INTRO.- ILL.- Pete walked up to his teacher’s desk, holding a report card with a big red F.
"If I were you," said Pete, "I would change this while you still can." "Why is that?" asked the teacher.
"Because my daddy told me that if I brought home one more failing report card, someone was going to get a beating."
Did you ever fail a class in school? Which subject? Failing at something doesn’t make you a failure in life. You may fail at one thing but not at another.
ILL.- Someone wrote:
Failure does not mean I’m a failure;
It does mean I have not yet succeeded.
Failure does not mean I have accomplished nothing;
It does mean I have learned something.
Failure does not mean I have been a fool;
It does mean I had enough faith to experiment.
Failure does not mean I have disgraced;
It does mean I have dared to try.
Failure does not mean I don’t have it;
It does mean I have something to do in a different way.
Failure does not mean I am inferior;
It does mean I am not perfect.
Failure does not mean I have wasted my life;
It does mean that I have an excuse to start over.
Failure does not mean that I should give up;
It does mean that I should try harder.
Failure does not mean that I will never make it;
It does mean that I need more practice.
Failure does not mean that you have abandoned me;
It does mean that you must have a better idea.
ILL.- Bob and Joe sat next to each other taking a test. When they finished, the teacher called them up to the front of the room and said, ’Boys, I will have to give both of you a zero on this test’
’W-why?’ they wanted to know, though Joe was shifting uncomfortably.
She said, ’Your answers were too nearly alike. One of you cheated and the other one let him do it.’ ’What makes you think we cheated?’ Bob asked. ’That could have been a coincidence.’
The teacher said, ’I might have believed that if it wasn’t for the fact that when you came to question #10, Bob wrote in ’I don’t know’ for the answer, and you, Joe, put ’Me neither’!’
PROP.- In our text, it appears that Paul was a failure but only in the eyes of the world, not in the eyes of the Lord.
1- He was insulted but daring
2- He was accused but pure
3- He was displeasing but pleasing
I. HE WAS INSULTED BUT DARING
1You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
Suffered and insulted. These words/actions don’t sound very good to me. Have you been there?
ILL.- A cab driver was overheard complaining to a woman passenger: “This $1 tip is an insult.”
“Oh?” she said. “How much should it be?”
“Another $1, at least,” said the cabbie.
“My dear fellow,” she said, “I wouldn’t dream of insulting you twice!”
ILL.- Once an atheist asked a Christian lady if she believed the Bible was true.
“Yes,” said the lady.
“Then.” Said the atheist, “tell me how a whale swallowed Jonah, as a whale’s stomach is no bigger than a man’s head.”
“I don’t know,” said the lady: “but when I get to Heaven I will ask him.”
“What if Jonah is not there,” said the atheist.
“Then you can ask him,” said the lady.
It should be obvious to us that if we live a faithful Christian life some people won’t like us. In fact, they may insult us, persecute us and even oppose us.
II Tim. 3:12 "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
Have you ever been persecuted or opposed because of your faith in Christ? If not, could it be that we need to examine our faith?
ILL.- June, 21, 2008 - MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Supporters of John Freshwater stood in a parking lot yesterday asking God to inspire the school board to make the right decision. Three hours later, the board announced that it intends to fire Freshwater, an eighth-grade science teacher.
Freshwater preached his Christian beliefs about how the world began, discredited evolution and didn’t teach the required science curriculum, the board says. He was told to stop teaching creationism and intelligent design, but he continued to do so, an investigation found.
"We’re all Christian people. … But rules are rules. You just can’t do that in a public school," said Karen McClure, a Mount Vernon resident who was at yesterday’s meeting to support her daughter, school board member Jolene Goetzman.
That’s daring to present Biblical truth in spite of opposition but the other side of the coin is what Freshwater also did, that I think was wrong.
Freshwater burned crosses onto the arms of some of his students and told them that gays are sinners, the school board said. THAT WAS GOING TOO FAR.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? If our faith is what it should be, then we should be a strong witness for Christ, which also means we will incur some opposition or some persecution.
ILL.- One lady in a church told me that her husband wanted to be baptized. She told her boss wherever she worked that she off work so she could witness his baptism. He wouldn’t let off work so she just quit. NOW THAT’S A FORM OF CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION. And I applauded her for her faith.
The apostle Paul suffered for his faith and was insulted but he dared to the preach the gospel of Christ anyway! WE MUST DO THE SAME IN SPITE OF OPPOSITION.
II. HE WAS ACCUSED BUT PURE
3For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.
Paul may have been accused of error. He was accused of having impure motives and he wasn’t a televangelist either!
ILL.- We recently heard that 6 prominent televangelists were being investigated by the Senate Finance Committee. Why are they being investigated? The Senate wanted to know if they are using their tax-exempt status as churches as cover for financing their lavish lifestyles. Jets, Bentleys, multiple million-dollar homes, six-figure incomes, extravagant hotel and travel expenses, all add up to the appearance of financial impropriety.
An internet ministry called Ministrywatch.com came up with these figures on one ministry.
- This televangelist’s salary is somewhere between half a million and a million dollars per year. He also gets royalties from the sales of his books.
- Personal perks for him, his family and his entourage include a $10 million seaside mansion; a private jet with annual operating costs of about $1.5 million; a Mercedes SUV and convertible, each valued at about $80,000.
- What the church termed “layovers” between crusades included hotel bills ranging from $900 per night to royal suites that cost as much as $3,000 for one night’s stay. Layover locations included Hawaii, Cancun, London, Milan and other exotic locations.
When you hear things like this you can almost understand why the world doesn’t believe in Christianity, because it sounds like some people are only preaching Christ for what they can get out of life. IT JUST DOESN’T ADD UP.
Paul said, "our appeal does not spring from error or impure motives..."
Motive is important for everything we do in life. Why do we do what we do? It’s one thing to make a living but it’s an entirely different matter to want to get rich.
I Tim. 6:6-11 "6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11But you, man of God, flee from all this..."
III. HE WAS DISPLEASING BUT PLEASING
We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. Paul was displeasing to men but pleasing to God.
ILL.- An old fable that has been passed down for generations tells about an elderly man who was traveling with a boy and a donkey. As they walked through a village, the man was leading the donkey and the boy was walking behind. The townspeople said the old man was a fool for not riding, so to please them he climbed up on the animal’s back.
When they came to the next village, the people said the old man was cruel to let the child walk while he enjoyed the ride. So, to please them, he got off and set the boy on the animal’s back and continued on his way.
In the third village, people accused the child of being lazy for making the old man walk, and the suggestion was made that they both ride. So the man climbed on and they set off again.
In the fourth village, the townspeople were indignant at the cruelty to the donkey because he was made to carry two people. The frustrated man was last seen carrying the donkey down the road. You can’t please everyone so why try?
I think it’s ok to be gracious toward others and comply whenever something doesn’t conflict with your faith but when it does, that’s the time to say "no."
ILL.- Back in December Ray Rickert asked me, "Do you ever take off two days in a row?" I said, "No, what do you want?" Well, Ray wanted to know if I would ride with him back to Xenia, OH, to help him get some of his personal possessions from his house. I consented and we had a very good trip. Two very long days but a good trip. I got to see places I’d never been, we got acquainted, we talked about our churches and experiences, we ate good meals, and got something accomplished.
I don’t want to do something like that every week. In fact, I’d much rather someone ask me to go bass fishing. Now that’s when I will please men.
ILL.- In fact, our Jerry Rhodes used to call me occasionally and say, "I’m hungry." I would respond like, "Well, get something to eat." He would say, "No, I’m hungry for fishing." I would say, "Let’s go! When? Today or tomorrow?"
Now there may be times when we must not please men or we cannot please men.
ILL.- For example, we’ve all probably heard people say, "Let’s go do something even if it’s wrong." NO WAY! That’s wrong. We can’t do that. Our faith in the Lord won’t allow it. There is a point where we must say "no" to people, no matter who is tempting us.
ILL.- Herbert Swope said, "I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure: which is: Try to please everybody."
Gal. 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."
Our ultimate goal in life should be to please God in all things and in all ways! We owe Him everything good!
CONCLUSION-----------------------------
God’s man. That was Paul. And we need to decide in life to be God’s man or God’s woman. And that means we will not always be liked, loved, or treated right. But we will be blessed. And in the end, it will be worth it all!
