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Be Careful In MinistryA young man was just promoted to an junior executive position and was very proud about getting this new position. He now had his own new office, a nice desk, and his name on the door. On his first day on the job a man came into his office so trying to look impressive the young executive quickly picked up the telephone and acted like he was in an important conversation while he gestured to the man to have a seat until he was finished. After pretending to make a “big - deal” over the phone he hung up and looked at the man - patiently waiting for him. “Sorry about the wait, but I'm just so busy, now how can I help you?” To which the man replied, “Oh, that's ok, I'm just hear to - hook up your telephone.” One of the most difficult lessons Jesus disciples had to learn was that in the kingdom of God, position and power are not evidence of authority. Jesus warned His followers not to pattern their leadership after that of the Gentiles who "lorded over others” and not to act important. The example believers follow is that of Jesus himself who came as a servant and ministered to others, rather then having others wait on him. The Apostle Paul followed that same example. In our continuing studies of 2 Corinthians we find Paul had been fighting for the ministry that God had given him among the Corinthians. There were some in Corinth who questioned his authority, they boasted about how spiritual they were, and they belittled Paul as “not a true apostle.” Well in the text we will consider today, we find Paul giving a defense of his ministry and more then that giving us, a foundation of how to measure true ministry from the Lord. So lets read our text as we consider, true ministry. READ THE TEXT 2 CORINTHIANS 10:7-18 -- BE CAREFUL IN MINISTRY. The Corinthians were not spiritually minded enough to discern what Paul was doing in discipling them. They contrasted Paul's meekness with the "personality power" of the Judaizers, and some Corinthians concluded that Paul had no authority at all. These folks were judging Paul and his ministry on the surface of things and not considering how God had used him. God had used him in their lives – he had used him to plant their church, so it was obvious that Paul belonged to Christ and was sold out for him. I have heard some great preachers in my lifetime, and I have heard some guys who seem to be trying to impress people with their use of the English language. Some of them are great orators, they use a huge vocabulary but I have found that sometimes those type of meetings - are like what Elijah found when in 1 Kings 19:11 the bible says, “The Lord was not in the wind." Yet some people are so impressed by outward standards that they miss that there is little substance and - no Gospel in that message. That's similar to what was going on when Paul wrote to the Corinthians. People were comparing Paul and judging him by wrong standards. Jesus taught about Judging. Matt 7:1-5 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. God is going to judge us by the measure we judge others. Are you looking at some sin in our sister's life - while all along you are full of hypocrisy? Are you talking about a brother about his life – while your talk is really nothing more the gossip? First remove your log from your eye and then you can see clearly to help others with their sin. Someone once said: “If you just had a plank taken from your eye, you had major eye surgery, so how are you going to treat someone else who has a splinter in their eye?” -- “Very gently.” Well Paul's heart is sincere, his motives are pure he has removed his plank, and now he is trying to remove the splinter from the eye of those who opposed him. Three things I would like us to glean from this text.
Those in Corinth measured Paul by some standard that was superficial at best. They judge him by things like the fact he was not one of Jesus twelve apostles, his former life when he persecuted the believers, or even the way he appeared. Remember tradition tells us Paul was not much to look at. Short in stature, a large hooked nose, bull legged and a high squeaky voice. So how do we judge others? Do you judge by the surface of things or with the judgment that God gives us? Do you judge by race, color, or outward appearance? Do you judge others by their voice or they way they communicate? Are you only open to be friends with people who are like you? Or are you careful to judge others by God's standards? Look at some of what Paul says here. 1. Does the person you are judging have a relationship with Christ? Matt 7:20 (Jesus said) . ...By their fruit you will recognize them. The fruit of the Spirit shining in a woman's life will tell you if they are from God. The fruit of greed will tell you if a man is a false prophet. These guys judged Paul by his the outward appearance of things; “his letters are heavy, but really he is a lightweight when you see him.” Not the right way to judge a person. So Paul defends himself and says in V8 he uses his God given authority to build up and not to tear down. Then in V11, he reminds them that he is consistent in both letter and in public speaking. 2. Does the person have a consistent walk with God? The difference between Paul and the Judaizers was this: Paul used his authority to build up the church, while the Judaizers used the church to build up their authority. They were inconsistent with how they treated Paul and the teachings of Jesus, where Paul was the same whether in letter or in person. How a Christian uses their authority is an evidence of spiritual maturity. An immature person is puffed up by authority, but a mature person uses their authority to build others up. When I worked in the corporate world I observed two diverse management styles. One was what I called “Attila the Hun” management style. Throwing around their authority and keeping people in their positions. The other is the “Jesus style”, based on the golden rule. Hiring the best people and equipping them to do their jobs and promoting them so the person and the organization grows. That's how we should treat ministry, that's how Paul looked at his authority. 2 Cor 1:24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy , because it is by faith you stand firm. Never lord over others, sure like Paul we may have to say some very hard things, but we speak the truth from love, not pushing our authority around. First be careful how you judge others.
The growth chart had slipped from the playroom wall because the tape on its corners had become dry and brittle. Little Five-year-old Jordan hung it up again, meticulously working to get it straight. Then he stood his sister against the wall to measure her height. Mommy! Mommy! Anne is forty inches tall!” he shouted as he burst into the kitchen. “I measured her.” His mom replied, “That’s impossible, Sweetheart. She’s only 3 years old. Let’s go see.” They walked back into the playroom, where the mother’s suspicions were confirmed. Despite his efforts to hang the chart straight, Jordan had failed to set it at the proper height. It was several inches low. Believers can easily make Jordan’s mistake in gaging spiritual growth or importance. Compared to a “shortened scale”, we may appear better than we are. Only when we stand against the Cross, as R.A. Tory called it, “the great leveler of men”, only then can we not think of ourselves rightly. So many problems have been caused by people trying to "measure the ministry." If the work of the church is the work of God, how do we go about measuring what God is doing? Jesus gave his personal evaluation of the seven churches in Asia Minor – and I dare to say that Jesus measured them far differently than they measured themselves. The church that thought it was poor, Jesus declared them to be rich, and the church that boasted of its wealth, Jesus told them they were poor, naked and blind. So what is the proper measure of a ministry? What is the right way to measure a person's faith? Look at the second half of V12. 2 Cor 10:12 ...When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. One freer translation says, “they compare themselves against one another, how stupid is that!” A young woman asked for an appointment with her pastor to talk with him about a personal sin she was worried about. When she saw him, she said, “Pastor, I have become aware of a sin in my life which I cannot control”. “Every time I am at church I begin to look around at the other women, and I realize that I am the prettiest one in the whole congregation.” “None of the others can compare with my beauty.” “What can I do about this sin?” The pastor replied, “Mary, that’s not a sin, why... -- that’s just a mistake!” What is the measure of a ministry? What is the measure of your own faith? Do we measure our church against some larger ministry that the world says is successful? Do you look at number of people attending, the annual budget, the great facilities, or the oratory skills of the pastor? Do you look at your own strengths and compare them to someone who's weaknesses you see? Or is the measure of a ministry and the measure of us as individual believers simply obedience to the gospel? As we bring forth the truth, and win souls for God's kingdom? These guys in Corinth were braggers, self-righteous, and unwise. Rom 10:3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Today we see such an emphasis on “doing ministry”, that some people miss the reason for ministry. The church of Jesus Christ does not exist to grow numbers, it does not exist to meet social needs, the church is not even here to meet the needs of its members, or to put on a good show. Rather the church exists first and foremost to worship God, to bring glory to his name then to equip believers to live in obedience to Jesus commands. The bible says we were created for “God pleasure” and our lives are to offered to him as living sacrifices to him. So the the church exists to be God's vehicle here on earth, to worship him, to preach the gospel, to baptize, to make disciples. Those who measure a ministry by what the world says is success are not wise. How do you measure other believers or the church at large? TURN TO ROMANS 12:3-9 In Corinth the Judaizers were great at measuring their ministry, because external activities are easier to measure than true faith and internal transformation. The legalist can measure what he does and what he does not do, but only the Lord sees spiritual growth in a believer's heart. So don't think of yourself as more then you ought, rather with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has given you. Not your faith but God's faith, he has given it, along with his gifts. So where is the boasting in that? Judge not by externals like the size of the congregation, rather does the congregation use their different gifts to build one another up and prepare the believers for service to God. There are those who compare themselves with one another and put themselves on the top of the heap. But the Holy Spirit, says -- they are not wise to do that. Why don't we compare ourself to others? Thanks for asking, thats a great question. A couple of important answers. First when you compare your spirituality to others the measure is all wrong, you might look at someone who on the surface is living in open immorality and come to the conclusion that “I'm pretty good.” But that was the fallacy of the religious leaders of Jesus day. Remember Jesus told a story about just that type of measurement. Luke 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Jesus addresses those who were measuring themselves against others and thinking “ I'm really cool.” Then he tells the story of two men went to the temple to pray , one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector.” Then he bragged to God about how much better he was then other people. “I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” Comparing his activities to others and making sure he compared himself to someone who appeared less them himself. But Jesus goes on and talks about that tax collector who stood at a distance and wouldn't even look up to heaven. But he beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus said, that man, not the religious leader- went home right before God that day. One compared himself to those he measured to be less them himself, the other compared himself to the law of God and found that he was lacking and repented before God. So first don't measure yourself against other people because it could cause you to become self -righteous, and prideful. Second don't compare yourself to others because it could lead to frustration. When you compare yourself to others who seem to have it all together - you may end up frustrated. If someone is working within the gifts God has given her, if someone else is trusting where God has gifted him, you should not be frustrated by their gifts or their faith. Rather your measure is the same as theirs; “Are you working for Jesus within the measure of faith and the giftings he has given you.” Paul speaks about some areas he measures his ministry. First by the field God has assigned. Paul was give the task to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. He knows that God will measure him by being faithful to that vision. Are you faithful to the vision and field that God has given to you? Are we as a Church faithful to the field God has given us. I remember a few years back I went to a pastor's conference at Church on the Way in Van Ness, CA, and Pastor Jack Hayford was talking about when they had outgrown their facilities and there was an opportunity to move outside the city to a large plot of land. As he prayed he felt God speak to him. “Well, you can go – but I'm not going with you.” So they stayed and God blessed them with a second campus just a few blocks down the road and to this day they have two buildings and God has used and blessed that ministry within the field God had given them. God is not going to measure us on the basis of the, gifts and opportunities that he gave Chuck Smith or Billy Graham. He will measure my work by what he assigned to me. He will measure your faithfulness by what he has entrusted to you. God requires faithfulness above everything else. Are you being faithful in the little things? Like your family, like the resources God has given you, like the talents he has entrusted you with? We have seen that we are to be careful, careful in judgments, careful in measurements. Finally.
Happy will be the believer who understands that faith, talents, abilities are all gifts from God. So Paul quotes from Jeremiah to show us that all boasting is in the Lord and not in our own worthiness, accomplishments, or righteousness. Jer 9:23-24 This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD. If your going to boast about your faith or ministry, boast in the Lord, boast that you understand God's grace, that you know God. Boast about God who delights in showing us kindness, justice and pours out righteousness on his children. The Judiezers in Corinth were boasting about how spiritual they were, today we see the TV evangelist who brags about the great things they do. We have mega churches that boast about their success and sell their organizational programs. We have people who boast about how “holy they are” and that they no longer sin. All such boasting is sin. James 4:16-17 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. All self centered boasting is sin, and when you withhold the good that you know you should do - that is a greater sin. Like the parable of the good Samaritan when you like the religious leaders who passed by without helping a man in need -- you and I sin by withholding the good we know we should do. Paul says of his own ministry, 2 Cor 10:17-18 NLT As the Scriptures say, "The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done." When people boast about themselves, it doesn't count for much. But when the Lord commends someone, that's different! Matt 5:16 (Jesus taught) .... Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Let people see what God has done, let others give glory to God for what he is doing in and thought you. Paul says. “Our glorying, our boasting lies in the Lord... That is where your glory should be as well. The final test and approval of ministry is not anything external, the final test comes at the Judgment Seat of Christ, 1 Cor 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. Every man/ every woman will receive their praise from God. If men or women get the glory on earth then God cannot be glorified. So we boast about what God has done, he sent his Son Jesus to die in my place that I am accepted by God not because of anything I have done but by faith in Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Don't leave here today thinking I said that every large church or every well-known minister is robbing God of glory. But do leave here knowing that without Jesus we are all doomed to the judgment, but God in his Grace gave Jesus for us. Let him who boasts boast in that he knows God by faith in Jesus Christ. From honest faith will spring forth fruit and like Paul, you and I will be able to let what God has done in your life speak for itself. INVITE, PRAY, BENEDICTION, SING Series: 2 Corinthians -Through the Bible |
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