Foundations for Life and Ministry

Edward Agee

Elastic Resilience • Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

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This week has been a difficult and turbulant time for many,

I’m not just talking about tragedies on the news either

for those who don’t know, our friend and family member

Sandra Gallager passed away yesterday

and was healed as she was promoted to glory

I know this is especially hard on many in this congregation because of how close this loss is to the loss of Anita Kiss

It is normal to get lost in grief

it is easy to allow ourselves to be stirred to anger

and to feel raw inside

In light of everything going on,

I want to remind everyone that our fight is not against people

for we don’t fight against flesh and blood

but against principalities and powers

both seen and unseen

against rulers of the darkness of this world

against spiritual wickedness

The enemy would love for us to fixate on things that don’t matter

the devil wants us to live in fear and grief

to obsess over politics, arguments, gossip,

He wants us to allow the faults of people we have never met

fill our thoughts and distract us from things that truly matter

the enemy does not want us to advance in our personal virtue

character, or faith

He wants us to focus on things that we cannot control

rather than the things that we can control

It is no wonder that so many people find themselves in a constant state

of angst, frustration, and general disdain towards others

God wants us to live generous lives of charity, love , and peace

But we cannot allow ourselves to believe in the lies that draw us away from God

The brokenness of our country and the world

is not more important than allowing

God to fix the brokenness that is found within each and every one of us

In America, many have lost the value of each other.

We have become so focused on the negatives of life

that we have stopped seeing people as real people with real lives.

It’s not a stabbing on a bus, near 3 weeks back (aug22)

but rather the ending of a life (Iryna Zarutska)

that impacts so many who loved her

and all who will never get to know her.

It’s not just a shooting at a school, just this last Wed

(Evergreen High School,

but families that grieve the loss of their children

(I can’t even imagine)

and futures robbed.

Think about all the relationships/families,

and contribution to our world that will never occur.

Not even to mention all the trauma the surviving children will have to walk through.

Charlie Kirk was not just a political activist that was assassinated Wed,

but a son, husband, dad, mentor, and friend.

At the beginning of the Summer, in June,

Melissa Hortman was not just a political official in Minnesota,

but a daughter, wife, mom and friend to those who loved her.

We have gotten to a place in our world where our views,

criticisms and consternation

has left us seeing people as the enemy

an enemy to defeat, end, or destroy.

We have lost the value that every attack

of every kind is tied to people

people whose value is determined by God

and whose lives really matter to other people.

All actions done in anger,

(physical and verbal)

always affect more people than the object of our anger.

I pray we find our way back to recognizing that

that every attack of someone we hate,

can’t tolerate, or despise

involves and affects so many who have never done anything to you.

I have made a determination to value all who I know,

weather they like me or cause me pain.

May God help us all settle our spirits,

guard our words,

protect our hearts

and heal our minds,

so we can truly get back to loving others

…and yes, even the ones we don’t agree with!

and so, this morning we gather to focus on God

to remember the sacrifice that He made for us

and the salvation that comes through his blood

We come to worship the creator, and learn from His word

Even when we find ourselves grieved by the losses of close friends and family,

God is love,

His spirit fills us with peace and comfort

——————————-

Intro:

Unified Picture: Tree of Life and Ministry

Grace: The unseen roots drawing life.

Integrity: The straight trunk that grows true.

Endurance: The branches that survive storms and still bear fruit.

(You could even bring a potted plant or tree branch as a prop.)

——-

Lesson

Setting

Paul lived with one desire

to be a faithful and fruitful minister of Jesus Christ.

Why?

In 2 Corinthians 5, we saw that Paul knew

the fear of the Lord,

the love of the Lord,

and the commission of the Lord.

He also knew that the reputation of the gospel depends on those who claim to believe it.

Paul summarizes his strategy for living:

2 Corinthians 6:3–4 NASB95

giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,

3“We put no stumbling block in anyone's path,

so that our ministry will not be discredited.

*Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance” (2 Cor. 6:3-4a).

In Corinth, enemies criticized Paul.

These false apostles turned many away from God's true apostle.

It is hard to imagine, but some believers in Corinth did not love and appreciate Paul.

He wrote, "We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us" (2 Cor. 6:12

Throughout 2 Corinthians, Paul defends his ministry.

The false apostles in Corinth claimed to be apostles,

but they did not have the signs of an apostle,

the power of an apostle,

the character of an apostle,

or the scars of an apostle who fought spiritual warfare.

In 2 Corinthians 6:1-13,

Paul looks back over the years of his ministry.

First, he explains three foundation stones of his ministry.

Then he describes the pressures, the power, and the paradoxes of ministry

We might call this passage "The Song of God's Ambassador."

Let us begin with the foundation for any ministry and life.

A. Three foundation stones of Paul's ministry were grace, integrity, and endurance

(2 Cor. 6:1-4

2 Corinthians 6:1–4 NASB95

And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain— for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,

1. Foundations of Ministry: Grace.

The big topic of 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 is grace.

Paul urges the Corinthians not to receive God's grace in vain.

It is possible to receive God's grace,

accept His salvation,

and then "let it go for nothing" (2 Cor. 6:1, NEB).”

Paul fears that some of the Corinthians may receive God's grace for no lasting purpose.

God's Ambassador is afraid that some Corinthians may depart from the faith,

follow false apostles,

reject God's favor,

and lose their salvation.*

Who here would like a hundred dollar bill?

Raise your hand

great, it’s my electric bill

When we recieve a gift of value, we don’t throw it away

But what does Paul mean by grace?

Paul answers this question in 2 Corinthians 6:2,

where he uses synonyms for grace."

In those verses, the words

grace. God's favor, and salvation

refer to the same thing.

In 2 Corinthians 6:2, lines 1 and 2 are parallel,

2 Corinthians 6:2 NASB95

“At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.”

like the tracks of a train.

Lines 1 and 2 of 2 Corinthians 6:2 are synonymous with each other-

they mean the same thing.

When two parallel lines of poetry are synonymous,

the second line echoes or repeats the thoughts of the first line.

So we can use the two lines to interpret each other

-each clarifies the other.

For he [God, through Isaiah] says,

Line 1: "In the time of my favor I heard you, and Line 2: in the day of salvation I helped you.

[Paul, God's Ambassador) tell you,

Line 1: now is the time of God's favor

Line 2: now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:1-2).

Line 2 echoes Line 1.

GRACE WAS ONE OF PAUL'S FAVORITE WORDS.

He knew that his life and ministry depended on grace

-God's favor, help, and salvation.

Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 15:10 NASB95

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Paul was thankful for grace.

And he realized that grace is a precious gift to use wisely.

Paul believed that it is possible to receive God's grace,

be born again,

and then throw grace away

and return to sin.

Paul told believers in Antioch to

"continue in the grace of God" (Acts 13:43

Acts 13:43 NASB95

Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

He told believers in Galatia, "you have fallen from grace" (Gal. 5:4

Galatians 5:4 NASB95

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

He told the Corinthians "we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain” (2 Cor. 6:1

2 Corinthians 6:1 NASB95

And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—

Paul was concerned about the Corinthians.

They had begun the race well.

But some Corinthian believers were attending pagan feasts,

having sex with prostitutes,

and participating in fellowship meals with demons (1 Cor. 6-10).

Some had received the truth

but later denied the Resurrection

and thus turned away from the only gospel that offers salvation (1 Cor. 15:1-2, 12).

Many believers in Corinth were rejecting Paul,

God's chosen representative,

and the gospel God gave him to preach (2 Cor. 5:11-21).

Many had turned their hearts away from him (2 Cor. 6:13).

So Paul's heart is troubled for these Corinthians.

He urges them not to waste the grace they have received.

Paul does not want them to forfeit the grace, favor, and salvation God gave them.

As Paul closes this letter,

he will warn all of them to examine themselves

to see whether they are in the faith

and Christ is still in them (2 Cor. 13:5).

For he fears that some have received the grace of God

-but in vain.

2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB95

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?

God once delivered the Israelites from bondage.

With miracles, He led them from the slavery of Egypt

through the Red Sea,

toward Canaan.

They started the journey well.

But many began to neglect God's grace and favor.

Soon, they forsook Moses,

God's ambassador,

and followed new leaders on the path of doubt.

As a result, an entire generation

of more than a million people died in the wilderness

and never inherited the Promised Land.

Earlier, Paul reminded the Corinthians of this example (1 Cor. 10:1-13; see also Heb. 3-4).

As the Israelites turned away from Moses,

the Corinthians were turning away from Paul,

God's true ambassador.

So in 2 Corinthians 6:1,

Paul again urges believers in Corinth not to receive God's grace in vain.

Grace is a major stone in the foundation of our lives.

Without foundation stones,

a house falls to destruction.

The time to guard grace is always now (2 Cor. 6:3

The day to be sure of salvation is always today (Heb. 3:7, 15; 4:7).

2. Foundations of Ministry: Integrity

was another stone in the foundation of Paul's life and ministry.

We put no stumbling block in anyone's path,

so that our ministry will not be discredited.

"Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way (2 Cor. 6:3-4

2 Corinthians 6:3–4 NASB95

Integrity means "honesty and truthfulness.”

People with integrity are in private what they claim to be in public.

The opposite of integrity is hypocrisy.

If believers are hypocrites

-people who lack integrity

—sinners stumble over their examples.

So our deeds must match our words.

King David is an example of someone who was once a hypocrite

-a man without integrity.

He wrote many psalms and led people in warship.

But in private, he committed adultery and murdered Uriah.

This life of hypocrisy led his sons, like Absalom,

to follow his steps,

deceive people,

and live void of integrity.

Hypocrites cause many to stumble and blame God.

David repented.

But because he lacked integrity,

many watching his life continued to stumble toward hell.

The prophet Nathan told David,

"The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme..." (2 Sam. 12:13-14

2 Samuel 12:13–14 NASB95

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. “However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”

Look at the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

The famous tower leans because its foundation was compromised.

It looks impressive, but its reputation is overshadowed by its flaw.

Likewise, a ministry without integrity eventually topples.

Clear Glass of Water: Hold up a clear glass of water. Drop a small bit of dirt or food coloring in it—it contaminates the whole glass. Even a “little” lack of integrity can cloud a testimony.