(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

What we have to understand sometimes when it comes to people who are maybe more of a second string Christian is that really all it stems from is a lack of maturity. We wouldn't take some junior high kid, he's played a little flag football now and then, and then put him in the NFL. And then when he gets just smeared into the turf, say, what's your problem? He's about 300 pounds shy of that linebacker that ran over him. That's the analogy I want to bring into this sermon. We take a second string Christian, we have to understand sometimes they're just going to be a little underdeveloped spiritually. And we all start out that way. When Michael Jordan was big, back when he wore 23, and you know what a lot of guys started doing this, it's like, what are you doing? Well, it's what Michael Jordan does. I'm pretty sure it's not his tongue that makes him, you know, be able to play as well as he does. Oh, they go out and they buy the shoes. It's got to be the shoes. It's not the shoes, folks. My point is this, when people are steaming someone, when they're saying, wow, they're seeing them very highly, typically they want to be like them. That's the way you ought to be in the local church. Corinthians chapter 16 there, we get this litany of names. Different people are mentioned, especially there at the end is where we'll be focusing. But if you notice there, he talks about how Timotheus is coming, how Apollos is going to be not able to make it. And he's mentioning some people by name. And there's a very specific reason why he's bringing up these specific names, not just only those, you know, like Timotheus and Apollos who are not residents of Corinth necessarily were there with them at that time. But even those that also were there, that would have been names that they would have known, they were people that were there at Corinth. The reason why he's bringing up all these familiar names is because some people in the Christian life stand out more than others. Some people in the Christian life have more of a reputation than other people for being people who labor for the Lord, for people who do work. And really, it's not just because they're trying to make a name for themselves. It's not some kind of, you know, vain ambition. There's nothing wrong with the word ambition. You know, there's definitely something wrong with vanity, of course. Sometimes we get very ambitious about things that are very vain. But being ambitious about the things of God and, you know, having a name for yourself, so to speak, in the ministry is not a bad thing. It's actually a good thing to be somebody who is known as one that labors in the Lord, who works hard for the Lord. That's a good thing to have. I mean, I don't know about you, but I mean, it would be a great honor to have your name kind of put out there in the word of God for all of eternity, you know, in a positive light by the apostle Paul himself. That would be a great honor, of course. But, you know, that's not an honor that we take upon ourselves. That's something that is typically bestowed upon us by other people. That's something that you have to earn. That's something that you have to develop in your life. That's something that has to be given to you through your labor, your work, your sacrifice. You earn these kind of reputations. And what I want to preach this morning is a sermon entitled Second String Christians. Now, that probably caused some of you to perk up right away because I'm using football terminology, okay? So I know a little bit, you know, I don't play, I don't watch, but I do know a little bit about football, okay? That's the game where they take the hockey puck and they throw it to the first base, right? No, am I getting it wrong? Okay. But we all know that term second string, right? You have your first string who are the primary players. They're going to be the first ones out in the field. They're going to be your go-to guys. Then you kind of have the second string for those that get injured and for those that need a rest. You kind of put them in to give them a break, okay? So you have your first string and second string. And really it's an analogy that carries over into the Christian life. You know, the Christian life, we have our first string Christians and then you'll have your second string Christians. And then you'll have the people that are up in the nosebleed section that aren't even on the sidelines, let alone the field. But, you know, that's another sermon, okay? I don't want to get too, I don't want to over-develop the analogy, okay? So, but, you know, this is a principle that you see here, that there's some people that are expressed by name. And if you'll notice that throughout Paul's epistles, he does that often, especially in his closings. He'll mention this person, salute so-and-so, salute this person. I mean, there's a lot of names that Paul mentions. He's bringing these names to remembrance because, you know, the first string are people that are, as we'll see here in a minute, people that are supposed to be acknowledged as such. And their example is one that is to be followed, okay? And again, I want to begin in verse, well, let's just begin here reading very quickly in verse 12. It says, As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren, but his will was not at all to come at this time, but he will come when he shall have a convenient time. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong, let all things be done with charity, meaning out of love. But notice in verse 15, he says, I beseech you, brethren, for you know the house of Staphana said it is the firstfruits of Achaea, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints, that ye submit yourselves unto such. So really, another way of reading this sentence would be just to read the first part of verse 15 and jump right down to verse 16, cut out the part that's in parentheses there, and just read, I beseech you, brethren, that ye submit yourselves unto such, meaning, and he describes that such as, you know, the house of Staphana, who are the firstfruits of Achaea. But again, I want to focus in on that word there, beseech. Paul is saying, I beseech you, okay? I am begging you, I am imploring you, urgently to submit yourselves unto such and to everyone that helpeth us in the Lord. So he's asking them here, he's begging them, he's beseeching them, he's imploring them to acknowledge these people, and you say, why? Why is that? Why is Paul beseeching them to submit yourselves unto such and to everyone that helpeth with us and laboureth? Why is it that he's beseeching them to do this, okay? Is it because he just wants to exalt these people and lift them up beyond measure? Or is it because Paul desires that there's unity when it comes to the work of God? I believe it's the latter. Paul desires that there would be unity in the work of God. You know, obviously some people are going to be in different seasons of life. They're going to be able to do more than others. That's going to, you know, wane over time. That's going to come and go. There's going to be an ebb and flow to that. But when we have people that are laboring in the Lord, you know, we should always acknowledge them. We should always, you know, help them. And there should always be a unity. There should never be, you know, as he goes on and talks about, well, that's this evening's sermon. But you know, you want to do things out of strife and out of vain glory, okay? We don't want there to be strife among the people of God. We want there to be unity, okay? That's why Paul is beseeching them. He's imploring them and saying, hey, please, would you please submit yourselves to everyone that helpeth with us and laboureth, okay? So again, there's this idea that there's, you know, some people that are laboring, there's some people that are doing the work that are kind of on the forefront there, that first string, and then there's your second string. And that's just always the way it's going to be in ministry. That's just human nature. That's inescapable, okay? But what we, you know, understanding that, what we would then want to make sure that we do, you know, in knowing that there's this first and second string is that there's still unity there. Understanding that it's not necessarily some people are better than others. It's just that some people, either through circumstance or through desire, whatever it might be, are going to be more of a first string Christian. They're going to be the ones that are out there actually doing the work that needs to be done. Paul's imploring them to please, to submit unto such. He wants unity in the church for the sake of what? For the sake of productivity. All Paul really cares about is that the gospel goes forward. All he really cares about is that people are getting saved, that people are getting in church, that they're growing in the knowledge and the grace of God. It really doesn't matter to him who it is that gets that work done as long as it gets done. And here's the thing. The only way that work's going to get done is if people have unity in the church when it comes to accomplishing the work of God and supporting one another as they go out to do the work. If you would, go over to Ephesians chapter number four. Of course, keep something there in 1 Corinthians all morning, but go over to Ephesians chapter number four. You know, unity in the local church is something that is very important. It's something that without unity in the church, we're going to fall apart. Things aren't going to get done the way they should be done. Things are not going to be done as well as they could be. Things are maybe going to hold together, but not as cohesively as they could be. It's not going to be a tight bond. That's what unity does for a local church. It brings us together closely and helps us to labor together more effectively. That's why unity is so important in a local church. I'll just recite to you Psalm 133. We all know it. Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It's a very good and pleasant thing when you have a group of people that have come together to accomplish the work of God, then they're going to do so in unity. Everyone's kind of on the same page. Everyone's a first string. Everyone's the all-star. That's ideal. That's not always the way it's going to be. But even then, that doesn't mean there can't be a lack. There can't be a unity within a local church. We can always have unity. In fact, we need to have unity. Ephesians chapter number four, if you look there in verse one, it says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, with all lowliness and meekness and with long suffering, forbearing one another in love. So he's going to go on and he's going to, in verse three, implore them to what? Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit of bond and peace. He's saying endeavor to do this. Well, how are you going to do that? What is endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace look like? What does that look like? Does it just mean we're all very cordial with one another? Does it just mean that, you know, we save our grumblings, you know, for when we're alone? Does it just mean that we're not going to, we'll think these things, but we'll never say them? Is that what unity looks like? Is it we just keep all of our complaints and our, you know, our misgivings and our everything negative to ourselves? Just well, you know, I'm just, for the sake of unity, I'm not going to tell so-and-so what I really think about them. That's not unity, okay? And that's a spirit that can still creep into a church. Even if it's not expressed, it's there. No, the way we endeavor to keep unity is what? With all lowliness and meekness with long suffering, lowliness and meekness, esteeming others better than ourselves, forbearing one another in love, putting up with one another, forgiving, letting things go, letting things slide, okay? There is one body, verse four, and whenever I read this passage, I like to remind people of the following verses. Why should we work so hard to keep unity in the local church? Because there's one body. There is one spirit, even as you're called and one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. You know, there's only one church, folks. There's only one local New Testament church, okay? You know, that's called Faithful Word Baptist Church Tucson. Maybe there's another good local independent Baptist church, but if you want to go there, that's where you're gonna have to have unity over there too. You know, this is what we have here. If we want this church to thrive, we want this church to succeed, there has to be unity, okay? There has to be, and in order to have unity, you have to have what? Lowliness, meekness, long suffering. You have to have all of these things. Let's go back to 1 Corinthians where we were, 1 Corinthians chapter number 16. And you know, even despite all of this, you know, trying to get people to understand the need for unity, there's always gonna be, you know, and when it comes to this idea of unity, when it comes to the work of God, okay? When it comes to getting the job done, not everyone's gonna be on the same level. You're gonna have your first string, you're gonna have your second string. You're gonna have people that are more zealous about the things of God, that are more zealous about preaching the gospel, that are more dedicated to those things, and you're gonna have people that are less, so, okay? And that's just the way it goes. And what I don't want to see, you know, in this idea of keeping unity, is you don't ever wanna see the first string kind of look down on the second string. You wanna ever see the first string kind of look down and say, well, you know, what's your problem, okay? That's not unity. That's not lowliness. That's not meekness. That's not long suffering, okay? What we have to understand sometimes when it comes to people who are maybe more of a second string Christian is that really all it stems from is a lack of maturity, okay? We wouldn't take some junior high kid, you know, who's maybe, I'm gonna run with this football analogy, okay? Because you're with me, okay? We wouldn't take him, you know, he's played a little flag football now and then, and then put him in the NFL. And then when he gets, you know, just smeared into the turf, say, what's your problem? You know, well, he's about, you know, he's about 300 pounds shy of that linebacker that ran over him. You know, he's about two feet short and a few hundred pounds less than these grown men that are hurtling themselves at one another, right? You know, and that's the analogy I want to bring into this sermon. You know, when we take a second string Christian, we have to understand sometimes they're just gonna be a little underdeveloped spiritually. Maybe they just don't have the maturity and we all start out that way. And there's nothing wrong, of course, with, you know, starting out as a babe, but we should desire the sincere milk of the word that we may grow thereby. You know, we should want to grow into that first string, okay? So again, notice here in our text, there are first and second string players. And I want to kind of focus in on a few of the names that are mentioned here. If you notice there, let me just kind of switch things around here a little bit. There's these first and second string players. Let's kind of look at the, well, the first string, you know, they kind of jump out at us, okay? We already looked at Timotheus and Apollos early in there. You would definitely say Timotheus, you know, Paul's protege, Apollos, you know, another man that's mentioned throughout scripture. These are first string players. These are maybe team captains even, right? Then you have these people that are mentioned more locally in Corinth. He says, I beseech you, brethren, you know the house of Stephanas, and it is the first fruits of Achaia. So there's a first string Christian, okay? He's addicted himself to the ministry. And notice in verse 17, he said, I am glad of the coming of Stephanas, and of Fortunatus, and Achaias, and Achaiacus, and for that which was supplied, was lacking on your part, they have supplied. And you know it mentions, you know, Aquila, Priscilla, and some other people, but really you have these few names here that are mentioned. We would say, hey, these appear to be the first string players in Corinth, and there's probably others, okay? But these are people that Paul is expressing by name and saying, hey, I want you to acknowledge these people specifically as people that are laboring for the Lord, Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaiacus. So these are our first string players, okay? You say, well, who are the second string players? Well, let's look at verse 17. Again, he says, and I'm glad of the coming of Stephanas, and Fortunatus, and Achaiacus, for that which was lacking on your part, they have supplied. So, you know, the second string players are the people that are lacking, okay? Right there, the first string, you know, Stephanas and others, they're picking up the slack. Why? Because that's what they do. They're there to carry the team through the majority of the game. That's what a first string does in football, in any other sport, as far as I understand it. Maybe you football players can straighten me out later, but you know, you have your starting quarterback, you have your star pitcher, you know, they kind of go through the majority of the game. They're there through the periods and the innings, the most of the time, you know, they're kind of making up what the others lack, right? You know, when it's sports, it comes to talent, training, and things like that. You know, in the local church, you know, it's really maybe there's more, there's Christians that are just a little bit more mature in the Lord. They've been at it a little bit longer. They've read their Bible. They know how to give the gospel. They've had their senses exercised, okay? So they can discern good and evil, okay? They're mature. They're capable of taking in the strong meat or the word of God. They've been weaned off of the milk, okay? And they're making up, you know, for the second string. And the second string are the people that are lacking, okay? And again, I want to go back to my first point, because I don't ever want people to think that I'm just trying to talk down or put people down. You're going to have a second string, because it's a matter of maturity, okay? People have to grow into these things, all right? That's why we want to keep that unity and not looking down at others, okay? So you have these first and second string players and say, well, which am I, okay? Which one am I? Am I a first string or am I a second string? Well, all we have to really do is look at the attributes of each group of people and then look at ourselves and say, well, where do I fit in? Do I resemble more of a Stephanus or do I resemble more of, you know, those that are lacking? You know, which one am I? Where do I fall in this category? Well, let's start with, you know, let's just pull the Band-Aid off, all right? Let's look at the second string Christians first, okay? Attributes of the second string Christians. I should have had you keep something there in Ephesians, but we're going to go back to Ephesians 4 in a minute. But notice that something that the second string Christians should be doing, okay? You know, and this idea of having unity when it comes to the work of God is, you know, second string Christians, you know, rather than either thinking less of themselves or trying to tear down maybe the Stephanuses that are in the church and things like that, what they really need to do is they need to submit to the first string players, okay? Sometimes the hardest thing in the Christian life is just to admit we're not what we're supposed to be. We're not the soul winners we're supposed to be, we don't read our Bibles like we're supposed to, we don't pray like we're supposed to, we're not the church members we're supposed to be, we're not the husbands, we're not the wives, we're not the children. You know, we read the Word of God, we hear the preaching of the Word of God, and sometimes it hits close to home, we say, well, that just tells me that I'm not what I'm supposed to be. You know, a second string Christian has to be willing to admit that they are just that, that they're a second string Christian. That's what we kind of see here in the text if you look there again in verse 16, he says that ye submit yourselves unto such and to everyone that helpeth with us and laboreth. So it seems like there's this group there, there are some that are helping, there are some that are laboring, there are some that are not lacking, and then you have some that aren't helping, that aren't laboring, and that are lacking. You have a first string and a second string, all he's asking here from the second string is that you submit yourselves unto such, unto those like the house of Stephanus who have addicted themselves to ministry, that you would submit yourself unto such who labor and work in the Lord. You know, that's what's gonna create unity in a local church. You're not always gonna have, and not everyone's gonna be on the same level. But if we're that second string, what we need to learn to do is submit unto those that are first string and follow their example and try to get on that first string, okay? At least that should be our natural desire. That's typically what most people want to do. They wanna be in that starting line up, okay? That's the way it ought to be in the Christian life. We ought to want to be that first string player, okay? So that's the first attribute of a second string Christian. At least that's one that should be there. They should have this attitude of, I wanna submit to those that are maybe more mature in the Lord and learn from them, okay? Let's go over to 1 Thessalonians chapter number five. I know I got you turning all over the place this morning, but I'm turning there with you, okay? 1 Thessalonians chapter number five. If we look there in verse 12, it says, and we beseech you brethren, to know them which labor among you and who are over you in the Lord and admonish you, okay? So there's this group of people, and a lot of times we'll read this and we'll think, oh, that's just referring to the pastor, not just referring to the preacher. He's the one that's over the house of God. And you could definitely apply that. But it doesn't really narrow it down to just that group of people, does it? It doesn't say, Paul could have much easily more precisely said, submit yourselves that you know the pastors and the preachers and the leaders, right? No, he's saying, know them which labor among you. And look, labor is something that's not just reserved for the preacher. It's not just for the pastor or the deacon. You know, labor is something we're all supposed to be doing. You know, laboring and working for the Lord is something that involves every single one of us, okay? And again, just like in Corinth, you know, here in Thessalonica, it seems like there's this first and second string, doesn't it? There are those that are laboring and doing the work, and then there are those that are not, or maybe not to the same degree at least, okay, as they could be or even should be. But he's saying here, look, you know, we beseech you, again, there's that begging, verse 12, we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, okay? But notice verse 13, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake and be at peace among yourselves. So again, it comes all back to this idea of unity when it comes to the work of God. You know, wherever we are, first string, second string, you know, we need to esteem one another and to love one another and to have meekness and long suffering. And understanding that people are growing in the Lord, some people have already achieved certain things, have gotten to a certain level in the Christian life, we should esteem them, you know, and not get this attitude of, oh, that's just for them. Well, of course they would do that, that's just for them, you know. Well, of course they would go out in labor like that, I mean, look at them. I mean, look, they have this background, they have this history, you know. No, that's, you know, that's not esteeming them very highly. You know, if we were esteeming somebody like that, we would say, I would want to be like them. I want to be more like that individual. I mean, don't you want to be more like the people you esteem? I mean, people do this all the time, you know, in all different kinds of areas. I mean, I'm kind of running with a sports theme this morning, you know, ironically, the least probably athletic guy in the room is using a sports analogy, right? But, you know, people look at certain, you know, maybe you're involved in some sport, you know, like football or basketball or something. You might look to another player and say, man, that guy is really good. You know, you would probably try to, you know, when Michael Jordan was big, you know, and I was, I mean, back when he wore 23, you know, the dynasty, that's when I was watching basketball, buddy, when it mattered, okay. Now, when he had all these, you know, these prima donnas running around, you know, looking like a bunch of sketch pads, okay. It was Michael Jordan, all right, saw him play. He was wearing 45 by the time I saw him in person, and it was literally from the nosebleed. Like, you couldn't get in a higher seat, but there he was. But there he was, okay, greatest of all time, amen. But I don't know where I was going with that. Oh yeah, so people, you know, we're playing basketball at the park, and you know what a lot of guys started doing? This. You'd see a lot of this. It's like, what are you doing? Well, it's what Michael Jordan does. I'm pretty sure it's not his tongue that makes him, you know, be able to play as well as he does, you know, and that was something you do. We all saw that, you know, you know, he's out there, I do all this for you, you know, I'm trying to bring a little sugar with the medicine this morning, okay. But you know, oh, they go out and they buy the shoes, they get the Air Jordans. It's got to be the shoes. It's not the shoes, folks, it's the genetics, it's the training, it's a lot of things that you can't just go out and buy, right. But my point is this, when people are steaming someone, when they're saying, wow, they're seeing them very highly, typically they want to be like them. They want to be more like that person, right. That's the way I want to be in the local church. You know, if we see somebody who maybe knows their Bible better than we do, maybe somebody who does a little more soul winning or has a better way of doing the soul winning or is more involved in local church, we got to look at those people and rather than, you know, trying to tear them down or explain it away, we should just steam them very highly for their work's sake and say, man, I want to be more like that, okay. So this is something that is an attribute of second string Christians, one that ought to be there, okay. And of course, you know, they need to grow and become stronger as Christians. We saw that in Ephesians chapter four. Did you go to Ephesians four? Are you there? Okay, now I have to go there. All right, I already made you turn there. I'll go there too. Ephesians chapter four. I know we already read it, but we'll look at it again because it's, again, it's all kind of ties together. It says here in Ephesians chapter four, looking again at verses 15, but speaking of the truth and love, let's back up, verse 11. And he gave some apostles and prophets and some evangelists, some teachers, some pastors and teachers. Why did he give these things? So that there could be people that are better than others. No, that's not it. So that some people could, you know, have a higher opinion of themselves than other people. No, that's not it. The reason why he's given us these people is for the perfecting of the saints, okay, to make them more complete Christians, for the work of the ministry, so that we could actually get something done for God. That's why we have people that are over us in the Lord for the edifying of the body of Christ. You know, that's part of the job that, you know, a preacher is supposed to speak unto edification, right? To edify them and to encourage them. Yes, to reprove and rebuke and exhort all long-suffering doctrine, but there's another big part of preaching that's called edification, to try and encourage people to, you know, to grow and to be better Christians. For the edifying of the body of Christ, verse 13, That's where we're all headed. But notice again this idea of growth, verse 14, You know, God's desire for every one of us is that we grow into the stature and the fullness of Christ, that we don't remain children, and that we understand doctrine and we're not just carried about with every wind of doctrine. Let's go back to 1 Corinthians, where we were, 1 Corinthians 16. So the weaker, the second string, you know, that's just the way it kind of goes, you're always going to have that, you know, they should esteem the first string and desire to be like them, meaning they're going to have to grow stronger, okay? You know, maybe the guy wants to be in that starting position, you know, he's probably going to have to put a little bit more time in practicing the skills necessary for the coach to say, you know what, you're approved, right? Just kind of like, you know, getting away from the sports analogy, maybe more into, you know, the idea of, you know, music, right? You have your first chair, second chair, violinists and things like that. You know, the first chair violinist isn't there just because, you know, they paid money or something like that, or they just look better, they're there because they're the most talented or most skillful musician that can play that instrument, right? And then you have the second ones, right? If they want that first chair, they're going to have to work at it. They're going to have to grow stronger, they're going to have to grow up and get the strength and the ability in order to be worthy of that position, okay? It's the same thing in the Christian life, it's the same thing in the local church. If we want to be that first string, if we want to be somebody that is acknowledged as those that labor and work in the Lord, that's what we're going to have to do. We're going to have to do that work. We're going to have to get involved, okay? We're going to have to, as newborn babes, desire this and still make the work that we may grow thereby, okay? Now, what's another attribute? You say, well, I don't know where I fall into this. Well, here's how you know, and this is maybe a little bit more of the painful part of the sermon, but I'll soften the blow as much as I can. Notice here about when it comes to second strings, and I've already kind of mentioned this, is that they labor less than others. That's how you kind of know. They're the ones that are laboring less than the first string. I mean, that's kind of what makes the difference, isn't it? He says there, again, in verse, where were we at here, verse 16, that you submit yourselves unto such and to everyone that helpeth with us and laboreth. Again, so there's this group that does labor, and then end of verse 17, for that which was lacking on your part, they have supplied. So there's this idea that, you know, the people that are laboring and working, that's your first string. Those that are lacking, that's your second string. The first string is making up for them. And that, again, is just the way that it is. And here's the thing about this. You say, well, you know, I just don't know. I feel like second string is just where I belong, and the work of God is getting done. Look, the work of God is getting done in this church. We're knocking doors. We're seeing souls saved. We're getting baptisms every so often. The church is still strong. We have a good solid core here, I believe, of people, and this church can still continue to grow and to do great things in the coming years for Christ. But it's not like we're suffering for a lack of work either. You know, that's not what you see in Scripture anywhere. Go over to Luke 10. I know it's a very familiar passage, but I think, you know, this is really something that we have to think about when it comes to this idea of, you know, those that labor more so than others. You know, some people, you say, why is it that some people maybe work a little bit more in the work of God than others? Well, maybe it's just a lack of, again, maturity. They don't see the need. They don't see how desperate the situation truly is. You know, the first string, those that are a little bit more spiritually mature, who are a little bit more heavenly minded, might be able to see more clearly, you know, the lateness of the hour, as it were, the desperation that we're truly in, okay? I mean, we're singing that song before the service, you know, you see our fathers and our mothers and our children sinking down. I mean, that's going on all around us. You know, work and pray for sinners. You know, go and plead with them. That's the work that we're called to do. Look, that work hasn't lightened up. You know, there's not less souls to get saved today. There's more, okay? I mean, look at Luke chapter 10, beginning of verse one. He said, after these things, the Lord appointed other 70 also and sent them two by two before his face and to every city and place, whether he himself would come. And I always, whenever I read that, I love that last part, whether he himself would come. He's sending them out and then he's going himself as well. Jesus got right in the yoke and was working alongside them. Verse two, he says this is the part I want to focus on. Therefore, he said he unto them, the harvest truly is great. Say, well, we don't need more workers because it's, you know, there's not enough souls to go around. You know, the gospel is being preached plenty. We don't, there's too many people out there preaching the gospel. Is that the problem? He's saying the harvest truly is great. Look, there's a great harvest of souls in this world that need to be brought into the kingdom of God. But what's the problem? But the laborers are few. The laborers are few. I don't know if you noticed, but at the end of 1 Corinthians 16, it's not like a litany of names. It's not, you know, a half dozen or a dozen people that are being mentioned. It's two or three. It's not a lot of names that are being mentioned. The laborers truly are few. The first string is, you know, is getting stretched thin sometimes. You know, we don't want to see that in our church where it's all of the work just gets done by a few people. All of the laboring gets done by just a few people. You'll wear people out that way. And even if those people manage to stick at it and go at it year after year by the grace of God, you know what? We're still not going to accomplish everything we could. We're still not going to see the amount of salvations that we could. We're still not going to be able to bring people in here to the same degree that we could if the second string tried to become a first string, okay? Again, the problem is not a lack of work. There's plenty of work to go around. Go back to 1 Corinthians. Go to chapter number three. And here's what, you know, if we're sitting there feeling more like a second string this morning, you know, and I'm not just trying to pick on people. I'm not trying to make people feel bad. But what I always think about is that there's this spiritual reality that is coming to every single one of us. You know, every single one of us is going to stand before God and give an account for the things that we've done in this body, whether it be good or bad. You know, and that's what I try to keep in mind as someone who is pastoring a church and preaching to a church and looking over this body here is, you know, my main concern in your life is not your physical comfort, okay? Don't let those chairs fool you, okay? Don't let this beautiful decor throw you off, all right? You know, this is the eyesore I'm trying to make up for in here, okay? But my concern is not your, you know, your physical, I mean, I'm not saying I want to make everybody's life miserable. You know, we're going to get where it's a wooden benches with no backs from here on out. You know, what I'm saying is this, my primary concern is your spiritual reward to come. You know, that's what a good minister, that's what a good shepherd of a flock would be concerned about. The well-being of his flock in the long run. Of course, you know, there's all the other concerns that come with that. Caring for the flock, helping them through tough times and things like that, that's just part of the course. But ultimately, you know, the goal here is to get people to a good reward that we can give a report with joy, now with heaviness, okay? You know, when I give an account for, you know, the flock that I was over, that I can give that report with joy. And I can say so-and-so did this, and so-and-so did this, and so-and-so did this. And these got all these souls saying, they participate, you know, I can give a good report, okay? That's why I'm preaching this. And this is what I want people to understand if we're maybe feeling more like a second strain is that, you know, it's not just this sermon that's maybe a little uncomfortable. You know, you feel like this is uncomfortable. You know, what's really going to be uncomfortable is when it's Christ that you're standing in front of. And he's going to weigh your works, okay? 1 Corinthians chapter number three. If you look there in verse eight, he said, Now he that planteth and he that watereth one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor, okay? We can't piggyback off the work of other people. We're not going to get to heaven and say, well, I went to a church where a lot of souls got saved, okay? But how many did you get saved? Well, I went to a church where they preached the gospel a lot. How much did you preach it? That's every man, isn't that what it says here? Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor, okay? For we are laborers together with God. He are God's husbandry. He are God's building according the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder. I have laid the foundation, another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For no other foundation can no man lay with that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. And we know the rest of the passage. If any man's work abide, verse 14, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive reward. It's his work that's going to be judged. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. But he also shall be saved, yet so as by fire. And that's what we need to understand. If we're fighting, maybe we feel that we fall into that second string category, is that there is an eternal reality that we're going to have to face one day. And look, it's going to be a sad day when we get there, and all we have is ash in our hands. And it's an analogy I know I've used many times in this pulpit, but it's something I think about constantly. You know, when my works are tried, of course we're all going to have things that are burned up, okay? Things that are just of no eternal worth. But you know, I don't want to have to be digging through the ashes trying to find some precious jewel, some reward for me, okay? I want that to, you know, I want to be the more rewards than ash. You know what I mean? That's the goal. Maybe that won't even happen. But as long as we work like that could happen, you know, then maybe it won't be such a sad, embarrassing moment before Christ. You know, really. So let me move on here to the attributes of the first string Christians. We kind of look at the attributes of the second string Christians. And again, you know, you're always going to have that element. That's just part of Christian growth. That's just a part of a growing church. You know, but the admonishment to the second string is to don't remain second string. You know, not just for the sake of the work that we have to do here, but for the sake of your own eternal reward, okay? Let's look at the attributes of the first string Christians. The first thing I want to point out is that they are recognizable. You don't really have to wonder who they are, at least in Corinth. I mean, he's just saying, hey, ye know the house of Stephanas, right, verse 15, that it is the first fruits of a KI, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. He's saying, look, you know who these people are. They're first string, right? You know, again, running with the football analogy, right? Let's say we know, instead of everyone sporting their favorite team, right, you know, they get their whatever jersey that has their favorite team and their favorite player with his number, and they walk around thinking that people are going to mistake them for that player. They're not. I know that's not why people wear it. You're like wearing it. Hey, can I get an autograph? I'm actually not Deion Sanders. Or Deion, what was his name? I'm thinking Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions, greatest running back of all time. It was Deion. It was Deion. Was there a Barry Sanders and a Deion Sanders? Man, some about that name Sanders. You know, everyone's going to go change their name now, right? But look, if I were Barry Sanders or Deion Sanders or John Elway, this is how far back. I don't know anybody else, okay, John Elway. I'm really dating myself here, okay? Michael Jordan, John Elway. If I wore their, you know, jersey, no one's going to walk up and be like, are you Michael Jordan? Like, yes, I am. Maybe if I shave my head, you know, I start smoking cigars and wearing gold rings, you know, maybe I could get away with it. No, you know, but here's the thing. Why do people wear that? It goes back to the idea of why they steam them very highly. They're big fans, right? Okay, well, what if we make a spiritual application out of that? What if we started handing out, you know, jerseys for people who are like, you know, the soul winners jersey, the Bible readers jersey, you know, the great Christians of the faith, their jerseys, you know, if someone put on your spiritual jersey, you know, with your name and your number, you know, your spiritual name, and it's just this spiritual jersey that they're, you know, sporting, would they go, oh, are you? And you'd be like, no, I'm not. I'm just a big fan, right? You know, if someone was wearing your jersey, would they go, well, who's that? You know, they, I, correct me if I'm wrong, but they don't make a jersey for every player, do they? I mean, I'm sure you can order a custom one if you're that weird guy who wants to have some obscure name that nobody recognizes, but everyone typically goes for the big names. Whoever those names are, I don't really know anymore, apparently. Okay, but last I checked, no one's making like, you know, the guy who was like, the last pick in the draft, or maybe some walk-on who's like, maybe plays five minutes in the entire season. They don't, do they make a jersey for that guy? Do they put that out there? You know why they don't make that jersey? Because it wouldn't sell because nobody would wear it, because nobody knows who that guy is. Okay, that's not what we want in our Christian life. Okay, first string players, they stand out. They're kind of known. And again, it's not because they set out to make a big name for themselves. You know, there's a difference between vain ambition and ambition. Okay, you know, it's because they are serious about the things of God. They're serious about the work of the Lord. They want to get involved. They want to do the work. You know, people like that tend to stick out, and people start to know who those people are. Oh, you want to be a better soul? Well, you should go solely with so-and-so. They're really good. They're going to help you. Oh, you want to learn about this, or you, there's this topic in the scripture, or you want to know more about, well these, I know so-and-so, they read their Bible, they know the scripture. You know, those people stick out not because they're trying to, it's just because that people just kind of tend to fall into these categories. First string, second string, everyone just kind of falls into that. And you know what? That's not putting down other people. It's just the way it is, you know, we should still endeavor to have that unity with meekness and lowliness, but we have to also understand the fact that there are first string Christians, that there are people that are going to stick out a little bit more, that you know, if we put on their spiritual jersey, they'd say, I know who that is. You know, we could think about people that we know, like preachers that we know. You know, we started walking around with a jersey that said, you know, Pastor Steven Anderson, you know, or Pastor Roger Jimenez, or Pastor Bruce Mejia. I mean, these are people, these are names that, you know, not everyone knows, obviously. They're not like, you know, international superstars. They have been known internationally from time to time, but probably not for the reasons everyone would want. But, you know, people would recognize that, right? People would say, hey, I know who that is. Why? Because they've kind of done the work. They've kind of gone out there and put themselves out there and preached the sermons and there's nothing wrong with that. Okay. I'm just using that as an example of saying, hey, what about you? You know, what, you know, would people recognize you as a first string Christian? They are recognizable and because that, you know, they are also to be acknowledged. You say, well, I'm not going to recognize them. Well, actually, we probably should. We should probably look at the more seasoned Christians around us, people who've lived the Christian life longer than us, that have learned some things about the Christian life and we should acknowledge them as such. We should recognize them. We should acknowledge them. That's what Paul says here. Verse 18, for they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore, acknowledge ye them that are such. Them that are such as what? Them that labor, them that have refreshed me and you, those that have made up that which you lack. You know, we should acknowledge them as such. They should be recognized as what they are. You know, first string Christians. You know, it would behoove us to go to people who maybe have raised children in the Lord, the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and look to them as an example. You know, it would behoove us to recognize the people around us that have read the Bible, that do know doctrine, the people that do know how to win souls, the people that are serious. It would be good for us to recognize them and follow their example and learn from them. Okay, it's a benefit. A couple of closing attributes when it comes to this point of the first string Christians, okay, that I want to point out. Again, in verse 18, it says there, for they have refreshed my spirit and yours. They have, Paul's saying, these people that I've mentioned by name, they've refreshed my spirit. They've been a blessing to me, okay. You know, the first string Christian, you know, they refresh the coach, right? I mean, that's using the analogy again. Paul's kind of like the coach, right? He's kind of calling the shots. He's saying, hey, recognize this person. There's this guy. You know, this one's going to do that. And he's kind of calling the shots, right? He's the coach. He's calling the place, right? But notice what he's saying about these people that are laboring and doing the work. He's saying, when I see them and I think about these people and the effort that they put in the ministry, they refresh my spirit and they refresh the spirits of others as well. They bring joy, not grief. I'm going to have you turn to one more place, the book of Philemon, chapter number one. It's right between Titus and Hebrews, okay. The book of Philemon, you know, we don't want to be people that bring grief. And let me just say this. It's possible to do that. It's possible to be a Christian who brings more grief to the table than refreshment, who doesn't bring joy but brings sorrow. It's a possibility. You know, if people, you know, even if they're maybe a first string, you know, and then they get slack and then they get into sin or whatever and they fall out, you know, that's not going to bring refreshment. That's going to be sorrow. You know, or people that just have to be constantly drug along and drug along and drug along and just never seeming to get it, never seeming to wanting to take those first steps and begin to grow in the knowledge of grace of God. You know, those people do not refresh the spirit of those around them. They don't refresh my spirit. I'm not saying that I loathe these people or I don't want them around. I want them around. You know, but I, you know, there's people that I think about often in this church and it's just every service I'm going, where are they? Why aren't they here? Don't they want to grow? That's, you know, I'm not saying I put that down, but I'm saying this is that that doesn't refresh my spirit. You know, so, and I try not to dwell on it, honestly, you know, but you know that this is my life, okay? These are the things that I think about, okay? This is my occupation, okay? But you know, then I think about all the great people we have in our church. I think about all the people that are faithful, the people that are showing up and doing the work and are there and are faithful to the services and doing what they can from the Lord. You know, that refreshes my spirit. You know, so there's a difference there. We want to just make sure that we are more of a refreshment than a drain, okay? And I thought about this here in Philemon there, if you look in verses 19 through 21, chapter one. It's a little Bible joke there for you. He says, I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand. I will repay it, albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me thine own self besides. If you know the book of Philemon, he's pleading for Onesimus' sake, you know, his former servant that he met in his bonds, got him saved and he's sending him back. He fleed. I don't want to go into all of it. So he's kind of, he's kind of imploring him to hate and treat him well, you know, treat him well for my sake, you know, because you owe your own self to me besides. And he says in verse 20, Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord, refresh my bowels in the Lord. He's saying, will you please do what I'm asking? Will you please do what I'm imploring you to do? It would be a refreshment to me, refresh my bowels in the Lord. It would, it would give me joy of thee in the Lord. You know, Paul often through his epistles says that he ceases not to give thanks for you, making mention of my prayers. That's what he said in the book of Ephesians, chapter one. You know, since he heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all saints, I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you always in my prayers, right, that the God of our father, Lord Jesus Christ, you know, may give me the spirit of wisdom, revelation, the knowledge of him. He prays for them in his prayers, not just that they would grow, but he's actually giving thanks for these people that have refreshed him in their, in his spirit. I mean, it's a great thing to have someone bringing your name before the throne of God and saying, God, thank you for so-and-so. God, thank you for this individual. Thank you for this family. Thank you for this, these people. Thank you for these people that are faithful and do the work. Thank you for them. Please bless them. That's a refreshing prayer. I pray. Not, Lord, I don't know what's wrong with so-and-so. I, I, I think they're just thick, Lord. Would you deal with them? Do whatever it takes, God. That's not a refreshing prayer. That's not something you want to pray. Sometimes it's something you have to pray. Sometimes it's the only thing to pray. I get that. But that's not, you know, it doesn't have to be that way for us. You know, and this is the attribute of first-string Christians. They refresh the man of God. They refresh the coach. They bring joy. And notice here, I'll close here. I'll close this passage. I'm not closing the sermon yet. And stick with me. But he says there, in verse 20, Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord. Refresh my bowels, Lord, having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee. He's saying, I wrote this letter. I knew before I even got done writing it, you were going to do everything I asked you to do. Finally, I knew you were going to do it. I have confidence in you. That's a first-string Christian. You know, you give them a task. You ask something of them. You just know, it's done. It's as good as done. And you don't have to wonder. You don't have to worry. He goes, knowing that thou wilt do also more than I say. He says, I know not only you're going to obey and do what I'm asking, but I know you, Philemon, and I know that you're also going to go above and beyond. You're going to do more than I say. And really, that's what a first-string Christian is. That's a team captain. That's a, you know, front and center, you know, you know, type of player that we need. That we should all try to be somebody that's not just going to do what's required of them, but actually go above and beyond and try to do more. And not just for, just to make, you know, the apostle Paul here, not just to make the deacon happy, the preacher happy, but because that is something that is going to please God. You know, that's something that is going to earn us great reward in heaven when we start to just do things on our own. I mean, that's the impression I get back there in 1 Corinthians. You want to go back there from these people that are mentioned, is that these are the kind of people that really didn't have to sit there and have their hand held in order to live the Christian life. And again, we all start there. Believe me, I get that. Believe me, I've been there, you know, and I'm not beyond, you know, getting out of sorts with God, having somebody come alongside me and say, hey, you need to fix this, you need to work on that. None of us is beyond that. I get that. We just don't want to stay there. We don't want to just remain in that place where it's like, okay, like a little child, and be like, okay, now you got to do this, now you got to do that. Eventually, we want to be mature, we want to be full of strength, we want to be able to just do things on our own without having been asked. That's kind of a sign of maturity, isn't it? We would look at our, you know, teenagers want to become adults. What are you going to treat me like an adult? When you act like one, what does an adult do? They do what they're supposed to do without anybody asking them to do it. They just do it, right? And they might even go beyond what's expected of them and just do things because it needs to get done, okay? It's the same way in the spiritual life. If we want to be that first string, that mature Christian, someone who's a refreshment to those around them, you know, that we'll just start doing things, not just what's been asked of us in obedience, but even more. We will just do things because they need to get done. We'll see a need, we'll fill a need. They refresh the coach, and then lastly here, they make the man of God glad. If you look there again in verse 17, I am glad of the coming of Stephanos and Fortunatus and Achakus. So they have lacked on your part, on your part they have supplied, lacking on your part they have supplied. He said, I'm glad that these people are coming. I'm glad for these specific individuals. They make me glad. What's another word for glad? Happy, right? Joyful. They cause them to rejoice. You know, when you have a church with people like this in it, it makes you glad. It makes you happy. You know, and I believe we have that here. I believe that. I just don't want to lose it. You know, and I want more of it. I want more of the same. You know, I want to see more people, not just because it makes me glad, but you know what, if I'm happy, you know, it means that people are doing what they're supposed to, it's because they're going to go to that throne and they're going to receive a reward. That's what makes me happy. You know, Paul is happy not because he has someone, you know, who's serving him or somebody who's, you know, you know, he's tasking and making them do all these things. He's not, you know, got some errand boy or something. He's happy because the people are doing what they're supposed to do in the Lord and for the Lord's sake. That's what's making him happy. So let me close by making an application here. What's the application of the sermon? Okay, we looked at, you know, the attributes of first string Christians that they're recognizable, they're refreshment, they make the man of God glad. We looked at the attributes of second string Christians, how everyone kind of starts there. We don't want to remain there, but they are to submit to the first string players, you know, they're to look to them and beseech them, and, you know, very highly or esteem them very highly and love for their work's sake, you know, and that they are to labor more. And, you know, we talked about the unity that should be there between these players. Okay, but the application is this, you know, achieve the first string in the Christian life, achieve the first string. You know, my goal in life is not, let me see how little I can do for God. That should not be our goal. You know, how much can I, how can I just squeak by in the Christian life? You know, let me just stay one step ahead of being completely backslidden. That's a very low bar in the Christian life, you know, and it's not going to end well, you know, and that's, and I just don't understand why anyone would want to live their life that way. I mean that, all that's going to make the Christian life is a drudgery. All that's going to do is just make the Christian life this white knuckling through life, like, well, let me just not get completely backslidden. That's, no, let me do something big for God. Let me do something exciting. Let me get involved. Let me do the work. Let me see God move in my life and the lives of others. That's what I want. That's the first string mentality. Don't settle for second string. We'll look there again at verse 15. This is probably where everyone thought I was going to go right away, right? This famous verse about how Stephanus did what? Addicted himself to the ministry, right? That's what it says in verse 15. I beseech you brethren, you know the house of Stephanus, that it is the first words of a KI, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. Why is the house of Stephanus a first string Christian? Because they've addicted themselves to something. Look, people addict themselves to things all the time, don't they? You know, we probably all have things we're passionate about. You know, obviously the word addiction has a very negative connotation today, you know, and rightly so. You know, people get addicted to very bad things all the time and those things should go away. But you know, this idea of being addicted to something isn't necessarily a bad idea. You know, and honestly, we're all probably in some way shape or form addicted to something. We all have something that we're passionate about. We all have something that a hobby that we like to pursue or something that we're really into. We're addicted to it, right? We can't get enough of it. When we finish, we want to hurry it back and do more, get more, whatever. Okay. But notice they're addicted to the ministry of the saints. That's what they've addicted themselves to. What made them first string? What made them recognizable? What made them a refreshment to Paul and those around them? The fact that they had addicted themselves to the ministry of the work of the saints. They were addicted to it. You know, let me, they had what? The love of the game, right? The love of the game. You don't want to, you know, you get these professional athletes, the love is gone, right? It's just a paycheck. Just try not to get injured. They're trying to retire, right? They typically don't make the all-stars, right? They're probably not the players that are going to be a big name. I don't know. Maybe they are. I don't know. Maybe some people are just riding on raw talent. I don't know. But you know, it's the people that have the love of the game that are addicted to what they're into, that are passionate about what they're into. You know, those are the people that stand out, that become the first strength. You know, so what is it in our life that we're addicted to? Is it the ministry of the saints? Honestly, it ought to be. It ought to be. I'm not saying to the exclusion of everything else in your life. You can't do anything else. It's just Bible, Bible, Bible, soul-winding, soul-wining, church, church, church, and nothing else, okay? But I'm saying this is that, you know, that ought to be a major prominent place in our life. The work of the ministry, the work of the saints. Notice again, it's the ministry of the saints that they've addicted themselves to. The ministry of the saints. They have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. There's a couple ways you can look at that. Is he saying they have addicted themselves to ministering to saints? To helping one another out? Maybe. When I read it, what I think though is that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints, meaning they're addicted to the ministry that only the saints can perform. You know, there's a work that we have to do that nobody else can do. Nobody else, you know, the JWs, and the Mormons, and all these other, you know, false prophets out there, and all these other people that are going door to door with some fake, false gospel. They can't do the work of the saints. They can't minister the work of the saints. They can't. They don't have the spirit of God. They're wolves in sheep's clothing, okay? You and I, who are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, who have God's preserved Holy Word in our hands, and have an understanding of it, have a very unique position in this world that only we can perform. You know, we talk about, you know, we think about these athletes that we're all in awe of because of their unique abilities, right? You know what? I'm so much, I'm so glad that I have the ability to preach the gospel rather than slam dunk a basketball. I don't care if I can run a 90, 90 yard touchdown and win the game. That's vanity. That's gonna, that's gonna be come and gone quickly. You know what the proof of this is? Who won the Super, some of you might know this actually. Who won the Super Bowl five years ago? Get a phone out. Who did win the Super Bowl? No one cares. I mean, I get it. There's people out there that care, okay, that are really, really into it, okay? There's people that can tell you played third base for the Mets in 1957, okay? Right there's one of them. That's because you were alive in 1957 and he was watching the Mets. I said Mets. He's gonna think, oh, that was all at me now. There's Astros. Sorry. Okay, I don't know. Is that even a team anymore? Don't answer. Okay, because then that means you know. Okay, look, I'm not against people getting into sports and I'm not. Okay, but I'm just saying, you know, that what am I saying is that, you know, people are, are getting really into that kind of a thing, right? They look at these superstars and they know all these names and they get really excited about that. But what about the work of the Saints? That stuff is all good. It's all vanity. Even if it's not simple, it's vanity. At the very least, you have to admit that if it's not an idol, at the very least, it's vain. And just like so many other things, I know all the sports fans are gonna get mad at me. So I'm picking on sports. Look, you're into reading all those books. Vanity. You're into art. All those paintings you admire. Vanity. All that, all those pieces of music that you think are so moving and beautiful. Vanity. You know, you're into architecture. All those, you know, all those great buildings and edifices of man. Vanity. It's all vanity. It's all going to disappear. The only thing that's going to last in this world is what we've done for Christ. And all I'm saying to this morning is that is a very unique opportunity that we have. And it's a handful of people in this city that have it. I'm not saying, you know, we're it. I'm sure there's other saved, born-again Christians out there. But are they really availing themselves at that opportunity? I mean, is this city just getting knocked left and right? Are we just, are we, are we running into a lot of saved Baptists out there? Because I haven't. I mean, I've gotten a door hanger and that's about it. Okay. Not saying they're not out there. I'm just saying, look, we have a very unique opportunity and responsibility. And I love how he describes Stefanos as the first fruits of Achaia. Isn't that, isn't that kind of a cool thing to be like the first ones that were kind of in on it? You know, well, I was into that before it was cool. So now I'm somehow I'm cooler, right? When you're into something that then becomes popular, you kind of feel like, well, these people weren't around when it wasn't as popular. You only know about it because it became popular. I was into that before everybody else was doing it, right? I'm the first fruits, right? Well, let me tell you something right now. You know, you are it here in Tucson. As far as I'm concerned, this group that has been assembled here in Tucson to do the work of God. This is the first fruits of Tucson. Looking at it. Okay. That's a very unique position. Let's not, you know, waste it. Let's take advantage of it. You know, let's be recognized as the first fruits of Tucson. Let's be recognized as somebody who labors in the Lord. Let's be recognized at not a second string Christians, but it's first string Christians. Go ahead and prayer.