Can You Handle The Truth?

"But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again. ² For if I cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful? ³ This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all. ⁴ For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
⁵ But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you. ⁶ Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, ⁷ so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. ¹⁰ But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes."
II Corinthians 2:1-11 

Good Morning Beloved,

Welcome to worship, we're so glad you're here.

As preachers we are given a great honor and privilege to handle God's truth in our grasp. Sometimes, that's a difficult task, because it hurts, however, even still, it always helps, and God makes the truth to triumph gloriously!

This brief epistle from the apostle Paul, is packed with rich truths. Paul is teaching us some very powerful, very wonderful truths about God’s comfort. In the first chapter we saw God’s comfort for life’s plans. Now we see God’s comfort when plans don’t work out, and when a saint needs restoration.

Before the apostle Paul gets into this subject, however, he continues with the subject of chapter 1. He explains his motives for not coming for an earlier visit. Then he discusses the sinning saint in the congregation in Corinth. Finally, he shows that God causes us to triumph in Christ.

First, let's bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Father, we give You thanks for this much needed Word from You today. Thank You for all those that You gathered together to receive it, may You open our hearts and embed these truths deep within it.
We acknowledge that in Your grace, You have forgiven us all our sins, all of our trespasses, that You loved us while we were yet sinners. And we are grateful that You sought to forgive us before we have even asked. O' Lord, thank You for that grace, the grace that initiated the marvelous process of reconciliation. Help us Lord, help us to be more like You. Fill our hearts with the forgiveness, we have ourselves received. May Your Holy Spirit, touch our hearts, so we may find it impossible to offend, that we may carry no self-pity, no grudge, no bitterness in our hearts.

Lord, that desperately needs to happen in the hearts of Your people. It's needed in many families, and marriages today. Lord, there needs to be forgiveness extended from the heart needs to be given and true repentance needs to take place, from a broken and contrite heart. It needs to happen in some extended families where grudges are being kept and held onto. It needs to happen in some churches, where resentment and bitterness exists because pride has been wounded. and is still wallowing in its own misery. We know that a person is never more noble and never more like You than when he forgives someone.

Loving, forgiving and merciful Lord, we ask and pray these things in Christs' name
Amen

Today's Message: Can You Handle The Truth?

Open with me your Bibles to the book of II Corinthians chapter 2. This epistle from the apostle Paul, is very practical, very applicable, very instructive and encouraging to my heart, it is my hope and prayer, that it will also be to yours. I believe, this is certainly a message that our world needs to hear.
One the world needs to see demonstrated in the lives of Christians.

Follow along with me, if you would as I read to you from this incredibly rich, and powerful portion of Scripture from the heart of God.

"But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again. For if I cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful? This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes."

Notice, that in verse 1, he begins by saying, "But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again." Paul then admits that he was discouraged with them. And, if he had come to visit them, it would have been in sorrow. Paul didn’t want to come in his sorrow, with tears in his eyes. He would have had them weeping, too. Paul wanted to come to them in joy. He had been hoping to get word from them telling him that they had corrected those things about which he had written them.

Paul says in verses 2 and 3, "For if I cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful? This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all."

Paul then opens his heart to them. In verse 4, "For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you."

It is no secret, that a great many people today fall out with the preacher when he preaches a message that confronts and cuts to the bone. Correction from the Word of God will often really bear down on some people. They think that a pastor should not do that.

May I just say to you that a faithful pastor, one who is teaching the Word of God, must do that. In II Timothy 4:1-2, the command is: "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction."

Beloved, any man who stands in the pulpit today has a tremendous responsibility to rebuke what is false. Many so called Christians, simply don’t like this. However, the apostle Paul, tells them here that his rebuke was not because he was opposed to them, but it was because he loved them. Contrary to what some have come to believe, a faithful pastor demonstrates his love for the congregation by preaching the Word of God as it is rather than "sugar coating" the gospel.

Let me remind you that in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, he rebuked them because they were permitting gross immorality in the congregation. In fact, they had a case of incest in their congregation, and they were shutting their eyes to it. However, they were acting as if they were super spiritual for overlooking it! This kind of gross immorality was something that was even shocking to the heathen; yet the congregation was ignoring it. In first Corinthians 5:13, Paul had written them to get this matter straightened out. He told them, ". . . put away from among yourselves that wicked person." The congregation did listen to Paul, and they excommunicated the man.

Paul says in verses 5 and 6, "But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority,"

They had obeyed Paul. They had excommunicated the man, which was the right thing for them to do.
Then the man acknowledged his sin and came under great conviction. Now what ought they to do? They should forgive him. They should forgive him.

And in verse 7, Paul says, "so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow." Here Paul is saying, "He will be overwhelmed, not only because of his sin, but because you won’t receive him. So now put your arm about him, and restore him to your fellowship."

You may remember, in Galatians 6:1, Paul said to the Galatian believers, "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted."

In II Corinthians 2:8-11, Paul says, "Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. 

Now, let's suppose a man has repented and has really turned from his sin, what then? We should forgive him. Unfortunately, many of our stiff-backed Christians will not forgive anything. That can be the work of the Devil as well as shutting one’s eyes to immorality. Satan gets the advantage of a great many Christians because they are unforgiving. There are three things that we don’t hear very often in our culture, and in the modern church: we don’t hear people accepting responsibility for their actions, we don't hear people admitting their sins and asking for forgiveness nor do we hear people forgiving those who do confess. There is an unforgiving spirit in many churches. Why?

Because Satan is our greatest enemy, yes and of Christians. He is conniving, cunning, and convincing. He is a powerful adversary, we are unable to battle him in our own strength, though there are many who believe they can.

That's why Ephesians 6:10-17 tells us, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
 
Paul writing to the Corinthian church realized that Satan was working overtime in the church and emphasizes that we are to be vigilant and alert to his subtlety. Satan’s advantage is based upon our being ignorant of his devices or his methods. Satan seeks to deceive God’s children, defeat God’s church, destroy God’s work, and denigrate God’s Word. He will use any method, which includes distraction, discouragement, disillusionment, discontentment, discord, and disassociation.

Satan tries to distract us by getting our mind and our attention on the physical and material things rather than spiritual, on methods rather than the message, on men rather than God. He seeks to get our priorities out of order. Another one of Satan’s most powerful weapons is trying to get us into a feeling of discouragement, so that maybe we’ll give up. Discouragement is a lack of hope.

Colossians 3:2 teaches us to "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

Beloved, its important to remember, that we are all capable of any sin. Every single one! So, whatever the other man has done, we are also capable of doing. and, when such a man repents from his sin, he is to be restored in the spirit of meekness. He is to be brought back into fellowship. That's what we're called to do, therefore, it is part of the ministry!

The point is, that everybody messes up, yes, even us Christians. However, we don’t have a very good reputation for how we treat them. Someone once said that "the Christian army is the only army that shoots its wounded." When a Christian sins, and it becomes public knowledge, we often refer to them as "fallen." They haven’t fallen from salvation, they’ve fallen down in their walk with God. But instead of extending a hand to help them up, many Christians react by kicking them when they’re down.

The Bible teaches that Godly sorrow leads to repentance. Godly sorrow leads to repentance.
However, there is a kind of worldly sorrow that does not lead to repentance. When someone says, "I’m sorry" it may well be that they are saying, "I’m sorry.... that I got caught." Many today say, "I’m sorry" however, they have no intention on changing their behavior, beloved, that is not Godly sorrow. Godly sorrow always, always produces repentance. When a person truly repents, their heart is broken over their sin.

In our culture we have worn out the phrase, "I’m sorry." Why? Because we use it for everything, "I’m sorry, but we’re out of that,"  "I’m sorry I bumped into you." However, the words "I’m sorry" originally meant, "I’m experiencing great sorrow over what I have done."

In II Corinthians 7:9, Paul writes about sorrow and repentance. "I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us."

In Closing....

When a brother or sister has sinned, then sorrowed, and repented, our only goal should be to restore them. That means we restore them to fellowship and usefulness in the church. Sadly, it seems that more churches practice rejection rather than restoration. Scripture clearly teaches us the beautiful process of restoration.

"Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:1-2

I'd like to point something out here, notice the the passage teaches that restoration should be gentle and not painful. We shouldn’t demand that the person who repents grovel and squirm like a worm in hot ashes until we’ve collected our pound of flesh.  

Do you know that the "temptation" Paul is talking about that we should avoid when we’re restoring someone? Allow me to make it simple and clear. It’s the temptation to believe that we are better than the person we’re restoring! Forgiving them because you have been forgiven! I know some of you may be saying, "But pastor Brian, you just don't know what they've done! How can I forgive THAT?" Allow me to inform you of this, forgiveness is never deserved, it's a gift! And the reason we must forgive others is because Jesus Christ has forgiven us! Christ has forgiven us. We've all heard someone say, "I’ll forgive you but I won’t forget what you did .” Allow me to translate that statement for you: "I don’t forgive you."

That's not what forgiveness is! That's not what restoration means.. When those thoughts of what someone has done begin circling our brains like a flock of birds, we must say to ourselves, "I choose to deliberately remember forgiving that offense!" A truly godly person will be known because he has a forgiving heart. Because we serve a God, who is a forgiving God, we follow Christ, who is a forgiving Lord, and so, the one who is like Christ will be a forgiving person. Our Lord, Jesus Christ certainly gave to us the perfect example of forgiveness, when He was hanging on the cross, hated, mocked and unjustly being tormented to death, He asked God the Father, to forgive His tormentors.

Then, we choose to love them because we have been loved. Lest we forget the words of our Lord Jesus in Mark 12:30-31, "and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these."

May it be so...  

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen 

Copyright © 2019-2020 All Rights Reserved