Matt preached this morning on Acts 17, Paul in Athens.
My final part of the series I have been doing on 2 Corinthians, hope you have found it helpful.
Notes are below. Our copyright is only so you do not sell it or make money from it. As usual the material is made available so that any may use it, adapt it and preach it.
Sermon 2 Corinthians 13
Intro
Paul is on the final stretch in this letter and he has appealed to his readers (and his hearers, as this would have been read out) to accept his teachings by reminding them of his apostolic authority.
Paul supported this reminder by sharing some of his experiences as we saw in chapter 12.
He is to visit them and warns them he is willing to take on the unpleasant task of bringing order to the church.
1) “examine yourselves” & “test yourselves” v5
Yourselves! There is a time for the Holy Spirit to bring to our notice areas of our lives that need attention, but there are times when we must do this for ourselves.
Paul was asking that before they ask for proof of the authenticity of his faith they should prove the authenticity of their own faith.
See Matthew 7:1-5
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Do you think Paul is being negative or inviting feelings of condemnation? The answer is in v5b where he reminds them that Jesus the Christ lives in them.
Don’t forget this is the same person that wrote Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
And Romans 8:5-14
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation- but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
And Romans 8:28-39
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died- more than that, who was raised to life- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2) He invited them to “examine” and “test”.
(a) “examine yourselves” v5
Scrutiny, as in communion. 1 Corinthians 11:28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
The Puritans were fond of examining or scrutinising themselves. Wesley encouraged his followers to do the same. They would regularly test themselves against a list of questions. See page 235 of “Blessings out of buffetings” by Alan Redpath.
When examining ourselves we must avoid self-condemnation or legalism. See current talks re agreement between Islam and Christianity.
( b) “test yourselves” v5
By action.
See Philippians 2:12-13
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
John 14:15
If you love me, you will obey what I command.
3) God be with you
This is the blessing that is pronounced over his readers/hearers in various forms in this one Trinitarian blessing.
God be with you:
- in his peace v11
- in his grace, love and fellowship v14
- fellowship with others by the Holy Spirit
- fellowship with the Holy Spirit
See also
Ephesians 6:23-24
Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
And many more like it.
Pastor Matt read 2 Corinthians 12 and Pastor Graham preached on it.
Sermon 2 Corinthians 12
Thorns, Weakness and Visions
1) The Weak Man
The “thorn in the flesh” - a frequent topic for debate.
There is no clear agreement between students of scripture what this means, yet the words “thorn in the flesh” divert our attention from the real point. The real point is the grace of God displayed in human weakness.
“Thorn?” A sickness? A physical weakness? We do not know, but it was certainly a weakness of some sort.
The writers of the footnotes in the NIV Study Bible link this with passages that speak of being buffeted by Satan for an end that God knows will be for a good outcome.
1 Timothy 1:18-20 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
1 Corinthians 5:5 ..hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
Again, the real point is the grace of God displayed in human weakness - not his problem but God’s assurance of grace.
See:
1 Chronicles 16:29 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
And Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
It is often our weakness that allows the glory of God to show through.
2 Corinthians 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
How can you and I allow God’s grace to be shown through our weakness? Think of a time when all seemed to go wrong, you demonstrated grace by your meek submission to God. I heard about some research re working in the NHS, it said, “A rude and discourteous place to work.” What is the best way for a believer to behave in such a place?
How does the scripture in Jeremiah apply to the workplace? Jeremiah 29:7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
2) The important Man
Paul does not want his weakness and dependency upon God to give ammunition to the false teachers in Corinth who are trying to prevent the Corinthian from receiving his wisdom and authentic Godly teaching.
It is for this reason that Paul does something he evidently finds uncomfortable - he “boasts”
2 Corinthians 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
The reason for this boasting is to assure the Corinthians of his trustworthiness and of him as a teacher, and a teacher of the Truth.
- This chapter speaks of his experiences, showing that God marked him as special
- This chapter speaks of his character, showing he thought them so special they were worthy of his service as he devoted his life to them.
Many have mimicked this strategy of Paul’s and have claimed to have had visions and revelations in order to make claims to authority and status.
The difference with Paul is that his claims about his experiences were in addition to his character, his track record of ministry and service to the believers was well known.
We also have Paul’s own warning in Galatians 1:6-10
I have known individuals joining a church and seeking position quickly, they have spoken of their experiences. Character will speak for itself - though it may take some time. Those that seek status through their experiences, and wish to bypass the need to demonstrate good character will need to make their so-called experiences sound extra special. No surprise then that some people like that speak of the bizarre.
3) The Revealed Man
We see what Paul is like here, he is open with his readers.
Why was Paul writing like this, working like this, fighting for the truth like this? Why didn’t he just go home and make tents?
Because:
(a) He had the big story in mind.
Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
(b) He didn’t want to stop pleasing God.
Luke 3:22 When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.
“Love” and “Please” are not the same
Conclusion
Do you:
- have the big story in mind? What difference does it make to the way you live?
- want to keep pleasing God? How are you doing that these days?
- understand the difference between God loving you and being pleased with you? Do you know how to rest in that?
Our guest speaker this morning was Brian Kirik of Gospel For Asia UK. The main verses he preached from were Matthew 9:35-38.
Brian Kirik of Gospel For Asia UK on Matthew 9:35-38. [48:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (16)
Notes are below. As usual the material is made available so that any may use it, adapt it and preach it. Our copyright is only so you do not sell it or make money from it.
Of Credit Crunch And Kings
Intro
We are living through momentous times. One banker I heard on Radio 4 described events as apocalyptic. For some people this is a time to fear.
I suspect that if I searched the internet I would find some predictions that we are now witnessing the end of the world and that this will usher in the long awaited return of Christ. I will not make any wild predictions but I do think this, that at momentous times believers should keep their brains plugged in, with an eye on the news and on scriptures.
“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing-wax, Of cabbages and kings.. (Lewis Carroll)I will start by speaking to you, not of cabbages, but of kings - the Book of Kings.
I am not really covering 2 Corinthians 10. I simply start there to see if we can learn anything from Paul about his character. And then, from that, if I can learn anything about my character.
1) National character matters
Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
If there’s one thing we learn from history it’s that we learn nothing from history.
I don’t know how long it would take to read, in one sitting, the history known in the Bible as the Second Book of Kings. It would certainly not take a whole lifetime to read. Yet for anyone who does read it they can see an account of God’s dealing with generations of people. There can be found the experience and wisdom of many lifetimes for all who care to learn from it.
In 2 Kings (as it is known) we can read that when those ancient people turned to God they experienced great blessing. When they turned away from God, lawlessness and social injustice increased, national prosperity eroded and eventually the nation cried out to God for forgiveness and mercy - and received it.
Our culture has worshipped money and possessions for a long time. The point in the cycle we are at now can be seen in the first Book of Kings. Read it for yourself and see where you think we fit.
If the Book of Kings offers us hope it is that we can see the mercy of God if we turn to him again. I wonder how bad it would get before our society would do so. In that ancient account it got very bad indeed in some of the turns of the cycle, with extremes of desperation and cruelty.
Why should God care about what people believe or do? Because he cares about the eternal. He cares about the eternity of the people who belong to him. God cares for people more than “stuff”. Character lasts for all eternity and money does not. Moral failure damages the individual, damage that lasts - only complete forgiveness can release us from the damage it causes.
2) The God who shakes
They called it a “credit crunch” and now they tell us we are in a recession. Some say we are on the verge of a depression.
Some commentators say we are seeing the end of Capitalism, as momentous a time as when we once watched the fall of communism. The “West” will never be the same again.
God once said he would shake the heavens and the earth and the nations.
Haggai 2:5-7 Do not fear.’ This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty.
This prediction came true when, after the Assyrian empire, Alexander the Great conquered the known world. He scraped the earth from the ground and cast it into the sea fulfilling the ancient prophecy of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 26:3-5 “..therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock.
Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishing nets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. She will become plunder for the nations..”
The first fulfilment was the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar, but he did not finish the job. The prophecy referred to “many nations”, and one of those nations that came later was Greece. Alexander scraped away the rubble and cast it into the sea.
When God decides to shake the nations nothing can stand in his way. He shakes the nations, and the lives, so that what can not be shaken (that which is eternally valuable) might remain.
3) Personal character matters
Do you/I have faith to welcome each and every time that God chooses to come into my affairs to shake out the worthless stuff?
But what of those who, in these special times, go to bed in fear and find no refuge in sleep before rising to more fear? I could say Jesus is the answer, but suspect that some would think that I mean that to turn to him means he will see all our bills are paid and all our wants satisfied. I do not suggest that, nor do I think did he. But I do believe he is the answer and to turn to him is the best course of action.
When Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” He was promising quality of life to all who would hand over their lives to him. Quality of life that would not depend upon whether I am rich or poor, sick or well. And once a person belongs to him they have the privilege of prayer too.
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
The writer of Hebrews quoted the prediction of Haggai.
Hebrews 12:18-29 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear.
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken- that is, created things- so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
This time the prophecy is linked to to the return of Jesus Christ.
At this time perhaps there are many who wished they had taken the advice of Jesus (in the Gospel of Matthew) and had used their lives for better purposes and pursued better goals. Jesus said,
Matthew 6:19-21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
So whatever lies ahead for you and I, let us keep close to Jesus and:
- trust him for our tomorrows
- make your requests known to him
- let us all walk in faith together
Apologies, due to some technical difficulties we don’t have a recording this week but the notes are below. I ran out of time this week so the sermon’s been split into two parts. There will be a recap of the first part in Part 2 in a few weeks time. Feel free to use the notes below in anyway you wish.
Sources: The Century of the Holy Spirit
Chasing the Dragon
Recommended: Speaking in Tongues: Multi-disciplinary Perspectives (Studies in Pentecostal and Charismatic Issues)
The Holy Spirit and Tongues
I did a small survey about Tongues in the church a few months ago. Thirty five people responded.
Out of 35:
11 had never spoken in tongues.
9 spoke in tongues occasionally.
15 spoke in tongues frequently, once per week or more.
What are Tongues?
Starting at the beginning: Luke 24:45-49 (Jesus promises the Holy Spirit)
Fulfilment at Pentecost: Acts 2:1-9 (The Holy Spirit comes, one of the results is tongues)
Two Examples of baptism in the HS in Acts:
Believers at Samaria: Acts 8:14-19 (Already Christian but had no baptism in the Spirit, no tongues).
Cornelius and his Household: Acts 10:39-46 (Holy Spirit at same time as believing and tongues).
The Holy Spirit Cannot be Formulised.
I want to resist applying a formula to the Holy Spirit that isn’t there. Sometimes the Holy Spirit comes when a person believes, sometimes he does not. Sometimes the result is speaking in tongues, sometimes it is not.
There are two different types of tongues:
Xenolalia: An actual earthly language (Brazilian, Italian etc) Acts 2.
Glossolalia: (more common) a non earthly language, some call it the language of angels. I don’t actually think there is a literal national dialect of the angels, I think we could more generally regard it as the language of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:2 Paul says: “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no-one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit“.
It has no rhythm or rhyme that can be subjected to the tests of modern lingusitic methodologies, in this sense it’s something completely different from an earthly language. Possibly because tongues isn’t really about the sound, it’s about the movement, the movement of the Spirit. In our earthly vessels this movement produces sound and God understands us. But the sound is secondary to the movement which creates it. Just as a groan of pain is secondary to the pain itself.
Now I Want to Talk About Crying.
I’m Not Crying Video (Flight of the Conchords)
“I’m not crying, It’s just been raining…..on my face.”
“I’m not weeping because you won’t be here to hold my hand. For your information there’s an inflammation in my tear gland.”
“I’m not upset because you left me this way. My eyes are just a little sweaty today.”
Why Crying?
Why do we cry? Not, what makes us cry? But what purpose does the body achieve by shedding tears or contorting the face?
The particular type of crying that the guys in the video were experiencing, it has a technical name “psychic crying”. It releases higher levels of hormones into the blood that relieve pain and stress. But why this outward expression? Why the tears? And the contorted face? In the academic world, this question is still open and when I studied psychology at college the function of crying was one of the things we studied. One of the explanations I like is that we cry when we cannot find the words to express our hurt or our happiness, so crying is the physical expression of our feelings.
Why Tongues?
Why do we speak in tongues?
We can answer this question for the first type of tongue, xenolalia, it’s a miracle. God is demonstrating His power by giving someone a language that has not been learned for the benefit of anyone listening who does know that language.
But why glossolalia? Why utter mysteries with our spirits that no one else understands? Why can’t we just say what we want to say to God in our own language? Nobody knows. We know what the benefits are but we don’t know why they happen. I like to think that just as crying gives us an expression when we are overwhelmed with emotion, tongues give us expression when we are overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit.
Tongues Disappeared.
Something happened to tongues in the early church, after 2nd Century AD it seems to have died out along with the other Charismata (meaning spiritual gifts).
There are lots of different explanations for this but I like John Wesley’s. Wesley claimed that tongues died out because “dry orthodox” men would “ridicule” those who spoke in tongues accusing them of “madness or imposture“.
The early church grew very rapidly and became very structured and what we would call very orthodox today (ritualistic a bit solemn - no fun). Particularly after it was tolerated by the Roman Empire (the Edict of Milan 313). Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, decided to hold a council to debate, among other things, a heresy that existed in the church at the time. This was less than three hundred years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. I had it in my mind that the Council of Nicea was just a small group of guys around a table. But Constantine invited 1600 Christian bishops of the east and west! Each bishop would have had oversight over hundreds and thousands of christians. The council of Nicea was a big event but the church had become very formal. It wanted to be taken seriously. So tongues and the charismata disappeared.
Cessationism in the Face of Continuationism
Centuries passed and although we have evidence of small outbursts of tongues and charismata in every century for the vast majority of christians there was nothing. And so theologians asked why? Where had the gifts gone? Martin Luther decided they had been withdrawn by God because they had been replaced by the primacy of scripture. John Calvin believed they had become disused as a result of lack of faith. But then toward the end of the 19th Century beginning of the 20th Century Christians started to believe in and expect the power of the Holy Spirit again. Pentecostalism was born and then Charismaticism and it is growing still today. Martin Luther’s view is what’s known as a cessationist view. Cessationists today tend to believe that the charismata were only given for the establishment of the early church. But the problem is these views came about as a way of trying to explain why the gifts were not practised, when they were not practised. Now that they are, I think they have a hard job pretending that they’re not. If Calvin or Luther were alive today, they would retract their views.
Tongues is Silly
The problem with formality and structure and becoming too civilised is that we are unwilling to look or sound silly. Tongues is silly! It sounds silly! We don’t want to look silly, we are afraid to. We sing “And I’ll become even more undignified than this” but we don’t mean it. But “Seriousness is no more a guarantee of truth, insight, authenticity or probity than humour is a guarantee of superficiality and stupidity.” (From Stephen Fry’s speech about the BBC). When we want to be taken too seriously, we are unwilling to be fools for God.
Example
I speak in tongues but don’t think I didn’t struggle with it. I was as cynical as the best of them and actually quite distressed about it all. But I’m going to cheat a little bit, I’m not going to tell you about my experience. I’m going to tell you about Jackie Pullinger’s experience. Chasing the Dragon page 50-51 and page 54. Are we willing to be fools for God’s sake? Jackie was and she had a really powerful ministry. She began speaking in tongues for 15 minutes per day and people started to believe what she told them about Jesus and her Chinese improved!
To Be Continued in Part 2……
Notes are below. As usual the material is made available so that any may use it, adapt it and preach it. Our copyright is only so you do not sell it or make money from it.
Sermon 2 Corinthians 10
Last week:
Intro
A change of topic now. We have seen many topics in this letter. I summed up this letter recently by saying the great theme of the letter is The Life of Faith. This letter deals with gritty stuff, what The Life of Faith is all about.
I said, and I think you agree with me, that I want this church to biblically literate, an intelligent church, a people of the Truth, people of the word, of revelation. We want to be a church that wins the lost, that displays Christ in the way we serve our community, and a church that has discovered what it is to “be” in a way that pleases God. I want us to be people that live the life of faith.
This letter is a rich manual for those wanting to live this way. After covering various topics in this letter Paul reaches his final crescendo in his summary of the life of faith in his teaching on the topic of mastering money before money masters us, as covered last week.
Now Paul is on the final stretch in this letter and he appeals to his readers (and hearers as this would have been read out) to accept his teachings by reminding them of his apostolic authority.
He begins this next section at the beginning of chapter 10 by declaring the essential spiritual nature of our conflict.
1) The War
Verse 3 “Wage war” and verse 4 “we fight”.
Living the Christian life, the spiritual life, is to be in conflict. We go against the flow in this world.
See:
Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 10:16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Matthew 10: 22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
John 15:19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Let us not expect the worst though, see
Acts 7:9-11 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Acts 2:47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 13:48-52 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
2) The Weapons
It is a strange war that ends in a victory that to most people looks like a defeat, Jesus Christ crucified.
The believers that Paul writes to in Corinth, understood that on the cross Jesus had triumphed. Therefore perhaps they were not being told, or being informed, about this point by Paul, but were being reminded by him of what they already knew and understood.
Hear what Alan Redpath says in his book, “Blessings out of Buffetings”, p174.
They were to win the battle by apparent defeat. By crucifixion they were going to be crowned. By refusing to counter attack they were to find the way to victory. By apparent failure they were going to conquer; by allowing themselves to be identified with His cross they were going to find they way to triumph, The paradoxes of the Christian life! Thus the Christian faith had in its birth, a new principle at the heart of it - the principle of sacrifice, the principle of of love, the principle of non-retaliation, the principle that was to lead to absolute victory.
Paul walked in the weakness of the flesh as we all do, but he didn’t wage war according to is.
I think this section has two possible meanings, perhaps one is right, perhaps they are both right.
(a) First meaning:
Paul and the righteous (the “we” in this section) can come against the false teachers at the work in that church and the false philosophies and religions (see Romans 1:18-23
- with divine power
- utterly demolishing the lie
- captivating the thoughts of those deceived
- and setting them free in The Truth of Jesus Christ.
This understanding of the passage fits with the final statement in verse 6. Once the majority are obedient again to the Truth, the rebellious can e dealt with. The ultimate and awful sanction was to put a person our of the church - to no longer associate with him/her (1 Cor 5)
(b) Second meaning:
Before anyone, even an apostle dares to wage war in the above manner on another person’s “rival gospel”, they must demolish “every pretension” in their own lives, they must take captive every thought of their own.
The greatest battles you and I face? Are those battles that are within ourselves.
A prayer:
Lord Jesus though I live in this world help me, for I do not want to wage war as the world does.
You tell me the weapons I fight with are not the weapons of the world, that they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Then help me I pray, to demolish the arguments and pretensions within me that set themselves up against the knowledge of God. Help me Lord to take my every thought captive to make them obedient to Christ.
I ask for this power Lord, the authority to build up rather than pull down. Thank you that you send me into the world to build for you.
Amen
Based on 2 Corinthians 10 verses 1-5
Notes are below. As usual the material is made available so that any may use it, adapt it and preach it. Our copyright is only so you do not sell it or make money from it.
Sermon, 2 Corinthians 9
Intro
An email sent to me, dated 26 September 2008:
If you had purchased £1000 of Northern Rock shares one year ago it would now be worth £4.95. With HBOS, earlier last week your £1000 would have been worth £16.50. £1000 invested in XL Leisure would now be worth less than £5. But if you bought £1000 worth of beer one year ago, drank it all, then took the empty cans to an aluminium re-cycling plant, you would get £214. So based on the above statistics the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and re-cycle.
I was asked recently, “What would Jesus say about the “credit crunch”?” I do not speak for Jesus but I do declare his gospel.
1) Sowing and Reaping
Verse 6. Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
This scripture does not teach that we should give money in order to get more.
One scripture quoted to support the “give to get” view is Galatians 6:7-10
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
As always when seeking to understand scriptures, look at the context. I do not think these scriptures teach me to sow money so that I can get more money.
See Psalm 1:1-5
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
The emphasis there is about righteousness, for us that is Christian living and the life of faith.
See Luke 6:38. Again look at the context.
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Compare with Matthew 7:2
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Verses 10 and 11 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Does this refer to money? Only if you think that to be rich refers to money. I believe Paul was more grown up in his faith than to think that.
What about the teaching of Jesus? See Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Do you think Paul was unaware of this teaching?
The gospel according to scripture, attested to by history, is not about money, it is about our salvation from sin and death - eternity
2) The Safest Bank
2 Corinthians 8 verses 16-19
This reminds me of an incident in the book of Ezra.
Ezra 8:22-30
I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.
So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers, and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God. I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold. I said to them, You as well as these articles are consecrated to the LORD. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel. Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.
See Ezra’s strategy for transporting money. He first handed it over to God then expected God to look after his own money.
I am not suggesting we pour our money into the offering (giving to God) but that we retain our God-given stewardship. We make sure our lives and all we are, all we possess belongs to God. God is able to look after his own.
Matt Parkins preached this morning on the presence of God.
You can also download the presentation:
The_Presence_of_God.pdf (Portable Document Format)
The_Presence_of_God.odp (Open Office Presentation)
Graham continued the 2 Corinthian series this morning from 2 Corinthians chapter 8, verses 1 to 15
Sermon 2 Corinthians 8:1-15
Using Faith to Handle Money
Intro
Joke - Bathtub Test
During a visit to a hospital for people with mental health problems, a visitor asked the Director how do you determine whether or not a patient should be admitted.
‘Well,’ said the Director, ‘we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.’
‘Oh, I understand,’ said the visitor. ‘A well person would use the bucket because the bucket is bigger than the spoon or the teacup.’
‘No.’ said the Director, ‘A well person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?’
And the point is? When we look at this letter of 2 Corinthians let us not jump onto topics only as though they are the only story, look at the bigger picture too. Ask yourself, “What is this letter about?”
For example, so far I have focussed mainly on topics as I have preached on this letter from week to week. When Matt preached on Chapter 6, he focused on topics. I really liked his point that Paul’s endurance of hardships and setbacks show us that for him, the work of God did not see steady, linear advancement. We too will go through times which we may call desert experiences. These “Deserts” are important to our development and godliness. There are times for us all when we will not feel God as near as usual.
Matt mentioned the call to open our hearts, in verses 11 and 12. Last week John picked up that theme in his coverage of chapter 7. He invited us to open our hearts or “make room” in our hearts, as in chapter 7 verse 2. That chapter calls us to make room in our hearts for God, for other believers, for sorrow which leads to authentic repentance and to the comfort of the Holy Spirit - the topic which opens this letter.
Before I go on to the theme of today I will cover from chapter 8, I want us to notice the great theme of the letter - the life of faith. This letter deals with gritty stuff, what the life of faith is all about.
I want this church to biblically literate, and intelligent church, a people of the Truth, people of the word, of revelation. We want to be a church that wins the lost, that displays Christ in the way we serve our community, and a church that has discovered what it is to “be” in a way that pleases God. I want us to be people that live the life of faith.
The theme we come to now is the handling of money. Let us look at this aspect of the life of faith, our financial participation in the work of the Kingdom of God. This theme of chapter 8 is a difficult one but a vital one.
It is not just a matter of opening our hearts, but opening our wallets too. We are not to be chasing the spectacular or short-lived special blessing, this walk of faith is a marathon and not a sprint.
1) Money is not evil
In the scriptures God has a lot to say about money. Money itself is not evil, it is the love of money that is a root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10).
Jesus said that the way a person handles their money is an indication of whether they can be trusted with true spiritual riches.
See Luke 16:10-11. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
It is evident that in the kingdom of God money is important. Church leaders (God’s servants) need to be released from spending all their time in secular employment so that they can devote themselves fully to the work of the ministry. Needs amongst the people of God are to be met. The poor are to be cared for, church buildings need to be paid for, heated, maintained etc. God’s way of meeting these needs is through the giving of His people - it has been so in both Old and New Testament periods.
2) Money can be handled with faith
Some New Testament principles can be seen in:
2 Corinthians 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
Clearly God intends our giving to be:
- In proportion to our means.
- Systematic.
- With a willing cheerfulness.
Rooting about in pockets and purses when an offering is announced betrays a lack of prayerful preparation. On the other hand, the attitude of “I’ll just empty my wallet into the offering and trust the Lord to see me through the week” is, though it seems to show a spontaneous generosity, displays a careless, unplanned approach to giving.
The giving of a believer should never be a matter of compulsion. I have heard many bullying methods used as desperate leaders have attempted to extract finances from God’s people.
Example Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
I have heard that passage used to assert that if I give (or invest!) financially in God’s kingdom I will receive more back. Read the context! Luke 6:38 is about the giving of mercy and not being judgemental.
3) Money and the Macedonians
We see in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 that the Macedonians gave in a way that has become an example to believers down the ages.
- Sacrificially - beyond their means.
- Willingly - of own free will.
- Eagerly - they loved to give.
- Spiritually - they gave themselves to the Lord.
Lord God, teach me more about this feature of the life of faith. Please help me to grow in it.
