years. Preachers, one just alike, and
one preacher better than another preacher. When you've got two
or three preachers in a congregation, and they start spitting them
against one another, and one will say, well, I'll just go
over here and start my own church. So he takes his wife and his
kids and his grandkids and his neighbors, and he goes over to
the fourth, and he starts a congregation. And that's it. How many times?
Churches started over that one thing. And that's what these
folks have said. You know, I'll just go over here. If you all
don't like a pause, I'll stand over here by myself. And I've
had people do this before. We used to have meetings and
folks would call me and say, when so-and-so is preaching, tell me when he's
preaching. I'll be there that night. I don't
want to hear anybody else got to say. I've had that happen several
times years ago when we used to have meetings. They'd call
ahead of time and say, when's so-and-so going to be preaching?
I'll tell them, and they say, well, I'll see you that night.
They weren't going to come and hear somebody else. They didn't
want to hear the preacher before or the preacher after. They just
wanted to hear one preacher. That's not good, is it, Gary? That's
not good. And, oh, beloved, not only that, and look over here
in verse 12 of chapter 1. And you're talking about carnal.
Oh, my goodness. Carnal. Instead of seeing Christ,
instead of seeing the gospel, instead of seeing the righteousness
of Christ and the wisdom of God in Christ, and the glory of God
in Christ, and the redemption that's in Christ, and the glory
and the blamelessness and the faultlessness we have in Christ,
these fellows are running around bragging on preachers instead
of on Christ. And look what he says here in
verse 12. Corinthians 112. Now this I say, that every one
of you says, I'm of Paul. And I'm of Apollos. And I'm of
Cephas. That's Simon Peter. I'm of Simon
Peter. And if you don't like Simon Peter,
and if you don't want to hear it, I just ain't going to go
hear your preaching. Oh, my. And he said, in the eye
of Christ, and some of them said, I don't, I don't, you know, I'm
so spiritual that I'm the Christ and I ain't going to hear none
of them preachers. I can get it all by myself. Get it all by myself. And oh,
beloved, and that's what Paul says, are you not carnal? Are
you not carnal? Isn't this the childishest thing?
It is fleshly. And that's the very reason why
so many churches have been established over the years, over this very
thing. Preachers, getting invisible preachers. And that's why, you
know, that's why we don't need assistant pastors. We don't need associate pastors.
We don't need a bunch of offices in church, because when you get
offices, Then you get officers, and when you've got officers,
you've got folks throwing around their bags. You know, and I got
a lot of what he said one time. He said, only one fellow can
ride the horse and hold the reins. There's only one captain on the
ship. And that's true. That's true.
And that's why you won't have splits where there's a pastor. You just don't have that. It
just don't happen. When he leaves, maybe you might. But oh, that's
why, how many splits of it? You see these little old storefronts
open up. Another little church over here. And they'll name it
this Baptist church or that Baptist church or some other, you know.
That's because somebody got envious over the preachers. Started bragging
on one and saying negative about the other. And that fellow started
thinking, boy, I'm as good a preacher as he is. All these people are
telling me how they like me better than they do him. Next thing
you know, he's out and got him another church partner. It's a little
splinter group, but it's just, you know, it's just, you know,
it's a splint and a splinter, but it's still there. Amen. And
on here, let me tell you something about true preachers. You know
what Paul goes on to say about true preachers here. He says
this, who then is Paul? And who is Apollos? Who are they? Who are they? Who is Paul and Apostles? Why
are you making so much out of them? Why do you want to have
divisions over them? But all they are is ministers
by whom you believed. They didn't have a gospel that
they didn't receive. They didn't have a message that
they wasn't taught. All they was was ministers that
God used to preach the gospel to you and cause you to believe
on Christ. And look what it says, even as
the Lord gave to every man. I mean, God gave me a ministry
and He gave Apollos a ministry. He gave us different gifts and
different abilities, but He says the only reason that we have
anything at all to give to you is God gave it to us first. And
so we're just ministers by whom you believed. Paul's been gone now for 1900
years. Apollos has been gone 1900 years.
And the church is going on. And our beloved said, they're
just preachers of the gospel. We're just servants of the Lord
Jesus Christ, to whom you heard the gospel. We aren't masters.
We're not the head of a sect. We're not the head of cults.
We're not lords. We don't want to be. Just instruments in the
hands of Christ to feed His sheep. Keep this in. Keep 1 Corinthians.
Look with me in Matthew 23. There's nothing worse than things
like Matthew 23.8. You know, pastors are to be respected. Preachers are to be respected. And they'll be followed only
as long as they follow Christ. When they cease to follow Christ,
you cease following them. When they cease preaching the
gospel, you cease listening to them. If they ever change their
minds, that's why Paul said, if a man preaches any other gospel
than I've preached unto you, let him be accursed. I say again,
now, if I or an angel from heaven preach another gospel unto you,
let him be accursed. If I bring another gospel, if I bring anything
for you to do, If I tell you anything in the world for you
to do other than to trust Christ, believe Christ, that Christ is
all, that Christ is righteousness, that His obedience, His merit,
everything is in Him. If I bring you any other message
than that, you say, it's time for the preacher to go, or it's
time for me to go. Now, I really believe that with
all my heart. Don't you? And that's the first
thing you ask somebody when they start finding fault with their
preacher. Is he preaching the gospel? Is he preaching the gospel? If
he's preaching the gospel, you stay right there. Don't you move
a peg. And here Matthew 27, 23 verse
8 says this, talking about these folks, these preachers, you know,
and they, these carnal Christians call them all rabbi and master
and lord and say, I'm of Paul and I'm of Apollos and I'm of
Cephas. Well, look what the Lord Jesus Christ said about here
in Matthew 23, 8. But be not ye called rabbi, for
one is your master, even Christ. You know what you are? You're
just brethren. You're brethren. And don't call
no man your father upon the earth. Don't call Paul your father.
Don't call Apollos your father. Don't call Cephas your father.
For one is your father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called
masters. For one is your master, and you
see how that's capitalized? That's another title of his,
Master, even Christ. Even Christ. But he that's greatest
among you shall be your servant. That's what Paul said. What in
the world of what we're just servants by whom you heard the
gospel. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be brought down,
and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. You see, that's
what these fellows was doing. They was making Paul and opposing
him to be masters when they didn't want to be. And that caused them
to be at contention. And that's why Peter told them,
he says, you know, don't be lord over God's heritage. Feed the
flock over which God has made you overseers. Not by constraint,
but willingly, of a willing mind. Not for filthy lucre's sake.
Don't do it for money. You do it with a ready mind.
You do it because God called you to it. And that's what he's
telling here. And then look at their labor
back over here in chapter 3. Who is Paul and Apollos? Just
preachers by whom you believe. And watch what he says here.
Here's their labor. Here's the work they did. Paul
compares it to, I planted Apollos' water, but God gave the increase. Now, Paul was the first one,
he's the one who started the church at Corwin. He was getting
ready to leave, and God said, don't you go, I have much people
in this city. He stayed there and preached,
and preached, and preached, and God sent the Word. Paul has come
along. Paul done the planting. He planted the church. He planted
the seed. Paul has come along, and he started preaching, and
he was a water boy. He had watered all that seed.
Had been so. But look what he says. I've planted, and Paul
has watered. But just like you go out, and
you plow your garden, or plow your field, and you plant your
seed, And you get everything that's
necessary to make it grow. But you know what is dependent
on? God. Ain't that right? God. And that's
what Paul says, I planted Apollo's water, but my planting in his
water won't amount to a thing if God don't give me increase.
If God don't cause the seed to germinate, if God don't cause
the water to bring forth fruit, he said, it won't amount to nothing.
I don't care what goes on. Mary's mother used to, years
ago, when she'd plant her garden, she'd put her beans in and she'd
pray over every bean, Lord bless this, cause us to have some good,
she'd pray over it. She said, you know, she put her
guard down, she'd thank God for it, that she could do it, she's
able to do it. And she said, Lord, I've done everything I
know to do, but it's up to you now. And that's the truth. That's the truth. And I mean
that, you know, how much corn have you planted didn't come
up? How many tares you planted didn't come up? How many beans
you planted didn't come up? And that's what he said. Plant
and water, but if God don't give the increase, there ain't going
to be no fruit. And watch what he goes on to say in verse 7. So then neither he that planteth
anything, neither he that watereth. Oh my goodness. He that planteth is anything,
he that watereth is anything. Oh my, he said, you think we're
something? I'm going to tell you what we are. We're nothing.
You want to say I'm appalled, I'm of a policy? He said, you
know what we are? We're nothing. He that planteth is nothing.
He that watereth is nothing. It says neither he that planteth
anything nor he that watereth. But who gets the glory? Who does
the one that brings the fruit? Who's the one that causes the
seed? Whose seed is it, first of all? Whose water is it? It's God's Son, it's God's water,
it's God's seed. That's what our Lord Jesus Christ
said. He says, you know, the Word of God is the seed, and
He goes out and He sows it. And He says, and it falls, and
it brings forth fruit. And He says, first there's the
blade, then there's the blade in the ear, then there's the
full corn in the ear. And that's a mysterious thing. He said it's
God that caused this to happen. We can't sow seed until you first
get it. You can't water unless God gives
it to you. All gifts come from God. And
what Paul is saying, we're just stewards of the grace of God.
What in the world do we have to glory in? If any man glories,
let him glory in the Lord. That's what he's saying here.
And oh, boy. And look what he goes on to say.
But it's God that gives the increase. That's what we're depending on.
Oh, God. Salvation's of the Lord. It's His seed. This Word of God
is His seed. It's up to Him to give the water
when the seed's sown. It's up to Him to water it. That's why we don't, as long
as a man is brought to where he is, you know, he sees Christ,
he knows Christ. Nobody cares who, who, who, who. God gets the glory for it. God
did the work. Is that not right? I don't know
where the seed goes. And look what he goes on to say
here now. In verse 8. Now he that planteth and he that
watereth are one. You all trying to make us to
be two or three? To make us different? To make
us against one another? Set up this division? Set up
these factions? He said we're just one. We're
just one. What did he mean by that? We
preach one gospel. Just one gospel. We have one
view. We have one aim. We have one
goal. Our goals are all the same, and that's the glory of God and
the good of His church for whom Christ died. They have the same
love for one another. They have the same affection
for one another. They have the same love for the church. They
have the same love for Christ. They have the same love for His
word. He said, we are one. Why do you want to set us against
one?" He said, we're not masters, we're just one. Paul in Apollos
said, we're preaching the same gospel, same goal, same aim,
same objective, using the same seed, the same water, we're just
one. And there was no reason for the
church to be divided over them, and he goes on to say here this,
and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own
labor. Now Paul talked about it, and
I'm going to show you what this reward is here in a minute. But Paul said, I labored more
abundantly than they all did, yet not I, yet not I, but the
grace of God which was in me, yet not I. Now what is this reward
they're talking about? Well, look over here in Philippians
chapter 4. What is this reward we're talking
about? They're going to get up there and some are going to get
more crowns and more pats on the back and have a big, big place in heaven
because he's done more labor than somebody else did. Here's where he's late. This
is his reward. Philippians 4.1, Therefore, my
brethren, dearly beloved, long for, and watch it, my joy and
crown. So stand fast in the Lord, my
dearly beloved. You are my joy when I see you,
you are my crown. When I see you in the faith,
I see you loving Christ, knowing Christ, being true to Christ,
and loving one another, being steadfast and faithful. He said,
that's all the reward I need. And look over here at 1 Thessalonians
2.19. It says almost the same thing.
1 Thessalonians 2.19. Go over to
your right, three or four pages. This is our reward. And we will
hear one of these days, but every single one of us will hear this.
Well done, thou good and faithful servant. We'll all hear that. Look what he said in 1 Thessalonians
2.19. For what is our hope, or joy,
or crown of rejoicing, are not even ye in the presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? What am I going to point to that
my joy, my rejoicing, my crown is in the presence of Christ?
It's going to be you Thessalonians. It's going to be you. It's going
to be what God done for you. That's why he said, that's all
reward I need. John said it this, I delight in hearing that my
children walk in the truth. And then in verse 9, back over
here, and I'll wind it up. And this sums it up. This sums
it up, why there shouldn't be any envy or strife or divisions,
why you should not be carnal, why you ought to grow up, why
you ought to start acting as spiritual men, not as natural
men. He says, for we are laborers
together with God. We're laborers together with
God. We're fellow laborers. We're workmen with God Himself.
It's God's work. We just work in His vineyard. He says here, you are God's husbandry. You are God's building. He said,
we're just laborers with God. God does the building. God does
the planting. It's God's vineyard. You're God's
garden. You're God's field. Look over
on Isaiah 60 with me right quick, and I'll wind it up here right
quick, and then let you see this verse of Scripture here. Isaiah
60. In verse 21, he said, We're employed in God's service. We
devote ourselves to Him. But you're God's husbandry, not
ours. You're God's building, not ours.
You know, you're God's garden. You're God's build. You're God's
vineyard. And God's tending it and using
us to cultivate it. That's all he said. We just cultivate
it. But you're God's building. Look here in Isaiah 60, verse
21. Thy people also shall be all
righteous, for they shall inherit the land forever. And watch this.
The branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may
be glorified. That's all we need to know. You know, when I look out and
see you, I say, God done it. When I look at myself, all I
can say is, God done it. Ain't that right? In spite of
us, in spite of me, in spite of you, we keep on keeping on. You know why? Because it's God's
building. It's God's husbandry. And He ain't going to let it
go, is He? He'll tend it. He's tending it. He's using us
to do it, but He's tending it. He's tending it.