4th Sunday before Lent (13th February 2011)
Theme: Being co-workers in God’s service (1 Cor. 3: 1-9)

The Corinthians thought of themselves as spiritually mature congregation, endowed with all the spiritual gifts they needed, well taught and self-sufficient. But Paul saw them as people who were still worldly – mere infants in Christ. They thought they were mature; and in some respects they were, but in other occasions they were still acting like children.

Look at verse 3: “You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” There were quarrelling and jealousy among them. How could they claim to be spiritually mature if they showed that sort of worldly immaturity? Rather than being directed by love for one another they were driven by competitiveness. They were constantly comparing one with another to see who was the best, who was the smartest, or who has got the right answers.

And of course the major issue in this divisiveness is the issue of leadership. They each have their favourite teacher or leader. And what is wrong with them having their favourite teacher? Why is this a sign of immaturity?

It is their understanding of leadership in Church. Their view of leadership comes from the world, not from God. To them leadership is about the exercise of power. That is how the world sees the leader: as one who gives directions, who sets the agenda, who determines what is important and what is not. A leader is considered to be the most important person in the organisation. That is why CEOs in big companies receive big pay package.Without them business will not succeed.

When it comes to the criteria of a Church leader, it is different because the Church is not all about big business or the exercise of power and control over others. Church leaders are to submit to the authority of Christ. They are to seek the will of God and work under guidance of the Holy Spirit. But the Christians in Corinth seem to think of their leaders as having power of themselves – even above Jesus Christ. So that is why Paul asked them, “What is Paul? What is Apollos?” Leadership is not about personalities: it’s about function, gifting. What are they there for? Well, they are there to serve.

From a Christian perspective, leaders are servants. Paul uses two metaphors from everyday life to illustrate what he is saying. First, he says, one plants another waters. So which is the one that matters most? Both are vital tasks but neither one is more important than the other. They are both fellow servants of the one God, who is the source of their wisdom and authority.

Let me stretch this further. When we think about Church leadership, what usually come to mind? We tend to picture a small group of people called by God to do his work in Church. Leadership in Church involves a team of people, but it is not limited to those at the top. You are a part of the team, no matter how small you think of yourself. We need to see that we are all important members of God’s workforce. Indeed, some of us may not take up prominent tasks or do the most obvious things. But if you have ever shared the word of God with a non-believer, you are part of the God’s workforce. If you have brought someone to Church, you are a part of the workforce. Your work may not be seen by everybody, but you are one of those who plant the seed. Some of you take up responsibility in nurturing or discipling small groups. Some of you minister to children, some minister to the youths, while others spend their time helping the elderly. My work seems to be more prominent because I am allowed to stand here and preach on Sundays. My point is that whatever it is that God calls us to do we must remember two things: (i) that we are part of a team and (ii) we must stay humble. We must remember that we are just like a farmer who plants the seed and another farmer who waters the planted seed. The true authority and importance in the Kingdom of God lie in the one who serves.

As the church grows and as many things are done and achieved, it is easy to forget this. Luke tells us that one time a dispute also “arose among the disciples as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:24-27).

One of the problems that we have in church is that some leaders refuse to see themselves as servants, or as equal to other God’s servants. And worse still, they see their co-workers as rivals to compete with, rather than to work with. Team work is non-existent in their vocabulary. This is what some churches are struggling with at this point of time. We need to be always reminded that God does not intend his church to be run by one or two persons because no person has all the resources to do God’s work. We need cooperative efforts to be exercised over a period of time – meaning that we need to work, and work patiently with one another. In that manner we can get results that will be far greater than one done by one person.

There is another thing that I want you to understand here. Look at verse 8: The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labour. You will notice that the verse does not say “success”. Paul does not say that you are being rewarded because of your success. I want you to know that when you do the work of God, you may not always see great success in your work. You may have heard of some people bringing in hundreds or thousands of other people to the Lord, and when you start comparing what you have achieved with what other people have done, you can feel rather dismayed. I want you to understand that when God calls you to serve him, he wants you to serve him faithfully and you will be rewarded accordingly. Paul says that each of us will be rewarded according to his own labour, and not according to his success.

I have been here more than 3 years now. Do I see great success? No. In fact I am seeing the number of people in this church going down. And it is hard to find people who can take up certain responsibilities in the ministry of the Church. Faced with this predicament, it is easy to become discouraged, but I am not because I keep my eyes on the overall plan of God - not the individual bits and pieces. We are going through hard time right now, and I believe God intends it to be that way because it can be a test of our faithfulness - to see how many people will continue to stay with the church in hard time. God wants you to see whether you can continue to do your work faithfully as a part of God’s team, even in difficult times or even when the future looks bleak.

Do you know why we suggest “Growing up Together in the Body of Christ” as our theme for this year? Do you know why the word “Christ” comes last instead of at the beginning? Paul has emphasized cooperation toward mutual goals. And this is what we are also pursuing. This Church has no doubt put emphasis on “personal relationship with Jesus Christ”, and that is our mutual goal. The theme stresses on co-operation, togetherness, team work, mutual support and encouragement as we seek our goal. When we go though the process of growing, we shall experience all sorts of things: there will be good and bad times; there will be gains and losses; there will be joy and sadness. The theme suggests that we are to stay together in both good and bad times.

I see my ministry in Seria only as a period of transition between the past ministry and the future ministry. Remember that a transition period is only meant to last for a certain length of time. I don’t foresee myself staying here for long time because someone else has to take up the next phase of ministry in this church and bring it to a greater height. Team work in God’s Church is not just working together now: it includes preparing ground for the next group of leaders, so that the church continues to be built up upon the same foundation.

If you continue reading the same chapter you will find that in the next few verses how Paul refers to teamwork in building a structure. He says, “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3: 10-11). Our foundation is Jesus Christ and upon that foundation our work of building continues. Paul says that each one should build with care; and that was what I have been doing with you here during the last three years. We have been building together with care: we didn’t try to rock the boat too much. We encourage patience, understanding, and co-operation. We acknowledge there are unhappiness and frustrations, but we encourage you to keep on repairing broken relationships and strengthen the shaky ones. There are disagreements but we preach forgiveness and acceptance. We keep on talking about unity and emphasize on the importance of working together.

Now, leadership comes and goes but our cooperative efforts must continue for years to come. We have to continue to look for ways we can help one another to use their gifts. We also need to make room to help newcomers gain experience and expertise as they join the team. The idea is that we stick together in building up one another, and try to minimize problems that can cause us to be torn apart. So the issues that we are dealing with here is not about putting up grand programs or organizing new activities. We are dealing with the issues of the hearts, and the attitudes.

I want you to understand that when we allow ourselves to be controlled by feelings and emotions, it is not going to be good for the church. The tendency is that when people feel good, they are likely to act nicely. But if they feel bad and allow that feeling to take the upper hand, they can be led to express emotions that they cannot control, and they end up making wrong choices. That is how arguments and quarrels happen in church.

How do we deal with the problem? We encourage people to live a life that trusts in the Lord. Living this committed life means committing everything to the Lord including our mistakes and problems, as well as the good things that come our way. From the time we get up to the moment we fall asleep, be convinced that God is hearing our prayers, and that he is taking care of whatever is happening to us. When we do that, we will also learn to deny self, deny wrong feelings, control our emotions and ignore all the lies of the devil. We shall live life that expresses surrender to God’s will for us, as well as a life worthy of the gospel that we proclaim.

Finally, when God does his work, he will involve many different individuals with a variety of gifts and abilities. You will find people with gifts that put them into position of prominence. You will also find people who are more gifted than you. You may find yourself having to encourage others exercise their gifts. Or you may find yourself entrusted with gift that others don’t have. Remember, there are no superstars in this task - only team members performing their own special roles – all for the glory of God. That is why Paul reminds the people at Corinth not to seek the praise that comes from people. Instead, they must seek the approval of God. We can become useful members of God’s team by setting aside our desire to receive glory and praise for what we do.