Series: Action [#103]
DON’T QUIT- REAL SUCCESS
2 Corinthians 3:1-3
Introduction:
How do you measure success? There are many opinions to this question. People have been searching and chasing after true success for years; but most have come up short.
2 Corinthians 3:1
1. The traditional standards of success.
Our culture tries to dictate to us what success is and what it is not. Paul says that he doesn’t have to prove his success through the ways of the world.
The world measures success by…
* Our level of education.
The world measures success by…
* Our affluence.
The world measures success by…
* Our popularity.
The world measures success by…
* Our wealth and possessions.
2 Corinthians 3:2-3
2. The true standards of success.
The true standard of success is all about lives changed by the Holy Spirit. As far as Paul was concerned, the real proof of his ministry was the changed lives of his hearers. As he preached the gospel, the Holy Spirit applied it to his hearers so that when they believed in Jesus, their lives were completely changed. Corinth was a thoroughly pagan city, given over to idol worship, and gross sexual immorality. Corinth was a place where you could say that truly “anything goes”; but through the power of the Holy Spirit lives were changed.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
The most important part of this verse is when Paul says, “And that is what some of you were.” You don’t have to stay the way you are. Your life can be changed by God. Once God enters the picture, your life will never be the same again. Until then, you may be religious and you may be a very good person and you may obey all the rules of the church, but you have not been saved.
These people were now…
* Visibly different.
2 Corinthians 3:2
2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
These people were now…
* Followers of Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:3a
Their lives were like a letter from Christ, written in their hearts, plain and clear for the whole world to see.
These people were now…
* Supernaturally changed.
2 Corinthians 3:3b
They had not been changed by “joining the church” or “walking an aisle” or “signing a card." Those things have no power to change us. Only the Holy Spirit working within can write God’s truth in our hearts.
These people were now…
* Internally transformed.
2 Corinthians 3:3c
The Ten Commandments were written on stone to give the people guidance and to know right from wrong; but only the gospel can change us from the inside out. Christians are “living epistles,” letters that anyone can read. Jesus is the writer, the Holy Spirit is the ink, and you are the letter! You are writing a Gospel, A chapter each day, by the deeds you do and by the words you say. People read what you write, whether faithful or true.
3. The source of success.
If you take this passage as a standard, it means that God measures our success in terms of lives changed. He’s evidently not that impressed by the size of our budget or the car we drive.
Conclusion:
Let me draw 3 simple conclusions from this:
* I have a part to play, and I must do my part.
I am called to preach and teach the Word of God. The where and the how and the when are not specified. Circumstances change all the time. Look at Paul’s life. He had great success in 1 city and was run out of the next. He stayed in 1 city for months and in another for 3 or 4 weeks. Not everyone who heard him believed his message. Not all of his disciples stayed true to the Master; and yet he determined to go wherever he was led, to become “all things to all men” so that by God’s grace, he might win some to Christ.
* I won’t really know how successful I’ve been until I get to Heaven.
Whatever success we have in serving the Lord comes because the Lord Himself granted it to us. Since we don’t save anyone, all the glory belongs to the Lord alone.
* I shouldn’t bother comparing myself with anyone else.
