1 CORINTHIANS 4:6-212004 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Corinthians 4:6-21

AI Andrew [00:00:00]:
You are listening to FerventWord, an online bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2004.

Jerry Simmons [00:00:13]:
As you know, we've been continuing our study through 1st Corinthians. And last week, being Father's Day, we looked at the first, few verses of chapter 4. And this morning, we're gonna finish it off. But you remember we talked about being good stewards and how God has given us everything that we need. And just much like the song that we're singing right now, is that we're stewards. He's given us everything, and and we don't deserve it, but he's given it to us. And we also talked about, judging one another, and how we're not equipped to judge right now, but there will be a time that that God will perfect us, and and then, then we'll be ready to to judge the world as as he appoints us as judges and and priests, but it's not yet. And so we talked about that, but we've been talking about, as Paul has been teaching through the first few chapters of first Corinthians, we've been talking about divisions within the body of Christ, and talking about the the divisions that they had set up of, you know, some groups were centered around Paul and others around Apollos, and they were creating these separations within the body of Christ.

Jerry Simmons [00:01:12]:
And this morning's portion of scripture is kind of the conclusion of all of that is, 2 weeks ago in chapter 3, we talked about, the watering and the planting. Right? As Paul equated the church of Corinth to a field, and he said, hey, you know, God has given me the opportunity to to be there to plant some seeds and to do my part in in your spiritual growth. And then he said, Apollos came after, and he did his part. He watered the seeds, but, you know, it's God who caused you to grow spiritually. It's God who did the work within your hearts. It's not in us. We're not worth dividing over or causing divisions within the body of Christ, but we're just playing our part. We're just doing what God has called us to do.

Jerry Simmons [00:01:54]:
Well, in verses 6 through 21, which we'll look at this morning, he kinda continues that train of thought and also concludes it. So let's, go ahead and read that together. 1st Corinthians chapter 4 starting in verse 6. It says this, now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against an the other. For who makes you differ from another, and what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? You are already full. You are already rich. You have reigned as kings without us, and indeed I could wish you did reign that we also might reign with you. For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last as men condemned to death, for we have been made a spectacle to the world both to angels and to men.

Jerry Simmons [00:02:54]:
We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are distinguished, but we are dishonoured. Verse 11. To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we labour working with our own hands, being reviled we bless, being persecuted we endure, being defamed we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. Verse 14. I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you, For though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

Jerry Simmons [00:03:37]:
Therefore, I urge you, imitate me. Verse 17. For this reason, I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. Now some are puffed up as though I were not coming to you, but I will come to you shortly if the Lord wills. And I will know not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power, for the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of gentleness? Here, Paul goes on and he's correcting the Corinthians a little bit. Here, he's encouraging them as he concludes his side. And he starts out in verse 6, and he says, now these things, what's he talking about these things? Well, if you look back at chapter 3 where he's talking about the field and the watering and the planting and each playing their part, that's what he's talking about here.

Jerry Simmons [00:04:32]:
He said those things, the field analogy that I shared with you, I've transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, for your benefit, for your growth. Why? Well, that you would learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against another. Paul's reminding them that, hey, if I am Paul and Apollos is there too, and we've done our part, then learn from us. Learn these things from us that there's, there's a place for us in that we're just doing our part. That it's not about, you know, elevating one person above another. It's not about the super special people, the super special people that God recognizes, but just realize that we're all servants. And I'm applying these things not just to me and Apollos, although that's true, but also for your sakes that as you look at this and understand that, hey, Paul and Apollos are just servants, and they're just doing their part. They're just doing what God called them to do.

Jerry Simmons [00:05:28]:
Then you, the the Corinthians or us, the Christians here at Living Water, we can understand and note that too, hey, there's no difference among us either. If they're just servants, well, how much more are we just servants of Christ? Just called to do our part in the field that God has laid before us, in the field of corona, or living water, or the family that you have, or the workplace that you have. We're just called to do our part. And then it's not about, you know, us being super spiritual or having, you know, the elite Christians, but it's about us being servants, servants of God. Jesus talked about a similar situation in Luke chapter 17, and he gave the analogy of a master and slave relationship. And he talked about how the slave, the servant, you know, works in the field, and and does the the plowing, and does the the tending of the field, and the reaping of the field, and and works the field. And and after a long day's work, the servant comes in, and the master doesn't have them sit at the table and say, here, let me serve you dinner. No.

Jerry Simmons [00:06:28]:
The master says, hey, serve me dinner, and then after, you know, I've eaten, then you can serve yourself dinner and you can eat as well. And Jesus gave us this example, and he said at the very end, he said a servant is just to say, hey, I'm an unprofitable servant. I've only done what my duty was to do. The proper place is for the servants to serve the master, not the master to serve the servants. And at the end, the servants can't say, well, I'm such a great person because, you know, I did my job. No. All all you did was what you were supposed to do. All you did was what your duty was to do.

Jerry Simmons [00:06:59]:
And so Paul says about that about himself and Apollos, hey, we just did what God asked us to do. And it's the same attitude that he's trying to let the Corinthians know that they need to have, that, hey, you're just playing your part, that you're not anything special in the sense that, you know, you're not some super spiritual Christian. You are special in God's sight, everybody is. And God loves each and every one of us individually and as much as the other. But there's nothing about me, there's nothing in me that's deserving of super special honor. There's nothing in me that's deserving of anything else, because what am I doing? I'm just doing what God has called me to do. I'm playing my part in the field, the the place that God has given me. And the same thing is true for all of us, that we need to do the things that we're called to do.

Jerry Simmons [00:07:43]:
And he says that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. Why why do we need to remember our place? Why do we need to remember that we're servants? Well, so that we don't get puffed up. Right? That we don't get arrogant, that we don't get full of ourselves and just consumed with ourselves. He says, puffed up, notice and he says, one against another. And see, Paul knows. He he knows us a little bit too well. He knows that we get puffed up very easily, don't we? I mean, you might remember the disciples. Right? The great apostles that Jesus raised up.

Jerry Simmons [00:08:15]:
There was 12 of them. Right? 1 of them betrayed him, and so there was 11. Right? Well, these great apostles, the people handpicked by Jesus, what was their greatest debate? Well, who's gonna be the greatest? Who's gonna be the when Jesus comes into his kingdom, who's gonna be the greatest? And we see through that throughout the gospels. And you you might remember the time where they're walking along and Jesus said, hey, you know, what were you guys debating about, you know, back a little while there? Oh, you know, nothing Lord. We weren't debating about anything. We're just, praising you. That's what we're doing. No.

Jerry Simmons [00:08:48]:
They were talking about who's gonna be the greatest. Oh, I'm gonna be the greatest. No. I'm gonna be the greatest. Well, I think I'm the greatest because of this and this. And it was this continual debate that they had going on. They were puffed up. And notice that it's puffed up.

Jerry Simmons [00:09:01]:
He said, one against another. And that's what the puffing up, the pride, the arrogance will always do. It will always pit us against each other. If I'm prideful, I'm against others, man, because it's all about me. It's all about me, and there's that that word there in verse 6, one against the other. And thus we have the divisions. Right? We have the groups against each other because they're prideful, they're puffed up, they're dividing over these leaders, and Paul says, it's not good. Don't be puffed up.

Jerry Simmons [00:09:32]:
You might remember the time when, the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee went to Jesus and said, lord, please grant to me anything that I ask you. Jesus said, well, what do you want? I mean, it's kind of a big request, and and she said, well, when you come into your kingdom, please put my boys, 1 on your right and one on your left. Let the let the rest of the world know that, you know, they're the really the greatest. They're the best disciples. They're the ones who you want to honor and and to glorify. And and Jesus said, hey, you don't know what you're asking for. That's not their place. It's it's appointed by God, and and the disciples were angry at afterwards.

Jerry Simmons [00:10:05]:
Right? Remember, and and we always joke and say, well, they're angry because they didn't think of it first. Right? They didn't think to have Jesus, you know, set them aside and put them and honor them, as the greatest apostle, and puffing up the pride will always do that. It will always pit people against each other. So Paul says, hey, I've transferred these things to myself and Apollos that that you would learn, that you would know that we need to not be puffed up against each other. You know, when we have the against each other, it kinda turns into the the king of the hill mentality. Right? King of the rock. I don't know how many of you guys went to Samoa with us, but, a couple years well, a few years ago now, I guess, probably about 5 years ago, when we went to Samoa with a bunch of the youth kids, we we went and, you know, Samoa is a big island, so there's water everywhere and it's really hot. So of course, what do you wanna do? Well, you wanna get in the water as much as possible.

Jerry Simmons [00:10:56]:
So everyday, we'd minister, we'd do vacation bible school and stuff, but then we'd go swimming. We always look forward to the swimming because that's when you get cooled off and have some fun and relax. And there's this one place we went to that had this big boulder that was like right in the middle of the water, and the waves would come through and kinda crash over it and stuff. And so, of course, Pastor Tom got the wonderful idea. Well, let's play King of the Rock. And it's all jagged, and so, you know, we're all wrestling, trying to get to the top of the rock and getting scratched up. And, you know, one person would get up, and then a wave would knock them over, or someone else would jump on them. And we're all getting beat up.

Jerry Simmons [00:11:29]:
And and that's kinda what the the pride will do. Right? Pride in our lives, and pride in in church will will beat it up, man. We'll get those scars in there, we'll get the the, you know, the rocks, the jagged rocks, and the cuts and scrapes, and it it pits us against each other if we allow pride into our lives, and we become like trying to be like king of the hill, man. I'm the best. I'm a fool of myself, and I'm the best, and you gotta understand why I'm the best, and you're not the best because I'm the best, and I'm a prideful person. And so we gotta watch out for that pride. You know, Katherine Marshall, who is a a writer in the early 1900, she has a a famous quote. You probably heard it before.

Jerry Simmons [00:12:06]:
She she said that all ground is level at the foot of the cross. All ground is level at the foot of the cross. And that's the perspective that understanding that we need to have, that it's not about me being puffed up and elevated above everybody else, but when I put it under the perspective that I'm at the foot of the cross, I'm looking up at Jesus, He's high and exalted and lifted up, not myself, but He is, then everybody else is on the same plane with me. Everybody else, I'm not superior to no one. We all need Jesus equally. We all need Jesus just as much as the other. If it's president Bush or Tom Homan, it doesn't matter, we're right there at the foot of the cross, they both need Jesus equally. There's no greatness among men when you stand at the foot of the cross.

Jerry Simmons [00:12:50]:
There's only greatness in God, and we understand and recognize that. And so Paul says, hey, don't be puffed up. Change your perspective. Don't be puffed up and and against each other, but instead, be at the foot of the cross. Glorify Jesus Christ. You know, I I said a couple weeks ago, it's hard to be high and lifted up next to Jesus. Right? You puff yourself up, you're prideful, and you look over and there's Jesus on the cross right next to you, and you can realize, hey. That's not where I'm supposed to be.

Jerry Simmons [00:13:17]:
I'm not supposed to be puffed up and high and exalted. He is. And we need to recognize him as the king of kings and lord of lords. So Paul says, don't be puffed up. Don't be inflated, in other words. Don't be inflated. Don't be puffed up. Don't be full of yourself.

Jerry Simmons [00:13:44]:
Instead, be full of Jesus, and that's what the apostle Paul is trying to teach them. I was never good at tying balloons, by the way. What is this balloon? It's puffed up. That's what it is. And I'm a leave it there for you to meditate on. K? Meditate on that. Paul says, don't be puffed up one against another. Well, what do you do instead? Don't be puffed up.

Jerry Simmons [00:14:12]:
Well, he continues on. In verse 7, he says, for who makes you differ from one another? And what did you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? So Paul here is explaining to them, hey, you don't need to be puffed up. Stop dividing over us. You're you're being against each other, and that's not right. There's supposed to be unity. You're supposed to be one together at the foot of the cross. What are you really puffed up about? Because in verse 7, he says, hey, what do you have that you did not receive? What makes you better than someone else? What makes you different? What do you have that just wasn't given to you? And and we talked about that last week. Right? We talked about how we're stewards, and how everything that we have, whether it be our jobs or our family, our house or our apartment or our cars or whatever you might wanna think about, even, you know, spiritual gifts or or your your walk with the Lord, what do you have that's not from God? And when you stop and think about it, I mean, the rhetorical question is, of course, yeah, everything is from God.

Jerry Simmons [00:15:16]:
I don't have anything that's not a gift. I don't have anything that's not from God. And so Paul says, what makes you different? Well, nothing. I I just received it just like everybody else. I just sat here and was blessed by it. Just like we looked at the song, I don't deserve any of this. I don't deserve anything that God has given me. I've just received it.

Jerry Simmons [00:15:35]:
I've just received what God has poured out into my life, and whether it be, like I said, material things or spiritual things, it's a gift from God. It's something that God has given. And so Paul says, why are you puffed up? What is there to be puffed up about? What do you have that you did not receive? What do you have that wasn't given to you? And then he says, well, if you did receive it, because I think we can kinda understand and we kinda would come to the agreement that, yeah, we don't have anything that's not from God. Everything that we have is from God. And you might think, Well I work hard and that's why I have what I have. Well you know what? God gave you that ability to work hard. He gave you that job. He gave you that position.

Jerry Simmons [00:16:14]:
He gave you everything. Everything that you have is from God. You've received it as a gift. And so Paul says, keep that in perspective, because how are you gonna be puffed up when you're saying it's just a gift? Because he says, if you did receive it, why do you boast, or how can you boast, as if you had not received it, as if you had somehow earned it or or deserved it? Why do you boast? How do you boast when you didn't do anything? How can you boast as if it was your, you know, greatness or your, ability to do things that got you that way, that position, that allowed you to do this or that. What what do you have to boast about? Well, absolutely nothing is is the answer. I mean, how can you boast about stuff that you've just received? You can't. There's no glory in it for me because I've just received it. You might understand this example.

Jerry Simmons [00:17:14]:
I've never had a nice car. I've had 3 cars in my life, Well, one was a truck, but 3 automobiles. Never had a nice one. And I've always been okay with that, or at least that's what I say. Right? Because that's what Christians are supposed to say. Hey, as long as it gets me from a to b, I'm okay with that. Right? So I've never had a super nice car or anything. I've always had, you know, kind of these junky things that that barely make it, and they do.

Jerry Simmons [00:17:37]:
They give me the a to b, and so I praise the Lord for that. But you know, deep down inside somewhere, I really want a nice car, man. Oh, a nice car with a good sound system and just nice rims and just rolls. Oh, man. And if it starts every time I actually turn on the ignition, that would be a plus too because my car doesn't do that all the time. I really you know, but it doesn't necessarily have to be like a $80,000 car. I mean, I'd settle for a $40,000 car. Right? I mean, come on.

Jerry Simmons [00:18:03]:
And it it was so funny because as I was getting ready, for the wedding, when I was getting married a couple or a month ago or whenever that was Okay. Okay. It was May 1st. Okay. It was the Saturday before the wedding, and I thought, you know, I don't want to drive off. You know, here's my beautiful bride, and I'm gonna stick her in my dirty old car, a little 2 seater, and and we're gonna drive off and and hopefully, it'll get out of the parking lot. I'm not gonna do that. So what I wanted to do is rent a car.

Jerry Simmons [00:18:37]:
And so I went down to, to Cherry Airport to rent a car there, so that way, we could just take it back to the airport. And, I'm talking to the lady, and I'm renting the car, and I had it reserved ahead of time and everything. But when I got there, I I asked the lady, I was like, hey, you know, I'm getting married tomorrow. And she's like, oh, really? I was like, yeah, is there any way you can get me, like, an upgrade with a discount? Because, you know, I don't wanna have the Toyota Camry. I mean, that's so so plain. Like, do you have anything really cool? Do you have anything really nice for for a wedding? And she's all excited. And she's, oh, let me look. And she's looking, and and she finds me this sweet car.

Jerry Simmons [00:19:10]:
I don't know if you ever seen one, a Lincoln LS. Man, that thing was sweet, fully loaded, had a sound system that rocked, had the sunroof and everything, and oh, man, it was it was white, it was beautiful. Oh, I love that car. And immediately, the Lord began to speak to me about, hey, this is why you don't have a car like that, because immediately immediately, I was puffed up, man. I was like this balloon. I was like, oh, you know? And so I I got my I have to, you know, test out the sound system, so I had a Christian hip hop CD I threw in there, I'm bumping it, you know, it's and, as loud as it'll go, and my ears are popping. And and, of course, you know, I'm driving. I have my hand out the sunroof just so that the people next to me know that, hey.

Jerry Simmons [00:19:49]:
I got the sunroof. You know? It's not here. It's got my hand out there. Of course, the windows are rolled down so they can hear me. You know, I'm bumping the music and stuff. I roll up to a a stoplight, and there's a guy next to me, and I'm like, hey. Yeah. You want some of this? This is pretty cool.

Jerry Simmons [00:20:07]:
Why do we boast about the things as if we had not received them? You know, because then the Lord smacked me upside the head and said, hey, it's a rental. Get over it. You didn't earn it. You didn't deserve it. You didn't buy it. It's just a rental. But that's how we are. That's how we are so many times when we allow ourselves to get to get boastful, to get prideful, as we get puffed up over the things that we've just received.

Jerry Simmons [00:20:32]:
You know, and in spiritual life, in in Christian life, in the church life, it's so easy to do this and apply this to spiritual gifts, or to to positions within the church, and oh, I have this position, or I'm in charge of this or that ministry, or look what God's doing with my ministry, you know. And it's very easy for us to do that, to get prideful, to get puffed up. But what is it that we're boasting about? Well, we don't have anything to boast about because it's not anything that we did or we deserved. It's just like the rental car, man. It's a rental. God gave it to you for a time, and he's called you to be a steward of the things that that he's given you. And he's just had mercy on us. He keeps on having mercy on us, and giving us, and blessing us, and just overwhelming us with his gifts, with his callings.

Jerry Simmons [00:21:18]:
And Paul says the important perspective is remember, don't be puffed up. That's gonna put you one against another. Don't be puffed up. Don't be boasting about the things that you've received as if you had not received them because you don't deserve anything. All you are, Jesus, like Jesus said is, hey, I'm an unprofitable servant. I I've only done what was my duty to do. And that's what we need to remember. That's what we need to understand.

Jerry Simmons [00:21:42]:
But these Corinthians were having a hard time with that. They were saying, hey man, I I I'm not like that, man. I'm I'm good. I got it all together. They were comfortable or maybe a better word is complacent in their Christianity, thinking that they had arrived. It goes on in verse 8 to say, you are already full. Now what's he saying? Well, this is what they were saying of themselves. You are already full.

Jerry Simmons [00:22:08]:
You are already rich. You have reigned as kings without us, and indeed I could wish you did reign that we also might reign with you. Verse 9. For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last as men condemned to death for we have been made a spectacle to the world both to angels and to men. Verse 10. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are distinguished, but we are dishonored.

Jerry Simmons [00:22:34]:
What's Paul talking about here? Well, he's kinda using a little bit of a sarcasm or irony, kinda showing them, hey, if you are puffed up and prideful, this is what you're saying. You're saying, I'm already full. I've arrived. I'm there, man. I am the Christian. If you wanna know what a Christian is, look at me. I'm there. I've got everything I need.

Jerry Simmons [00:22:54]:
I don't need anything else. You can't teach me nothing. I I'm full. I'm rich. Man, I'm rich, you know. I'm blessed. The Lord's blessed me because he knows what kind of person I am. He knows how good of a Christian I am.

Jerry Simmons [00:23:08]:
So I'm rich, man. The Lord's blessed me. And Paul says, hey. You guys gotta watch out. He's warning them here. Just like Jesus warned the church of Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3. Turn with me there real quick if you can. Revelation chapter 3.

Jerry Simmons [00:23:29]:
In Revelation chapter 3, Jesus here is writing through the apostle John to the church of Laodicea, who is a church that you might know as the lukewarm church. Right? In verse 15 of chapter 3, it says this. Jesus is talking and he says, I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say I am rich, hey. That sounds familiar. Have become wealthy and have need of nothing.

Jerry Simmons [00:24:05]:
Notice this. And do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Verse 18. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your eyes with eyesalve that you may see. Verse 19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Here, Jesus is talking to the church of Laodicea, and it's very similar to what the apostle Paul is sharing with the church of Corinth.

Jerry Simmons [00:24:39]:
Because the church of Laodicea were comfortable. They said, hey. Oh, man. Everything is going good. Everything is blessed. I'm rich, you know, I I'm wealthy. I I don't need anything. I'm good.

Jerry Simmons [00:24:52]:
But Jesus said, hey, you're in a dangerous position. You're in a dangerous way because you don't understand, you don't know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. You think you're okay. You think you've got it all together. You think you're rich and wealthy and the things of God, but you don't understand that, no, you're deficient, that you need to come to me to buy gold refined in the fire. You need to come to me to be clothed that you won't wouldn't be ashamed. You need to come to me, and Jesus is saying, hey, stop being puffed up and filled with the things of yourself, but come and be filled with the things of me. Rely upon me and not upon yourself.

Jerry Simmons [00:25:31]:
Rely upon what I can do for you and not what what you can do for yourself. They had the wrong perspective. Just like the Corinthians, they were thinking that they were okay, and what a horrible place to be in. And, man, I pray that I would never get or become in a place like that where I would be thinking, hey, I'm okay. I've got it all together. There's nothing that I need. I'm full. I'm rich.

Jerry Simmons [00:25:54]:
I'm wise. I've got it all together, because I wanna be in a constant state of relying upon Jesus Christ. They had the wrong perspective. They had the worldly point of view. From the world's point of view, hey, man. Yeah. We're we're doing good, man. We're we're rocking.

Jerry Simmons [00:26:10]:
We're rolling. We're well off. They had the idea that, hey, if you are really spiritual, you would be like me. You know, and that's what was dividing them around their their different leaders. Right? Because they said, hey, well, if you're really spiritual like me, you would follow Apollos like I do instead of the apostle Paul. Or you would follow, you know, so on and so forth, or do whatever. Because if you were spiritual like me, and and it's dangerous for us too, and I I would kinda throw this out there too that we need to be careful of that in our own lives, and the idea of, you know, there's just our church, and we can easily get into the thing that, hey, you know, if you're really spiritual, you'd be going to our church instead of the church across the street, you know, or you'd be going to Calvary Chapel, you know, because those are the really anointed churches. Because the other churches, man, they just, you know, hey, that's not true.

Jerry Simmons [00:26:58]:
We're not the only truth out there. We're not the only ones with with the good news, with the word of God. No. God's doing a work in many different ways to many different people, and he's gonna continue that work. And so it's not good for us to divide and be prideful about the things like that, but to understand we all need Jesus. We're all back at the foot of the cross, and we all need to rely upon him completely. The Corinthians thought that they were okay because the way that they measured their spirituality was was wrong. They measured it based on great success.

Jerry Simmons [00:27:35]:
They said, hey. We're full. God's blessing us. We're rich. We're wealthy. Man, we don't need anything. God's blessing us, so that must mean we're okay. But Paul goes on in verse 11 to warn them that that's not a good measurement tool.

Jerry Simmons [00:27:48]:
He goes on and says, to the present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless. Paul said, hey. Me and Apollos, we're out here ministering the gospel. We're sharing the gospel. We're the apostles. Right? You guys say, hey. We're blessed. We've got everything together.

Jerry Simmons [00:28:05]:
That must mean we're okay. But Paul says, hey. To this present hour, we're hungry, we're thirsty, we're tired. We need clothes. I mean, we're in a world of hurt. The measurement then is not in how great success you have, but how great suffering you have. Are you a spiritual person? Are you are you suffering at all? Have you suffered and still continued on to minister the things of God? Because that is the measurement tool that the apostle Paul used. He says the the fact that you're being blessed, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're right on, that God is, you know, right in your heart that you have him as the Lord of your life.

Jerry Simmons [00:28:42]:
But you need to check yourself. You need to examine yourself. You need to allow, Jesus Christ to be the Lord of your life and to challenge you. You know, it's in a dangerous position to to be in the position that the Corinthians were in because they were so full of themselves that they were not able to learn or to hear what the apostle Paul was telling them, what the apostle Paul is encouraging them. They said, hey. We're wise. You're a fool, man. We got it together.

Jerry Simmons [00:29:06]:
I don't know what you're talking about. Well, whose wisdom was it? Well, it wasn't the Lord's wisdom, it was their own wisdom. In verse 10, it says, hey, we're strong, but you're weak. And the apostle Paul was showing them, you've got it backwards. You think you're so strong, but you're not. You're not. You're not strong in the things of the Lord anyways. Yeah.

Jerry Simmons [00:29:27]:
Maybe you're strong in your flesh, but that's not a good area to be strong in. So the fact that, yeah, you're blessed and God's doing a good work, hey, that doesn't necessarily mean that everything's okay. You know, it's it's been talked about before, and I wish I could quote it properly, but I can't. So I'll just kinda paraphrase it. But, you know, if there's no struggles in your life, if there's no suffering, if there's no persecution, it's a good time to ask, Lord, am I on the right track? Am I making a difference for your kingdom? If the enemy is not bothering me, if the enemy is not coming against me, then am I going against the enemy? Am I doing the things of the Lord? Or am I just kinda going my way? Because when we're going our own way and we're doing our own thing, well, of course the enemy is not gonna bother us. Why? If we're in our own flesh, if we're relying upon ourselves, what's the need to bother us for? Well, there's not need because we're relying upon ourselves instead of Jesus Christ. But when we're doing the work of God, when we're moving forward in the kingdom of God, then the enemy comes against us, and he comes against his heart. I mean, think about it.

Jerry Simmons [00:30:32]:
How many times does the enemy come against you and things happen every time you try to go on a retreat, or every time you try to take out take a step of faith and start serving in a particular ministry? I mean, every time you try to step out and do something for the Lord, things just fall apart, don't they? Now, why? Well, because the enemy wants to discourage you, wants to keep you from doing the things of God. And so Paul said, hey. We're we're suffering because the enemy is against us. Why? Well, because we're doing a great work for god. And and it's a challenge to me and to you that we would examine ourselves and say, hey, Lord. Am I doing what you've called me to do? Yeah, you pour out your blessings, but man, that's just not necessarily that my heart's right with you. I wanna make sure that I'm doing your work, that I'm moving forward, that I have the right perspective, that I don't measure my spirituality based on my great success, but I measure it based on on my suffering and how I respond in that suffering. Because in verse, 12, Paul says, we labor working with our own hands.

Jerry Simmons [00:31:35]:
Notice this. Being reviled, we bless. What does it mean to be reviled? Well, it literally means to be abused verbally. He says being reviled, being verbally abused, what do we do? We bless. We bless. Now as Christians, I mean, that's a good challenge for us. I mean, what happens to us when we're verbally abused? What do we do? How do we respond? Well, our our tendency, our temptation is to verbally abuse back, isn't it? To get back into it, man, and just jump right in the flesh and verbally abuse abuse back. But Paul says, no.

Jerry Simmons [00:32:15]:
We're we're verbally abused, but instead, we bless those who abuse us. He goes on to say, we're persecuted, but we endure. We don't run. We don't jump out of the game. We don't stop serving. We don't stop in this area. We we endure it. We continue on.

Jerry Simmons [00:32:32]:
We press forward in the ministry that God has called us. Verse 13, being defamed or blasphemed, we entreat, which means we encourage. Man, people are blasting us, verbally abusing us, and what do we do? We bless them. We encourage them. We build them up, we we do our best to minister to them the love of Jesus Christ. That is a model for us to follow. That is an understanding that we need to have that, man, no matter what people around me do, my focus is to bless them, to encourage them, to lift them up. And isn't it the same attitude that Jesus had as he was persecuted, as he was blasphemed, as he was verbally abused? He didn't strike back.

Jerry Simmons [00:33:13]:
He didn't verbally abuse back, but he blessed. He endured, and he encouraged or he entreated. And so Paul says this is how the apostles are supposed to be. This is how your life is supposed to be. He goes on to say in verse 13, we have been made we have sorry. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offspring of all things until now. He's kinda living out 1st Corinthians 127 and 28 that we looked at a couple weeks ago, where he said, hey, god chooses the foolish things, the base things, the low things of the world to shame the wise. You guys say you're wise in your own eyes, the Lord's gonna use me to to make you foolish, to make you understand that you need Jesus Christ, that you need God more than anything else.

Jerry Simmons [00:33:55]:
You're full of yourself. Remember the balloon? You're full of yourself, you're puffed up, but you need to come back to the understanding that you need Jesus Christ, and stop being full of yourself. He goes on in verse 14. He says, I do not write these things, to shame you, but as my beloved children, I warn you. I I'm not writing this to to shame you. What is the difference between shaming and warning? He says, I don't write this to shame you, but to warn you. Well, the word shame literally means to to turn one upon or to turn in upon itself. He's basically saying I I'm not writing this that you would condemn yourself, that you would turn upon yourself and and condemn yourself and and go into to depression and and allow that to consume you now, but to warn you, to encourage you, to to exhort you, to change your ways.

Jerry Simmons [00:34:47]:
Not that you would condemn yourself and go, oh, man, I should just give up then. That's the enemy. That's what Satan wants you to do. Just give up. But he says to exalwit you, to warn you, to encourage you. Move forward. Go on and do the things that God has called you to do. Go on and do the things.

Jerry Simmons [00:35:03]:
Stop being prideful. Yeah. Rely upon God. Stop being wise in your own eyes. Come to Jesus Christ and ask him for wisdom. Ask him that he would clothe you, that he would fill you with everything that he has instead of you being filled with everything that you have. It says I warn you, as dear children as as dear children, I warn you. Verse 15, he says, you might have you might verse 15.

Jerry Simmons [00:35:30]:
Let's try that again. For though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. So Paul says, I'm warning you as dear children. Why? Well, because spiritually, I'm your father. I I was the one who went there, who planted those seeds, and who saw God do a work in your heart. And and isn't it so true that that many of us I mean, we have our our spiritual fathers. Those those men or those ladies that in our lives who were instrumental in in leading us and and helping us grow in our relationship with God.

Jerry Simmons [00:36:04]:
And and Paul says, hey, I was your father. I've begotten you. I I was the one who went there and ministered to you before anybody else, and and I need to have that that place in your life, and that's why I'm wanting you as children. And, you know, kind of a side note too, it's a dangerous position for us to be in if we're in a position where we're not listening to our spiritual fathers, our spiritual leaders. Those that God has placed in our lives as spiritual leaders, and when we don't listen to them, when we're like the Corinthians and say, hey, spiritual leader, you don't know, you know, I I I'm okay. I'm I've got it together. I'm full. I'm rich.

Jerry Simmons [00:36:41]:
You know, we got the attitude that, hey, I'm okay. You don't need to tell me, you know, anything. You don't need to encourage me. You don't need to to, you know, I know maybe the Lord's shown you that, but you don't know what you're talking about. You don't have the insight. Whatever the case may be, we're in a dangerous position when we don't listen to those who God has placed as spiritual authorities or spiritual fathers within our lives. We need to always be in the position where, first of all, we hear from the lord and we look to the lord, we rely upon him, but we allow him to use others to encourage us, to rebuke us, to correct us. And we need to have those spiritual fathers and those people in within our lives.

Jerry Simmons [00:37:17]:
So he says, you might have 10,000 instructors. Yeah. You might have a lot of teachers and those who can share the word, but I was the one who went there first. I was the one you saw my heart as I shared the gospel with you, so you know me. And in verse 16, he goes on, therefore, I urge you, imitate me. Or literally, the word says, is to become me, to become just like the apostle Paul. He says, you know me. I was there.

Jerry Simmons [00:37:42]:
You saw my heart, and so you know what I'm all about. Become like me. Become like me. Stop being puffed up and full of yourselves, but instead become like me and be focused on serving others. Be focused on the gospel and rely upon Jesus Christ completely. Remember the apostle Paul himself said, hey, I don't feel like I've attained it. You say you're full. You say you're wise.

Jerry Simmons [00:38:03]:
You say you're rich and wealthy. But in Philippians chapter 3, he says, I don't feel like I've attained it. Instead, I just continue pressing forward that I might know him, that I might know Jesus Christ, that I might lay hold of of the hope for which he called me upward, the the the thing which he laid hold of me for. Paul said, I don't feel like I've arrived. I don't think consider myself to have arrived, but I press forward. Yet the Corinthians here, they they thought they'd arrived. I'm okay. I'm I'm complacent in my Christianity.

Jerry Simmons [00:38:35]:
Now I'm sure they wouldn't say that. They wouldn't use those words. They wouldn't say, hey, you know, I'm full, I'm complete, I'm the perfect Christian. But that was their attitude. That was their heart. And we need to examine ourselves and check ourselves and make sure that that's not our heart. Am I relying upon Jesus Christ completely? Am I imitating the apostle Paul? Emulating the apostle Paul. Am I just like Paul? That's a that's a high standard, but it's not the highest standard.

Jerry Simmons [00:39:00]:
What the standard we're supposed to have is am I like Jesus? Do I walk like Jesus? What would Jesus do? Do I think like Jesus? Do I care like Jesus? Verse 17 goes on to say, for this reason, I have sent Timothy to you who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach everywhere in every church. For this reason, because I want you to imitate me, because you need to be corrected, because you think that you're okay, I'm sending Timothy to you that you would know and understand my ways because he understands everything that I teach in every place. He knows my doctrine. He knows what I teach, Paul says. So I'm sending Timothy to you that not only will you have me to remember, but you will have in front of you one who knows my ways. One who will be able to instruct you and treat you, like like like children as a father, to care for them and to warn them, to encourage them. Verse 18. Now some are puffed up as though I were not coming to you, but I will come to you shortly if the Lord wills.

Jerry Simmons [00:40:09]:
And I will know not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. Verse 21. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod or in love and the spirit of gentleness? Paul says, hey. I'm coming, and I'm gonna have to deal with these situations. I'm sending Timothy first to to be your example to that you might be able to look to him and and be zealous and repent like Jesus encourage the church of Laodicea. Man, repent now and change. I know that there's some, Paul says, that are puffed up, that they're full of themselves, and they think, ah, he's not coming.

Jerry Simmons [00:40:44]:
He's, you know, big and impressive, you know, in his writings, but in person, he's just, you know, a little cuddly person or whatever. You know, they're just not intimidated. They're puffed up and fool themselves thinking I've got it all together. It doesn't matter. But Paul says, no. I I will come to you. If the Lord wills, I I will come, and I'm gonna know those who have been speaking those things, those who have been puffed up, those who have been full of themselves. And I'll know because he says the kingdom of god is not a matter of words, but it's a matter of power.

Jerry Simmons [00:41:18]:
And he says I'll know because the things that they say will if they're of god, if they have substance, they'll be accompanied by the spirit of god, by the power of god. Just as we've seen in the gospels and the book of Acts says, Jesus came and proclaimed, not only did he share the word, but it was accompanied by the dunamis power of the holy spirit, the dynamic power of god. He saw the miracles. He saw the works. He saw the people's hearts and lives being changed. The same thing with the book of acts. He saw the works that God did, the miraculous things in touching people and changing their hearts and lives by the Holy Spirit as the apostles spoke the word of God. God's word will always be accompanied by His Holy Spirit.

Jerry Simmons [00:42:00]:
And that's why it's important for us to share the word with people because it will always be accompanied by the Holy Spirit. And so Paul says, when I come, I'm gonna know those who are full of themselves or those who are full of the things of the lord. Because those who are full of themselves, they'll they'll just be puffed up. There's no substance there. There's no power there, but the kingdom of god is not in word. It's not in, putting on a good show, but it's in power. It's in the working of the spirit of God, and that's where the kingdom of God is at. That's what the kingdom of God is all about.

Jerry Simmons [00:42:30]:
And so he says in verse 21, what do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love, with the spirit of gentleness? My dad used to always tell me something very similar when I was young. He would say, you know, you can discipline yourself, or I can discipline you. Take your pick. If you discipline yourself and do what you're supposed to do and do the things that I've asked you to do, then, well, great. But if you don't do the things that I've asked you to do, well, I'll be happy to discipline you and get you to do those things. And the apostle Paul says the same thing here. Hey. I'm sending this ahead of you.

Jerry Simmons [00:43:07]:
I'm sending Timothy so that you can know and stop and think now. Hey. Am I okay? Do I need to check myself? Am I in a right relationship with Jesus Christ, or do I am I puffed up? Am I full of myself? So that when I come, then I don't have to deal with that situation. You can discipline yourself now, or you can wait for the Lord to rebuke you and chasten you and discipline you later. And so, of course, you know, when you think about it in those terms, well, it's easier. Yeah, man. Please deal with me now, Lord. I don't wanna be rebuked or or something later, you know.

Jerry Simmons [00:43:38]:
I'd rather take my heart now and and deal with it, man. Change it. Move it. And so apostle Paul encourages the Corinthians, hey. Change. Stop what you're doing. Stop being relying upon yourself. Stop being puffed up, but be filled with god and the things of god.

Jerry Simmons [00:43:58]:
Now as we look at this portion of scripture, Paul's talking about a lot of things, and like I said, he's kinda concluding the the area of division and the talking about the the different groups who are centered around Paul and Apollos and Cephas and and the different guys. And, you know, it's kind of it's kind of good because, you know, the lord is doing a work here at Living Water as well. And as pastor Tom goes on to continue on the ministry in Okinawa, and as I kinda step in and and continue on the work of the Lord here, I want you to know that it's not about anything that, you know, any of us has done, but we're just playing our part. We're just doing what God has called us to do. And there's no sense dividing over Paul or Apollos, Tom or Jerry. There's no sense in dividing or making divisions or having prideful positions about any of us, because all we're doing is what God has called us to do. And that's the important thing. And as Paul concludes this and challenges them, we need to all realize and bring us bring ourselves back to the point where at the foot of the cross, and we look up at Jesus and we realize we're all his servants, we're all sitting there at the foot of the cross, and we all need him equally.

Jerry Simmons [00:45:06]:
You know, as I was meditating on this portion of scripture and studying for, for the message this morning, there was 2 things that really the lord just really pricked my heart or or spoke to me a lot. And the first area was what he talked about in verse 6, about not being puffed up, about not allowing pride into our lives, where we rely upon ourselves and think we've got it all together. We're all just puffed up and full of ourselves. Look at how beautiful this balloon is. It's pretty. Right? Good show, man. Puffed up. I I could put on a good show, but I don't wanna be puffed up.

Jerry Simmons [00:45:41]:
I don't wanna be full of myself because myself is yucky. It's it's wretched. It's poor. It's miserable. It's blinded. It's naked. That that's who I am. But Jesus Christ wants to do a work greater than that, greater than myself.

Jerry Simmons [00:46:00]:
He wants to do a work in me that I don't deserve. But if I'm puffed up, you know, scripture speaks very clearly that God hates the proud. He is against the proud. And pride always comes before destruction. So in verse 14, when Paul says, hey, I don't like these things to to make you condemn yourself, but to warn you, to encourage you because god hates pride. He hates those who rely upon themselves. He wants you to rely upon him completely and wholly for everything and not be puffed up. And so Paul says, I'm warning you.

Jerry Simmons [00:46:39]:
I'm warning you. Why? Well, because pride goes before destruction. And if we're full of our self, well, guess what god's gonna have to do? He's gonna have to pop us. He's gonna have to show us and put us back in our place. You ever had someone put you back in your place? Go, oh, yeah. That's where I'm supposed to be. Usually, it's our wires. Right, guys? Pride comes before destruction.

Jerry Simmons [00:47:07]:
And if we're puffed up and full of ourselves and think I've got it all together, I've got it going on, I'm complacent with my Christianity, I'm content, I have arrived, then I'm in a dangerous position because I'm headed for destruction, I'm headed for a poppin. And I don't wanna be in that situation. And so as I was meditating on that and saying, well then Lord, how do I not be puffed up? Because they were very convinced that, hey, I'm okay. I'm doing good. I'm fine. Just like the church of Laodicea. Oh, we're fine. We're wealthy, man.

Jerry Simmons [00:47:37]:
Everything's okay. Then I started asking the Lord, well, how do I know I'm not deceiving myself like that? How do I know that I'm not deceiving myself and and think I'm okay, but really there's a beating coming, there's a popping coming that God's gotta deal with the situation. How do I know? How do I know that I'm not puffed up and relying upon myself? Well, and as I continued studying, the Lord began to reveal to me, Timothy. As Paul said, hey. I'm gonna send Timothy to you because he knows everything about me. He knows everything that I teach. And I started thinking about Timothy and meditating on Timothy, and I started thinking about that portion of scripture in Philippians chapter 2, where Paul is talking about Timothy and and tells the church of Philippi, hey. I wanna send Timothy to you because I have no one like him.

Jerry Simmons [00:48:23]:
No one who cares for the church, who's genuinely concerned for your well-being, for your the the state of your spirituality. And then you remember Paul also sent Timothy to Ephesus to establish the church there, to set it up, and and I thought, wow. Timothy is a cool guy, man. One to be looked up to, one to be admired, and someone I I wanna be like. But what made Timothy so different? What made him stand out? What made him different from the rest of the guys that hung out from Paul? What made him different from those guys? Well, I I really believe in Philippians chapter 2, Paul laid it out because he said, I wanna send Timothy to you because I have no one else who's genuinely genuinely concerned for your well-being. I have no one else who who really cares for you like Timothy does. I I have no one else who is really concerned about your spiritual state of being. And that's what set Timothy apart, and that's what the answer is to how do we guard against being puffed up, how do we check and see are we puffed up is where is our focus? Because Timothy was really concerned about their well-being, about how they were doing spiritually.

Jerry Simmons [00:49:37]:
But when we're puffed up and prideful, what are we concerned about? What are people thinking about me? We're consumed with ourselves rather than consumed with others. And when the focus is on our self, of course, we're comparing ourselves with ourselves, and so we think we're pretty good. But when our focus is on others, we've forgotten about, hey. I need to make myself look good, and we just want to bless others, to benefit others, to lift others up. And so we need not be puffed up with ourselves, but instead concerned with others. We shouldn't be puffed up, but instead we should be fired up with a burden for the lost, a burden for those around us. I wanna be like Timothy, and I believe that that's what God wants you to be like as well because Timothy was Paul's ambassador in a sense that he was sent there to be Paul's representative, but you and I are Christ's ambassadors, and we've been sent to our families, to our workplaces, to our schools, to wherever it is that we go. And if we're puffed up with ourselves, we're gonna be full of ourselves, and we're not gonna be effective ministers.

Jerry Simmons [00:50:43]:
But if we're there, like Timothy, with a burden for those around us who really care for the lost, who really care for the well-being of the Christians around us, then we won't be puffed up. We won't be focused on ourselves. Instead, we'll be fired up. We'll be blessing others. We'll be encouraging others. We'll be like the apostle Paul. We'll be in a state where, hey, if you wanna revile me, that's fine, but I'm gonna bless you. You wanna beat me, you wanna persecute me, that's fine, but I'm gonna endure it because God has called me here to minister to you.

Jerry Simmons [00:51:15]:
And the focus completely changes off of ourselves and onto others. So this morning, are you are you puffed up, or are you fired up? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we close this morning, God, I I pray, Lord, that you would challenge our hearts. God, that we would not be puffed up. Lord, I pray that none of us are are puffed up, God, full of ourselves and relying upon ourselves. But, Lord, help us to be at the foot of your cross and to rely upon you completely, Jesus. Lord, that we would see our brothers and sisters in the light of you, Lord, that we would love them as you love them, God, that we would have a concern and a burden for them as you do, Jesus. Lord, I pray that you would use us as Timothys to be ambassadors for you, that we would represent you, Lord, that we would know your word, that we'd be able to share it, God, and that you would use us, God.

Jerry Simmons [00:52:13]:
Lord, help us to have a burden for others and to be focused on them and not on ourselves. So, Lord, we ask that you would use us. Lord, we don't deserve it. We don't deserve your your mercy, your giftings, your callings, Lord, but we understand we're just servants, God, and we just wanna do whatever it is that you've called us to do. We wanna be used by you that you might be glorified, that people might be touched and changed. And God, like the John like John the Baptist, we ask, Lord, that it would be less of us and more of you, Jesus. Less of me and more of you. So, Lord, fill us and use us, we pray.

Jerry Simmons [00:52:51]:
In Jesus' name, amen.

AI Andrew [00:52:56]:
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