Stewards of the Grace of God

Now tonight, I would like for
you to open your Bibles to the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter
4. Let me read the first seven verses
of 1 Corinthians, chapter 4. so account of us as of the ministers
of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it
is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. But
with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you
or of man's judgment. Yea, I judge not my own self.
For I know nothing by myself, yet am I not hereby justified,
but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing
before the time, until the Lord comes, who both will bring to
light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels
of the hearts. And then shall every man have
praise of God. And these things, brethren, I
have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for
your sakes, that ye might learn in us not to think of men above
that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one
against another, for who maketh thee to differ from another?
And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now, if thou
didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hast not received
it? Now, I'm going to continue tonight
the subject that I dealt with last Sunday morning. You remember
last Sunday morning's message from 1 Corinthians chapter 3? And it was a matter of grave
concern to the Apostle Paul to see churches and preachers and
people torn by factions and divisions and strife, especially over their
ministers and over their pastors and preachers and elders. Paul accused them of acting like
carnal men, worldly people. He said, there is among you envy,
envy. among the people of God, envy,
strife and division. And it ought not to be, especially
concerning your preachers and pastors and elders and teachers. Now, I've been around during
all of this resurgence and revival of the preaching of the gospel
of grace. This resurgence and revival of
the preaching of the grace of God, the gospel of God's grace,
began in this country in 1950. That's when it began. Up until 1950, there was some
people here and there and yonder who believed what we call the
doctrines of grace, Calvinism, but there weren't many. that
we knew about. It wasn't heard and preached
like it is today. I've watched it multiply, multiply,
multiply many times. And I have known most of the
preachers whom God used at that time in the 1949, 50s, all through
the 50s. I knew most of the preachers.
Most of them are now dead. But I knew them and knew them
quite well, men whom God used in some manner in that time,
especially Brother Ralph Barnard and Brother A.D. Muse and Brother
B.B. Caldwell and Brother George Fletcher
and Brother L.R. Shelton, Brother Clarence Walker,
Brother D.B. Estep, Brother I.C. Herringdean. knew these men real,
real well. And many more as they came along. Phil Griswold, Luther Hux, N.B. Magruder, E.W. Johnson, and all these men back
in the early days when this thing... And I remember when the old writers,
back before 1950, you could find books by Gill and Spurgeon and
Thomas Watson and Owen and Whitfield and Flaval and Newton, you could
get them for ten cents. You could go in an old, you remember
that, you could go in an old bookstore and you'd find them
stuck off back in the back, covered with dust and cobwebs. But after
that time, that Sovereign Grace Conference at Pollard, and the
one we had the next year, and the next year, and the next year,
and then it began to spring up in Birmingham, and Pine Bluff,
and Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and Louisville, Kentucky, and
all over this country, Houston, Texas, everywhere. People made
a living selling these books. People went into business. They
became expensive. You had to hunt them. You had
to find them. Lipton, books by these great,
you remember this, you know what I'm saying, it's all true isn't
it John? Amen to what I'm saying. It began right there. And it
just swept this country. And now they're preachers. I
could sit down there and write you a list of 100 preachers preaching
the grace of God, the gospel of God's grace. Easy, just me.
And I don't know them all. I know a lot of them. I could
sit down and write you a list of 100 faithful, Gospel preaching,
men preaching the grace of God. There's not just five, as somebody
said. There's 500. Lots of them. They're all over this country.
Australia, I preached for 11 down there just in the month
of September. They're in Mexico. They're all
over the world preaching the grace of God. Well, back when
this thing was moving back in 1950 and in those early days,
I learned a lot of lessons, and I wish the young preachers today
would listen to me. I could help them. I learned
a lot of lessons, and I learned them by experience. I learned
them the hard way. I learned this lesson one night in 1954. I brought all of these preachers
to Ashland. Every time I'd find a preacher
preaching the grace of God, I'd bring him to Ashland. No matter
where he was, I wanted him to come and preach. over at Pollard
until I left there and then this pulpit. I'd have Bible conferences
and I'd just hunt preachers preaching the grace of God and bring them
here for their sake and for our sake. I wanted them to meet all
of you and to meet the other preachers. I'd bring them here.
But way back down in 1954, I had a preacher preaching at Pollard,
one of those outstanding men that I just named a moment ago.
And he preached a powerful message. Great message. Oh, it was a blessed
message. And I've heard a lot of great
messages. And I'm hearing some now. Hearing them now. I'm hearing
them right here from this pulpit from these men sitting right
there in front of me. Great messages honoring and glorifying
our God. But this man brought one of those
good messages. And after the service, he was
standing down at the front over there. And people were coming
by shaking hands with him. I was standing over beside him.
And remember, I was just a young man then, 28 years old. This
man was twice my age. And he was standing there, and
I was listening. I wanted to hear everything it was saying.
I was a learner then. I hope I'm still a learner, but
I just, oh, how I wanted to glorify God and be what He would have
me be. And a well-meaning brother came
up. And this old gentleman standing
there, he preached and was shaking hands. And a well-meaning brother
walked up and said to him, these were his exact words. Now that's the way to preach,
he said, as if he knew. Now that's the way to preach
the gospel. You're the best preacher of all of them. I like the way you preach. And
he started to move on, and this old gentleman He wouldn't let
go of his hand, he pulled him back. He pulled him back in front
of him. And he said, now brother, don't
ever do that again. And don't you ever say anything
like that to me again. God's preachers are not competitors. We're not in a contest to see
who can preach the best. We are all servants of God Almighty,
preaching the gospel. And if we ever preach anything
worth hearing, it's not for our glory, it's for His. And don't
you ever again set one of God's preachers against another. God won't bless that kind of
spirit. You hear that real good? Real
good. Don't ever do it, he said. Don't
ever do it. And you see, that very thing
that took place, and I listened to that, I hope I heard you,
but that's the very thing that was happening right here at Corinth,
the very thing. Turn back to 1 Corinthians 1. Now let me show you this very
thing that was happening here at Corinth. In 1 Corinthians
1, 11. 1 Corinthians 1.11, for it hath
been declared unto me of you, my brethren, and these are believers,
by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions
among you. And this I say, now this I say,
that every one of you saying, I am of Paul, I like Paul, he's
my preacher. I am of Apollos. Somebody else
says I am of Cephas, that is Simon Peter. Somebody else says,
well, we don't care for any of the preachers too much, we are
of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were
you baptized in the name of Paul? And then you know the rest of
it. Now turn to 1 Corinthians 3. This is what I dealt with
Sunday morning. In verse 3, 1 Corinthians 3, verse 3. For you are yet carnal,
this is not spiritual. This is not a spiritual attitude
or spiritual behavior, it's carnality. For whereas there is among you
envy and strife and division, are you not carnal and walk as
natural men? For while one saith, I am of
Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? Who then
is Paul? Who is Apollos, but ministers
by whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to every man? I
have planted Apollos' watered God gives the increase. Now,
let me move right into chapter 4. Chapter 4, verse 1. Now, let me read this and tell
you what he's saying. Chapter 4, verse 1. Let a man
so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the
mystery of God. In other words, this is what
he's saying. pastors, teachers, and elders. So account of us, that is, look
upon us. Let everybody look upon us, we
who preach and teach. It doesn't matter who the man
is, if he's a true preacher of Christ. Look upon him as the
minister of Christ, the servant of Christ. That's what he is,
he's the servant of Christ. There are four things under this.
Number one, ministers and pastors and elders are chosen of God.
They're called of God. Paul said, God called me to preach
the gospel down in Macedonia. Remember, I spoke on that recently. He called me to preach the gospel. Paul said, God put me in the
ministry. So, men are chosen of God and
called of God and given certain gifts. which enable them to preach
and teach God's word. All of our congregation here
and in other places, they all know the gospel, but men are
given certain gifts to teach it and to preach the gospel.
God gives them those gifts and calls them into that ministry
and that work. And secondly, the church is to
recognize those gifts. I wrote a little article in the
Bulletin Sunday, you know, about that, when I mentioned Brother
Charlie being an elder. The Church recognizes those gifts
and receives those men and sets them apart. God said, separate
me, Paul and Barnabas, for the work whereunto I have called
them, and the Church recognized their gifts and received them,
prayed for them, and sent them forward. to do what God called
them to do. Now, the church is not to do
this hastily. It's not to do this hastily at
all. But when you set someone apart
to teach, and to teach, preach God's Word, and to rule or serve
as an elder, you better be careful. You better give it some time. I mean, lots of time. Let me
show you some Scripture on that. Turn to 1 Timothy 3, 1 Timothy
chapter 3, and beginning with verse 1, 1 Timothy 3 verse 1. This is a true saying. If a man
desire the office of bishop, that is pastor, he desireth a
good work. But a pastor then must be blameless,
the husband of one wife. vigilant, sober, serious, of
good behavior, given to hospitality, able, apt, gifted to teach, not
given to whine, not a striker, not greedy or filthy lucre, but
a patient man, not a brawler, a fighter, not covetous, one
that ruleth well his own house. having his children in subjection
with all seriousness and gravity. If a man knows not how to rule
his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? And
not a novice. What's a novice? That's a new
feller. That's a feller just moved in
on the block. Not a novice. Lest being lifted
up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Look
at verse 10. I'm talking about pastors and
deacons, verse 10. And let these also first be proved. Proved by what? Time. Time. Ability. Gifts. Faithfulness. Sobriety. Seriousness. Prove
them. Test them. Then let them use
the office of a deacon being found blameless. Now, turn to
1 Timothy 5. 1 Timothy 5, verse 22, listen to
this. Let's underline this and remember
this. Lay hands suddenly on no man. Now, what she's talking about
here is putting your approval. Here's a man who says, I'm called
to preach. Don't ordain him. Here's a man
who says, I'm called to teach. Don't do that now. Let him be
proved. Let him sit. Let him sit and
listen and learn. Let years pass. Let time pass. See, laying hands means we approve
of him. We put our approval on him. We send him out in the name of
God, in the name of this church. Don't do that suddenly now. He
said, don't you do that. Lay hands suddenly on no man.
And don't you be a partaker of other men's sins in doing that.
Church down the road calls you to help them ordain or send out
a man. Don't do it, unless you know
Him. Unless you can conscientiously,
seriously, for God's glory, send Him out. Don't you partake in
their sins. It's too serious. You're putting,
you see, you're putting God's people in the hands of these
men. And if they're novices, and unskilled, and untaught,
and not gifted, they'll murder God's people. They'll shear God's
sheep. They'll wound God's sheep. They'll
hurt them. A man needs to be skilled in
the use of this sword, or he'll wreak havoc on people. You wouldn't
hand a sword to a three-year-old child, would you? Or a four-year-old
child? And yet you hand this sword to
men who are not equipped in the use of it, and they're destructive. They wound and hurt. It's very,
very serious. And these men are to be respected
and followed. as they follow Christ. Now, let's
look at some more scripture. 1 Thessalonians 5. These men, once you set a man
apart, once you recognize him, like Charlie was praying a while
ago for his pastor. He recognizes me as his pastor.
That's what he said. I heard you pray that. Let's
see now, what's my attitude towards the pastor or the teacher or
the elder? We recognize these men as elders. Bob, Tom, Ron. John, Cecil, all these. It wants
to be our attitude, 1 Thessalonians 5, 12. And we beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labor among you, respect them, and honor
them, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to
esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.
And you'll be at peace among yourselves regarding these things. That's what it says, doesn't
it? I'll show you another verse, 1 Timothy 5, along the same line,
1 Timothy 5, verses 17 through 20. Now listen, 1 Timothy 5,
verse 17. Let the elders, these are your
teachers and preachers, and this goes for the other men whom we
know, Brother Fortner, Don Bell, Brother Scott Richardson, Brother
Gary, all these different pastors, T.M., just name lots of them.
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor,
especially those who labor in the Word and doctrine. For the
Scripture says you shall not muzzle the ox that treadeth out
the corn, and the laborer is worthy of his reward, and against
an elder, receive not an accusation. but before two or three witnesses. Be careful. Somebody says this about some
preacher, pastor, teacher. Be careful now. Don't you pay
attention to him unless he's got three witnesses. All right, let me show you another.
Hebrews 13. Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews 13, verse 7. Hebrews 13 says, Remember them
which have the rule over you. Who are these men? They are those
who have spoken to you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering
the end or goal of their conversation or their preaching. What is the
end or goal of what I'm doing tonight? The glory of God, the
salvation of your soul, and the unity of the Church. Now that's
the end and goal of what we're doing. Follow these men. Look at verse 17. Hebrews 13. Obey them that have the rule
over you. Obey them. And submit yourselves. They watch for your souls, as
they that must give an account. Boy, there's two things there.
You submit to them, but they better submit to God. Are they
going to give an account? Are we going to give an account
of what we preach? that they may do it with joy
and not with grief, that would be unprofitable for you. Now
what's this? Mr. Spurgeon said, go back to
the text, 1 Corinthians 4, let all preachers, pastors, teachers,
and elders be looked upon as ministers of Christ. And when
pastors and elders are treated with contempt, when they're treated
with contempt, disrespect, contempt for the word of God will follow.
That's right. That's next. When a man holds
God's servant in contempt, the next step is he'll hold the word
of God in contempt. You watch that, and you'll see
them leave the gospel. But when we exalt men above measure,
then pride follows. And that causes a strife and
division. Either way, you see, either way
the blessings of God are forfeited. When you put preachers down,
you wound yourself. When you lift them and exalt
them too high, you wound them. So, look at Romans chapter 12. Let me show you a verse over
here. Romans chapter 12. So here's the solution. Romans
12, 3. I say unto you through the grace
of God given unto me, that every man among you will not to think
of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think
soberly, according as God did dealt with every man, to every
man the measure of faith. All right, let's go back to 1
Corinthians 4. I'll try to move along with this,
but I want you to see these verses. Let all preachers, pastors, teachers,
and elders be looked upon as ministers of Christ and stewards
of the mystery of God. What's a steward? What's a steward? Well, I'll tell you what a steward
is. You can look it up in dictionary. It's a person who is put in charge
of the affairs of another. We're stewards of God. We're
stewards of the grace of God. We're stewards of the mysteries
of God. We're people who have in hand,
in charge of the affairs of another, who have in hand and charge the business of our Lord. That's
right. God's true preachers are stewards
of the gospel. They're stewards of the grace
of God. They're stewards of the mysteries of God. God has entrusted
them with that precious treasure, His glory, in the face of Christ
Jesus. Now, I need to show you some
scriptures on that. Be patient. Turn to 1 Peter 4.
1 Peter chapter 4, verse 10 and 11. In other words, we are ambassadors
of Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. Do you see
what I'm saying? God speaks to you through men.
He's given them the gospel to take to you. 1 Peter 4.10, As
every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same to
one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
It's not one man now. I'm not the only one. These other
men. have certain gifts. If any man
speak, let him speak as the articles of God. If any man minister,
let him do it as of the ability God given. That God in all things
may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praise and
dominion forever and ever. Amen. Let me show you another one.
1 Thessalonians 2 verse 4. You need to see these yourselves
and underline them. 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 4. Paul is speaking here and says
in verse 3, 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 3, For our exhortation was not
of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile, but as we were
allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel. Even so we speak,
not as pleasing men, but pleasing God, which trieth our hearts. You see that the great wealthy
The King of all kings and the Lord of all lords, from glory,
has put in the hands of certain men the oracles of God, the ministry
of the Word. He has put us in trust with the
gospel. We're stewards of the grace of
God. We're stewards of the mysteries of God. And we teach them and
preach them. That's true servants of God,
and that's not everybody calls himself a preacher. Let me read
you a couple of more. Don't turn to this. Let me just,
I can turn real quickly. Listen. He taught in Titus 1.3, but God
hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which
is committed to me. Paul said this preaching is committed
to me. I'm a steward. I have it in my
hand according to the commandment of God our Savior. Listen to
this. over here in 2 Corinthians chapter
4, verse 7, listen. But we have this treasure in
an earthen vessel, that the excellence or the power may be of God and
not of us, but we still have it. We still have it. So that's what we are, stewards
of the mysteries of God. One other scripture, I want you
to turn to Ephesians 4, and some of you Quote this, I've used
it before several times, Ephesians 4. We talked about our Lord in
verse 10, gone back to glory, Ephesians 4.10. He that descended
is the same that ascended up far above heavens that he might
fulfill all things. And he gave some, now he gave
some apostles and some prophets. and some missionaries, and some
pastors, and some teachers. Why? For the perfecting of the
saints, maturing of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in
the unity of the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God
unto a mature man, unto the measure, the stature, the fullness of
Christ. God didn't give that to one man, Gary. He gave it
to a lot of men. It's a lot of me. That's what
we are. I'm not going to stay as long
on the other verses. I did that one, but it had to lay that foundation.
Now, 1 Corinthians 4. Look upon us as ministers of
Christ and stewards of the grace of God. Now, verse 2. Moreover,
it is required in a steward, in stewards, that a man be found
faithful. What is the primary? essential requirement of a steward
of God. In one word. You have it right
there. Faithful. You can't find a better
word. Faithful. What is faithful? Trustworthy,
true, dedicated. He's faithful. That's right.
That's the key word. Trustworthy, true, dedicated. His master's business is his
one chief And that's what Paul said over here in Acts 20 when
he was talking to those other elders. Now, he was bidding them
goodbye. And this Acts 20, you want to look at it? And this
is what he said in Acts 20. While you're finding it, let
me say this. It's not the praises of men nor
the possessions of this world that this steward seeks. His
great reward is to see others come to love his master And to
hear his master say, Well done. That's his twofold ambition. That you might know him, that
he might know me. In Acts 20, listen, verse 18. And when it was come to him,
he said to them, Now you know from the first day I came to
Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons.
I served the Lord with all humility of mind, with many tears and
temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews. I kept back nothing that was
profitable to you. I have showed you, taught you
publicly from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and
to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now look at verse 24. None of
these things move me. I don't count my life dear unto
myself that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry
which I received of the Lord Jesus Christ to testify of the
gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that
you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God,
will see my face no more. Therefore, I take you to record
this day. I am pure from the blood of all
men, for I have not shunned or declared unto you all the counsel
of God. That's faithful. That's Mr. Faithful. And that's the best
thing you could say of any elder, or deacon, or teacher, or church
member, or treasurer, or finance committee, or custodian, or singer,
or pastor. He's faithful. Isn't that right,
Jim? Faithful. Ain't no better word.
That sums it up. Faithful. Alright, verse 3. 1 Corinthians 4. But with me, it's a very small
thing that I should be judged of you or of man's judgment. Yea, I judge not my own self.
What's Paul saying there? Let me read it in an amplified
version. Listen to me. He says, but as for me personally,
it matters very little to me that I should be put on trial
by any man. on this point of the ministry,
and that you or any other human tribunal should investigate my
ministry, question my ministry, or cross-question me or my gospel
or my office. It matters very little. Now,
Paul is not saying he didn't care what men thought. He didn't
say that. I hear preachers. I heard a preacher on a tape
one time say, if you don't like what I'm preaching, I could care
less. Well, let's weigh down a little difference. If you don't
like what I'm preaching, I'm sorry. I'm going to still preach
it. But I could care. I want you to learn it. Paul
said, I could wish myself a curse from Christ for my brethren.
He said, my heart's desire and prayer to God is for Israel that
they might believe this. I do care. I don't care what
people think. Don't you? Don't we really? Yes, we do. We care what they
think. We want them to think highly of Christ, don't we? We
want them to think highly of our ministry. But here's what
he's saying. Paul's saying this, I know whom I have believed.
Paul's saying, I know my gospel's the gospel of God. He said, if
any man preach any other gospel, let him be accursed. I know my
gospel's the gospel of God. I know God sent me to preach
his gospel. I know that I've been faithful
to that gospel. That's what he's saying. I know
that. I've fought a good fight. I've finished my course. I've
kept the faith. Therefore, it matters very little
to me that men should judge me or my ministry. That's what he's
saying. I know where I am. I know who I am. I know what
I preach. I know who the Lord Jesus Christ
is. He said, I know that. You know
that, Mike. So when men find fault with you
and criticize you and judge you, you do care, don't you? But you can say, it matters little. It's not going to change my course.
It's not going to change my course. In fact, he said, I don't even
judge myself. Why should I be bothered by your
judgment? Or anybody else cross-examining
and questioning and investigating and taking my tapes and listening
to them to find something wrong with them? Why, he said, I don't
even judge myself. You know why? Because he said,
I know I'm not worthy to be an apostle. So if he's left up to
me, I wouldn't even be here. See what he's saying? I'm not
worthy to be an apostle. I'm less than the least of all
the saints. I'm the chief of sinners. I'm not sufficient for
these things. Davidson, who am I? But I didn't
volunteer for this job. He put me in the ministry. So what difference does it make
what folks think? I don't even judge myself. You
know what he's saying, Cecil? It matters little to me personally
what other people's conclusions they come to in regard to it.
My minister Paul said, I don't even judge myself. Look at the
next verse. But let me ask this question.
Is there any of us, are there any of us who feel so qualified,
so able, so knowledgeable in the things of God that we dare
to sit in judgment on any other man's ministry. Do we feel so
qualified and so able to sit in judgment on another man's
ministry? Not if we've ever discovered
the awesomeness of it. But listen to verse 4. I know nothing by myself, Am
I not hereby justified? He that judges me is the Lord."
Now, here's what he's saying. I am not conscious of anything
against myself. As far as the ministry of the
Word is concerned. That's what Paul's saying. I
know nothing against myself. Look it up in another version. I know nothing against myself.
I have preached the gospel, he said. I've kept the faith. I
finished my course. I labored more abundantly than
you all, he said. I don't know anything against
myself, he said. But yet, that doesn't justify me. That doesn't
vindicate me. You can't vindicate me and I
can't vindicate myself. This is what he's saying, Bob.
I'm not concerned about your judgment because you can't vindicate
me. And I'm not concerned about my
judgment, although I don't know anything against myself as far
as the gospel is concerned. But that doesn't vindicate me,
but I'll tell you who can. He that judges me is the Lord. You know what he's saying? There
it is. I'm not vindicated before men
by their opinions or before God by my opinion. It's the Lord
who judges all things. Now, that'll help us a whole
lot. It's the Lord. And that brings us to verse 5,
and this is what he's saying, "...therefore judge nothing before
the time, until the Lord comes." And now when He comes, He'll
both bring to light the hidden things, He'll bring to light
the things that are kept under cover, secret, and He's going
to make manifest the counsel of men's hearts when He comes. And every man then will have
the praise of God. Now let me paraphrase that. So if you can't
vindicate me, and I can't vindicate myself, and everything's up to
God, and He's the judge of all, and our ministry will be tried
by Him, therefore, be slow in your judgment, and be not hasty
to pass sentence on one another, or to censure one another, especially
those who preach the gospel. There's a time coming There's
a time fixed for the judgment of all things. And that's the
day of our Lord's return. And when He comes, He's going
to bring to light all the secret motives and ways and ambitions
and purposes of men's hearts that are now hidden. We often
say, well, why are they being so critical? Why are they doing
this? God knows why. And someday He's going to judge
it. They don't ever tell us. People that are fine-fault and
criticize and say these things, they won't tell you the truth,
why they're doing it. They may be ambitious, they may
be envious, they may be covetous, they may be something else. But
any time you try, you don't make your light shine brighter by
blowing out everybody else's. You don't do it. Your candle,
that's what somebody said, you don't make your candle shine
anybody by blowing out everybody else's. Well, why do they want
to blow out everybody else's? Well, they don't, I don't know.
But God knows, that's what Paul's saying. God knows. And someday
when Christ comes, He's going to bring to light all the hidden
things in darkness. And then, every soul, every true
believer, every true minister, is going to hear God say, whatever
his work was, whatever his task, whatever his assignment, whatever
his responsibility, every one of them is going to hear God
say, well done, well done. Thou good and faithful servant.
What kind of servant? Faithful. Thou hast been faithful
over a few things. Thou has been what? Faithful.
No better word is it. Each keeps using it. Faithful
over a few things. I'll make you ruler over many
things, enter into the joy of thy Lord." Now verse 6, and we'll
hurry. After these things, and these
things brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself an Apollos.
What does he mean? I've used Apollos and myself
as an example. Don't you remember back in chapter
3 when he said some say I'm of Apollos, say I'm of Paul, who
is Apollos, who is Paul? He says I've used myself an Apollos. The same thing applies to all
the other preachers, but I've used myself in a promise that
you might learn in us not to think of men above that which
is written, and that you be not puffed up
one against another. Now here's the question, and
I'll close with this. Who makes thee, me, you, us to
differ from another? Who made you male or female?
Who made you tall or short? Who made you strong or weak? Who called you out of darkness
into light? Who gave you the knowledge of your sins? Who revealed
to you His grace? Who granted you repentance? Who
gave you faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Who revealed His mercy
to you and made you His own? Who did that? He did. And what
do you have that you didn't receive? Do you have faith? You received
it. Do you have a talent? Do you
have gifts? Do you have abilities? Do you
have talent? Do you have love? Do you have
money? Do you have wisdom? Do you have something to do?
Do you have a responsibility? Where did you get it? How did
you come by it? What have you that you did not
receive? Oh, a man can receive nothing except it be given him
from above. Then under God, now if you received
it, if it was given to you, if it's free grace, why would any
man glory? Why would any man glory? Why would any person be lifted
up with pride against any other if every one of us got everything
that we have, and know what we know by the grace of God. That settles it, doesn't it?
So there should be no envy, there should be no division, there
should be no strife, there should be no jealousy. Let's not be
hasty to judge. It's not our place to do it anyway.

Stewards of the Grace of God

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Stewards of the Grace of God

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book