I Corinthians 16:12  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 convenient time.
13  Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
14  Let all your things be done with charity.
15  I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)
16  That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.
17  I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied.
18  For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.

We see that even though the saints in Corinth were fighting over whom they would follow, there was no competition between Paul and Apollos. Apollos was a more eloquent speaker, but that was not a problem between himself and the apostle Paul. They were gifted differently by God and they were going to use their gifts for His glory.
We see also that each saint must seek God’s will in their plans. In our text, Paul’s desire was for Apollos to travel with him, but Apollos had other plans. We are not told whether Apollos was being led by God not to come with Paul. We know that the problems in Corinth were a hindrance to their growth and this may have affected Apollos’ decisions.
In verse 13 we are further reminded that true saints need to stand fast in the faith. There has been such a shift in what is classified as the faith in my lifetime. Churches that seemed to have some life when I was younger are completely dead now. Yes, they have lots of noise. They love their worldly music and they love to dance and party, but they are spiritually dead.
There is no doubt that there is pressure to reform. Ungodly children will try to force parents to “get with the times”. Parents will hold their children in higher esteem than God. They will watch their children pursue ungodly plans and will even change churches at times just to try to keep the family together. The first priority for true saints is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind. If we love the Lord as we ought to, we will also truly love our children and others. We will want to see others know the truth.
Men are supposed to be leaders. True leaders must be godly men. The world is full of secular men leading countries and churches, etc. I think of the Bible school I attended. When I was there, one of the younger teachers wanted to reform the music standards of the school. He invited a group in for some special meetings. That group got up to “perform” and in the middle of their performance the president of the school walked onto the platform and told that group that they were finished. They were marched off of the platform and that was the end of them at that school. That president acted like a man in that instance. That school was a board run school and a non-denominational school and thus it had a smorgasbord of ideas as to how to run the school. It was weak and today it is so far off base that it cannot be recognized as a Bible College. I am thankful that God protected me from the spirit of compromise that permeates that place.
Real men do not go with the flow. Real men take the Word of God as their authority and they meditate in It day and night. They walk circumspectly and seek to keep themselves in the love of God. They are not hanging on for dear life. They want to be sure they are serving God faithfully.
Spiritual strength is not judged by how much weight you can lift. It is judged by how obedient you are to the Lord God that saved you. We need real men with Biblical convictions. That is what God is looking for.

Joshua 1:6  Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7  Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9  Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

In verse 14 we are again reminded of the importance of charity. Charity does not let wickedness slide. God directed Paul to write this letter in charity. God’s love for the saved and unsaved moved Paul to expose the rot in the church in Corinth. He also showed them the right way to live. Yesterday, I was told of a preacher who took some verses in I Corinthians 7 to defend his corrupt position on marriage. That man will stand before the righteous Lord Jesus Christ one day and he will be ashamed of his defiance of the true God. He may stand at the great white throne judgment. It is not a minor thing to tamper with God’s Word. The love of God motivates the true saint to speak the truth.
In verses 15-18 God directed the apostle Paul to mention Stephanas and his household. In chapter 1 we read that the apostle Paul had personally baptized this man and his household. This man had not fallen into the carnality of the many in that church. He was a faithful servant of the Lord. He was an example to the people. He is mentioned as one of the firstfruits of the work in Corinth.
The word translated as “addicted” means “to arrange in an orderly manner”. Unlike the druggy, who subjects himself to drugs that will take control of his life and ruin him, Stephanas had willingly subjected himself to the will of God, which was building him up. This man proved his genuineness in that he ministered unto the saints. He was a great help to the apostle and to others. He was not a “pew warmer”. He was not looking for “fire insurance”. He was a genuine child of God who proved the work of God in his heart.
The apostle Paul encouraged the other saints to be like Stephanas. There is a great need for help in the work of the Lord. It is not a one man show. There needs to be a pastor. A godly pastor will seek out others who can help him in the work.
In verses 17-18 we see that Stephanas had a couple of others who were also willing to serve God faithfully. The church in Corinth was not obedient to the Lord in the material things needed by the apostle Paul. These other men had stepped in and looked after that which the church in Corinth should have done.
In verse 18 we see how encouraging it is to the man of God when others step up and obey God in their lives. The man of God does not go around begging. He does not keep talking of how he is deprived of necessities. He will teach on the importance of being good stewards. He will go about doing his work with what he has. He will also pray and seek God’s face in stirring others to be obedient to God’s will.
As we look at our country, we can see that laying up treasures on this earth is a futile effort. Inflation is eating into people’s savings. Businesses are closing due to the high cost of doing business. There are people who lack discernment and pour resources into worthless ventures. The governments are also trying to destroy the necessary things such as farming. The recalls that are taking place are part of a plan to lessen the food supply so that the government can cause people to become dependent upon them for the crumbs they want to feed us. We are seeing our country being brought back to the time of Germany and Russia under dictatorial leaders. Our “leader” loves the dictatorship of China.
Our politicians are trying to tell us we are in a global upheaval. That is because our country has submitted us to the WEF. A nation is supposed to be self-sufficient. There has been a deliberate effort to undermine that in our country. This effort affects the saints as well as the lost. We know in Bible times, that the true, godly Jews were affected by the invasion of Assyria and Babylon. God did not shelter them from those events. Men like Daniel and his three friends were spared to be able to minister to the leaders in Babylon as well as to other captives.
We are not Israel and there is no future for us on this earth. The world is crashing. This is not a “the sky is falling” hoax. If you look at what has happened in just a few short hours in Syria, we can see that God is continuing to shape events in preparation for the coming of the antichrist. The reason for the changing is a judgment of God. God is the only Rock upon Whom man should build. When people choose to reject Him, everything around them will eventually fall. God is longsuffering. He is not a weak old man who has lost control. He has given man many years to know the truth. Man has constantly chosen to defy Him and the time of greater reckoning is just around the corner. We do not know the day nor the hour, but we can see that things are changing.
True saints need to act like men and be sure their priorities are right. Material things all stay here. Souls have an eternal destiny. Reaching the lost with the truth should be the priority of all saints. Those who are saved need to ask God to open their eyes to see the truth and walk in it.
Pastor Bartel