Amen.
This evening we are in 1 Corinthians chapter number 4 and we'll begin reading in verse
number 1 where the Bible reads here,
Let a man sow account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of
God.
Now right off the bat he says here let a man account of us as the ministers of Christ and
stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now who is he referring to when he says let a man sow account of us?
Well if you read chapters 1, 2, and 3 he's referring to specific people leaders which
is himself, Apollos, and Cephas.
Now we understand according to chapter number 1 there is a big problem in the church and
one of the major problems was that people were causing divisions within the church.
What were they doing?
They were clicking up.
They were saying I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I of Cephas, and I of Christ.
And he says look Christ is not divided, we're all part of the same team.
And then in chapter number 3 we see that he says well we're all ministers of the gospel.
And he says who's Paul, who's Apollos?
These are people, these are vessels through whom we've believed.
So he says there let a man sow account of us as the ministers of Christ and stewards
of the mysteries of God.
Go back a chapter we'll read that in 1 Corinthians 3 verse 4 says for a while one sayeth I am
of Paul and another I am of Apollos.
Are you not carnal?
You see clicking up is a carnal thing, you know.
Let's click up against the world.
Let's click up against the devil and false doctrine but we don't need to click up against
people who are of like faith, okay.
We don't need to click up against people who are our brothers and sisters in Christ
who we agree on 90% of the things, we don't need to click up against people like that.
We're all part of the same team.
Verse 5 says who then is Paul, who is Apollos?
But ministers by whom ye believe.
Even as the Lord gave to every man I have planted Apollos watered but God gave the increase.
Go back to 1 Corinthians chapter number 4 so he says there as the ministers of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God.
So he says there that the apostle Paul, Peter, who Cephas, Cephas is Peter, and Apollos,
these are ministers.
Well what's another word for minister?
It's a servant, right?
Well every Christian needs to be a servant, right?
And they're leaving us an example of that but he also says that we're stewards of the
mysteries of God.
Well what is a steward?
A steward is someone who manages something for someone else, okay.
So the Bible teaches us that we in like manner just like Paul, just like Apollos, just like
Cephas is or was, we're stewards as well.
And in verse number 2 it says this, moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found
faithful.
Now this verse, these first two verses, more often than not are used to propagate financial
campaigns, okay.
If you go to any independent fundamental Baptist church, they will more than likely have what's
called a stewardship month, okay.
And what is a stewardship month?
It's basically a month out of the year, or some churches have like two months, even three
times out of the year, where they focus an entire month.
Every Sunday school lesson, every sermon, every pulpit sermon offering, sermonette is
focused on talking about the tithes and the offerings, okay.
And their favorite verse to go to is 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1 and 2.
I mean they even call it stewardship month, okay.
More Baptist churches have that more often than not.
And mark it down.
They'll use this verse up and down.
Now I'm not saying that that's even a bad application because we can apply that to finances,
okay.
Because we're stewards of everything that God gives us, right, including the finances
that God provides us, including the resources that we have.
So that's not a bad application.
I've heard a lot of good teaching from 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 in regards to finances.
And I think it's a biblical application that we can have.
But that's not the primary interpretation of this verse.
You see it tells us in verse number 1, what are we supposed to be stewards of?
It says of the mysteries of God, okay.
It doesn't say stewards of tithes, though that's part of being a steward.
But in context, 1 Corinthians 4 verse 1 says that we are stewards of the mysteries of God.
And if you take it further into context with chapter 3, 2, and 1, he's referring to specifically
the gospel.
Because he says we're ministers by whom he believed, okay.
And then he says we're stewards.
Stewards of what?
Of the gospel, all right.
Now again, I'm not against that, but what I am against is when churches, when pastors
take one verse and they apply, they have only one application to it, but they completely
negate the primary interpretation of the verse.
And the primary interpretation of this is that we need to be good managers of the gospel
that God has committed unto our trust.
A dispensation of the gospel has been committed unto us, that's what the Bible tells us.
Now here's the thing, you run into a lot of Baptist preachers and pastors who are really
good at financial management.
And they will credit 1 Corinthians chapter 4 because of it.
But because they apply it to finances all the time, they're weak on their soul winning.
Well you know why they're weak on their soul winning?
Because they're not applying it, what the main interpretation is all about, which is
in regards to the mysteries of God.
You know what, instead of being such a steward of the finances that God has given to you,
though that's important, why not steward the gospel that you have by going out there and
preaching it?
But you know what, we have churches that, the way they steward the gospel is by giving
out a track.
By hosting an evangelistic service.
By doing all these extracurricular activities that makes them think that they're preaching
the gospel but they're really not, they're not getting any work done.
You know what they're doing?
They're poor stewards is what they are.
Now verse number 5, go to verse number 5, but let me say this, we need to be good stewards
of the gospel that God gives to us.
Yeah, finances of course.
We need to be good stewards of the finances that God provides for us, not just individually
but as a church, correct?
But we need to make sure that we're managing the gospel correctly, that we're taking care
of business as much as we possibly can, that we're about our Father's business, okay?
Preaching the gospel, and look, you need to examine yourself individually and say, how
am I doing as a soul winner?
You know?
Not necessarily ask, you know, when's the last time I won someone the Christ?
Because obviously it varies depending on the people you talk to, but it's more like
how many times are you going out preaching the gospel?
How thorough are you in your gospel presentation?
You know, how are you doing in your soul winning?
Are you lacking in your soul winning?
If you're lacking in it, it just goes to show you're being a poor steward of the mysteries
of God.
Because God has entrusted this thing into you.
Now here's the thing about being a Christian for, here's the thing about being a Christian
as far as being a lifelong committed person to the Lord is that we always have to examine
ourselves in regards to our management of the things that God has provided for us.
So yeah, you know what, you're gonna have times when you just, you grow wax, your love
for the lost wax is cold, it's not the way it used to be, maybe things, your life is
encumbered with much serving, or your job, or problems, or trials, well you know what,
this sermon is to help you get back on track.
To say, hey, yes, those things are important.
Pay the bills, that's important.
Take care of, you know, make sure you plow through and endure through that affliction
every single day.
You know what, we need to keep preaching the gospel.
We need to make sure we're setting time aside to going out there, being a good steward of
the mysteries of God.
If you're not, you're a poor steward.
Look at verse number five, it says, who then is Paul, who is Apollos?
But ministers by whom you believe, I'm sorry, I need, I lost my place here.
First Corinthians chapter four, and verse number three, I'll restart with reading verse
number two.
It says, 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 mine own self, for I know nothing by myself, yet am I not hereby justified,
but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
Now go to Luke 16.
Let me continue on this thought of being a good steward, okay, because the Bible tells
us here that in order to be a good steward or a good manager of what God has given to
us, we have to be faithful, okay?
And a couple weeks ago, I don't remember what sermon we were talking about, but we
were talking about being diligent, being consistent, okay?
If you want to be successful at anything in life, but of course the things of God, you
need to be consistent.
You need to be faithful.
You need to be diligent.
If you are inconsistent, you're not going to experience good success in the Christian
life.
Because see, God doesn't require for you to be some eloquent Christian who knows all the
mysteries of God.
He doesn't require for you to be talented, a good orator, to be good looking, tall, short,
dark, or light.
It doesn't matter what you look like or what talents you have.
God just says, I want you to be faithful.
I want you to be consistent, okay, because that's how you build good habits, spiritual
habits.
Now look what Luke 16 verse 10 says, he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful
also in much, and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
So we can see according to verse number 10 of Luke 16 that God provides more responsibilities,
good responsibilities to us as we're counted faithful in the small things, okay.
So in other words, you can't expect for God to promote you spiritually or even at your
job, whatever it is, the things of God.
If you're not being consistent, if you're not faithful in that which he's already committed
unto you, okay.
The way God promotes is if you're consistent in one thing, guess what?
You're preparing yourself for that which God has prepared for you later on, okay.
Now in context, this is referring to finances.
It says in verse 11, if therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon,
who will commit to your trust to true riches?
If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that
which is your own?
But you know, you can apply this to a lot of different areas in your life.
You know, those of you guys who are preparing to be pastors or you want to be a preacher
one day, you need to start preparing for that.
Whether it's keeping your house in order or let me just say this, just getting married
in general, amen.
So it's like, I want to be a pastor one day.
Well get yourself a wife first.
First things first, amen.
Get a wife, get married, then you have children.
But during that time, you need to be preparing, studying the Bible, reading the Bible, preparing
sermons, taking these things serious, okay.
Because you never know when your opportunity might come, all right.
But it says there we need to be faithful in that which God has committed unto us so God
can promote us to something bigger later on, right.
But it's not just preaching, it's in your job, it's in any area of life.
If you want success, you got to be consistent.
Go to Proverbs chapter 28.
But you know what the problem is today?
The problem with a lot of Christians is this, let me read to you from Proverbs 20 verse
6.
Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness, but a faithful man who can find.
You see what we're lacking today is not, what we're lacking today is people, it's not people
who are boasting of their own goodness.
No, people boast of their goodness all the time.
They boast of what they can do, how much Bible they know, how good of a soul winner they
are and all these things, the list goes on and on and on.
That says, look, I need you to just find someone who's faithful.
I don't need someone to boast on how eloquent they can wax behind the pulpit.
I don't need someone to boast of how great of a Christian you are.
I want to find someone who's faithful, okay.
So what we need, how we apply this is simply this.
You know what, let another man praise thee, not thy own mouth, not thy own lips, okay.
And look, it's not bad to praise one another.
If you do a good job, you know, praise the Lord and people will praise you.
But you ought to be focused not on the praise that you receive from man.
You ought to be focused on the fact that, am I being consistent, okay.
You know, consistency is one of the best attributes that a Christian can learn.
Why?
Because you can be counted upon.
You can be relied upon.
It's not like you're up and down all the time.
Proverbs chapter 28 verse 20 says, a faithful man shall abound with blessings, but he that
maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
You want blessings in your life, be faithful, okay.
And just like it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1 and 2, you know, the steward of
God must be found faithful.
If God's going to bless you with more, you need to be found faithful.
Now go back to 1 Corinthians chapter number 4, and I'm going to read verse number 3 again
that says, 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 mine own self.
Now a lot of times people, you know, there's Christians from every denomination that speak
against judging people, right.
I've heard it multiple times, I heard it when I was in Bible college from other Bible college
students when I would like get on some guy because he was dressed like an effeminate
queer and I'd call him out and he's like, hey, you shouldn't judge not unless you be
judged and all these things.
And he used to irritate the fire to me, because will not the judge of all the earth do right,
right.
And the Bible constantly talks about judgment, okay.
Now the Bible does, like for example, they like to quote Matthew chapter 7, right.
But Matthew chapter 7 is in regards to judging someone while you're being a hypocrite, okay.
So obviously we shouldn't judge someone if we're guilty of doing the same exact thing
that we're judging them for.
So we can't judge someone and say let me take the mote out of your eye if you have a huge
beam in yours, you see what I'm saying.
So the Bible's not saying don't judge at all, it's just saying hey make sure you have a
clean slate before you start judging someone else.
Because then you're just considered a hypocrite, which is exactly what the Pharisees were.
They were, in Romans chapter 2 Paul talks about the Jews who though they condemn others
they're condemning themselves, thou that abhors idolatry, dost thou commit sacrilege.
And they were guilty of a lot of the things that they were preaching against to others.
They're being hypocrites.
God doesn't want us to be hypocrites.
He's not saying you're supposed to be sinless, but you shouldn't be guilty of that which
you're judging someone else for.
So that's the wrong type of judgment.
Another wrong type of judgment is when you just judge and then you jump to conclusions
without any facts.
You know this can fall into the category of when you're out soul winning and someone rejects
you and you're like oh they didn't want to hear me because they're a reprobate.
Well you don't know that.
Now let me say this, Paul and I we ran into a full blown reprobate yesterday and I judged
righteous judgment, Paul judged it, we knew it for a fact, she was dykin' it.
Bottom line.
That was like, I mean it was as plain as the nose of my face.
That was for sure.
But you know what a lot of people do, sometimes they're just like oh yeah they're a reprobate.
Oh that person's a faggot that's why they didn't want to listen to me.
No maybe it's because it wasn't time for them or something.
Or maybe they're just a jerk.
Or maybe you're just a jerk.
You thought about that?
Maybe you need to refine your soul winning a little bit.
Maybe you need to be nicer when you go out.
By the way nice is not a cuss word.
Kind is not a bad thing to be.
It's good to be kind when you're talking to people who are not saved.
So it may not be oh that person's just reprobate, no they're not reprobate.
Maybe they're just hard hearted people.
But people can get pretty far as an unsaved person before they actually become a reprobate.
You know the apostle Paul, the Bible says he persecuted the church of Christ.
He blasphemed.
He was a blasphemer the Bible says.
But yet God saved him.
He wasn't a reprobate.
So you can see, you can look at Paul's life and say, I mean this guy was arresting people.
He's asking for letters, to go arrest Christians.
I think anybody today would say yeah that guy's reprobate.
I mean that guy's trying to get Christians.
He's holding the coats of those who are stoning Christians.
You know he's assisting.
Let me hold your coat while you go stone Steven.
But yet the Bible says he wasn't a reprobate.
He got saved.
You see what I'm saying?
So you can get pretty far without being a reprobate.
I'm talking about the unsaved here.
So that's a wrong type of judgment.
When you just say oh that person, you just dismiss him as a reprobate.
No.
Just be nicer.
Okay.
Or maybe that person's just not ready to get saved yet.
Or maybe your uncle's not a reprobate.
Maybe they just need some more time or he needs you to be a better testimony.
Okay.
So obviously those are the wrong type of judgments.
Okay.
But in verse number three, and look, you look at 1 Corinthians, Paul's doing a lot of judging.
In fact, we're going to see next week, in chapter five, he says I've already judged.
I don't even have to be there.
He judged.
And in chapter one, he says he that is spiritual judgeth all things.
So is he contradicting himself?
No.
But he's making a distinction.
There's a wrong type of judgment and there's a proper type of a judgment.
Now he, according to this verse, we can see that the people at Corinth are judging Paul
is what they're doing.
Okay.
They're not thinking much of him.
You say well how do you know that?
Because if you read chapters one, two, and three, they're clicking up.
So if one's saying he's a Paul, that means the one who's saying he's a Paul, he's diminishing
the authority of, excuse me, one saying that he's of Apollos, that means he's diminishing
the authority of Paul.
He's like I'm not with Paul, I'm with Apollos.
Or Peter's better.
Or Paul's better.
Apollos not that good.
You know, what are they doing?
They're judging these guys.
They're saying that Paul's a better Christian than Apollos.
Or that Apollos is a better Christian than Cephas.
You see what I'm saying?
And he's saying there in verse number three, but with me it is a very small thing that
I should be judged of you.
What does that mean?
That doesn't bother me at all.
You're not phasing me with your comments, they're saying that you're not of me, that
you're not with my clique or that you're with Apollos and Cephas, because that's a small
thing to me.
That doesn't even bother me.
And you know why it doesn't bother Paul?
Because he's mature.
You know, he's not a fifth grade Christian.
Those kindergarten playground Christians, they like to play these things where it's
just like we're just going to go, I'm not your friend anymore.
I'm not going to follow you anymore.
Then don't follow me, I don't care.
That's a small thing to me.
And you show your level of maturity when you clique up like that.
It says that I should be judged of you or of man's judgment, yea, I judge not mine
own self.
So the judgment that those in chapter one and three are talking about, they're basically
referring to what leader is better.
Now let me say this.
There is better leadership in different churches than in others.
I'm talking about even of saved people.
I know people who are in churches that are just like ours, you know, they don't have
good leadership and the pastor's saved, but the leadership is not good.
But you know what, when you're comparing yourself among yourselves to say, I'm a better leader
than this person, or you're a better leader than this person, so I'm going to clique up
with them.
That's wrong.
Okay.
We're not talking about doctrine here, because if there's a person who's in a church who's
in like massive false doctrine, then you need to get out of that church.
Okay.
Look at verse number four.
It says here, 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 come, who both will bring to light
the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart, and then
shall every man have praise of God.
So what he's saying here is this, you know, these guys are saying, well I'm of Apollos
and Cephas.
And what he's basically saying is like, look, I don't even know how good of a Christian
I really am.
You know?
No one does.
None of us in this room can point to someone and say, that guy's a better Christian than
that guy.
We don't know.
Okay.
So we can't even judge that, even in a church setting.
So you can't say someone's more superior or ranking better than you as far as spirituality
is concerned, because you don't know that.
Now, you know, and by the way, this is not referring to someone who's involved in drunkenness
or fornication or extortion.
We can judge that, okay?
Someone comes in here and they're a drunkard or they're involved in fornication, they're
getting kicked out of the church.
We can judge that clearly according to 1 Corinthians chapter number 5.
But the Bible teaches us that as far as like Bible readings concern, or how good we are
at soul winning, or the rewards that we're gathering unto eternal life, we don't know.
So you can't say, well, you know, if you're the kind of person who says, I know for a
fact that I'm a better Christian than so-and-so, you're probably the worst Christian in here.
You're full of pride, and just like Paul, we're going to see in just a little bit, you're
puffed up.
Okay?
And you need to humble yourself before the Lord, and thank God for the things that you
do know, and start growing, because only an immature Christian would think something like
that.
That you're better than someone else, okay?
We can't judge anything before it's time.
Now, so before you start thinking that you're some great Christian, and before you start
judging someone else in the church, you know, maybe they're not even dressed right, okay?
Or they don't look like you, or they're not as refined as you are.
Before you start judging that person, you better think twice, because God might esteem
that person as being more spiritual than you are, even if that person's been saved less
amount of time than you have.
Why?
It could be that that person's humble, you know, they're willing to learn, they're submitted
to the Spirit, they're reading their Bibles, whereas to you, because you're so pompous
and proud, you know, you think you're better than everyone else.
God's going to resist you, and He's going to give grace unto the lowly.
He's going to give grace unto the humble.
He's going to resist the proud, and give grace unto the humble, okay?
So this is very important, because this is a temptation that every Christian will face,
especially as you start growing, you start thinking that you're better than someone else,
okay?
That you know more than, and you might know more than some people in here, but you know
what?
That does not make you any better than anybody else, all right?
Now go to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and verse number 12, it says, Therefore, I'm going to
read to you again from 1 Corinthians 4, 5, it says, Therefore, judge nothing before the
time until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and
will make manifest the counsels of the heart, and then shall every man have praise of God.
So it's saying there, you know what?
It's better not to just judge anybody based upon their spirituality, because everyone
will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ.
God's going to make manifest all these things, the counsels of the heart, the Bible says.
So it could be we're going to be surprised on judgment day when we get our rewards.
You might be surprised.
You're like, man, I'm going to get so many rewards, but you know what?
Because you boast so much of how great of a Christian you are, you already got your
reward.
Remember that.
So think twice next time you do some great work, and you start boasting about it.
Well, man, everyone's going to pat you on the back, give you dap.
There's your reward, though.
You can't get anything else after that.
You know?
You're going to be having like, and God's going to be like, how'd you like that handshake?
Pretty good, huh?
You know?
You like that?
Because that's all you're going to get.
You know?
You know, better to just recognize, man, you know, and look, every Christian is different.
Like, I know in my personal life, just for the length of time that I've been a Christian,
there's been times that I wonder, I'm like, man, am I doing enough for God?
You know, am I a good soul winner?
You know, do I know the Bible enough?
Am I living a life that's pleasing unto the Lord?
Where do I rank in God's scale of acceptance, I guess you could say?
Obviously, we understand that we're accepted in the beloved as far as heaven is concerned.
But I mean, as far as him being pleased with me, we don't know.
You know, I don't know.
You know?
And God doesn't tell us in his word.
He just commands us to do certain things, a lot of things, but he never tells us with
an audible voice, hey, I'm pleased with you with the life that you're living.
You know?
So you're kind of just left wondering, like, man, I wonder how it's going to go for me
at the judgment seat of Christ.
You know?
But see, I'd rather be in that position of wondering, of wondering, than be in the position
of like, oh, I know for a fact I'm going to get a lot of rewards because I'm such a good
Christian.
I'm such a bomb Christian.
I'm all that and a bag of chips, in fact, you're probably not going to get a bag of
chips when you get to the judgment seat of Christ.
That's probably all you'll get, and it's already open, and there's probably about three chips
left in there.
Okay?
You're probably not going to get a Lays potato chip.
You're probably not going to get much.
Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse number 12.
It says, Now if any man build upon the foundation of gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
and stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest.
For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try
every man's work of what sort it is.
If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved,
yet so as by fire.
So that's what it's referring to in 2 Corinthians chapter 3.
That's what it's referring to what we see in 1 Corinthians chapter number 4.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 4, it says there, Therefore judge nothing before the time until
the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness.
It's not talking about evil things, it's talking about the things that we don't know about.
Okay?
It says, And will make manifest the counsels of the heart, and then shall every man have
praise of God.
See that's what we need to be looking forward to.
We need to be looking forward to the praise of God.
You know, we're so focused on having man praise us, and recognize us, and give us admiration
and all these things, we need to recognize that this is going to be a time that we're
going to get praise of God.
You know, well done, thou good and faithful servant.
Okay?
Be thou over ten cities.
You know, at that time, it's just like, man, it's time to cash in.
This is what I'm going to get for the reward, for the things that I've done in this world.
But many people are just concerned about the rewards that get here and now.
And by the way, we are going to get rewards here and now.
But we need to be focused on the eternal, and not so much on the temporal, right?
But it tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 how that's going to look.
Now go to Ephesians chapter number 6, because at the latter end of 1 Corinthians chapter
number 4, in verse number 5, it says, He will make manifest the counsels of the heart, and
then shall every man have praise of God.
Look at Ephesians chapter 6 in verse number 5, where the Bible reads, Servants, be obedient
to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness
of your heart, as unto Christ, not with, what, eye service, as men-pleasers, but as the servants
of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good will, doing service as to
the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he
receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
So the Bible's telling us this, look, when you're serving, do it as unto the Lord, don't
do it as unto men.
Well, you say, how do I know if I'm doing it unto men?
Are you looking for people to recognize you for the things that you do?
Do you want a pat on the back every time you do something for the Lord?
Look, it's polite to say thank you or good job, okay?
It's considerate.
But if you don't get it, let it be like water off a duck's back, okay?
You shouldn't be doing things to be recognized of men.
My friend, Pastor Ringo Ayala, he tells me a really funny story.
And he said years ago, he goes, man, he goes, I know personally the most prideful, humble
guy, he goes, that I will ever meet, he's the most prideful, humble man that you will
ever meet in your life.
And he started telling this story about, you know, he went out to eat with these guys,
I think it was like three guys, and these two guys were just bragging on the third guy.
He's like, yeah, this guy's so godly, and you know, this guy, man, he just, he reads
the Bible, and he knows so much.
And the guy's just sitting there, he's just kind of playing with his tights, just like,
you know, he's just like, it's all the Lord, you know?
And they're just kind of like puffing them up.
And Ringo's like, okay, you know, amen.
Well, amen.
And then every time they would give him a compliment, he'd just like point up to the
sky, you know, and just kind of like, just act real humble, he's like, praise the Lord,
man, it's all God, you know, it's all God.
And so, you know, they finish their dinner, they go home, and the guy calls, or excuse
me, the guy who they're praising, he leaves, and he goes home.
So Ringo and the two guys, they're still talking or whatever for a couple more minutes or whatnot,
they're fellowship for a while, then they disperse, they go home.
Well, the guy who they're bragging on calls Ringo.
He says, hey, did they say anything else, any more about me during that conversation?
And he's like, no, you're, that was it, man, he goes, oh, he didn't say anything else?
Okay, well, hey, man, you know, glory to God, you know, it's all God, because I am
what I am by the grace of God, you know, and you're saying that's the most prideful, humble
guy you'll ever meet in your life.
But you know, that shows that there are people out there who love the praise of men more
than the praise of God.
They love hearing the proclamation of other people's mouths about their own success so
cold, you know, and that's not to say we're not going to get that, but you shouldn't strive
and live to get praised of men.
You know, we need the praise of God more than anything else, and it says that we shall
receive that if we're not men pleasers, but you know who we have to, we have pastors that
are men pleasers, you know, you have pastors that get up on a Sunday morning and they don't
want to preach anything controversial, they don't want to preach anything that's hard
or offensive.
Why?
Because they want the handshakes of every single congregate in that church to say, great
sermon, I was so encouraged by that, it was so nice to hear such an encouraging sermon.
Thank you so much for that.
I love the way you preach.
I love the way you speak.
You know, if you preach all the subjects of the Bible, you're not always going to get
that.
In fact, you'll have people walk out of your service every once in a while, okay?
Sunday night.
Look, I've had, since we started this church, I've had a couple of people walk out and all
those times, those two times that people have walked out of, when I preached, I didn't even
know they were walking out because they got offended.
I literally thought they were going to go answer a phone call or something, you know,
and then later on they'd tell me, yeah, they didn't like what you said about the sodomites
or whatever, or they got offended at this or whatever or whatnot.
But you know what?
That's going to happen.
Amen.
Not everyone's going to like the sermon, and in fact, I could probably come down here after
service and ask every one of you, are you pleased with everything that I say?
And you'd probably be like, no, I hated the fact that you said this a couple of weeks
ago, and I felt like you were talking about me.
And by the way, I probably stepped on people's toes in this service more often than not.
You've probably cursed me in your mind, that jerk.
Who does he think he is?
You know, I'm positive that that's happened in this church.
Okay.
But you know what?
Lump it.
Because the fact is, is that we need, myself included, we need to be pleasers of God more
than pleasers of man.
And I can get everyone in here to like me if all I preach is encouraging sermons all
the time, right?
But sometimes we've got to speak of uncomfortable things that is going to offend you, that's
going to hurt you.
But you know what?
We need to make sure that we're coming to church with the right motives.
Not to just get our ears scratched, you know, and have our spiritual ears tickled every
once in a while.
We need to hear hard sermons so we can learn, so we can repent of sin, so we can get right
with the Lord.
You're going to hear, and that's not the only time, you're going to hear things on Sunday
night some lady got offended because I said ladies ought to keep quiet in the church.
And I wasn't even like mean about it.
Okay, she was just, and look, she was being a little loud, and she was clapping and doing
her little charismatic thing, and I was just very kind to say, hey, you know, let's make
sure we keep the amens and the noise for the men, because the Bible says the ladies ought
to keep silence in the church.
And she didn't like that, you know?
But the fact is, is that the fact that she didn't like it, or that anybody else didn't
like it, does that mean that I should not talk about it?
You know, I have to risk it.
But guess what?
Even though she walked out, I guarantee you those other ladies in the church are going
to say, okay, well, I'm not going to make another noise in this church ever again.
You know, because it's in the Bible.
You know, and she went up to my wife, and she said, did he say that I have to shut my
mouth in this church?
And my wife said, no, the Bible says that we ought to keep silence in the church.
You know, that's what the Bible says.
I don't agree with that.
She walked out, and then she came back in.
Is he serious?
I mean, she came in like four times, you know, to my wife.
And then I think one of the, the third to the last, she threw the Bible down.
She goes, I'm out of here.
But then she came back, she goes, you know, actually, I need that Bible.
And she took it back, you know, amen.
Maybe she'll read, maybe she'll read 1 Timothy, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus, amen.
So what am I saying here?
What I'm saying is this, is that we can't be man pleasers, whereas the pastors get up
all over the country, and they preach these soft sermons.
And by the way, that's why their church is filled with a lot of ladies.
Churches that have soy milk preaching will attract ladies by the droves, okay?
They'll always be popular with the ladies, something wrong with that, okay?
Why?
Because the ladies, they like to hear stuff like that.
You see a man, a legitimate red-blooded man wants to get their face ripped every once
in a while.
They know it's good, they're like, amen, that's good, I need this, okay?
And then what happens is the ladies, they come to church, but they leave their husbands
behind, because the husband doesn't want to come to a weak preaching church.
They're like, church is for ladies.
You hear that effeminate pastor speaking right there?
But you know what happens when a man comes to a church where there's hard preaching,
a woman actually likes a man who can lead, who is strong in the Lord and in the power
of his might, they're attracted to that, and then they'll follow the man.
But you know what?
These pastors, they got it all backwards.
They're like, no, we got to preach these soft sermons, and then what happens?
They get the ladies, but they completely scare off the men.
And what's the image that the man has of church?
The faggoty Jesus with long hair, light skin, wearing a dress, you know, it's all about
the mercy of God.
They don't understand that Christianity is a male-oriented religion.
It's male-oriented.
Jesus is a man, God, he speaks to himself in the male form.
The disciples were all men, the 12 disciples were men, okay?
And that's not to degrade women or say that they're less than us.
No.
But you know what the Bible teaches us?
This is a male-oriented book.
Our Savior's a man.
He didn't choose to come down here as a woman.
He came as a man.
I don't even know what that has to do with the sermon, but it's important because you
have churches all over the country who preach soft sermons.
Why?
Because they're afraid of offending anybody.
And that's why when the special evangelistic service comes by and the woman invites her
husband to come to church, he never comes back after that.
He's like, this is a soft church.
I don't want to be here.
They're going to try to spiritually castrate me here.
I'm serious because this is like, oh, you can't be angry.
You can't be mad.
You're not led of the Spirit if that's what you're doing.
And the man's like, forget that.
You know, I'm a man.
Anyways, go back to 1 Corinthians, chapter number four.
The Bible says in Galatians 1, 10, for do I now persuade men or God, or do I seek to
please men?
For if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
The Bible teaches us we can't be servants of Christ if we're pleasing men all the time.
Okay.
And look, if you get offended when I preach something, this is what you do.
You know, if you need to curse me in your mind, curse me in your mind, you know.
But just get it right.
And look, if you don't believe me, don't take my word for it.
Get the verse that I quoted that offended you and go look it up yourself.
Go study it yourself.
Go read it yourself and see that it's true.
Okay.
And once you see that it's true, it's like, okay, maybe that guy had a point.
I just don't like a spirit then.
Then, you know, you don't have to like my spirit, but you've got to agree with God's
spirit.
Amen.
Okay.
Verse number six, it says, in these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to
myself and to Apollos for your sakes, that you 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 hadst not received it?
So he keeps hammering this point of saying, look, don't think yourself better than anybody
else.
You know, if you've got something, if you're gifted in a certain area, don't glory in that.
God gave you that gift.
You know, if you have a wonderful wife, if you have a godly husband, if you have great
children, if you're successful in any area of life, give the glory to God because of
that.
It doesn't mean you're anything better, because the fact remains that God can take that away
from you in a split second if you wanted to.
So before you start glory and think you're all that and a bag of chips, recognize God
can take that away from you at any moment.
So don't think you're better than anybody else.
Don't think you're better than the brand new Christian who doesn't have all his ducks in
order.
You know, some Christian comes up, they don't have their ducks, and I'm not talking about
sin again, okay?
I'm not talking about fornication, or drunkenness, or if they're a pothead, or they got needles
hanging out of their arms.
I'm not talking about, that's sin, we will deal with the sin found in 1 Corinthians
chapter number 5, okay?
When needed.
I'm talking about things that maybe you just, they're not mature yet.
Oh, this guy's not, look at him, he cusses all the time and stuff.
Use the cuss too.
You know?
You had a potty mouth too.
So don't think you're better than them because you supposedly don't have a potty mouth.
And look, you may not have a potty mouth right now, but you probably have a potty mouth up
here every once in a while.
So don't give me that junk, okay?
Don't think you're better than someone else.
Don't have this holier than thou attitude.
This Jewish pharisaical attitude that you're better than someone because you've finally
attained to this level of maturity in your life, okay?
Especially just because you believe right.
Don't think you're better than someone else.
So the pause of Paul is hammering this.
Now go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 12.
Be humble.
You know, that's something that I personally struggle with.
You know, I think any Christian who would be honest would say they struggle with pride.
You know, especially, you know, I thank God for men like Pastor Steven Anderson, I thank
God for men like Pastor Romero, men in this movement, men who have helped me.
Even truths that I didn't come across on my own.
And look, you didn't come across these truths on your own either.
So before you think you're some spiritual giant, you know, give honor to what honors
do and don't look down on someone if they didn't get a spiritual truth as fast as you
did.
You know, I'm humbled over the fact that I was saved for so long yet I didn't know these
certain spiritual truths.
You know, I have to admit that I was wrong, okay?
Give honor where honors do.
And don't expect someone to be post-trib, replacement theology, fag hatin', KJV only,
all these things right off the bat.
You may have gone that way, but you know what, not everyone's like you.
And just because you got it that way doesn't mean you're better than someone else.
Be patient with people.
Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 17, it says, If the whole body were an eye,
where were the hearing?
If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
But now hath God set the members, every one of them, in the body, as it hath pleased him.
And if they were all one member, where were the body?
But now are they many members, yet but one body.
And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the
feet, I have no need of you, nay, much more those members of the body which seem to be
more feeble are necessary.
And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow
more abundant honor, and our uncomly parts have more abundant comeliness.
So it seems that the Bible's teaching us that that which we would, we would esteem as being
uncomly or dishonorable or not as spiritual.
God's saying, look, we need to esteem those people.
Don't look down on someone like that.
Okay.
Verse 24, For our comely parts have no need, but God hath tempered the body together, having
given more abundant honor to that which lacked, that there should be no schism in the body,
but that the members should have the same care one for another.
So we can't say as a nose, hey, we don't need the ears.
You need the ears.
You can't be the eyes and say, well, we don't need the mouth.
We need the mouth.
We can't be the hands and say we don't need the feet.
We need the feet.
We need the entire body of Christ right here.
Okay.
So what am I saying?
What I'm saying is what the Apostle Paul is saying is that not anybody's better than the
other person.
Everyone has their part in the church.
Okay.
In Corinthians chapter number four and verse number eight, it says here, Now ye are full,
now ye are rich.
Ye have reigned as kings without us, and I would to God ye did reign that we also might
reign with you.
So as I read this, I'm interpreting this as there was people in the church that were well
to do.
Okay.
They had, maybe they had some more resources than others and he keeps hammering this point
of don't think you're still better than someone just because you're rich.
And by the way, that's a good reminder to us.
If you're a little more well to do than someone else, don't look down upon someone who's maybe
a little more poor than you.
Okay.
Or if you're poor and you don't have a lot and you run into someone who maybe has a little
more money, don't think that they're ungodly because they got more money than you.
Oh yeah, that guy's probably covetous.
He's covetous.
He's guilty of the sin of idolatry.
I know it.
Maybe he's just a hard worker.
You know?
That guy just knows how to work pretty hard.
You know, don't compare your vehicle with their vehicles.
You know, if you drive a bucket that runs on three wheels and a spare tire, don't look
at someone who has a nice car and say, yeah, that guy can't be right with God.
You shouldn't have that car.
You know what?
Maybe they worked hard enough to buy that.
You know?
Because that's a temptation for people on both sides.
Those who are rich, and by the way, don't the health and wealth prosperity false teachers
teach that?
If you're not doing well financially, you're probably not right with God.
You know?
They teach, yeah, you know, it's because God's not blessing.
If you want God's blessing like me, where I have a yacht, I have a car, I have all these
things and jewels and bling bling, all bougie'd out, you know, God's blessing is probably
not on you.
But that's false.
Everyone has a different stage of life.
Everyone goes through poverty, then they go through riches, then they go through poverty
again.
We need to learn to just be content wherever we're at, okay?
But he's telling me, he goes, I'm glad you guys are rich, you know, you guys have reigned
with kings without us.
I would that you would reign, maybe we could reign with you guys, okay?
Verse nine, for I think that God had set us forth, the apostles last, as it were appointed
to death.
For we are made the spectacle into the world and to angels and to men.
And he's saying, look, you know, I'm glad you're doing good.
I mean, if I were to judge what we're at right now, as far as maybe if we're to judge myself
as you're judging yourself as far as being rich, we look like we're like the last forgotten,
because we're not doing too good.
We seem to be last.
And it says right there, he says, we're appointed unto death, we're made the spectacle into
the world and to angels and to men, it's like people make fun of us.
You know, they reproach us.
Verse number 10, we are fools for Christ's sake, but you're wise in Christ.
We are weak, but you are strong.
You're honorable, but we are despised.
He's saying, look, man, I'm glad you guys are doing good.
You're pretty wise.
We look like fools in the world's eyes.
But let me ask you this, because they're wise, rich, honorable, does that make them better
Christians than the apostle Paul?
No, not at all.
You know, the fact that people don't despise them, does that make them better than the
apostle Paul?
No, and he's gonna drill that point in, he's saying, look, that doesn't mean you're a better
Christian than I am.
That doesn't mean the apostles are a better Christian than I am.
Why?
Because everyone goes to an ebb and flow of these things, okay?
But you know what we see today, to apply this, is that people will look at us and say, man,
you guys are such a bad testimony to Christ, because the way you guys preach and because
you guys hate homosexuals and all these things, and you know, the world doesn't like you,
so do you think you're a better Christian than us?
Because the world likes you?
And in fact, if you compare that to the gospels, if you want to take it that far, Jesus said
this, you know, Jesus talked about how if we're gonna do the things of God, if we're
gonna preach the word of God as it needs to be preached, we're gonna be hated in the world,
so that's our measure right there, that we're doing the right thing.
If you're not hated in the world every once in a while, you're probably not doing it right.
Because not everything in the Bible is gonna appease everyone.
People are gonna hear something that they're not happy with, okay?
Now, he says they were year strong, year honorable, but we are despised.
He's like, look man, we're not doing too good, does that mean we're not right with God?
Now, go to 2 Corinthians 11, hold your place there in 1 Corinthians 4.
You know, churches think, well, you know, if you're not liked by everyone, if people,
you know, can't have something nice to say about you, you're probably not right with
God.
Didn't Job's friends think that, too?
You know, they're basing, you know, him being right with God based upon his current financial
state and all the things that were happening to him, but Job was more right with God than
any of those guys were, okay?
So we shouldn't necessarily judge that, because look, there's gonna be times when you go through
a trial, and there's gonna be times when you're not going through a trial.
My father-in-law used to say you're either coming out of a trial, you're about to go,
you're in a trial, or you're about to enter into a trial.
That's just the ebb and flow of life.
You're gonna go through hardships.
But when you're not going through a hardship, don't think that you're better than someone
else, okay?
Or when you're seeing someone go through a hardship, don't think that you're better than
them.
Oh man, that guy's definitely in sin, you know, that guy's going through some hard stuff
and hardships, you know, that person's probably not right, no, it's probably the Lord just
purging him.
You know, trials help us.
And sometimes we suffer not because we're bad people, but because it makes us strong.
Okay?
Pain, no pain, no gain, okay?
Look at 2 Corinthians 11 verse 6, it's very similar to what we're reading here in 1 Corinthians
4, it says, verse 6 says, I say again, let no man think me a fool if otherwise yet as
a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.
That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly in this confidence
of boasting, seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.
For you suffer fools gladly, seeing you yourselves are wise.
For you suffer if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you,
if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face, I speak as concerning reproach
as though we had been weak.
How be it whereinsoever any is bold, I speak foolishly, I am bold also.
Are they Hebrews?
So am I.
Are they Israelites?
So am I.
Are they the seed of Abraham?
So am I.
Are these ministers of Christ?
I speak as a fool, I am more and labors more abundant, and stripes above measure, and prisons
more frequent, and deaths oft.
Of the Jews, five times received I forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck at night,
and a day I have been in the deep, and journeyings often, and perils of water, and perils of
robbers, and perils by my own countrymen, and perils by the heathen, and perils in the
city, and perils in the wilderness, and perils in the sea, and perils among false brethren,
and weariness and painfulness, and watchings often, and hunger and thirst, and fastings
often, and cold and nakedness.
Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all
the churches.
So you see all the things that he went through.
Is the Apostle Paul not right with God then?
No.
He's right with the Lord.
He was used to pen these words down.
So he's telling those in First Corinthians chapter number four, look your condition in
life doesn't mean you're better or the worse.
So don't judge me as the Apostle Paul, just because I don't have it as good as you, that
I'm not, and look, before you think, unless you think I'm just rambling on about this,
the reason he's saying this is because he's trying to add credibility to himself, to these
people, because he's about to write chapter number five.
You know what chapter five has?
Talk about fornication in the church.
So he's like, don't despise me when I'm about to tell you, just because I'm not as rich
as you, or I don't have it as good as you, what I'm saying still holds weight and is
still true.
Because he's about to tell them, you need to boot this guy out of the church, you guys
are proud and you're puffed up because you're not willing to boot the fornicator out of
the church.
And their attitude is, well, we're of Apollos, we're of Cephas.
That doesn't matter.
Fornication is fornication, and that shouldn't be allowed in the church.
Yeah, but Paul, you're despised, and?
Does that mean anything?
So just because he's despised, does that mean they don't keep the commandments of the Lord?
Absolutely not.
Go to First Corinthians chapter number four, verse number 11.
We'll keep reading, it says, even into this present hour, we both hunger and thirst and
are naked and are buffeted and have no certain dwelling place, and labor, working with our
own hands, being reviled, we bless, being persecuted, we suffer it, being defamed, we
entreat.
We are made as the filth of the world and are the offspring of all things unto this
day.
I mean, man, he's like, we're hated, we're made as the filth of this world.
You know, goes to show you, he was despised, people were hating on him, okay?
Verse 14, I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons, I warn you, he's
like, I'm not just telling you this just to make you feel bad, but I'm just warning you,
don't think you're better than me just because I'm going through these and just because you're
not.
Verse 15, for though ye have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers, for
in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
So he's saying this, look, you know, you need to listen to me because I begat you through
the gospel.
What is he saying?
I led you to the Lord.
You know?
And look, this is a good reminder to us to make sure we don't despise those who have
led us to the Lord, but are wrong on doctrine and other doctrines, okay?
Now, I think a good amount of people here were led to the Lord by Pastor Steven Anderson,
but maybe you're in here and you weren't led to the Lord by him, okay?
Myself, I wasn't.
Guess who I was led to the Lord by?
By Pastor Bob Gray Jr., not senior, Bob Gray Jr., right?
You know, and I love Bob Gray Jr.
Is he wrong on certain things?
Yeah, I've heard he's been wrong on a lot of things.
But I don't despise Bob Gray Jr., okay?
In fact, I love him because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have known of the gospel,
okay?
I wouldn't have gotten saved.
Now, I'm sure he's pre-trib and Zionist as the day is long.
And year after year, he would come to our church and preach at the youth conference,
and every single year, I'd come up to him and say, thank you so much for the fact that
you came here because if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten saved, you know?
And I'm thankful for that, man.
I'm thankful that he held true to the true gospel, you know, when he gave it to me, when
I heard it, and I got saved.
Do I agree with him on everything?
Absolutely not.
I heard recently he's even having Keith Gomez at his church, who Keith Gomez is a heretic.
You know, I don't agree with Keith Gomez at all.
But I love Pastor Bob Gray Jr. for the fact that he preached the right gospel and I got
saved under his preaching.
I'm thankful for that.
So I'm not going to forget him.
Now, does that mean that I have to agree with everything that he says?
Absolutely not.
But you know what?
The apostle Paul is saying the right things.
In fact, he's about to preach 1 Corinthians chapter number 5, and that's the right thing
to preach.
So he's saying here, you guys have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you don't have
many fathers.
In Christ Jesus, have I begotten you through the gospel?
So don't forget those who have led you to Christ.
You know, whoever it may have been.
You know, maybe they're your enemy now.
You know, maybe they don't like you anymore, but you know, you need to be thankful for
them.
Okay?
And look, maybe they did it, your old pastor or whoever it was.
Maybe they didn't lead you to Christ, but they loved you as best as they could.
They tried to teach you the word of God as best as they could, and maybe they're ignorant
on some things.
You ought to still give them honor for that.
Okay?
And be thankful for those people.
Okay?
I'm still thankful for the pastor that kicked me out.
I still love him.
He was a great influence in my life.
He was a great friend to me at one time.
You know, he invested a lot in me.
I appreciate the things that he's done for me.
And you know what?
When we get to heaven, this won't even matter anymore.
We'll be like, we'll be buds again.
You know?
I'm thankful for what he's done.
I'm thankful for what he did for my family.
You know, just that he was the, look, we're not for visitation, but he was the first person
who visited me when I first got saved.
He knocked on my door.
I had just come back from a rap concert.
He didn't blow me out of the water because I came back from a rap concert.
He's like, what'd you do this weekend?
How come you weren't in church?
I was like, I went to a rap concert.
And he's like, okay.
And he kind of gave me the look like, shouldn't have gotten there, you know?
But I'm very thankful for the investment that he made in my life.
Do I agree with him in the decisions that he's made within the last year?
No, I don't.
You know?
Do I have strong opinions about that?
I'm sure you know.
You've heard it from the Pope in the last couple of months.
But do I hate him?
No.
I want to give him honor because obviously he took the time to invest in my personal
life.
Okay?
So we have the maturity to be able to disagree with someone but not despise them.
You understand?
I'm talking about people who are saved.
So we need to be able to disagree with someone but not despise them.
Alright?
Don't just hate them.
If he called me today, okay, and said, Brother Bruce, how are you?
And he just tried to talk to me as if nothing happened, I'd go along with it.
I said, good Pastor Myers, how are you doing?
How's the family?
How's the church doing?
Because I don't want beef with anybody like that.
He's a safe person.
I want to honor him.
Okay?
But here's the thing.
I disagree with them but I don't want to despise them.
You know?
There's people in my old church that I disagree with on a lot of things but I don't despise
them.
And I think sometimes you may think I despise them.
You know?
Like, man, you know, the people who conspired against you at your job.
Don't you hate them?
No, I don't.
I don't hate them.
They're my brothers in Christ.
You know?
They're probably going to suffer loss because of it at the judgment seat of Christ.
But I don't despise them.
I disagree with them.
Now you get me a false heretic who's preaching a false gospel.
You know, some fool who claims to be a pastor but he's saying that you can lose your salvation
if you believe that the Jews are not God's chosen people.
Get that fool out of the pulpit.
I'll preach against that guy all day long.
I have no problem with calling him out or any other pastor that believes in a false
gospel.
But my pastor didn't tell me that I lost my salvation.
He just tells me I'm not right with God.
You know?
Or, you know, he doesn't want me in his church.
That's fine if that's what he wants to believe.
That's fine.
I don't despise him because of it.
I disagree with him but I won't despise him.
And we need to learn how to not despise, how to disagree and not despise.
Okay?
Because who knows?
Maybe in the future we might reunite with some of these people one day.
They might come to the conclusion that they're wrong.
You know?
And come around our way.
Verse 16 says, Wherefore, I beseech you, be followers of me.
He's priming them.
He said, be followers of me.
And they're like, man, he's right.
He's right.
Well, keep reading chapter number five.
He's going to tell you why you should be a follower of him.
For this cause have I sent unto you to Mothias who is my beloved son and faithful in the
Lord who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ as I teach everywhere
in every church.
I like what he says in verse 17.
He goes, I'm going to send to Mothias because to Mothias is going to remind you of my teachings
that are in Christ.
So it's not just his opinion.
It's his teaching that he's gotten from God's word.
He says, I'm going to bring you into remembrance.
This goes to show that not every tradition is bad.
If it's a tradition based upon the word of God, if it's a teaching that's based upon
the word of God, you don't have to turn there.
I think Thessalonians 2 15 says, Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions
which he had been taught, whether by word or our epistle.
And we obviously know that Paul's writings, his epistles were considered the word of God
even in those days.
Verse 18, now some are puffed up as though I would not come to you.
So when I read this, he's like, no, you got some people in that church that are like,
he ain't going to come.
What you going to do?
You know, it's like, he ain't going to come.
You know, can you picture that?
They're proud.
They're like, he ain't going to come over here.
You know?
That guy's weak.
You really think he's going to swim all over here or by boat come over here and try to
tell us what he's saying?
They're puffed up.
Verse 19, but I will come to you shortly, he said, if the Lord will and will know not
the speech of them that are puffed up, but the power.
Man.
You know what he's saying?
And then he goes, we'll see if you talk a good talk when I'm there, because people could
talk a good talk, but it's about the walk.
By the way, I mean, you read the New Testament, God's power is on the apostle Paul.
You can see God's power greatly on the apostle Paul and the gospel that he preached.
And he's basically saying, we'll see if you have power once I get there.
You know, you like to talk trash.
You like to talk a lot of crap, but we'll see when I actually get there.
Okay.
Verse 20, for the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power, man, he's like, it's not
what you say is what you do is if God's power is on your life.
So you can criticize, you can say whatever you want against us.
But you know what?
The proof is in the pudding.
Okay.
You can judge someone based upon the fruit that's being produced.
Hate us all you want.
Criticize our church all you want.
They were of Satan, say they were of the devil, but you know what?
Inspect the fruit.
Inspect the souls that are being saved.
Inspect the church members of this church.
Okay.
So you can talk a great talk, but do you have the power though?
Because we can do a fruit inspection in any church and say, oh yeah, God's power is not here.
This place is lacking the power of God.
Okay.
It says verse 21.
I like, by the way, this is, I love how he ends the chapter.
He says, what will ye?
Shall I come to you with the rod or in love or in the spirit of meekness?
So he says, so he's saying this, he goes, so you choose, by the way, a rod is a stick.
A rod is something you use to chastise your children with, right?
He goes, so I'm going to come to you, we'll see who has the real power.
So you make a choice.
I can come to you with the rod or I can come to you in the spirit of meekness.
What will ye?
Okay.
He's talking to the ones who are puffed up.
He goes, and look, I think the apostle Paul, if you would have gotten there and they just
greet him very humbly, he'd come in the spirit of meekness.
But if they try to come at him, but as though what they're coming out with him right here,
that, yeah, he's not going to come, he's going to come with the rod.
Okay.
And he's going to let loose.
He's going to come with the iron fist and clean house.
Okay.
This is the kind of leadership we need today.
Okay.
The kind of leadership that is not afraid to use the rod.
I'm not talking about a physical rod, you know, where the pastor's like beating the
church members and stuff.
There's churches like that.
Okay.
I'm talking about the rod where we're preaching against these things, where we're not afraid
to chastise someone or discipline someone in the church to say, hey, you can't be here
or rip on certain sins that someone's involved in.
Okay.
We're not afraid to lose a member over something that's being said behind the pulpit.
Okay.
But he's saying there, so you choose.
Either I come with the rod, I can come in love, or in the spirit of meekness, but you
choose.
And we will pick up in this little dissertation in chapter number five next week.
All right.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Follow me.
Thank you so much for 1 Corinthians chapter number four.
We're thankful for the Apostle Paul's example.
And though they said he was contemptible and weak, we understand that the power of God
was on his life.
And that goes to show that it's not about size, it's not about looks or talents.
Lord, we need your power and we need your help.
We need you to fill us with your power and your spirit so that we can be changed into
another man, so we can do those great exploits for thee, so we can obey your commandments
because a lot of the commandments are hard to keep, they're hard to adhere to if we try
to do it under our own power.
But we understand that with your power, oh, we can, Lord.
And I pray that you'd help us to be a pure church, a church that is not clicking up,
a church that is unified around the Word of God, around the King James Bible, and that
you'd help us in this area to keep that in mind.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.