Do I Support The Service Of The Saints?

A Sermon By Jim Hammond from 1 Corinthians 16

7 STAGES Of Man

Richard J. Needham said there are seven stages of man that can be summarized with just 7 words: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills.

Living Outside of the Box

Life is like the game of Monopoly. After you have strained to get ahead, and even if you win the game, the game ends and you have to put it all back in the box. In life you work hard every day to get ahead, but in the end, maybe after a little chest pain or simply a wrong change of lanes on the freeway, the game ends. It all goes back in the box. If all you live for is within the box, then everything goes back in the box in the end. Perhaps we had better learn to live for things outside of the box. That is the only way there will be any lasting significance after the game is over.

Have you seen the bumper sticker, “He who dies with the most toys wins”. I think there’s a rebuttal bumper sticker that reads, “He who dies with the most toys dies anyway.”

Today we are going to talk about the purpose for life. There is fulfillment when you discover meaning in life, a life purpose, a cause that is greater than merely selfish and passing pursuits. This is what I mean by living outside of the box. The world tells you life in the box is all there is. God tells us to live outside of the box.

What Have you done that you believe in and you are proud of?

Most people who are getting acquainted ask questions like, “What do you do for a living?” I read about a man that didn’t ask that question but another more thought provoking question. This cheerful old guy would ask just about every new acquaintance “What have you done that you believe in and you are proud of?” It is an unsettling question for people who have built their lives around their wealth or their family name or their exalted job title.

I think that man was onto something. Shouldn’t we live our lives in such a way that we can have a good answer to that question? Today’s message is designed to help you have a better answer to that question, “What have you done that you believe in and you are proud of?” Today’s topic is about living on purpose. The title is another question that might not mean anything to you yet. “Do I Support the Service of the Saints?” In fact you might be asking what is the Service of the Saints?

I. What Is It? (v. 15)

If I would have heard a sermon title like this when I was in Jr. High, I would have assumed it was asking me to be nice to the old people in our church. You see in the church I attended the senior citizens group was called “Senior Saints”. I guess that’s who I thought the saints were, those old people who walk real slow and all have the same color hair. . .if they had any hair.

Do I support the service of the saints? What kind of question is that? The question is based on a phrase we will be looking at today.

The phrase is found in 1 Corinthians 16:15 “. . . they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints.”

Just what is the service of the saints?

Let’s start with a definition of “saints”. Most people view the term “saints” as off limits for themselves. Only special people are saints, the mother Teresas and Billy Grahams of the world. Let’s understand the term “saint.” It could be translated “holy one”. It means one who is set apart. But let’s look at its use. In the New Testament the word saint or saints is used 45 times (using a quick search of the English word in this translation). If you were to look through each use, you come to realize that you could simply use the word “Christian” in each use. Maybe you would be surprised when you found out Paul uses the term for all Christians, not for the elite super Christians. It is not a term referring to super Christians who are dead. And it is never used in the Bible for people you pray to as mediators. The bible is very clear there is only one mediator now between God and men and that is the man Jesus Christ.

The term “Christian” is only found 3 times in the Bible (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). Each time it refers to how outsiders came up with a label for us. They said “Christian” with a sneer. By the time Peter uses the term for us, he says we don’t need to be ashamed of the description. What they used as a derogatory label, we accepted gladly. Their label stuck more than the New Testament writer’s label for us. We are comfortable with being called Christian and uncomfortable with the word saint, especially if it be applied to us. But this is based on a misunderstanding. In reality both labels are for every true believer. We identify ourselves as Christ followers who are set apart from the rest. Set apart to accomplish Christ’s cause.

Sometimes the idea of Christ follower, or Christian is viewed only in moral terms. We try to be like Christ morally. We try to be “good.” But we fall far short of what it means to be Christian if we settle at this definition. To be a Christian, a Christ follower, means more than attempting to be “good”. It means to be set apart to follow Christ on his Mission, to be a part of his cause or, to be using the phrase we are focused on today, to devote ourselves to the service of the saints.

There are two ways to interpret the concept of dedicating yourself to the service of the saints. The service of the saints is either 1) the service rendered to saints, or 2) the service Saints render. Which do you think the phrase means. Which did the household of Stephanus do? Did they serve the Christians (devote themselves to the service of the saints), or did they do the work of Christians, the work saints are set apart to do (devote themselves to the service of the saints, i.e., the service saints do)? Either way you interpret this phrase the end result is, that service that supports the great cause of Christ. The work of the Lord is what is stressed throughout this chapter.

· so that you can help me on my journey (6)

· because a great door for effective work has opened to me (9)

· he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am (10)

· he [Apollos] will go when he has the opportunity (12)

· they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. (15)

· submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. (16)

The whole chapter focuses on the great work, the purpose, the mission that every Christian is called to cooperate in together to accomplish.

SUMMARY: What is “the service of the saints”?

It is to be set apart for the cause of Christ,

to reach people with the message of Christ,

to rescue them from their lost condition apart from Christ.

Focus: God has called every Christian to be set apart for a purpose. Everyone has something to contribute and is called to commit treasure, time, and talent to the cause of Christ.

II. How to Support it

How do I support the “service of the saints” or the great cause of Christ? The first answer found in this chapter is this, Give.

A. Give (v. 2)

1 Corinthians 16:1-24 ¹Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. ²On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. ³Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

At this time, Judea was going through difficult times (Acts 11:28-30; Acts 24:17; Romans 15:25-28). There was famine. Jobs were scarce. In this tough economic climate, it was especially tough on Jewish Christians who had found the fulfillment of their Judaism in Christ, the Messiah, because those who did not believe Jesus was the Messiah made it especially hard on the Christians. People lost their jobs. There was social ostracism. As a result the church was impoverished in Jerusalem.

It was in such a climate that Paul asked an amazing thing. It was a thing of beauty. The gentile Christians took up a collection to help the Jewish Christians. There was an amazing unity and love demonstrated in this sacrificial giving. Notice also that Paul doesn’t go all by himself with their gift. He has them appoint some approved men to represent them, thus solidifying their love for Christ across these cultural barriers. This was a demonstration of the amazing work God did in removing a dividing wall between people groups. He had saved the pagans through the Jews, and now these Gentiles were helping the Jews. The Jews, who until this time were skeptical of the genuineness of Gentile “Christianity”, were amazed that such lives were really changed. It sent a message also to outsiders looking on. Something amazing had truly taken place in the hearts of people who were before hopelessly divided behind “religious” boundaries.

It is so unfortunate the turn history took, when so called “Christians” began turning this unity upside down and attacked Jews as enemies of Christ. So much of God’s work was turned upside down when awful things were done by so called “Christians”. Jews were never the enemies. Christ was a Jew. It is through the Jews that Salvation has come. Remember this always, and pray for the Jews that don’t know Jesus that they may become completed Jews who recognize the Messiah.

Perhaps other breeches to the Unity of the Body of Christ, the church, can be healed by such gifts. Perhaps we should as a church help other churches when they have a need even if historically we come from differing perspectives over some theological battling point. What is discovered then is that we find ourselves loving the same Jesus Christ.

B. Look for an Open Door (v. 9)

⁵After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. ⁶Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. ⁸But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, ⁹because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

Billy Graham’s Missed Opportunity

In his autobiography, Just as I Am, Billy Graham tells about a conversation he had with John F. Kennedy shortly after his election:

“On the way back to the Kennedy house, the president-elect stopped the car and turned to me. ‘Do you believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?’ he asked.

‘I most certainly do.’ ‘Well, does my church believe it?’

‘They have it in their creeds.’

‘They don’t preach it,’ he said. ‘They don’t tell us much about it. I’d like to know what you think.’

I explained what the Bible said about Christ coming the first time, dying on the Cross, rising from the dead, and then promising that he would come back again. ‘Only then,’ I said, ‘are we going to have permanent world peace.’

‘Very interesting,’ he said, looking away. ‘We’ll have to talk more about that someday.’ And he drove on.”

Several years later, the two met again, at the 1963 National Prayer Breakfast.

“I had the flu,” Graham remembers. “After I gave my short talk, and he gave his, we walked out of the hotel to his car together, as was always our custom. At the curb, he turned to me.

‘Billy, could you ride back to the White House with me? I’d like to see you for a minute.’

‘Mr. President, I’ve got a fever,’ I protested. ‘Not only am I weak, but I don’t want to give you this thing. Couldn’t we wait and talk some other time?’

It was a cold, snowy day, and I was freezing as I stood there without my overcoat.

‘Of course,’ he said graciously.”

But the two would never meet again. Later that year, Kennedy was shot dead. Graham comments, “His hesitation at the car door, and his request, haunt me still. What was on his mind? Should I have gone with him? It was an irrecoverable moment.” [i]

C. Affirm the Workers (v. 10-11)

¹⁰If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. ¹¹No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers ¹²Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.

III. Don’t Forget that it’s War

A. Get In a Battle Stance (v. 13)

¹³Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

Be On Your Guard. This can mean to guard against things that would be a threat to the church and the Christian life. It could also mean to be alert. Alert to false teachings. Alert to opportunities. Alert to the Second Coming.

Stand Firm in the Faith. This, I believe, has to do with doctrine. What we believe determines our lifestyle. Later, Paul told Timothy to watch his life and doctrine closely (1 Timothy 4:16).

Be Men of Courage; Be Strong. He is telling them not to give in to the pressures of this world. The Christian is to be transformed (Romans 12:1-2). The Christian is to set his, or her, heart and mind on things above (Colossians 3:1-2).

Quotes

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost. -Tennis Star Arthur Ashe

The Story of 12 Sponges Illustrates the Serving Others side of Courage

In the operating room of a large hospital, a young nurse was completing her first full day of responsibilities. “You’ve only removed 11 sponges, doctor,” she said to the surgeon. “We used 12.”

“I removed them all,” the doctor declared. “We’ll close the incision now.”

“No,” the nurse objected. “We used 12 sponges.”

“I’ll take full responsibility,” the surgeon said grimly. “Suture!”

“You can’t do that!” blazed the nurse. “Think of the patient.”

The surgeon smiled, lifted his foot, and showed the nurse the 12th sponge. “You’ll do,” he said.[ii]

Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. - John Wayne
Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared. -- Eddie Rickenbacker, Bits & Pieces, April 29, 1993, p. 12

No Apology

Hugh Latimer once preached before King Henry VIII. Henry was greatly displeased by the boldness in the sermon and ordered Latimer to preach again on the following Sunday and apologize for the offence he had given.

The next Sunday, after reading his text, he thus began his sermon: “Hugh Latimer, dost thou know before whom thou are this day to speak? To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty, who can take away thy life, if thou offendest. Therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease. But then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest—upon Whose message thou are sent? Even by the great and mighty God, Who is all-present and Who beholdeth all thy ways and Who is able to cast thy soul into hell! Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully.”

He then preached the same sermon he had preached the preceding Sunday—and with considerably more energy. [iii]

We cheer Latimer. He paid a price. He was burned at the stake in 1555.

Is it fear that keeps you from getting involved? Let me encourage you to get involved in someone else’s faith journey. One great way of doing this is to make yourself available to someone else through a one to one Christian basics study. Today I want to give many of you an opportunity. Some of you will want to sign up to be on the receiving end of this one. Would you like a chance to have someone help you in a study of the Bible? Then sign up at the Welcome center on the sign up sheet with the heading, “I’m interested in the Basics Bible study.” If you already have a fair grasp of Christian Basics and would like to be quickly trained and matched up with someone else that wants to learn through 4 one hour studies, sign up on the sheet with the heading, “I Can Help Teach One to One Basics”.

B. Love is Our Primary Weapon (v 14)

¹⁴Do everything in love.

The power of love

A young man cowered in the corner of a dirty, roach-infested death row cell in a South Carolina prison. His body curled in a fetal position, he seemed oblivious to the filth and stench around him. His name was Rusty, and he was sentenced to die for the murder of a Myrtle Beach woman in a crime spree that left four people dead.

Police arrested twenty-three-year-old Rusty Welborn from Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1979, following one of the most brutal slayings in South Carolina history. Rusty was tried for murder and received the death penalty for his crime. Bob McAlister, deputy chief of staff to South Carolina’s governor, became acquainted with Rusty on death row. Bob had become a Christian a year or so earlier and felt a strong call from God to minister to the state’s inmates—especially those spending their last days on death row.

Bob’s first look at Rusty revealed a pitiful sight. Rusty was lying on the floor when he arrived, a pathetic picture of a man who believed he mattered to no one. The only signs of life in the cell were the roaches who scurried over everything, including Rusty himself. He made no effort to move or even to brush the insects away. He stared blankly at Bob as he began to talk, but did not respond.

During visit after visit, Bob tried to reach Rusty, telling him of the love Jesus had for him and of his opportunity—even on death row—to start a new life in Christ. He talked and prayed continuously, and finally Rusty began to respond to the stranger who kept invading his cell. Little by little, he opened up, until one day he began to weep as Bob was sharing with him. On that day, Rusty Welborn, a pitiful man with murder and darkness behind him and his own death closing in ahead of him, gave his heart to Jesus Christ.

When Bob returned to Rusty’s cell a few days later, he found a new man. The cell was clean and so was Rusty. He had renewed energy and a positive outlook on life. McAlister continued to visit him regularly, studying the Bible and praying with him. The two men became close friends over the next five years. In fact, McAlister said that Rusty grew into the son he never had, and as for Rusty, he had taken to calling McAlister “Pap.”

Bob learned that Rusty’s childhood in West Virginia had been anything but “almost heaven.” His family was destitute, and Rusty was neglected and abused as a youngster. School was an ordeal both for him and for his teachers. Throughout his junior high years he wore the same two pairs of pants and two ragged shirts. Out of shame, frustration, and a lack of adult guidance, Rusty quit school in his ninth grade year, a decision that was to be just the beginning of his troubles. His teenage years were full of turmoil as he was kicked out of his home many times and ran away countless others. He spent the better part of his youth living under bridges and in public rest rooms.

Bob taught Rusty the Bible, but Rusty was the teacher when it came to love and forgiveness. This young man who had never known real love was amazed and thrilled about the love of God. He never ceased to be surprised that other people could actually love someone like him through Jesus Christ. Rusty’s childlike enthusiasm was a breath of fresh air to Bob, who came to realize how much he had taken for granted, especially with regard to the love of his family and friends.

In time Rusty became extremely bothered by the devastating pain he had caused the family and friends of his victim. Knowing that God had forgiven him, he desperately wanted the forgiveness of those he had wronged. Then a most significant thing happened: the brother of the woman Rusty had murdered became a Christian. God had dealt with him for two years about his need to forgive his sister’s killer. Finally, he wrote Rusty a letter that offered not only forgiveness but love in Christ.

Not long before his scheduled execution, this brother and his wife came to visit Rusty. Bob was present when the two men met and tearfully embraced like long-lost brothers finally reunited. Rusty’s senseless crime ten years earlier had constructed an enormous barrier between himself and the brother. The love of Christ obliterated that barrier and enabled both men to realize that, because of Him, they truly were brothers reunited on that day. It was a lesson Bob would not forget.

Not only did Rusty teach Bob McAlister how to love and forgive, he also taught him a powerful lesson about how to die. As the appointed day approached, Rusty exhibited a calm and assurance like Bob had never seen. Only his final day, with only hours remaining before his 1:00 A.M. execution, Rusty asked McAlister to read to him from the Bible. After an hour or so of listening, Rusty sat up on the side of his cot and said, “You know, the only thing I ever wanted was a home, Pap. Now I’m going to get one.”

Bob continued his reading, and after a few minutes Rusty grew very still. Thinking he had fallen asleep, Bob placed a blanket over him and closed the Bible. As he turned to leave he felt a strong compulsion to lean over and kiss Rusty on the forehead. A short time later, Rusty Welborn was executed for murder. A woman assisting Rusty in his last moments shared this postscript to his story: As he was being prepared for his death, Rusty looked at her and said, “What a shame that a man’s gotta wait ‘til his last night alive to be kissed and tucked in for the very first time.”[iv]

In most wars, enemies are killed. In the war Christ began, he told his followers to love their enemies. Why? Because that was how the war would be won. With love as the primary weapon your own army gains new soldiers each time love loosens the powerful grip Satan has on people.

C. Do Not Underestimate the Value of Support Ministry (v. 15-16)

¹⁵You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers, ¹⁶to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. ¹⁷I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. ¹⁸For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.

I wonder, how we might have suffered, had Paul’s spirit not been refreshed by his support. I’m not sure what form of support his friends brought him. Was it a word of encouragement? Was it monetary support to carry on in ministry when things were very tight and the tent making business wasn’t meeting the needs?

Have you ever really been down and someone said just the right thing? Maybe they gave you a hug. Maybe they stopped and prayed for you. Listen, never underestimate the value of support ministry. Every front line person has to have support from behind him. If you go into front line battle alone you are going to be a casualty. Some of you have faithfully responded to my requests that you pray for me as your pastor, and that you pray for your care group leaders, pray for the elders, and deacons, and teachers, and workers. Encourage them. Don’t underestimate the value of support ministry. Your prayers make a difference in the ministries that operate around here.

Don’t underestimate what a little voluntary support can do. Maybe you can volunteer some time to answer phones, or make phone calls. Maybe you can support a teacher by being a teacher’s helper. All ministries aren’t front lines, we need support workers also.

Paul asks you to Voluntarily place yourselves under the leadership of those who devote themselves to the service of the saints. This isn’t hard to do because they are in it for your best interest, and the cause of Christ. How might you make yourself more available? How might you let leaders know that you are willing to follow their lead?

Dear Lord,

Thank you for giving us such a high calling. Thank you for the privileges you give us which make our lives meaningful. Thank you for allowing us to participate in the work you are doing all around us. Lord, open our eyes to what you are doing. Help us to see the doors you are opening. Lord, we admit that sometimes your calling causes us to be afraid. We fear failure. We fear rejection. Help us to be to be strong and courageous. When we are scared help us to saddle up anyway. Help us to focus on the needs of others, and see the opportunities you present to meet those needs. We want to see you at work, and we want to be useful instruments in your hands. We want our lives to count for something. We believe in you and give ourselves to your work fully. We want to devote ourselves fully to the service of the saints!

In Jesus Name,

Amen

[i] Just as I Am, Billy Graham

[ii] Today in the Word, April 7, 1992

[iii] Evangelism, A Biblical Approach, M. Cocoris, Moody, 1984, p. 126

[iv] From Bad Beginnings to Happy Endings, by Ed Young, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publ., 1994), pp. 3-5.