YOU CAN COUNT ON ME!

SERIES:  THE SWEET TASTE OF SPIRIT FRUIT

1.  There are more than 200 geysers in Yellowstone National Park; however, one has stood out for many years.  It is not the largest, and its waters did not reach the greatest height; but it was by far the most popular attraction.  It’s popularity is due to one thing:  it’s dependability.

2.  For years, people have stood in lines, over a mile long, in the hot sun, to watch as every 65 minutes, it shoots a stream of boiling water more than 170 feet into the air.  It was so dependable that one could set their watch by it.  That is why they called ‘Old Faithful!’

3.  There are many things in life that are considered dependable, or faithful.  The sun rises every morning, and sets every evening.  The tide comes in, and the tide goes out.  The government taxes and spends, and then taxes and spends some more.  You can count on it.

4.  The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, asked a profound question in Proverbs 20: 6,

^“6Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”

5.  An attribute of being Spirit-filled is that of faithfulness.  Many have interpreted the word in Galatians 5: 22 to refer to the object of our faith; that is, our belief.  However, the word speaks of, not faith, but faithfulness.  Faith is a theological term.  Faithfulness is an ethical term.  Faith speaks of what you believe; faithfulness speaks of how much you believe it.  Faith deals with who you are; faithfulness deals with what you do.

6.  Tom Rees aptly described it,

“The Spirit filled man is a faithful man.  He is faithful to his friends.  He is faithful in his secular job and in his Christian service. The world has confidence in him, and God can trust him!”^[1]

7.  Can God count on you?  Can He grade your life as one of faithfulness?  Let’s consider our text of 1 Corinthians 4, and see how God examines this matter in our lives.  We see:

1.  I remember reading of a time when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was questioned by one of his men as to why he keep a man by the name of Harry Hopkins around.  Hopkins was a frail, and feeble man, and seemed to be of no use at all to the President.  FDR silenced his critics when he explained,

“Everyone that walks through my door almost invariably wants something from me.  But, Harry Hopkins only wants to serve me.  That’s why I keep him around!”

2.  In the text, Paul explains that God wants men who just want to serve Him.  He wants men who are willing to be accountable to Him alone.  In fact, he outlines two things about our accountability as servants.  First of all,

1.  Notice verse 1. 

^“1Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ..”

2.  Our role as servants is described as being “ministers of Christ.”  The word “minister” literally means, “under-rower.”  It pictures the great ships of Paul’s time, which were manned by galley slaves.

3.  There were two rows of men under the overseer, and those on the lower deck were the most despised of all.  They were called the “under-rowers.” 

4.  Thus, our role as servants is one of an “under-rower.”  We are under the rule and the reign of the Chief Overseer.  We are servants, and ministers.

5.  The great Confederate general Robert E. Lee once said,

“Duty is the sublimest word in our language.  Do your duty in all things; you cannot do more, and you should never wish to do less!”^[2]

6.  God desires our service.  And, God deserves our service.  He deserves that we be His ‘under-rowers.”  He deserves for us to accept our role as servants.  However, we not only see the role of servants, but:

1.  Paul continues the thought in verse 1,

¹Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

2.  We’re not accept our role, but we are to acknowledge our rule.  Our role is one of ministers(“under-rowers.”)  Our rule is one of ‘stewards.’

3.  The word “steward” gives us our English word, ‘housekeeper, or manager.’  It literally spoke of someone who got in the supplies to dispense to the rest of the family.  He was to oversee what was delegated to him.  He was accountable for it.

4.  As ministers for Christ, we are accountable to Him for our role.  As stewards of Christ, we are accountable to Him for our rule.  We are to take what God has given, or loaned to us, and get the most out of it.

5.  The radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, begins every program by saying that he has,

“talent on loan from God.”

6.  The fact of the matter is that everything we have is on loan from God.  It is God-given, and God-owned.  It does not belong to us.  Thus, it is not a matter of Ownership, but one of Stewardship.  We are to take what God has given to us, and get the most out of it.

7.  If you have been given the talent to sing, as a steward you are accountable to God for that gift, and to use it to the best of your ability.  If you have been given the talent to teach, administrate, or organize, then you are accountable to God that you maximize that gift, or talent.  To refuse, is simply to fail as a steward of Christ.

8.  The truth is that He doesn’t serve us, we serve Him.  We do not serve the church, we serve Him.  We do not serve an organization, an affiliation, or a participation; we serve Him.  God regards our accountability to Him as ministers and stewards.

1.  THE ACCOUNTABILITY THAT GOD REGARDS!

1.  As the ministers for Christ, and stewards of Christ, we not only possess an accountability, but a responsibility.  This is a matter that God requires of us, and it is two-fold.  One is:

1.  There is a very interesting word found in verse 2.  It is the word “required.”  Paul states that this is something of a priority.  It is required of us as stewards of Christ.

2.  The word “required” is a banking term.  It literally meant “to call in a loan.”  It describes the time to pay what is owed.  It is the same word used in Luke 12:48,

“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:”

3.  Our responsibility as ministers for Christ and stewards of Christ is to be faithful.  We are to be counted on.  It is not a matter open for debate, discussion, or deliberation.  God requires it of us, and it is to be a priority in our lives.

4.  I remember reading a story of a young, devoted missionary in Central America.  He had encountered great difficulties, and persecution in his attempt to reach the natives with the gospel.  He wrote a letter to his parents back home, that read:

“The work is hard, and I go about on fishing boats all day long.  At night I sleep on piles of hides on the decks.  The people here don’t seem much interested in the Gospel message that I bring, and sometimes the enemy attacks me with discouragement, and tries to convince me that it all has been a failure.  But, I take courage, and press on, for I remember that God doesn’t hold me responsible for success, only faithfulness!”

5.  Not everyone in the church can preach.  Not everyone can sing.(Thank goodness)  Not everyone can teach.  Not everyone can administrate.  But, friend, everyone can be faithful.  This is a matter of which there is no gray area.  It is to be a matter of priority in our lives.

1.  The practice of our lives is outlined in one word in verse 2, of our text.

^“2Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found FAITHFUL.”

2.  We are to be faithful.  We are to be reliable.  We are to be trustworthy.  We are to be able to be counted upon to do whatever God has for us to do.  This is to be the practice of our lives.

3.  If one is to be faithful, and dependable, then it requires 100% of one’s effort, 100% of the time.  It is not enough to try to cut corners, just to get by; we must give our all, all of the time.  A Spirit-fruit Christian will be a faithful Christian.  Because His God is faithful, He will be faithful.

4.  Insight Magazine once published an article called, “Strive for Perfection....or Else!”  According to the article, if 99.9% of one’s effort is enough to get by, then:

?        103,260 income tax returns will be processed incorrectly this year;

?        22,000 checks will be deducted from the wrong bank accounts in the next 60 minutes

?        1,314 phone calls will be misrouted every minute

?        12 babies will be given to the wrong parents every day;

?        5,517,200 cases of soft drinks produced in the next year will be flat

?        2 plane landing daily at O’Hare Int’l Airport, in Chicago, will be unsafe

?        18,322 pieces of mail will be mishandled in the next hour

?        291 pacemaker operations will be performed incorrectly this year

?        880,000 credit cards will turn out to have incorrect cardholder information on their magnetic strips

?        20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions will be written in the next twelve months;

?        107 incorrect medical procedures will be performed by the end of the day^[3]

5.  I believe James Merritt summed it up well, when he said,

“Your best should be good enough in any situation.  But nothing less than your best will ever be good enough in any situation because less than your best reflects a failure to be faithful and completely dependable.”^[4]

6.  As ministers, stewards, and Christians we have a responsibility.  God requires us to be faithful.

1.  THE ACCOUNTABILITY THAT GOD REGARDS!

2.  THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT GOD REQUIRES!

1.  When we do what God desires; when we do what God deserves; and, when we do what God demands; we receive what God delights to do, and that is reward us. 

1.  I call your attention to an interesting phrase in verse 2.  Paul says that we are,

“be found faithful”

2.  The word “be found” is better rendered, “be seen, or perceived as.”  It describes our appearance as Christians.  We are to be seen and perceived as being faithful.

3.  We need to come to work on time and not leave until the work day is over.  We need do a job that needs to be done.  We need to give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wage.  We need to take a lunch break, not a three-hour vacation.

4.  If your car started one out of every three times, would you see it as dependable?  If your newspaper was delivered 3-4 days out of a week, would you see it as reliable?  If your refrigerator stops working for a day, every now and then, would you consider it to be faithful?

5.  The very same principles apply to us as God’s people.  We are to be seen, and perceived as being dependable, reliable, and faithful.

1.  There are many jobs, in the work of God, that might seem demeaning.  Whether it be cleaning a toilet, mopping a floor, changing a diaper, or turning off the lights, many might tend to look down upon these jobs. 

2.  But, the fact of the matter is that if you are too big to do a little job, then you are too little to do a big job.  Paul states in verse 5, that one day,

^“5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”

 3.  God is keeping record of what we do for Him.  He sees, when, and what no one else sees.  He knows when we come early, and we stay late for Him.  He keeps good books.  And, one day, those things will be brought out, and rewarded.

4.  I think of the great Charles Haddon Spurgeon. His ministry was being significantly blessed of God. People by the scores were seeking to hear him preach. The Chapel where Spurgeon preached was packed with people—the halls, passages, side rooms, anywhere people could find room to sit or stand. More than 3,000 were packed into a building with a seating capacity of 1,500.

5.  For a while they rented out Exeter Hall for Sunday nights. It was not long before it was too small. Then the Surrey Music Hall, London’s most commodious and beautiful building was rented. It could hold ten to twelve thousand people. On the afternoon of October 19, 1856 the opening service in the hall was held. The place was packed, with an additional 10,000 people in the gardens.

5.  Spurgeon once explained why the blessing of God was upon his life and ministry:

“I am sure that if I hadn’t been willing to preach to 10 people, years ago as a young boy; that I should have never had the privilege to preach to these 10,000 people!”^[5]

6.  There is one thing of which I am convinced and that is God honors faithfulness.  I believe that there is a special place in the heart of God for those who have been dependable, reliable, and faithful down through the years.  God rewards it.

7.  Many will remember the Sunday morning, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, when the U. S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon was bombed, in which, hundreds of Americans were killed, or wounded.  A few days after the terrible incident, the Marine Corps Commandant Paul Kelly, visited some of the wounded survivors, then in a Frankfurt, Germany hospital.

8.  Among them was a man by the name of Corporal Jeffrey Lee Nashton, a man who was severely wounded in the incident.  Nashton had so many tubes running in and out of his body, that a witness said he looked more like a machine than a man.  Yet, he survived.  As Commandant Kelly neared the wounded Nashton, he noticed as Nashton struggled to motion for a piece of paper and a pen.  He wrote a brief note, and passed it back to Commandant Kelly; on it were but two words:  Semper Fi!  It is the Latin motto of the Marine Corps, which means, “Forever Faithful!

9.  I believe that would be an appropriate motto for each one of us to adopt into our own personal lives, ‘Forever Faithful.’  Whatever is asked of you, do it.  Whatever is expected of you, do it.  Whatever is required of you, do it.  Whatever it is, may God be able to count on us.