Please turn now to 1 Corinthians, chapter 16. 1 Corinthians, chapter 16. We're finishing the book of 1 Corinthians tonight. We're completing that. We're going to continue in Acts in the morning. I believe it's going to be, I forget. We're doing something. So, we have decided. I just can't remember right now. 1 Corinthians 16, I'm going to begin reading at verse 15. Read to the end of the book. Let's give you attention to the Word of God. 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. Be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas, and Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men. The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hands. If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. You know, in many ways, this is a very, very ordinary way for Paul to end one of his letters. He says, be subject to your leaders in the church. You find that in lots of his letters. He says, all these people say hi. You find that in lots of his letters. He says, say hi to each other. He says that in lots of letters. And he says, the grace of the Lord be with you. He almost always ends that way. So in a lot of ways, it's a very ordinary ending to his letter. But I reviewed the whole letter, just real quickly this week, and I thought it was extraordinary that he ends on this note. Because the theme that kept coming back to me as I looked through the letter was how disrespectful this church was being. They've been disrespectful to Paul. They've been disrespectful to the poor. It looks as though wives are being disrespectful to husbands. They were certainly being disrespectful to the Lord's Supper, which is to say they're being disrespectful to the Lord, they're being disrespectful to God. It's hard to keep loving people when they hit you with so much disrespect. And he's certainly written this letter in part to answer their questions, but also in part to correct them. He certainly corrected them, and yet he has never stopped loving them. And that's what's so extraordinary about it. He's able to talk to this really disrespectful group of people. They're really acting up. And he continues to treat them with love. So we have these two main points. We ordained two men to the diaconate today. I charge you to love and support Roland and James and their work as deacons. And another thing is what we see here at the end, that we ought to love those for whom Christ died with careful correction, watching our words with care. So first, be subject. to those who work and serve in the church, verses 15 and 16. Paul introduces the topic with care. He says, you know, this household, the household of Stephanus, that they were the first fruits of the church in Greece. That's Achaia, Achaia is Greece, Southern Greece. First fruits, gives them that honor, you know, they were the first ones to believe. I've also gone out picking berries. And the best time to pick berries is when they are just getting ripe, because you have none of the squishy old ones. So the best berries are when you pick them up front. And so when they call them the first fruits, he's not just saying that they have come first. Also implying that they have a certain honor, that they have advanced, that they are doing well in the Christian life, that the fruit is good. Not only that, but of course, by first fruits, it has sort of a sacrificial connotation. Under the law in the Old Testament, when you began to get your harvest, you were to take those first fruits and sacrifice them to the Lord. And so they are, you could say, the promise that there's going to be more of a harvest. And so he's saying, they're connected to you as the first fruits are connected to the whole harvest. They're a part of you. You know that they are going before you. And you know they're dedicated to working in the church, working for the whole. This is very interesting. We're told that the household is devoted to the service of the saints." Huh. We don't know exactly what that means in the household. It's Stephanus and Mrs. Stephanus, Mrs. and the kids. Kids grown. Kids little. Or maybe we should think of Stephanus and his servants. We're not sure what that means. It's just the household. But you notice, that's a beautiful thing that the household is working together for the good of the saints there. It's a beautiful thing And having laid the groundwork, having called them up, that they are devoted, and that everybody knows that. He says, now, be subject to such as these. Again, that's something that we see often. You can flip through lots of different letters, and it'll end with saying, listen to your leaders, follow them, consider their way of life. He tells us that's a regular, expected, ordinary part of the Christian life to be in a church. and to be following the leaders. And so on this day which we've ordained Roland and James to the office of deacon, I charge you, James and Roland are now dedicated to the work of the church. You say, well, they weren't the first fruits, the others came first. Yeah, but you'll notice he got that in there. And to every fellow worker and laborer. So he got them covered. So I charge you to work and support them in the work that they do. Appreciate the work that they do. These are busy men we're talking about. And they're going to be spending some of that time here in the work of the church. Assist them in that. When they ask for help, come alongside them. Tithe, so that there is money there for them to be generous with. Thank them with words, and what's more sincere is thank them with your own work, following their lead. So you notice that right there in verse 16. Be subject to such as these, such as Roland and James, Emil and Bob, and their work as deacons. And then he goes on in verse 17 and 18 and says, recognize everyone who contributes in some way. He mentions again Stephanus, and Fortunatus, and Achaicus. And they might resent these guys. Because it looks as though they have come to Paul, maybe they brought the Corinthians letter, because the Corinthians have written a letter saying, what should we do about this, and this, and this, and this. They have a whole series of questions that Paul's worked through. At the same time, Paul hasn't just answered those questions. Paul's been rebuking them for their sins. And of course, the question is, well, how do you know what's going on? And the answer is probably, well, these three have something to do with it. These three were telling us. And so they could go back, and the guys could say, hey, we just sent you to take a letter. We didn't send you to blow the whistle on us. We didn't send you. You should have just stuck to our letter and kept your mouth shut. Why does Paul know about all this stuff? So Paul writes again with care. View them as an extension of yourselves. View them as having been present on your behalf. They've done me so much good. They've refreshed my spirit. I'm sure they're refreshing yours as they've taken my letter back to you. Recognize the work that was involved in that. Travel had its dangers back then. They had to cross the Aegean Sea. I'm sure not all the ships always made it across the Aegean Sea. It had its dangers and its discomforts. It took them away from whatever else they were doing. So he's saying, recognize them for the work that they did on your behalf. Have you noticed that Hannah regularly thanks Emma for leading the singing? That would be an extension of the same principle here. In other words, we ought to recognize. Recognize Wren and Sarah and James for teaching the Sunday school classes. Recognize Anna for years of teaching the Sunday school classes. I want to recognize William and Nathaniel and Michael for making the stream work. Glad you're here, Rachel, so we can recognize Rachel together with Willow and Wren for all the work of doing YAPS over these years. Recognize Mike and Anna for their years of leading youth group. And before that, Bob and Debbie for years of leading youth group. I want to recognize Isaac and Autumn for driving people home or driving people to and from youth group. I want to thank Sarah, and whoever's going to come alongside Sarah, for the after-the-service review with the kids of what's going on. And give thanks to Amal and Laurie, faithfully counting the money, recording the money, depositing the money. I thank everybody who's helped with the bathroom project, both those who worked on it and those who helped pay for it. It's always dangerous when you start making a list, because you know you're going to forget people. So you've recognized Angie and Sarah, who've been hosting women's prayer meetings. all these things. You've got to recognize those who contribute in the church in some way, because this also is a regular and ordinary and expected part of the Christian life. As he comes up to the top of the page there, you see that we're to gladly greet other Christians, the ones you know and the ones you don't know. When he mentions Aquila and Prisca, Prisca's gotta be short for Priscilla, all right? All the Corinthians knew them, at least all the ones who'd been in the church for a while, because when Paul first got to Corinth, that's who he lived with. Those were the tent makers, and he was a tent maker. He lived with them, making tents to support himself, and teaching as much as he could. Then they had moved on to Ephesus. So they're over in Ephesus, they're starting a church in Ephesus, but everybody in Corinth knows them. So of course, they say hi, together with the church in their house. But when he also says, the churches of Asia send you greetings, the Corinthians didn't know all these people. All the brothers send you greetings. Okay, who were they? They're greeting Christians they know, they're greeting the Christians that they do not know. And they're saying, we are glad that there are Christians in Corinth. Never been to Corinth. But if I am in Corinth, I'll know that there's a church there. And how good it is to know there's people praising Jesus over there, across the Aegean Sea. Over there. We send you greetings over to there. And that's why the various church retreats and camps and conferences are a good thing for us. It gives us a chance to go and to get to know some of those other Christians, to go and greet them, and to greet them in person. Because you'll notice, he doesn't just say, they send you greetings. He says, greet one another with a holy kiss. Any guesses how many times you get that instruction in the letters? I believe it's four. It says, greet one another with a holy kiss. A buddy of mine growing up, grew up in a church where they practice that very literally. There's certain protocols and understandings. It says, greet one another with a holy kiss, so they did. We would say, I think the point is give each other a hearty, culturally appropriate greeting. But you know, it's supposed to be a hearty greeting. And so we did not simply extend the right hand of fellowship this morning after the ordination, did we? No, you saw us give each other guy a hug, all right? That's our cultural equivalent of a hearty greeting. We ordained each man, and we shook his hand, and we gave him a hug. Because when you really care for someone, you put yourself out. You don't just say, like, hey. How warm is that? How much have I greeted Noah? He comes in. Hey. I've not really put myself out there and shown love and regard and gladness that he's here. This is calling for push yourself to give a hearty greeting. Now what I say to just about everybody here, this is your church. And so when people come in who you don't see here very often, you ought to be extending yourself and showing that hospitality and saying, glad to see you. What's your name? The bathroom's over there. And anything else they might need to know. It's not just for Bob to do or just for John and Hunter to do. All of us here are part of the church. This is something that we all ought to be doing. We then see in the last column there, a couple words that are kind of hidden here, but words that you kind of hear a little bit in the Christian life and you wonder what they mean. When he gets to the word, let him be accursed, that's anathema. All right, so that's the Greek word anathema, let him be accursed. Seems a little jarring, such a warm ending, but he's laying down what the non-negotiable is. You gotta love the Lord. If anyone doesn't love the Lord, then anathema, let him be accursed. And then the next word after that is maranatha, which is actually not Greek, it's Aramaic, and it means our Lord come. Maranatha, our Lord come. Why is he saying that? Well, because he loves the Lord. Having just said if anybody doesn't love the Lord, a curse be on him, our attitude is our Lord come. Because when you love someone, you want to see them. Since we love Jesus, we want Him to return. When you say, your kingdom come, you're praying for three things in particular. The third one is that He would return and establish His kingdom in power and in glory. At which point we will only stand by grace. So he goes on to say, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. And so far, this has been a very ordinary ending for Paul's letters. If you doubt it, you can go check it. Everything from Romans through Philemon is by Paul. Look at how he ends his letters. It's been very ordinary until he gets to the last verse. He says, my love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Now, he always ends on a warm note, but he doesn't usually make it that explicit. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. He's making the point that he really loves this disrespectful church. Again, it's not easy because they have disrespected Him. So at this point, the great preacher John Chrysostom has such a beautiful ending to his sermon that I'm now going to paraphrase his sermon. So the rest of this is Chrysostom. What has he done in this letter? He's answered their questions and he's rebuked them for their sins. in giving and receiving rebukes. This also is an expected part of the Christian life. Paul's beautifully shown us how. But you don't think, you cannot think that's just for the apostles to worry about, or that's just for pastors to worry about. I'm just an ordinary Christian. I'm never gonna rebuke anybody for sin, because that wouldn't be my job. Jesus said, if your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day and returns seven times saying, I repent, you are to forgive him. It also says, if anyone turns a sinner from the error of his ways, let him know that he will deliver his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. It also says, blessed are the peacemakers. They will be called sons of God. It says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. So, giving and receiving rebukes is an expected part of the Christian life, not just for ministers. It's for everyone to grow in. And Christendom says, do you appreciate doctors? Do you appreciate doctors when they operate on you and hurt you? Do you appreciate the doctor even if he misses a bit, but you recognize he's doing it from a good heart and good intentions? Well, then how much more should you appreciate someone who comes to you to heal your soul? This is an expected regular part of the Christian life. If you say, okay, somebody's sinning, but that is not my problem. Is this a brother in the church? A sister in Christ? Well, then you sound like Cain. Am I my brother's keeper? After all, if your pet had a festering sore, you take your pet to the vet. But you don't wanna take care for your sister's festering sin. But someone will say, well, it won't do any good, so I will say nothing. How do you know it's not going to do any good? Do you know the future? What's more, you know who does know the future? God. And you know what God did? He kept sending his prophets to rebuke people for sin, even when he knew they wouldn't listen. In fact, he kept sending his prophets to rebuke people for sin when he had foreordained that they would not listen. If God continues to send rebukes for sin when He knows it will do no good, where do we get off thinking that we are excused when we have no idea what's going to happen? But how do you do it when it's often taken ill? Well, the Christian system says you do it this way. First, you go and talk to Him alone. You're not going to expose him to embarrassment. I don't know about these group intervention things. No. You go and you talk to the person alone when it is safe for you to do so. And you give him credit for his excellent qualities, assuring him that in no way do you look down on him, admitting your own sins. The sins of the whole race. We have these things in common. You admit that you are attempting something that is too high, too difficult, and too important for you, but love compels you to speak And then give your advice. Keep it brief. Keep it brotherly. Not speaking from above, but speaking from alongside. Ask him not to be angry with you. And then let your words be like the needle that goes to take the splinter out of your hand. You know, when you go to him and say, Mom, can you take the splinter out of my hand? You wanted to be gentle with that needle. Don't start stabbing me. No, come in gentle. But the other thing you wanted to do is you wanted to go deep enough to actually get it. You don't actually get it, then you poked me for nothing. You have to go deep enough to get it. And no farther, but deep enough to get it out. And then praise him again for his good qualities. Thank him for hearing you. And assure him that you leave the matter in his hands, subject to his own judgment. That you, who have no thought of compelling anyone, you simply, out of love, wish to bring this to the person's attention. If you rebuke him this way, whether he listens or not, he will know that you came with care and with love. And I saw an argument recently. Several men arguing with one. And the last one who spoke, it was marvelous. So gentle, so brief, so clear, and so powerful. Yes, submitting to church leaders, an expected regular part of the Christian life. So as Roland and James are now among us, as they serve among us, love and support them in their work as deacons. And as giving and receiving rebukes for sin is also an expected, regular, expected part of the Christian life, pray and listen should someone speak to you. And pray and go speak when it is laid on your heart that you need And look, consider how Paul has done it over these 16 chapters. And you also love one another with your words, love one another from the heart. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word and for your loving care and for your gentleness. So Lord, help us to pursue faith and love, steadfastness and gentleness. Help us to pursue these things. Help us, Lord, to look to you. Lord, we pray that everyone will be presented before you mature. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.