Doing the Work of the Lord

Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. We'll be reading verses 1-12. 1 Corinthians chapter 16.

I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey wherever I go.

For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. So let no one despise him.

Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers. Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers.

But it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. Sometimes for dinner, Casey and the kids will have gone to Costco for like the day, and they will come home from Costco with a rotisserie chicken.

And our kids all love one part of that rotisserie chicken, the drumstick. Everybody wants a drumstick. But you wouldn't think that the drumstick was so beloved by our children if you looked at their plates after dinner.

Because every time, without fail, when we go to clear the dishes, there is always meat that has been left on the bone. And we'll point it out to them.

We'll say, look at all this meat that you didn't eat. And they'll protest. And they'll say, no, Dad, I ate it all. Where? I don't see any more meat. And we'll go pulling the drumstick apart and finding as much meat as we could until there's enough to feed a whole other family.

We don't want to read the New Testament letters like my kids eat drumsticks. We don't want to leave any meat on the bone.

But so often we're tempted to when we read New Testament letters and come to the end. Here are all of these people and places and plans that appear to have no relevance to us.

Paul talks about the churches of Galatia. He mentions going to Macedonia. He brings up Timothy and Apollos. And soon enough we'll read of him speaking of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaeus.

All of this seems perhaps very minor to us. It's peripheral. It's unimportant. But that's absolutely not the case.

1 Corinthians 15 is like a drumstick in the horn household. There is plenty of meat on the bone, as Paul speaks, of people and places and plans.

Now, yes, it's true. These final greetings are very personal to Paul in many respects. And while that might tempt us to gloss over this final chapter, really what it should do is strengthen our faith.

The final greetings remind us that this is a real letter that was written to a real local church in the first century with real problems that we've seen throughout the letter.

And yet, a real faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The man who says in chapter 16, verse 21, I, Paul, write this greeting with my hand, is the same man who said, Christ appeared to me.

He's the same man who said, do you not know that you are the God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? This is the same man who said, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.

These last words, these very personal words at the end of this letter are powerful in their effect. They're reminding us that these theological truths weren't given to us in a vacuum.

We don't just have a textbook of truth, a textbook of theological statements about God and us, but rather what we have is God carrying along men by His Spirit that they might write down just as He intended for them to say.

They sat down. They put pen to paper. They even wrote very personal letters. And God has preserved all of that for us down through the ages, including our passage this evening.

And really in this passage tonight, we are just picking up right where Paul left off in chapter 15. If you remember back, Paul finished that chapter with this wonderful exhortation to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

We've been tasked with work. Good gospel work. Laboring in life with eternity in mind. Working to see the kingdom of God advanced as the good news about Jesus goes forth.

So where are we to do this work? Well, here we see in 1 Corinthians 13, three different spheres of life that are given to us.

In this very personal glimpse into the relationship between Paul and the Corinthians, here we see how we are to be doing the work of the Lord. We're to do it in our giving.

We're to do it in our going. And we're to do it in the place God has us right now. So let's look first at our giving. And I'll read again verses one to four.

Now concerning the collection for the saints. As I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

And when I come and when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

So here we come almost to the last of the now concerning statements that Paul makes, introducing a new topic. He does it once again in verse 12 when he says, now concerning Apollos and how Apollos wasn't yet ready to come visit them.

But here we see this introduction to this short section concerning the collection for the saints. Here we see that Paul is instructing the church of Corinth in how they are to give financially.

They're to give towards this collection for the saints. A very specific collection for very specific saints. It's the saints in Jerusalem.

Paul makes that clear there in verse 3. This is a gift that is to be delivered to Jerusalem. So what's happening there? And why is this collection being taken up?

Well, apparently the church in Jerusalem had many impoverished believers in it. Paul makes this abundantly clear in Romans chapter 15, another letter where Paul talks about this collection for the saints.

And there he says, beginning in verse 25, at present, however, I am going to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the saints for Macedonia and Achaia.

And when we hear Achaia, think Corinth. That's the region that the city of Corinth was in. So he says, for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.

So they were poor. Now, why were they poor? Well, in part, there had been a famine in the region of Jerusalem. This famine took place roughly a decade before Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

So the region was still suffering economically because of that. But also, we can't forget that Jerusalem and the church in Jerusalem had suffered under great persecution.

The gospel spread from Jerusalem. And it spread in large part because of the intense persecution that had been brought against it.

The enemies of God had tried to stamp out the gospel witness. They had tried to stifle the gospel witness. But they only really served to spread it beyond Jerusalem to the surrounding regions and eventually to the ends of the earth, including, of course, Corinth.

So we read of this persecution against the believers in Jerusalem in the book of Acts. You can see a history of it there. Acts chapter 8. And what happens in Acts chapter 8?

Well, lo and behold, who is at the center of this persecution? But Paul himself, when he was yet Saul, the persecutor of the church.

We read in Acts 8 that Saul approved of Stephen's execution. And then verse 1 goes on to say, So as only God could do, he took the man at the very heart of the persecution of the church.

The man who was in part responsible for the suffering of the saints in Jerusalem and the poverty of the believers there. And God made this very man, once a persecutor of the truth, now a proclaimer of the truth.

Once spearheading the suffering of the saints in Jerusalem, now spearheading the relief of those very saints whose suffering he had once so contributed to.

What mercy and grace shown to Paul. What mercy and grace put on display by God in his life. So now here is Paul.

He's taking up this financial collection for the saints suffering in Jerusalem. And we see some important principles about giving in his instructions.

There's three principles we'll draw out. And each of these start with P. Now I'm indebted to Andrew Wilson and his commentary on 1 Corinthians for these points. The priority of giving.

The possibility of giving. And the proportionality of giving. So the first is this. Our giving should be a priority. So we see Paul not just encouraging the church to give.

But he gives very specific instructions. He says that they're to do it on the first day of every week. That is on the Lord's day. When the church gathers together for worship.

That is when they were to give. It's at the outset of the week. So their giving is to be from the first fruits of their income. Just as Proverbs 3.9 commands us.

Honor the Lord with your wealth. And with the first fruits of your produce. So our giving is not to be from the leftovers. We aren't to spend the money we've made however we'd like.

And then just see how much we have left to give back to God. We shouldn't be scrounging up some change from under the couch cushions on Saturday night. No, honor the Lord with your wealth.

And with the first fruits of all your produce. Well that's the principle that seems to be informing Paul's instructions here. Don't wait till the end of the week.

And then put aside whatever you might have left. No, do it at the beginning. At the start of the week. On the Lord's day. Have that money set aside. And ready to give before allocating it to anything else.

That's principle number one. One, the priority of giving. And now number two, the possibility of giving. We are all to give. Paul here commands the Corinthians saying each of you.

Each of you is to put aside something and store it up. Giving is not just for some to do. Paul doesn't say either. Well just give when you can afford to.

He doesn't say give when you're in a good financial position. He says each of you is to set aside something. Now it may not be much.

Paul doesn't give a dollar amount. That's not what matters. What matters is that we give. We ought to be giving to the Lord just as the church in Corinth was commanded to.

It should be a part of our weekly corporate worship. Not an optional activity. But this vital component of our worship. We come together to sing.

And to pray. To read the word. To hear the word preached. To observe the ordinances of the Lord's Supper and baptism. And to give. This is a vital part of our worship.

So we shouldn't view it as optional. Or as something that we'll get around to doing someday. When we think ourselves in a better financial position. Because if we think that way.

Well that day will never come. And that brings us to principle number three. The proportionality of our giving. And we see that there in this phrase in verse two.

Now the ESV translates it. As he may prosper. Or the NIV says in keeping with your income. That you could also say it like this.

In keeping with how he is prospering. So what Paul is teaching us here is that we are to give in proportion to our income. We're to give in keeping with our income.

In other words we're to be wise in our giving. We're to be deliberate and careful and planned out. Not reckless. As we are able we should give.

As God has prospered us. We should then give in proportion to that. Again there's no set amount. We should be generous. We should be eager.

We should be glad to give from the bounty that God has given to us. Now I have to bring something up here. We've really come to this passage at the perfect time.

I didn't plan this out. I didn't time it up to preach this passage on this week. But God did. Because we have our own collection that we are taking up this month.

The collection for the Isiolo church. Now we shouldn't take Paul's command to give. The general truth of that we are indeed to do. But we shouldn't take the truth of that.

The command to give to this particular church in Jerusalem. And say therefore we must all give to the collection there. But I would encourage that we would.

I would encourage us to take the principles from this passage. About giving in general. And to apply them to this very collection that we have opportunity to take up together this month.

And I thank the Lord for the generosity that's already been shown by all of you in this. We have given greatly to this work. We have another week yet to hit our goal.

And how wonderful would that be? So let's keep giving. In keeping with our income. And let's remember that in our giving. We are engaging in the work of the Lord.

From across an ocean. We're using the resources that God has entrusted to us to do a good work. There in Isiolo we've heard the reports. God is building His church.

And what an incredibly wonderful opportunity He has given to us. To help that church have a physical building. A building to meet in. A suitable building.

Not a tent in a courtyard that isn't their own. Surrounded by all kinds of distractions. Because that's what they have now. We've heard it from Pastor John. He was there. He saw it.

But God has given us opportunity to help them. To have a building. On their own property. Where they can gather for the express purpose of worshiping God corporately. As we have the great privilege to do each Sunday.

That is a good kingdom endeavor to give our money to. And in our giving we are doing the work of the Lord. So that's the first sphere. In which this passage teaches us that we do the work of the Lord.

In our giving. And now let's consider the second sphere. And that is in our going. In our going we do the work of the Lord. And I'll read again beginning in verse 5.

I will visit you after passing through Macedonia. For I intend to pass through Macedonia. And perhaps I will stay with you. Or even spend the winter. So that you may help me on my journey wherever I go.

For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you if the Lord permits. And then jump down to verse 10.

When Timothy comes see that you put him at ease among you. For he is doing the work of the Lord as I am. So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace. That he may return to me.

For I am expecting him with the brothers. Now concerning our brother Apollos. I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers. But it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

Paul gives us this wonderfully biblically balanced perspective on life. He gives us himself as an example.

He is a man of action. There is no doubt about that. He is on the move. He is ready to go and to do ministry. To share the gospel. To proclaim Christ crucified.

Paul is a man of action. Who is yet fully aware of the sovereignty of God. He works hard. And he rests in the sovereignty of God.

He says, here is what I intend to do. And I will do it if the Lord permits. You see that little phrase there at the end of verse 7. If the Lord permits.

Paul lives according to the wisdom of Proverbs 16.9. The heart of man plans his way. But the Lord establishes his steps. Or as James 4 says.

If the Lord wills. We will live and do this or that. So here is Paul. Paul is making plans. Very detailed plans.

He has quite the travel itinerary. He makes plans. He thinks ahead. And he submits it all to God. And to his will. You see Paul has integrity.

How he lives aligns with what he says. What he teaches. He lives out what he believes. He lives out what he knows to be true. Paul isn't writing these theological treaties.

And then leaving his theology at his desk. In his study. No, he's showing us how to live out our faith. So you see here are these final words.

In this last chapter of 1 Corinthians. But they give us this great glimpse. Into the personal life of Paul. Paul. Here's the Christian life. Put on display for us.

In the very travel plans of Paul. Something as seemingly mundane as that. And yet, look at his theology in living color. As he says, here's what I intend to do.

If the Lord permits. So what are Paul's travel plans? Well, as he says, he's now in Ephesus. And he wants to eventually get to Corinth.

And he really wants to stay with them for some time. He wants to enjoy a time of fellowship with them. To be refreshed in their presence. He doesn't just want to pop in.

He wants to spend some quality time with them. So he needs to get from Ephesus to Corinth. Now geographically, these two cities really aren't that far away.

You have Corinth here. Right there in midair. You have Ephesus here. You have the Aegean Sea right here. You could travel across the sea from one city to the next in like 250 miles.

But that's not Paul's plan to just jump across the ocean or the sea. His plan is to go up and around the Aegean Sea. Because he doesn't just want to go from Ephesus to Corinth.

But he has other ministry that he wants to do as well. So he's going to take a trip of 250 nautical miles. And he's going to make that into a trip of over a thousand miles on land and sea combined.

Because Paul has a plan. There in Macedonia, what awaits him? But churches. Many of which he has very close relationship to. Some of which he planted himself.

He wants to encourage them. He wants to see them built up. He wants to equip them. And then he wants to eventually come to Corinth. Now we know from Acts that Paul did make it there.

And just as he hoped, God granted his desire. And he was able to stay with them for three months. But not before sending Timothy ahead of him.

Just as Paul says there in verse 10. Before Paul arrived, Timothy would. And now Paul is exhorting the church in Corinth to receive Timothy.

To welcome Timothy. To not despise Timothy. Paul uses that word there. Despise in verse 10. That means to treat someone with contempt.

To look down on them. To treat someone like they are of lesser value. Of little value. This was like a running theme in Timothy's life. At least in his younger years.

It would seem that Timothy was often looked down upon. It's why Paul had to exhort Timothy himself. Saying in 1 Timothy 4.12. Let no one despise you for your youth.

But set the believers an example. There's that word despise again. Paul directly told Timothy. Don't let anyone look down on you. And Paul said the same thing to the Corinthian church.

Don't look down on this brother. So the church might have been tempted to despise Timothy. To reject him. Because Timothy wasn't necessarily coming to congratulate the church on a job well done.

And to pat them on the back for their growth in grace. No, Timothy was coming more than anything as Paul's mouthpiece. And we've already heard much of what Paul has been saying.

And the tone with which Paul has spoken in this letter. Paul was going. And Paul was sending Timothy. And he was going to admonish the church.

He was going to say hard things that needed to be said. Because of the sin that was entangling that body. So Paul was sending Timothy on a mission.

He was sending Timothy to do the work of the Lord. That's exactly what Paul called it. And so the church was to receive Timothy. Because Timothy, like Paul, was laboring for Christ and for his kingdom.

He's investing in people and their undying souls. That's an investment with eternal returns. That's what the work of the Lord is. Introducing others to Jesus Christ.

And investing in others that they might grow in Christ-likeness. That's discipleship. And it's not always easy. It's not always pleasant.

In fact, most often the work of the Lord is described as being difficult and challenging. Even back in chapter 15. How does it end? With this needed exhortation in verse 58.

Be steadfast. Be immovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. That's a needed exhortation because the temptation is to grow weary and to give up.

And why is that a temptation? Because the work of the Lord isn't easy. What does Paul call it in verse 58? He calls it labor. We're laboring. That word doesn't conjure up images of vacationing on the beach.

Laboring is intensive. It's sweat-inducing. It's toilsome. And that's what Timothy was being sent to do. That good but hard work of the Lord.

Because the church in Corinth needed it. Listen to how Paul talks about his relationship to the Corinthians back in chapter 4. He says in chapter 4, beginning in verse 14.

I do not write these things to you to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers.

For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you then, be imitators of me. Now, verse 17. That is why I sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord.

And why did Paul send him? To remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach them everywhere and in every church.

So the church needed to be admonished. And Paul was sending Timothy to do that good work. To remind them of Paul's ways in Christ.

Timothy was coming to say, follow Paul as Paul follows Christ. And so in his going, Timothy was doing the work of the Lord.

So how is the Lord opening doors of opportunity for you to go as well? Now, of course, we naturally think, perhaps, of the mission field.

Which is a wonderful application of this passage. It's perhaps the most clear and obvious application of this passage. Becoming a missionary in some permanent kind of sense in a foreign country.

Wouldn't we love to send brothers and sisters from our body to go and labor as missionaries? That would be wonderful. We support missionaries. Many of them with our giving.

How much more exciting might it be to send missionaries from within our own body as well? But there are other ways to do the Lord's work in our going also.

Even when our going perhaps isn't a permanent move. Now I'm going to share some examples that came to mind within our own body. I'm going to name names just like Paul so often does at the end of his letter.

Paul isn't bashful about showing honor and setting forth examples. So I will too. And these are all just examples since our family came to Grace Fellowship three years ago.

I'm sure the list could be much longer. But think of Jess Rohde and Mark Barr, who not long ago went to help Mike and Stacy Riffle at the farm in Columbia.

Or Chuck Cloco, who flew supplies down to North Carolina to help with the relief efforts there after Hurricane Helene. And Larry Martin as well, going down to help the Gathering Church with the relief efforts in their community.

Pastor John, he's had many opportunities to preach at conferences and family camps in the states. Let alone then to go overseas and support missionaries and national pastors and to teach men aspiring for the ministry.

Ollie Hart, he's had the opportunity to be with the believers there in the Philippines. And to encourage them and to strengthen our partnership with CCM and with the Cabal Reformed Baptist Church.

The Lips, when they were in Barbados, went and visited a sister church in the Reformed Baptist Network there. Jeff Gerdner went and visited Pastor Tim Wenger and his family.

His wife Marlise in New Chateau, Switzerland. And we can't forget Jim Fisher. Once a month goes and supports and encourages the believers at Grace Baptist Church in Warsaw.

A church that we had the privilege of planting. And very fitting, again, I didn't time this. But just today, Stacy Shavey and Max Shavey went to volunteer at Johnny and Friends.

And to love and to minister to families there. All wonderful examples of going and laboring for the Lord. Now, even more informally, you could say, in our going, wherever we go, we should be looking to labor.

We have a couple that just returned to us this week. We're glad to see them home. The Cryans are back with us. They've been a wonderful example to us in just recent weeks.

If you've been with us on Wednesday nights, we've been regularly praying for people that the Cryans have had opportunity to minister to. The Navajo man that Roger had a conversation with.

The man and his family that they met while camping. The woman that they met at the tavern because they got lost. Who gave them directions. They all need the Lord.

And the Cryans were laboring to share Christ with them. So many examples in our own church. I am sure that I've missed some. But you get the point. In our going, we share Christ with the lost.

We ought to encourage the saints. We should help equip the saints. In our going, we do the work of the Lord. It is easy to view going as getting away.

Southwest Airlines has really capitalized on this idea. Want to get away. As though going somewhere is this opportunity to leave life behind. To leave ministry behind as well.

But in reality, the work of the Lord can and should be done just the same even when we're not in our regular routines of life.

Looking for opportunities. Taking advantage of them. So we see Timothy here in 1 Corinthians. He's an example of going and doing the work of the Lord. Well, so too is Paul.

Paul intends to go. But he isn't going anywhere just yet. He's actually very intentionally staying put. Which brings us to our third and final point.

The third sphere given to us in this passage of where we do the work of the Lord. And that is in the very place that God has us right now.

Look back at verse 8 and 9. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a wide door for effective work has opened to me.

And there are many adversaries. In Paul's writings, we sometimes find him talking about doors.

And these doors were opportunities for gospel ministry. Like when he said in Colossians 4 verse 3. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word.

To declare the mystery of Christ. On account of which, I am in prison. Well, Paul is now talking about a door of opportunity here in 1 Corinthians 16.

But unlike what he said in Colossians, this door is very much already open. Listen, because he doesn't go into much detail. But clearly, there is some amount of positive reception to his gospel ministry there in Ephesus.

It wasn't just any door, he says. He describes it as a wide door. A wide door for what? For effective work. So Paul sees in Ephesus much opportunity for the work of the Lord to be done.

The fields were white for harvest. Right where Paul is. He sees the work that God has given him to do. So he's in no rush to leave. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Because there's work right in front of him to be done. Now we might think that a wide door for effective work would be really easy to walk through.

It would be this kind of smooth sailing experience. But that's not the case at all for Paul. You see, there was opposition as well. That wide door came with many adversaries.

Surprising as that might sound at first. Though if we again think about this for a moment, we remember that that proclamation and persecution go hand in hand. That's what we saw in Acts earlier.

As the word of God advanced, well, the forces of evil resisted all the more strongly. So it was for Paul in Ephesus. Paul saw many gospel opportunities and he saw much gospel opposition.

Do you remember how he talked about Ephesus back in chapter 15? He says he fought with beasts there. Like a gladiator in the arena. He faced great peril because there were enemies in that city who opposed Christ.

Enemies who opposed the work of the Lord that Paul was doing. But Paul wasn't backing down from the fight. He saw the opportunities in the midst of the opposition and he pressed on.

So I wonder, what wide doors for effective work has the Lord opened for us in the place that he has us right now?

Sometimes we can think that right now there isn't anything for us to do. Or we can think right now there's this or that obstacle hindering us from gospel work.

We can think in terms of, well, once I get out of this stage of life, or once this busy season is over, or once this job change takes place, or this semester of school finishes, or this house project I'm working on is over, then I'll be looking for those wide doors for effective work that the Lord may well have opened for me.

But do you see how that perspective is wrong? Always looking to the future, but not living in the present. Anticipating work to be done later, but failing to see the work right in front of us.

Who has the Lord given you opportunity to invest in today? How can you serve Him in this season of life? How can you be a faithful disciple?

How can you be a disciple maker right now? In the circumstances that you presently find yourself in, as challenging as those circumstances may be, as great as the opposition may be, the opposition that comes from remaining sin that you must fight against, opposition that comes from the influence of the world, from the devil himself, that adversary who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

Yes, there's certainly opposition. But what opportunities has the Lord presented in the midst of that opposition? What wide door for effective work has He opened to you?

So how are you investing in your children in this stage of parenthood? How are you pointing others to Christ in this job transition? How are you doing the work of the Lord in this semester of school?

Paul, the fields are white for harvest. And we are the laborers in those fields. Don't waste your time. Don't throw it away being consumed by lesser things when there is good work to be done with eternal consequences.

Paul was looking for wide doors. And he was running through them whenever he could. Are you looking for those doors? Are you praying for those doors and asking God to help you to see them?

That you might run through them like Paul, when there are many adversaries awaiting. Because there's a wonderfully eternal significance to the work that is to be done.

In our giving, in our going, and in the place that God has us right now, there's work to be done. So let's get after it to the glory of God, knowing that our labor is not in vain.

Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us final instructions and closing greetings in Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

We thank you for the ways in which you have given us theology and living color. Father, we pray, Father, that you would help us by your Spirit to be running through wide doors for effective work.

That indeed we would, in our giving, in our going, and in the very place that God has us in this stage of life that we're in, make us to be faithful disciples doing the work of the Lord.

Strengthen us, we pray. We're weak in ourselves. We need you to uphold us, to sustain us. To the very end, help us to run the race, Father. Help us to press on. Help us that we might live to your glory.

Help us to do that this very week, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.