Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Why don't we stand this morning and we'll go to the Lord in prayer here this morning. And I don't know about you, but you know, my heart breaks for these countries that are in military conflict right now. War is going on.
[00:00:12] You know, we're living in relatively safe realm, right? Can you imagine having to live where you have bomb shelters, missiles are flying by and there's explosions and you don't know from moment to moment if someone's going to get that you love is going to be killed or injured. And so we think of our world today. It's a very troubled world, isn't it? And I know that many of you are walking through some challenging things. So let's just lift our hands to God and commit these things to our Father in prayer. So, Lord, we do come before you. We think of the Ukraine, we think of Russia, what's happening there. We think of Israel and the conflict with Iran and the United States that are involved there. Father. And there's people's lives that are being affected.
[00:00:54] And I just pray today that you would bring things to resolution, that you would bring peace, that you'd bring grace, that you'd watch over people, that your miracle working power would be there and that these conflicts would come to a quick and speedy end. And we thank you for that. And we pray for those that are here today, that are walking through broken places in their own lives, challenging moments, things beyond their capacity to even bear or handle as your word says. But Paul reminds us in his letter that these things are designed by you to help us to depend on you in a way we never have before.
[00:01:31] And in that experience come to know your love, your forgiveness, your grace, your kindnesses and your enabling power. And we just pray to that end that that will happen. And we ask, Lord that as we're looking at your word now, may your holy Spirit come upon us and may you speak into our innermost being and may this be life defining in Jesus name. And we thank you for that. And God's people said, amen. You may be seated.
[00:01:59] I'm going to have you turn in your Bibles to Second Corinthians, chapter seven, beginning in verse two to the end of the chapter. I've been doing a series out of this book of the Bible and in his book, in the book what My Parents Did Right, I know this is an older book. It's actually the story of 15 prominent Christian leaders from an earlier generation who explained the impact that their parents had upon their life, what helped shape them to become the people they became.
[00:02:28] Dr. Robert Weber, who wrote extensively on worship and shared the impact his father had upon his life, relates to one such incident that really was life defining. He was attending Bob Jones University, and he had developed a bad attitude about the rules of the school and just decided, I can't do it anymore. And he dropped out of school.
[00:02:51] When he arrived home, his father listened, was supportive, and when they tried to seek another avenue for further education, all the doors seemed to be closing.
[00:02:59] And so later on, after a while, his father sat down with Robert and said to him, you know, I think you ought to consider going back to Bob Jones University.
[00:03:08] He said, son, you need to learn that life is not easy. How many know that's true? You know, I think when we don't tell people that they're totally disappointed, they have a different expectation that whatever you do in life, you'll be working with people who don't agree with you. Anybody discovered that, okay, go back to Bob Jones and learn how to function in a context that's difficult for you. I was thinking about what he had said and how much sense it made. And when he added, besides, you quit. You ran away from a situation that was difficult. And if you run away completely, you're going to begin to set a pattern that will be hard to break.
[00:03:47] You may end up becoming a quitter all of your life.
[00:03:52] I knew he was right, and returning to Bob Jones was exactly what I should do. I felt almost instant peace about my decision.
[00:03:59] He said returning wasn't easy, but it was the right thing. And in the next six months, God began to work in my heart in many ways, one of which was to lay total claim on my life for ministry, he said. Since then, in the nearly four decades of training and work in ministry, there have been many difficult times. Times when I would have wanted to throw in the towel and give up. But every time, though, the words of my father have come back to me and in my heart and with my lips, I've reaffirmed, you're not a quitter.
[00:04:33] Well, life is difficult, but it's also an adventure, and an exciting one at that. I am persuaded in my own life that God is calling. God's calling demands steady, unmoved perseverance.
[00:04:47] I'm going to focus on that thought. This is a burden that I have for each one of you.
[00:04:53] This lesson, a lesson that lies at the heart of Christian discipleship, is one that I learned from a father whose wisdom in dealing with a rebellious son opened my heart to hear the call of God come and Follow me.
[00:05:05] I think one of the greatest challenges in this present generation is that we struggle with being corrected. How many say that's probably true? Everybody's offended. Offense is everywhere today.
[00:05:16] However, positive correction can be the source of amazing encouragement, growth and future resource to help us in the far greater challenges which often lie ahead in our lives. How many know that's what's going to happen?
[00:05:33] God wants to make adjustments inside of us so we can handle the big things that are just coming in the front.
[00:05:42] So how do we. So how do we handle correction in our lives?
[00:05:46] And how and why should we correct those who God entrusts into our lives like a parent over a child? But you know what, in relationship with people, maybe you're a boss with co or workers, all kinds of different avenues of opportunity to correct people. How many go, I love correcting people.
[00:06:06] No, I don't. I know you don't and neither do I. But we're going to talk about why this is so critical and then we're going to discover today maybe some of the possibilities for some incredible outcomes. A lot of times people end up crashing and burning because nobody cared enough to step into their life and talk to them and help them change course.
[00:06:27] Instead, we've let people drive right off the cliff. And I'm going to challenge us that we need to rethink maybe the way we're relating to one another. So the first thing that can happen, I think, well, two things that can happen when we correct people in a loving manner. I want that word, loving manner. That's got to stick it in front of your brain. Loving. We're going to love people. This is what's the motive for doing this. He says, is that the encouragement that comes so often, tremendous encouragement comes from this, both to the person giving the correction and also the person receiving the correction. Actually, at the end, you can actually have a closer relationship and some amazing things can begin to happen in your life. And as I said, it can occur in both parties if what is being communicated is life giving and God honoring. See the conditions here? Life giving and God honoring. We're not talking about manipulating or nagging.
[00:07:22] How many know those things don't go very well.
[00:07:25] So I'm just saying you got to be delivered from those things. Okay?
[00:07:29] God will use people to instruct, correct and to encourage us. So when we are experiencing harassment or conflicts and fears, even within our own soul, God can bring words of encouragement through other people. Sometimes it's correction, sometimes it's insight and understanding. So what should our attitude be Then in giving and receiving godly correction, well, we have to. First of all, we need to make room in our hearts to receive those who God places among us as leaders.
[00:07:59] We have to make room for that. Or, you know, if I'm a child, I need to make room in my heart to receive what my parents are sharing with me. You know, if we have a bad attitude towards authority, let me tell you what happens. We will continuously be in a state of rebellion all of our lives.
[00:08:16] And I believe that we have a lot of people that never grew up.
[00:08:20] They're still in a childhood phase. They're still adolescents. They're still in a state of rebellion. And you know what? Their lives are broken and they're a mess. And so we want to get past that stage in our lives.
[00:08:31] So Paul is appealing now to the Corinthians, and he's really concerned. He's corrected them and he's done it for their good.
[00:08:41] As I said, our response can spare us much heartache for both us and those who love us if we respond in the right way. So let's pick up the story here. Or in his letter he's writing to them, he says, make room for us in your hearts. You know, in other words, don't just shut us out. You know how many times when somebody's corrected us, we just shut them out? We just say, I'm not going to listen to this. But he says, no, make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, and we have exploited no one. Isn't that amazing? He's saying, listen, we're on the up and up. That's what he's trying to tell these guys. Ralph Martin and Carl Tony in their commentary, say the background is that someone at Corinth had done wrong to Paul, causing him pain.
[00:09:23] Now Paul introduces the topic by denying that the fault was really on his side. He had not led anyone astray by taking money because he was charged of doing that in chapter 12. We're going to see that later on. Nor was he taking advantage of anyone, as Satan would take advantage of these Corinthians. As Paul has already stated in chapter two, verse 11, Paul now explains his own motivation for the reasons for the correction. His was simply a deep love and a concern for their welfare. That's the right motivation. If we're going to correct somebody, it has to be because I'm deeply concerned about this person's welfare and I'm focusing in on a behavior. Most of what I'm talking about behavior that is hurting this individual from advancing in their lives.
[00:10:13] Paul writes. He says, listen, I don't say this to condemn you. I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. What is Paul saying? He's saying, I'm right there with you. I'm prepared to die, do whatever it takes to help you. I have spoken to you with great frankness.
[00:10:33] I take great pride in you. I'm greatly encouraged in all my troubles. My joy knows bounds. Now, I'm gonna just pause here and just say something about what happened this weekend. So we had a marriage seminar, right? Patty and I were there for most of it.
[00:10:49] And some people say, well, how'd you skip out, Pastor? Well, I had another appointment. That's the reason later on. But I want to just say how proud I was and how full of joy I was. You know why? Because here were all the people in our own church overseeing it, running it. They were the speakers of it, I think. Mark and Karin. Were you the only staff that spoke, right?
[00:11:12] I think so. The rest were all. We had, what, seven couples. They were all from our church, and they did an amazing job in. And, you know, sometimes when you listen to people and some of them are nervous because, you know, I'm their pastor and they're going to speak. And I just said, hey, I want you to know I'm your biggest encourager. I am for you. I think this is amazing. And I was so thrilled. I was so overwhelmed with joy. I was so happy because I can see people in our church moving, growing, developing, rising up, becoming all that God wants them to be. And that's my desire. Isn't that a desire of every parent to see their kids do well? How many parents here in the room, that's your desire to see your kids flourish, do well? As far as you're concerned, they can outstrip you. They can do better than you. They can go way beyond you. You'd be just there cheering them on, you know, And I think that's the right heart, and that's the heart that Paul is presenting here to these Corinthians.
[00:12:05] So I think, as Linda Belville goes on to say, in retrospect, he's aware that what he wrote could easily have set sounded as if he was blaming and passing judgment on them. So he's concerned that they not misunderstand his intentions. Indeed, there can be no room for condemnation because of the secure place that the Corinthians had in his affections. He wasn't there to Condemn them.
[00:12:28] You know, I was thinking about this. What's the difference between correction and condemnation? Don't you think that's an important distinction? Well, let's look at it. The difference. What is the difference? You might ask about motivation.
[00:12:41] What's the motive? Okay. Correction aims to restore and guide someone back on the right path and foster growth in that person's life. Condemnation is often reflected in the tone of self righteous anger and contempt for the person they're communicating to. And the result is that it leaves that person filled with shame, rejection and isolation. Correction addresses behavior. Condemnation attacks the character of that person.
[00:13:09] Paul, in writing to the Corinthians after sending a corrective letter, was that he was deeply concerned about their response.
[00:13:16] Would they receive the correction in the spirit in which he was sending it, through his representative, Titus. So let me give you a little background.
[00:13:25] I have an older commentary by FF Bruce. He was an amazing New Testament scholar and he wrote a book called Paul the Apostle of the Heart Set Free. So he's looking at the life of apostle. He says when Paul sent off his letter First Corinthians, and he calls it letter A, he expected to follow up with a personal visit. He planned to stay at Ephesus, a nearby city in Asia Minor, for a few more weeks, at least until the day of Pentecost. Meanwhile, he sent Timothy on ahead of him and asked the Corinthians to make him feel, make Timothy feel at home among them. After Pentecost, he himself had crossed the Aegean to Macedonia, which is northern, we call that northern Greece today, visit his churches there because Paul had planted churches in Philippi and Thessalonica, those are all in Macedonia, and make his way south to Corinth.
[00:14:17] Now, a number of factors made it impossible for this to happen. In other words, he had to modify his plans to carry it out. And a lot of people criticized him for that and said, you're just fickle. Look, you change your plans. But he did it for a reason.
[00:14:30] It says one of them was the news of further trouble in the church of Corinth, which compelled Paul to pay an urgent visit.
[00:14:38] The letter recently received by the church had evidently not been so effective. So as Paul had hoped, in checking those tendencies of which he expressed disapproval. And when Timothy arrived, he was quite unable to enforce Paul's directives. In other words, he was Paul's representative. He shared what needed to be done. They just dispute, disregarded him. And so this opposition to Paul came to a head as one member in particular took the lead on defying his authority. And the others took no effective action at Paul's defense. And Paul, deeply humiliated, left Corinth. He was there, too. And so how many know that, you know, being a leader sometimes is a very challenging job. And I've seen it.
[00:15:21] I've been involved in trouble trying to help churches. You don't know this, but one of the roles I've actually had is going into troubled churches. I've done that a few times or at least once that I know of. I was asked to do that as an elder and try to help them sort out their bickering and fighting. Let me tell you something. That's a very difficult job. And they actually turn on you.
[00:15:42] I can tell you that right now.
[00:15:44] And I'll give you a quote. You know, one guy stood up in a meeting and said, I. I am so tired of you guys coming down here and babysitting us.
[00:15:55] And the thought in my mind was, I didn't say it, but I thought it.
[00:16:00] And my thought was, when you guys grow up, we won't have to babysit anymore. But I didn't say it because I didn't need to add fuel to the fire.
[00:16:10] But I was just telling you, I mean, it is not an easy thing to deal with people when they're upset and frustrated and all the rest of it.
[00:16:17] And a lot of them think they know way more than you do, and that's just where people are coming from. And I get all of that.
[00:16:24] So.
[00:16:26] But he could not leave the Corinthian situation as it was. So he composes, really, a kind of a stinging letter to the church out of much affliction, he says, in anguish of heart and with many tears.
[00:16:38] And he sent it to Corinth by the hand of Titus, a little stronger personality perhaps than Timothy.
[00:16:45] And we'll call this letter Corinthians, C. And it's doubtful if any of it has ever survived. So that the little note that he told him, you got to smarten up. We don't have.
[00:16:56] When Titus set off with it, Paul immediately began to be sorry that he had sent it. How many have you ever had that moment? You're having second thoughts. You know, I love the way FF Bruce is painting the Apostle Paul here. He's showing us he's a human being. He's trying to get them to do what's right. You know, he's been humiliated by them, but he recognizes it's probably just a core group of people. You know, I was reading somewhere the other day that most churches, when there's conflicts, there's only about three or four people stirring up everybody else, just a handful of people. It's kind of sad, you know.
[00:17:27] And then he felt bad that he wrote the letter, but he was hoping that the tone might be perceived as being too severe, but hopefully it was going to produce the desired result.
[00:17:38] But on the other hand, it could exasperate the situation. How many know you got to be careful what you say in an explosive situation.
[00:17:44] Depends how people interpret what you're saying, right?
[00:17:47] Where are you coming from?
[00:17:49] He goes on to say here.
[00:17:53] He says in it, he assured the Corinthians of his love for them and then demanded that they give evidence of the love they had professed for him by acknowledging his apostolic authority and taking disciplinary measures against the man who had defied it. So in other words, he was basically saying, you got to address this. You can't let these people say these things and get away with it because it's actually causing division in the church. So Paul was challenging. And if you read First Corinthians immediately in chapter one, you see that there were divisions in the church. And Paul told him, you're not very spiritual because you've allowed these things to happen. You need to mend your fences.
[00:18:32] We have a gospel of reconciliation, not conflict, right? But conflict does come because people will have different viewpoints. It's how we handle conflict that determines how mature we really are. So while Paul is addressing the Corinthian situation, he's faced with other pressures. How many can say, you know what, you can have challenges in your life, but there's more than one challenge in your life. How many have ever discovered that? You've got this pressure, but you got that pressure. You got this going on. And we read here in verse five, for when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. We were harassed at every turn. Conflicts on the outside, fears within. How many know this is not an easy life he's describing here, but God who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus. Do you know Paul actually left an open door ministry in Troas to go to Macedonia? And why did he go to Macedonia? Because he wanted to get the question Corinth again. And why did he want to do that? Because Titus seemingly was supposed to meet him and Troas never got there. Paul got so concerned about it, he actually left to go find Titus and to see what was happening. He was concerned about Titus, he was concerned about the church. But now he has a meeting with Titus and the news is good. The church has responded in the way it hoped for. And there's great joy in Paul's life. Isn't that amazing? This is kind of the background of the story.
[00:19:52] So Paul is openly sharing his great sorrow, his fears that he's experienced in correcting the church at Corinth, and how overjoyed now with the response.
[00:20:04] You know, one of the great difficulties that Paul faced in his life and ministry was the concern that he carried in his heart for the people he shared the gospel with and for their spiritual establishment in the faith. You know, we're going to read later on in this book the list of all the things Paul went through. And I'm telling you, it's a terrible list of struggle and suffering and pain and sorrow. Persecution, beating, stoning, rejection. I mean, Paul, you know, you think going through this stuff, most people would have quit. Let's just be honest. You know, most people would have said, forget it. I'm not doing this. But he had a heavenly vision. He saw Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was commissioned to preach the gospel. And so we, regardless of the personal sacrifice and pain that he was experiencing, he was prepared to do it. But what I find fascinating in that list was just simply what he says here. A little later on in Second Corinthians, he said, besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concerns for all the churches.
[00:21:10] In other words, he said, the greatest weight I had was my concern for the people that I had shared the good news with and helped establish churches. This was the greatest weight of my soul. I carried this thing. It was my biggest burden.
[00:21:22] He says, who is weak? And I do not feel weak. In other words, when people are struggling, I feel. I'm struggling. I feel the pain. I want them to do well. He says, who is led into sin? And I do not inwardly burn. In other words, I get frustrated. In other words, I'm upset. The fact that they're being led astray, it really destroys. Disturbed him as a leader.
[00:21:43] And to give you a sense of the small, maybe a small understanding of the challenges, well. Oh, I skipped a little paragraph here. Oh, let me just say this. So he's sharing with us this weight of ministry. He agonizes over the lives of those who've made commitments to Christ, who were struggling in their walk with God, and like most Christian leaders, was concerned with believers that they would persevere in their walk with God. You know, the hardest thing for me personally, and I know Pastor Mark's worked with me for over two decades. You know, what we watch is when people fall away or when people struggle or when people go sideways and you go, what happened to these guys? Why did this happen to them? They were doing so well. They were running the race.
[00:22:26] Who cut in on them? Who took them out? You know, it drives me nuts. I'm being honest. It grieves me. It's disturbing. You know, it's like seeing your spiritual kids doing so good, and then all of a sudden they just kind of falter.
[00:22:40] That is a great weight and a pressure when you really care about people.
[00:22:45] These are your, you know, your spiritual children, in some ways, your spiritual family. You want them to succeed? I want everybody to succeed. I want everybody to. You know, if we were playing baseball, you'd all be hitting home runs. You know, that's the kind of pastor I am. I want everyone to do it. I want everyone to get on base. You know, I want everyone to succeed.
[00:23:04] Does that make sense?
[00:23:05] Yeah.
[00:23:07] Well, you know, pastors struggle, too. I just want you to know that.
[00:23:12] And to give you an understanding of the challenges that Christian leaders face, particularly pastoral leaders, because they're dealing with people all the time.
[00:23:22] Focus on the family. Many of you probably heard of this ministry. James Dobson was the founder, and he was a pastor's son.
[00:23:29] So he shares his conviction that the first line of defense for the family is the church. And the healthy families are the key to a healthy nation. And so you got to have healthy churches. And who's at the front of the church? The pastor. And he's a target, believe me. He's visible and he's carrying this load. And so in his book Pastors at Risk, he published in 1993. Then later on, 10 years later, in 2003, HB London, which is his cousin, he was a pastor. And Neil Wiseman, they wrote a book. They wrote the first book, too, but he helped them produce it. It was called Pastors at Greater Risk.
[00:24:05] And they were just sharing some of the challenges that pastors were experiencing. He said to give you a sense of how challenging it is to be a pastor, just listen to this.
[00:24:13] 5,000 responses went back to James Dobson in the United States. These are American pastors.
[00:24:21] Some of the pressures they were facing. And in the book, it says Dobson was stunned. He had no idea he grew up in a pastor's home, but he had no idea the pressures. I'm going to just give you a little sampling of it. He said over half the pastor's wives were battling depression.
[00:24:36] Over half, okay. Time, money, and unrealistic demands were the burdens that they were carrying.
[00:24:43] 40% of the pastors.
[00:24:45] I didn't add this, but I could add it now. In the book, it said in the past three months, he said 40% considered quitting. 40%, that's a lot, you know, and then 90% of churches were in survival mode. And in most of them, the pastors were, you know, trying to help these churches. And I don't know if you know this, but the average sized church is really small. It's probably 80 to 100 people. That's the average church. Eighty people, I think, was in the United States, average sized church. So you can imagine some of the struggles and difficulties.
[00:25:17] And so a lot of these pastors, they're challenged. They're trying to help these churches. And those churches, a lot of them are in rural communities. Some of them are in inner city communities. Some of them are in really difficult places. It's difficult for those pastors, and they're struggling folks.
[00:25:32] And that's why I have a burden for pastors myself. I have a real deep concern. And I've seen so many of them quit the ministry. I was surprised at how many quit after Covid. And I had friends, even good churches, big churches, that said to me, I'm quitting. I go, what? Why? Why are you quitting? And I'm trying to talk to them and trying to figure out, why are they stopping? They just, I can't do it anymore.
[00:25:55] And I just thought, wow, this is painful.
[00:25:58] So just to give you an idea, and you say, well, why? Why was it so hard for them? Because they said, no matter what we did, we were criticized for it. People were upset all the time. How many know it's easier to blame somebody than to actually try to understand that it's more complicated than that. Just easier to blame the leader. I think of Moses. I mean, read the Book of Numbers. How many times were they mad at Moses? How many times did they want to kill Moses? You know, they're saying, look where you brought us to. Well, it's not Moses that brought you there. It was God that brought you there. Right. It was a challenge. Okay, well, Dobson admitted that he was convicted. That's interesting because of his attitude towards pastors. He's a Christian psychologist who, you know, advocates for healthy families because he had been critical of them for not addressing the great moral and social ills of our society. And I think there's a great confusion today as to the mandate of the church. Our job is not to fix the broken things of this society.
[00:26:55] No. Our job is to make disciples. And in the process, if people Become disciples of followers of Jesus Christ. They will become the solution to society's problems.
[00:27:08] We have to have the right priority. And so you know what? You'll notice something. I try not to get involved in politics. I don't even talk about these things. That's not our job. My job is to help you grow spiritually and help you to become strong in your faith and help you to begin to hear the voice of God and walk with God and be obedient to God so that you can serve God beyond even the capacity of this local church and have a great impact in our city and even in the political realm. We've had a lot of political leaders come out of this church, and that's the way it should be. But let me move on to the second thing, the transformation in that person's life when they respond to correction. We are encouraged when those we love respond in a positive manner to what's right and pleasing to God. And when that happens, there's a profound change in their lives for the better. And Paul was deeply moved when he heard that they had embraced his correction and were diligent in addressing the wrong. So we are comforted when we hear that people are concerned about us, as Paul says, and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever. Well, why was that? Well, look what's at stake. Linda Belville explains the challenges that Paul was addressing and how confrontation is the last thing most of us want to do. And yet there are moments we must do it for the sake of individuals involved and for the welfare of the church as a whole. And I will just say this right now, this is the most difficult part of my job.
[00:28:42] And I'll pick up Pastor Mark. He's sitting right here. Pastor Mark will say, I'm so glad that's your office. I can see the arrows going over top. He goes, I don't have to deal with this stuff. You're going to have to deal with this stuff.
[00:28:57] How many know, some of you understand this. In business, you're the boss and the buck stops with you.
[00:29:04] And if you don't deal with it, it doesn't get dealt with.
[00:29:07] And, you know, I'll just say this. It's difficult to deal with bad stuff. And how many people don't know how to deal with bad stuff. And then the other half maybe don't always deal with it in the right way. And it's a challenge. It's difficult to deal with everything perfectly every single time.
[00:29:25] So you'll get criticized once in a while.
[00:29:29] Just once in a while.
[00:29:30] You know, I actually, I pray, Lord, keep me humble. And I told the guys when we were praying this morning, I said, God really answers, I have enough people correcting me. I have no problem.
[00:29:43] Okay, how many know confrontation is not easy for any of us. We tend to shrink from it. Or we rational, excuse me, rationalize away its necessity. Paul, however, confronted the Corinthians directly. Despite how much he stood to lose, he did it because he valued his relationship with the Church more than his own reputation. I love that most of us would seek redress for a wrong done to us. This is especially the case where our rightful authority has been challenged and our reputation has been defamed. The stakes were even higher for Paul because it was his apostolic authority that was being attacked and his reputation as Christ ambassador that was on the line. You say, well, why is that important?
[00:30:31] Because Paul was speaking for God.
[00:30:34] He was speaking on behalf of God, and the people weren't listening. You can imagine how distressing that is. And by the way, when Moses was speaking on behalf of God and the people didn't listen, God stepped in and dealt with them. That's pretty challenging stuff, you know? Yet his primary concern throughout is his relationship to the congregation. All else is secondary, even the injustice and public humiliation that he had suffered. That's powerful.
[00:31:00] As believers, we're encouraged when people address sin in their lives. That's true. How many rejoice when somebody you love has been going in the wrong path and, you know, maybe you've spoken to them or someone's spoken to them, or they have, you know, finally had an epiphany and God reveals himself to them and they smarten up. How many you just. They start. They get their act together, they start getting on the right path, and immediately you're going, yes, you're rejoicing, right? How many can say, I rejoice when I see that happening? Of course, because we know good's going to come out of this.
[00:31:32] True repentance enables us to move forward in our relationships and in our faith.
[00:31:40] When what we desire is good outcomes for others, we're transformed. And often people respond in a positive manner. Let's look at these verses. These are powerful verses. By the way, even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while, you know, don't you Love the parent that says to the kid, I know this is going to hurt you, but it's going to hurt me even more. And the kid's thinking, no, it's not.
[00:32:09] But I think until you become a parent, you don't relate to that until you're a parent and you realize, I got to discipline this kid, but I don't really want to do it, but I know I need to do it for their betterment.
[00:32:20] Boy, what a challenging situation.
[00:32:22] This is what he's talking about here. Yet now I am happy, he says, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
[00:32:38] C He goes on, godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leads to no regret. But worldly sorrow brings death.
[00:32:53] See what this godly source produced in you. What earnestness and what earnestness to clear yourself. What indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.
[00:33:06] At every point you have proved yourself to be innocent in this matter.
[00:33:10] The difference between remorse and repentance is moving past ourselves. I mean, go, this is powerful stuff.
[00:33:17] It is more than just feeling bad, which is a very self focused behavior. Rather the focus moves to the ones we've sinned against, which begins with God and then with the people we have violated to an action that demonstrates the change in our lives.
[00:33:33] What am I saying? I'm saying too often we feel bad about what we did wrong, but the focus is on ourselves.
[00:33:41] That's remorse. When we move past that and we feel bad, the fact that I've sinned against God and how I've hurt this individual and we start doing something about it, that's repentance. That brings about tremendous change in our lives.
[00:33:55] Let me just keep expounding a little bit on that. Linda Belville explains the shift that needs to happen in order for true transformation to happen in our life. She says constructive sorrow is the kind of sorrow that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. Paul. Paul might not be thinking of salvation in a theological sense. That means, you know, like having received eternal life, but rather this idea can also mean self preservation or well being. Sorrow that turns outward to redress the wrong done leads to personal wholeness.
[00:34:31] Did you just hear what I said? This is a powerful statement that she's sharing. She's saying when we move beyond ourselves, outside of ourselves, and we start redressing, dealing with the wrong we've done to them, wholeness comes to us.
[00:34:47] That's powerful.
[00:34:49] It goes on. Worldly sorrow, on the other hand, brings death and it often feeds on itself and feeds off its ever deepening self pity. It brings death because it breeds self destructive resentment and bitterness that eats away at the person.
[00:35:05] It is said that a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so upset it will bite itself.
[00:35:12] That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is, a biting of oneself.
[00:35:18] We think that we're harming others by holding these grudges and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves. This is a sorrow that will overwhelm us and consume us in the end. Now I'm going to paint a picture for you.
[00:35:29] A lot of times we look at Peter and Judas.
[00:35:33] Judas sold Jesus. He betrayed him, sold him for 30 pieces, right? Peter denied knowing him three times. Okay, so you know both of them are not doing the right thing. How many can see that? They both feel bad. Peter's weeping, but Peter repents.
[00:35:49] Judas has remorse. How do you know he has remorse? He takes the money that he got from the priest and he throws it at their feet and he says, I have betrayed innocent blood.
[00:36:00] Okay, up until this point. But you know what? He feels self pity, he feels shame, he feels remorse. And what does he do? He's not focusing so much on what he did, as much as how it made him feel. And he goes and hangs himself.
[00:36:16] Remorse leads to self destruction and you see it in Judas as a classic example. Peter, on the other hand, he feels terrible. But Jesus reaches out to him and restores Peter and renews him. And even though what Peter did was terrible, Peter now becomes, within a very short period of time, restored and becomes a dynamic leader in the church. Because he repented.
[00:36:43] Repentance is the key, folks.
[00:36:47] She continues to explain this distinct difference between sorry and true repentance. The kind of sorrow that God intends results in a change of heart.
[00:36:57] Your sorrow led you to repentance. This is the third reason Paul can be happy. The Corinthians did not merely regret what they had done, but repented of it.
[00:37:08] This word repentance in the Greek metanoa denotes not just a change of mind about something, but a reorientation of the whole person.
[00:37:16] A reorientation.
[00:37:19] Judas left, left remorse for what he had done, felt remorse for what he had done in betraying Jesus to the authorities. We talked about that his remorse did not issue in repentance. Repentance is sure, involves a recognition that a wrong has been committed.
[00:37:38] The Corinthians, when confronted with their failure to defend Paul, in the face of his detractors, felt sorry for the pain they had caused him. That's remorse.
[00:37:49] But repentance goes further. It not only recognizes the wrong committed, but also seeks to rectify it. This is what the Corinthians did. By admitting their blame and by punishing the offender, they actually took action. They said, we're going to deal with this person and they took action.
[00:38:04] They actually dealt with the individual that was in the wrong. How's that? They did something about it. And why is it so necessary to focus on the distinct difference?
[00:38:14] Well, the reason is simple.
[00:38:16] If all we are is sorry for the outcomes and consequences to ourselves, it leads to further alienation with God and others.
[00:38:24] We must come to realize that we need God and that we need God's spirit convicting us and then helping us turn our hearts away from self pity and excuses and allow real change to happen within in us. This is powerful stuff, guys.
[00:38:43] What am I telling you? I'm saying we need to learn how to repent.
[00:38:47] You know, I think a lot of people just live in self pity.
[00:38:51] This is true.
[00:38:53] You know, all these years that I've been a pastor, I've heard a lot of self pity.
[00:38:58] You know, I'm related to people that focus and it's just self pity.
[00:39:04] And what I see is no change.
[00:39:07] But when people finally, you know, real repentance, as you come to the end of yourself and you realize it's not these other people that are the problem. I'm the issue.
[00:39:15] I've got to deal with me. I can't change anybody else. I've got to deal with me. I've got to deal with what I did wrong. And I got to make some steps towards changing my behavior with God's enabling grace. And he'll help you to do it.
[00:39:31] So finally, we're encouraged when those we love care about others. This is a sign of growth and maturity when we move beyond ourselves to care deeply for other people. So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are by all of this. We are encouraged.
[00:39:54] In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was because his spirit was was refreshed by you all. I had boasted to him about you and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well. And all of his affections for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling. I am glad I can have complete confidence in you. Isn't that great? So at the end he says, you know what? Because of the way you responded, he said, I have total confidence in you. Guys, guys, you're going to do what's right.
[00:40:30] Okay? This is what brought joy and confidence to Paul, the response of these believers. And as a spiritual parent, he was overjoyed to see how they treated his son in the faith. Titus, now what are the takeaways from this message, from this correction by Paul to the Corinthians? I mean, that's in the past, but what can we learn from it? What does God want to produce in you and me?
[00:40:56] Well, God desires to move us away from our culture, deemed what our culture deems of value. I'm going to quote Scott Heffeman here. Living for ourselves, God desires that we connect with him in deep intimacy and experience the joy of knowing him and being released from the tyranny of self centeredness and sin. No, actually I wrote that. Okay, that's fine.
[00:41:19] You know, I'm quoting people, I'm writing notes, it becomes a blur. What can I say? But this is true. This is what God wants from us. He wants deep intimacy with you and me. He wants us to experience the joy of knowing Him. He wants us to be released from the tyranny of self centeredness. You know, when you're just a self centered person, you're in chains, you know, you're bound. It's about you. Do you know how freeing it when it no longer becomes about you? I can tell how mature people are just basically on how they relate to people.
[00:41:52] Is it about you or others? Isn't that true?
[00:41:56] Sure.
[00:41:57] You know, and we get liberated from things in our lives. Okay, Scott, this is Scott Heffelman's quote, most important. Paul's account of his recent history with the Corinthians highlights the fact that confronting sin and calling people to repentance is really the primary instrument of sanctification in the life of a Christian. You go, what does that mean? It means this is the call to holiness.
[00:42:22] This is the call to be separated, to serve God. You know, this is really the primary instrument is simply the word of God. God, his word's going to come to us. And then it says, in our pluralistic, therapeutic and privatistic culture. I like all those terms.
[00:42:39] You know, this kind of intervention is uncomfortable and increasingly uncommon.
[00:42:46] We don't ever confront people anymore in their behavior. We just let everything go by.
[00:42:50] We don't offend anybody. Pastor, that's not loving people, that's not accepting people. I'm going. No, we would just rather let them drive their vehicle off the cliff.
[00:42:58] That's what we're doing. We're letting a culture just perish in front of us.
[00:43:03] No, we need to stand up and say, hey, there's some things that will always be wrong. There is moral law. There are some things that are destructive to the human race. And if we perpetuate those behaviors, our culture will be creamed.
[00:43:17] Our culture is in a great state of moral decay and decline. And the only way out of it is for Christians to live righteous lives and show people there's another way to live. How's that?
[00:43:28] Okay. Paul's argument makes clear, however, that such a prophetic stance is an essential aspect of the gospel and that the courage to take such a stance is a fundamental expression of Christian love and leadership. Paul is a mediator of the Spirit, not a salesman.
[00:43:44] He's a proclaimer of the gospel, not a motivational speaker. God's word is not self help tips. It is the tool of his trade. I really like these quotes because that's the truth. We got to get away from trying to be therapeutic today and try to, you know. No, we need to preach the word.
[00:44:02] People need to hear the scriptures. Explain. I'm explaining it today. And you know what? We run a risk when we do that that somebody's going to go, I got offended by that.
[00:44:11] Well, maybe take a deep look inside and say what needs to change in me if I'm not speaking it in a truthful way, in a loving way. I'm not here to criticize people. I'm just here to point out these are the things that are destroying us.
[00:44:28] So what will compel and motivate us through the challenges of ministry? Whether we're ministering to our families or in our workplace or in the community of faith, the church is designed by God to be the pillar and the foundation of the truth and that our broken world needs to hear and respond to what we have to communicate. That they might experience true freedom. And true joy comes when we as Christ followers see God working in the lives that we're investing ourselves into. Their positive response to God's word has the power to bring about transformation not only in their lives, but but it'll bring comfort in our souls. And you will notice where Paul receives this joy. Scott Heffelman writes, the startling degree to which Paul's joy dominates. This section highlights once more the proper motivation for Christian life. Paul is filled with joy because of God's work in the midst of his own afflictions, because of Titus arrival, because of the Christian repentance and reconciliation, and because of Titus joy repent. Relating Paul's happiness to this cultural context, we must underscore that Paul's comfort and joy are not merely personal or circumstantial, but deeply theological. Just as the object of true sorrow over sin is God, so too Paul is filled with joy because what God has been doing through his own circumstances of affliction, through his ministry to the Corinthians, and through Titus life and service.
[00:45:59] Why don't we stand?
[00:46:03] So I said a lot this morning. Some of you are going, I'm drowning.
[00:46:10] But here's. I'll just, I'll bring it down real fast here. As we close in prayer.
[00:46:15] It's real simple, you know, it's not about us.
[00:46:21] It's never been about us.
[00:46:24] Do you realize that when God decided to create you, that was before the world was even fashioned.
[00:46:32] There's not one person in this room that you're an accident.
[00:46:36] God cares so deeply for each one of us.
[00:46:39] And God who made humanity and framed boundaries so that people could live in harmony and in freedom and in joy and in love and in relationship.
[00:46:51] But when you and I rebel against God's love laws, his moral law, when we rebel against that and we rebel against God and we become our own God, that's where our society is at today.
[00:47:02] We are our own gods.
[00:47:06] All we can do is live for our self interest.
[00:47:09] For the most part our culture is doing that and it's leading to absolute brokenness. How tragic.
[00:47:16] What does God do? He makes a provision for us. He calls us and the Son and the Father get together in the spirit of God and they commune with each other and they come up with a plan of redemption and they bring us into his kingdom through the forgiveness that is given to us because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
[00:47:35] And when you and I recognize that we have violated God's moral law, that we're rebels against God's kingdom, when we awaken to that truth and recognize our need for God in our lives and we humble ourselves and repent.
[00:47:49] Not just because, you know, I got caught or I feel a bunch of self pity, it's moved past that now I recognize I've sinned against God. We should be praying God. You know, I was sharing with somebody the other just last Sunday I said you know what the greatest sin is? Breaking the greatest commandment.
[00:48:08] You say, what's that? To love God with your whole heart, soul, mind and soul strength. And I said to this individual, do you love God like that?
[00:48:16] And they looked at me like deer in the headlights because they knew they didn't. And so I said, I'll help you.
[00:48:24] Here's the prayer that you need to pray this week.
[00:48:28] You need to pray, God help me to love you the way youy want me to.
[00:48:34] And I'll tell you something, if you start asking God to help you to love you the way you want to, you'll be on a journey with God that it'll blow your mind because God is for you and not against you.
[00:48:46] So Father, we bow before you this morning.
[00:48:48] This is sobering stuff.
[00:48:51] The challenge of really knowing you and serving you and walking with you and recognizing what real repentance is and how it moves away from remorse and self directedness and self pity and self focus. And it moves us away from all of that and it changes us. It moves us towards you and towards others.
[00:49:11] It moves us towards maturity instead of immaturity. It brings about transformation in our marriages and in our relationships with other people. It helps us, Lord, to become more courageous and gives us the courage to actually address things in people's lives that we can see are so damaging and detrimental. And, and when we have relationship with them and when we are concerned deeply about them and we're praying for their soul and their condition and we go to them and speak to them in a loving, wonderful way to help them move away from this course direction that's destructive, self destructive and destructive of others lives are changed.
[00:49:51] And that's what I pray, Lord, that you will continue to change lives, that you'll continue to change my life, you'll continue to change our lives and that we will have a greater impact on our community because they will see that there's a distinctly different kind of life of the follower of Christ, that we're not going along with everything that we have. We march to a different drumbeat. And it's the drumbeat of your heart.
[00:50:17] It's the drumbeat of love.
[00:50:19] It's the drumbeat of being reconciled to you. And we pray today that you will help us as we leave here to reflect on what has been communicated today. We won't just be hearers of the Word, but we'll reflect and say, Lord, there was something in there that you spoke to me about. Help me to put it into practice.
[00:50:38] In Jesus name, amen.
