Being a disciple who is most useful

Well, everyone's heard the saying, no doubt, if you don't aim at anything, you'll hit it every time.

It's important to have goals.

We have goals in career, we set ourselves goals in sporting achievements, in relationships, personal development.

We need goals.

Because without goals, we just wander.

And there's no way of measuring growth or progress.

Well, it's exactly the same when it comes to being Christians.

And so I asked this morning, what is your goal as a believer or a member of this church?

Now, hopefully, you're not just wandering.

Hopefully, you do have a goal.

And hopefully, you'd say to me, your goal is to be a faithful, mature servant of Jesus.

Or in the terms of this sermon series, hopefully, you want to say, I want to be plugged in and switched on to Jesus.

Now, jumping into the church at Corinth, it seems that there's no doubt at all that the believers there were keen to be spiritually mature.

The problem is they had wrong ideas of what spiritual maturity would look like on the ground.

They understood that they were spiritually new.

In other words, they had been converted.

They were plugged into Jesus.

But they confused that with being spiritually mature.

It seems like they thought, well, since I'm a believer, therefore, whatever I think and do as a believer is evidence of being mature in Christ.

And to that, Paul says, no, not so.

Paul's saying to them right through these first three chapters, to be spiritually mature is not just to be plugged into Jesus when you're converted,

but to be like Jesus in all your thinking and all your actions or to pick up the link from chapter 2 that we looked at last week to chapter 2, verse 16.

It's to have the mind of Christ and be able to apply the mind of Christ into every circumstance of life.

In his letter to these believers at Corinth, Paul's been contrasting the spirit of the world and the spirit of God.

And he's been helping these believers see that they've been more influenced and driven.

They were still more influenced and driven by the spirit of the world.

That is, the spirit of the Corinthian culture that they had lived in for so many years and continued to live in even as believers.

That they were more influenced by that than they were by the spirit of God, the wisdom of God, the mind of Christ.

And that takes us to Paul's confronting conclusion, which is where, in a sense, I want to leave my formal ministry among you with.

Chapter 3, verse 1.

These believers at Corinth thought they were spiritually mature, but Paul calls them out as being spiritually immature and worldly.

Now, surely, friends, if anything would make you sit up and listen and engage this morning,

then the frightening possibility of thinking that you're mature in Jesus, spiritually mature in Jesus,

while being spiritually immature, should actually be that motivation.

And Paul gives them some really helpful pointers towards being spiritually mature,

which will also make them the most useful disciples they can be in that church in Corinth.

And, of course, the lessons are for us, too.

The first one is, Paul says to these believers,

don't be happily immature with a correct but limited understanding of the gospel.

And when you look at these verses that Linda's just read to us,

there's no way you can sugarcoat Paul's challenge.

It's really a very, very abrasive, abrupt challenge.

Essentially, he's saying, for goodness sake, grow up.

Your thinking and your actions are more like unbelievers than believers.

Grow up.

The evidence that would bring Paul to say that?

Well, chapter 1, 2, and 3.

Disunity.

Jealousy.

We've looked at it over the last few weeks.

Competitive individualism.

Factions.

Obsession with personalities.

Striving for dominance and preeminence.

Even if it meant going to war with each other.

So, for Paul, growing up is simply to become skilled in the mind of Christ.

To express the mind of Christ.

In all things.

Not only understanding God's grace in their own personal salvation,

but also in its wider implications of how they should live in this new community called the church.

A community of saved people.

A community of Christ's people.

So, Paul's really saying to them, as he summarizes these first three chapters, as he writes to them,

that their aim, their aim should have been to be known for speaking the truth in love.

Loving generously those hardest to love.

Carrying the cost of being wronged and forgiving those who wrong you.

Being other person-centered and ministry-minded.

Being concerned for God's glory.

Being concerned for God's reputation.

Not your own.

Not your own position.

Being concerned for God's reputation.

Being concerned for God's reputation.

Being concerned for God's reputation.

Being concerned for God's reputation.

Being concerned for God's reputation.

And as I've said over the last three weeks,

those things can't exist.

Cannot coexist with self-promotion.

Competitive individualism.

And personality factions.

And so, I think we can say, these believers were happily immature.

That's a pretty strong statement, but these believers were happily immature because they were happy with a correct but limited understanding of the gospel and God's word.

Yes, I'm wonderfully excited that I'm saved.

But they haven't thought about the implications of that in a community.

They were happy to enjoy all the blessings and security of being saved.

Equally happy to live with a dreadful contradiction of continuing to be self-centered.

To be self-promoting.

Dismissive of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

And Paul said, grow up.

You can't do these two things together.

And the application, I think, is fairly obvious.

If you are happy

knowing that you've been saved

by Christ through grace

but continue to think and act towards others using the world's attitudes,

then

you're actually making a commitment

to be happily immature.

and therefore a commitment

to not being useful

in this church.

Over my ministry years,

it's been a real source of sadness

to observe some people

who seem to be the same today

as what they were 20 years ago.

How does that happen?

Unless people are happily immature.

Second thing then is

be a team player.

Happy with the position God plays you

verses 5 through to 9.

The problem for the Corinthian believers

was that they had put people on a pedestal.

And that pedestal

was God's pedestal

and God should have been on the pedestal.

Not people.

Not personalities.

And Paul uses a farming metaphor

to make his point clear.

And the metaphor is,

as Dave's already referred to,

it's crop production.

And of course we know

that they grow a crop.

There's different inputs,

different human inputs

at different points.

Each input is critical

in its own stage.

But none of it amounts to anything

unless the Lord

causes the growth to harvest time.

And Paul's point is very simple.

In the same way,

God puts individuals

in a church family

to do a job

that he has gifted them to do

at that particular time,

that particular season.

Each individual will contribute

in different ways,

in critical ways.

But all of it

is God's process

of growing his new community

to maturity.

And ultimately,

the end of the process

is that God is glorified

as he deserves to be.

Now,

again,

practically,

Paul is not saying here

that we should never

and that he would never

have a deep sense

of indebtedness

and fondness

for a particular individual

that's been formative

in our Christian walk.

That's not what Paul's saying here.

Or a Christian leader

who have been

particularly helpful

in our lives.

What he is saying is

that we need

to be team players.

Team players

never think

the team

is carried

by one person.

No matter

how helpful

that person

has been,

he's only one person

in a team.

team players

never sort of

parade their own

gifts or abilities.

Whether that person

is themselves

a leader

or just

an ordinary

person

in the church.

Team players

value

every contribution

and know

that each

is essential

for the team

to be successful.

And so my friends

I say to you this morning

you will be

most useful

in this church

whether it's up front

in some sort of

formal role

or behind the scenes

not heard of

during the week.

You'll be most useful

if your aim

is consistently

and happily

to contribute

to the growth

and maturing

of this family

as God gives you

opportunity

to do so.

The future

needs

team players.

Now

speaking very

personally

for a moment

individuals

take me

at this particular

moment in time

individuals

will come

and go.

And when the

Lord brings

an individual

perhaps me

into your life

it's for

your benefit

for your

spiritual

maturing.

And equally

true

when the

Lord takes

an individual

perhaps me

out of your

life

then it's

because that

individual

perhaps me

has served

their purpose.

And the

Lord's got a

new stage

of growth

for you

to enter

into

under his

hand

and under

his grace

and perhaps

with a new

personality

or a new

group of

personalities.

And here's

the point

and this is

so crucial

in times of

change.

The team

will always

be changing.

changing.

We might

wish it

to be

static

but we

can't

get it

like that.

The team

will always

be changing

but the

Lord

will always

be the

coach

for

preparing

the team

of the

moment

for heaven

through

maturity.

Churches

don't get

that and

that's why

transitions like

this are so

notoriously

bad.

Third thing

is be a

team leader

a team

builder

rather

using

you be a

team leader

self-promotion

Freudian slip

there.

Be a team

builder

using the

best mind

of Christ

building

materials.

Picking up

the thoughts

of 10 to

17

and you

know I'm

just going

to skate

over the

top of

this.

I'm not

going to

dig into

all the

details

that could

be

lifted

out here.

Paul

essentially

changes

the

metaphor

to

a

building

site

and

he's

really

saying

look

the

church

at

Corinth

you

guys

are

God's

special

building

project.

Paul

his

fellow

workers

and all

the

believers

in Corinth

says

Paul

well

you're

the

subcontractors

you're

engaged

to

actually

do

the

work

on

the

ground.

God

is the

owner

builder

or

project

manager

constantly

monitoring

the quality

of the

build.

In

verses

10 and

11

Paul

says

well look

I

started

I put

down

the

foundations

as a

skilled

master

builder.

He calls

himself a

skilled

master

builder

I think

because

he's

saying

I

used

the

right

tools

for

a

solid

foundation.

It

really

told us

what those

tools are

in chapter

2.

The

message

of

Jesus

crucified

who is

God's

righteousness

wisdom

power

redemption

sanctification

he's the

one who

can renew

people from

the inside

out.

So

Paul

uses

the gospel

message

in

conjunction

with

carefully

applied

practical

gospel

wisdom

and power.

In

other

words

the

gospel

message

in

conjunction

with the

mind

of

Christ.

That's

what makes

Paul

a skilled

master

builder.

And

that's

why the

foundation

is so

solid.

Verse

12

through

15

Paul

says

well

that's

only

stage

one

of

God's

build.

Others

will

follow

and

build

upon

what

I've

done.

Doing

the

framing

the

roofing

the

external

cladding

internal

fit out

all of

that

needs

to be

done

and

will

be

done

as

part

of

God's

build

in

Corinth.

And

says

Paul

you

also

are

called

to be

skilled

master

builders.

And

then he

sets up

a bit

of a

contrast.

Well

there's

an option

there's

a choice

here.

You

can be

skilled

master

builders

using

top

shelf

building

materials.

Or

which is

gold

and silver

and precious

stones

in there.

That's

the

metaphor.

Or

you

can be

a

shunky

builder

using

stuff

that's

sort of

cheap

and nasty

but looks

alright

when you

first use

it.

It

just

doesn't

stand

the test

of

time.

Wood

and hay

and stones.

That's the

picture in

there.

I think.

Things that

look good

now but

will cause

the build

to fail

in the

long term.

And again

Paul's

point is

simple but

again very

confronting.

Either your

ministry

contribution

to this

church

will be

worthwhile

and lasting

or

and this

is very

confronting

or

it is

building

weakness

and failure

into the

church

family

even

though

it might

look good

now in

the short

term.

There's a

huge challenge

in that

I think.

And all

of this

is put in

the context

of knowing

that the

Lord

who's the

owner builder

and building

inspector

says Paul

well the

Lord himself

will expose

the master

builders

and the

shonky

builders.

And that's

not a threat.

I think that

Paul uses that

an encouragement

to use

quality materials

that the

Lord himself

as the

project manager

and the

chief builder

and the

owner builder

use the

materials the

Lord has

actually provided

to ensure

that the

build is

good

and materials

that will

bring God's

approval for

a job well

done.

And for

Paul

his ultimate

concern was

not to win

the approval

of people

in Corinth

or to impress

people in

Corinth

but to win

the approval

of the

owner builder

himself.

Now

just one

little thing

to note

carefully in

passing.

These verses

are not

suggesting for

a moment

that a

believer might

lose their

salvation

if their

ministry is

not gospel

shaped as it

should be.

That's taken a

metaphor and

making it

absolute.

It's taken a

metaphor way

way too far.

What he is

saying here

I think is

that we

should be

focused on

maximizing our

usefulness in

this church

family.

In this church

family build

by making

sure we

use top

gospel

materials in

our ministry

contribution.

One of the

reasons I get

a tradesman to

do my work

at home is

because I've

learned the

pain of trying

to do it

myself.

Only to have

to redo it

six months

later.

Because this

particular builder

when it comes to

those projects

is your

ultimate

chunky builder.

It's expensive

and it's a

pain.

Brothers and

sisters let's

build with the

right materials

top shelf

materials and

then build

once knowing

that it's going

to stand the

test of time.

verses 16

and 17

Paul's

encouragement

then is if

only you could

see your

church family

there in

Corinth.

If only you

can see your

church family

here as to

use the terms

of modern TV

shows as

God's dream

build.

Paul says if

only you can get

that into your

mind then you

will no longer

be concerned

about yourselves

or your own

reputation or

your own

preeminence.

You'll be

concerned to

build carefully

for God's

approval.

So what are

quality building

materials which

will make you a

skilled master

builder in this

church family?

Well same as

what Paul had.

The gospel

message of

Jesus crucified.

God's

righteousness,

wisdom,

power to

renew people from

the inside out

and carefully

applied practically

with the mind

of Christ.

It's not

rocket science.

It's building

on the unity

we already

share because

we are defined

and blessed

equally in

Jesus.

It's producing

discipleship

that's marked

by allegiance

to Jesus

not a

personality.

It's valuing

the whole

team with

all the

different

and varied

contributions

rather than

competitive

individualism.

I'm more

important than

you.

I know

more than

you.

I've been

here longer

than you.

It's building

self-sacrificial

commitment to

this church

family.

That's

increasingly a

rare commodity

in our

selfish world,

isn't it?

Self-sacrificing

commitment to

this church

family.

That is

intentionally

choosing to

use your

time, to

use your

energy to

volunteer and

get involved in

the jobs which

need doing to

make this church

operate on a

week-to-week

basis.

I have to

say, it's

getting harder

and harder to

do that in a

congregation that's

getting bigger and

bigger.

How does that

work?

It's being

intentional and

generous with

your money, if

I might say

this.

Choosing to

use your money

sacrificially to

make sure that

this church

family has the

money to pay

the staff that

are required to

do the work

that's existing

and then to

grow and

expand into

new ministry

that hasn't

even been

thought of yet.

The mind of

Christ is

saying that

money is to

be used for

kingdom purposes.

So the

question is very

simple.

Are you

giving

sacrificially?

Is that a

goal or a

sub-goal?

Because if you

don't have a

goal and if

you're not

intentional, then

I can guarantee

you'll be

controlled and

driven by our

culture.

What does our

culture say to

us?

You're the most

important person.

Giving your

money away is

stupid.

gather,

hoard,

accumulate all

the things you

desire because

you're worth it.

Or,

accumulate all

those things

because in the

end, you know,

your identity and

your security is

in the amount of

things you have

around you.

Well,

you hear the

contrast again.

You're worth it.

Paul would say,

is Jesus worth it?

We're going to sing

a song along

asking that very

question.

Is he worth it?

Surely, my

friends, the

mind of Christ

would say, I

will sacrifice my

own comfort, my

own rights, for

the sake of God's

kingdom.

fourth point, and

very briefly then,

don't compete for

blessing already

yours from our

generous God,

verses 18 through

to 23.

I think Paul is

both doing two

things.

He's anticipating

an objection to

what he's been

saying, but he's

also starting to

move towards a

conclusion.

He's anticipating

an objection to

his notion about

being spiritually

mature and useful

in ministry.

And I think it

comes back again,

circles around,

like each of his

points have been in

these first three

chapters.

See, being

spiritually mature

ultimately doesn't

fit with the

world's understanding

of what being

mature is.

The world's

understanding of

being mature is

about being

flashy, about

being outstanding.

Put simply, the

world thinks it's

stupid to put the

needs and concerns

of others before

ourselves.

The world says

protect yourself,

promote yourself,

get what you can

for yourself,

because nobody

else will.

The world says

being quietly

useful in a

church family

rather than

seeking personal

popularity and

reputation is

wasted effort.

Paul's response?

Christ, you have

it all in Christ.

How could we

possibly think that

having the mind

of Christ, being

ministry minded, how

could we possibly

think that that is

stupid?

Quite the opposite

in God's eyes.

Being ministry

minded, team

player, committed

to building

spiritual maturity

in this church

family is simply

the expression of

who we are in

Christ.

the outworking

of the mind

of Christ in

us.

So my friends,

I finish where I

start with in

chapter 1,

verses 1 to 9,

four weeks ago.

You don't have

to compete for

recognition,

for approval,

for security,

for love,

because in

Christ you

already have all

of that and

more besides.

flip the coin,

disunity,

competition,

jealousy,

resentment in a

church family

always arises

from thinking

that others

have an

advantage that

you don't

have.

That's the

source of it.

but that

tells me that

you've forgotten

that you have

it all in

Christ.

I'll just

finish with this

opening sentence.

if you don't

aim for this,

spiritual maturity,

usefulness in

this church

family,

then my friend,

you'll hit it

every time.

And there

ends 24 years

of formal

ministry,

for better or

for worse.

Thank you for

the last time

for listening.

Sarah.

do

you

you

you