Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: We've lost sight of what real ministry's about. And a pastor, a real pastor, a real shepherd, what does he do? He prays, he studies, and he feeds the flock of God. He doesn't entertain people. He's not the star of the show. He's supposed to be the servant of all.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. As we resume our study of 1 Corinthians today, Raul will outline God's expectations for those in pastoral leadership and urge you to have a heart for ministry regardless of whether or not you've been called full-time.

We'll discover that the Lord wants us to be servants, not self-serving, and humble, not prideful, as we promote His gospel rather than ourselves. Here's Raul Ries in the book of 1 Corinthians.

Raul Ries: What we have here in chapter 4, the title of my message is Paul's picture of a real pastor. Now we know that there's hundreds and thousands of churches, even close to millions of churches all over the world. But how does the Bible describe a real church and a real pastor? Real pastors, or real ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

And what's happening here is that Paul the Apostle is talking to a group of believers whom Apollos had brought to Jesus Christ. Paul brought Apollos to Christ. And then they were claiming, they were claiming to be wiser than Paul the Apostle and the group that Paul hung out with.

So Paul, what he wants to do is he wants to clarify that it wasn't really him and it's not them, it's the Lord. It's the Lord that is doing the work. They were questioning Paul's wisdom, Paul's authority, Paul's motives concerning his ministry. It's sad that so many churches and ministries, not all, but are constantly in competition with other churches. It's sad, so sad.

Look how he begins, chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. Here he talks about being a faithful steward. Look what he says, Paul begins. He says, "Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." I love chapter 4, verse 1. Because here Paul gives us two main themes: one of stewardship and the other one of servanthood. Notice what he says there.

And I think it's really important that here Paul has been talking about Apollos and himself, and now he's going to let you know what a real minister and a real steward of God is. Let me take you back a little bit in the Greek language. Because here when he uses the word servant, the word servant here in that culture, if you were in a port and you became a galley slave, notice what I said, a galley slave. You were not employed on top of the ship, you were employed in the bottom of the ship and you were chained and you would be a rower, a rower in the bottom.

They would call that a bondslave. Notice that in the bottom of the ship, and you had become not only a bondservant of that master. And as we look at our own personal lives, Paul when he writes all his letters he says, "Paul, an apostle and a servant, a doulos of Jesus Christ." Paul never looked at himself like so many TV evangelists as what? As a Hollywood star. They have their own special parking, they have their own special security, they're untouchable.

And they're always, always asking for money, always. Those are the people you have to be careful with. And Paul the Apostle exposes those kind of people. They were constantly seeking after their own glory, building themselves up and becoming superstars. Listen, the Bible says that when Paul and James and all these guys were called, Paul's going to tell us here in chapter 4, they went through heavy suffering.

And they were poor and they had their own jobs. Nothing, nothing was given to them and they never fleeced the flock of God, never ever. And you can see how the ministry today has been professionalized. We've lost sight of what real ministry's about. And a pastor, a real pastor, a real shepherd, what does he do? He prays, he studies, and he feeds the flock of God.

He doesn't entertain people. He's not the star of the show. He's supposed to be the servant of all, greeting the people, talking to the people, counseling with the people. Being a servant, and you don't see that today in big churches today because it's gotten to their heads. It's sad. But I think it's really important that we understand and take the Bible and stick to the word of God.

As Paul says in chapter 4, verse 1, "Let a man consider us," speaking of the apostles. Notice, as servants, under-rowers. The word in Greek there is under-rower, in the bottom of the ship, rowing away, "of Christ and stewards." What's a steward? He's a house manager. If I have a boss and he makes me a house steward of everything that he has, like Joseph, what do I do?

I have to have wisdom on how to deal with his money and do it correctly and do it in a way where I'm accountable. He's made you and I stewards of everything you have: your house, your car, your bank account, the clothes you wear. Everything you have to be a good manager. So it's really important that we understand the mind of Paul and the heart of Paul here.

Paul is saying of himself, "Listen you guys," he says, "Let a man so consider us as," notice, "under-rowers and stewards of what? Of the mysteries of God." What's the word mysteries there? The truths of Jesus Christ through the word of God that has been given to us. Are you a good steward of the truths of God when God gives you His word? Are you a good steward of it?

And then check this out, verse 2, the requirement. "Moreover," he says, "it is required in stewards, in house managers, that one be found," here's the word again like this morning, "faithful." Faithful, trustworthy. Can God trust you with the little things so that He can give you bigger things? If He can't, you better learn. You better learn if you want to prosper in this world, not financially, spiritually. To trust you with the things of the Spirit.

And I think this is so cool how Paul's heart is shown to us here as he's speaking to our hearts. He wants us to really know the heart of God and what God really intends to do in each one of our lives. And check this out, verse 3. He says, "But with me, Paul, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you." They were judging Paul.

And yet Paul was one of the most blameless people in the whole world. He worked a job and then he preached. He never, ever asked for money. When they gave him a gift, he took it and used it for the gospel. One of the most blameless people in the whole world, Paul the Apostle. And yet these Judaizers were coming against him because he had been bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ and they were bringing the law and trying to bring people into bondage when Paul was setting people free through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So they hated him and they were jealous of Paul. Watch again. "But with me, Paul," notice his attitude, "it is a very small thing that I, Paul, should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I don't even judge myself. So how can you judge me?" Notice what Paul's saying here.

This is something that we need to understand because today people are always, always trying to tear people down. What were they doing? They were tearing Paul's character down. We need to be careful of that. We don't tear people's character down. We do expose the sin of people that take advantage of other people. And Paul mentions them by name.

Verse 4, "For I know of nothing against myself." Notice, he was blameless, blameless. I can notice what he says, "Yet I am not justified by this." Even though I'm blameless, I'm not justifying myself. "But he, God, who judges me is the Lord." I love that.

I mean God knows my heart, God knows my attitude, God knows my service to Him, and God knows my private life. How about you tonight? God sees everything. God hears everything. So Paul brings up some very heavy things here concerning blamelessness. Look what he says again, verse 4. He says, "For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord." Notice the truth is the Lord.

And then verse 5, "Therefore, judge nothing before the time," that is the time of judgment coming, "until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light," notice, "the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts and then each man's praise will be coming from God." Isn't that heavy?

What is he saying? He says you can lie to the world, you can lie to your wife, you can lie to your husband, to your children, you can lie to the pastor, you can lie to the sheep, you can lie to everybody, but God is going to reveal it on the day of judgment. It's going to be open for everybody to see.

You won't be able to snow God. You won't be able to hide from God. That's why Paul says very clearly here, notice, he's going to judge what? My motives. My motives. Why did I do that? What was my motive? Our motive in giving, our motive in reading, our motive in witnessing, our motive in church attendance, our motive in talking to people in the world and the way we work as Christians.

All those things are going to be cast into the fire and God is going to test every one of those motives. And whatever burns up, you lose your reward. You don't get nothing. You'll be saved by the grace of God only.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Just a reminder that we are committed to supporting you in your spiritual walk and we invite you to visit somebodylovesyou.com for a wide range of resources. If you'd like Raul's insights into your Bible questions, you can always email him at pastorraul@somebodylovesyou.com. Here's Raul Ries once again with our study, Paul's Picture of a Real Pastor.

Raul Ries: Verse 5 again. "Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will bring both to light the hidden things of darkness and unveil the counsels of the real heart. Then," notice, "each one's praise or motive will come from God." So everything will be exposed and God will be the final judge.

Verse 6, "Now these things, brethren," speaking to Christians, "I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against another." What is Paul saying? Paul's saying you guys, Paul, Apollos, and myself and Peter, we're all examples of what? Of humility, true humility. Look at Jesus, He's the greatest example.

And then notice verses 7 to 13. "For who makes you differ from another person?" He's going to ask five questions here. "And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" Notice what Paul is saying here. What happened to your humility? Why are you such a braggart when you know that God is the one that gave it to you?

Why do you take the credit? Why do you take the credit? Even becoming a millionaire, who gave it to you? God gave it to you. Now, if you did it in lying and cheating and conniving and you did it wrongfully, then that's not of the Lord because then you took it from other people to enrich yourself.

But truly if God has opened the door and God's really leading my life, then I'm going to give credit to the Lord, what He's doing, what He wants to do in my life. So Paul here wants to make sure that we understand when he's asking these questions. And this is what's really missing in so many churches today, learning how to be not a self-promoter but allow God to promote you and to lead you and guide you and open the doors and close the doors and know when you need not to go through that door as you be led by the Holy Spirit.

God is the one that gives us the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So who gets the credit? God gets the credit, nobody else. Look what he says, verse 8. He says, "You already are full, you already are rich, you have reigned as kings without us, and indeed I could wish you did reign that we also might reign with you." Notice what Paul here, he's actually using satire here when he speaks.

And what's incredible here literally, he says you think you've got it all but you really have nothing literally. You think you've got it all, you think you have arrived, but you haven't. You really haven't. Because God's in control, God's the one that promotes, He takes up one and He takes down the other. God is the one that opens the door, God is the one that closes the door.

Look what Paul says now in verse 9 again. "Now for I think," and here is not the real truth about the ministry and pastors. "For I think," Paul says, "that God has displayed us the apostles last, not first." Isn't that cool? I think that God has put us not first but last, the apostles. "As men condemned to death."

If I'm a real minister of God, I'm condemned to death. "We have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men." He's talking about the downfall of the ministry, the real ministry. Now, these guys didn't have where to sleep, they didn't have enough food, they were beaten. Paul said I was beaten three times, shipwrecked thrice.

I mean, this is the way the ministry is, the real ministry. It's not the way people present it today. That's not the real ministry. And then he goes on to say, "For I think that God has displayed us the apostles last." Notice and he says what? "As men condemned to death, for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. Notice we are fools for Christ's sake, but you, you're wise in Christ. We are weak, but you're strong. You are distinguished, but we are dishonored." Notice that. Paul never, ever lifting himself up, but the real truth is hey, it's the Lord.

Verse 11, he goes on to say, "He said to the present hour we both are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we labor." Notice we work, "working with our own hands. Being reviled," and yet what do we do? Instead of putting people down and cursing people, we bless people.

That's the Christian love of Christ. we bless people. "Being persecuted, we endure it." Notice that. And then he says, "Being defamed, we entreat. We have been made the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things even to the present time," Paul says. People don't like us, people don't respect us, people think we're nothing but dirt.

We're the scum of the earth. And yet Paul knew he had the greatest call of all calls, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, to be a doulos, a servant of the Lord. I love that. And then he says, "I do not write these things to shame you." I'm not trying to embarrass you, "but as my beloved children I'm warning you."

He's a father to the body of Christ. As a father to my children, I'm trying to warn you: don't go into the ministry unless you really count the cost. Don't go into it unless you know what you're getting yourself into. It's not about promoting yourself, it's not about making yourself rich, it's about ministering to people and loving God and loving His word and being a steward and being a servant of God.

Then he says this, I love this. He says, "For though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel," or the good news of Jesus Christ. You're still my children no matter where you are in the world. You're still my children.

"Therefore," now because of what he said, "I urge you," notice, "imitate me." Why? Because he imitated Jesus Christ. "Imitate me because I imitate Christ. For this reason I have sent Timothy," Timothy remember, he was his disciple, one of the youngest disciples, he loved Paul and Paul loved him. He was like his own son. He took him with him everywhere.

Look what he says. "For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord." Isn't that cool? To me, it's a blessing to get young people in the ministry, train them up and give them the word of God and pray with them and disciple them and then cut them loose and see how God's going to use them. They're like my sons.

Now that I'm older, they're like my sons and I'm like their father. And some I'm a grandfather to them. To be able to see all the children that I have dedicated in West Covina and here, and they come through these doors now and it's been 35 years for a lot of these, and they walk in with their children. Then I really feel old. Think about that.

I remember when they were little kids in Sunday school, and now they're grown up, many in the military, coming out of the military, they get married, they move away throughout the United States and they contact me and it's amazing to see when they come back and they talk to me. I can't believe how God has blessed this place.

And look how God is blessing you and God continues to move in us and through our lives. So here Paul has taught me much about the ministry as he's talking to us. Watch what else he says. He says, verse 17 again, "For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways." Notice that, of my ways in Christ Jesus.

That is the way he lived, the way his life was, Paul the Apostle. "As I teach everywhere in every church. Now some are puffed up as though I were not coming to you." Notice that. They were looking for a fault, they were looking for a fight with Paul. "But I will come to you shortly," notice, "if the Lord wills." Underline that.

Always according to the will of God, if the Lord wills. He says, "And I will know not the word of those who are puffed up, but what? The power of God." I love that. The power of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul says I depend on the power of God, not the power of man. "When I come, I'm coming in the power of God."

Watch this, verse 20. "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power." It's not just words. This is the power of God, the Bible. If you've never read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you've been in the Lord a year, two or three years, shame on you. Shame on you. How are you ever going to know God's perfect will for your life if you haven't read from Genesis to Revelation? You can't.

And God will never bring to you the knowledge that you need to give to others because you don't have it yourself. The Holy Spirit only brings back to my remembrance only the things that I have read and studied. That's it. So maybe your mind is empty concerning the Holy Spirit. You need to read the whole Bible, Genesis to Revelation.

Guest (Male): While most of us haven't been called into full-time church leadership, but as we've seen today, the Lord wants all of us to serve him with humility and do our part to build his kingdom. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Today's lesson was titled Paul's Picture of a Real Pastor.

If you'd like to get an unedited version, we'll be happy to send one to you for a donation of $5 or more. Just call us at 800-634-9165. To equip you with more direction in living for God's glory, we'd like to offer you Raul's 11-part series, Unity, Holiness, and Love. It's available on CD and thumb drive. Every lesson will challenge you to put hands and feet to your faith, pointing others to God as you navigate conflict and promote harmony within the church.

You'll also explore how to maximize your own spiritual gifts. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order this 11-lesson series. We'll send you the CD set of Unity, Holiness, and Love for $23 or the flash drive for $14. That's 800-634-9165. Or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765.

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This ministry with Raul Ries is fully listener-supported. Thank you for your partnership in sharing God's eternal truths. Join us next time for more wisdom and encouragement as we explore the Bible's truths verse by verse. Now, here's Raul once again with a closing thought.

Raul Ries: And then he says this finally: "What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod so I can beat you, or shall I come in love?" Of course, he's going to come in love. We don't come with a rod. God uses the rod. We use the love of God. And check this out, "What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod or in love or in a spirit of gentleness?"

Of course, I'm going to come in love and with what and gentleness. Why? Because you're my children. I love you as my children, Paul says, and I want to nourish you with the word of God. Why? Because I want to see you grow up and develop and become something in the kingdom of God.