Invincible: Life in the Storm 2 - May 15

Well friends, welcome back. As we are in a journey through 2nd Corinthians and title Invincible life in the storm. Now, if I were to say to you, stay in the story, that is not a new phrase to you because it has become my life, Mantra to become my Ministry, Mantra. It's become a sacred. Reminder what I need to do every single day of my life, as a follower of Jesus Christ. I have got to stay in the story that God is writing in my life and the lives of others as well. It is certainly not a journey that is easy, quick or simple. It's not for the thinnest skin nor for the faint of heart storms swirl around us all the time. And so many different kinds of things that are challenging, discouraging, wearisome, and all. So confusing. This is what life brings our way to, in the midst of those storms. We are seeking to somehow attached herself to an invincible story. Who is the Invincible God, who is steady strong and sure as we journey through the seasons of life. And today, I am taking you into. Paul's stay in the story journey. In fact, the entire relationship that Paul had with the Corinthian Community can only be described as a tenacious stay in the store relationship. It was the most testy and unstable relationship that Paul had with any of the congregations that he worked. Danny the midst of chapter 2 as we move into the section. Today. We're exploring in this series. How is it that our own weakness? Actually paradoxically becomes the foundation for the strength that we need as we journey through life. And so this is our theme birth, that is captured a little bit later in the book. 12:9. God is talking to Paul. He's reminding Park is Paula is complaining about his Thorn In the Flesh. And we all have thorns in the flash things. We struggle with things. We wish to vaporize into the pier and got us. Things up. All my power Paul is made, perfect in weakness. I eat your weakness, is that when you are weak. That's when I am strongest.

Who is in charge and who is authorized to guide and lead into shape human life and history, but you also know with me. Do you know that, as we journey through American culture, modern day, American culture, weakness has been. Vilified, weakness has been shamed demonized, in our culture. We would rather attach ourselves to things like Independence. Autonomy, self-sufficiency privacy being in charge in control and Showing that I don't need anything or anybody. Or I guess I can take that. So I can make a few on this. This is kind of the facade appearance of American culture in so many different ways. We have got to change that story, because that story is not in the Bible. That's just the opposite story of who, and what we need to affirm about ourselves in our relationship to God. So that we can travel in on the right path and move our lives into the right turning. We will never be a save vital loving and healing Community. If we don't root and ground ourselves on the sense that our weakness is a place of great credibility and Authority in strength and transformation. We need to move into the neighborhood of weakness. I reminded you that whatever you do with your weakness is going to determine who you are and where you're going. I'm either going to be, I'm going to hide it. I am in need of God, that I am broken that. I am that. I need healing. And that I have life issues that have come with me, and I just want to acknowledge that. And boy, if you can pray with me and for me, and be patient with me, that would be a beautiful thing on the journey to becoming. Who God has created me to be. You're either going to be shamed by your weakness or you're going to learn to share, you're going to hide from it or you're going to Harold it as a foundation of community. Now in my 32 years of ministry. What I've experienced is is that facades create more facades and distance and and a sense of isolation in my own weakness. And I've also been in recovery communities where I see where I've experienced personally that the unburdening of the heart of the opening of one's life, vulnerable and transparency, actually, lead to the sense of unbelievable acceptance. And I'm so safe with you. And, and I, and I everything that I am is before you and you still smile at me and you love me and you pray for me and you hug me. And this is, this is the kind of community. That God wants us to create in a healing family. So in many ways, it's a difference between good grief and accessory. That's where I want to take us today. Good grief is actually very transforming and it's it's correcting and healing. Excessive grief is this place of stuckness where we are. Just stabilizing ourselves in the whole community and it's often predicated upon a lie, and that moment is no longer grief. It's actually believing a false narrative in a story and speaking it over your life. And so, keeping yourself in a place of stuck us and maybe keeping others there as well. I do believe that hard. Truth need to be a spoken in our communities of discipleship. I mean, this is what Paul was doing with the Corinthians. He was speaking hard screws to them, but he was doing it in the spirit of love and he was staying in a relationship and it was agonizing over his heart in his desire to be with them and to see them break through and out. But forgiveness is always an essential part of speaking hard, true? If it's needed for a fresh start to move our lives into the right direction. Only victory in Christ Jesus. As he speaks 7 verse 14 and not into being defeated and outwitting by the schemes of Satan. And I will see that here in just a moment. Godly sorrow starts a silver, and it starts this, right? But despairing and spiraling into spare simply is an indication that someone has given up and resignation and attaching themselves to a defeated narrative and a false vision of their lives. And they find themselves in agreement with Satan. Who wants to kill steal and destroy instead of Agreement with God who calls the steps about the Delight of the father's card. The apple of God's eye beloved chosen priesthood and a holy nation Huggy with the Holy ones. And so this is the language that God wants us to use. So I want to take you in a chapter at 2 today. We're just going to kind of travel through and stopping and several sections to make some Reflections. Let's listen for the word of the Lord. Paul says, so I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you for if I grieve you who is left to make me glad but you whom I have great. So that doesn't work out too. Well. So I wrote as I did so that when I wanted to get the hard stuff out first so that when I came, I would not be distressed by those who should have made me Rejoice. I had confidence in all of you that you would all share my joy. For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and With Many Tears for the grapes are owing to Greenview, but to let you know, The depth of my love for you. So when they opening lines of this part of Paul's letter, he's essentially reminding them that I decided to write you. When I gave you some hard instructions, you know, your mother doesn't work here. This is actually your stuff that you created. You need to clean up your own mess. And so we need to start there. First. I need to give you the time and the space to work on yourself so that when we come together, we can actually be glad that we have made progress and we don't have to go into that sticky icky stuff because then we can rejoice and share in wonderful things together. This is what Paul had decided why he didn't want to do that visit quite yet. He wanted to help them working on their own stories. You see God wants us to give people time and space to work on their stories. All of us need correcting, all of us need changing. All of us, need to kind of clean up our own messes. We all have messes that need attending to, and it's not helpful when others are standing around barking at us. And constantly be Finding us of our failures. And if we have a cheerleader who will speak the truth in love, but then also give us a space and time that we need to kind of work on those things. This is what Paul had in mind. And if we do that and Anna people actually work on that then they're going to be the spirit of rejoicing progress. Otherwise, there is a sense of intervention to stress and confrontations that still are needed and unresolved on address discipleship issues. And this doesn't help anyone in that way. So, sometimes you and I need to be left alone in our transfer. I'm going to work now. When you leave yourself alone, a release someone else alone. Are we what? When we say that phrase, we do not mean that we are abandoning you or isolating you that we are forgetting someone or ignoring them. What that means. Is it allowing somebody space and time to engage in the personal responsibility of actually owning their own recollection and redirection. This is the 10 most powerful ways. The transformation occurs is that when I get to have the success of the big tree myself because of choices and decisions and actions that I made instead of somebody told me to do something. So that's where breakthrough, really occurs. And Paul is setting them up to succeed in that way as a famous psychologist and author brene. Brown says, you got to lean into the discomfort of the work. That's what Paul was telling Corinthians. I want you to lean into the discomfort of your own work. I know it's hard. I know it's discouraging. I know it's difficult but lead into that work in jeans, your life in it so that we can Rejoice together that we can become better together so that we don't have to be chagrined and ashamed and distraught when we get back together again. The truth is that love is always going to be burdened by a compromise. Best self both for myself. And the other people that God has put in my lives. I should be burdened by a compromise best self and that should come from this vision and this version of Heavens narrative that there is actually a higher rendition of me waiting to be exhibited. There's a higher rendition of you waiting to be shown to the world and and that God can make us to become something far greater and more than we have yet conceived. And so intent on that Journey, we have to marry honesty with gracious space and bringing those together to allow for that kind of transformation. So this is how Paul opened up. This is what I intended that gracious space, that least a transformation. And then he goes on to talk about a previous issue that had Arisen verses five through 11. Now, if anyone is cause grief, he has not so much grieved me as he is grieved. All of you to some extent but not to put it to severely. So the punishment inflicted on him that you did by the majority is sufficient. In other words, you're done. Stop that. Now, instead, you want to forgive and comfort him, instead of keeping to admonish in front of him with a purpose, being he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I heard you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient and everything, anyone you forgive. I also forgive and what I have forgiven. If there was anything to forgive, I have forgiven the site of Christ, for your sake, that with a purpose, being that Satan might not out with us for, we are not unaware of his schemes. So you see labeling people labeling people instead of freeing people and loving people and elevating them into a new story is profoundly dangerous. Any discipline or any correction is toxic. If it's not immediately followed up by three transformative Titans forgiveness, Comforts, and love. This is what the Apostle Paul was saying. So there had been this a previous young man. And Cole ran to was a having a intimate relations with his father's wife, 1st Corinthians, chapter 5, and Paul called out this egregious in that they have been celebrating. So they went from celebrating how Progressive they were and then they became toxic lead a judgmental and legalistic, and they kept kind of this this man in the defeated box. And so they swung the pendulum. And I'll Paul is calling them back to this place of honesty, and gracious space bringing them together and unconditional love forgiveness, comfort. And love is the only thing that will make people hole and well and will deliver them out of the tragic tragedy. And also the tribulation that they've experienced in their lives. So, the Apostle Paul wants us to know. That we need to see people differently than the labels of their behaviors. We need to see people differently than the labels of their religions, or their ideologies, or their politics, or their cultural presumptions with what we need to see people as the Beloved children. That God created to become lifelong fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ, and they just don't realize it yet. And we need to neighbor them and love them into a place of hope, dignity in life. You see, if instead it if we focus in on their bad behavior, so to speak and what they're not then they're going to become Paul says overwhelmed meaning consumed and drown. They just they lose the oxygen of Hope and they're just drowning and excessive sorrow, which defeats awesome diminishes us for 7 and then, and this is what Satan wants us to do it. So he wants to go out with us. And this is how saying does by calling us into actions and attitudes and perspectives that are not healing and life-giving their destructive. And diminishing. So disciplined in the body of Christ, is absolutely necessary to part of what it means of growing up into the fullness of Jesus, but it is never to eradicate Nord as ever to humiliate the character in the, in the beauty of a human being in their person in, in their capacity, to Bear the image of God. Character qualities, of course, in our lives Dougal a ride, but we are to harness a person potential and we are just speak them and love them. And accompany them into a life-giving manifestation of obedience. That is Winsome and compelling to the world and is honoring to Jesus Christ. I love what the prom and a theologian William. Barclay once said that Sinners are not to be rendered harmless and neutralized by battering them into submission. But rather they are to be loved and inspired towards goodness and godliness. And this is a vision and a reminder that you are beloved that you matter to God, that you have access to Power Authority, in Victory through Jesus Christ, that the giftings of the Holy Spirit, just set you up to live a fruitful life of love joy. Peace, patience, kindness goodness, gentleness faithfulness and obedience. All of these things. Are to be descriptions of who we are to become. And so this is why Paul later when he was instructing Timothy is going to call again. He told them on the how we should go about living in this way. So gently instruct those who oppose the truth. This is a form of Correction, by the way, perhaps God will change those people's hearts. Not you. Perhaps of God will change those people's hearts and they will learn the truth. And what how will they learn that? We're going to gently. Instruct gently means graciously, gently means lovingly relationally. Gently means calmly, gently means attentively to a person's history posture and position. So I went when I, when I come into relationship with others and I seek to present my best self. It's not about masking my own weakness. It's about presenting my own broken humility. Saying, wow, I can really and identify with that because I have stories to I have struggles to. And I want you to know there's no difference between you and me. But we just been on different paths with different Journeys. We had different heartaches and different challenges. But God loves us the same and God has an amazing purpose for your life. That is different than the decision-making. I believe the discipline among Believers, if we were living in a Covenant Community is called the church is always to be followed them by forgiveness and comfort. Last week. We talked about the word of paraclete thing. Cleaning, of course of the word that is used for the Holy Spirit, what it means. Coming alongside that means accompanying people on a journey back to life Wellness of wholeness. And so that's kind of a companion, companion, companion with the name of that song with star systems with light. Otherwise people are going to move towards a resentment or repentance. Isn't that fascinating your life in my life is either going to help people move towards resentment. Or I'm going to help them move towards repentance repentance. By the way, has nothing to do with shame repentance, has to do with an awake. And it's like, oh, I get it now. Why would I want to choose that life when I can choose the fact that I'm beloved. I'm sacred. I'm I'm I have personhood and presence in position and Power in the kingdom of God. I am a somebody. Why? Why would I want to go back to that way? It looks. So that is a sense of repentance turning towards. What is right? And just and good. So here's the question, I have for all of us when we think about community and we become aware of one, another than me, the further we go into each other lies. We become a walk aware of each other's stories. Hopefully you'll be gossiping Grimace about others. Or do we gather and grow with others? When we think about other people on her evaluation of their lives? Is it about them? Or is it with them? Is it in kind of evaluative critique and criticism? Or is it in Humble open and transparent companionship? It's like, wow, I need you, and you need me and as different or is it. Like, as we, maybe we were made for each other. Because Humanity was made for family, the holy family now. Satan of course, wants us to embrace the ladder and not the former. Satan wants us to join him in his crusade, to kill to steal, to destroy to shame, the blame to demonize and to belittle the end to make them as though they are not. These are the things that Satan and God wants to speak life Wellness, wholeness love acceptance and forgiveness into our lives and transformation along that way. The Lord takes away our filth in our failures. This is what Christ wants us to do. Now, for the rest of our lives to embrace people, where they're at to speak with them lovingly and gently to accompany them on the journey and to remind them that they are sacred and beloved to God. And in the right inappropriate, oportun ways and times to invite them to become a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ. Because this is the climax of Pinnacle in the completion of who they were created to be. And it's only in Jesus that we find our full personhood and our full home in the Beloved. And so, then Paul goes on and he says, now when I went to troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, so things are really going, good intro ass, but I still had no peace of mind. Why? Because I did not find my brother Titus there, but what's the big deal with that, so I said, goodbye. When I went to Macedonia, well, Paul was looking for Titus because you don't know this, but Titus was the go-between. He was the intermediaries. He was the bridge builder between the testicle and community and the apostolic Authority in. Pastor leadership on Paul Titus was the instrument in the Corinthian community. And so as this picture, depicts. Paul went to troas and everything was different. The people are open. The people are gracious. There was fruitful Ministry and there was no obstacles in opposition is like, wow. I've landed in Disneyland of ministry, but Paul was sitting on the bench soaking and sorrowful. He didn't have peace. How can you not happy?

It's the only way that can happen is when you care when your heart hurts for someone that you want to move into a better place of living.

I think we all know people who have a lifestyle where we would say. Yep. They have it made. But because their heart is broken for something, or someone in their sphere, in their, in their Circle, they have no peace because there's something unsettled. There's unfinished business. And you see, that's why Paul needed to hear from Titus, because he wanted to know what his heart was aching for. His heart was aching for the Corinthians and I just shined it to be utterly astonishing and amazing. That Paul's heart was aching for a people who discredited him. Who didn't trust him, who thought that he was a really bad poor later. He was a very unimpressive speaker. They were embarrassed by Paul. There is much more sophisticated refine leaders and teachers in the Corinthian, come in and there were stuck with Paul. How is it that your heart's just yearns for and is agonizing over a people that don't like you. Where does that come from? Accept only from the Holy Spirit who called him to be in Mission and Ministry to a people who might respond to him. Just like the world responded to Jesus Christ.

Crucify him. We want Barabbas instead.

Today, I think you know that our society is more conflicted than ever before. I've been on the earth for 60 years, and I don't know that there's ever been a time where there's been so much toxic antagonism and and Division and hostility and groups and factions from every different direction. People's dividing and accusing and blaming and bad-mouthing. I believe that this kind of living is Unholy. It's evil. It's unjust. It is certainly unneighborly. It doesn't showcase the gospel of neighbor. Love, patient persistent. Hope as we stay in the story. Stay in hard stories of relationships that are uncertain. This is what Paul was doing with the Corinthians. He was staying in a story that most people would say, I am so done with those people they can go and have whoever they want. I'm I'm not, I'm not putting any more any time or energy into them. Because they give me nothing but trouble.

Now I don't know about you, but I kind of like the idea of conserving my energy for people who are actually life-giving instead of Life sucking. But I know that as a follower of Jesus Christ, I am not afforded the opportunity to make that kind of Distinction because I know that Jesus does not make a distinction in, in Humana Insurance. Those people who are life sucking in those people who are life-giving. God wants me to love all people unconditionally through rate, relate to all people. Unconditionally who befriended to neighbor all people unconditionally, whether they are easy to know, or hard to know whether they like me or they dislike me. You and I, as followers of Jesus Christ, we do not have an option. If we really and truly want to be followers of Jesus Christ. I believe that Paul's life is no better indication. I mean, this whole letter, this whole relationship is an indication of unconditional love. Write down there in the trenches of hard relationships in and test the confrontations. Will Paul goes on to end this chapter, but thanks be to God who always leads us as captives in Christ, triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of knowledge of him everywhere. Before we are to God, the pleasing Aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing to the one. We are. The aroma that brings death to the other and Aroma that brings life and who is equal to such a task. Of course. None of us are unlike so many, we do not pedal, the word of God for profit on the contrary, in Christ. We speak before God with sincerity as those sent from God. Till Paul closes off this portion of the letter T, using the analogy, that was clear and everybody's minds of the Roman triumphal. Procession here is one particular artistic. Renditions of Roman procession. A triumphal procession is where a Victorious, Roman Channel returns after the battle. He's Victorious. He's bringing all those troops, has a spoils from the war all of the captives. The prisoners, who are now either going to be slaves or put to death in, this is great parade. Enrollments held with aromatic incense burning all along the Parade route. And so that they are so shading of these Roma's, with these two visions that are coming before them. They are a ride down to the Temple of Jupiter there, where the parade ends Nepal, was using this analogy to say that. We, as followers of Jesus are held captive. Now. We are apart of the long train and Jesus Christ is Victorious. General, who is guiding and leading us to the way to the domain of life. And I bringing us home had to the Play this Kingdom and the aroma of that wonderful Victoria Victorious. Parade is going to be the aroma of death to those who are dying in vanquishing and rebelling and perishing. But it's going to be the aroma of life to those who were longing and I wanting of this new experience. This life giving love was very clear in the in the Jewish notion of the world do that in Jewish culture that in the first five books of the law that are called the Torah and the Old Testament. They were used. And went with the Hebrew belief, was that when we use them and when they were rightly applied, they become like medicine for life. So, the first five books of the Bible medicine for life if we live by them, but if we disobey them, then they become like deadly poison. So, the aroma of life for the aroma of death, is a gift of life for the gift of death, and all of that in relationship to our response, and our responsiveness to God, and to his work. Jesus Christ course, none of us are credible or equal to this amazing past. All we can do is join the parade that the throng of Christ Victory and receive that in humility. And in Brokenness. No, friends, here is the application today that I want to send us all home that. As followers of Jesus Christ. We are called to renounce every form of peddling and we're called to embrace. Every form of sincerity paddling is that there's this unscrupulous huckstering, pretense, self-serving hiding masking. Way of a living, our lives and presenting ourselves to others, getting the best out of others before ourselves. It's very self-serving sincerity. On the other hand is all about purity and clearness transparency and being judged in the light of the Sun, and it's a worship. Team, says, we're about ready to close. Here is the the last thing, the Polish sang in the very last part of this chapter is we have to live a life of sincerity. Now you may or not know this but sincerity now, we associate that word today with a person's kind of motives and intentions, but the word sincere initially had nothing to do with human beings. It had everything to do with hard. Statues. Now in the Roman art and statuary, they used to carve them and then they would paint them nothing about painters that paint can cover up, cracks and debits and mistakes and other things in it. It used to be the case that those who were sculptures, they would putting wax in the divots in the cracks and blemishes and wherever there was something that needed to be corrected, they would put wax on it and then they would paint over it. And you would never know that this statue had blemishes or was broken or fractured or cracked. But in the world of purchasing statuary, someone who was a shrewd buyer would take the statue out in the light of the Sun. To reveal if the statue was sincere without wax cuz the wax would melt in the hot Sun, revealing the truth and the essence of this statue. So let the truth about your life, being known and fully visible and presents to all. And do that in a spirit of humility and sincerity gentleness and in love this. My friends is how we stay in the story and how we attach ourselves to the Invincible life of the Kingdom. That is to come. Let's bring God you are amazing. God you always have been and you always will be. And we want to find a way to live our lives. That resembles your authenticity that resembles your humility. That resembles profound sincerity. We don't want to wax our lives anymore. And we're Mass put on facades. Help us. Lord says to embrace our weakness to see. It is a great gift from Heaven. That reminds us that we were not made to be our own masters. We can make it in this life alone. That we need you God and we need your people may we never ever depart from that understanding through. Jesus Christ Our Lord, we pray and all of God's people said together. Amen.

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