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Preached in Markham Baptist Church, July 20, 2008
Guest Speaker: Dexter Hinkson
 

If I were going to sum up this mornings message in one phrase it would be taken from 1 Corinthians 3:8:  “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labour.”

I trust many of you would have heard of this very famous children’s story the Three Little Pigs, which was written by James Orchard Halliwell. It became truly popular by Walt Disney Productions in 1933. This morning we are going to journey back and revisit this childhood tale and peel back the various layers to the story in relation to this morning scripture passage. 1 Corinthians 3:4-15 so that we can understand the importance of No Compromise: In our Purpose.

I heard a good definition to the word purpose the other day: purpose is not a matter of chance - it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is something to be embraced.  So this morning let all of us embrace God’s purpose for our lives as we study God’s word.

Please turn to 1 Corinthians 3:4-15.  To set the background to this passage we are reading a correspondence between Paul and the church in Corinth. At the time of the letter Corinth was one of the chief cities in Greece. The church members were having a dispute between who teachings they should we be following Apollos or Paul.

Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit uses this as means to teach a more important truth about the Christian journey. The Church in Corinth had forgotten their purpose.  I alluded to a verse earlier: “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labour.” This passage has been traditionally interpreted in terms of evangelism.  I want to take a different bent on the passage and look at in terms of our personal walk with the Lord.

In the story of the three little pigs the mother said to them, "It is time for you to go out into the big world to build your homes and to seek your fortunes."  We see the pig’s purpose was to build their own homes and seek their fortunes. Let’s hold on to that thought and now turn to verse 4-9:

For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

I want to now pull back first layer in the story and say that God calls us to build our spiritual house which is our relationship with Him and the fortune that we are to seek is actually a greater awareness of Him in our lives and the people we encounter.

Earlier this week I was driving back from Cedar Beach and I happen to see this older gentleman hitchhiking. As a rule I don’t pick up hitchers, because I feel it is a very risky thing to do for both as a driver and hitchhiker. I saw this guy with very dirty John Deere hat and really dark sunglasses with his thumb out and so I kept going. But as I was getting to the top of the hill, God by His Spirit said to me, “Dexter, back up and pick this man up.” So I slammed on my brakes and drove backwards and picked him up.  We introduced ourselves and I asked him where he was heading. He said Stouffville for a doctor’s appointment. I said, “Oh.” He said, “Yeah, I been having problems with my eyes for a long time and the doctors have done all these test and can’t figure wants wrong with them and it got to the point that I was unable to drive and I needed to get myself to my doctor’s appointment so I figured if I start walking maybe someone would pick me.” 

As we chatted further he opened up more and said to me, “I know life is not easy and as we get older things break down.” He said, “When you get to my age if doesn’t hurt, then it means it’s not working. The only driving I can do now is on the farm with my tractor. It’s like my little oasis from life’s problem.” So I asked, “What do you do for income?” He said, “Just enough to get by.”

As I reflected on what I call a God-incidence (a God-ordained encounter) I wondered to myself how many people do we encounter in our workplace, neighborhood, school and even in our family who do just enough to get by, both spiritually and materially.

As we continue along the story of the three little pigs we see the first pig hurriedly builds his house out of straw. He finished the house in the same day and felt satisfied and looked forward to a life of partying and relaxation.

In others words he did just whatever it takes to get by. 

This attitude tends to very common in our culture today. I feel the qualities of commitment, dedication and purpose no longer is the governing rule in terms of how one approaches his or her job, relationships and purpose in life. It’s about doing the least amount for the maximum gain.  If one adopts that attitude in our approach to our relationship with God of just doing enough to get by that is all we will doing is getting by.

I have often wondered to myself about Christians who in this present life who never take the time to develop their relationship with Christ, how awkward it would be for them in spend eternity with the King of Kings.

Romans 12:11 "Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord."

Let’s continue on in the passage verses 10-11:  "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."

The second little pig took one look at the straw house of the first little pig and decided to build his house out of sticks. "My stick house will look better than his straw branch shack!"

Notice what he didn’t do - he didn’t tell his brother the first pig, “Your house doesn’t look very strong. Maybe you should reconsider the type of material you are using and location.” Instead the second little pig is more concerned about appearances than responsibility and obedience of growing his faith and supporting those around him. When we focus on appearance instead of substance we miss the purpose of why we were called to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Some of you may already know I am wrestler. I have been wrestling for over 20 years now. One skill I developed over the years was how to size up my opponent very quickly. I always knew when I was wrestling a rookie. Such a person would walk into the circle with his chest sticking out and an angry look on his face. From the outside, you would think that the wrestler with his chest out and angry look was the better prepared one, but it is the wrestler that enters ring, quiet, focused, and almost a blank look on his face is the one who has paid the price in terms of preparation before the match.

The second little pig is a Christian who knows and understands his or her spiritual responsibilities, but he or she won’t discipline themselves to do it. So, God plays second fiddle in their life.

Acts 17:11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

The roadway to spiritual maturity is paved with time spent with God. I have heard it said when it comes to sharing one’s faith you have to make sure the bridge of friendship can carry the weight of the gospel. If you don’t take the time to spend with God the effectiveness of our witness and your personal relationship with God will suffer.

Let’s continue in verses 12-13: "If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work."

The third little pig had focus and purpose. He had decided to build his house out of cement blocks on a firm foundation. It took him a long time and the work was difficult and tedious. But the third little pig was looking forward to the peace and comfort of a strong, sound home.

A pig and a chicken were walking by a church where a gala charity event was taking place. Getting caught up in the spirit, the pig suggested to the chicken that they each make a contribution.

"Great idea!" the chicken cried.  "Let's offer them ham and eggs?"

"Not so fast," said the pig testily. "For you, that's a contribution. For me, it's a total commitment."

I’m told if you sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny. The third pig was eternally-minded with an earthly purpose.

Like the third pig in the story we need to be ready to make that total commitment.

“The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labour.”

Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:

In life and ministry you can’t lead someone where you haven’t walked before. Each pig was building their spiritual house for different purposes. Each one received their reward for their labours.

The first pig finished his house in a day and in a day it was destroy by the wolf.  No one can predict when hardships come, however we can insulate ourselves with the truth of God’s word.

The second pig’s house was also finished in a day and looked nicer; however the foundation was just as weak as the first. One must not simply come to church; we need to realize we are the church in and outside this building. The same effort we put into our corporate gathering we need to do in our personal lives.

The third pig’s house took longer and a lot of effort however his fruits of his labor was revealed when the wolf came knocking. 

Verse 14-15 says:  “If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”

We as Christians need to build our spiritual lives with the same tenacity as the third little pig. Ask many of you know, the rest of the story the big bad wolf came and blew the house down of the first two homes and the house that was built of brick and mortar was able to remain standing. Like the third pig, his spiritual house became a source of comfort those around him. Let our lives do the same.

Copyright MBC and Dexter Hinkson - July  2008