Letter Of Hope

Good morning. Good morning. That's better. I hope y'all had a good week. Every week's interesting, isn't it? Let's turn to 2 Corinthians.

I'll be reading from chapter 5 starting in verse 11 to chapter 6 verse 2 therefore knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade others we are known to God and to hope is to known also to your conscience we are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart for if we are beside ourselves it is for God if we are in our right mind is for you for the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded that one has died for all therefore all have died and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised now on their regard no one according to the flesh even though we once regarded christ according to the flesh we regard him thus no longer therefore anyone is in christ he is a new creation the oldest pass away behold the new has come all this is from god who through christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sinned and know no sin that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with him, then, we appeal to you to receive the grace of God, to not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, in a favorable time I listened to you, in the day of salvation I helped you.

Behold, now is the favorable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Let us pray. Father, we know this text was given to a church that was fractured and divided. But you used the apostle to minister hope, to mold them together, to make them what they should be. Father, help us to hear these words in our lives so we would be restored and strengthened.

We ask all things in Christ Jesus' name. First Corinthians. God appeals to the Corinthian church, a perfect church by no means. So much trouble. men were looking upon men and divided in their allegiance that it's God who puts in place leadership and an easy thing to get entangled in. But here's how Paul addresses the first letter. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus that in every way you were enriched in Him in all speech and knowledge.

This message comes to us as well. Because reconciliation, this minister of reconciliation has come to us. And what we need time and time again is strength, renewed strength. Just as repentance is that avenue to be restored day in, day out. So the church must be refreshed because we get dull at times. We lose the awe of who God is in Christ Jesus.

The fear of the Lord, we say, do we fear Him? No, we adore Him. This fear of awe of who He is and what He does. this justification that makes us right with God. So this message goes to the church in Corinthian to restore them. He spoke of these different things to encourage them in 2 Corinthians 4. He talks about, in case the God of the world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel and the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The people of God are discouraged. There's fractions in the church. And Paul wants the church to be restored in this perfect reconciliation that it must be taken serious. And he said, what pulls us all together? It's the love of Christ. It controls us because we are convinced of one thing in verse 14 and 15. he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him for their sake died and was raised we can we read and confess the law every worship service is a reminder that the gospel restores us and refreshes us and calls us to greater worship when we see our faults and see the faults of others around us that sin against us the ministry of God is not easy Would you agree with that?

Do you have family members who don't want to hear the gospel? It's discouraging, isn't it? Paul wants the body, and more important, has God's word to us to be restored. To restore us with this refreshing all of God. Remember how Tim always says, between the already and not yet. Paul Tripp, I've been reading this book and it goes along with this, I believe.

He says we need constant reminders of God's awesome glory. Thankfully God has embedded these reminders in his creation. The problem is that we're so easily become blind. We look but we don't see. Because we don't see, we don't worship. And because we don't worship, we fail to obey.

So in beautiful grace, God has carved out a day for us to stop, look, listen, consider, and worship again. he invites us to remember that all that brought us to conviction in living faith, in gospel hope, in the heart and life transformation he welcomes us to come together into his presence again and again and again because he knows just how fickle our wandering hearts can be He knows that we will never live as he ordained if we do not stand in awe of who he is. We sang that song, Complete in Thee. I was thinking of, you know, we kind of laugh about it.

These achievement awards they get in kindergarten. You know, we get an achievement award for just looking to Christ and going, yeah, I believe. We are justified. We're made right. And that's what he's pointing to here. That same conviction we had when we saw the glory of Christ on the cross.

See, Paul's bringing this out. We regarded Christ according to the flesh at one time. Oh, poor Jesus. Poor Jesus. And now we see, Jesus, you conquered sin. You triumphed over the grave.

Oh, you can restore my soul? Because I need that forgiveness time and time again. And we need reminded that we are a new creation. The old has passed away. And you go, wait a minute. There's still some remaining, isn't there?

Yeah. And that's the battle. He wants us to remind them. It's taken care of. You're new. You're new. as we focus on ourself at times in the ministries we have in our homes, in our workplace, in our families, too often we just want to give up.

I can look back and I'm like, what did I do, Lord? You just did your part if you proclaimed Christ, if you lived properly in a dying world. That's what God wants us to be. He wants us to... And more importantly, as we think of the 2 Corinthians church... Not 2 Corinthians, the Corinthian church.

They needed this restoration. There had been relationships that were fractured. They were... They were needing this forgiveness. they had all made mistakes. Maybe they had looked to Apollos and not looked to Paul. And there was divisions and there's talk amongst them.

And Paul kept his love sincere and continued to love. And why this restoration in the church is so important, in verse 18 he says, All this is from God who through Christ was reconciling us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. This ministry of reconciliation is in one part, but many members in the church. The church must be constantly reconciling and make right these relationships.

The significance of taking care of relationships in the body are serious. If there's any fraction, you know, when we go to the Lord's table, if there's any fraction in your relationship and don't partake, it's that serious. Because we are the bride of Christ and sin must be taken care of. Because we have been given this ministry. It's like what he says earlier in this book.

He says, but we have this treasure. We have this treasure. And we are the jars of clay. These expendable jars. Our life is so short and we're being given this treasure. Does the world understand this?

The ones God is calling understand it. Don't be discouraged. because the gospel, the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, and what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord. In the last times, there will be much mocking. And I think we need to prepare ourselves for much mocking, but have a clarity of mind that we been given this ministry of reconciliation And we have to nurture it and take care of it We have to take care of one another.

That's what he's addressing here. That Christ God was reconciling the world to himself. Now we know it's not all the world, but the gospel message goes out the world. We don't know the elect, not counting their trespasses against them, entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. He was comforting the Corinthian church. It was like putting salve on a cut.

We knew that it needed mended. And it's only Christ Jesus that can mend fractions. if you have fractions in your life with someone and I know unbelievers are tough we have to make things right because we have been given this ministry of reconciliation we can't we can't let sin interfere and more importantly we're in verse 20 we're called as ambassadors for Christ We carry the emblem of Christ upon us because of who we are. It's awareness that even before you speak truth, that they know you're a follower of Jesus Christ.

How you act. How you answer. How you work. How you love your families. How you nurture relationships. How you take the time.

Look in, I know I go to this a lot. Go to Romans. Romans 13. Because it just speaks. I often bring this out. In Romans 12, he's talking about this living sacrifice because of the mercy of God.

And I always bring this out because it's so true. We need to hear, let love be genuine, abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good. And right in that step, love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another showing honor. do not be slothful and zealful and fervent in spirit serve the lord rejoice in hope be patient in tribulation be constant in prayer contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality and go down to verse 11 in this urgency in calling out, he says, besides this, you know the time and the hour has come for you to wake up from sleep.

What are you talking about? Well, we get drowsy. Peter says, be sober-minded. Be sober-minded. Now, I used to drink and I know what drunkenness is. it's foolish. It's stupidity.

Be alert. You can't be alert if you're drunk. He says, Wake from your sleep. Salvation is nearer to us now than we first believed. The night is far gone. The day is at hand.

So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. let us walk properly as in daytime not in orgies and drunkenness there's an urgency and he appeals to him here in the last part of this chapter as we think of the urgency of this salvation again that not yet already I don't know if he got that from Tim or Tim got that from him Tim always said he was a cut and paste guy that's what we do when we look at a sermon, what did he say? What did he say? It's not yet already.

We long for that day when consummation will come. As we celebrate the Lord's table as a reminder that we will feast with one another. And more importantly, the care and nurture we have for one another is so crucial. He's calling them back to be what they've been called to. He says, working together with Him, then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

We've all done it. The most common, the most gracious thing God does is give us life each day to be a thankful people in worshiping. This is just the pinnacle of the week. If you're not worshiping through the week and being thankful and seeing Christ, you're missing out. you're missing the complete life they promise us it's a life of peace things shake us up people sin against us and if we're not deep rooted in christ we're going to be like the world we're going now if you're in christ he's going to put his have a hand upon you.

He's going to say, wake up. Wake up. Deal with that relationship. Something happened this week. I'm not going to go into it, but it's just, I said, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.

I could get so upset, but it wasn't worth it. It was just sinful behavior in the world and it affects us doesn it We get affected by the sin of others Be reminded that we used to sin against others, too. Titus, turn to Titus. I want to bring this out, you know, just a reminder of, He says, by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing and regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. be reminded I don't care how good you were you were still a sinner in the hands of a holy God that his holiness see we get too high a view of ourselves and a low view of God even as Christians we're like well Jesus he's my brother no he is he is God incarnate he's our creator he is the one who created us in our mother's womb he is the one to take us through this life and complete what he already started he is the author and perfecter of faith there's hope in that people of God he is the perfecter of it I need a perfecter I need the perfect holy God to perfect my faith at times.

I know He is willing. The most gracious gift He gives us is standing alongside of us, walking through with us each and every day. He is faithful. Great is His faithfulness. Now let's look over in Titus also, in Titus 2, and see the endeavors we have to do in the church. Because when we learn to love, we learn to forgive, we must learn it in a church setting because they will know Him because of our love towards one another.

In chapter 2 of Titus, we get these instructions. But as for you, Titus, teach what is called the sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith and love, and steadfastness. I'm going to just stop there. men nurture these things be clear minded dignified self controlled sound in faith and love love binds them all together in steadfastness married men be steadfast and faithful to your wives fathers do not exasperate your children but love them and bring them up in the admonition of the Lord.

That's our goal. No, the goal is to get them saved, right? What happens when they aren't? We did our part. And God is faithful. He may call them at a later age.

I know myself, my children are close to me. sometimes we can make them idols be faithful be faithful and steadfast and now to you ladies likewise you are to be reverent and behave excuse me be reverent and behavior not slanders or slaves to too much wine. They are to teach what is good and so to train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, and kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works. In all your teaching. Show integrity, dignity and sound speech that cannot be condemned. So that an opponent may be put to shame. Having no evil to say about us. So these are practical things we can put in place.

Our single people. It gives you instruction. Be self-controlled. And they all are encompassed in this love and adoration. and standing of all who God is and what He will continually do and being faithful to the call of Christ. But He's called us to a great service. A great responsibility.

I turn back to 2 Corinthians. So this favorable time, now this is the day of salvation. I've read this view a few times, but Paul is testifying of who he is and what the importance in his life is. He says, I put no obstacle in anyone's way so that no fault may be found in our ministry. But as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way by great endurance and afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger, by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, and the Holy Spirit. genuine love by truthful speech in the power of God with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left through honor and dishonor through slander and praise we are treated as imposters yet are true as a unknown and yet well known as dying and behold we live as punished and yet not killed as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing everything.

He gives this summation of his life in his dedication as he's called out to be a minister to the Gentiles. And he was so faithful. But we see patterns of this that we will experience. And I hope we're prepared enough. We surely would endeavor to have pure hearts and knowledge of our Redeemer and patience and kindness in the Holy Spirit who gives us genuine love, truthful speech in the power of God and our weapons of righteousness.

The greatest weapon we have besides having kind speech and graciousness with people is being on our knees before the throne of grace praying for one another totally confident that Christ Himself will build His church and nothing will get in His way He has promised that There will be hard times coming if the Lord doesn't pour His Spirit out. But He will call His people to Himself. for the unbeliever that urgency of the day of salvation comes to you today why do you wait is it not good enough is it too simple was the blood not enough if you've tasted the goodness of God just flee to him flee to him all he wants is devoted worshippers because he deserves devoted worshippers worship in our families, our workplace as we celebrate our independence on the fourth we have a complete freedom in Christ don waste it that call of graciousness to the unbeliever in our midst I give that to you. Come to me, all who's heavy laden and weary.

Oh, we can be weary. We're yoked with Christ. come come and see how fulfilled a life following Christ see your sin but see the forgiveness we have in Jesus Christ let us pray Father we thank you for who he is and how continually he is faithful to your church his church is bought at a price teach us to love you more let these words resound in our heart may we know we are a new creation the old is gone help us create those new habits Father and prepare us for glory in Jesus name Amen