Well, you turn in your Bibles with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 4. 1 Corinthians chapter 4, we observe the Lord's table. It's been called communion. It's a representation of our communion with the Lord Jesus Christ, our relationship with Him. But also it's a picture of our communion together in Jesus Christ, what we have in common in Him. through His shed blood, through His broken body, for the gospel delivered to us that we received. We have a unity in Jesus Christ. What divides Christians? What divides churches? That's a loaded question, Pastor. I think you'll find sometimes Christians and churches are divided because of doctrinal differences. There are those who call themselves churches who do not believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, that He was the sinless Son of God who went to the cross and His payment on the cross was a full satisfaction of the demands of sin. Some do not believe that salvation through Jesus Christ is enough. Some would add works to that, and we would say, that's not what the Bible teaches. Sometimes there's doctrinal differences over other areas. Sometimes there's personal reasons why Christians are divided, preferences. Maybe it's not explicitly detailed in Scripture, but it's a strongly held belief. We hold to that belief, and because of that, there's division. Sometimes there's institutional division. Maybe it's because of a large group of people, a particular fellowship, or a denomination, or perhaps it's because of an institution, or school, or seminary. And sometimes there's division because people hold with the party line, right? They don't want to go against what their friends believe and that. We're gonna find in Scripture, if you look at 1 Corinthians chapter four, God was not pleased with the divisions in the church at Corinth. He was concerned for them, and we began last week, beginning in the first few verses of chapter four, talking about the fact that God had entrusted the apostle Paul with a responsibility. Now, he nor his fellow workers, either they were held up too high or put too low. The church didn't have a right view of them. The church was subdivided. Popularity contests were taking place for preachers, and party lines for Christians were a sign of the pride and immaturity of the church. In fact, in chapter two, we're told that that was part of the reason they weren't growing as they needed to. They were full of pride, and they were divided. It's what we're told in James chapter three, verse 15, or verse 14, he says, If ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. God hates divisiveness amongst Christians. The Apostle Paul was one of the characters that people had put themselves under. Some were of Apollos, and some were of Paul, and some were of Cephas, and some put themselves under the category called Christ. And what we understand from the passage, there were actually many more factions within the church, and the people were all divided, one against another. God wasn't being praised. His glory wasn't going forth, and the ministry of the church at Corinth was being hindered. So God had given responsibility. In chapter 4 verse 1 he says, so account of us as the ministers of God. And that word minister we mentioned last week meant under rower. It was a servant like those in a Roman galley who held the oar and moved with others. It was a humble position. But then we also see another word given. He says he's a steward. Moreover, verse two, it is required that stewards, that a man be found faithful. He was given an oversight. He was like a servant who was given a responsibility. I think you could say it like this. In a sense, he was an executor. He was to carry out the wishes, the will of God. What was he entrusted with? He was entrusted with the mystery of the gospel. And so while he has this role, he explains. He had received this from God and he was responsible to give it out. We're going to find this morning that he also not only was an executor, a steward, he was an exhibit. His own life was a visible testimony of somebody who followed God even through very difficult times. He was a spectacle. And then we're also going to see he is an example for us. He was an example for the church at Corinth because he was their spiritual father. And so this morning as we look, look with me beginning at verse eight of 1 Corinthians chapter four. He says, now ye are full, ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us. And I would to God that ye did reign, that we also may reign with you. For I think that God has set forth us, the apostles last, as it were appointed to death. For we are made the spectacle unto the world, and to the angels, and to men, and are fools for Christ's sake. For ye are wise in Christ, we are weak. But ye are strong, ye are honorable, but we are despised. Let's pray just one more time. Father, open our eyes now to your truth. Help us to see your Son, the Lord Jesus, in this passage, and I pray that we would be transformed into people who would be willing to be called fools for Christ, in Jesus' name, amen. Paul was given a great deal of responsibility. He was entrusted with giving the gospel, and he pioneered the way. He was an apostle, so he'd go to these new areas with the gospel. And he went to Corinth. He gave them the gospel. They received it. They were genuinely born again. But not long after he had left, there were those in the church who were pitting one group against another. And the church though was large and many had come to Christ in this very, very wicked city, the church was under attack. But it was under attack from within. There's things that the church wanted to have and I think that they weren't necessarily wrong things. I think they wanted to have a value. They wanted to be of worth. They wanted influence. Corinth was a wicked city. We mentioned the term, too, Corinthianize. It was an expression used to be immoral. It was an immoral, wicked city, an idol-worshiping city. They wanted to have security. They wanted to know that they would be provided for. And I think they wanted truth. They wanted the knowledge of the truth. in and of themselves, on the surface, those are right things that I believe the church desired. But we're gonna see in this passage this morning, the Corinthians were willing to settle for wealth, while Paul wanted worth. The Corinthians wanted strength, but Paul pursued power. The Corinthians wanted to gather themselves a good living, but Paul found grace living. And so, They had heard a lot of very good speakers, but Paul would tell them, but you only have one father, one spiritual father. I think both Paul and the people at Corinth were seeking the same goals, but they both took far different roads. Let's just say after the service this morning, we got into our cars and we said, hey, let's all meet up in a couple days in San Francisco. All right, well some of you would get in your car and you would go north, you'd hop on Highway 30 and you would make your way to Fort Wayne and then you'd make a decision from there which way to go, either north to 80 or continue on on 30 and keep on going towards Chicago. Others, maybe you'd get in your car and you'd go immediately, hop on 75 and you're going south. You're gonna pick up 70 and cross the state. of Indiana, and you're gonna go through Indianapolis, and you're gonna make your way towards, I think, maybe Denver's along that way, okay? Others of you maybe would get in your car and you say, hmm, San Francisco, I think that's east. And you might go the wrong direction. We might have all the same goal, but we might take different roads to get there. Some roads might take longer than others, right? And the same is true, I think, with what Paul was desiring for these people. They were right things that they desired, but they were seeking them the wrong way. He calls them kings in verse eight. He says, ye are full, ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings. Ultimately, it's this. They wanted the millennium now. They wanted what God will one day bring to this world is Jesus will reign as ruler over this earth, and they will serve as his loyal subjects. They wanted that now. They desired to have something that it was not God's time for them to have. Now Paul's gonna be speaking to them and using tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. I think this can be dangerous, right? This is the kind of thing, you know, I remember combing my hair as a teenager, getting ready for school, and my dad thought I did it a little bit too long. I had a lot more hair back then. And he'd say, come on, you prima donna. It was his way of sticking it to me and saying, don't be proud, son. It was his way. Now, that doesn't always go well. I can tell you by personal experience, sometimes sarcasm is a dangerous weapon. The Apostle Paul, I think, is using it skillfully here. The other thing I think of when we have beagles, we had beagles when I grew up, and beagles like to tug on things. get old socks and sometimes you stuff the socks with more socks and then you can tugging and tugging. And one way to make a beagle really mad is while you're tugging on the sock, just start petting them. Our particular beagle now, Bruchko, if you do that, he'll snap at your hand. Oh, he hates that. I don't think human beings are much different though. Sometimes when somebody wants to get a point across to us and they say it with a sneering smile, and they say it in a sarcastic tone, those are fighting words, right? That's dangerous. And the Apostle Paul, though I think he had the right heart and motivation, he approached it in a very, very delicate manner. He would tell us of the Corinthians. He saw them as a nurse cherished her children. He would care for them. He would love them as a father. In fact, by the end of this passage of scripture, he's like, how would you like me to come to you? Would you want me to come to you with a rod, or do you want me to come with compassion, care? But he deals very abruptly with them. You remember they were spiritually immature, and maybe they needed a little bit of a startle. And so when he says to them in verse eight, now ye are full, ye are rich, you have reigned. I mean, this is a stinging accusation because you see his contrast. He says, in verse nine, I think that God has set forth the apostles last as it is appointed to death. For we are made a spectacle unto the world and to the angels and to men. In this picture, the word spectacle there, it's from the idea where we get the word theater, and he's saying from earth to the heavens, Mankind and angelic beings are all watching our mistreatment for Jesus' sake. He says in verse 10, we are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ. We are weak, but ye are strong. Ye are honorable, but we are despised. And so Paul gives us, I believe, a picture of something that we're to esteem, something we're to pursue. We're to follow Paul's pattern. The first thing I would recommend to you this morning is this. Number one, choose to be poor in spirit. Rather than be proud, rather than be filled, rather than be self-satisfied, find yourself humbling yourself before the Lord Jesus Christ. Follow his pattern of life. Paul's experiences continue in verse 11. even under this present hour. We both hunger and thirst and are naked and buffeted and have no certain dwelling place. He was living in rags. He was starving. He was limited in places he could count on to live, right? Look at verse 12. and labor, working with our own hands. Paul was a tent maker by trade. He would pick this up from time to time to meet his own needs. And you say, well, that means he was personally wealthy, not according to this passage. He was just trying to scrape by. It continues on in verse 12 where he says, being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we suffer. Being defamed, we entreat. We are made the filth of the world. and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. Essentially, Paul's saying this, we're the trash. We're the garbage, we're being taken out. We're the scrapings on the bottom after everything is done. That's who we are for Jesus' sake. He says in verse 14, I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons, I warn you. So number one, we need to choose to be poor in spirit. It's a quality that Jesus lifted up to us at the very beginning of his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five. He said, blessed or prosperous, spiritually prosperous are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It's also a quality we see lifted up for us in James chapter two verse five, it says, that God hath chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him. And God says this when it comes to people who are poor in spirit or poor in pockets. He says God has chosen them to demonstrate what faith looks like in the world. In 1 Timothy 6, verse six, Paul would warn Timothy about chasing after money. Don't go into the ministry for money. And he tells us the reason why. It says here, 1 Timothy chapter six, verse six. He says, but godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us therewith be content. And then he says, for But they which are rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some covet it after, they have erred from the faith, and pierce themselves through with many sorrows." Then he says this, But thou, O man of God, flee These things, he didn't say, Timothy, flee money. He said, flee the love of money. That's where destruction comes. He says, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness. So there's a word of warning, a word of warning for Christians. Don't chase after the almighty dollar. Don't love it with all your heart. There's one place in your heart for God, and let God take that place. We're also told in Revelation chapter three, And verse 17. Speaking of the church of Laodicea, he says, because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. He says in verse 18, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see. He's essentially go for that which will last, go for that which is eternal. By Paul's own experiences, though he was raised in a well-to-do home, was given a tremendous education. He had a great career path going forward. He was a persecutor of Christians, but Jesus Christ met him that day on the way to Damascus. He was confronted with his sinfulness, and he humbled himself before the Lord Jesus Christ, and he received his gospel, his good news of salvation. And that day, Paul not only turned from persecutor to preacher, but Paul also found himself in a lifestyle of persecution. He was receiving it himself. God chooses to use weak things to do his work, and that's what we find here in the book of 1 Corinthians. What was Paul trying to get across to the Corinthian church? Now, they were well-to-do. They were hard-working individuals. They weren't neglecting church. They were faithful in church attendance. But as they gathered together with God's people, they were filled with pride. There was divisions in the church, and the work of God was being hindered. God's work is hindered by one thing in this church. It's pride. It was the pride of the church that was keeping them from being made useful. So we need to follow the pattern that Paul sets forth. We need to be ourselves, poor in spirit. Because if we become proud, God won't use us. We'll find ourselves turning on one another, filled with anger and rage, and we're gonna pit our party against their party, and our stand against their stand, and our preferences against their preferences. Watch out, church. It only comes from a spirit of pride. But Paul also gives an example of himself. He wants us, number two, to choose a path of spiritual parents. He says in verse 15, though ye have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have not, ye have not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. And Paul says, I mean, there are unlimited resources. Now this was a long time ago, but you think about our resources today. The places that you can go to get information. And he says, and though you have, again tongue in cheek, 10,000 instructors, teachers, the idea here is actually the word pedagogue. It's the same word we find in Galatians when it says that the law was our schoolmaster. It didn't mean that it was necessarily the teacher, it was the one who was responsible for the young person to get them to school, to make sure that they get trained, to hold them accountable, to be present in their life. It was like a servant that had been hired for this position. And he says, though you have 10,000 people who are given to you to bring you to the truth, what you don't have is many fathers. You've got just one spiritual father. And he wants them to follow his examples. You have few fathers. He says this, in verse, 16, wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. You say, well, how arrogant. Wasn't the problem in Corinth that they were following men rather than following God? That's what it says in verse 21 of chapter three. Let no man glory in men, for all things are yours. We're not supposed to glory in men. We're not supposed to worship men. That's true. So why would he say this? Paul essentially was saying, follow my lifestyle. Later on he would say it this way, follow me as I follow Christ. He wasn't saying become a Paul worshiper. He wasn't saying we're gonna pass out baseball cards next Sunday for I love my Paul Sunday. We're not gonna do that so you can all worship Paul. No, that wasn't his heart at all. But he said because I've led you to Jesus Christ, I want you to follow the pattern of my life. Rather than follow the pattern of this world, follow me. And then he gives an example of somebody who is doing that, who is going to help them do that in verse 17. For this cause I have sent to you Timotheus, who is my beloved son. So here's somebody else I led to Christ. And faithful in the Lord who shall bring to your remembrance my ways which be in Christ. I teach everywhere and in every church. Paul wasn't saying, Follow Paul's doctrine. He was saying, follow Christ's doctrine that I'm trying to live out in my life. He wasn't saying he was perfect. He wasn't saying he was sinless. He was saying, I'm an example for you though. As I led you to Christ as your spiritual father, it's my privilege then to demonstrate, to show you how to live your life. Discipleship is a lifetime commitment. It's a friendship that you could say with a spiritual dynamic. ongoing pointing people to Christ. And Paul says, I want you to follow my pattern of life. Timothy is doing that, and I'm sending Timothy to you. I want Timothy to reiterate all the things I've said to you. I want him to remind you of what it means to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. It's important for us, if we're gonna make a difference in this world, that we be united as a church. How do we do that? Well, we choose the path of being poor in spirit. We also follow the pattern of spiritual parents, those who follow Jesus Christ with their life. And then lastly, we choose the power of the Spirit ourselves. He says in verse 18, now some are puffed up as though I would not come to you. There were people in the church that were filled with pride, and they would make these statements. Oh, Paul will never come. You know what Paul's gonna do in the future? You know what he's gonna do? You know what he's gonna do to this church? arrogant, proud statements. He's never gonna come. He said he's coming, he will never come. He will never set foot back, you know, whatever. But Paul says, that's what they're saying about me, but he says, you know what? Verse 19, I will come shortly, if the Lord will. I love that extra add-on he added there. I'm coming, I'm planning to come, if God allows me to. And will know not the speech of them, which are puffed up, but the power. They loved a man who could turn a phrase. They loved the orator in Corinth. But Paul reminded us in chapter two, he didn't come to them with eloquent words, he came is a broken man who demonstrated the power of God. He said in verse five of chapter two, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. What was needed at Corinth was not more words, but words with power, the word of God. So choose the power of the Spirit over proud talk, and over powerless talk. There were many words, but there was not power. What's true in our day? There are a lot of fashions, fads in our churches, in American churches. You can be super trendy and only give small doses of truth. You can have a superficial system with pop psychological pop psychological spirituality. But we have to be careful, because then you are super vulnerable to a powerless faith. We're told in 2 Timothy 3, verse five, that there were a people who, having the form of godliness, denied the power thereof. They went through the motions, the forms of Christianity, but they didn't have the spiritual power. That's a danger. We can do a lot of things in the name of Jesus. We can gather around and try to concoct our own work here and really get something going for God. But my friend, if we forget God, we won't have his power. We need the power of God being exercised through spirit-filled saints using their giftedness and service and ministry in the church and in the community. We need God to do the work. At the end of the day, we want God to get all the glory. We're not gonna be looking for the pats on the back or the thank you notes in the mailbox. We're looking for God to get the glory. That's what we're after, right? That's what Paul would challenge the church with. Be careful. Don't trade the supernatural for the sensational. Don't trade truth for talent. The Corinthian church had crowned themselves the arbitrators of truth. Essentially, it's this, when they say, well, I'm picking this pastor in this particular line of things, I'm choosing this direction of life, what they were saying is, I am the arbitrator of truth. I decide what is right, and I've decided he is the one to follow. In a sense, it's what people do who worship idols. They create idols out of wood or stone. They themselves make them, and they worship them. It's not the idol that's God, it's the person who made the idol. It's the person who worships the idol, because I'm gonna dictate to you what I want to worship. And there's a danger for all of us in thinking that we know more than God. There's a danger in believing that we have all the truth ourselves. And we shut our ears to those whom God may send in a package that you don't like. The presentation, it's not as pleasing. But they come in demonstration of the spirit, the power of God. What we need is the power of God. Acts chapter 17, verse 22, the apostle Paul was waiting at Mars Hill. And he says, you're too superstitious. And he's saying, you're too religious. You've got all these gods, gods of their own choosing. But he called them out on it. And he said, I want to tell you about the unknown God. You've got a God over here that doesn't even have a name, but you don't know what he is, but you're saving a place for him in case you find out that he's there, and then you'll give him a name. And they were the authorities. They were the ones. And Paul called them out. He says, let me tell you about the God you don't know. And he told them about the one true God, about Jesus Christ and his gospel. You see, the church of Corinth were ready to reign like kings, but they were not willing to serve like Jesus Christ. He says, you're well-fed, you're rich, you have everything you need, don't you? But here I am faithfully following and serving the Lord and I'm suffering. You know what this does? This punctures the prosperity gospel, right? For those who say, well, if you love God and serve God and obey God, then you're gonna be wealthy and you're gonna be successful and you're gonna be famous. And if you don't, well, you just didn't have enough faith. The prosperity gospel makes promises the Bible never gives. The New Testament pattern of success is suffering. Suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ, for his gospel. You say, one day, we will be with God in heaven. One day, Jesus Christ will set up his throne, rule and reign for a thousand years on this earth. Yes, that's true, one day. But what is today? Today, the day of grace is our opportunity to suffer for Jesus' sake and to get his gospel to the ends of the earth. I received a message this morning of a man who needs prayer. He, I'm gonna pull it up here. I won't tell you his name for. Please pray for this man. This group of believers were caught worshiping God together. This is yesterday. They were arrested and held for two days. They're all now released but will be judged tomorrow in court. This man is not allowed to sleep for two days, likely because of the beatings. But he did not specify, they need our prayers. And then he concludes with, remember them that are in bonds as bound with them. There are people like the Apostle Paul today who are standing for Jesus Christ and suffering for it. We have the privilege of living in a wonderful country with great freedoms. We don't want those freedoms to go anywhere. But my friend, our calling as God's people is not to live for comfortable Christianity. Our calling is not to Christianize America. Our calling is to be crucified Christians, dead to ourselves, alive to Christ, setting our sights on things above. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 13 says, this is what Jesus Christ did for us. It says, let us go forth therefore unto him, without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. God has not called you to rule as a king today, as a Christian. He's called you to humble service. So we need to follow Jesus Christ. We need to be willing to be considered a fool, as Paul was. We are fools in verse 10. We're fools for Christ's sake. It was for Jesus Christ. You say, well, I would like to be a well-respected, well-compensated servant of Jesus Christ. It's probably not your calling. you and I are called to be fools for Jesus Christ, even if we suffer for it. Paul compassionately appeals to their God-given judgment. He got their attention. When he told them, you're wealthy, you're full, you have all you need, but here we suffer, he got their attention. But he did it in such a way so that he could point them to Jesus Christ. Philippians chapter two and verse five. Paul would speak to a divided church, a church that was experiencing some division in Philippians 2. Verse two he says, fulfill you my joy that you be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Verse three, let nothing be done through strife or vain glory. but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. He was appealing to a church that had the same tendencies that the Corinthians had, to be divided. And he said, here's the answer, humble yourself, right? Be poor in spirit. And then he says, follow the pattern set before you. He says in verse five, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. That's our calling, to follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who loved us died for us and gave us a pattern of how to live for him. When we receive his gospel of Jesus Christ, it didn't cost you anything. But the Christian life beyond the cross will cost you everything. The Apostle Paul was reminding the church at Corinth, if you want to continue to be useful in the Lord's hands, you're gonna have to give up on the Corinthian dream. You're gonna have to follow God's eternal plan. You're gonna live, even if you suffer, for Jesus Christ. Pride parts the church, but the cross of Christ unites it. And as he pointed the church at Corinth, he says, we are fools for Christ's sake. He was pointing them to Christ. It wasn't being a fool for Paul's sake or a fool for Apollos' sake. It was being willing to be considered a fool for Jesus' sake. And we're reminded, 1 Corinthians chapter one, verse 18, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. It's only the gospel of Jesus Christ that can save a soul, not religious duties, not quote unquote Christian living. It's not living in America that makes a person a Christian. It's humbling yourself as a sinner before a holy God, agreeing with him that you are a sinner in need of a savior. It's receiving his gift of grace by faith, trusting Christ in him alone, and that's all they can say. Our Father, I thank you for your word today, and thank you for Paul's words. Though written 2,000 years ago, these words could have been written to us today. Father, we have the same tendencies, to crave comfort, to be coddled with a bottle rather than dig into the meat, to want what pleases us and what fancies our appetites rather than what pleases you. I pray that we would take the warning to heart. I pray, Father, that we would humble ourself, that we would be poor in spirit, we'd follow the pattern of godly spiritual parents who have gone before us, and I pray, Father, that we would learn to have not just Christian words and not just Christian teaching, but to have spiritual power as your word is proclaimed. In Jesus' name, amen.