SPEAKER_00 0:06

Let me ask you something. When you wake up in the morning, what's the first thing you think about? For a lot of us, honestly, it's something like, what do I have to do today? What do people expect of me? And what will they think of me? Now we carry that weight everywhere. In the car, at work, and even at church. And here's what's interesting. The church in Corinth, two thousand years ago, had the exact same problem. They were fighting over which leader was the most impressive. Whose team were you on? Paul's Apollos. And through their leader, they were really saying, Look how spiritually advanced I am. Look how much I know. They were using their faith to manage their image. Sound familiar? Apostle Paul stops them called in chapter four. He says, Look, here's what we actually are. We're servants. We're stewards. We don't own any of this. We're just managing something that belongs entirely to someone else. And the one thing required of a steward, not brilliance, not results, not a big following, just faithfulness. Then Paul says something that's almost shocking in how free it sounds. He says, Your opinion of me? It's a very small thing. I don't even judge myself. The Lord is the one who judges me. Do you know how liberating that is? You're not the audience, your critics are not the audience. Even your own conscience is not the final court. God is. But then Paul turns the mirror around, and this is where it gets uncomfortable. He looks at the Corinthians and says with stinging sarcasm, already you have everything you want, already you're rich, you're already reigning like kings. And he means the opposite. You see, they had confused receiving gifts with achieving glory. They thought they had already arrived, crossed the finish line, done. But the apostle says, no, look at us. We are hungry, we're homeless, we're being treated like the garbage of the world right up to this moment. And the way of the gospel is cross-shaped before it is crowned shaped. And that's not bad news. That's actually the most freeing thing in this world. Because it means you can stop performing, you can stop pretending you're you've arrived, and you can be exactly where you are, exactly who you are, and let God be the judge. And at the end of this chapter, the apostle's tone completely shifts. He says, I'm not writing this to shame you, I'm writing this as a father writing to his children. So because that's what grace does, it doesn't just correct us, it holds us. So let me ask you a question. What kind of steward are you living as today in Christ? What kind of a steward are you? And that's the question for today. When you get a chance to sit down and ten minutes is all you need, the full meditation on 1 Corinthians 4 is waiting for you at jubileecoach.com. Head to the live blog section and it's all there. The full study text, reflection questions, and a journaling guide to take it deeper. I will see you there.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

No worthy gift, no strength left where I stand, just this tired soul, this hollow waking frame. Lord take my eye, though small it is in plain. Lord take my eye the gift is small for thee for thee. What hast thou done? Oh blessed one for me for me. What hast thou done? Oh blessed one for me for me. I used to keep myself from giving afraid to lose the life I thought was mine. But you have loved me past what I could hold. A debt so deep that only grace can hold or take my gift is small for thee for thee. What has thou done? Who the stood white for me for me what has doubt? Who the stood white for me for me now here I am to live or let life go beside the cross where Mercy's blood still flows you carry loss, you bore what broke my foe, and I return and lay down all I am Lord take my own The gift is more for thee for thee for me for me for me for the