Two Wrongs Don’t Make One Right

Posted on December 7, 2016December 7, 2016 by Jack Bailey

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:11-21

11 You have made me act like a fool. You ought to be writing commendations for me, for I am not at all inferior to these “super apostles,” even though I am nothing at all.

12 When I was with you, I certainly gave you proof that I am an apostle. For I patiently did many signs and wonders and miracles among you.

13 The only thing I failed to do, which I do in the other churches, was to become a financial burden to you. Please forgive me for this wrong!

14 Now I am coming to you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you. I don’t want what you have—I want you. After all, children don’t provide for their parents. Rather, parents provide for their children.

15 I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me.

16 Some of you admit I was not a burden to you. But others still think I was sneaky and took advantage of you by trickery.

17 But how? Did any of the men I sent to you take advantage of you?

18 When I urged Titus to visit you and sent our other brother with him, did Titus take advantage of you? No! For we have the same spirit and walk in each other’s steps, doing things the same way.

19 Perhaps you think we’re saying these things just to defend ourselves. No, we tell you this as Christ’s servants, and with God as our witness. Everything we do, dear friends, is to strengthen you.

20 For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.

21 Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure.

INTRODUCTION

I think Paul would agree with Robert Tasker, that all self-praise is folly. It is absolutely futile, foolish and fruitless to commend one’s self, as my mother would say, “to tute your own horn.” Yet Paul not only commends himself, again and again, he blames the Corinthians for his folly. In verse 11, he says, “You have made me act like a fool.” No, they did not make Paul do anything: it was his choice. I am not offended by Paul’s weakness. He was human. I am actually encouraged by the honestly of God’s word and the glaring weakness revealed in Paul’s life. Paul was not perfect. I have no doubt that Paul made more contributions to Christianity than anyone this side of the cross but he was not perfect. I admire him but I do not worship him.

With this thought in mind, let us proceed to the message at hand.

I. FIRST, I WANT TO ADDRESS PAUL’S WEAKNESS

He commends himself which is not good. He did so because the Corinthians were not defending him when his name came under criticism by the “Super Apostles.” It is only natural that we want our friends to defend and commend us. It doesn’t happen much but from time to time, it feels good to have someone got to bat for you but it is rarely a good idea to go to bat for yourself.
Paul reacts to criticism that I think should be ignored. I’m not saying it is wrong to react to any criticism but we can react to all. A preacher has to understand the nature of criticism. No one is above criticism. If they criticized Jesus, they will criticize us. You cannot prevent it from happening. You cannot live above it and it is not wise to respond to every criticism. You will spend your time dealing with criticism instead to doing what God has called you to do. We cannot prevent folks from questioning our motives or criticizing our methods.
Paul became too concerned with public opinion. Say what you will, but when we do not care what others think, we do not respond to every criticism. When a man says that he does not care what others think but then responds to every criticism, there is a contradiction. I suppose we all care what people think and what they are saying but we must come to that place of spiritual maturity where it doesn’t matter. I cannot control what others think or say so it does not matter. I cannot afford to waste my time and energy on something that does not matter.

II. THERE IS THE MATTER OF PAUL’S INSECURITY

You see the phrase, “I am afraid,” three times in the NLT. The NIRV breaks it down into six:

I’m afraid that when I come I won’t find you as I want you to be.
I’m afraid that you won’t find me as you want me to be.
I’m afraid there will be arguing, jealousy and fits of anger.
I’m afraid you will separate into your own little groups. Then you will tell lies about each other. You will talk about each other.
I’m afraid you will be proud and cause trouble.
I’m afraid that when I come again my God will put me to shame in front of you.

Another approach is to study Paul’s list of words:

Quarreling (eris), strife, wrangling, contention, rivalry, competiton for place and prestige.
Jealousy (zelos), envy, the desire to have what does not belong to us, wanting what others have. [Barclay: envy is the characteristic of a mean and little mind]
Anger (thumoi), outburst of sudden anger, an explosion of passionate anger, uncontrolled anger.
Selfishness (eritheia), electioneering or intriguing for office, jocking for position.
Slander (katalalia), defamation of character, evil speaking, backbiting
Gossip (psithyrismos), whispering, secret slander, murmuring
Arrogance (physiōsis), puffed up, loftiness, pride, conceit
Disorderly behavior (akatastasia), instability, a state of disorder, disturbance, confusion

Paul was afraid they might not have not given up your old sins.

Impurity (akatharsia) impurity in thought and deed, lustful, luxurious, profligate living
Sexual Immorality (porneia), illicit sexual intercourse, perversion
Lustful Pleasure (aselgeia), unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence [NIV-debauchery, Holman-promiscuity, NASB-sensuality]

Barclay says that Corinth was such a wicked city that adultery was not even considered a sin. The Corinthians believed it was natural for a man to pursue and satifify his lust.

III. MY FINAL POINT IS HAS TO DO WITH THE SHORT-SIGHTED THINKING OF THE CORINTHIANS: THEY BLEW AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PARTNER IN PAUL’S MINISTRY

You may think that I am overly critical of Paul but that is not the case. The Corinthians Church, not Paul, was the loser. Robert Tasker believes the Corinthians had accused Paul and his associates of dipping into the funds collected for Jerusalem. I wonder if there was not some resentment about the offering in the first place. The bottom line, according to Paul own testimony, is that the Corinthians never supported Paul financially, a fact that Paul mentions more than once. The attitude of the Corinthains toward Paul in regards to money was very unwise. The church made a horrible mistake in not becoming a part of Paul’s ministry. They were selfish and shortsighted.

I may have influenced a hundred [MAYBE] or so to Christ…
Junior Hill, our friend, has influenced thousands…
The Grahams, Billy and Frankling, have influenced millions…
The Apostle Paul has influences billions…

We are partners with Junior and with the Grahams although we have not given a lot to either, we have given some but we cannot be partner’s with Paul, that time frame has passed but the Corinthians could have been and yet they choose not to be. It doesn’t make sense.

Someone tried to get my wife to donate above the price of the item we were purchasing and they said it goes to St. Jude’s. She said, “That’s OK, but I have already donated, I mailed them a check today.” She has done this for 30 years. It’s only $360 per year but after 30 years, that amounts to $10,800. She also supported a child or two through WORLD VISION INTERNATIONAL. That was $30 per month from birth to high school graduation. I can tell you right now that what she has donated is far more than she has in savings right now but that doesn’t matter, the long term dividends will far out weight the short term sacrifice.

Why do people horde when they could help? Short-sighted thinking. Some will accuse me of trying to slick folks out of their savings; hey, I’m not trying to slick talk you out of anything–I am trying to challenge your mind, your thinking. A small sacrifice today can produce a huge reward later.

Boasting In Weakness

Posted on November 2, 2016November 16, 2016 by Jack Bailey

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:28-33

28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

29 Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

31 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying.

32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me.

33 I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.

Sermon

I am a pastor, Paul was a missionary and there is a difference. The difference is seen in verse 28…Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. The difference is between the singular “Church” and plural “Churches.” Paul was deeply concerned with all the churches he had planted and this would be a considerable number. My concern for the past 37 years has been Danville Baptist Church. In a small way, I can identify with what Paul is saying. There is no escape from your responsibility. No matter where you go, the concern for your flock is on your mind.

The burdens a pastor bears range from sympathy to anger. Paul felt the pain of the weak and hurting and he burned with anger when some of his flock were being multilated spiritually. There are two interesting Greek words in verse 29. The Greek word for lead astray is skandalizō. Sound familiar doesn’t it. From this word we get our word scandel. The second word is pyroō like in pyromaniac. Pyroo is the Greek word for burn. So Paul’s emotions ranged between weakness [empathy] and anger. Either extreme can be draining emotionally.

I don’t think it is necessarily a super natural gift but I do feel people’s weakness. I feel the same helplessness they feel. I do admit that the problem the Judaziers posed doesn’t seem to be as real today. It burned Paul up to see his converts being lead astray by false prophets who were teaching a doctrine of works. I do know the frustration of seeing a member of the flock being lead astray but it has been rare for me, not the norm. It is a helpless feeling. I lost a very good friend in this very way some years ago. I man came into our church under the guise of being good person but he was divisive and he intentionally poisoned the attitude of a very close friend. He was so convincing, that my friend believed everything he said. It hurt me deeply but there was nothing I could do.

So Paul has a problem. He wants the Corinthians to love him and empathize with him. He so desperately craves their admiration that he has stooped to boasting just like the false teachers. But in the later part of Chapter 11, we see a shift as Paul seems to come to his senses, he will continue to boast but he has decided to boast about his weakness.

By boasting about his weakness, God can get glory.

In order to change courses and set the record straight, Paul tells about a humiliating experience. It is the kind of story that a proud man would not tell. The false teachers would never incriminate themselves. They would not tell a story that made them look small but Paul did just that.

Paul was saved on the way to Damascus so it was in Damascus that Paul was confirmed as a believer. It was here that he first witnessed to the Jews at the synagogue. Paul did not go back to Jerusalem for a while. He left Damascus and went down into Arabia where he spent some time in seclusion and some time preaching the gospel to the Nabataens and this may explain why King Aretas would want Paul arrested. It is very possible that the Jews conspired with Aretas to capture Paul. Luke tells us in Acts 9 that the Jews were looking for an opportunity to capture Paul.

Paul was saved from King Aretas and the Jews but not in a spectualar fashion. Paul was put in a basket, like the ones used to empty garbage and let down through a window in the wall of the city. The basket used was about the size of a bushel basket: it was not tiny but neither was it large. A full grown man could not possibly get inside this basket. This and many other things, like his name, have lead us to believe that Paul was a tiny man, possibly a dwarft. John Chrysostom, a fourth century church father believed that Paul was tiny and hunch backed. He believed that the twisted spine was his infirmity. No one knows for sure but I am firmly convinced that Paul was a tiny man. It fits his profile.

No one is going to brag about their smallness, unless they want God to get the glory. The story of Paul’s escape from Damascus highlights his smallness and God’s greatness. The story had two sides: one was humiliating but the other was glorious.

I have wrestled with this concept for years: how can a man sincerely boast about his weakness? Was Paul sincere when he boasted about his weakness? At one time in my life I doubted the words of Missionaries who always said, “What we need most is your prayer.” I doubted until I became a short term missionary 6,000 miles away from home but that trip healed me of any doubt.

Likewise, there was a time in my life when I doubted Paul’s sincereity; how can a man brag about his weakess? How can one glory in his weakness? After all, weakness is weakness. I do believe that Paul was sincere. I do believe that he reached a point where he could boast in his weakness.

One of the things that has to happen in a believers life is total abandoment of the flesh and its ways.

You have to get to a point of such deep sorrow, grief and frustration that the only thing that matters is the glory of God. For me personally, it took what the old preachers called, THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. Dr. Adrian Rogers had a great message on this subject and I had it on tape but I have either let some one borrow it or I have misplaced it. I tried to reorder but the second version was not as good as the first. The dark night of the soul is a time of doubt {John the Baptist} where you question everything and there seems to be no light. I made the mistake of having a Calvinist preach a revival. I didn’t know it at the time and I had used a couple in the past that didn’t do any damage but this guy had 50% of our members doubting their salavation. It took me weeks to get things straightened out. He used John 2: Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them. [This is verse 23 and the first line of 24 but you have to read the entire verse to get the context] He emphasised over and over that profession of faith in Christ meant nothing. Faith is Christ is not the issue, it is His choosing us. The people that Jesus is referring to in John 2 believed that Jesus could be the Messiah but they did not trust Christ personally and Jesus knew it. You have to read the entire verse. They were admirers but not converted believers.

Everything is based on faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. Even God Himself is invisible. You cannot relate to HIM a part from faith: it is impossible. How many times did Jesus say, “Believe?”

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” {Mark 1:15}
“Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” {Mark 5:36}
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” {John 3:36}

Yes I would prefer to tell you that I’ve never had a doubt but that would be dishonest. I have doubted my salvation, my call to preach, my call here, my motives, etc. I got to the point that I threw in the towel and just said, “Lord, I don’t know, I believe, my faith is in Jesus but I don’t have assurance, not perfect assurance and I am weary of thinking about it. One thing is certain, you will get glory one way or the other, to You be the glory.” When I reached that point of desperation, I got peace. The good that came from it was that I ended up thinking about His glory more than my own personal good.

Job had the same experience and so did John the Baptist. So to answer the question, “Yes, I believe Paul sincerely gloried in his weakness because even in his weakness, God got glory. We want God to use our strength but He gets more glory by using our weakness.

Conclusion

I am going to wrap this up with a story that I have used often. It illustrates perfectly how God uses our weakness. I was doing a follow up visit on a 16 year old girl who had made a profession of faith in the little church is East New Orleans where I was serving. She lived with her parents in a trailer park just a few blocks from the church. She was not at home but her mother was and she answered the door. I told her who I was and why I was there and she informed me in no uncertain terms, that her daughter did not need saving. She was visibly upset by my words and my presence. I was a bit taken back and began my retreat but before I departed, I thought I should get a witness in so I told her, “Everyone needs to be saved.” Then I quoted some verses out of Romans or tried to, in truth I made a big mess, nothing came out right. As I pulled back out into the highway to leave, I broke down and sobbed. I was embarrassed and ashamed. I had made a fool of myself or so I thought.

You can imagine my shock when I got up to preach the next Sunday morning and there sat that little lady and she still did not look happy. I preached a sermon on judgment which I thought would set her off again. When I gave the invitation, she stepped out and came forward. I was very nervous, she still looked angry to me. When she got to the altar she said, “You were right, everyone needs to be saved. I have sinned and I want to be saved.” We looked at the scripture, then prayed and she was saved. She was literally transformed before my very eyes and I never saw anger in her face again. I will be sending her a Christmas card in a few weeks. She is 92 and lives in the western part of New Orleans in a retirement home. She is still smiling. I know for a fact that God uses our weakness. I don’t want to be weak, I don’t pray for God to make me weak but I know He works through our weakness and by so doing, He gets the glory.

Responding To Criticism

Posted on October 12, 2016October 12, 2016 by Jack Bailey

SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 11:5-15, NLT

5 But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things.

6 I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.

7 Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return?

8 I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost.

9 And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be.

10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this.

11 Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.

12 But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours.

13 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ.

14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

Introduction

All God’s servants suffer criticism. This is not a new thing: the Israelites were very critical of Moses and we know in retrospect that Moses was a phenomenal leader. A pastor can be p0litically correct, very careful, as soft as a butterfly’s landing but you will still be criticised and you cannot stop it. There are preacher haters in this world and they are going to be critical. I know pastors who were diplomatic and tactful and they got critized for being too soft and lacking boldness. I decided a long time ago, to be myself and to be honest. Have I come under criticism for my frankness? Sure, I am even despised by some but they are going to be critical one way or the other. I prefer to be criticised for being bold, direct and politically incorrect. A preacher has to pick his poison. You cannot stop criticism from happening.

Transition

Since it is impossible to stop criticism, the next question is: how do I respond to criticism? This will be our subject for tonight. Before we attempt to answer this question, let’s do a quick review of the criticisms against the Apostle Paul. Some of these criticisms are easy to spot and some are not.

Paul’s authority [2 Cor. 10:7-8]
Paul’s personal appearance [2 Cor. 10:9]
Paul’s speaking ability [2 Cor. 11:6]
Paul’s motive for service [2 Cor.11:7-11]

NOTE: All these criticisms are stinging, hurtful and severe.

I. WE SHOULD RESPOND CAREFULLY

Some criticism is face to face, person to person and this makes dealing with it much easier but most criticism is here say. The children of Israel murmured against Moses. This means they complained and grumbled in their tents. They didn’t confront Moses directly. Moses had a divine intuition that most of us don’t have and Jesus could read minds. I can’t read minds. I know intuitively when people are critical but I do not know the exact nature of their criticism.

Hearsay info is very unreliable. Sometimes the folks delivering the message give someone else credit for what they said or think. Plus there is the difficultly of getting the news right. When things are repeated, they get exxegarated most of the time. By the time the criticism gets to you, it may be much worse than it is so we learn over time not to jump to conclusion. Moses ignored a lot of criticism and sometimes, this is the best response.

Criticism can be distracting for a minister. We lose sight of what God has called us to do and spend all our time fighting brush fires. Like Nehemiah, we have to remain on track, focused and moving forward. Frieght trains do not stop for barking dogs.

This does not mean that we can ignore all criticism. There comes a time when it has to be dealt with but we deal with it caustiously and carefully. I have responded rashly before and I did more damage than good. We have to be careful.

II. WE SHOULD RESPOND PRAYERFULLY

Criticism can be both helpful and harmful. A lot depends on the nature of the criticism and a lot depends on our response. There is no way you are going to stop all criticism and it would be impossible to respond directly to all criticism but we have to be honest: there can come a point where it is hurting the ministry of the church. This is what takes place in Acts 6…

And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

Most translation read… a complaint…NLT reads…rumbling of discontent. The Apostles believed that he should be dealt with because if was effecting the fellowship of the church. If the fellowship get damaged, all parts will suffer.

Most Baptist churches put a lot of emphasis on fellowship and there is nothing wrong with making it a priority. The reason for this is simple: if you have a fractured fellowship, it will damage every ministry in the church. Wisely, the Apostles dealt with this complaint.

Personally, we I am criticised, I withdraw to a quiet place and spend some time with the LORD. I could not survive without a refuge, a hiding place and a divine counselor. I am like David in the sense that I pour out my heart to God. This includes my fears, frustrations and failure. It is during this process that the LORD works on me. There have been times when He revealed truths to me that changed my life and it would not have happened a part from criticism.

For me personally, criticism is always humiliating. The true is: I need to be more humble and the LORD uses criticism to humble me. Sometimes I feel as helpless as a baby. A lot of the time, I realize that I do not need to respond. I do not need to defend myself. Jesus didn’t defend Himself. Take the humiliation, it will not kill you.

The Romans 8:28 principle works in the area of criticism: sometimes people say hurtful, ugly things that are designed to discourage you. They want you to quit and their motive is not pure. God was not pleased with the murmuring of the Israelites. It was a complaint that did not come from Him but had a Satanic origin. However, God can take a bad situation and bring good out of it if we respond prayerfully.

III. WE RESPOND GRACFULLY

This is where Paul’s response is go glaringly wrong. His hurt is obvious. I don’t know how anyone could read chapters 11-12 and not see the hurt. Paul made a huge sacrifice to get the gospel to Corinth and a sacrifice to stay with them for 18 months. Obviously, this sacrifice was not fully appreciated. It hurts when we are not appreciated.

Paul does several things that are unadvisable…

He commends himself…[2 Cor.10:18] Paul knows not to do it but does it anyway
- I don’t consider myself inferior
- I am not lacking in knowledge
- I was wrong to preach to you without expecting anything in return
- I robbed other churches to serve you
- I was in need when I was with you and you didn’t help
- I was never a financial burden to you
Paul brags…[after stating that we are not to compare ourselves to others [2 Cor. 10:12, 11:16-17]
- Paul boasted about his independence [2 Cor. 11:9-10]. I never became a burden to you and never will. I will boast about it all over Greece.
- Paul boast about his credentials [2 Cor.11:21-22]
- Paul boast about his suffering and sacrifice [2 Cor. 11:22-27]
- Paul boast about his experience [2 Cor. 12:1-7]

Paul knew that boasting is fruitless, futile and vain [2 Cor. 12:1] but he does it anyway. I thank God that the bible is an honest book. Paul was not perfect, but he was perfectly human.

Conclusion

I have two question for you to ponder…

What does football and Christianity have in common? [most prefer to be spectators] The most criticised are those on the field: the officials, the coaches, the players. We prefer to hide in the crowd and remain anonymous but even those who hide will be accused of being cowards. No one is above criticism. NO ONE!
Since criticism is so hurtful, how can we respond gracefully? Corrie ten Boom had the right idea. Corrie was in one of the Nazi death camps during WWII. Her sister died while incarserated and Corrie was mistreated horribly by the German guards. After the war, she was speaking in a church and made eye contact with a former guard. Instantly, anger rose up in her heart. When he started toward her after the service, she grimished, she did not want to shake his hand or hear what he had to say but the LORD prompted her to stick out her hand and she listened as he ask for forgiveness. She didn’t want to forgive him but the LORD urged her to do so. She did it by imagining that her pain and abuse was a rose and once she converted it into a rose, she was able to lay it at the LORD’s feet as an offering. Once she gave her suffering to the LORD, forgiveness was easy.

We are called to suffer. To think that we can skate through our eartly sojourn without any bumps and bruises is unrealistic. All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

gods-love-corrie-ten-boom

Super Apostles Or Pseudo Apostles

Posted on October 5, 2016October 9, 2016 by Jack Bailey

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:1-6

1 I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me.

2 For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.

3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.

4 You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

5 But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things.

6 I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.

INTRODUCTION

Paul paints a word picture here of a loving father who is jealous for his daughter. He wants to keep her pure for her wedding day. He wants to present her to her husband as a chaste and pure bride. It is a priviledge that not many fathers are getting these days. Paul confesses in verse 3…. “I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted.” Paul is worried about the church in Corinth.

The Problem

Evidently, some false teachers {Super-Apostles} had infiltrated the church. The evidence indicates that they were Judaizers, a brand of so called Christianity that was a blend of works and grace. Paul is very upset because these false teacher are very cunning and they seemed to have gained a foothold in the Corinthian Church. It seems that they were even popular with at least one segment of the congregation. Paul is upset and he has every right to be upset.

All false teacher have certain things in common.

I. ALL FALSE TEACHER [PSEUDO APOSTLES] PRACTICE DECEIT

But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. [v.3]

Robert Tasker said, “The chief weapon of all false teachers is subtilty.” I agree with Tasker completely. False Teachers are cunning. They know how to hide the facts that will give them away. The Judaizers, to whom Paul was dealing with were pedalers of half-truth. A lot of what they said was true. The problem was, they mixed the truth with untruth. When that begins to happen, there is confussion because no one knows the truth from the lie. This is what Satan did to Eve in the Garden, he mixed truth with a lie and then replaced God’s truth with his lie. The end effect of deceit is that we are fooled.

False Prophets tell some truth but not the whole truth. We have something similiar going on in the SBC today. We have a resurgance of Calvinism which goes under the title of Reform Theology. A lot of the young men in our Seminaries have been influenced by men like David Platte and Al Mohler. When they preach and interview in leu of a call, they keep their Reform beliefs hidden. They do so because they know that most SBC churches are not going to call a hyper-Calvinist.

The first church I pastored was in such a situation just a few years ago. After some hints, one of the members of the search committee came right out and asked candidate, “Are you a Calvinist?” But he did not answer the question directly. He gave a political answer: he said a lot without saying anything. Finally, the entire committee said, “We want an answer, yes or no, are you a Calvinist?” He confessed and the interview was over. I never attempted to hide anything from a church. Matter of fact, if a church was calling me, my trial sermon would be TEN REASONS you don’t want to call me.

The use of deceit is always evil and a sure sign that something is not right.

II. FALSE TEACHERS ARE CULTISH–THEY WANT A FOLLOWING

[v.3] I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted.

The NASB like this...But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

Pseudo Apostles, false teacher, false prophets are always looking for a following. Paul’s concern here is that the Corinthians will be led away from their simple devotion to Christ. People don’t recognize false teachers right off the bat because they are subtle, cunning and they slowly move the followers away from Christ and to themselves.

When a congregation talks more about their pastor than they do Jesus, it is not a good sign. When they praise their pastor more than Jesus, it is not a good sign. The Christian church is to be CHRIST CENTERED. Everything is to be focused on Jesus. TASKER: “Whenever the Christian Church ceases to be purely Christ-centered, it is in danger of being corrupted.”

Our Bumper Sticker at DBC is “Celebrate Jesus.” You are going to hear it everytime you show up. Our goal in worship is to lift up and celebrate Jesus. Everything we do is focused on Jesus.

A false teacher will slowly move the followers away from devotion to Christ until they are absolutely devoted to their spiritual leader {false teacher}. Jim Jones could not have seduced 350 sober Christians to commit suicide. Jim slowly lead them away from Christ and to himself to the point they were absolutely loyal to him no matter what. I like loyalty, especially to your pastor but your first loyalty is to Jesus. Your highest allegience is to Jesus. Any spiritual leader that wants you to love him/her more than Jesus is a devil. I understand that the more you love Jesus, the more you will love me but loving HIM come first.

III. FALSE TEACHER OFFER MORE THAN THE NEW TESTAMENT

[v.4] You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach.

Jesus never promise health and wealth. False teacher say what folks want to hear and they offer a superior experience. They love to teach on the “deeper things.” Any time some one tells you that they have something better than Christ and the simple gospel, know that they are false. Isaiah said of Judah, “They tell the prophets….”Don’t see any more visions. Don’t tell us what is right and wrong. Tell us pleasant things. Prophecy things we want to hear even if they are not true. Get out of our way! Don’t block our path and keep the Holy One of Israel away from us.” {Isaiah 30:10-11, NIrV}

Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” [Luke 9:23]

Paul said, “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.” [Romans 8:17]

The battery is a good example of the balance required between good and bad, pleasant and upleasant experiences in life. When connected in a circuit, a battery can produce electricity. A battery has two ends — a positive terminal (cathode) and a negative terminal (anode). If you connect the two terminals with wire, a circuit is formed. Electrons will flow through the wire and a current of electricity is produced.

Power is produced by the battery because of the electrolyte, the center of the battery. The electrolyte is like a wall or a insulator and it keeps the electrons from the anode from going to the cathode. Electrons don’t like each other, they do not like to be crowded which means they are looking for a way out of this crowded environment. When you connect the the cathode [+] with a wire or circuit to the anode [-], you give the electrons a way out and they jump to the circuit [path]. When the electrons are released from the Positive terminal it opens the electrolyte so that electron flow through the battery and back again into the circuit. Here is the surprise: the current flows through the negative terminal.

Those who want to put sugar and spice on everything Christ taught do a great injustice. We learn from suffering. Watchman Nee, the Chinese theologian said, “We learn nothing apart from adversity.” There is glory in the Christian life but there is also suffering. I should not preach on suffering every time I get in the pulpit but I must not leave it out all together. It is a part of the Christian life.

The Joel Osteen and Reverend Ike stuff is a different Jesus. It is a Christianity without a Cross.

IV. FALSE TEACHERS ARE FULL OF THE SPIRIT BUT IT IS NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT

[v.4]... they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

John instructed us… Dear friends, do not beleive every spirit. Test the spirits to see if they belong to God. Many false prophets have gone out into the world. [I John 4:1]

The spirit of disobedience—Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. [Ephesians 2:2]

False teachers are directed by their self-will. They don’t take instructions from anyone. They have an unteachable spirit. They bear no marks of the fruits of the spirit…But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their sinful nature to his cross.

The spirit of the Anti-Christ…I John 4:2-3
Every spirit that agrees that Jesus Christ came in a human body belongs to God. But every spirit that doesn’t agree with this does not belong to God. It is the spirit of the great enemy of Christ. You have heard that the enemy is coming. Even now he is already in the world.
There are all kinds of spirits: evil, unclean and many, many more. We have to learn to discern what is the Spirit of truth and what is the spirit the devil {untruth}. The Pharisees were full of the spirit, but it was the wrong spirit.

False prophets are full of the spirit but it is the wrong spirit

V. FALSE TEACHERS ARE FULL OF ARROGANCE: SUPERIORITY COMPLEX

[v.5-6] But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.

False Teacher alway exult with pride and arrogance.

When Platte wrote his book RADICAL my son bought a copy for the deacons and handed them out. I took them up immediately. He said, “What are you doing.” I said, “Son the man is a calvinist.” He protested. I assured him that I would show him later which I did. When a man uses the graveyard illustration and makes light of evangelism: he is a calvinist. We have high ranking officials in the SBC who don’t seem to know what Platte is about but it was not hard for me to spot. Generally speaking, those of the Reform pursuasion are arrogant. They think they have a corner on knowledge. You can spot them from a mile away. Jesus never taught that we should be known for our pride and arrogance.

A condescending attitude is a dead give-a-way. Jesus taught us not to despise and look down on others. These false prophets who had won the affection of many of the Corinthians were condescending toward the Apostle Paul. This is hard for me to imagine. How could anyone look down on Paul even if he was tiny in statue. Paul was a spiritual giant compared to these want-a-be apostles.

Paul may not have been a great speaker but who could question his theology and his knowledge?

CONCLUSSION

Life is made up of decisions and choosing directions. We need to make well informed decisions and God’s word is an valuable asset. We must prayfully and carefully navigate the tricky waters of this world. Our future depends on the choices we make.

The Law Of The Harvest

Posted on September 20, 2016September 20, 2016 by Jack Bailey

SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

1 I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem.

2 For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving.

3 But I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don’t want to be wrong in my boasting about you.

4 We would be embarrassed—not to mention your own embarrassment—if some Macedonian believers came with me and found that you weren’t ready after all I had told them!

5 So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly.

6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.

7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

9 As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”

10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.

12 So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.

13 As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.

14 And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.

15 Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!

INTRODUCTION

I am doing something tonight that I don’t normally do, trying to cover an entire chapter in one message. I feel like I am preaching to the choir on Wednesday night: if this was the Sunday morning crowd, I would feel differently. We have been on this subject of “Stewardship” for two months and I think it is time to move on but I cannot do that in good conscious without sharing with you what little I know about the LAW OF THE HARVEST.

We will use verse 1-5 as our introduction:

1 I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem.

2 For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving.

3 But I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don’t want to be wrong in my boasting about you.

4 We would be embarrassed—not to mention your own embarrassment—if some Macedonian believers came with me and found that you weren’t ready after all I had told them!

5 So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly.

Paul is holding the Corinthians accountable for promises made. I don’t know how you interpret what Paul said, but to me, it is a subtle form of pressure.

He is putting words in their mouth… I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving. Eager and enthusiastic givers don’t need prodding.
Paul is sending a team to collect the offering…I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don’t want to be wrong in my boasting about you. Now, if I got a letter in the mail next week from an evangelist who said he was sending a team here to collect an offering, I would take that as a form of pressure. Paul also added, “Don’t embarrass me.”
Paul is holding them accountable for a previous promise…So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But he adds, “I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly.” I see a tad of humor in Pauls appeal. How do you pressure someone to give cheerfully?

There is a way to pressure someone into giving cheerfully. Well, it is actually not a form of pressure so much as understanding. I think a lot of people would get eager and enthusiastic about giving if they understood the LAW OF THE HARVEST. Getting folks to understand this truth is not easy. The moment you begin asking for my stuff, I get defensive. When I get defensive, I don’t listen, don’t hear, don’t absorb, don’t take in, etc. I prefer to give to those who don’t ask.

Tonight we are going to talk about the LAW OF THE HARVEST which is a simple law.

The LAW OF THE HARVEST is the law of proportionate giving. [ Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.] Its the same rule as that of a farmer, you harvest in proportion to what you sow. If you sow many seeds, you will reap an abundant harvest: if you sow only a few seed, you will reap a small harvest. If a farmer is to expand his operation, he sows more seed, not less. The more generous he is in sowing the greater his harvest.
The LAW OF THE HARVEST is the law of reciprocal giving. This is where a lot of folks misunderstand the law of the harvest. You do not GIVE TO GET…YOU GIVE TO GET TO GIVE AGAIN. Same as in farming: for the farmer to expand his operation, he plants more acreage which means a greater investment in seeds. Before all these hybrids, farmers saved their seed for the following year. Thus the bigger the harvest, the more seed you have to sow the next cycle, or year. In Luke 6:38, Jesus tells us that we cannot out give God…Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. ” There is a problem, a human problem and it is called greed. At no point in this process can we become greedy and save all our seed. The moment we begin hording, the law of the harvest breaks down. We must continually remind ourselves that we are not giving to get but giving to get so we can give again in a greater purportion.
THE LAW OF THE HARVEST is faith-based giving. The farmer [in the old days, before crop insurance] had to sow in faith. There was never a guarantee of rain or of an abundant harvest. Some years the yield was very good, some years good, some years fair and some years bad. The farmer never knew what the yield would be so he planted in seeds in faith. I can guarantee you a return, based on the word of God the return depends upon [1] your motives and [2] God’s methods. We do normally reap in kind: if we give money our return is in money. If we sow kindness, our return is in kindness but there is no guarantee that we will reap in kind. God has many, many ways of blessing us. If our basic motive is the return, in getting or reaping the harvest, we will probably miss the truth and miss a blessing. Paul explains in the latter part of the chapter, the results of our giving:

[1] Our gifts meet the NEEDS OF OTHERS {So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.} I have been studying and trying to impliment the principles of good stewardship for over 45 years and one of the things I have wrestled with time and again is “Motive.” I know that motive is important to God, so what do we do when we suspect impure motives. I always look at the need. Will my gift met a need? This is the first question. I give on the basis of need whether my motives are pure or not. True, there will be no reward for me but the persons needs are met and that is a reward within itself.

[2] Our gifts produce THANKSGIVING in the heart of the recipent. {And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.} …..To be perfectly honest with you: June and I recieve a lot. I don’t say a lot about it because I know that there is a thin line between being thankful and praising and being proud and boasting. Last week on vacation, our meals were paid for by one of our church members or maybe it was two, our hotel was paid for by a family in this church. June writes the thank you notes to them and I write the thank you notes to the LORD. When you give to a Christian brother, this is going to happen: he or she is going to praise God and give HIM thanks. I recieved one love offering while we were in Seminary and then went some 20 years are more before I got the second. Most churches in the old days paid a set fee, called an honorarium and sometimes, it barely met expenses. Then, after my kids were grown, not gone, but grown, a little church in a neighboring county invited me to preach a revival. I don’t like missing Sunday morning but I gave them a full Sunday and preached at night through Wednesday. I expected the usual honorarium which would be around $200 in most churches. I don’t recall ever getting more than $300, so is was generally in the 2-3 hundred range. That last night of the revival, the pastor got up and said, “We are going to do something I had not planned to do, we are going to take up a love offering for Bro. Jack. I was both shocked and impressed but with my experience in the ministry, I did not expect much. After the service, the pastor gave me an envelop and I just stuck it in my pocket. When we got in our vehicle to leave, my wife said, “hand me the envelop, I want to see what’s in it.” She started counting and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. She said, “You are not going to believe this.” I said, “What, you have to tell me now.” She gave me the amount and I thought I was going to have pull off the road. I was elated, filled with praise and thanksgiving and in a celebrative mood. We went on to Cracker Barrel in Cullman and celebrated. Folks, this has happened to me in some shape, form or fashion more times than I can recount. FIRST OUR GIFT MEETS A NEED, THEN IT CREATES AN ERUPTION OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD. But that is not all…

[3] Our gifts will produce GLORY TO GOD. {v.13, As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God.} This truth consoles me in my giving. I think to myself, “Someone is going to be helped and You will get glory so what difference does it make if I get a reward for giving, my motive is unimportant.” In other words, I have made up my mind to give whether I get a reward or not. Believe it or not, there is a 4th reason…

[4] Our gifts will produce intercession in our behalf {v.13-14…For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.}…. My father in the ministry was Calvin C. Inman and he was a prayer warrior. He had a prayer room, a prayer calendar and a prayer note book. After he retired in the late 80’s, I bumped into him at a meeting. He said, “Jack, I pray for you every Wednesday.” I pulled him aside and said, “I appreciate your prayers. I just weathered a crisis and it just dawned on me that your prayers could very well have made the difference.” Bro. Inman was not perfect but I covets his prayers. I have some wealthy friends. They can buy anything they want and they are super generous to me. They have given me thousands of dollars. I would be embarrassed to tell you how much they have given. I cannot give them anything because they have money to get whatever they want. BUT I CAN PRAY FOR THEM. They have needs just like everyone else. Just last year, a church member family [one that has been very generous with us] came to visit June and I concerning our little crisis and they never mentioned what was going on in their life. I found out just hours later that their crisis was more severe than ours and immediately, my prayer focus changed. Folks, you cannot put a price tag on an INTERCESSOR, they are priceless.

CONCLUSION

Once again, Paul points us to Jesus in verse 15, “Thank God for this gift to wonderful for words.”

AV–Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!
NKJV/NIV–Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
ESV–Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
CEV–Thank God for His gift which is too wonderful for words!
NIrV–Let us give thanks to God for HIS gift which is so great that no one can tell you how wonderful it really is!

The bottom line: God is a giver, He is a generous benevolent God and no one can outgive HIM. He has infinite pockets and HIS gift is Christ speaks for itself–how are we going to top this wonderful gift that we cannot even describe.

My advice to you is: Don’t worry so much about your motives, just respond obediently to God’s command and give, someday you will thank me for challenging you.

Integrity Is Handling Money

Posted on August 31, 2016September 6, 2016 by Jack Bailey

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8: 16-24

16 But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.

17 Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you.

18 We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News.

19 He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem —a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help.

20 We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift.

21 We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.

22 We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you.

23 If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ.

24 So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.

INTRODUCTION

Whereas we have been talking primarily of the responsibility and priviledge of giving, tonight we are talking about the integrity of handling the money that is given in good faith by believers.

I have been in the ministry for 47 years and I can tell you from experience, it is not important to handle the tithes and offering with integrity, it is vital. The last thing any church needs is a question about the money and how it is being used. We do have some discretionary funds that are not made public but any member or contributor has the right to review the books and records. We do have a benevolent fund and we have helped various families and we did it in a discret and private way [several reasons for not making these gifts public] but nothing is hid from those who give the money. You are more than welcome to stop by and we will show you exactly where the money went and I will take full responsibility. I do discus all benevolent needs with the deacons except in cases of emergency. Nothing is hiden.

I heard a radio broadcast this morning about the failure of the public school or government education. At one time, the U.S. ranked one in the world and now we are close to the bottom. I’ll tell you why its a failure and it has nothing or very little to do with the teachers. [1] The Federal Government filing it up which they do to everything [2] and no accountability to the public, to the tax payers. There are more bureaucrats in education than there are teachers and they make more money. If you tried to run a business the way public education and the postal service is run, you would go bankrupt. Accountability may not be pleasant but it makes us better.

Those who handle church money should be….

I. SERVANTS: THEY SHOULD HAVE A DESIRE TO SERVE OTHERS [V.16-17]

16 But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.

17 Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you.

Sometimes church veer from that purpose. We lose sight of what God had placed us here today. Dr. Wiersbe says, “It is good to have soul winners in charge of your money because they will keep evangelism and mission forefront in your spending.” A lot of churches make the mistake of putting bankers and accountants in charge of the money but this may not be a good idea. Although the church is considered a small business and must operate like one in many ways, we are not really a business. The church is a ministry and a mission. A business must profit to stay in business but a church involved in ministry, evangelism and mission is not going to show a profit. It takes money to do missions, ministry and evangelism.

So when we are putting someone on the budget committee, it needs to be someone like Titus, someone who is enthusiastic about God’s work.

II. SINCERE IN THEIR LOVE FOR OTHERS [V.18]

We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News.

This unnamed member of Paul Finance Committee was a faithful preacher of the gospel and he cared enough about the situation to take the risk of travel. Travel is getting dangerous today because of the shere numbers. June could not get over the volume of traffic last Friday as we made our way the Florida. It was very heavy all day long. Travel was far more dangerous in Paul’s day than today. Paul for example was in three ship wrecks. Fortunately, he survived all three but in most ship wrecks, there were no survivors. The fact that this unnamed committee member was willing to risk his life was an indication of his sincerety.

III. THEY MOTIVE SHOULD BE TO HONOR CHRIST [V.19]

19 He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem —a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help.

Paul had previously said to the Corinthians, So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. When it comes to handling the church’s money, we should do it in such a way that God would get glory.

IV. THEY MUST HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION AS BEING HONEST [V.20-22]

20 We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift.

21 We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.

A church can make a lot of mistakes but it had better not be with the money. People aren’t going to give to an organization they don’t trust.

We have to be causious. We must be proactive when it comes to criticism. What can we do to prevent criticism. We cannot go to the extreme of letting the tail wag the dog; we are not to give in to the critics but at the same time, why give them fodder. Critism can be very hurtful whether it is justified or not. It is to be avoided if possible
We have to be careful. We know the LORD is watching but we must assume that people are watching as well. There has to be accountability. It is foolish for any church not to have an accountability system in play. My home church got burned when I was just a boy. The treasurer was a likable man whom everyone respected but he did not manage his own resources well and I don’t think they knew it. He got behind on his bills and he borrowed money from the church. Since he was the only one who saw the offering, he was able to do this for some years. The technical term for this is embezzlement. Full disclosure was never given but it got into the thousands and this was in the 1950’s. Mercy and grace were extended because he was related to several in the church and he was not a villian, he just had the wrong weakness to be handling money. The same thing has happened right here in Morgan County at least three times since I have been at Danville. I was a personal friend to the pastor in one such case and many of you know that man who embezzled. He is a respected man in the community but he stole thousands of dollars from a church. He was shrewd and there was no hard evidence, just missing information and missing money. He resigned his position and moved to another church. Treasuers are not the only ones guilty, in some cases, pastors have been given too much liberty and they have embezzled and some were forced to pay the money back. My rule is simple: I don’t handle the church’s money. I don’t count it, don’t deposit it and I don’t keep it. I also insist that no member of my family be responsible for church money.
We must make ourselves accountable by involving more than one or even two people. Paul believed the more, the merrier so he was bringing it this unnamed person to accompany them when there was already a half-d0zen on the team. Some people love the old days and the old ways because of the secrecy but you should not be ashamed of what you give and neither should I. I could very easily see a person questioning my stewardship: “He is always talking about tithing, I wonder if he tithes.” Well, you don’t have to wonder. It is all a matter of public record and although we do not publish giving records publically, they are available if needed. I don’t want to be a legalist but if my pastor was not tithing, I’d want to know it. There is nothing wrong with accountability.

V. THEY MUST HAVE A WILLING SPIRIT TO WORK WITH OTHERS [V. 23-24]

23 If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ.

24 So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.

The last thing you want is a disgruntaled, unhappy church member as the chairman of your finance committee. He or she will not cooperate with others in achieving the church goals. They will use their office as a power to hinder everything that you are trying to accomplish. If a person is ambitious for an office like Treasurer or deacon [in the old days] I would be leary. I have seen this in play time and again, thank God not recently. You cannot put unhappy people in charge of the money because they will not cooperate with anyone on anything.

The Grace of Giving

Posted on August 3, 2016August 3, 2016 by Jack Bailey

SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.

2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.

4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.

5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

INTRODUCTION

Unfortunately, not all church members understand what I am about to say, but ‘Giving’ financially to the support of your church and Christ kingdom is a ministry. Our word minister is translated from the Greek word for ‘serve.’ It is related to agency or instrumentality and in the Christians sense, it is God working through you to serve or help others {8:1}. You have the distinct privilege of helping countless numbers of people by giving.

……………….

Let me give you an example, one that is very fresh. June’s nephew Jason gave Joe David $2,000 for the Guatemala Trip but Joe David already had all the bases covered so they used the money to feed hungry people. The money Jason gave will feed 30 families for three months. God used Jason through the agency of GRACE MINISTRIES to serve, to help 30 Guatemalan families. Jason got involved in the MINISTRY OF GIVING and through the ministry of Joe David’s team and Teddy’s organization thirty families were helped.

………………..

One more example: You can give a dollar to the Gideon’s in memory of Tom and they will purchase and place a N.T. in the hand of a child, soldier, nurse, etc. You can donate $5 and they will place a bible in a hospital room or motel. The Gideon’s are an international agency, in more than 200 countries. They have distributed over 2 billion bibles in 95 languages. My friend Rodney Lamar Browning was saved by one of those bibles in a motel room in NYC back in 1970. My daughter Hannah was saved when a Gideon speaker came to DBC 34 years ago. Here is the thing: if you give a dollar of five, you must give it by faith. You will never know if someone came to know Christ due to your gift, not in this life, but by placing that small gift into the hands of such an effective agency the odds are in your favor. Isn’t this exciting! Not to some Baptist.

So I want to talk to you tonight about the MINISTRY OF GIVING and we will use the Philippians as an example….Note how they gave…

I. THEY GAVE SACRIFICALLY

[v.2-3] They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more.

………………..

The Macedonian churches {Philippi, Thessalonica and Beroea} were being persecuted and suffering financially from the persecution. The churches were having a hard time financially. I don’t think Paul wanted them to take part because he says himself that they were very poor. I guess someone forgot to tell them their were poor because they not only gave, they gave more than they could afford and far more than Paul expected.

I think you would agree that most people give what they can afford and very few give more. William Barclay says, “It is not always those who are wealthy who are most generous.” Our problem is that we confuse Generosity with the amount. Jesus doesn’t get these confused. In Luke 21 we have an example of what I am talking about….

1 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.

2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.

3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.

4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Our generosity is determined by what we have left after we give. We are not to give with the motive of getting back. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t. For our gift to be a sacrifice, we have to give up something.

………………..

Several weeks ago, I got a call from the precious lady who took care of June and I in Seminary. She will be 90 her birthday. She can’t drive and her grandkids have put her in an assisted living in Metorie Louisana which is a suberb of New Orleans. She had talked her son in to bringing her home for two or three days {Ashville, Ala} and wanted to know if I could come and see her and so June and I went down. Her late husband was a truck driver and made good money but he didn’t save it so all she has is a SS check which isn’t much. When June and I were in Seminary, we thought they were rich because her husband was making $600 a week, a lot of money in 1971. Knowing that she has a hard time and feeling a debt to her for all she did for us, I gave her half of my allowance for gas money. I thought about it before I gave and I felt I should give it without expecting any return so I gave it and I was broke by Thursday of the week. I was at Huntsville Hospital on Friday of that week and all I had was the change in the ask tray of the car. Fifty dollars would be no sacrifice to most folks but it was to me because it meant I had to give up some things in order to give it. I have a friend, a good friend who give $500 per week to his church building fund. This is not his tithe, it is an offering on top of what he already gives. This means he gives $26,000 per year to the building fund, which is a lot more than I give entirely. I’ve been told that he is worth 8-10 million dollars.

II. THEY GAVE FREELY

[v.3] For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.

They exercised their free will

The Philippians were poor people because they were being persecuted. Not only did the Jews hate and mistreat Christians, the Roman world was not fond of them either. It had cost the Philippians to follow Christ but they were not complaining. As a matter of fact, Paul was shocked at their generous gift.

………………..

How did the Philippians come to be so generous? {ANSWER} They choose to of their own free will. Why was Tom Bennich generous? At some point in his life, he made a decision, “I want to be remembered as a generous man.” No one forced Tom to be generous and no one is going to force you. I told Edith last week that Tom had a disciple that he didn’t know anything about. Tom’s generosity so impressed a certain young man that he said, “I want to be like Tom.” Actually two men made a huge impression on this young man, Tom’s impression was on the positive side but the other man was a miser. The young man looked at the contrast and he said, “I want to be like Tom.”

………………..

If you are saying “Its too late,” you could be right or you could be wrong, that too is up to you. Ebeneezer Scrooge was an old man before he learned to give and so was John D. Rockefeller. The doctor told Rockefeller to prepare for his death because he could not digest food. Once Rockefeller realized that the doctor was serious and that he was going to die, he made a change and began giving money away. Without him being aware of what was going on or what made the difference, he began to digest his food and get better physically. Greed was literally killing him and he lived for many more years.

………………..

So who makes the call, who determines whether or not you are going to get into the MINISTRY OF GIVING? [ANSWER: You do! By exercising your free will] Look at 2 Corinthians 2:9, “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a cheerful giver.”

III. THEY GAVE THANKFULLY

{v.4} They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.

They understood the privilege of Giving

I gave $500 to the Mission Offering last Sunday and I enjoyed every minute of it. The check I put into the plate came from Edith Bennich. It was as easy as falling off a log. I was never tempted to keep the money. I was simply giving for someone else. Edith used me as an instrument, an agent to give in her behalf. I was having so much fun in the process that I had a thought: giving someone else’s money is easier than giving your own. Then I had another thought: every dime I have given belonged to someone else.

………………..

The only reason I can give, the only reason you can give is because God has given to us first. He is allowing you the privilege of being His agent in the ministry of giving but it is HIS MONEY that you and I are giving. God could very easily take away your privilege to give by taking away your ability to give. The Philippians did not want to miss the privilege of giving to the Christians in Jerusalem. They wanted a part in this ministry. Evidently, Paul didn’t ask them to participate because their condition was as bad or worse than that in Jerusalem. They wouldn’t take no for an answer.

IV. THEY GAVE SPIRITUALLY

{v.5} They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

How do we give spiritually?

Pray about what you are to give. Let God direct you in your giving. You will give what you can afford but sometimes God will challenge you to give more than you can afford.
Commit your life to him before you give money. God does not want your money or necessarily need it, He wants YOU. Money is easier to give than “self.” Those who pretend to be committed yet do not give are only fooling themselves. Giving is a test of your love, to see if it is genuine. You cannot stop love from giving. You can give without loving but you can’t love without giving.

Two Kinds Of Sorrow

Posted on July 27, 2016July 27, 2016 by Jack Bailey

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 7:8-13, NLT

8 I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while.

9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way.

10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

12 My purpose, then, was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us.

13 We have been greatly encouraged by this. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was about the way all of you welcomed him and set his mind at ease.

INTRODUCTION

I was 21 years old, a senior in college and serving a small church in West Limestone when one of the ministeral students invited me to a party. I was not big on parties plus I worked after school at J.C. Penney’s in Huntsville so I had a full schedule as it was but I did join them after work and my friend introduced me to a young lady who was a senior in high school. I asked her for a date and she invited me to a beauty contest which is not exactly what I had in mind. Long story short, I went to the contest and she was in it but did not win, she came in second but it was still a flash bub experience. I stood in the shadows waiting for all the cameras to cease. That was the first of a number of dates. The girls was talented and ambitious. I was getting ready to settle down. To be honest, I was looking for a wife but she was not looking for a husband. I soon realized that she was encapable of taking interest in my life. She was attractive and I wanted a relationship with her but the feeling was not mutual. After a few weeks of this, I became frustrated and sat down and wrote her a letter telling her exactly how I felt. I was brutally honest in the letter which basicly accused her of being self-centered and too hung up on herself to care about anyone else. I knew the letter was harsh, so I laid it on the night stand next to my bed and did not send it. Actually, I forgot about the letter and a couple of weeks later I called her on the phone and she blessed me out. My mother, thinking she was being a help, sent the letter.

So I went through a couple of phases: first, I regretted that I had wrote the letter and that mother had posted it but some time later, I was glad that I wrote the letter because this relationship was going no where and I didn’t need to waste my time. I’ve seen the woman a half dozen times since and she doesn’t hold a grudge.

Paul sent Corinth a harsh or painful letter. Then the Apostle became worried and anxious wondering if he had done the right thing. After Titus returns with good news about the Corinthians response to the letter, Paul is relieved and no longer regrets sending the letter. All is well that ends well. Since the final result was positive, Paul moves from regret to rejoicing.

In the dialogue, Paul mentions two kinds of sorrow. There is a Godly sorrow that leads to a change in behavior and an worldly sorrow which leads to regret but no change in behavior. When experts from the treasurer’s department examine money to see if it is counterfiet, they make a judgment based on what the real looks like. Once they are totally familiar with the real, they can spot the false.

So it is with SORROW. Tonight we will study the real so that we can spot the false.

I. GODLY SORROW IS ALWAYS DIRECTED TOWARD GOD

Psalms 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.

2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.

3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.

……………………

Obviously, David’s sin was against others, especially Uriah and there were social consequences. David is not attempting to escape his responsibility in hurting others but he understood that the primary offense was against God who alone is perfectly holy and offended by all sins. Although David sinned against Bathsheba, I doubt seriously that her moral sensitivities were offended.

All sin in all stages or levels is offensive to God

II. GODLY SORROW LEADS TO REPENTANCE

Repentance and remorse are very similiar in Greek. The word metanoeō means to repent, to change your behavior. The word metamelomai means remorse. Remorse is a deep and painful regret. This is illustrated by Judas in Matthew 27:3…

Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

Judas felt remorse, a painful regret that he had made a horrible decision. Note where Judas goes to confess {the corrupt priest}. Why did he not turn to Jesus. Remorse does not lead us to Christ. It may lead to bitter tears and haunting regret but it does not lead us to Christ.
Cain was sorry for murdering his brother but his sorrow was not toward God. Cain felt sorry for himself. He knew his sin had grave consequences and he was deeply sorrowful about what he had done to himself but he was not concerned about God or his parents.
Esau was full of remorse and wept bitterly but he did not repent and never changed his ways. He went to his father Isaac but he did not go to God.
Saul faked repentance several times but he was feeling remorse, not repentance because he never changes his behavior. Godly sorrow leads to a change in behavior.

All of the above felt remorse, regret and the sorrow that accompanies them but none of them changed their life. They continued to live to please themselves.

III. GODLY SORROW LEADS TO SALVATION

What is the difference between ‘Repentance’ and ‘Salvation?’ Glad you ask, good question. Repentance is a change of mind, behavior and attitude. Salvation is deliverance from the evil one and from the power of sin. When we come across the word Salvation in the N.T. we must always remember it has three tenses:

I have been saved from the penalty of sin [regeneration–new birth, instantaneous]
I am being saved from the power of sin [sanctification–growth and maturity in the faith, progressive]
I will be saved from the presence of sin [glorification, ultimate]

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Godly sorrow does lead to regeneration, the new birth.
Godly sorrow also leads to sanctification, our daily walk with Christ.
Godly sorrow which leads to repentance is not a ONCE AND DONE experience, it is a daily experience.

Let’s take your marriage relationship as an example. A Groom cannot tell his bride: “I am a sinner and I will make a lot of mistakes in our life time together so I am going to repent right now for all the mistakes I will make. You just remember this conversation when the time comes. {Would this work in a marriage?}

Although the basic premise is correct, this will not work. We sin daily so we must repent daily. Dr. Bill Bright calls this concept “Spiritual Breathing.” He bases it on I John 1:8-9…. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. Daily confession brings daily cleansing.

To stay rightly related to God, we must live in a state of repentance.

Paul is writing to Christians. Sure, the unbelieving world needs to repent, they must repent said Jesus or they will perish but the church also needs to repent. Four of the seven churches in the Revelation are told to repent.

John the Baptist demanded fruits of repentance and he was simply talking about a change of behavior. We believers are to be in a state of alteration, changes should be a part of our daily walk with Christ.

Zaccheus didn’t have dreams or see visions: he changed the way he was living. He stopped cheating others and began giving to others.

Worldly sorrow does not lead to a changed life. Earthly sorrow leads to regret, self-pity and eventually death simply because it does not lead to repentance.

Encouragement

Posted on July 20, 2016July 21, 2016 by Jack Bailey

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 7:1-7, NLT

1 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

2 Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone.

3 I’m not saying this to condemn you. I said before that you are in our hearts, and we live or die together with you.

4 I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles.

5 When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside.

6 But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

7 His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy!

INTRODUCTION

Life on this earth is beset with problems. Moses stated it well in Psalms 90, “Seventy years is about all we have, perhaps eighty if you are healthy, yet these days upon earth are filled with trouble and sorrow, then life is over and we are gone.” {Psalm 90:10, JEV} We all have problems, there is no exception. It is true that some seem to have far less problems.

In Psalm 73, David confesses, “I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else. They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty. These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others. They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words. “What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening? Look at these wicked people— enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.” The key word is ‘seem.’

Corinth had problems and Paul wanted to help them.

When we attempt to help others with their problems: we must first examine our hearts and motives. In verse 1 Paul says, “Let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.” In helping others, we need to ask ourselves some questions:

What are my motives?
Where is this leading? To benefit me or the other person?
Who am I trying to please? Is this what God wants me to do?

If our motives are pure, our help will be blessed

So…I want to talk about Encouragement

#1…We all Need Encouragement

Let me do a little background [2 Corinthians 2]. Paul is in Troas where Christ has opened a door of opportunity but Paul can not rest. He is filled with anxiety, worried about the situation at Corinth. When the problem arose [made sleeping with his step-mother], Paul made a brief and painful visit, rebuking the man and the church. His rebuke was ineffective so later he writes a painful letter. Now he is on a Mission Trip but he cannot get the problem at Corinth off his mind. He has sent Titus to find out what is going on but Titus is on the other side of the Aegean Sea. Paul is so restless and frustrated that he is dysfunctional so he leaves Troas and sails to Macedonia where he meets Titus.

Paul says in verses 4-5

4 I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles.

5 When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside.

NOTE:

Paul troubles–You made me happy despite all our troubles.
Restlessness–There was no rest for us
Struggles–conflict from every direction…Battles on the outside
Anxiety– fear on the inside.

Paul was an outstanding Christian but sometimes we paint him larger than life. We think of him as being perfect and he was not. There are times when we think that outstanding people like Paul have no problems, at least none that get them down but this is mythical thinking. Paul had the same kind of troubles and struggles that you and I have. The great apostle was so anxious that he couldn’t function. He left a place of ministry due to this extreme anxiety.

There are times when it is encouraging to think about the imperfection of the Saints:

Abraham lied to protect his own hyde.
Jacob conned his own father.
Joseph was a fascist.
Moses had a bad temper and even killed a man in rage.
Samuel judged Saul by his appearance.
Elijah ran from Jezebel.
Jeremiah got discouraged often.
Jonah was a bigot.
Hosea wife was a harlot.
David had an affair.
John the Baptist wrestled with doubt.
Peter denied Christ.

There is only one perfect person and that is Christ Himself. We all have problems, we all have struggles and anxieties. You are not riding a white horse; you are not alone–we all share your pain so be encouraged.

#2…We all need to be Encouragers

Notice the chain of events: Paul sends Titus to encourage Corinth and Corinth surprizely encourages Titus who relays the good news to Paul which encourages Paul. When everyone is an encourager, everyone gets encouraged. The Corinthians church repented–how encouraging. Titus delivered a message. Paul sits down an writes a letter. There are many ways that we can encourage others…let think about some of them.

Titus encourages Paul with his PRESENCE. Look at verse 7….His presence was a joy. Wow, do you realize that you can encourage people with your ‘presence’. I love to study and to preach and your presence here tonight encourages me. Hebrewss 10:25 is one of my favorite verses….And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Again, here is this concept of mutual encouragement. One of the first things I did when I got right with God was move to the front. I’ve been sitting on the front pew since I was 17 years old and most of that time I have spent alone. I tell people, I have my own pew. One of my motivations for moving up front was so I could encourage my pastor. Baptist fight over the back seats, not the front. How encouraging would it be if the front pews filled first! I’m not complaining, I am dreaming…What if 50% of our members came to the GATHERING. You know that our Wednesday night music is great but what an encouragement it would be to see the house filled on Wednesday night. I don’t know if you have noticed or not but fewer and fewer people are attending night services, even leaders. Do you know what that is for me and you? It is discouraging. We would be encouraged if people just showed up. YOUR PRESENCE CAN BE ENCOURAGING.
Paul was encouraged by Titus presence but also by his “WORDS,” Titus brought good news. Words are powerful which is why we are to be careful and not careless is our use of words. I have learned over the years that kind words have to be crafted, we have to think before we speak. Many of us have the tendency to approach things from a negative point of view and our words discourage others. In my first pastorate out of seminary I discouraged a new convert without realizing what I had done. I rained on this man’s parade because he suggested something that was not Baptistic. The principle behind my words was correct but I didn’t think it through before I spoke. Looking back, I could have handled it in a positive way and perhaps the man would not have gotten discouraged. God will use us to encourage others if we will let Him but the devil will use us to discourage if we are not careful. As a young preacher [19] I wanted and needed affirmation especially from family. A great uncle came to hear me preach and I couldn’t wait to hear his appraisal, this is what he said, “Boy you don’t know how to preach. You never rolled up your sleeves. A real preacher leaves the pulpit hoarse and soaking wet from sweat.” I stood there stunned but thank God my mother was eave dropping. She waited for him to walk away and then she said, “Don’t pay any attention to him. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about and if you ever preach to please him, I will not come and hear you.” Words can hurt, they can sting to the bone and the devil knows it. We must be careful to encourage with our words, not discourage.
Paul was encouraged by the Corinthians LOYALTY and LOVE. I witnessed something last week that encouraged me. I saw my Son-in-law and his sister stay by their daddy’s bed side day and night. They talked him into coming home one day for a few hours but he went right back, he was by his daddy’s side when he passed away. It reminded me of the movie “Where The Red Fern Grows.” There were two coon dogs, Dan and Ann. If memory serves me right, Old Dan died first from the injuries of a mountain lion. Ann lays by Dan’s grave and grieves herself to death. When it comes to loyalty, dogs are our teacher. Dogs are loyal to the death, literally. Paul started the church at Corinth: he was their spiritual father but they had been influenced by preachers who had no use for Paul. This hurt Paul deeply but Titus news assured Paul that Corinth still loved him and longed to see him. This was music to Paul’s ears. I was in my mid-thirties with four children and living on what income I could generate working as a pastor and a jack-leg contractor when out of the blue, two friends [deacons] asks me to meet them at the church. They said, “There is a petition out asking for your dismissal and we want you to hear it from us. We don’t think it will suceed but we are here to tell you, “You have are support and we will do whatever you feel God is leading you to do.” This was over 30 years ago and I am still here thanks to God’s grace and their loyalty. Loyalty is no longer a core value for most but for me, it is huge.

#3…Our Source of Encouragement is Christ

But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

Often times God uses others to encourage us but always, He is the source of encouragement. Encouragement begins with Christ, my divine Encourager. I love to read and study His word because it is the source of my encouragement.

I stood in front of a hurting family just yesterday. These kids have lost mother and daddy in a span of four years and the oldest of the group is 42. That’s awful young to lose your parents. There were extenuating circumstances that made the service hard and I went to bed Monday night with no idea what I would say. In my morning quiet time, God spoke gently through His word and I knew in a heartbeat that He was giving me the message. My heart was flooded with thanksgiving. It is an agonizing thought to stand before people without a message: it is a reoccuring nightmare for me.

I spoke to the family what God spoke to me. I pray that it encouraged them; I know it encouraged me. We are God’s instrument of encouragement but He is the Source.

CONCLUSION

Is there someone in your circle of influence that needs your encouragement? Could be your spouse, a son or daughter.
Would you commit to being an encourager? Would you be willing to pray and ask God to use you as an encourager?
You may have to begin with an appology: are you willing to do that if necessary?
There are many ways to encourage: a visit, a phone call, a text, a card or letter. Would you give serious thought about encouraging someone today, tomorrow?

Relationships

Posted on July 12, 2016July 12, 2016 by Jack Bailey

Scripture Text: II Corinthians 6:11-18

11 Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you.

12 There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us.

13 I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!

14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil ? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

17 Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD . Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.

18 And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty. ”

INTRODUCTION

In previewing tonight text, one subject came to mind immediately and it is RELATIONSHIPS. This passage is about relationships: Pastor to congregation, husband to wife, child to parent and God to man.

Life is about RELATIONSHIPS. All the above are important but of course, no relationship is more important than your relationship to Christ.

I. RELATIONSHIPS ARE BUILT ON TRUST AND AFFECTION

Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you. There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us. I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!

Let me say in passing, healthy relationships are 50/50 but there are not many healthy relationship. Perhaps one out of ten but that may be a stretch. In most relationship one party dominates the other. One gives more than their share which means the other is taking more than their share.

CAUTION: Most of us here tonight are beyond these instruction but do not take your spouse for granted: it can be a fatal sin when it comes to your relationship.

It is true that many folks have adjusted to an imbalanced relationship. They do most of the giving but they are content. These are going to the folks our age. Some do not make it to the age of contentment.

Paul was convinced and I have no reason to doubt him, his relationship with Corinth was not 50/50. Paul was open and honest with them but they were restrained. The Greek word that Paul uses is stenochōreō and it means to be in a narrow place, a strait, or to be compressed, cramped by the narrowness of the situation. In other words, your walking on egg shells in this relationship. There is no freedom for you to be you.

Honesty and openness are vital to intimacy. You cannot achieve intimacy without them. Insecurity is the arch nemesis of honesty. It is for this reason that I counsel those in pre-marital counseling to get profession help if they were abused as a child. Sexual abuse scars a child severely and there is no way they can enter into an adult relationship without the excess bandage creating by the scaring. They cannot forget what happened to them and without proper help, they can’t get beyond it. The number one problem in marriages is lack of intimacy and this is caused by our failure to be honest and open.

Paul was convinced that his relationship with Corinth was one sided: He had great affection for them but they had little for him. He was making all the sacrifices. He was doing the giving. He longed for his love and affection to be reciprocated. It was an unrequited love: a one-sided love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer’s deep and strong romantic affection, or may consciously reject it. Unrequited love is lonely and painful but the beloved doesn’t care.

Paul challenges the Corinthians to OPEN THEIR HEARTS TO HIM.

II. RELATIONSHIPS ARE BUILT ON COMMON INTEREST

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers.

NKJV–Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
NIV–Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.
Holman–Do not be mismatched with unbelievers.
NASB–Do not be bound together with unbelievers.
GNT–Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, it cannot be done.

We assume that Paul was talking about marriage but this is probably not the case but the principle can certainly be applied to the marital relationship. Paul is probably referring to any partnership because the context of the passage is SEPARATION, [v.17] Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD . Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. The Greek word translated ‘Partner’ can mean sexual intercourse but it also means participation and fellowship with.

Paul gives us a list of question to reinforce his point:

How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness?
How can light live with darkness?
What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil ?
How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?
And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols?

The Greek word for ‘Harmony’ is the word from which we get symphony. Agreement in sound or sameness is sound. Harmony is being on the same page, on the same song, not necessary the same note.

The core values of a lost person compared to the core values of a saved person are in conflict and so are their world views. Erotic love or romantic love has a way of temporarily overshadowing all other loves but it will not last. “He/she is the one for me, that’s the way it is, I don’t care about all these other things.” This sentiment is not going to last: it will wear off; it is just a matter of time. People fall madly in love and they can’t eat or sleep. This too shall pass, it is temporary. It is infatuation. Eventually, you are going to get hungry.

Because humans are triune beings, body, soul and spirit being joined to another involves the union of body, soul and spirit. When only the bodies are joined, you have a sensual relationship which is driven by lust. It is not only unhealthy, it will not endure. If you have body and soul, that is progress but not ideal, you still do not have full union. Many marriages survive on body and soul but God’s plan is not for you to survive: He wants you the thrive. When two people, both knowing Christ, are joined, they have an opportunity to move to a new dimension because they are joined physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our first needs are physical [food, water, shelter, sex, etc.] but we need more. We want to be loved and appreciated but in time our greatest need is spiritual. Dying people don’t want food. They have no desire for it or need for it. Eventually the SPIRITUAL NEEDS surface as the most important. Young people cannot understand this truth.

Young people are anxious to share a bed but eventually you will take pleasure in sharing a meal, ultimately you will take pleasure in sharing a destiny.

There are some rare exceptions but as far as church work is concerned, your leaders are not going to come from 30 and down because it takes us that long to realize the value of spiritual things. Young people have their face in front of a mirror or cell phone. Old folks don’t do mirrors. I heard a daughter say just last year, “The older my mother gets, the more she reads her bible and she doesn’t even remember what she read yesterday.” This is par for the course. Our values change as we age.

The spiritual dimension gives us a decided advantage because we are endued with agape love; the love from above and it is totally unconditional. It is the way we humans want to be loved.

III. RELATIONSHIPS ARE PARAMOUNT

As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD . Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty. ”

I was 40 years old before this truth hit me but when it did, it stuck like a arrow. I had been invited by a former church to preach at a homecoming or something of that nature. When I left the church, there was some tension. I could have dealt with their problems but I did not get the support I needed so I resigned and left with hurt feelings on both sides. It took me years to process the disappointment and pain that I felt personally but when I walked in the building that day and saw some of those folks who had been less then supportive, it didn’t matter. I was glad to see them and they acted like they were glad to see me.

On the way home that day some 27 years ago, the LORD spoke clearly, “Jack, relationships are more important than riches.” If you’ve being paying attention, you have heard me quote that many times over the last 27 years.

A former son-in-law told my daughter before their divorce, “I don’t want to end up like your daddy, old and broke.” He was never impressed with my income. I have friends who are worth millions but I was never a good business man and I’ve made a lot of bad decisions. Long story short, I don’t have millions. I’m worth more dead than alive. I can’t remember the last time I lay down at night thinking about wealth, how much money I have or down have. Thoughts of money rarely cross my mind. If you think I’m be dishonest, talk to my wife, she goes behind me trying to clean up the mess because I am prone to spend without thinking. It’s a gift I passed along to one daughter and a grandson.

No one is going to stand at my COLS and talk about Bro. Jack the business man and I’m glad. I have little money but I have things that money cannot buy. There are a lot of bad things about greed but one that bothers me a lot is how it hurts relationships. Some people are so greedy for more that they squander every opportunity to build enduring relationships. I see what they are doing and it breaks my heart.

Relationships are paramount. Family is huge and friends are vitally important. I do go to bed at night thinking about my family and friends because they are important to me. Our heavenly Father wants a relationship with us. It was His desire to come to us in the incarnation and live among us, as John said, “to pitch His tent among us.” God not only desires to be with us, He desires to be in us. “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” [v.16]

Jesus Christ came to this world seeking a relationship with us. The whole idea of redemption is unbelievable, why would the Son of God condescend to our low estate to save a wretch like me? There is no answer to this question. It is a mystery.

However, this relationship is not automatic, it does not happen by default. A choice must be made on our part. The LORD says emphatically, “Come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD . Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty. ”

The choice is simple: we turn our backs to this world and move toward Christ. We make a choice between Christ and this world. We can’t embrace both, it is impossible. The world behind me, the cross before me, no turning back, no turning back. The rich young ruler was presented with this choice and he choose the world. I hope you will not make that same mistake.

	Jack Bailey on Watch Them Dogs
	Mark Anthony Critten… on Watch Them Dogs

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:11-21

INTRODUCTION

With this thought in mind, let us proceed to the message at hand.

I. FIRST, I WANT TO ADDRESS PAUL’S WEAKNESS

II. THERE IS THE MATTER OF PAUL’S INSECURITY

You see the phrase, “I am afraid,” three times in the NLT. The NIRV breaks it down into six:

Another approach is to study Paul’s list of words:

Paul was afraid they might not have not given up your old sins.

III. MY FINAL POINT IS HAS TO DO WITH THE SHORT-SIGHTED THINKING OF THE CORINTHIANS: THEY BLEW AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PARTNER IN PAUL’S MINISTRY

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:28-33

Sermon

By boasting about his weakness, God can get glory.

One of the things that has to happen in a believers life is total abandoment of the flesh and its ways.

Conclusion

SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 11:5-15, NLT

Introduction

Transition

Paul’s authority [2 Cor. 10:7-8]

Paul’s personal appearance [2 Cor. 10:9]

Paul’s speaking ability [2 Cor. 11:6]

Paul’s motive for service [2 Cor.11:7-11]

I. WE SHOULD RESPOND CAREFULLY

II. WE SHOULD RESPOND PRAYERFULLY

III. WE RESPOND GRACFULLY

Paul does several things that are unadvisable…

Paul knew that boasting is fruitless, futile and vain [2 Cor. 12:1] but he does it anyway. I thank God that the bible is an honest book. Paul was not perfect, but he was perfectly human.

Conclusion

I have two question for you to ponder…

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:1-6

INTRODUCTION

The Problem

All false teacher have certain things in common.

I. ALL FALSE TEACHER [PSEUDO APOSTLES] PRACTICE DECEIT

The use of deceit is always evil and a sure sign that something is not right.

II. FALSE TEACHERS ARE CULTISH–THEY WANT A FOLLOWING

III. FALSE TEACHER OFFER MORE THAN THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Joel Osteen and Reverend Ike stuff is a different Jesus. It is a Christianity without a Cross.

IV. FALSE TEACHERS ARE FULL OF THE SPIRIT BUT IT IS NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT

John instructed us… Dear friends, do not beleive every spirit. Test the spirits to see if they belong to God. Many false prophets have gone out into the world. [I John 4:1]

False prophets are full of the spirit but it is the wrong spirit

V. FALSE TEACHERS ARE FULL OF ARROGANCE: SUPERIORITY COMPLEX

False Teacher alway exult with pride and arrogance.

CONCLUSSION

SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

INTRODUCTION

We will use verse 1-5 as our introduction:

Tonight we are going to talk about the LAW OF THE HARVEST which is a simple law.

CONCLUSION

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8: 16-24

INTRODUCTION

I. SERVANTS: THEY SHOULD HAVE A DESIRE TO SERVE OTHERS [V.16-17]

So when we are putting someone on the budget committee, it needs to be someone like Titus, someone who is enthusiastic about God’s work.

II. SINCERE IN THEIR LOVE FOR OTHERS [V.18]

III. THEY MOTIVE SHOULD BE TO HONOR CHRIST [V.19]

IV. THEY MUST HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION AS BEING HONEST [V.20-22]

V. THEY MUST HAVE A WILLING SPIRIT TO WORK WITH OTHERS [V. 23-24]

SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

INTRODUCTION

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So I want to talk to you tonight about the MINISTRY OF GIVING and we will use the Philippians as an example….Note how they gave…

I. THEY GAVE SACRIFICALLY

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II. THEY GAVE FREELY

They exercised their free will

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III. THEY GAVE THANKFULLY

They understood the privilege of Giving

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IV. THEY GAVE SPIRITUALLY

How do we give spiritually?

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 7:8-13, NLT

INTRODUCTION

I. GODLY SORROW IS ALWAYS DIRECTED TOWARD GOD

Psalms 51

All sin in all stages or levels is offensive to God

II. GODLY SORROW LEADS TO REPENTANCE