Jump Start # 1976

1 Corinthians 16:17-18 “I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have suppled what was lacking on your part. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.”

This week we are on a journey. We are taking a stroll through our spiritual garden. We are counting the trees in our garden. Unlike Eve, who was focused upon the one tree God told her not to eat from, she failed to count all the other trees that God had provided. God is rich in blessings. We get listening to Satan’s sad song and feel that we have been left out, cheated and deserve more. What Satan points us to is what God forbids. Satan’s solutions are always wrong. He wants us to do what we shouldn’t. If we see how blessed we are, if we could only count the trees in our garden, then we would not listen to Satan as much. Count your many blessings, is a wonderful hymn and exercise.

Our verse today, reminds us of several mighty trees in our garden. Righteous friends, brethren, who know us, love us and have helped us through the years make up some of the amazing trees in our garden. It’s hard to know what one would do without great friends, especially when they are Christians. Years of worshipping together. Years of doing projects together. Years of sharing, learning, and growing together. In a forest, or woods, as we call them in Indiana, trees grow tall and close to one another. Under the soil, the roots don’t go straight down. They spread out under the soil. The roots of other trees weave and connect to the roots of other trees. Not only are they sharing the soil and nutrients but the roots all growing around each other help support each other. In the woods behind my house are some dead trees. They have been dead since I moved there. Why doesn’t the wind blow them over? They are being held and supported by the roots of the surrounding trees.

This is what brethren do. And as your faith grows and as you travel, you find this circle of godly companions ever increasing. Good people. God’s people. Those who love and stand for the truth. Those who want the kingdom to grow. These folks pray when there is a need. These people invite you into their homes. They want you to succeed spiritually. They want you to grow spiritually. Their roots are woven around your roots. Together you support each other. The Bible word for this is “fellowship.” It’s more than a name in a church directory, it’s a relationship. It’s trees in your garden. It’s roots woven together deep under the soil.

When this fellowship is right and strong, it’s powerful. It’s funeral homes packed with brethren. It’s a Saturday, and guys show up to help you load boxes and move. It’s hugs and tears when storms come, and it’s hugs and smiles when the sun comes out. It’s growing together. It’s a spiritual family. Just as in any family, there are bumps and hiccups once in a while. But we are family. We love each other. We are there for each other. We get through those tough times together. We are bound together through our faith in Jesus Christ. Grace, forgiveness, kindness and goodness causes us to watch our words and not be so opinionated. Love and care for one another causes us to get out of our lazy chairs and serve one another.

These are mighty trees in our garden. But Satan doesn’t want you talking about these. He wants you to look at forbidden fruit. He wants you to walk away from these trees. It is interesting in the Genesis account that there seemed to be just one tree that was forbidden. What a contrast. Satan would have you to think that God only allows you to eat from one tree and all the others are off limits. He would have you to think that you are missing out.

Now, there are two things that Satan does to try to get our eyes off our mighty trees of fellowship.

First, by making us feel alone. There are those like that. In a large church, they don’t know anyone. They have very few friends. They worship alone. Satan plays on that. You are not invited. You are not welcomed. You are not loved. You worship but you are not one of them. As long as Satan keeps singing this song, we will begin to find friendships elsewhere and among the choices that Satan offers.

Too often, we sit in our pew and we see conversations taking place. We see hugs, handshakes and slaps on the back. We hear laughter. We see all of this, but we are not included. We are on the outside, looking through the window and wishing we could be a part of that. That’s what Satan wants you to believe. It takes some doing on your part to make friends. This is especially true when a person has moved into a congregation. Friendships and relationships have already been formed for years. You are the new kid on the block. How do I get into that fellowship? How do I make friends?

Sadly, in some places, it’s a closed circle and the people will let you know that you are not one of them. That’s wrong and that’s dancing to Satan’s tune. Instead of waiting for someone to invite you, you invite them. You be friendly. Don’t always talk about yourself or the last place you were at. Listen. Be yourself. Don’t push and don’t try to change everyone to fit you. Laugh at yourself. Be open. Be like Jesus.

Satan will try to introduce people of the world to take the place of those mighty trees in your garden. Neighbors, co-workers and even family members who may be nice, but do not have that spiritual foundation to walk with Christ. They’ll laugh at your silly jokes. They’ll invite you. They’ll include you into their circle of fellowship. You spend a lot of your weekends with these people. You begin to think that you like these people more than those people down at the church house. You find yourself going along and every once in a while, actually doing things that you would never do before. But you don’t want to be the odd person in this group. And before you even know it, Satan has gotten you to compromise, weaken your stance and to accept what you never would before. The pull from the world has had an impact upon you. You begin to miss some services. It’s not a big deal you say. You’re doing things with your friends. They don’t worship. A little here. A little there. Your faith has weakened and you never realized it.

Now, is it wrong to have friends who are not Christians? Certainly not. How else are we to be the light into the world? How else will we try to show Jesus? However, when we view our friends of the world as a greater and more important influence in our lives than fellow Christians, then Satan has us looking at the wrong tree.

Paul, from our verse today, had his spirit strengthened because of the good brothers that came to him. A refreshed spirit. A heart that remains focused. A priority that runs strong and deep. A hope that anchors us through storms. There are good things that we gain from our fellowship with other Christians that we never can receive from the world. Most of us would not be who we are today, without those godly friends throughout our lives who stuck with us, by us and for us.

What’s in your garden that God provides? An enormous forest of spiritual friends who are there for you. Don’t take that for granted. Invest in these people. Pour hours into being with them. Serve them. Help them. Open your heart to allow them to do the same to you.

We are blessed!

Roger

Jump Start # 918

1 Corinthians 16:17-18 “I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have supplied what was lacking on your part. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.”

There are two common things about the end of most of Paul’s letters. First, he list names of brethren who have helped him. These grand servants of Christ risked their necks in service of the kingdom. Most have long names that are hard to pronounce and many are found just a few times here and there in the New Testament. They were worthy of the honor and thanks that Paul bestowed upon them. They brought financial support to Paul and were trusted messengers between Paul and the churches. They carried news, money and reports to Paul. These men played a valuable role in the interworking of the New Testament churches.

The other common aspect about these names at the end of Paul’s letters is that you and I often fly over them in our reading, thinking that the important part of the book is finished. We don’t connect to the value of these names, what they did, and how important they were.

Today, I want to notice the expression, “they have refreshed my spirit.” That is a great thing to do. This is vital to our keeping on with the Lord. The journey can seem long, and we can get weary and tired. Often, things happen that wears upon our spirits. Discouragement, disappointments can nearly break us. We need refreshing. We need encouragement.

A discouraged person walks through life with his feet dragging. He does things because he has to, not because he wants to. He often feels stuck—in a marriage, a job, or in a church. Leaving doesn’t bring him much hope, so he stays. You can tell when someone is discouraged. It shows in their eyes. They often are hoping and even looking for something better, when what they really need is some refreshing.

We do that at home. A fresh coat of paint…moving the furniture around can make the old place seem bright and new again. We need that on the insides, in our spirits. Too often, we miss it when it comes to us. It may not come in a big name like Paul, but rather in an unknown name like Stephanas.

Refreshed spirits have a new energy about them. Worship seems more alive, the singing better, the prayers richer and deeper when there is a fresh spirit about us. Refreshed spirits take on more, do more because they are motivated. They are again, “fresh.” In basketball, the coach will sit his best player on the bench for a few minutes to rest him. He then returns to the game, “refreshed,” strong and at the top of his game. A tired player will slow the team down.

We refresh each other by our presence. This is the valuable point of fellowship. It is the “fellows” that make it. It is being together. The smiles, the hugs, the handshakes, the conversations, the love, the energy that refreshes our spirit. We are loved at church. We are welcome at church. We are accepted at church. There is a goodness about that. Those that come in late and bail out as quick as they can, miss this aspect of church. They miss refreshing others and they miss being refreshed. It’s important. It’s needed. Your presence does that.

Thoughtful gifts refresh the spirits of others. That’s what these three did in our passage. They carried money to Paul so he could continue preaching. Things costs and when money is low, the discouragement grows. Without money, Paul would have to make and sell tents. He did that before. He was not too good to do that, but tent making takes away the time he could  use in teaching and preaching. Make tents or preach? Paul wanted to preach. These three made that possible by bringing a gift to Paul. That refreshed his spirit. I saw something like that recently where I preach. A dear older brother had some books that he wanted to give as a gift. He wasn’t sure who would appreciate them. He asked me. I gave him the name of someone who would be thrilled to have them. I watched as the books were given. Smiles were  abounding. The one who received the books was nearly in tears at such an unexpected offer. Spirits were refreshed. I was refreshed to witness all of this. You can do that. It doesn’t have to be anything huge. Sometimes it’s just a personal note that you mail someone. It lifts their spirits, makes their day and refreshes them.

I tend to think that God wants us in the refreshing business. The more refreshing we did and the less judging or complaining we did, the better things would be all the way around. When was the last time you thought about doing something for someone just because? You probably don’t need help with us, but let me list a few to think about:

• The elders in the church. They deal with a lot of stuff and often it’s not the good stuff. They hear about problems, complaints and failures on a regular basis. They try this and that to get us all closer and stronger in the Lord. Some of us are just plain stubborn and won’t be moved. These men love us, care for us and want us to go to Heaven. Have you thought about refreshing them?

• The college student away from home. He expects things from mom and dad, but from you? A gift card, a short note, a thinking of you idea can just make his day. It will refresh him and remind him of good spiritual people who love him and want to see him succeed.
• How about the single parent or the widow? Don’t get hung up why the single parent is a single parent, they are trying. It’s hard. Kids take a ton of time, attention, and effort. Most single parents have to do it all—working a job, working at home. Exhausted and stressed are the common companions to most single parents. They could use some refreshing. Offer to take the kids for an afternoon. Offer to cook some food. Offer… The widow is alone. Sure she has kids, but they are busy. Knowing that someone wants to take them out for lunch, go shopping with them, is thinking of them, includes them—is amazing. It is refreshing.

You can do it. You can be a Stephanas to someone. What you do can help someone keep going. Refreshing. I have found something special about refreshing. When you try to refresh someone it tends to refresh you as well. It works both ways. That’s amazing.

I hope this Jump Start helped refresh you.

Roger

Jump Start # 111

1 Corinthians 16:17-18 “I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have supplied what was lacking on your part. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.”

  A common link we find at the end of Paul’s letters is the recognizing and naming of people that have helped him. So as Paul ends First Corinthians he praises those who have made a difference. He understood that spiritually we are connected to one another and more so, what we do is a team effort. While Paul was out preaching, brethren collected money and sent it to him so he could survive. Messengers such as those named here were part of that essential team that supplied Paul his support. Without this how would he travel, eat and do all that he was doing?

  Now we often fly through such passages because we have difficulty saying these names and they don’t mean much to us. But in so doing, we often skip some valuable lessons. Consider a few thoughts today:

1. Everyone of us have had people who help us spiritually. First, we have a congregation that we are a part of that allows us to worship and pray with. Some may be in small groups and others large groups, it’s not the size but the hearts that are woven together that make the difference. From my personal standpoint, as a preacher, there are so many that allow me to do what I do. The preacher stands before the congregation each week and often he is the focus of attention because he is so visible, but behind the scenes are those who have all the electronic equipment working, those who record and make copies of cd’s for others, those who have the building prepared, those who have copy machines working, and on and on. More than that, there is the financial support that allows the preacher to devote his time to study and teaching. More than that, there is the spiritual and emotional support. I expect somewhere in your life there has been a “Fortunatus” who helped you spiritually. That person may have taken time to study with you and answer your questions. They may be the person that came and sit with you in the hospital waiting room while a loved one was having surgery. Other people may not know or recognize your “Fortunatus” but you know who they are and what they have done for you.

2. Also, recognize that these men “refreshed” the spirit of Paul. That expression comes up again in 2 Corinthians when Titus “refreshed” the depressed Paul. Refreshed. Isn’t that a wonderful thought? Clean sheets, spring breezes, fresh ice tea all brings the image of refreshing. Here Paul is talking about on the insides. It came from seeing brethren who were bringing good news and simply doing what they ought to do. Often we walk into the church house weary and beat up. Like an old dog, our tongues are hanging out, we are dragging our feet and our tanks are running on empty. I see it in the eyes of people. But then we all gather together. We sing. We praise. Our spirits begin to rise. We pray. We open our Bibles. We connect with God and before long our spirits are soaring. We walk out with our heads lifted high, and smiles upon our faces. We have been refreshed! We need that.

3. The final lesson here, is that we need to be a “Fortunatus” to someone else. So often we are looking for someone to be that to us, instead we need to be there for others.

  Refreshing. You do that through kind words, good needs, emotional encouragement, and spiritual support. Fortunatus—he made a difference and so can you.

Roger