SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Be Ready For My Visit (vs 1-4).
(2). Be Sure You Are Saved (vs 5-7).
(3). Be Obedient To God’s Word (vs 8-10).
(4). Be Mature In Your Faith (vs 11-14).
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• This week I was reading the story of a man;
• Who was rummaging through some old draws in a sideboard,
• And came across a ticket from the local Dry Cleaners.
• The ticket was for a suit he had taken in to be cleaned;
• But he had taken the suit in eleven years earlier and forgotten all about it.
• He asked his wife, "Do you think the suit will still be in the shop?"
• She replied, "Not likely, nut it's worth a try."
• So he drove to the Dry Cleaners and, with a straight face,
• Handed the ticket to the man behind the counter.
• The man looked at the ticket and said,
• “Just a minute. I'll have to go look for these."
• He disappeared to the back of the shop.
• Two minutes later, the man called out, "Here it is!"
• The man replied. "That's terrific!
• Who would have thought they'd still be here after all this time."
• To which the owner of the Dry Cleaners said,
• “It will be ready on Thursday."
• TRANSITION:
• Sadly it is not just Dry Cleaners that are never ready when you want them to be!
• Some tradesmen i.e. builders & plumbers etc. fall into that category!
• You are never sure when they are coming or when the job will be completed!
• And if we are honest with ourselves;
• We too fall into that character fault called procrastination!
Quote: David Ronald Bruce Pekrul
Procrastination, what's the rush?
I'll do it some day without fuss,
But until then I'll take my time,
And maybe have a glass of wine.
Why do it now, when I can wait?
I'll get it done before it's late,
I work much better under stress,
(But that's not true, I must confess).
To be on time is not my thing,
For I'm "Procrastination King",
But one day, be it late or soon,
I'll sing a very different tune.
I'll be on time and get it done,
(Although it won't be any fun),
I'll be responsible, you'll see,
And you'll be very proud of me.
But until then I'll take my time,
(Now where is that third glass of wine?),
They say tomorrow never comes,
So maybe then I will succumb.
• TRANSITION: And if we are honest with ourselves;
• We too so often fall into that character fault called procrastination!
• In this final chapter of this New Testament letter called 2nd Corinthians;
• The apostle Paul wants this Church to ‘Be ready!’
• Ready for four things.
(1). Be Ready For My Visit (vs 1-4).
“This will be my third visit to you. ‘Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: on my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.”
Ill:
• I remember as a kid, whenever we had visitors come to our house,
• My mum would be up cleaning and hoovering all morning,
• And as soon as the visitors arrived she would say;
• “Come on in, sorry about the mess!”
Ill:
• I like the story of the three-year-old girl;
• Who was visiting Grandma’s house and having her first sleep over.
• She sat in the bathroom with her gran;
• And she starred as she removed her false-eyelashes;
• Then she watched as she removed her false-teeth and brushed them.
• After a few minutes,
• The little girl asked, “Can you take your ears off too?”
• TRANSITION: The apostle Paul is planning to visit this Church;
• He is coming to put wrong things right.
• He has told them before in this letter;
• And he reminds them again.
• If these people who came into the Church after the apostle had left the Church;
• And caused such problems, thought he was weak,
• Then they are in for a big surprise!
Quote: Someone described a leadership this way.
“A leader should have a compass in their head and a magnet in their heart”
• TRANSITION: The leaders at Corinth “Needed a compass in their heads”
• That is head/lead in the right direction.
• These false leaders at Corinth were going the wrong way;
• And the apostle Paul would correct that when he visited this Church.
• The apostle Paul “Had a magnet in his heart”
• He would be like a father correcting wayward children,
• Tough love! Firm and fare in his dealings!
Ill:
• One cold winter’s day a crowd of people stood in front of a pet shop window;
• And watched a litter of puppies snuggling up to each other.
• One woman laughed and said,
• “What a delightful picture of brotherhood!
• Look at how those puppies are keeping each other warm!”
• A man next to her replied,
• “No, lady, they’re not keeping each other warm; they’re keeping themselves warm.”
• TRANSITION: These false leaders, were only looking out for themselves;
• Whereas the apostle Paul was looking out for the good of the whole Church!
(2). Be Sure You Are Saved (vs 5-7).
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong – not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed.”
Ill:
• On Friday I went to the hospital to have my eyes tested;
• I have high pressure behind my eyes.
• I check in at the eye department and tell the receptionist I have an appointment;
• He says; “Do you have a letter?”
• And so I hand him the letter.
• He then looks at the letter and asks me, “What’s your name?”
• I reply, “It’s there at the top of the letter!”
• He then asks me, “What’s your address?”
• Once again I reply, “It’s there at the top of the letter!”
• Obviously thinks he will get his own back on me and asks:
• “Has your address changed?”
• “No,” I answered.
• “Has your phone number changed?”
• “No.” I reply.
• Then his best question of all:
• “What about your birthday?”
• I was tempted to say, “I may need time to think about that one”
• But you are glad to know I did not!
• “No” I said, “That hasn’t changed either!”
• TRANSITION: None of us like being examined,
• I hate my eyes being inspected, I even hate my personal details being reviewed!
• The apostle Paul was fed up with this Church spending their time examining him;
• So he says, it’s time for you to inspect their own hearts and lives.
Note: that word “yourselves”.
• It appears twice in the N.I.V. and three times in other translations.
• In the Greek text of the New Testament;
• It is also emphasised by being at the beginning of the sentence.
• It literally reads;
• “You yourselves test… you yourselves prove… that Jesus Christ is in you”.
• The apostle Paul wants these people to show some honesty;
• And apply to themselves the tests that they have been applying to him.
• And notice that he starts with the most basic question of all;
• “Are you in the faith”, “Are you a follower of Jesus?”
• There are three words in the verse to see if we pass the test;
• They are, “examine, prove, and realise”
ill:
• Years ago in my home Church in the Midlands;
• It was not too unusual for an old boy, who at the end of a service;
• Would shake your hand and ask you the question, “Are you saved?”
• Today, that rarely happens;
• And if it happened, he would probably say, “Are you a Christian?”
• But those words, “Are you saved?” have more depth to them;
• I think they are more insightful and more demanding;
• They cause us to reflect on the question; “Saved from what?”
Ill:
• Years ago in the American West;
• Some settlers were making their way across the land.
• They travelled in covered wagons drawn by oxen,
• And progress was necessarily slow.
• One day they saw a long line of smoke in the west,
• Stretching for miles across the prairie.
• The dry grass was burning fiercely and coming toward them rapidly.
• Only one of the men seemed to know what could be done.
• He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them.
• Then when a space was burned over, the whole company moved back on it.
• As the flames roared on toward them from the west,
• A little girl cried out in terror, “Are you sure we shall not all be burned up?”
• The leader replied, “My child, the flames cannot reach us here;
• Because we are standing where the fire has been!”
• TRANSITION: The cross teaches us that Jesus has come to take our judgement,
• God’s wrath burned on him;
• So that you and I can be spared!
• But we are only spared;
• If we choose to find safety in him.
Quote: Hymn: “In Christ alone my hope is found” by Stuart Townend.
“In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live”
• TRANSITION:
• The apostle Paul realised they were spending too much time examining him;
• And so he says it’s time to examine your own hearts and minds!
Quote:
• It was the Greek (Athenian) philosopher Socrates who said:
• “The unexamined life is not worth living”
• The opponents of the apostle Paul had accused him of being a counterfeit;
• And in this letter he shows the Church that he is genuine, the real deal.
• Now he turns those accusations back on his accusers;
• He says it’s time for them to ‘show their cards’,
• To prove they are genuine!
And that requires two things:
• Genuine conversion, “Are you in the faith?”
• Are you a follower Jesus Christ?
• Do you live your life for him day by day?
• And the second proof we belong to Jesus;
• Is actually the next point in my sermon;
• Are we obedient to God’s word?
(3). Be Obedient To God’s Word (vs 8-10)
“For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority – the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.”
As an apostle, Paul had a God given authority to teach these Corinthians;
• He is not like a dictator coming into the Church and throwing his weight around;
• He is more like a parent, a loving Father caring for his children.
• He had planted this Church at Corinth;
• He had given spiritual birth to these Corinthian believers.
• Now he wants to see these babies grow into children, and then into teenagers;
• And then into adults etc.
Ill:
A familiar nursery rhyme goes:
"Pussycat pussycat, where have you been?"
"I've been up to London to visit the Queen."
"Pussycat pussycat, what did you there?"
"I frightened a little mouse under her chair"
"MEOWW!"
• The origins of that rhyme dates back to the history of 16th century Tudor England.
• One of the waiting ladies of Queen Elizabeth 1st had an old cat,
• Which roamed throughout Windsor castle.
• On one particular occasion the cat ran beneath the throne;
• Where its tail brushed against the Queen's foot, startling her.
• Luckily 'Good Queen Bess' had a sense of humour;
• And decreed that the cat could wander about the throne room,
• On condition it kept it free of mice!
• TRANSITION: Like that cat,
• Christians sometimes settle for petty involvements, trivial pursuits i.e. chasing mice.
• When we have the opportunity to spend time with royalty,
• With the King of Kings!
• Instead of remaining content with minimum daily requirements,
• We can deepen our relationship with God and grow into maturity.
• And one of the ways we grow, is through learning and obeying the word of God.
Ill:
• Dawn by being baptised this morning is obeying the word of God.
• Jesus commanded it, the apostles taught it, and the Church practiced it!
• And by being baptised this will be a growing period in Dawn’s spiritual life;
• As it is in any Christians life when we obey Jesus and we obey his word!
• And once again that leads into our final point.
(4). Be Mature In Your Faith (vs 11-14).
“ Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
The apostle Paul is big enough, mature enough not to hold grudges;
• Notice in verse 11 he calls them all “Brothers and sisters”,
• Even the ones who have opposed him.
• At the start of this letter (chapter 2 verses 1-5) he had written with tears;
• But at the end of this letter (vs 11) he wants to ‘rejoice’ with them,
• He wants to be ‘restored’ with them, he wants to ‘encourage’ them.
Ill:
• A swimming instructor when teaching children to swim;
• Always left a line-up across the pool;
• This separated the shallow end of the pool from the deep end.
• Over the weeks as her schoolchildren were familiar with the pool.
• And more confident of the water.
• She knew they were ready for the next step;
• And to help prepare them for the deeper water she would take down the line,
• That separated the two levels of the pool.
• This always made the children very nervous.
• And on one occasion one boy remarked,
• "Miss, please put the line back up...the deep water is getting into the shallow water!."
• TRANSITION: We laugh at this, but are we no different?
• Our Father may challenge us to a newer levels of growth;
• By urging us out of our comfort zone.
• But all too often we cry,
• "But Father, the deep water is getting into the shallow water!"
When it comes to ‘deep waters’ (trials, difficulties, problems etc.):
• Some Grumble – Some Gripe – Some Groan – Some Grieve – Some Growl;
• And SOME GROW.
• Rather than losing our faith;
• Trials and difficulties allow us to strengthen our faith!
To conclude:
• The apostle Paul finishes with one of the great Bible benedictions;
• Verse 14.
(1st). “ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,”
• That takes us back to Bethlehem, where the Lord Jesus became poor for us.
• Do you remember what the apostle said in chapter 8 verse 9?
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
(2nd). “And the love of God,”
• That takes us back to the cross, where the Lord Jesus gave his life for us.
• Do you remember what the apostle said in chapter 5 verse 21?
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
(3rd). “And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
• That takes us back to the Pentecost,
• Where the Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on his Church.
• Do you remember what the apostle said in chapter 1 verse 21-22?
“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Ill:
• A four year old boy and his mum went to visit a friend;
• The friend was pregnant with her first child,
• And she allowed the little boy to place his hand on her belly and feel the baby kick.
• His little face scrunched and he said, “How does the baby get out of there?”
• Well, she wanted to keep it simple so she said, “The doctor will help.”
• His eyes widened in amazement as he said,
• “You’ve got a doctor in there, too?”
• TRANSITION: Every true believer in Jesus Christ;
• Has the Holy Spirit living inside them.
• He is the seal of ownership on us, and a deposit, our guarantee,
• And his priority in our lives is to make us more like Jesus!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=EZ6LmmGwltGvue5fUHqsfLZGmwZzT9FF
