If you have your Bible with you, I’m gonna ask you to turn to I Corinthians 16, and beginning in verse 13: In I Corinthians 15, Paul has just written the best discourse on the Resurrection that you will find anywhere. Chapter 15 is chalk full of doctrinal truth. But in chapter 16, Paul is going to change gears. He kind of gives some summary remarks, and he begins to call some people by name. Notice in verse 13, he says:
“13 Watch ye (BE ON GUARD – BE ALERT), stand fast in the faith (YOUR FAITH WALK IS NOT GOING TO BE A CAKE WALK), quit you like men, be strong (DON’T GIVE UP EASY). 14 Let all your things be done with charity (BECAUSE WITHOUT LOVE, IT DON’T MEAN SQUAT). 15 I beseech you (I BEG YOU, I IMPLORE YOU), brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) 16 That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth (CAN I JUST SAY RIGHT HERE, I THANK GOD FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE BECOME CO-LABORERS TO RALLY POINT BIKER CHURCH) 17 I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. 18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.”
How wonderful it is to look at some of the pages of the Bible and to see some names that are recorded here for all eternity. How many of you would like to think that you walked so close to God that your name was recorded for all prosperity to see? That is a wonderful thing. Now, grant it, there are some names mentioned in the Bible that I wouldn’t want to be, or even be associated with.
Paul must have thought a whole lot of these folks he is mentioning here. Apparently, from the time Paul began his first missionary journey there, they had gotten saved and have been a consistent, faithful part of that work ever since. These were some of the main leaders, some of the main encouragers of the church in Corinth. And he mentions three of them: The House of Stephanas, The House of Fortunatus, and the House of Achaicus – the First Fruits of Achaia. And here is why Paul mentions them by name: verse 15, “they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.”
There’s an interesting thing that happens when you read the Bible. Let me explain that statement. For years, I have read my Bible, and in fact, have read this section, but it never occurred to me that the Word of God has the word “addicted” in it. I knew it was there, it just never jumped off the page at me.
When we think about being addicted to something in our society, that’s a bad thing. And the problem is, without God in our lives, there’s a big ole empty hole inside of everyone of us. Some people try to fill that hole with drugs, with alcohol, with pornography, with gambling. But God’s the one who created that big ole hole, and guess what, He’s the only one that can fill it.
But the world is trying to stuff that hole full of everything the world has to offer, only to come up empty. And do you know why? Because none of the things the world has to offer can fill it. The only thing that can fill that big gaping hole in your soul – IS GOD.
The thing about addicts is – they can’t get enough of what it is they are addicted to. Everything an addict does is controlled by their addiction. Every decision they make, every place they go, the people they associate with are all determined by their addiction. The more they get of it, the more they won’t of it. And another thing, addicts like to hang out with other addicts.
But I want to talk to you this morning about a good addiction. I want to talk to you about being “addicted to the ministry of the saints.” The more I thought about this thing the more it stirred my soul. “Addicted to the ministry of the saints,” the more I get the more I want! I can never get enough. So as I thought about the message and what I would titled it, the best I could come up with was to confess to you this morning:
“HI, MY NAME IS JOE, AND I’M AN ADDICT”
And I’m not a recovered one – it’s getting worse! And the more of it I get, the more of it I want! The more I do for Him, the more I want to do for Him. The more I preach His Word, the more I want to preach His Word. Now that’s a good addiction amen! Don’t miss this, Paul said, “Submit yourselves unto such.” What did Paul mean? I think he meant that if you want to look to people who will be an example for you, these are the people you want to look to – those who are Addicted to Jesus! Because, listen, those people who are addicted to Jesus, they have your best interest at heart. So if you want to find somebody to follow, find somebody who’s “addicted to the ministry of the saints.” Somebody whose actions speak louder than their words.
Paul not only said that they should “submit to them,” but he said of them,“They helped us.” Isn’t it funny, a lot of times in the church, the people who do the most talking are the very ones who do the lest? They want to tell everybody else what to do. That’s not the way it was in the New Testament Church. Paul said, “If you want to find a leader, you look to that person that when something needs to be done, they are right there helping. They have their “hands to the plough.” I’m afraid part of the problem in the church today is there are too many people working in the ministry that are not “Addicted to the ministry.”
Speaking of addictions, I will never understand how somebody that calls themselves a Christian, doesn’t want to go to church. Personally, I like to hang out with a bunch of other addicts myself! That’s why I love our church, we got a few folks who have an addiction problem!
These are the folks Paul wanted you and I to remember. These are the people who made a difference in Paul’s life and in his ministry. There’s a couple of things Paul says about them I really want to point out.
FIRST, WHAT WAS LACKING, THEY SUPPLIED
I have come to this conclusion, if every Christian would try to supply what was lacking in somebody else’s life, nobody would go lacking; no ministry would be lacking. We’d be able to start more churches, build bigger churches, send missionaries to the ends of the earth, we’d be able to reach more souls for Christ. If all of us would get to the place that we’re willing to “supply that which was lacking.”
And I’ll tell you, the problem is we have too much stuff! And we don’t want to get rid of our stuff, and in fact, we feel like we need more stuff. Kim and I just moved, and our garage is full of what? STUFF. I believe the fastest growing business in Spartanburg County is Storage buildings. Why? Because we can’t get enough stuff. We’re addicted to it.
If we can ever learn to give up our “stuff,” I think we’d realize God will give us more than we ever dreamed of. But we must get to the place where we are willing to “supply that which was lacking.”
BUT SECOND, PAUL SAYS “THEY HAVE REFRESHED MY SPIRIT, AND YOURS”
This is going to sound pretty backwoods, but “Isn’t it refreshing to be around refreshing people?” Now, have you ever run into somebody at church that in about 5 seconds they just knock the wind right out of your sails? They’re never happy, they never have anything positive to say, they never have an encouraging word, nobody loves them, nobody cares about them? You walk away from them and hope next week they’ll have something positive to say about what God is doing in their lives, then next week arrives – and it’s the same old story? Am I the only one that’s ever run into that? I’m just being honest folks, there’s just some people that it takes me a lot of energy to be around because they suck the refreshment right out of me.
But then, there’s some people who pour refreshment into your soul. They say things that are encouraging, refreshing and uplifting. You might only be there for a minute, but you feel better when you walk away – you feel refreshed when you walk away. Now I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of people I want to be around.
I think the daily prayer of every Christian, from the moment that we wake-up, I think our prayer should be “God, let me be a fresh breath of air to somebody today!”
As some of you know, in 2003, at the height of my ministry, my life fell apart. Sin invaded my home and robbed me of the joy of my salvation. For 10 years, I lived outside of the will of God for my life. Those were some dark days in my life. Not all bad days, in fact, I met my wife during those days, my helpmate. But they were not the life God had called me to. So, there was no real joy.
In 2013, when my granddaughter Emma was 6, Bella was 4, they were staying with us, and Emma, forced me to confront my past. She said to me, “Papa, you used to be a preacher?” Folks, that tore my nerves up.” I begged God not to let her ask another question – but that fell on deaf ears, because Emma followed that up with “Papa, will you take me to church.” And of course, Bella had to chime in, “Yea, Papa, will you take us to church?”
Do you know what I realized in that moment? I realized those two little girls became a fresh breath of air for their Granny and Papa. I realized that for the past 10 years, I was in withdrawals – and I wasn’t fairing to well. I realized as an addict, I wasn’t getting what I needed. I needed a hit of joy and peace back in my life! I needed to be back in fellowship with other addicts!
I would venture to say they are some here today that Satan has convinced you nobody cares about you and your life has no meaning. Let me just remind you that He is a liar! You know what you need to do? You need to get around some Addicts that can help fill that void your lacking, some addicts who can be a fresh breath of air to you.
This past week, that little granddaughter of mine, and her bestie, called and wanted to meet Papa for lunch. Now listen, what kind of 18-year-old wants to have lunch with their ole grumpy papa? But they wanted to share what God was doing in their lives. And as I listen to these girls share what God is doing, and how God is working through them to affect other people. I realized these girls had an addiction problem.” And I went home and God began laying this message on my heart, I knelt down in my study and I prayed, “Oh God, give me a church full of addicts in the ministry like these young women who are on fire for the ministry. God give us a church full of Emma’s and Lane’s. God help me as a pastor to be a PUSHER and get other people “addicted” to the ministry.”
Folks, I want to challenge you this morning to stand firm in your faith, serve with unwavering commitment, and surround yourself with those who are ‘addicted to the ministry of the saints‘—those whose passion for Christ compels them to supply and refresh others, demonstrating that true fulfillment doesn’t come from worldly pursuits, but from a life fully surrendered to God’s work
Fighting for My Pea Patch 