cliques A small group of people with shared interests, who spend time together and exclude others. (#part6) Humbly Depend on the Lord and Not Self. God’s spiritual power is more than able to cope with any problem: “as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses…in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God” (II Corinthians 6:4,6-7). Paul depended on the Lord, despite massive challenges. This is why he was “sorrowful yet always rejoicing” (II Corinthians 6:10). See difficulties as a faith building exercise to discover what Paul discovered – God is always sufficient (II Corinthians 3:5). "The surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (II Corinthians 4:7). In fact, Paul’s thorn in the flesh (II Corinthians 12:7-9), in context, was his difficulties that “weakened” him in preaching (II Corinthians 12:10; cf. II Corinthians 11:23-33). This “weakness” was an occasion for humble trust in the Lord. My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9). In our difficulties we discover Christ’s strength to carry on. Paul said his example was valid only to the extent he “followed Christ” (I Corinthians 11:2). He encouraged the Corinthians to discover the life-changing power of thinking on the glory of the Lord and being spiritually transformed into His image (II Corinthians 3:18). Preachers serve the Lord foremost (II Corinthians 4:5-5:9) and not just to keep a paycheck. Dealing with difficult brethren can be Christ’s opportunity for a preacher to grow as a servant. The apostle Paul said, “The members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary” (I Corinthians 12:22). Why? It forces us to give them attention to met their spiritual needs, which is an opportunity to grow in Christ-like service (I Corinthians 12:23-27). The preacher lives and works for our gracious Savior, in order to help others go to heaven. Paul was patient with his brethren, in order to give them time to develop (II Corinthians 1:23-24). Focus On Scripture and Not Personalities. Difficulties with brethren often just carnal personality conflicts. Paul’s appeals are rooted in objective truth. He was called “by the will of God…to preach the gospel” (I Corinthians 1:1,17). “What matters is the keeping of the commandments of God” (I Corinthians 7:19). Our goal should be that it is not who is right that matters but what is right before the Lord, who will judge us in the end (II Corinthians 5:10). I once dealt with a couple undergoing what appeared to be an unscriptural divorce (contra Matthew 19:9). The sister, bothered about me questioning her, said, “One elder said they had to deal with this because they were being `pressured.’” This was sad news to me, because I had asked the elders about what they were going to do about this divorce situation. Elders, preachers and brethren should deal with problems in the church because of what Scripture commands, not just because somebody objects and “pressures” them to deal with it. Paul taught the truth for their eternal good (I Corinthians 5:5; II Corinthians 12:19; 10:8; 13:7,10), not to win a personal argument. Paul was always focused on upholding “the truth” (II Corinthians 13:8), not his personal feelings. A strong Biblical appeal is central to growing a healthy church, “so your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (I Corinthians 2:5). Paul begged them to be united “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 1:10). Divine authority is the standard. A church is only as strong as the Bible teaching that it demands. I once was threatened by an elder with possibly losing my job for preaching the truth on the qualifications of elders. I responded to this veiled threat: “I’ll just tell the next preacher that preaching the truth on an sensitive topic may cost him his job, and so what kind of preacher do you think you’ll get?” In about two dozen instances, Paul rested his case the quote: “it is written” (I Corinthians 1:19,31; 2:9,16; 3:19-20; 6:16; 9:9,10; 10:7,26; 11:24-25; 14:21,34; 15:45,54; II Corinthians 6:2,16-18; 8:15; 9:9). We must ever ask, “What does the Bible say?” Paul insisted that his teaching was not his but “the commandments of the Lord” (I Corinthians 14:37). He used Old Testament examples to warn of the consequences of ungodly attitudes and actions (I Corinthians 10:6,11,13). Repeated appeals to Scriptural teaching can help brethren see that this is not a personal opinion but our responsibility before God. I have seen Scripture pierce the foibles of immature, short-sighted brethren and turn them around. If brethren would just act like Christians, according to the Scriptures, there isn’t problem that couldn’t be solved!
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 06:08:10 +0000
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