1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 15 through to verse 18. And I'll read these words and we'll come to our message. So Paul continues writing, and just keep in mind verse 14 when he says that all your things be done with charity. We dealt with that last week. And now we see the charity coming to the fore, we might say. So in verse 15, he says, I beseech you, brethren, ye know the house of Stephanus, It is the first truths of Achaia, that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. And now he carries on this exhortation, that ye submit yourselves unto such and to everyone that helpeth with us and laboreth. I am glad of the coming of Stephanus and Fortunatus and Achaicus, for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied, for they have refreshed my spirit and yours. therefore acknowledge ye them that are such. So we'll finish there at verse 18. Now for the main part of Paul's letter, as we know this evening, Paul has been addressing grievances and the troubles and the difficulties and the schisms and all the things we can think about this evening which had arisen and which were made known unto him by way of correspondence. And in so doing, we have not only learned so many practical truths about Christian conduct and behavior and how we interact with each other and what the unity of the Christian church should be and why it's so important, but we've also seen at the heart of all of this the vital need to understand correctly what the gospel of Jesus Christ is as the foundation of all things at all times. So in the main it's been quite a challenging letter because the starting point is a difficult one. You're dealing with problems, you're dealing with contention, you're dealing with falling outs and so on and so forth. But the end is good because here we see how these things are going to be resolved and the importance of knowing what we believe and how we live and conduct ourselves as Christians. But remember not all is doom and gloom when it comes to this particular letter. we think of it and how we feel towards it in terms of the problems in Corinth because Paul at the end of his letter takes time. He takes time to think about individuals and families whose presence was a great blessing to Paul and whose presence and company must be a great blessing to the rest of the church in Corinth. This got me thinking and I think probably We all think the same along these lines and should think the same along these lines, but in every church sometimes there is an unhealthy tendency, and I'm not pointing the finger at ourselves or any other church in particular, but just an observation of the broad Christian church in the world in which we live. There is sometimes an unhealthy tendency to be so fixated with difficulties that do arise, and they will always be there in one form or another, that we then overlook the individuals or families that are there in the church who demonstrate such exemplary godliness to the child of God and to every Christian. Paul does not forget those who have been a great encouragement to him. And in fact, he spends time as the Lord moves him to. This is the inspired word of God, of course, to reflect upon, in particular, the house of Stephanus, which we shall deal with in verse 15, but also others who have been a great encouragement and blessing to him in his Christian ministry. And I believe that when Paul does this, He's keeping in line with what he has previously challenged the church with. And you only have to think back to last week for those of us who were here. The balanced believer. What is the balanced believer? Remember, there is a need to be resolved and to stand fast and to be vigilant and watchful and contend for the faith. But you do all this with Christian love and charity. And Paul is going to show us something of that Christian love in practical action. And so we can all learn from it this evening by the grace of God. He also knows that addressing the whole church with the heart of love and highlighting the areas of God's blessing is one of the most effective ways of dealing with error. and with problems which arise. Because don't get me wrong, Paul had very good reasons for spending a considerable length of time, many chapters devoted to challenging errors and confronting issues which had arisen. Paul did not sweep these things to one side. He did not think that any good could ever come of just overlooking things and ignoring things. He doesn't do it. He deals with it. He addresses it. He confronts it. These are courageous things. that we are reading of in this great book, but the way in which he does it is the most important thing. And that's how we need to think about these words and contemplate our message for this evening. So as we come to this next message, we're very simply looking at godly examples in the church, godly examples in the church. And dear Christian, what a great challenge for you and for me, for every single one of us, just even to ask the question, I ask the question, am I a godly example to my brother and sister that I sit next to? Maybe you know the person who sits next to you very well, or maybe not so well, or the ones behind you, or believers in other churches, or maybe in our family. And the question we bring to ourselves is not so much worrying about them and things which are going on in their lives, but is my life a godly example to another? Because that's what Paul is going to highlight in these verses. So two things to finish with before we pray, as we think about godly examples in the church. First of all, godly members who provide a reminder, and then godly messengers who provide a refreshing. So that's what we're gonna think about this evening. Godly members who provide a reminder, first of all. And that's verse 15 and verse 16. Now notice that when Paul begins to write in verse 15, he then has a side thought. Now this is God's word, so you know what I mean when I'm referring to the human aspect of Paul as the penman here. Look at verse 15 and you'll see what I mean. Then you've got what you call a parenthesis or the words in a bracket. And then he stops. He carries on that first thought in verse 16. So if you remove the words in the bracket, it should read like this. I beseech you brethren, verse 16, that you submit yourselves unto such. But he steps back from the whole picture and he brings to them, by way of living example and illustration, a family within the church, referred to as the house or the household or the family of Stephanus. and that's who we're going to think about for a few moments. And he says that you submit yourselves unto such, such a family like this, such an example as this. Now what do we know about this family that we read of here in verse 15? The household of Stephanus, the first troops of Achaia. Well, this particular area which is mentioned, okay, whether it's the right pronunciation or not, I don't know, you can fight with me afterwards. This is a specific region of Greece in which Corinth was one of the main cities, if not the main city, a particular area of Greece in its proximity. So I sat down thinking to myself, what's the modern-day equivalent for ourselves? Well, of course, we're gonna think of North Down, we're gonna think of County Down, and I thought, Am I going to split the church if I start saying, is Bangor the main town? Is Newton Ard's the main town? And I'm probably safe with saying Newton Ard's this evening, although I don't know if there's any differences. Crossgar, I think, for down is maybe an essential one. You can tell me afterwards and you can correct me accordingly. Roy is laughing in unbelief here, so I don't want to upset the man any further. We'll just say Newton Ard's is the county city of the world. will be settled along those lines. That's what you're dealing with here. So it was a very important place and here was a family, the family of Stephanus, the household of Stephanus. Well, have you noticed what Paul refers to them as, the first fruits? It's a lovely description of this particular region of Achaia that we read of here. It's most likely the case that they were one of, if not the first family converted when it came to the church in Corinth. Maybe how the church began in the first place. You know, if they were to have a plaque upon the wall, these were the founding members of this particular church. And Paul brings the whole church back to founding members. Maybe they had aged since then, maybe there's a degree of maturity now. Over the years they were the first in, they were the ones that set the tone and set the example. And Paul says, As he writes to the church, he says, I beg you, brethren, there's a passion in the heart of Paul here. And he says that you submit yourselves to such a people as these. Well, Paul, who are you talking about? The household of Stephanus. Why do you bring them to our attention, Paul? What's so important about them? He refers to them in two ways, in terms of time and in terms of usefulness. They were the first fruits of this region. and they had addicted themselves, quite a strong word, isn't it? Addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. Here there is a reminder of two things. A reminder, Christian, that conversion is vital for the church. Conversion is absolutely crucial for the health and the well-being of the church of Jesus Christ, and we cannot lose sight of that. We cannot lose sight of it. And when he mentions them as the firstfruits, no doubt Paul glances back upon those first days, the first ones maybe saved or some of the first ones saved, and what that did, the impact it made, the growth that came as a result. Well, Christian, what do we often pray for? We pray for tokens for good, don't we? We pray that God will answer our prayer. What we want to do is challenge ourselves this evening and get back to this sort of centre ground. How much fervency is there, whether collectively as a church, individually as Christians, for the unsaved and for the lost around us? Lord, save a family and save the individual and save a people within the community. We never want the conversion of the lost to be something which is lost before us. Wouldn't it be a terrible thing if weeks and months, maybe years could go by, and we've never had such a heartlessness? Well, Paul goes back to it, and after all of the dilemmas and problems he's dealt with, this is still very much on his mind. Christians and saints need to be edified, and we've dealt with that in this book to quite some length, and we must all grow in grace, but the church of Jesus Christ needs new stones. We need new stones. And that remains true. And folks, I say this on a personal level, even in light of news that you didn't really want to hear maybe on Sunday, and I don't want to go over ground again and again and again, that doesn't change my heart in terms of whatever time frame is left for the souls of lost men and women in this town to be saved, because it's fundamental. And the prayer meeting must be a prayer meeting that is fixed around this, that we have a heart for the lost. We want to be reminded of what Paul was so encouraged by, that conversion for the church in Jesus, Jesus Christ, is absolutely fundamental. And may God even burn afresh that into our souls this evening. So we must be reminded of how conversion is vital. But there's another reminder here. There's a reminder of the commitment which is needed within the church of Jesus Christ. They were the firstfruits of our care, and they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. Many, many years ago, I sound as if I'm really old when I'm saying that, but it seems a lot like when I think back to when it was, it was a brother, over in Phillip Garden who's there in Perth and we took a trip up to Lisbon. We were both in Bible college at the time and Phillip had been asked to speak to what he thought was the senior youth fellowship and he says, do you want to come along with me? I said, sure, I'll come along with you and keep you company and criticise you along the way when it comes to the preaching. Of course, I didn't do that. But when he turned up, there had been miscommunication along the lines and it wasn't the senior youth fellowship he was speaking to, but it was just the younger ones, the very younger ones. And as you do in Bible college, you probably always bite off more than you can chew when it comes to preaching. And he probably spent hours preparing this message, you know, a great treatise on theological subjects and going to inspire this older generation. And he had this message from Corinthians. I remember sitting there looking at the age demographic and turned to this particular chapter I'm dealing with now. And this message he called about being addicted to the ministry of the saints, I thought, oh, the best chief when it comes to how you're going to get around this one. But give the man tremendous credit. The Lord gave him all the wisdom he needed to turn it into a younger form or a younger approach to the message. But the text always stayed in my mind because I'd never come across it with the same understanding. I've always appreciated his ministry. And it's this thought of being addicted to the ministry of the saints. What is Paul teaching here? It's a strong and a very particular word, that word addicted. And it's the idea of a level of commitment, a level of setting themselves. And that's why we're dealing with these godly examples. Examples among a family, among members that were there to remind the Church of Christ what they should be. Because this particular family's household of Stephanus, they weren't trying to sort of rule the roost. They weren't trying to disrupt things. They were demonstrating what it means to serve. What it means to serve. And one of the truest definitions of a Christian, whether it's the Christian minister, whether it's an elder, a deacon, whether it's a Sunday school teacher, a children's worker, an evangelist, a Christian in the family, in the community, is that we serve. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to minister. He came to serve and to lay down his life, a ransom for many. And here we're a family of great note, we might say, a noteworthy family. And they could have been forgiven for thinking, look, we've been here from the start and we can take it easy. But they were nothing like this. They had set themselves to commit themselves to the ministry of the saints. It's remarkable. And I asked the question, is that the type of ministry I have amongst you? and you have amongst each other as a church. Paul doesn't qualify it much more as to what they did. I don't particularly think it meant they had an official capacity. Apart from maybe Stephanus, notice in verse 17, he's sent with two others, could be a deacon, maybe an elder or something along those lines. But I believe the whole point is that it was a family that was dedicated to practical needs in the church, and to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The whole ministry of the saints, they just gave themselves to it. And whatever cost it was and whatever it meant, they would do it. Isn't that the type of Christian we need to be? And the type of families, if we have families here, that we must have? And that we long for, we desire in the church of Jesus Christ? What a reality check here. You see, while many in Corinth were proud, and there were many that were proud, And there were many that were seeking only their own interests. And there were many that were contentious, weren't there? Many that were divisive. Many that were pernickety. Many that were jealous. Many problems which had arisen. The Lord is able to say, and yet I still have these. I have these shining and burning lights. And thank God for families and believers like the family of Stephanas. and may God make us to be like these individuals. And we all know from this letter that gifts differ, and abilities differ, and opportunities differ, and I think you should take that home with you with respect to abilities, and age, and circumstances. We're not all gonna do the same, we're not all gonna be the same as Christians, but remember 2025 is really no different from the year in which this letter was written in the sense that at the heart of all that we are as Christians, whatever we put the hand to, we do it with dedicated commitment. That's the thought that whatever God gives us to do, we addict ourselves to that and we commit ourselves to it. And that passion and that earnestness, if it's prayer, if it's just a word in season, if it's just to encourage someone, these are ministries. but how we dealt with one of the gifts, a help. If you're just a help in the church, edict yourself. In other words, dedicate yourself to this. And do it not for the accolades of men and the applause of women, but for the glory of God, because that's what we are called unto. And so in light of that, he says in verse 16, that ye submit yourselves unto such. And to every one that helpeth with us and laboreth. I'm gonna just put that in a nutshell. Very simply saying this, as they serve, you serve. As they labor, you labor. Learn to cooperate with them. Learn to go alongside them. Learn to learn from them. And with regard, that's the type of Christian we would be. And it's something to pray over, isn't it? Something to challenge ourselves with again and again. So you have godly members who provided a reminder. And then lastly, we've got godly messengers who provided a refreshing. And that's verse 17 and verse 18. Paul was a very grateful man, Christian. He was a very grateful man, wasn't he? Have you noticed this? Verse 17, I am glad. He says, I'm glad. He's going to tell us why he's glad, but just think about that. He's a grateful man. I had a bit of a rebuke when I read those words. Imagine if it was my duty to write this whole letter. You know, if one little problem arises, I know how my heart faints. I know, you know, you get nervous and you get fearful and all these things overcome you. And Paul, by the grace of God, has dealt with enormous mountain size issues. He really has. And you could sort of forgive him if he got to the end of the letter and just said, that's enough. I'll see you later on. Not worried so much about the salutations and the greetings and the niceties that he gives you. But you know what, this is Paul. This is the man of God in whom the Spirit of God works and everything he says he means. And he says, I'm glad. Whereas many would be crushed by a heavy burden, this man is glad and he's glad for good reason. He's glad because of whom had been sent to him. Are you glad Christian? Are we a glad congregation? It doesn't mean that we're naive to issues that arise or difficulties we'll have to face up to but the undercurrent underneath is that genuine peace, that genuine contentment, that gladness because where we can rest upon all of God's providences and His marvelous ways. This is Paul, the man of God, and it's why he's the chosen vessel. Paul was glad for the visit of these men. Simple things, just a visit of men. That's what he's glad for. I'm not so glad about their names because they're hard to pronounce. So, you know, we'll call them Stevie and something else along these lines. But Stephanos, we can do that. It gets more difficult as you progress through these names. Fortunatus and Achaicus. And I'll learn one day if I've got their names wrong or right. Stephen was giving me lessons on Friday again about his surname, weren't you brother, about the pronunciation. It's taken me these years to get it wrong. And it's just gonna carry on, I think, until the bitter end. But yeah, we'll get there one day, Stephen. So I'm glad we don't have the surnames of these men. But they were such a blessing to Paul. And what is it that he's refreshed by? He's refreshed by a welcome presence. These were members of the church, and they came to Paul when he was in Ephesus. Remember, that's where Paul was at this time, he's in Ephesus. as this letter is going to be sent back with them. So these members have been chosen, possibly they've got an office, something of deacon or that nature, and they've been given a letter from the church in Corinth, okay, so that's how it all works. He's there in Ephesus, they've calmed these three men, we have the letter, and that's how he knows about what is happening, and possibly they're going to fill in the blanks and a few more details along the way. And he says, I'm glad for them. their presence has refreshed me. And he says something else in part of his welcome presence. Have you noticed? Verse 17, for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. Now you could approach those words, think to yourself, oh this is negative. That which was lacking they've supplied. As if Paul's at this stage criticizing them. I'm off the mind. that this particular point is not a criticism because the whole tone is a very affable, friendly one. It's a very warm, loving tone to these verses. So it's not as if Paul's sneering at what you couldn't do, they're doing. That wouldn't fit with the rest of the verses. It wouldn't fit with verse 18. So Paul is not speaking negatively at this particular stage. I believe what he's saying is this, it's very special. He says, I'm glad for these men because these three men make up for me not being able to have all you before me. Now you just let that sink in. Think about that this evening. Never forget that Paul's heart for the people of Corinth was filled with love. Go back to the very first chapter, chapter 1, verse 4. I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ. That's how he felt towards a wayward church. He loved them and he genuinely longed to see them again and to be with them and to nurture them. In fact, he's going to do that very soon, isn't he? He's going to go back and spend those three months as we've dealt with that already, but until that moment comes, he's just so glad that there's a representation, that he can see a glimpse of them and it thrills his heart and it thrills his soul. And I liken this maybe to when a denomination or a church will send a delegation to a mission field or to maybe a worker who's on their own and make representation. And why is it so important? Because it strengthens the hands. It strengthens the hands. It encourages them. Paul may have needed great encouragement. Who knows what he was going through at Ephesus, what his needs were. And it shows that coming alongside and encouraging other believers and building them up is so important. Christian fellowship and company, it's so important for us. Paul relied upon it, he depended upon it, and he was so glad for it. And I wonder if that's how we feel and how we think when it comes to the Christian church. But we will see also something else, not just a welcome presence, but we see a worthy people. He was refreshed not just by their presence, but in a sense by who they were. Verse 18, and what they did, for they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge ye them that are such. Remember how in verse 16 he urged the church here to submit to this godly family of Stephanas, to support them. When he's saying the same to these messengers or with respect to these messengers, he says, they've lifted my soul. So when I send them back and they come with this letter, receive them as such and they will be ever refreshing to you. You know Christian, we're always in a better place when we take the place of just submitting ourselves to the word of God, whatever it is. Is it a challenge? Is it rebuke? Is it a word in comfort? Is it a word in season? They're gonna come back, these three men, with this letter, and it's not gonna be an easy read. And Paul is saying, may they be of refreshing and blessing to your soul. And so acknowledge them as such. And so we see godly examples in the church, a godly family, a godly member, and godly messengers, and it shows what an encouragement such can be. And so the question is put to you this evening, is that us, are we an encouragement to brethren and sisters who are around us? May God bless His precious and His holy word to all of our hearts, amen.