Date:   1/28/07

Text:   1 Corinthians 16

Title:   Black Sheep of the Family

Theme: Since God has unconditionally granted us his grace, we are challenged to live out this special relationship.

Introduction:

  A mother said, “I have 5 sons, but from day 1, it seemed as if Michael was dropped here by an alien spaceship.” Michael's brother said, “when we were very young, I knew Michael viewed the world a little differently.” Michael is what we call a black sheep of his family.

  The Black sheep of the family is defined as: a worthless or disgraced member of a family. As we look around, don't we all know someone who is either labeled or self-proclaimed to be the black sheep of the family? Or you may be the black sheep of your family. We say, “every family has a black sheep.” We don't know what to do with them.

  In our study of 1 Corinthians, we learn of the problems in the Corinthian church and Paul's effort to correct them. Instead of unity and love, they were divided into different factions, creating animosity and resentment among them. They brought in the secular view of leadership, leading to misunderstanding and criticism of Paul. There was sexual immorality among them. At times, their meetings were chaotic because of lack of understanding and usage of spiritual gifts. No wonder one commentator called the Corinthian church the black sheep of the 1 st century churches.

  However, isn't it also true that in our study, we find ourselves very much like the Corinthian believers? Very often their problems are also our problems; both individually and corporately. We may be discontent with our personal spirituality or this and other church's spirituality. So in a way, we, too, are the black sheep of God's family.

  As we come to the last chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church, we see Paul readdressing some of the issues but in a slightly different manner. This morning, through this chapter, we want to see what we are to do with the black sheep of God's family.  

I •  A call to live out God's Grace. 1:1-4

  In order for us to understand this book and especially the last chapter, we need to take another look at the beginning verses of Chapter one. For they set the stage for this letter to the Corinthian church. Let's first take a look at how Paul addressed the Corinthian church. vs.2, “ 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:..” Vs.3-7, “ 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge……. 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift,” From these introductory verses, we learn that they were God's church, Jesus Christ was their Lord, they were saints, meaning separated and different from the world. They were recipients of God's grace. God had given them much spiritual gifts and other resources. The Corinthian church was a very blessed (GRACED) church.

  Did Paul know of their problems? Of course he did and it was their problems that prompted Paul to write this letter. Yes, the Corinthian church is the black sheep among the 1 st century churches, but it did not erase the fact that they were recipients of God's grace. You see, God's grace to them, calling them saints, has nothing to do with their merits. It's through their faith in Jesus Christ that they receive such grace and gifts from God.

  Then, how do we make sense of the problems the Corinthian church had? This is really the crust of this letter. Yes, the Corinthian believers were called holy and sanctified. God had unconditionally loved and given them his grace. What then was expected of them? Having been called saints, recipients of God's grace and mercy, they were expected to live out this grace.

  Apparently, they didn't do too well, right? From the problems and sins mentioned in this chapter, they seemed to have failed quite miserably. They had received grace and righteousness from God, but failed to live it out. Throughout this book, are many instructions to the Corinthian believers on how to live so that their life-style would be compatible with and reflect their relationship with Christ.

  Isn't this also true with us? We are recipients of God's grace. We are called the holy, the separated ones. Yet too often, our behaviors fail to demonstrate that we are put aside, separated form the world and belong to God. The challenge to the Corinthian believers is the same to us: To live out this grace, to manifest by our behaviors that we belong to this gracious God.

  In this last chapter, we find many imperatives, instructing the Corinthian believers how to live in order to manifest God's grace. We'll look at some of them.

II •  A call to live in Christian fellowship.

  In vs. 1-4, “ 1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia , so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem . 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. ” At the time of writing, there was great need among the Jewish believers in Judea . So Paul is reminding the Corinthian believers to collect money when they meet and this money will go to help the Jewish believers. vs.19-21, “ 19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 20 All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. 21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.” On behalf of the churches in Asia , Paul relayed their greetings to the Corinthian church. There is a fellowship among the believers in different regions.

  The Christian community must begin with where we are: this local church, local body of believers. Yet it must not stop here. The Christian community also includes believers in other cities and countries. Within this local and global Christian community, there are responsibilities to each other. Among them is the responsibility to help the sick and poor. The stronger ones have the responsibility to help the weak ones.

  We constantly remind ourselves of how God has richly blessed us with spiritual and material resources. It is also good for us to remember that the greater and the more we have, the greater is our responsibility to churches and people in other cities and other parts of the world. Last Sunday we were reminded of the needs around us; not just in Houston , but in other parts of the world. The question that we, as a church, need to address is how we can share the resources God has given us with those who are needy.

  Very often, in gatherings, pastors may tend to brag about their annual budget. Certainly we can impress others with all kinds of numbers. But there is a bottom line we must be aware of: what % of our budget is spent on the poor, sick and needy ones both locally and in other parts of the world?

III •  A call for support of servants of the Lord.

  The Corinthian church did not treat Paul properly which prompted the writing this letter. Vs.10-11, “ 10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.” Paul introduced Timothy as doing the lord's work, just like him. Paul knew that Timothy was timid by nature, most probably an introvert and rather reserved person. He wanted the Corinthian church to be considerate and to respect Timothy. Because of his own experience, he wanted to make sure that Timothy was treated properly by the church.

  Vs.15-16, “ 15 Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints— (they were workers at the Corinthian church) 16 be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.” Paul is urging the church to be submissive and respectful to Stephanas and other Christian workers.

  In these verses Paul instructs the believers to support the lord's servants. We often hear pastors complain that they don't get enough respect from the church. No body listens to them. On the other hand, we hear church members complain their minister is being lazy. A believer in the east coast called me and said, “our pastor doesn't spend much time preparing for the sermon, he doesn't teach Sunday school, we are all wondering what he does everyday?”

  From this passage we learned that the Lord's servants are to be devoted, working hard to serve God's people. There is no place in ministry for laziness. And on the other hand, Paul wanted the believers to be supportive by being respectful, helpful and submissive to the Lords servants.

  I want to see how we can apply this instruction to the NA Chinese churches. I think many of us know about the drop out rate of young American born Chinese ministers. They felt God's call into the ministry. They went to seminary and began serving in different Chinese churches in NA. They worked hard and long hours. Yet within a few years, one by one, many left the church and even the ministry. This is one reason for such a shortage of English ministers in NA. Recently a question was asked of a group of ABC students soon to graduate from a major seminary in Texas : How many of them want to serve in a Chinese church? No one raised their hands. What is going on here? I feel many of the NA Chinese church leaders and members need to take a greater responsibility for this. I personally feel and know that when a young ABC minister enters into a Chinese church, he/she is not being treated as equal with the other more experienced pastors; they are like second class citizens. Their ideas are often not taken seriously. They are given the tasks of taking care of the youth and children while the adults are doing so-called serious ministries. They are like glorified baby-sitters. They are not respected, not listened to and not to mention being submitted to.

  As ministers, we are to be faithful, and hard working. As a church we are to support the ministers by helping, respecting and submit to them. It is never blind submission but it is submission to their teaching of God's word. We want to thank God for the many young staff he has brought to us. We are to encourage them, to be considerate and sensitive to their needs and to help them in whatever we can so they can grow and mature in the ministry. Don't just look at where and what they are now, but what they can become 5 to 10 years from now. Don't you think it is an honor to take part in helping and encouraging a young man and woman to be servants of God?

IV •  A call to avoid the secularization of the church.

  Vs. 13-14, “ 13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.” The Corinthian church has been very much influenced by that society: they evaluated leaders, especially Paul, based on ability, oratorical skill and appearances, instead of what was within. They followed the society's trend in moral behaviors. They were arrogant with their strengths and abilities causing confusion and chaos in their relationships and even in their services. Throughout this entire letter, Paul was trying to correct them. Here in this concluding chapter, he once again reminded them to be strong in their faith in the Lord and his words. Don't be swayed by the world around them. They are to stand firm and be strong.

  Don't we also need to hear this? A little over one year ago, there was an article in the magazine, The Economist, with this title: The secularization of the American Churches. The author looked at several mega churches, studied their operation and came to the conclusion how the business world (secular) practice has infiltrated the church. As a church we want to be alert so that we do not become secularized. We are to learn to ask the right questions. Not is this good, will people like it, will it attract more people? Yes, these questions are important, but even more important are questions such as: is this biblical, is this compatible with the biblical principles, is this pleasing to the Lord?

  Paul also reminded them don't boast in their strengths, instead, no matter what they did, it has to be done in Love. Love must be the foundation of their ministry and how they relate to one another. Certainly, Paul had chapter 13 in his mind as he was writing this: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends…”

  When we look at our world, we are usually quite unkind to each other. At school and the work place, we can be very rude to each other. We want to tear others down to show off our ability. It is often said that if you are kind, gentle and humble at work place, you'll be stepped all over. Sadly, very often in families, we are unkind and even cruel to each other. If we don't watch out, we'll bring our school and work culture into the church. Yes, we are very open with each other, but somehow love is missing. Remember, do everything in love. When we think of confrontation or rebuke, or just speaking our minds, we first need to ask ourselves, is there love? I always remind myself that when I have to point out someone's mistake, no matter how wrong that person is, and if I have no love, then I would hold it. Remember what we learned several Sundays ago, that without love, it is just a lot of noise, with no lasting value.

Conclusion:

  In many families, the black sheep is not too welcome. They may be looked down upon by the family members. The family does not want to have much to do with their black sheep. For this reason, there is this International Black Sheep society of genealogists. This is an excerpt of their purpose statement: …. to discuss these individuals in order to learn more about them and share information about your "Black Sheep" with other members…… Many times having a Black Sheep in the family leads to a family "wall of silence" and research into the family becomes very difficult. Our Goal is to help find alternate routes to information sources, and to normalize the view of the black sheep as a person without regard to behaviors.

  Families and society look at the black sheep differently. But not so with God. In a way we, and this church, are all like black sheep. Yet God has never stopped loving us. This letter begins with God's grace upon his people. How does it end? Vs. 23-24, “ 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.” God's grace is still with them. Paul's love, in spite of what they did to him, is still with them. In the midst of our darkness, God still showers us with his love, grace and mercy. We are still the recipients of his Grace. As recipients of God's grace, being considered holy and righteous because of our faith in Him, our challenge is to live out this grace, this righteousness. And finally, is there a black sheep in your family, in your church, in your fellowship/small group? Don't stopping loving them.