Category: 2 Corinthians

Why Evangelize?

3/12/2023

2 Corinthians 5:14-21
One day a man who had not been feeling well went to see the doctor. After an examination and tests the doctor sent the man home, promising to call him with the results. The next day the doctor called and said, “Well I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?” The man thought for a moment and asked for the good news. The doctor replied, “Good news is that you have 24 hours to live.” Confused, the patient asked, “If that was the good news what is the bad news?” “Well,” the doctor said, “the bad news is that I should have called you yesterday.” In a similar manner we, as believers in Jesus, often have a problem when it comes to telling others about Him. Often we turn the truth of scripture into a hammer and try to beat people into belief in Jesus. Then, on the other extreme, we take grace too far and it turns into friendship with no message proclaiming Christ. John 1:14 & 17 record that Jesus was full of grace and truth. He did not back away from the truth and He did not neglect to use grace. Jesus came full of grace and truth, and we should be the same. We need to speak the truth with words of grace so others will see Jesus in our message of evangelism. We need to live the truth with actions of grace so others will see Jesus in our method of evangelism. In Acts 4:12, Peter is speaks of Jesus saying, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Christ’s love for us on the cross compels us to act on our belief of Him as savior, and serve as His messenger of good news (2 Corinthians 5:14-21) to those living with the bad news of sin.

For more see 2 CORINTHIANS or DISCIPLESHIP

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Three Legged Service

3/2/2023

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1 Corinthians 12:1-7; 2 Corinthians 4:7; 2 Corinthians 12:9
We were on our normal walk, on a normal day, until we spotted them. As the dog and I rounded the corner in the road there they were, a doe and her year old baby, feeding in the neighbor’s yard. The dog and I stood silent and still, as we watched those two deer watch us. Finally, after the deer realized that we were not a threat, they relaxed a bit and started to nibble at the grass again. But, as the baby pranced and played, I noticed something was seriously wrong with the mother. As she went to take a step she limped real bad. It was at that moment, I realized that the doe was missing the lower portion of her front left leg. I have no idea what happened to her, but she was severely disabled, and her walking proved it. The injury had healed over nicely, and she seemed to have learned how to manage this setback in life quite well. She had survived the injury and successfully raised a young one. The dog and I watched in amazement for a few more moments, and then turned toward home. As we retraced our steps I reflected on the disability of the deer and the spiritual correlation to our own brokenness. God equips us and enables us to be His servants. The problem is that many times we allow our past and its problems to haunt us. Satan deceitfully tells us that we are unfit, unqualified, and unable to serve. We wrongly believe Satan’s lie, that our past brokenness makes us unusable to God. This thinking is much like looking at the three legged deer and believing that she could never raise a family. However, God is a God of redemption. He alone is the one who enables and equips us to do what He wants. We believe that God saved us from sin, but we incorrectly believe that God cannot overcome the results of sin and chaos in our past. This is where we need to correct and change our beliefs. In 2 Corinthians 4:7 Paul describes himself as an earthen vessel, a piece of pottery, that has no special ability or power apart what it holds. The value or treasure of the vessel is held in the contents of the vessel. Our ability to serve comes from God who calls us, fills us, and enables us to serve Him. We are like a piece of pottery that is easily broken, but our value and usefulness is not found in our condition but in God who saves us. As we serve, we display the extraordinary power of God working through us, as weak and broken people. It is indeed a treasure to minister and serve our Savior, Jesus Christ. God is all powerful in saving us at salvation, and He is all powerful in equipping us for service. Do we allow the all powerful God to work through us, and enable us to serve, even in our brokenness? God used a three legged deer to remind me of His power displayed in my weakness.

For more see 1 CORINTHIANS or DISCIPLESHIP

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Stitches for Stability

4/29/2020

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2 Corinthians 13:11
I slipped and felt the burning, searing pain run through my leg. What do you do when you look at your leg that is ripped wide open and bleeding? In my case I had to jump in the truck and drive an hour to get a number of stitches to close the wound. We have lived in places where there were no emergency services, no fire trucks, no ambulances and no 911 phone calls. It is now a joy for us to be close to a fire house, near a hospital and have the 911 emergency number that actually works. The emergency services exist to bring us as people back to a safe and stable life. In this verse, Paul is closing his second letter to the Corinthian church and he challenges them with five things that will bring stability to their lives and the life of their church. These five are still valuable and needed for us today. If we want to experience the love and peace of God we need to be people of God who first of all are filled with joy that comes from God. This joy finds it roots in a deep satisfying relationship with God that is not shaken by the circumstances of life. Paul desires that they be people that are filled with joy because they know how God has saved them and and are confident in what He continues to do. Secondly, we need to be spiritual growing to be made complete in God. The Corinthians had been corrected by Paul so they could understand and live in a way that pleased God. Third, Paul wanted them to be encouraged by his words. The word encouraged here literally means to call alongside. We can encourage others as we come alongside them by lifting them up with our positive words and the use of Scripture. Next, Paul wants them to be like minded and agree with each other. This is not just being nice to get along. Paul’s desire is that his readers will be united on the truth of God and the practice of His word in their daily lives. This leads us to the fifth and final point of living in peace. His point is to be a peace loving person not a problem making person. The practice of these five things in our relationship with God and our relationships with others will lead us to experiencing the blessing of love and peace from God. To put it simply Paul is saying that if you want to have a life of stability you first must have an intimate fellowship with God and allow that relationship to impact your conduct. Paul had provided some spiritual stitches that he hoped would hold and bring stability to their lives and their church. The same can be true for us today.

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Why Evangelize?

Three Legged Service

Stitches for Stability

Pastor Ken

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