Servants and Stewards
Walking through Paul's letter to a very well church that has a lot of problems church that can feel quite familiar to even ourselves as we probably at some point or another step foot in a church at some time in a church, or maybe this is your first time at church and one of the first things are going to learn is it's pretty messy and if not always easy and so I want to continue to read to you from chapter 4 of a kind of kind of Hit the same passage. We hit last week from a different angle. It says in verse 1. This is how one should regard us as Servants of Christ and stewards of the mystery of God we're over it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human courts. In fact, I do not even judge myself for I'm not aware of anything against myself, but I'm not there by acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time before the Lord comes to a bring to light the things not hidden in darkness come with us close the purposes of the heart in each one receive is Commendation from God. I have a flight all these things to myself in a Polish for your benefit brothers that you may learn by us. Not to go beyond what is written the nun of unity puffed up in favor of one against another for who sees anything different than you. What do you have you did not receive if then you receive it. Why do you post as if you did not receive it?
Where I know that you want to speak to our hearts today. Specifically concerning this area of service and stewards and what that looks like and how that impacts the church and how that is a countercultural attitude towards what's going on in the world today the god me this word permeate within each and everyone of us They will receive and hear from you today in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Well when we had our first born if you have children, you know that when you had your first born you're doing everything you can to really grow this child up to be something great something wonderful and they get a ton of your attention and went my firstborn Ava was I don't know if 3/4 she went through that why State anybody remember the why stage? Why is the sky blue why do rainbows happen? Why do we brush our teeth? Why do why why why parent early on I answered all of those why questions to the best of my ability and the ones I couldn't I would Google and we would sit down and answer those questions, especially when it came to things like why do we do this or why do we do that and begin to explain to her as a family why we do think or brother wasn't so lucky. Because when he came through and then Eleanor shortly after that, they too went through why stages rather than explaining why I begin to say because I said so because it is the way it is because I am in authority over you. This is why we do things in this is why this happened this is why you have a bedtime and here's the deal when it comes to this letter with Paul. He is their spiritual father and corn and he planted this church and now this church has written him at some point and they have a lot of questions for him. And there's actually some word that's gotten back to him that the people are being disruptive and dividing and it come into groups and what I deeply appreciate by Paul is he treats them?
planted for my life into you guys This is why because I'm an apostle and I said still this is how you should do me talkative said because Jesus appeared on the road to Damascus and he kind of talked to me and gave me the authority and so now just do what I say, but he doesn't go that route. Brother instead. He says this is how you should view me as a servant and as a steward as a servant and as a steward morning, we're going to work through this. What is Paul talking about being a servant and a steward. What does that mean for the Corinthian Church? What does that mean for you? And for I know the first thing we want to point out in this passage is when he uses that word servant. It's not the word that commonly used for servant in the New Testament is actually three words. The first is due loss. That is a bondservant a bondservant is somebody who says I am willingly going to tie myself to you. I want to join you maybe at one point. They were enslaved to a Master with the master was so good to them. They said I am willingly going to come and serve you Jesus uses that term in the gospel as whiskey later on then there's that word yaka knows that word is somebody who served in terms of helping the widows and serving tables setting up chairs and making the coffee. There's a yakhnis kind of way of serving the Paul use the word here who Paredes And it's one who serves because they've been given trust one who serves given given trust. This is very important for us this morning because what Paul is saying I have been given this trust and because this trust has been given to me by God. I am here to serve you the church though. The Lord is my master not the church, but I'm coming underneath to lick you up and to serve you and in so doing he's pointing out there man centered ways of thinking think with me. What is the problem that corn has had up to this point? They've attached themselves to certain speakers in the church. Maybe they like the way that they did meals together. Maybe they like the way they organized Community or maybe they like the way one preached and they said this is our guy we're going to survive underneath of him and his ways and Paula saying, Each one of us that have come to you would actually been commissioned by God and our Authority comes because we're Servants of God and he's trying to shift their thinking I'm attaching themselves to men to attach themselves to Christ because I come under the authority of God's that's the word servant. He uses here Stuart and in our minds a steward can reminders of like a modern-day Butler may be used to watch Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Jefferies on there is always kind of around he's always helping everybody out but a steward is far greater than that in Genesis. You read of Joseph who became the steward in the household of potiphar there in that language is very similar to that Genesis language. We talked about a few weeks ago. He was with potiphar or on equal standing in the sense of he had all of the Authority did all this power that potiphar forgot about all of his household duties and Joseph could just administer and this idea of a servant is one who. Looks to his own good. It's not even one who is looking towards his people in the household with him, but he's about his master's business. Pastis himself here as a steward of the Gospel one is going to share the good news and what this means. He says faithful Steward Ministers of the word Elders cheers pastors. We don't get to promote ourselves. I don't get the present in my agenda to Vista corporate Gathering and say Here's what Brent thinks we have to take our cues from scripture. And from what God has said and what that means for each and every one of us is there's going to be times when that doesn't fit very nicely with our agendas Parts. Our wishes are once a narwhals because quite frankly culture gives us a lot of queues today on how to act and Paul's going to come in and he's going to be owner in so many ways in which culture is acting in Corinth and he's going to go against the grain of society. where they celebrate does issues of thin and wrongdoing and he's going to bring in correction and it makes us. I don't really like that very much. I don't like that. You're telling us that have a sexual ethic. I don't like what you're telling us to be generous. I don't like that you're saying that we should esteem ourselves above others. And Paul is coming in though. And he says I am a servant of God in as a servant of God. I have to declare what his word says like this when my wife and I got married 11 years ago January coming up baby. I know the anniversary. All right when we got married. We said yes to a lot of things and no to a lot of things. It's not binding. It's not restrictive people could think that way when we entered marital covenants. One of the things that I said is you alone honey, or who I meet you for sexual gratification you alone or who I'm going to look too and if I break Covenant, there's going to be issues. There's going to be problems and vice-versa her towards me and soak marriage as an example of this shows what we got into with Jesus Christ because you said yes to him. He's coming alongside and saying now this is what it looks like to walk in and let me tell you something when you walk in the ways of God. There's going to be a joy that permeates your life, even those circumstances situations problems and issues become flooding down at us. You can still be the joy in the midst cuz you're in Covenant relationship with God. And so yes Paul is saying if you've received Christ Jesus there is a way that you're to conduct yourself in the household of faith. Legalistic broke. No go read 1st Timothy. There's a way in which Christians ought to live that is very countercultural to the rest of the world. In fact, it's to draw others in I guess there is forgiveness and Grace with problems and issues and failure happens. God has called us. To walk in his ways what happens? So, you know quite frankly that doesn't sound very cool very fun. Very enticing to wishes and wants of my heart. Stewards and servants. These things have to be talked about Paul. Riding to a pagan Corinthian culture. Those who love God and he says this is what this is to look like. I am stewarding the word of God to you. But what does this mean for us at the church designation as Stewart is something that Christ have placed on all Christians. You have a Bible and you can flip quickly. You can go over to Luke chapter 12 Andre G vs. 35 to 40 Stay dressed for Action. Keep your lamps burning be like men who are waiting for their Master to come home from the wedding Feast so they may open to him the door to him at once when he comes and knocks blessed our servants in the master finds awake when it comes true. They say to you he'll dress himself for service and I'm reclined of the table. He'll come and serve them he comes in the second watching the third and final I'm awake blessed are those servants but know that the Master of the House had not had known it would our the thief is coming. He would not have let his house be broken into he was also be ready for the son of man is coming an hour. You do not expect servants be right waiting be ready in Matthew chapter 22, turn back a few more pages if you would like verses 26 through 28 It shall not be so among you but whoever be great among you must be servants over be first among you must be your slave. Even if the son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for money. Let's be honest. Being a surgeon doesn't sound very fun doesn't really consider this idea of what it would all entail we could think of a whole lot of other things. We'd rather be doing today and especially in our world in our culture where there's this idea becoming powerful prominent importance. We have motivational memes that go around like if you don't build your dreams you help somebody build there's not one fluid around before if you're not out there building your dreams. If you're not out there getting yours then inevitably you're going to be out there helping somebody else I get the inspiration behind it. I understand what's being said is get off your butt and go do something right go grab take what your undertone attorneys to stop process that if I am not stepping up and accomplishing my dreams if I'm not getting other people into do what I want them to do and all I'm doing is helping somebody else accomplish their dreams What's so wrong with helping somebody else, Push their dreams? What's so wrong with cheering your neighbor on? Listen to I know sometimes I use some sports examples later today. I'm going to use a Mandalorian example. So I try to hit the nerves in the jocks. It's cool. We're all equal in here today. But I follow LeBron James on Twitter and Instagram and he showed this picture of his son as a highlight reel and a sun led the fast break in a sun through this alley-oop and the friend of his dunks the ball and everybody came around him. It was celebrating with the kid that Duncan what LeBron said it's something that needs to actually thinking to our culture. He says, I love my son because he celebrates the successes of others over. Essentially what we were talking about last week tried will never lie not allow us to celebrate others when they're doing. Well. It causes to compare it to condemn and to attack in order to lift ourselves up when we got to come to this place where we can celebrate the success of other people. That's what it means to become a servant know what's happened is we all want to become Lords and rulers rather than servants and the Stewart's Lords and rulers now. Why is that in Genesis Chapter 1. What is God tell Adam and Eve to what have dominion to rule over the Earth to cultivate create to make to expand their Fork put in us from the very get-go an image bearers of God. Just as God created and God made we do have that intrinsically put inside of us not a Emilio to create out of nothing, but you create to take what God has given us at you make beautiful. So there is this tension up. Yes. I'm supposed to rule but what happened in the fall is the kind of ruling that were given gets perverted and twisted becomes domineering and slaving and we see all sort of problem throughout the Old Testament of power structures gone from and here we are on corn on the cob power structures that have gone wrong people are looking to themselves are looking to other leaders, but they're not looking to who
In our DNA we're wired to want to be great were made to rule but it was sin. It's been perverted wasn't really really terrified if when I show up at your doorstep with a meal cuz you had maybe your first baby. I got to deliver to meals this week. It's so fun and it must have been talking with one of your families. And you said yeah. We just want to try to be. All right Terrence. We're going to sit out for average may be a little bit low average. I have yet to meet parents to meet somebody who takes a job and goes man. I just hope I'm average at what I do in my job people want to pursue greatness. If you watch those Geico commercials, you don't want the okay doctor. Do you the one that goes well just got reinstated by the license board. Looks like I can operate again. That's not who you want. We want people that strive for greatness. Okay to strive for greatness, but when it's been Twisted for self Glory we have issues and problems and were not striving. You're probably reverting or settling in some ways. Nobody sets out to want to just be average Jesus Paul or not calling into question any desire to be great, but they're going to actually reframe what greatness looks like. We can look at the world and probably list 10 things real quick of what the world themes as brightness, right? If you want to be great to get these degrees get these jobs have this bank account have this car have this Leisure Time go on these vacations and here we can see that the world set the standard for what greatness actually looks like Anna gets pushed into all of our news feeds. If you want to be something you want to be important person get what we need to do is reframe what brightness actually looks like just like last week being driven is not called into question, but it's the reason why were actually driven. Are driven in a prideful manner just to look at our neighbor and say I have something you don't have I get to do something you don't get to do that is fried that speaks up butter for driven For the Love of our work running family really behind all that is the Lord motivating and expanding our hearts to love him in the things that we do and it's a right way to pursue this. What does lord-ruler mentality?
Telling you how to be something important greatness is a status to be achieved. Greatness is a status you can clap and take hold up and be known as something wonderful greatness is in competition therefore with someone or something because without the other person to tell if you actually arrived in greatness of greatness to become a trap in which Pride fills our hearts and our lives because it's telling us to constantly look at somebody or something else a comparison to show that we're better than them and this is a horrible problem with this model of greatness. It goes hand-in-hand with pride. To find meaning in your life by having the very things other people do not have an over and over again that narrative that script gets played out through Genesis to Exodus Georgia through everybody else in the Old Testament of the tribe that is packed up that looks to others and exhaustion elevates one's self. It's you take life into your own hands. You be your own God you rule you Lord over you be the king. Drain that trap you're always going to be comparing. You're always going to be looking to somebody greatness is achieved through building a personal Kingdom. That you think will be indestructible. But in that Joy will never be sustained and what Jesus does he comes in radically switches that and he's in a radically shape the view that we actually have in the upside down kingdom as well look at in a little bit and he says if you want to be great, then you must become the least of all of these. In fact in that verse Matthew 20, 26-28. Whoever be great among you must be your servant. Go to be first among you must be your slave. Even if the son of man came not to be served but to serve in his life a ransom for many in John 13, if I then the Lord and teacher wash your feet you ought to wash one another's feet. So I gave myself an example that you should do as I did to you truly truly. I say to you a slave is not greater than his master. Neither the one who sent greater than the one who sent him. Do you know these things you are blessed if you do them. You want to be great. You want to be a great employer. You want to be a great boss. You learn to lead them through serving. You want to be great in your family. You want to be great in the church. You want to be great. Then you do it through serving now. Listen, this does not mean that you have to do every minuscule task. I love it when you know Todd first came to the church and we went out to Pizza Paradise there in Bend and we sat across from there and he deserved me one Sunday and I was running to the bathrooms and mopping the floors and doing all this stuff and he looked at me and he said Brett's if you do all of that, you will not be here in 5 years if you do everything and I said, I love though. I do I love to serve but his advice in his wisdom as you cannot do every little task. Those little tasks are not underneath anybody. There's no task. That's too small that you can't look at and say I shouldn't tackle that. We're not meant to do every little thing. Otherwise, we will burn out. Here's the deal. If you want to be great. You need to adopt a servant leader mindsets. Let me put it into the food industry. I don't want a five-star Chef waiting my table with my Waiter makes my food. They shouldn't have to cross over and all those there is no that five-star waiter there a five-star cook might come out afterwards and clean up a table. They might wash off a few things are beneath them. But if we're going to lead for going to really be great in the kingdom of God, it's got to be done through serving redeemers. This is huge for our church in this place. It's not become elevated are puffed up or just a look what I do. Look what we accomplished. We must adopt a mind to the says, how can I become the least? How can I serve? What can I do an in that we are serving from Power not serving? Ella Mae mean starting power is doing things to get something from somebody else someone else or something else. All right serving for power is idea. If I do this for you guys, what are you going to do for me?
What kind of phrase you going to keep on me? What kind of thoughts are you going to direct towards me? What kind of physical gifts might come my way. I'm going to use my gift ins in my talents in hopes that something come back when we can all fall into the Trap of serving for power when we serve from Power. It's not about what I'm getting. It's about what I'm giving. It's not about building me up. It's about building others up. It's not about me or the question this morning for you. You have a lord-ruler mentality or do you have a servant Steward mentalities? And this is so contrary to adopt a servant Stewart mentality. Is the world out there says take grab get it's for you or we going to say Lord You've defined for us how we got to live and operate. How do I calm underneath of bats? How do we say Lorraine allow for you to determine? What is right wrong? Good evil. I think that we should walk in. How can we adopt that mindset in our lives? If you're a lord ruler you'll be looking at every situation and how is advantageous for you how to get you one more step ahead one more foot in front of the other how to accomplish your goals. You begin to used people rather than serve people when you adopt a lord ruler mentality and Paul is calling the church at Corinth. You should look at my own life. I'm a servant. I'm a steward number to build a contrast Community to the world out there. Very strange way to thank my weeks and just sort of a blended together as we've been moving into a house and have clogged pipes. That one was funny how honey. All right. I got that I'm done and we just been crazy and going I can't remember if I said this or not last week, but I think it's really important for us. Either Bonhoeffer said the first moment when someone needs another person, there's an Impulse to search for strategic positions be assumed above the other person inside of us when I meet somebody there's this picture change a thing going on in my heart and in my life it says, how can I use this person to get what I want, how can I twist them to do what I want and what's really funny is people are both doing this to each other. It's walking into a room and sizing that room up. Back in my Heyday. I worked at Dutch fantastic job back in the day when I was 16 Rite Aid. All right go visit him he works there and what would happen if paridon shift with somebody and in our day when you started there you had the worst ships that showed no preference. You were just a scam you cleaned everything you work the knights one of the ways you can move up in that company is if you got a ship with the manager and you could talk bad about one of your co-workers and you can begin to point out the negative things. They didn't really subtle. That's how I go about it. So direct but kind of like they don't pull very good shots and they're always wasting product of their this or that and all of a sudden you found them getting a different shift and you kind of moving In life, we do this all the time. We're trying to find strategic ways to get ahead and in so doing me often put other people down to lift ourselves up into small example that can happen on larger scales in our families and our places of work and worship. Or putting others down to achieve something. Am I supposed to switch? Church you are not owners. You are Stewart's.
You are not owners of your spouse. You are a steward. You are not owners of your job. You are Stewart. You are not owners of your money. You are Stewart. You are not owners of your time. You are a steward of your time. Overall for that mentality to begin to shift how you view everything you have and it's been given to you stewardship in humility. Go hand-in-hand. Paul says it here. What do you have that you did not receive let me ask you. Was it really in your power to be born in America over Africa? It was not and I'm not trying to say one is better than the other but I got a preference of where I want to live why I haven't gone to Burkina with my brother ever. There is so much that we think we've earned and achieved done on our own. We are not owners. We are Stewart and how are we wisely stewarding everything that has been given to us? Is that the reframe and reshape our lives and means putting others above ourselves and he's looking at the time we've been given a not saying how can I use it to build up my life and my ego, how can I use my time? I can I use what God has given me as a personality and a human to glorify him rather than building up my own ego. It doesn't allow room for boasting. Look at this this morning. What are qualities of a good Steward as we wrap it off?
Paul talks about that here. And he says first of all qualities of a good stewards are those who don't look to their own agendas their own cell Focus. I'm looking towards other people. It's not wanting just zeros in on them redeemers. This is not just individualized. This is for our church as well. It would be really easy as a church to go. Look we got a hundred six chairs at just hang tight right here. All right, we like our small group you like our people we like what we got going on. Let's keep this for us. Are they choose everything we have for ourselves and we want to be a group of people that are not only giving and generous. Toys R Us outside of this area but that were expanding even Beyond Redmond into other areas of the earth. We want to be those who are kind and generous not just with money. But with time with Talent was the skill not just using what we have for ourselves, but you use it in the kingdom and see how God would work through it not our agenda but his agenda as a church I'm asking if this is home that you're praying about what that looks like in our church. McGavock High forest in that area Steward over God's house there Stewart of his possessions, which means that we want us to read the gospel very, well. We want to be a church that focuses on him. You want to be a church that glorifies and worships God a good Steward will be christ-centered a good Steward will be Grace transformed a good stewards will be word order those who look at his word and talked about it a good Steward will be Christ loving Church anchored and mission-oriented. Are we those things? Where's God poking and prodding to take what he has given us to do that, how does it take shape and how does this form in our lives? I want you to think through today. What will make you great. Whatever you think will make you great is what you value in life. Every single person religious. I just walked into this room with a belief system and its dims down to what you value. What makes you tick what makes you operate who makes you go to your 9 to 5 every single day the things that we value because of things that we worship it become the belief systems that were about now this plays out beautifully in the Mandalorian anybody washing the Mandalorian shame on all those hands of a down shame on them. All right Star Wars meet a western II mean you just can't get better than that. Like I said, I'm concerned out too. So this is good stuff. You don't need to go watch it. If you don't watch it, that's fine. But here is the steam Mando. He's a rogue Mandalorian that has stolen baby Yoda, the one you seen floating around in all the memes. He collected this baby and was supposed to turn them in as a bouncy but is taking it as a personal possession to protect it at least as far as I can tell. So at this point, he's on some crazy Star War Z Planet, which I don't even know the name of it and he needs another aspiring Bounty Hunter who has a bounty man those in need of money. This guy he needs to get into the guilt and shame. He looks at Mando realizing he's a Mandalorian and in that he says I'll give you all the money cuz that's what you need. I just need to get into the guilt and it keeps coming up over and over again is life is built upon getting into the Gil mandow takes the job on the Samsung. They capture the Bounty there left in some strange circumstance. Brando have to leave and this guy is with the bounty. And she turns to him and says, do you know what you have before you? What are you talkin about? You know who that is. It just took off and it's coming back. What do you mean? That is Mando? That's the one all of the guild is looking for if if you bring him in. Elite infinus Your name will be known throughout the entire kill your name will become elevated. You will be the one who brought in Mando. So he asked her tells her and then he tries to set up a plot to grab hold of Mando and in the end. He loses his own life spoiler alert. Sorry whole episode. You're welcome. Here's the deal is what he valued. It's what he live for and he gave his life for it. He would do anything he could to become grants. Anything you could and every single person in here has a thing that they live for they have a way with you think this is how all become great acting upon those things that inside of our hard to say. This is the way to the top whatever that is in your life. That is your god. That's the place you go to get value. That's the place you go to get acceptance and something is always required of you your God always requires something it'll demands your time your energy your worship your money. We can go down the list of things. This is what is required of you if you serve something I don't serve anybody wire. Higher ways were enslaved. We either serve the Lord or serving something else, not me. How many of you do things you don't want to do?
Keep mosquito initially. All right, we all do why? Why don't you just quit if you're the Lord of your life. Why don't you just stop it? If you're the master of your fate? Why don't you just quit whatever it is. There's something inside every person that does things and they don't even know why they do them visit in just a religious Garb. Jargon was listen to Jordan Peterson turn on dome by a friend in here and he has no Affinity towards religion at this point that I know of and he says look there are things that we all instinctively do that. We don't want to do and it shows that were controlled by something inside of us. She wear all control. We have this within us but here comes Jesus. Jesus going to radically reshape redefine and reorder our lives and Paul says in here. We're all in the proverbial courtroom. Do the whole judging aspect because Mom's trial? How are you talkin about this? Of course, he's not. We all live life as if you're on trial as if there's a judge at the end of the day and whatever it is you value you treasure you believe it is that thing at the end of the day that is going to bring righteousness and justification into your life. You are a servant you are a slave to something. How does it plan to the gospel story? Waldron what radical thing has to break in our lives? Everything takes from you. Trust me. Everything takes from you. I used to take a lot for my dad. Once I have the big shot key now started taking stuff from me. It's closer than Lowe's and a lot cheaper is what he tells me when they came over and he broke my riding lawnmower and he's like, sorry man, and he
Amigos bread it's just payback. It's just payback for all of life. Listen. It's cyclical. Everything takes from us. Everything is sucking time and talent and energy and effort every God that we might serve to get value or accepted every relationship report into taking from us. We do things we don't want to do why to get Acceptance in value from people we don't even care about this is what we are life on but but there's a God who came and he didn't take the game. the game he willingly laid down his life. He stood in our place. He was crucified and resurrected and is our hope this is very very different than any other philosophy life's system or religious system. There's a God who gave what does that mean for us? Well, if you were a can think back to your high school days and your English teacher give you that dreaded group project. And your whole grade was based upon how the group did if you got teamed up with the AP nerd how lucky were you they would typically do all the work for you because they were on the Harvard track and they had to get that in it. So they would take the work home and then work on it themselves that make the presentation you can talk on student. I was not that one and they would hand that in whatever grade basically they got. You got as well. Even if you didn't little really absolutely nothing.
You didn't nothing and Jesus took it for you. You did not mean and Jesus give you his righteousness. You did nothing but sit and spin and spin on top of me loves you and he died for you and he gave for you. This then allows for us to be refrained restructured and built at this than enabled us to go out and to serve and to be Stewart because more than ever we realize nothing can we have is ours? It's all for the God who gave us a frame. Thank you for your word, and I hope that we have in Jesus. Thank you for the good news of the Gospel. We didn't learn this we could not achieve it, but it was given to us. Lord wear our church as a whole Pedro in serving encourage us his vision insight for what that might look like individually with adopted ownership is our mentality rather than stewardship personally Creek each hearts that focuses on cell and may it be the place that begins to look towards other people, and has not be aware that falls on deaf ears when I grab what you have for us and move forward and walking it in the name of Jesus Amen.