When You Are Misunderstood
2 Cor 1:15-Ch.2:17
Have
you ever been misunderstood ? Character Maligned ? Victim of Lies & Gossip
A)Often times this happens when People only know
part of a story – they don’t have all the facts &
they jump to conclusions
B) Paul experienced this at the hands of the Corinthian Church /
1) In an earlier letter Paul had expressed his
desire to come & see them again to
visit them a 2nd time { But he had been
delayed
C) Now we noted in a previous study that Paul’s relationship w/ the Church was a bit tense /
1) he had confronted them on some serious issues –
so there were mixed feelings about him coming for a
visit
D) And those who were against Paul COMING were using his delay in coming to see them as
ammunition – Paul’s word can’t be trusted
He said he was coming – but look he hasn’t come / we
can’t trust Paul – he doesn’t keep his Promises & therefore we can’t
receive his letters as being from God
E) It was Character assignation Plain & Simple
In his book,
Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy wrote, "Great crises produce great
men and great deeds of courage."
A)While it is true that a crisis helps to make a person, it is also true that a crisis helps to reveal what a person is made of.
B) Ex Pilate faced a great crisis, [ Jesus was brought before him] but his handling of it did not give him either courage or greatness.
WW
How we handle the
difficulties of life will depend largely on what kind of character we have; for
what life does to us depends on what life finds in us.
Now we ended in our study last week looking at v. 12-14
where we noted that when Paul looked back on his ministry to the Church in
Corinth he did so w/ a clear Conscience
A)He wasn’t second
guessing himself – he wasn’t saying if only I had done such & such
For
our boasting or confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience [ testimony marked by 3 things that we conducted ourselves in the
world #1 in simplicity and #2 godly sincerity, #3 not with fleshly wisdom but
by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.
B) Now because that was how Paul approached ministry – he was able to look back w/ a Clear Conscience on his ministry there in Corinth
1) Which helped him deal w/ the accusations they were making about him
C) Paul used the word conscience 23 times in his letters and spoken ministry as given in Acts. "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men" (Acts 24:16).
D) When a person has a good conscience, he has integrity, not duplicity, and he can be trusted.
1) Paul was able to say I was able to minister among you
w/ a Clear Conscience
As we pick up tonight in v.15 Paul explains his delay &
defends the integrity of his ministry to the Corinthian Church { Rd v.15-18
A)Now here is Paul’s
point: A change of plan does not necessarily mean
fickleness of heart
B) Paul did not
make his plans carelessly or lightly ; he sought the leading of the Lord/- Listen to what he wrote them in his first
letter
1 Corinthians
4:19, But I will come to you
soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those
who are arrogant, but their power
1 Corinth
16:5-7
5 But I shall come to you after
I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia; 6 and perhaps I shall
stay with you, or even spend the winter, that you may send me on my way
wherever I may go. 7 For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I
hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits.
C)
The Point is Paul’s plans to visit
Corinth were not set in stone, but they
are contingent upon the Lord’s will.
1) Paul tells the Corinthians what he hopes to do, not what he guarantees he will do.
D) His motives were sincere: he was seeking to please the Lord and not men. So he was only going to come if the Lord permitted it
1) When we stop to consider how difficult both transportation & communication were in those days, we can marvel that Paul did not have more problems with his busy schedule.
E) Now The Corinthian Christians were not wrong in being disappointed that Paul didn’t come and visit them. It was all right for them to be disappointed.
1) But they were wrong in trying to blame Paul for the disappointment. They needed to see Paul’s heart & God’s hand in the circumstances.
Now
as an example of his ministry & conduct among them Paul points to his
Preaching of the gospel 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you
by us--by me, Silvanus, and Timothy--was not Yes and No, Not
VAGUE but in Him
was Yes.
A)Paul reveals a great truth here concerning The true gospel message/ It is a message that is certain & settled,
B) It is not a message that is Vague – One way / Nor is it a message that changes according to the Audience ;
1) It was not a chameleon gospel, which changed its
color according to the,
light which fell upon it, or the Audience / not watered down
C) Too much of that in the Church today- Water
things down { Sin Failure or mistake { Mistakes are accidents / much of sin is
Rebellion
Now
Paul is alluding to a Principle: The message affects the messenger / Paul
says our message was clear / We pointed you to Christ
A)We preached Christ / we pointed you to Him / and it
is his Promise that counts v.20 ------à
v. 20 For all the promises of God
in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
We noted a few Sunday Am ago this
great word – All the Promises of God are Yes in Christ / Jesus is the Focus
A)We talked about the Beauty of this verse { If / then Principle – Jesus fulfilled the If - &
because we are in Him – we get the then’s
B) All the Promises of God are Yes = Certain / Amen – Accomplished In Jesus
C) Reality – He is what we are craving / He is who
we are craving {Men might let us down / Men might Disappoint us – Not Jesus
“We
might never have had this precious verse if Paul had not been so ill-treated by
these men of Corinth. They did him
great wrong, and caused him much sorrow of heart . . . yet you see how the evil
was overruled by God for good, and through their unsavoury gossip and slander
this sweet sentence was pressed out of Paul.” (Spurgeon)
Now Paul shares
4 great things here about the work of the HS in our Lives
A)1st He has
established us = To Fix or Strengthen – speaks of bringing Stability to
our Lives
B) Prior to Christ – we were Meandering
w/out any purpose – being pushed around by various storms &
Circumstances
1)
But
we have found a Stability in Christ
C) 2nd He
has ANNOINTED US : In the Old Testament, the only persons who were anointed by God were
prophets, priests, and kings.
1)
Their
anointing equipped them for service.
D) But in the
NT All Christians have been anointed by the Spirit . that is we are
prepared and empowered for service
E) It is As we yield to the Spirit, He enables us to
serve God and to live godly lives.
1) He gives us the special spiritual discernment
that we need to serve God acceptably
3rdly He has Sealed us
A)In the ancient world, a seal was used to identify and to protect.
B) If something was sealed, everyone knew who it belonged to (the seal had an insignia), & the seal prevented anyone else from tampering with the item. 1) The Holy Spirit is upon us to identify us and to protect us.
C) The fruit of the Spirit being displayed in our lives identifies that we are Children of God that we Belong to Him
1) The Spirit also assures us that He will protect us,
because we are His property.
4thly
A
deposit: The word deposit or guarantee is the
word for a down payment.
A)We have been given the Holy Spirit as a down payment for the fullness of what God will do. { Engagement Ring – SERIOUS
B) The Holy Spirit is just a pledge of greater things to come.
1) As Christians, God has given us an assurance that the work he started he is going to complete / Assurance we are going to make it !!
C) He won’t walk away from the final payment, because He
has so much invested already!
Now Paul’s Pt in
sharing this is to say:
A)The Holy Spirit
in us enables us to serve others not as "spiritual
dictators" who
tell others what to do, but as servants who seek to help others grow.
B) The false teachers Paul will mention in 2 Cor 11
were men who invaded the Corinthian church were guilty of being dictators
1)
They
were the ones who were seeking to turn the hearts of the people away from Paul,
who had sacrificed so much for them.
C) Instead of seeing himself as some kind of “lord” over the Corinthian Christians, Paul gives a great description of what a minister should be.
V. 24 fellow workers for
your joy; for by faith you stand.
Now
as we move into Ch.2 – Paul continues on the subject of his delayed visit to
come & see them
A)But the Focus shifts from discussing why he was delayed to the attitude in his heart he
wanted to have in coming to them
B) Here Paul mentions a Problem that was really
hurting the growth and Vitality of the Corinthian Church Rd v.1& 2
C) Paul’s most recent visit was full of conflict and unpleasantness.
1) So, he really didn’t want to have another “sorrowful” visit with the Corinthians.
D) Paul knew that the constant conflict with the Corinthian Christians could really damage his relationship with them.
E) Sometimes a little time & Space is Necessary in order to let the truth sink in & let the Lord work
Rd v.3-11
Now
one of the big Problems that Paul wrote to them about in 1 Cor is mentioned in
Ch. 5 –
A)The situation involved a man who professed to be a
believer & was fellowshipping in the Church – but who was living sexually Mother in law
B) There were 2 Problems involved w/ this: 1st Obvious – was the man’s Sin 2nd
was the Churches Tolerance of it – No
one confronted the individual –
C) SO Paul wrote & rebuked them for not doing
anything & gave the instructions to confront the individual & if he
didn’t repent
1)TURN HIM OVER TO
SATAN { Dis Fellowship him } FOR THE
DESRTUCTION OF HIS FLESH IN ORDER THAT SOUL SAVED
D) Well the Corinthians at first didn’t like Paul’s advice it was grievous to them – but then they came to see the era of their ways
1)
They did just that – Kicked the guy out –
But the Problem was a little bit Different
[Opposite Extreme] You
see it seems that their discipline of this man worked – after some time he
repented
A)The Problem now was they were having a hard time
Forgiving the man & RESTORING him
back into Fellowship
B) So now Paul was writing to exhort them of their
need to forgive the man & Restore him – Paul gives
3 reasons why Necessary & important
1)
Take note : Our Church & Lives we need to be people who forgive
C) 1st v.7&8 they were to forgive him for
his own sake, "lest [he] be
swallowed up with overmuch sorrow" { DEVOURED by guilt { Absalom
1)
Sin
brings feelings of Guilt – feel guilty because we are guilty – often because we
see the damage our sin has caused
D) But when someone has truly repented – the Lord
forgives them /forgotten – washed clean / but it is also important that we
forgive –
1) Forgiveness is the
medicine that helps to heal broken hearts.
It was important that the church assure this
repentant member of their love.
2ndly
They should confirm their love to the forgiven brother for the Lord's sake ( Rd
2 Cor 2:9-10).
A)This is Paul’s point – Forgiveness is not an
option / it is NOT a matter of personal
Preference it is a matter of Obedience to the Lord
B) The problem was not simply between a sinning
brother and A grieving Church : it was also between a sinning brother and a grieving Savior.
1)
The
man had sinned against Paul and the church, but he had most of all sinned
against the Lord{ David – against you Lord ……..
C) The Lord forgave the man because of his repentance & Jesus commands us to forgive others as He has forgiven us
1)
See
All of us have been guilty of Breaking Promises to Jesus / letting down Jesus /
hurting Jesus – Yet the soul that repents He forgives
D) He commands us to be like Him & do the same –
He wants to help us so that we can
1)
Forgiveness
is a Must – Command – [Trust takes time to build]
E) If we don’t forgive { We open the door for
Bitterness to destroy
Which leads to
the 3rd reason Paul gave: they must forgive the offender
for the church's sake (2 Cor 2. 11).
A)The Greek word Take advantage - is used in four other verses in the New Testament
B) It has the idea of cheating someone out of something that belongs to them
1) When we are ignorant of Satan’s strategies, he is able to take things from us that belong to us in Jesus, things like peace, joy, victory, fellowship,
Eph 4:26 Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down
on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil.
C) When we have bitterness & unforgiveness in our hearts we give place to the devil in our lives { Roots of Bitterness – many Defiled