How Can I Be More Faithful to God?
1 Corinthians 4:14-21 (read vs. 1-21)
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Oct. 1, 2008
*How can I be more faithful to God? Most of us have asked that question. If we took a survey here tonight, most people would say, “I want to be more faithful to God. I want to be more faithful to His Kingdom and His church. But how can I be more faithful?” God shows us some key steps to take here in 1 Corin 4.
1. First: Seek wisdom about God’s warnings.
*In vs. 1-6 Paul talked about God’s requirement for faithfulness, and how we shouldn’t be puffed up against each other. In vs. 7 Paul stressed that every good thing we have is a gift from God. In vs. 8-13 he talked about how easy the Corinthians’ life had been in comparison to the apostles. Paul talked about how much more he and the other apostles had suffered for Christ.
*Then in vs. 14 Paul said, “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.” This warning came from Paul as a kind word of caution -- a loving admonition that really came from God. God wants to warn His people, and we need to pay attention to His warnings.
*Now some warnings are worthless -- jokes really. Bob Jones is the founder of the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch. Each year his organization holds a contest to discover the most ridiculous warning labels found on products sold in the U.S. Here’s a small sample of the warnings they’ve found:
-A sleeping aid that warns "May cause drowsiness."
-A propane torch that cautions "Never use when sleeping."
-A printer cartridge that states "Do not eat toner."
-An iron label that reads "Never iron clothes while they are being worn."
-A three-hook fishing lure declaring "Harmful if swallowed."
-House-slippers warning "Do not eat."
-And a toilet-cleaning brush that warns "Do not use for personal hygiene." (1)
*Many of man’s warnings are ridiculous, but we must pay attention to God’s warnings. Start paying attention to God’s warnings. His Word is filled with warnings. For example, the Lord finished His Sermon on the Mount with these words:
21. "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22. Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23. And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
24. Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25. and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26. Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27. and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.’’ (Matt 7 21-27)
*And Paul gave this warning in Gal 6:7-10.
7. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
9. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
10. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
*If you want to be more faithful to God, start paying attention to the warnings in His Word.
*Listen to James Merritt’s description of the incredible value of God’s Word:
-The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, the happiness of believers.
-Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its decisions are immutable.
-Read it to believe, believe it to be saved, practice it to be holy.
-It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.
-It is the travelers guide, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, the Christian’s character.
-Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.
-Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end.
-It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.
-Read it slowly, daily, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure.
-It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and will be remembered forever.
-It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle with its contents. (2)
*If you want to be more faithful to God, start paying attention to the warnings in His Word. Seek wisdom about God’s warnings.
2. And set new goals for Godly living. Set new goals to follow or imitate Christ-like people. Paul urged us to do this in vs. 15&16, where he said:
15. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
16. Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
*The original word translated “imitate” or “follow” in the KJV is where we get our word “mimic,” and that’s the idea. Paul stressed the same thing in Phil 4:9, where he said, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
*This imitating is so important that here in vs. 16 Paul urged us to do it. He urges us, calls us, encourages us, even begs us to follow in his footsteps. He urges us to allow Jesus to live and shine through us, even as He lived through Paul.
*Of course the assumption is that the Lord is already living in our hearts. We have heard and believed the good news that God loves us and sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. We have trusted in the good news that Jesus rose from the dead, and that He will give everlasting life to all who receive Him as Savior and Lord.
*Now if we are believers, we can and should follow after anyone who is closely following the Lord. Why don’t we? One reason why is because we tend to forget. Realizing this in vs. 17, Paul said, “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.”
*Believers, we all tend to forget at times. That’s why we have to set new goals for Godly living -- new goals to follow those who are closely following the Lord.
*One of Willis Moore’s best examples to follow was his Godly grandmother. Willis remembers something unusual about his grandmother: She always ate cold grits. Now, some things taste almost as good cold as they do hot. Chicken, ham, cookies, pie, there are a lot of examples. But there are some things I never want to eat cold: Cold French fries? -- Never! And cold grits -- no thank you!
*But Willis’ grandmother always ate cold grits, even though she preferred them hot too. It was her priorities that caused the grits to be cold. Willis remembers how his grandmother would cook a hot breakfast, fresh farm eggs, crisp bacon, homemade blackberry jelly and biscuits, and bowls of hot grits. The family would gather around the table. His grandfather would ask the blessing.
*While the family was eating breakfast Grandmother would read Bible devotions to the family. When she prayed everyone stopped eating and bowed their heads. Afterward everyone cheerfully joined in conversation while finishing breakfast. Only then, Willis remembers, “did Grandmother start to eat her breakfast and that is why she always ate cold grits.”
*Willis remembers those special mornings and the example of his Grandmother. At that time it didn’t seem all that important, but as the years rolled on he came to recognize the significance of those cold grits. And he wrote, “Spiritual formation is the memory of Grandmother putting God first at breakfast. Of course she did so in the other areas of her life, too, but the memory of her putting aside a hot breakfast to share God’s word with her family feeds me yet.” (3)
*Years later, Willis is still striving to follow his Grandmother’s Godly example. Who are the great examples God has put in your life? He has given us so many wonderful examples. Set new goals to follow their footsteps.
3. If you want to be more faithful to God, set new goals for Godly living. And get a hunger for humility.
*Paul warned us against spiritual pride in vs. 18-21, where he said:
18. Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.
19. 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.
20. For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
21. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?
*“What do you want?” That’s a question we like to hear. What do you want, Christian? Turns out there are only two possible choices here: Either God’s rod of discipline, or His gentle spirit of meekness.
*I remember my Daddy often asking me, “Do you want me to take off my belt?”
-Well, I surely deserved 10,000 spankings in my life, but I never told Dad, “Yeah, take off that belt and give me a good one!” I didn’t want a spanking from my dad, and I certainly don’t want one from my Heavenly Father. But the only way to avoid that spiritual spanking is to live with a humble heart before God.
*This is one of God’s great desires for our lives. As we see in Micah 6:6-8.
6. With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8. He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
*We need a hunger for humility. How can we get it? Paul teaches us to keep focusing on God’s power. As he said in vs. 19-20, “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.”
*Keep focusing on God’s power and on His discipline. In vs. 21, “What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?”
*What do you want? If we have that hunger for Godly humility, we will see God move in amazing ways in our lives even when we go through the most difficult times. Our daughter Becky called today to tell me that Gary Griffith had passed away this morning. Gary was the long-time music minister over at First Baptist in Swartz. He was also very active with college students at ULM.
*For several months Gary had been battling a very aggressive type of brain cancer, but his death came as a big shock, because he seemed to be doing better. Becky sent me the update that Gary had emailed to his prayer team last Friday. He did not know that this would be his last testimony of God’s faithfulness -- and Gary’s faithfulness to our Lord. Here’s part of what he said:
*“I haven’t made a post or message in awhile because we have been in maintenance mode with the first round of radiation. I have tolerated the first 20 treatments very well, only being physically ill or in pain 3 times for any significant amount of time during those 4 weeks (one radiation treatment a day for five working days each week).
*That finished Monday. Tuesday began a more intense, focused beam of radiation. Because of the low dose of steroid I was on, I have not been able to tolerate another treatment of what will need to be least 20 of these more focused treatments of radiation. I really believe God has been protecting me from the swelling because of the low dose of steroid I was able to take all this time while taking the first round of radiation. Because of that, my mind really began to wake up this past Monday, and now I am lucid and very much myself. I understand many things I simply have not realized since my first surgery in April. -- There is the update.
*Why I am messaging you now. I very much believe that God has answered prayer in that I am still here, with my family, praising God! Your prayers have moved God’s heart. I am not in desperation. I am in love and adoration of my Savior, Father and the Spirit, all working mightily in people’s lives around me. But I am asking you to pray for me one more time that God would protect the swelling of my brain as I take this last set of radiation treatments.
*I don’t presume on God to know the resolution of my current situation and life, but I know the Lord. He loves me, and there is no fear in moving toward Him. Of course, I don’t want to leave my sons or my beautiful wife, but God would take care of them and use all circumstances of life for their good.
*Know this, that even as I ask you to pray for me, I firmly believe there is no risk in abandoning ourselves to God and that the Father will use circumstances, pain and suffering, to produce godliness in our lives. Righteousness, a little more freedom from sin, being a little more like Jesus, is worth any pain, discomfort or chastisement from the Father!! -- It proves you are His child, and He sends more of His Spirit.
*The Lord and my church have allowed me to lead worship in our last 6 services. They are crazy to have let me since I really started "waking up" Monday. But I thank Swartz FBCers and new Pastor Jeff Smart. The joy of my heart is to praise my God in song and lead others to do the same!
*The Lord is helping us raise the roof right now!!! Praise God!
-Shouting His Praises, Gary
*Faithful to the end! That’s how we need to be. And God will surely help us. Let’s ask Him to help us right now.
(1) Beaumont Enterprise, 2/18/7, p.7D - (IN OTHER WORDS April2007_3) (Produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry, 6130 Barrington ~ Beaumont, Texas 77706 (800) 553-4697 www.iows.net)
(2) Inspiring Quotations, p. 17. (Adapted from Christianglobe.com sermon “There’s God In Them There Hills” by James Merritt - Psalm 19:1-14)
(3) The Upper Room. Willis H. Moore. May/June 1990, p. 25. (Adapted from Christianglobe.com sermon “Eating Cold Grits” by King Duncan - John 14:1-4)
