FOLLOW THE LEADER
I Corinthians 4:14-21
S: Leadership
Th: Live the Difference
Pr: WE FOLLOW THE SERVANT-LEADERS GOD HAS GIVEN US.
?: Why?
KW: Needs
TS: We will find in our study of I Corinthians 4:14-21 five needs that servant-leaders provide.
The _____ need we have is…
I. DIRECTION (14)
II. DEVOTION (14-15)
III. DESIGN (16-17)
IV. DOCTRINE (17)
V. DISCIPLINE (18-21)
Version: ESV
RMBC 29 February 04 AM
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever wondered what you were good for?
ILL Notebook: Father (what do we need him for)
Four-year-old Little Johnny asked, "Mummy, where do babies come from?
"The stork, dear." replied Johnny’s Mom.
"Mummy, who keeps bad people from robbing our house?" Asked Little Johnny.
Johnny’s mother answer, "The police, dear."
"Mummy, if our house was on fire, who would save us?"
"The fire department, dear."
"Mummy, where does food come from?"
"Farmers, dear."
"Mummy?"
"Yes, dear?"
"What do we need Daddy for?"
Well…
I have wondered if the apostle Paul must have felt this way when it came to the church of Corinth.
He was their spiritual father, yet it was clear that they felt that they had outgrown him.
TRANSITION:
This particular issue speaks to a larger issue that we must confront within ourselves.
For it is easy for us to develop a sense of complacency about our faith.
There are issues in our life that we just don’t want to be bothered with anymore.
Sometimes this happens because of laziness.
Sometimes this happens because we are tired.
Sometimes this happens, as it did with the Corinthians, because of pride.
We don’t think it applies to us anymore, that we are beyond it.
But, it is here we must understand that…
1. When we believe that we have outgrown God’s provision, we fail to “live the difference.”
This is so much a danger in our lives that we must have the courage to examine ourselves to see if it is true for us.
For example…
I believe that an area that begs consideration is the matter of prayer.
I know that many of us struggle in this area.
We find it a chore rather than the delight it is designed to be.
And as a result, we somehow come to the conclusion that we don’t need to pray.
Now, we may not say that out loud, but if we are not praying, we are living that conclusion.
We are acting as if we have outgrown the wonderful gift of prayer.
Then we wonder why our faith, at times, seems so artificial while others seem so real and vital.
For the Corinthians…they had settled for the illusion that they were everything God wanted them to be.
Many had become anxious to reject Paul’s teaching of the gospel and move beyond it.
It was their conclusion that they had moved beyond the cross.
It was their conclusion that they just didn’t need him anymore.
They had matured and outgrown him.
It is at this point that I want to repeat our concluding points from last week’s message.
The first is that…
2. We need to think righteously when it comes to those in leadership.
Have you noticed that we live in a world that doesn’t trust leadership?
Many times, leaders prove that they are not worthy of trust.
And when we are particularly skeptical, we tend to think that people unnaturally rise above their level of competence.
Indeed, I have often wondered this about myself.
Lately, and I don’t know why particularly, but I have had an unusual amount of requests for counseling.
Frankly, I don’t consider my aptitude in this area very high…I mean…I wouldn’t come to see me…
Well, I digress…
For the Corinthians, their view of leadership had gone askew.
They were being picky about who they would listen to when it was clear that God has provided them with many voices, many teachers.
Instead of seeing them as an integrated whole, they had split into factions, favoring one over another.
And as a result, they were thinking and communicating in a way that was displeasing to God.
In this particular chapter, Paul is trying to get them back to where they belonged.
He wants their thinking to be holy, not critical.
He wants their thinking to reflect on God’s provision, instead of their own preferences.
So, in the verses we studied last week, we understood that Paul encourages us to recognize that…
3. We need to submit to leaders that demonstrate faithfulness and humility, encouraging them to fulfill God’s call in our midst.
We must not be caught adopting worldly principles when it comes to leadership.
For Scripture points to other priorities…
Leaders demonstrate success, not with numbers, but with faithfulness.
Leaders demonstrate success, not with flashy programs, but with humility.
Leaders that demonstrate these traits are to be followed and encouraged.
So the proposition of our study is very much the same as last week’s, that is…
4. WE FOLLOW THE SERVANT-LEADERS GOD HAS GIVEN US.
We are called to do this, not because we like them (though that always helps), but because God has given them to us.
But there are more reasons, as Paul will point us in today’s passage.
For…
5. We will find in our study of I Corinthians 4:14-21 five needs that servant-leaders provide.
(14) I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. (15) For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (16) I urge you, then, be imitators of me. (17) That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. (18) Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. (19) But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. (20) For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. (21) What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
OUR STUDY:
I. The first need we have is DIRECTION (14).
We need to be encouraged to go the right way.
We noted last week that Paul’s language was harder, even to the point of using sarcasm.
But now he appeals to them differently, and the tone becomes softer, for now he speaks as a father to his children.
Paul makes the point that he was not trying to humiliate or shame them.
He did not want them to come to the conclusion that they were beyond hope.
This is a difficult balancing act.
There is a sense that many in the Corinthian audience have become hardened to the truth.
On the other hand, one doesn’t want to go so far to offend in such a way that they are unable to respond.
Paul’s goal was clear.
It wasn’t to lose them.
It was to reclaim them!
ILL Notebook: Direction (dragging the deer the wrong way)
Two not-so-smart hunters were dragging their dead deer back to their car. Another hunter approached pulling his along too. "Hey, I don’t want to tell you what to do, but I can tell you that it’s much easier if you drag the deer in the other direction. Then the antlers won’t dig into the ground."
After the third hunter left, the two decided to try it. A little while later one hunter said to the other, "You know, that guy was right. This is a lot easier!"
"Yeah," the other added, "but we’re getting farther away from the truck!"
Well, Paul’s purpose was to issue a warning.
The Corinthians needed to turn around.
They were going the wrong way.
The word “admonish” here means “to counsel and appeal.”
It is a warning with the idea to bring about change.
This is what a servant-leader does.
They refuse to let us live with our illusions of comfort.
They won’t let us settle for mediocrity and predictability.
They want us to have a clear-eyed reality about what direction God has for each one of us.
II. The second need we have is DEVOTION (14-15).
Simply…
We need to be loved.
Paul communicates his special, intimate relationship with them.
They are his beloved children.
The word “beloved” is the familiar Greek word, agape, which describes a love that is determined and willful.
This is certainly what distinguished Paul from Apollos and Peter.
They may have made an impact on the church from their teaching, but the church was there because of the labor of Paul.
Even the second-generation believers were the results of Paul’s ministry.
Paul makes the point that though they have lots of teachers, in essence, they have only one spiritual father.
Only one person brought them the gospel.
Again, this is what a servant-leader does.
He loves his people like a father loves his children.
He is devoted to them, even if they are not devoted to him.
His goal is to bring his children to maturity, so that they will be like him.
Which leads us right into…
III. The third need we have is DESIGN (16-17).
We need to have an example worth following.
Paul is symbolically putting his arm around the Corinthians’ shoulder.
He uses the word “exhort” which literally means “to call to one’s side.”
He is not trying to box them in, but he is drawing them close and being directive about how they are to live.
He is confident about his own life, so much so, that he directs them to observe himself.
It reminds me of one particular comic strip of Calvin and Hobbes…
ILL Notebook: Example (C & H – the hero business is up to me)
Calvin and Hobbes are walking into Calvin’s room when he says…
C: There aren’t many heroes these days.
C: Who is out there to inspire us with a personal example of virtue and self-sacrifice in the name of a higher good?
C: Who can we look up to? Business leaders? Sports figures? Politicians? Celebrities? Heck, we’re lucky if they don’t end up in prison!
H: Fortunately, if we can’t get inspiration, we’ll accept entertainment.
C: As usual, the hero business is up to me.
Paul is not afraid to be looked up to.
He is willing to be the example to the church.
He calls on them to imitate him.
Now, either this is a great act of presumption, or it is a profound insight to the nature of disciple-making.
Paul understood that if he didn’t live the faith correctly and consistently, that the validity of the faith would be called in to question.
So he lived a determined life.
He would set the example of love, devotion to Christ, sacrifice and service.
And as he set the example, he was encouraging them to live like Jesus.
It is here in the text that we find that Timothy was already in Corinth.
And Paul had sent Timothy because he had followed Paul’s example.
He was Paul’s apprentice, so to speak, and had apparently been sent to Corinth as a “troubleshooter.”
And, in turn, Timothy’s example was worth following.
He would demonstrate the exemplary behavior he had learned from Paul.
This is what we should expect from our servant-leaders.
We should expect an example worth following.
Servant-leaders are more than do as I say.
It is also do as I do.
Now, be careful…don’t expect perfection, because you won’t get it.
But we do need real life consistency.
What accompanies the example is…
IV. The fourth need we have is DOCTRINE (17).
We need teaching that is true.
Paul cannot bear that his children are straying from the truth.
This is why Timothy was in Corinth.
He came to reinforce the great eternal truths that Paul had taught.
And Timothy would do this by both word and example.
ILL Notebook: Doctrine (Great Wall of China)
Historical references tell us that it took 300,000 workers ten years to complete the Great Wall of China.
Aside from a section of the Badaling Pass, restored in the early 1960s, much of the 1,440-mile rampart built more than 2,000 years ago to repel northern invaders is falling apart.
Neglect, civil war, Japanese invasion and political campaigns by China’s post-1949 Communist government devastated parts of the wall.
During the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, many peasants removed the wall’s stones and slabs to build houses and pig-pens, in accordance with the official slogan, "Use the past to serve the present" (The Calgary Herald, Oct. 13).
The Church, too, has walls, walls of defense, but these walls have also suffered attack and decay.
The walls are doctrine.
We must keep the doctrine of the church firm and secure.
It must be our determination that it will not suffer from neglect.
This is what a servant-leader does.
He doesn’t build in an unworthy manner.
He doesn’t go beyond “what is written,” because it brings division to the church.
The servant-leader doesn’t believe in being syncretistic, that is, including additional beliefs, whether from culture, a worldview, or just what seems to be a great idea.
The servant-leader will not pollute the pure gospel, because he knows that it weakens it, robbing it of its power.
And now we turn to…
V. The fifth need we have is DISCIPLINE (18-21).
ILL Notebook: Discipline (pilot)
About 90 fifth-graders piled into the airliner on their way home from a school trip.
Once they were in the air, and the crew began serving drinks, the pilot could hear the crew pleading with the children to settle down and let the other passengers get some sleep.
No amount of reasoning seemed to help, until the pilot thought of the solution that actually worked.
He picked up the PA mike in the cockpit and announced, "Children, this is the captain speaking. Don’t make me stop this airplane and come back there!"
Silence.
You know…
We need correction when we go wrong.
Paul clearly states once again that the Corinthians are guilty of arrogance.
They have inflated their own importance and need the godly characteristic of humility.
They need it desperately, because their pride is destroying the church.
Chaos has set in, and order is needed.
So Paul is faithful to discipline.
For discipline is an act of love.
Since he truly cares for them, he cannot let their sinning go unchallenged.
The servant-leader must live this kind of love, even when it is difficult to do so.
You see, the power of the kingdom finds its center in love.
It is not just talk.
It is an empowered life.
This is where Paul makes a particular challenge to those that have challenged his leadership and his teaching.
Are they living differently than the world?
Because it is living this difference that demonstrates the presence of God’s reign.
It is bearing fruit in ministry.
It is pursuing unity.
It is being powerfully patient.
It is faithfully hanging in, in spite of opposition.
It is always wanting to know more about the Lord.
It is a consistent desire to submit to the Lord by following His will that is found in His Word and through prayer.
Paul points to his own example in the hope that they will respond appropriately, so that, when he comes, he is able to come with kindness and gentleness, and not as a disciplining father.
As hard as this sounds, we must desire our servant-leaders to be willing to discipline.
We must desire the purity and unity of the church.
We want our servant-leaders to be unafraid to love with correction, even if it hurts us, because there is too much at stake.
I know that I have personally been grateful for people that have pointed out things in my life, especially when they have done it in sincere love.
(Now don’t all come at me at once.)
We must all desire this, not only for own sake, but for the glory of the Lord.
APPLICATION:
Well, let’s bring this to some unifying conclusions that are practical in nature.
First…
1. Servant-leaders understand the priority of functional community.
Servant-leaders need to work hard to get and keep the household of faith in order.
This is what they are called to do.
And you can tell when they are doing it correctly and when the church is responding correctly (because it is a two-way street so to speak).
It is happening correctly when compassion characterizes the church.
It is when our relationships are characterized by love.
Now can I tell you something?
But don’t let it go to your head!
Other pastors are jealous of me, because I am always bragging about you.
You have consistently shown me and my family love and concern.
You haven’t been perfect, but that’s all right.
I haven’t been perfect either!
So we are a good match!
What is interesting to note is that a functional community is characterized by longer pastorates.
I believe that this is something that the church needs in the big picture of things.
As the average length of pastorates continue to decrease, it begs all the more for servant-leaders that are ready for the long haul…that will commit to a church family through thick and thin.
You know, many churches get tired quickly and out the pastor goes.
Interestingly, that’s not the history of Randall.
Though my immediate predecessor was here only a short time, the two pastors before him retired here.
This is so unusual and was a huge attraction point for us coming here.
So, in closing, let me make this final point…
2. Servant-leaders that love us and care where we are spiritually are worth listening to and following.
When someone comes that shows the example of Jesus, understand that love, respect and prayer support are the order of the day.
They are servant-leaders given by God, for your good and for the good of the church – to the glory of God.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Now may your love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best; and may you be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Amen.
RESOURCES:
Blomberg, Craig, The NIV Application Commentary
Fee, Gordon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament
MacArthur, John, I Corinthians
Wiersbe, Warren, The Bible Exposition Commentary
Sermoncentral.com
Hunting for Humility, Dan Erickson
Watch Out for Syncretism, Jon MacKinney
Compassion, Power and the Kingdom of God, John Piper
A Crisis of Complacency, Doug Goins
