Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] So turn in your Bibles this morning to Second Corinthians, chapter six. We're going to look at 13 verses today, and as the title says, we're going to look at love's authentic nature and how that love is being expressed. And I think this is a very insightful chapter of the Bible. I was reminded a book that I received probably graduating from Bible College. So this book is over 40 years old, believe it or not. That's amazing to me.
[00:00:32] Swindoll wrote a book called Improving youg Serve the Art of Unselfish Living. And he shares the story of an interview that he had with a young man seeking a position as one of his pastoral interns for the summer months there. And this intern candidate related the following story, which he got permission to use. He said late one spring as he was praying about having a significant ministry the following summer.
[00:00:56] Well, summer arrived. Nothing had occurred. And so days turned into weeks, and Aaron, not his real name, finally faced reality. He needed a job, any job, and he began to search through the want ads. And the only thing that seemed a possibility was driving a bus in Southside Chicago.
[00:01:14] Nothing to brag about, but at least it would help him with his tuition in the fall.
[00:01:20] After learning the route, he was on his own, a rookie driver in a very dangerous section of the city of Chicago. I don't know if you've ever been to Chicago. I've been here and I know where he's talking about. The south side can be very dangerous. It wasn't long before Aaron realized just how dangerous his job really was. A small gang of tough young people's kids spotted the young driver, began to take advantage of him. For several mornings in a row, they got on, walked right past him without paying, ignoring his warnings, and rode until they decided to get off, all the while making smart remarks to him and others on the bus. Finally, he decided that it had gone on long enough. And so the next morning, after the gang got on as usual, Aaron saw a policeman on the next corner. So he pulled over and reported the offense.
[00:02:11] Well, the officer told them to pay or get off. They paid. But unfortunately the police officer got off and they stayed on.
[00:02:19] And when the bus turned another corner or two, the gang assaulted the young driver.
[00:02:24] When he came to, blood was all over his shirt, two teeth were missing, both eyes were swollen. His money was gone and the bus was empty.
[00:02:31] After returning to the terminal, he was given the weekend off.
[00:02:36] Our friend went to his little apartment, sank into his bed and stared at the ceiling in unbelief resentment. Resentful thoughts swarmed his mind. Confusion, anger, disillusionment with would add fuel to the fire of his physical pain.
[00:02:51] He spent a fitful night wrestling with his lord.
[00:02:56] How can this be? Where's God in all of this? I genuinely wanted to serve him, and I prayed for a ministry. I was willing to serve him anywhere, do anything, and this is the thanks I get.
[00:03:08] None of you have ever had those moments, but some of us have gone through some of this stuff. Not necessarily getting beat up like that. But on Monday morning, Aaron decided to press charges. With the help of the officer who had encountered the gang and several who were willing to testify as witnesses against the thugs, most of them were rounded up and taken to the local county jail.
[00:03:29] Within a few days, there was a hearing before the judge.
[00:03:33] In walked Aaron, with his attorney, plus the angry gang members who glared across the room in his direction.
[00:03:39] Suddenly he was seized with a whole new series of thoughts.
[00:03:43] Not bitter ones, but compassionate ones. His heart went out to these guys who had attacked him. And under the spirit's control, he no longer hated them. Actually, he pitied them. And he thought they needed help, not more hate. And what could he do? What could he say? And suddenly, after there had been a plea of guilty, Aaron, to the surprise of his attorney and everybody else in the courtroom, stood to his feet and requested permission to speak.
[00:04:09] Your honor, I would like you to total up all the days of punishment against these men and all the time sentenced against them. And I request that you allow me to go to jail in their place.
[00:04:21] While the judge didn't know what to do to spit or wind his watch, both attorneys were stunned. As Aaron looked over the gang members, whose mouth and eyes were like saucers, he smiled and quietly said, it's because I forgive you.
[00:04:34] The dumbfounded judge, when he had reached a level of composure, said rather firmly, young man, you're out of order.
[00:04:40] This sort of thing has never been done before. To which the young man replied with genius insight, oh, yes, it has, your honor. Yes, it has. It happened over 19 centuries ago when a man from Galilee paid the penalty for all mankind, which we deserve. And then for the next three or four minutes, without interruption, he went on to explain how Jesus Christ died on our behalf, thereby proving God's love and his forgiveness.
[00:05:06] He was not granted his request, but the young man visited the gang members in jail and led most of them to faith in Christ and began a significant ministry to many others on the south side of Chicago.
[00:05:21] Sorry for those that are watching. You probably wonder why I need water.
[00:05:29] Excuse Me, it is so dry. In Alberta it is. And when you're a speaker, you really feel it.
[00:05:40] Pardon me. You know, when I first came to Alberta to preach, I lost my voice.
[00:05:47] I wasn't used to the climate.
[00:05:49] Pardon me.
[00:05:54] Sorry.
[00:05:55] So love is actually the ability to endure hardships in order to make God's grace real to other people.
[00:06:06] You know, Paul is making an appeal here in the second book of Corinthians, and he explains that love is authenticated in what you, you and I endure.
[00:06:18] Linda Belville, in her commentary in the Pastor says all that Paul has written up to this point is to prepare the Corinthians for the appeal he now makes.
[00:06:28] He spends five chapters presenting his credentials as a minister of the gospel. They may not have been the flashy credentials that his critics flaunted, but they were the ones that really mattered in the ministry and ones that should have elicited the Corinthians pride in their spiritual father.
[00:06:46] In making sense of this section, it's helpful to see that Paul kind of asks two things of the Corinthians and introduces two potential obstacles to carrying them out. His first request is not to receive God's grace in vain, thereby rejecting him as God's ambassador. We'll get back to that thought in a moment. There are potentially good reasons for a church to reject an itinerant evangelist like Paul. Traveling preachers were constantly faced with the temptation to adapt their way of life and message to what the world, excuse me, expected of them, and that was the temptation.
[00:07:33] Paul, however, emphatically.
[00:07:37] Pardon me, I'm so sorry, guys.
[00:07:40] Seems to be worse.
[00:07:42] Just pray for my throat here.
[00:07:49] Yeah. No, yeah, thanks. I'm running out of water.
[00:07:55] Paul emphatically denies being seduced in this fashion, and his life of adversity bears witness to his resistance. The Corinthians should therefore be eager to open wide their hearts to him.
[00:08:14] And Paul's second request, unless, of course, the obstacles are laid with them.
[00:08:20] The danger of a Gentile congregation in a city like Corinth was in adopting the prevailing mores attitudes of their culture. Today, we call this peer pressure. So let me just rephrase what he's really basically saying. Number one, he's basically telling them, how do you know when somebody's authentic? How do you know when the message is genuine? And Paul's going to argue because of his love, he was willing to endure so much adversity.
[00:08:48] That's a very powerful argument. Number two, he's basically challenging them as he was challenging himself to resist the pressures of society to conform to that cultural understanding of life and to make the gospel more palatable to the people that he was speaking to. I think the challenges and temptation that Paul faced are also the same challenges that you and I are faced with. We can, in sharing our faith, change the message to accommodate the culture that we're living in. We can actually take away the offense of the cross, but in the process be communicating a false message that has no transformative power to change people's lives. See, that's the risk we run. You change the message, then you take the power out of it. How's that? It's that simple.
[00:09:38] Or we can personally reject the message ourselves. Or as Paul says, we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. So what does biblical ministry really look like? And how can we identify the real thing? I think we have a hard time today. You know, discernment isn't high on the scale of people's realm in this culture today. How many people are drinking the Kool Aid? We know what I'm talking about.
[00:10:02] But when we do know when something.
[00:10:04] When do we know when something's authentic? Well, we know that in life, how many know we're all going to suffer at some point and in some fashion.
[00:10:13] Some suffer more than other people.
[00:10:16] Some suffer a result of their own sinful choices.
[00:10:19] But for those who are doing God's will, we will suffer because of our love and concern for others.
[00:10:25] Paul, in making an appeal as to the genuineness of his ministry and message, he's going to give us an insight into love's authentic nature and how that nature is expressed.
[00:10:37] We can certainly see this evident in the life of Jesus, who was in the night. He was betrayed. He said these powerful words in the upper room, speaking about what he was about to endure. This is what he said. Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for his friends. Now, we know he physically died, but, you know, sometimes for us, sometimes it's just laying down our lives in a way that we give up something. You know, we sacrifice for the sake of another person. That's laying down our lives too.
[00:11:10] And that's a very powerful thing.
[00:11:13] We know that the ultimate expression of love was given by God because Christ gave his life to basically reconcile us to God. And so today we're going to look at three things expressed in 2 Corinthians 6:1 13 that I think reveal to us this authentic love and how this love is to be expressed.
[00:11:35] So the first thing you know, how do we know that this is authentic love. Well, first of all, we have to start by receiving God's plan of salvation for our own lives.
[00:11:46] You know, God is extending grace to humanity and we need to receive it.
[00:11:53] One of the great sorrows of life is when love is rejected.
[00:11:57] I don't know if you've ever had that experience.
[00:11:59] We can see that in our personal relationships. But how does God feel when we reject his loving offer of forgiveness and grace? Because I think sometimes we think God's without emotion and without feeling. But I don't think that's true, you know, because God made us in his image and part of that image is emotions. And God feels something when you and I turn our backs on Him. He's not indifferent to it, folks. How many have ever had love spurned in your own life? You were rejected. It's a very painful thing. And I think God experiences that over and over again because people are turning their backs on Him. And it's, I think, a sorrowful thing to God.
[00:12:38] In 2nd Corinthians 6:1 2, it says, as God's co workers, he says, we urge you not to receive God's grace.
[00:12:48] Vain for he says, in the time of my favor, I heard you. And in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor. Now is the day of salvation.
[00:13:00] Kent Hughes explains how Paul is using Isaiah's word of promise to Israel to be fulfilled in a greater way.
[00:13:08] He says the logic of this appeal is drawn from Isaiah chapter 49 and verse 8 actually in the Septuagint. That lxx is the Septuagint, it's verbatim. God speaks to his servant Isaiah in a text that prophesies the restoration of the nation of Israel. And it coincides with Paul's emphasis on the new creation in Christ.
[00:13:30] You see, there's a greater restoration that's happening right now. God is restoring people to himself. It's a powerful thing. Paul says in effect that on now, in Isaiah's day, salvation had arrived, but now it has now come in the form of a reconciliation through the cross. Therefore, the Corinthians must not miss this long awaited opportunity for salvation.
[00:13:58] The day of salvation is here. How thinkable, how unthinkable that they might receive the grace of God in vain.
[00:14:05] How tragic is the thought that they might at one time had given apparent assent to Paul's proclamation. But now, through unbelief and disobedience, the wonders of the new covenant with the new creation in Christ and the ultimate exodus from bondage were being nullified.
[00:14:22] Paul was saying, you have been assenting to God's saving purposes.
[00:14:27] Do not let it be in vain.
[00:14:30] So he's challenging them. Linda Belville explains the nature of God's love as mercy and grace and makes this distinction between these two ideas. She says, in God, mercy and grace are one. Yeah, I've got some of those. Thanks, Dave.
[00:14:48] You know, it's more to do with dry throat than anything else. I don't know if you guys have ever had this experience, but it's annoying.
[00:14:59] Mercy is God's goodness confronting human misery and guilt. Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines him to bestow benefits where they're undeserved, to pity the wretched, spare the guilty, and welcome the outcast. So when we look at the ministry of Jesus, aren't we seeing that. That Jesus is welcoming people who don't deserve to be forgiven? It's a very powerful message. And, and folks, this is the message of the gospel, that we're to bring this message that when people say, oh, yeah, but I don't deserve that, we say, yeah, nor do I. None of us deserve it. God is showing pity to humanity. We're all outcasts. That's what sin does. It separates us from God.
[00:15:39] With grace, the initiative is always on God's side. I love that. You know, with CS Lewis, he's describing his salvation. He says it this way, God was the hunter and I was the deer. He stalked me, took unerring aim, and fired. And yet, once we receive this grace, something is expected of us.
[00:15:57] Otherwise, we face the danger, as Paul says to the Corinthians, of receiving his grace in vain. In other words, there's no value to us.
[00:16:06] So I say, you know, what does it mean to receive?
[00:16:10] Or how does it happen that we can receive God's grace in vain? Well, I think what it means is we're not seizing upon the gift that God is giving to us, and we're ignoring God's appeal of being reconciled with him. And then maybe for some of us, we're living, not living, in the reality of the power that the grace of God brings into our lives. Do you know one of the things I discovered as a Christian? God doesn't just save us. Grace isn't just here to save you from sin.
[00:16:36] Grace is here to empower you to live the Christian life.
[00:16:41] Some of us haven't discovered that yet, but that's a beautiful thought, that God's grace is here for us. God's spirit is here to empower us to do what you and I, in our own strength, could never do.
[00:16:53] You know, how many have ever tried to be a Christian without Christ? Or how many have ever tried to be a Christian without the spirit of God helping and empowering you? It's very frustrating, and it doesn't work, and it'll bring you to the end of yourself. But what I'm suggesting here is that we don't have to live a life of ineffectual living. We can actually have a power to do the things that God wants us to do because his grace, his favor, his goodness will empower us to do those things.
[00:17:21] And so when God's grace apprehends us, it transforms our desires. How many like that, you know, where we actually desire God, we actually desire spiritual things. When I was apprehended by God's grace, I found myself not wanting to do the bad things anymore. I wanted to do the good things. I mean, I wanted to spend time getting to know God. I was hungry to know God. I had a desire for God. That desire has never been replaced. It's always been there, over five decades. You know, I write in my journal almost every day, Lord, you are my delight. You are my desire. I'm pursuing after you. I want to know you better.
[00:18:01] And then it not only transforms our desires, it gives us an incredible purpose and meaning in life. You know, a lot of people are living, they're just going through the motions of life. They're not living, they're existing. But you and I have a compelling purpose for life. And we have a reason to be here. And then it teaches us how we ought to live. It gives us insight and wisdom in the things we ought to be doing with our lives.
[00:18:28] Let me move on. The second thing that reveals this authentic love is to endure the challenges of ministry that God puts before us.
[00:18:38] Now we'll all experience challenges in our lives as we relate to other human beings. How many go, that's true.
[00:18:44] You know, people can be challenging.
[00:18:46] You know, some people go, I don't want a job that I have to work with people, you know, because, you know, sometimes people are so challenging, you know, But I think we need to understand this word ministry and its widest application.
[00:19:00] Now, ministry simply means to serve.
[00:19:05] And this service begins with our family relationships. Okay, we need to begin there. I think a lot of people skip their family and go off and do other things, and they think they're doing ministry. You know, the real test of your walk with God is how you live at home.
[00:19:21] There you go. Because you got these people 24, seven, right?
[00:19:26] I'm just telling you, that's where it's at. You know, then we go to work or we go to school and it covers all of our interactions with people we deal with. And as I say, working with people can be painful and frustrating at times. No one's ever experienced that, I'm sure. But you know, how do, however, a lot of people, what they do to insulate and they isolate their lives. But what that does is leaves people broken, bitter and unresolved issues festering in their lives. That's what happens when people withdraw. And I see it all the time, people are always pulling back and go, don't do that.
[00:20:03] You know, you got to face your giants.
[00:20:06] You got to meet these situations head on. You got to resolve these issues.
[00:20:11] Can't keep running away from them. You know, in conflict. I'm going to say this, I know some of you hate conflict. You don't want anything to do with conflict, so you run.
[00:20:20] Some of you, a minority of you, fight.
[00:20:24] That's just the way you handle conflict. I'm going to give you a third option. I think I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again. You ought to stand, stand and see the salvation of your God.
[00:20:34] When being reviled, you don't revile back.
[00:20:39] You know, if we just do what the Bible says, it's amazing how it changes relationships. Most of us, we read these verses and then we don't put them into practice. And then we wonder why we're having conflict, intentions and difficulties.
[00:20:51] Paul now is going to argue that endurance is the virtue that reveals his authenticity in ministry. Paul now expresses a list of adversity and suffering, not suggesting that suffering in itself has virtue. Don't miss. See, I think people confuse things. Some people think suffering has virtue. I go, oh, no, no, no, not in itself.
[00:21:13] But when we endure suffering for the sake of others, now we're expressing love.
[00:21:21] This is a powerful thought. This would help a lot of marriages, a lot of relationships, a lot of family dynamics, believe me.
[00:21:29] So I'm going to develop it a little more and I'll show it to you. An endurance.
[00:21:35] Well, the Greek. Let me go back here. The Greek philosophers, the Stoics, understood endurance to be a virtue and who focused on developing self control and logic to override destructive emotions.
[00:21:48] Okay.
[00:21:49] And to endure hardships without complaint.
[00:21:52] Paul takes this idea of endurance as an expression of something greater, a willingness to suffer for the sake of a love for God and others.
[00:22:02] So let's take a look at endurance Expressing love for the sake of others. Let's read the text. He says, we put no stumbling block in anyone's path so that our ministry will not be discredited. So in other words, he says, I'm going to live such a life, hopefully that I'm not going to be a hindrance for people coming to faith. I'm going to be consistent. I'm going to endeavor to live a blameless life, live a consistent life.
[00:22:24] He says, rather, as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way in great endurance.
[00:22:33] Okay, that's the only time you're going to see the word great in this passage. In troubles, hardships and distresses, in beatings, imprisonments and riots, in hard work, sleepless nights, hunger. These are all things that Paul experienced in ministry. You could find passages to support that. I'm not going to do that. Ken Hughes explains. Excuse me, Paul's argument.
[00:22:56] Paul knew that most of the Corinthians had been reconciled to God, but he knew that some were still rejecting him. And by rejecting him as the messenger of reconciliation, they were actually rejecting the message of reconciliation.
[00:23:10] And, and Paul knew why they were rejecting him. And that's why he's speaking this way. It was because they could not believe that he could be a true apostle and be subject to such weaknesses and extraordinary sufferings.
[00:23:24] God's blessing, they reasoned, would be evidenced by peace and well being.
[00:23:32] So in their minds, his insistent troubles and miseries were, were prima facie. In other words, it established in their mind evidence of Paul's of God's displeasure. And therefore they could not accept Paul.
[00:23:47] Now, if you were here last week, Paul himself had a hard time accepting Christ because he was crucified on a cross, suffered and died. And Paul knew Scripture and knew that only somebody that was cursed by God would ever die on a tree.
[00:24:04] And so he felt like, you know, Jesus had it coming. He's a false Messiah. But I shared last week how Paul met the resurrected Jesus and had flipped his whole theology all the way around. And he recognized something that he had totally missed. And most Jewish people in his time missed the suffering servant of God and began to realize from Scripture now, as the Spirit of God revealed it to him, Isaiah 53 was speaking of Christ and his death on behalf of others.
[00:24:33] And so sometimes you and I suffer on behalf of others. And so what Paul is basically saying is, you know, we have a health and wellness gospel out here that says, you know, everything should be working perfectly, everyone's life's going to turn up beautifully, should never be Any problems, you know, if you're not, you know, hitting all nines and tens in your life, you must be doing something wrong.
[00:24:54] And I'm going to argue against that. That's not even biblical.
[00:24:57] You need to understand there's a lot of disappointment and heartache and failure in this life. Life is messy. It's complicated. Jesus said, in the world, you'll have trials and tribulations. You know, Friday night, we heard about martyrs, people that are believers, that are losing their life for Christ's sake. Let me tell you something. This is not an easy life.
[00:25:15] And so what we got is a bunch of Christians who come to faith in Christ, hear a sermon, and they're told that everything's going to work out for them, and they start running the Christian life and as if it's the 100 meters.
[00:25:25] And what I'm trying to tell you tonight, tonight, this morning, is simply this.
[00:25:30] It's a marathon, folks.
[00:25:33] And if you're a marathon runner, you're going to experience pain.
[00:25:37] You're going to want to quit.
[00:25:39] There's going to be high joyous moments, but there's going to be low points.
[00:25:43] You're going to struggle at times. You're going to wonder where God is. You're going to feel some sense of abandonment.
[00:25:50] Why does God seem to, you know, bless us at first and then kind of withdraw himself so that you and I develop and mature? As a matter of fact, one of the reasons for trials and difficulties is so that you and I would persevere through those things and actually develop more godly character.
[00:26:05] And Paul and James argued to that point. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons I preached through James is I wanted us to get a mindset and an attitude that we can choose joy.
[00:26:14] Count it all, joy. When you have all these trials and tribulations, that doesn't even seem to make logical, natural sense. I go, no, it's supernatural. We're making a choice. I'm choosing joy. And out of that I'm learning perseverance. And God is bringing me to a state of maturity that I don't wilt like a little flower under the first pressure of life. No, we stand strong.
[00:26:37] Paul's heading the list that follows. Here he's making this eloquent defense in which he shows that his endurance, though multiple troubles, proves his authenticity and his reason for the Corinthians to open their hearts to his message. He says, we put no obstacle in anyone's way so that no fault may be found with our ministry. But as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way by great endurance.
[00:27:04] It's the endurance you need to look at what we're suffering and going through. And Paul's heading the list that follows in verses 4 to 10 with the singular endurance and qualifying it as great in contrast to. To the unqualified plural descriptions that follow, which indicates that great endurance is the heading for all that follows. Endurance amidst adversity is the overarching quality of authentic ministry. And I totally agree with this.
[00:27:35] This endurance is evidence of moral qualities in the context of relationships.
[00:27:40] And he goes on, he shifts. Now he's not talking about adversity, but this is what he talks about, moral qualities in his life. He. He says, in purity, in understanding, patience and kindness in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love, in truthful speech and in the power of God with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left.
[00:28:02] Now, how many go?
[00:28:04] Just reading these verses alone should be challenging us. Just think of these moral qualities for a moment.
[00:28:11] Linda Belville, in describing him, explains how they are differentiated, really, the genuine from the false.
[00:28:21] You know, there's going to be a great tragedy when we get to heaven. You're going to say, what do you mean it's going to be a great tragedy? There's going to be people standing before God thinking they're getting into heaven.
[00:28:30] And Jesus is going to say. They're going to say, lord, Lord, didn't we do all these beautiful things in your name? And Jesus is going to say, depart from me. I never knew you.
[00:28:40] Anybody read that text?
[00:28:42] It's a pretty shocking statement. And here's what I'm going to say.
[00:28:45] There's a big difference between us designing Christianity to suit our needs and actually embracing God's understanding and calling us to follow him on his terms and do his will and not just our own.
[00:29:04] And unfortunately, some people use religion to make gain.
[00:29:07] They take advantage of people. There's true and there's false, and sometimes people can't discern the two. And this is what Paul is talking about here. How do you discern these things? I think it's got a lot to do with moral qualities here, these moral traits. This is how Linda Belville describes them. She says, hagnon only here in the Greek Bible. And the more common cognate, hagnos is range in meaning from an inward disposition or purity of heart to outward behavior, innocent, chaste, without defect, blameless. These are powerful thoughts.
[00:29:45] What is she trying to tell us? She's saying, listen, this Greek word that's being used, that's being translated in purity.
[00:29:52] It's more than that. It's a bigger scope than that. That's what she's trying to tell us. It's a wider scope since Hagnotes is linked with relational qualities like patience and kindness that may well bear the sense of moral blamelessness in dealing with others.
[00:30:10] A point that Paul is concerned to underscore throughout the letter.
[00:30:14] You know, do you know what's so important when we're talking to people? That we're patient and kind.
[00:30:20] Anybody understand that? It's really critical.
[00:30:23] How many believe that we should be patient and kind to people?
[00:30:26] Where should that start?
[00:30:28] With my spouse, with my kids.
[00:30:33] Why? Because you're there 24, 7. And it can be irritating at times in family life and people lose their cool and say all kinds of crazy stuff. You know, I deal with this stuff with people around all the time. This is always going on, it's continuous. I'm going, just do what the Bible says, guys.
[00:30:56] Although knowledge, second in Paul's list, can refer to a grasp of truth, it is insight, as the Neb says or grasp of truth nab insight by Phillips translation or understanding which the NIV translates that word that best fits the context. Anyone can acquire head knowledge, that is mental accumulation and integration of facts. A lot of Christians are walking around, they just got a head pack, just a bunch of information inside of them. Okay, but the Corinthians.
[00:31:30] The Corinthians thought they possessed it and Paul's opponents laid claim to it.
[00:31:36] Heart knowledge, on the other hand, is much harder to come by. It is the God given ability to know the right thing to do in a given situations. And what we call wisdom or insight isn't that powerful.
[00:31:50] Listen, knowing something and knowing what to do about something, two different ball games, you know, that's why I'm trying to encourage you. Remember I preached through Proverbs. I'm trying to say this is biblical wisdom. We got to live by it. Be wise, not as unwise. Know what the will of God is. I'm quoting scripture by the way.
[00:32:12] Where are you quoting it from? Ephesians, chapter five.
[00:32:15] Yeah, this is important.
[00:32:18] He goes on to say.
[00:32:22] He goes on to say the Greek word for patience, third in Paul's list means long tempered macrothemia. The word is frequently used in the Old Testament of God's long suffering attitude towards his people. I mean how God put up with us in extra biblical literature denotes a human attitude of passive radical resignation or forced acceptance. But in the Greek Bible it is a positive attitude more than simple endurance. Or forbearance. It expresses loving patience towards those whose failings would normally provoke irritation.
[00:32:56] Are there some people that irritate you?
[00:32:59] Let's be honest.
[00:33:01] Then you got to say, why? What is it that they're doing that's irritating you?
[00:33:06] And why is it irritating me? You know, I have to talk to my soul once in a while. I'm going, hey, if I'm dead in Christ, this shouldn't even bother me. How many know dead people aren't bothered by this behavior?
[00:33:17] I've told myself that if I'm dead in Christ, this shouldn't even be affecting me.
[00:33:22] You know, sometimes it's good to talk to your soul.
[00:33:26] Goes on.
[00:33:29] Christostis the fourth and final moral quality is the capacity to show kindness even to the undeserving and to evidence of sympathetic interest in the problems of others.
[00:33:41] How many think that's important?
[00:33:43] You know, if you're a loving person, you're going to take interest in other people's problems. Not that you're a meddler, not that you're invading and telling them what to do. No, you're listening and caring and supporting. That's powerful stuff. And then we see that truth is spoken. The language of our Heavenly Father. See, I think there's only two languages on the planet. You know, our heavenly Father's language, which is truth, and Satan's language, which is a bunch of lies and half truths.
[00:34:08] And I think that we're living in a society today, there's so many lies flying that nobody knows what the truth is anymore. I think we all probably think of that.
[00:34:17] And then here is the true message that brings freedom. When you speak the truth, you're going to help people get free.
[00:34:27] But if you tell people lies, they're going to stay in bondage.
[00:34:32] And you know, a lot of times we tell people lies because we want them to feel good, but we're leaving them where they're at.
[00:34:38] It's the truth that sets people free. Linda Belville explores the contrast between Paul and his co workers and the false preachers that were deceiving the Corinthians. She said his rivals, on the other hand, preach a distorted version of the gospel. And he calls it another gospel, which is not the gospel at all because the gospel means good news for the sake of financial gain and to gain acceptance. There's a lot of people preaching in order to get resources and to be approved by people.
[00:35:09] Can I just say something at the end of the day? What's more important? To be approved by people or approved by God?
[00:35:17] And by the way, material things, they're all going to disappear anyway. So if that's what you're shooting for, you're only playing for the short game.
[00:35:24] I'm trying to help you to play for the long game.
[00:35:27] What do you mean, pastor? Time, eternity.
[00:35:32] Live for the approval of God. And don't worry about the finances. God will take care of that.
[00:35:38] Live for God. Seek God's kingdom first and all these things will be added to you.
[00:35:44] She goes on to say here, speaking of this meaning of the weapons of righteousness, the relationship between two nouns, weapons and righteousness, is unclear. As these weapons used, excuse me, to fight for, does it mean to fight for righteousness or weapons that righteousness provides, or righteousness as a weapon, that is a life of integrity or weapons that are righteous in character? The last option seems to be the preferable one.
[00:36:20] Paul's weapons were ones of notable integrity and not like those of his rivals who utilized domination, exploitation and humiliation. You know, you can always tell false leaders because that's what they use. Domination, exploitation, and then they shame people.
[00:36:36] You never should be doing that.
[00:36:39] Goes on in endurance. That's expressed in paradox.
[00:36:43] He uses this paradoxical language.
[00:36:45] He says through glory and dishonor, bad report, good report, genuine, yet regarded as impostors. Known, yet regarded as unknown, dying and yet living on, beaten and yet not killed. Sorrowful and yet always rejoicing. Poor, yet making many rich, having nothing and yet possessing everything.
[00:37:05] So what is he saying?
[00:37:08] That those who are embracing his message and his co workers message, the same message, they're able to get the message and they can see what's going on.
[00:37:18] See, they know that what Paul is showing is glorious while other people are criticizing him as being false and dishonorable.
[00:37:27] See, they're giving him a bad report and yet the people who know Christ are seeing it as a good report.
[00:37:33] Though these people are saying Paul's an imposter, they know that he's genuine. You see what's going on. He's giving the paradox. But you have to have an understanding.
[00:37:41] People are measuring you through a lens.
[00:37:44] You know, this is why we don't have to play for the approval of people. Because if you have a warped lens and you're evaluating my life, you know you're going to come up with a wrong vision of it.
[00:37:57] You see, only God can give a clear vision of any one of our lives. I understand that, but what I'm getting at is if we come to someone and we're looking at them, sometimes our evaluation is more about us than about them. That's what I'm trying to communicate to you. And if you're messed up, you're going to see people as being messed up.
[00:38:16] Isn't it interesting that we usually see people through the lens of our own souls? That's what I'm trying to get at.
[00:38:22] And so a lot of times, if we're messed up and broken, we. We're going to see everybody as messed up and broken. But if we're walking in humility and in compassion and full of God's love, we're going to start to see people even when they're broken. We're able to look beyond the brokenness and see that person as being valuable, made in the image of God, worth suffering for and reaching out to and caring for that person.
[00:38:45] We're coming through a lens. That's what I'm trying to communicate here.
[00:38:50] She goes on to say, here they are beaten and yet not killed. The Greek word for beaten actually means chastened and is commonly used of divine discipline. To the outsider, Paul's suffering may well have seemed to be a sign of displeasure. Divine displeasure. See, both of these commentators are saying the same idea. Ken Hughes and Linda Belville, they're basically saying, hey, listen, they're looking at Paul's sufferings in a negative way. And Paul says, you're looking at it the wrong way. As a matter of fact, when I look at Christ, his earthly life, how many know he suffered?
[00:39:21] And we need to understand that now we know that God in his love does discipline all of our lives. How many say that's true? And though there is sorrow in this life, Paul's attitude is one of joy.
[00:39:36] And regarding poverty, Paul is likely to speak in terms, I don't have the material wealth of this world. But he said, in terms of a relationship with God and others, I'm rich.
[00:39:47] And let me ask you a question. What's more important to have the things that are perishing, which is the material things and the things you see in this world, or the things that you cannot see that are eternal, and that's people and relationships. They're eternal, guys. That's powerful. But let me move on to the third point. And it's simply to reciprocate the love that is being extended to us.
[00:40:10] Now, I'm not talking about our society's consideration of what love is. Paul's explanation of God's love needs to be defined as it expresses itself in 1 Corinthians 13. So what? You know the world, their view of love is mostly lust.
[00:40:26] I mean, that's probably true.
[00:40:28] It's about self gratification, it's about ego, it's about all kinds of things. Here's how Paul defines love. He goes in First Corinthians to the same church, right? He says this love is patient.
[00:40:41] When we're impatient with people, we're saying, I'm not being loving towards you, but when I'm patient with a person, I'm loving you.
[00:40:49] You know, love is kind.
[00:40:51] It doesn't envy, it's not boastful, it's not proud, it doesn't dishonor others. It's not self seeking, it's not easily angered.
[00:41:01] It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
[00:41:06] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, and it never fails.
[00:41:13] So Paul's been challenging this Corinthian church and their response both to God's love and the love that Paul has manifested with his, with his missionary team, and that evidenced by his tremendous endurance of all they've run him through.
[00:41:28] You know, isn't it kind of sad? And I was guilty of this. I can share this. You know, telling your parents that they didn't really love you when they had sacrificed for you, that's an immature view of life. As you get older, you realize, how stupid was that to make that kind of a statement? They were feeding and clothing and caring for me the whole time.
[00:41:47] Don't we say stupid things?
[00:41:49] Maybe you've never done that stuff. You know, you guys are so far beyond me, it's amazing.
[00:41:54] But Linda Belville says in her comment, to experience the withdrawal of the affection of someone close to us can be a devastating experience.
[00:42:02] And I'm reading, I should be reading the scriptures first.
[00:42:05] He says, we have spoken freely to you Corinthians, and we have opened our hearts wide to you. We're not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. At a fair exchange, I speak as my children. Open wide your heart also. In other words, reciprocate our love. And as Linda Belville says, to experience the withdrawal of affection of someone close to us can be a devastating experience. Psychologists have shown us that the human need for intimacy is so great that babies who are fed and diapered but receive no affection from their caregiver can become withdrawn, drawn, remote, and even autistic.
[00:42:43] Now, she's not suggesting that autism is a result of lack of being loved, but what she's saying is that people who do not receive love have an impairment in their lives.
[00:42:53] And that's why we so desperately need God to love us.
[00:42:58] And he does. But we need to receive it.
[00:43:01] And then we need to allow that love to flow in us and then through us to other people.
[00:43:08] So Paul's admonition here in 613 illustrates that a genuine ministry of the gospel anticipates a genuine response. The apostle is not engaging in a popularity contest with his opponents. By appealing for the affections of the Corinthians, he's fighting for their lives. Thus his confidence in the truth of his message, in the transparency of his testimony, leads him to expect that those who know God will open up their hearts to Paul as well.
[00:43:39] And the reality is that once our hearts are open to God, they're open to others in a way that they never were before.
[00:43:46] And ministry can only happen when we are impacted by love. Love changes things, you know. The problem that faced Paul is much the same as which faces many contemporary ministers in their proclamation of the Gospel. Now and then, suffering and weakness calls into question the power of the Spirit. Paul is relentless in his response. The greatest display of God's power is not the absence of pain or the presence of a miracle, but Paul's faithful endurance in the midst of adversity through which God makes others rich.
[00:44:26] I'm going to close with this quote from C.S. lewis in his book the Four Loves.
[00:44:31] To love at all is to be vulnerable love. Anything in your heart will certainly be broken, will be wrung and possibly broken, if you want to make sure of keeping it intact. You must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.
[00:44:44] Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries. Avoid all entanglements.
[00:44:51] Lock it up in a safe, in the casket of a coffin of your own selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark and motionless, airless. It will change.
[00:45:00] It will not be broken. It will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.
[00:45:05] And the only place outside of heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is hell.
[00:45:15] Because God is love.
[00:45:18] Let's stand.
[00:45:23] So this morning, as we're closing the service, in a word of prayer, let me just say something to us all.
[00:45:30] I know some of us are struggling. I know that for a fact.
[00:45:34] And I'm going to challenge you this morning to run the race as a marathoner.
[00:45:43] To run the race with endurance.
[00:45:47] To not allow what's happening in your current situation.
[00:45:52] 1. To define you. 2.
[00:45:56] Not to allow your emotions to cause you to run off the path.
[00:46:01] Stick with it.
[00:46:03] Keep running with God.
[00:46:06] Spend time with him every day. Keep praying. Keep seeking. Keep running. Keep seeking. Keep running.
[00:46:12] There are going to be seasons. I'm just warning you right now. I've gone through seasons where. And they weren't just days. They were weeks, sometimes months.
[00:46:20] You're running. You'll see a lot. It's discouraging. It's difficult.
[00:46:25] You go, why does God do that, Pastor?
[00:46:28] He's doing something inside of you.
[00:46:32] He's creating something in you. He's fashioning strength and character inside of you.
[00:46:39] You have no idea the challenges that are lying up ahead. God is preparing you for the battles that are coming. But if you run off course, eventually you just become one weak. You just fall to the side, you know, and other people have to pick you up and carry you then because you're not able to do it. You're not strong enough. Now you've given in. You've capitulated.
[00:46:59] And I think we've all had, you know, what we call, I think it was Spurgeon called it fainting fits.
[00:47:06] We've had moments, you know, where we've stumbled and we've, you know, maybe felt a little self pity.
[00:47:12] Isn't that true?
[00:47:14] Be honest.
[00:47:15] Yeah.
[00:47:17] What am I challenging you? I'm saying, listen, guys, this is the true life.
[00:47:22] You're running with something greater in mind than winning an Olympic medal.
[00:47:28] I mean, these guys that are, you know, playing for Olympics medals, I mean, they're just giving their bodies and everything to do it right. They have trained, they have sacrificed, they've given everything to it.
[00:47:40] But they're winning something that's perishable.
[00:47:44] You are about to win something that is imperishable.
[00:47:48] A crown of glory for all of eternity. That's an amazing thing.
[00:47:53] You and I are seeking the approval of God and the blessing and favor of God. You know, sometimes God could just open the eyes of our understanding and see this world that's immaterial, the spiritual realm.
[00:48:07] Then you would realize, wow, you know, I need to be faithful to God.
[00:48:14] I need to keep running even though I don't feel anything. Maybe I feel the opposite. You know, maybe I feel like I'm a marathon. I just hit the Boston, you know, hill, that big place. It's almost like, you know, it's taking you out, but you know it's coming. But you're going to run up that hill anyways because you know that when you get past that hill, it's going to get easier again.
[00:48:34] So you just keep running and you're trusting God and you Know, he's carrying you. He's giving you the strength. He's the one that gives the endurance to do this. And it's this endurance. It's not just so that, you know, you can say, hey, I'm winning. No, it's bringing something into you and bringing something through you.
[00:48:53] You're maturing, and you're allowing God's love to rule and reign inside of you. And pretty soon, over time, you begin to see God's love manifested in your life and through your life in things like being kind, more understanding, more patient, more gracious, you know, less irritated by things you are developing and maturing.
[00:49:18] See, we are in a culture that panders to people's lowest base nature.
[00:49:25] The other day I was talking to someone and they said, you know, Pastor, if we challenge people, they're not going to even want to go into the ministry. You know what I was told about going into ministry? Don't do it. If you can do anything else, it's the most difficult, challenging job in the world. But also, on the other hand, one of the greatest callings of all.
[00:49:42] You know, what we're not doing. We're under challenging people is what we're doing.
[00:49:47] We're telling people, no, this is going to be a cakewalk. No, it's not.
[00:49:50] This is a war.
[00:49:52] We have a spiritual battle ahead of us. We got an adversary, and he's been around for a long time, and he's trying to take you and your family out.
[00:50:02] And you and I have to rise up and say, you know what? They're not going to take my family out.
[00:50:08] And I said to someone today I really love, I said to this person, listen, by one man's obedience, many became righteous. And by one man's disobedience, many were led into sin.
[00:50:20] Let us be like Christ, that one man or that one woman who's obedient to God and endures what it takes so that many people will be blessed as a result of your life.
[00:50:33] What am I telling you?
[00:50:35] Stand and see the salvation of your God. God will help you.
[00:50:42] You and I have to stand when you don't know what to do, when you're uncertain, when you're confused, when you're wounded and broken in your life, stand still and let God help you through that moment. And he will.
[00:50:58] He will take you through it, and you will change in the process. You will become a better version of yourself, more like Christ.
[00:51:08] So, Father, we bow in your presence this morning.
[00:51:11] We're being challenged to endure.
[00:51:14] It's a message that we don't hear very often, but it's a necessary message because it gives a sense of authenticity to who we are as human beings. When people see what we're willing to endure, they begin to recognize that something is sustaining us. A power greater than ourselves, a grace that is greater than ourselves, and a love that is greater than ourselves. And it comes from you.
[00:51:37] Today I pray that your spirit would come and fill our hearts.
[00:51:41] That this DNA that I'm talking about, this spiritual DNA of Jesus that puts endurance in our life will be embedded inside of our souls.
[00:51:49] That you're going to embed it there.
[00:51:52] And we're going to run the race as a congregation, not as 100 meter runners, not as flash in the pan, but we're running a marathon.
[00:52:01] And we're running for that eternal reward, Lord, and we thank you for that. In Jesus name, amen. God bless you as you leave this morning.
