Sermon Central
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Faithful Fellow Workers
Contributed by Bishop Prof. Julius Soyinka on Jul 22, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: No one is an island in God's kingdom, we all need other people to work together in love, unity and with sincerity before successes can be achieved in the services of God. Paul enjoyed the fellowship of several men and women that worked with him faithfuly
FAITHFUL FELLOW WORKERS
Study Texts: Titus 1:1, 3 John 1 – 14
Intoduction:
- The Bible is full of a faithful band of men and women who traveled the ancient world preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- The most prominent person in this great commission was the apostle Paul, who worked tirelessly for the expansion of God’s Kingdom and the growth of the early church.
- But Paul didn’t work alone. He worked with several people as a team and he referred to such people as “his partners and fellow workers.”
- We shall consider the study under three sub-headings:
1. The Measure of a Faithful Fellow Worker
2. The Motives of a Faithful Fellow Worker
3. The Models of a Faithful Fellow Workers
1. The Measure For Faithful Fellow Worker:
i. Steadfastness:
- Our faith is under attack from the left and from the right by false teachers who are teaching things they ought not.
- They would like nothing more than to take us captive to their latest doctrine and in the process uproot our faith in truth of God’s word.
- We need to remain steadfast in the midst of errors and falsehood, as Paul said, “My beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
- James reminds us that, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).
- The promise is that if we will remain steadfast under trials, including trials from false teachers, then we will receive the crown of life.
ii. Trustworthiness:
- As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should have each other’s trust. If you can’t trust, the brethren you worship with who can you trust?
- Every Christian should be trustworthy; we should be deserving of people’s trust. How do we do that? The first “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37).
- Simply put, just do what you say you’re going to do. There is no better way to build trust that to follow through with your promises. Remember the golden rule; “whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12). If your brethren know that you’re going to treat them in a kind way, the way you want to be treated, they will trust you more.
iii. Patient:
- There are two things that we need to have in order to be patient with others:
a. Patiently Care for others:
- It’s hard not to be patient with someone you deeply care for. We should be patient with those who are irritating, or slow to grasp the truth, or are just generally hard to get along with. Caring for them is the key to being patient with them.
b. Patiently give constant reminders:
- Paul was concerned with repetition. He instructed Titus to “affirm constantly, that those who believed in God should be careful to maintain good works” (Titus 3:8).
- In addition that Paul said, “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to men” (Titus 3:1-2).
- Too often, we lose our patience with others and quit teaching them because we grow tired of repeating ourselves.
- However, being willing to constantly remind someone is the second key to being patient with him or her.
iv. Being Dedicated:
- Every believer is expected to be a dedicated worker in God’s kingdom. We must be dedicated to saving the souls of others through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Friends it’s time we got dedicated to saving souls. It’s time that we “go home to our friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for [us], and how He has had compassion on [us]” (Mark 5:19).
v. Submissiveness:
- In the Christian services, we will always have leaders at various capacities and with different responsibilities.
- It is expected of us to be submissive to godly leaders and to obey them that have rule over us.
vi. Honest Report:
- A faithful worker is expected to have a honest report not only from the brethren, but even from among the unbelievers.
- He must maintain clean hands and a pure heart at all time.
vii. Team Spirit:
- This is the quality of working with others without competition but complementing the work in God’s Kingdom.
- To have a team spirit, the believer must combine the grace humility and gentility with that of transparency and sincerity.
