KNOW, LIVE, BE-BE JESUS' CHURCH-2 CORINTHIANS: A Personal Purpose For Suffering

 A Personal Purpose For Suffering 2 Corinthians 1-2:11 It’s Fathers Day - maybe you’re a dad, maybe your dad is with you maybe he’s passed but fathers day is interesting because God has revealed Himself as a father so Church rejoice in your heavenly father, God. Today we’re in 2 Corinthians and we’ll jump right in with suffering - your father God allows you to suffer in this life, Christian you will suffer - but your suffering has a purpose. I want to say that again carefully and slowly because this morning in 2nd Corinthians 1:1-2:11 we’ll see not only a personal purpose for suffering but a communal one too - and when we see it cast against the plan of God for His church we’ll be able to better live in the midst of pain. If you’re not a Christian and you’re suffering - your suffering whatever that may be, addiction, pain, loss, maybe you’re not where you feel like you should be in life at this point, God knows where you are, maybe you’re current circumstances are maddening, frustrating and angering, God knows your circumstances - your suffering is to drive to you Jesus who came to live just as you, to get you, and bring you the ultimate freedom, life joined to God and when you’re free from this life, then you’re free to share your remedy with others - Jesus who brings purpose to pain. And so everything in the Old Testament is all to point to the freedom Jesus’ life brings - want to learn about giving in the New Testament church? You’ll look to the tithe - you’ll see the requirement for a 10th to be given, then you’ll follow the giving in festivals and alms and come to a figure north of 20% and you’ll get to the New Testament and find that there is no clear amount for giving, rather that a freed heart gives because it’s compelled by the grace of God that the purpose of it’s life is given over to making Jesus freedom and grace known to all who hurt and are weighed down. You know that giving to your local church is giving to the pronouncement of the gospel and the announcement of freedom from pain, and you want others to know, what you want as you live obediently with Jesus as Lord, that’s what this book of 2 Corinthians is about - living with Jesus as your Lord. Over giving, over what job you take, how seriously you do or don't take traffic or church… maybe you used to come to church and just talk or ignore what’s going on, but maybe you’re interested now and listing maybe God is after you? We come to God empty and this is the point Paul will share here, when we’re emptied in this life, we are ready to be filled by Christ who brings purpose to pain and says, it is finished. 2 Corinthians 1:1-2:11 This book follows as a letter BACK to the church after the first was delivered it comes in 3 parts: 1. What has been accomplished in the church (since the first letter). 2. What is yet to be achieved. 3. Obstacles and final opposition to be overcome. In this letter, like none of Paul’s other letters he bears his heart - thus Paul shows the breath of Christian love in truth - that is a firm standing on truth with the open hand of Jesus grace, mercy, and love. We’re going to move through 2nd Corinthians 1:1-2:11 and hit some highlights but we’re going to look at what happens when we love God so much, that suffering is worth it… Lets start here: 2 Corinthians 1:1–2 (ESV) Greeting 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells the folks who he is - they didn’t have him in their contacts - he was sending the letter by way of someone else, so he introduces himself. An apostle - someone sent in a very special way. Maybe you know Paul, if so hang out for a second - if not, he hated Christians. He delivered them up to be killed FOR being Christians, now he is one because God showed up in his life, with Christ and said you used to hate me now you love me and I want you to tell everyone you meet about Jesus’ great news - and boom he was changed in an instance - maybe that’s you? Paul has been writing to this church about changing what they know and what they believe and how they live, he bases that on his being called as an apostle with a unique mission - after 1st Corinthians he delivered 15 chapters of correction on their many (many) errors and wrong thinking - and he’s still correcting, but don’t miss how he opens “to the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaea, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” … Guys - grace and peace from God should relax your shoulders - all this life trials and tests and strain and stress can rest on the shoulders of the grace of God in Christ. Consider these words: It, is, finished Jesus purchased peace between us and God and church - it is finished. Do you need rest: know, that it is finished. Do you feel stuck in those circumstances: know, that it is finished. Do you need rest: come to Christ, it is finished! 1) Scripture: How is what is in the scripture what we’re concerned with as it relates to you and me? How is what is in scripture relevant to today? Project it against the church with real or fabricated examples that draw out the deeper truths. How could the passage be misapplied, how does this show how to rightly apply it, (stand these up against each other). Walk out the points in scripture. Tie the points in scripture to you and me - and what we’ll talk about. 2 Corinthians 1:3–5 (ESV) God of All Comfort 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. So much to see here and know here - this is a tough thing, so stick with me - because I know what we want - we’re like the soldier in the war movie hurt badly on the battle field, what do we want, what do they want - morphine - but you know the problem with morphine - nothing changes and it wears off, your leg is still all blown up, and it’s going to hurt again, God does something way better than numb - as we’re in the middle of the worst of it, he provides comfort. Because if our hope is tied to removing affliction and difficulties, we’ll be crushed, we learn that God is greater than our worst pain and struggle and HE comforts us IN ALL of our suffering. No thing is too great. No thing is too challenging. No hardship is too much. Recently the Charleston Shooter’s families addressed him, they asked God to forgive him, one man said, “we would like you to take this opportunity to repent, repent, and give your life to the ONE who matters the most, HE can change you and can changes your ways” God is their comfort in their affliction: We’re not strangers to it here - Ryan/Tonya’s Nephew was recently shot, and we pray for his recovery. We’ve had families miscarry (more than I care to think about). The Brackbill’s lost Tori. God comforts in the midst of loss, do you see how precious this is, that on Christ, it is finished, the gulf that kept us apart from the mercy and love of God is erased and we’re brought near! 2 Corinthians 1:5–6 (ESV) 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. This life is lived out in a broken world. We cannot escape the broken world - what I mean is it’s broken away from God’s good purposes and it’s followed, it’s self. It’s bent towards extremism, racism, hatred, division and so with all of that comes ramifications. Recently my friend’s son 31 with 4 kids was shot in the head, dead. Why - a stupid disagreement, life over. What did his kids do to deserve this? Nothing. How about his mom, nothing? What about the victims in Charleston - just sitting in a Wednesday night Bible study, …nothing. This world is so deeply fractured and fallen in sin the effects are far reaching - but God who is good and the author and originator of love, comforts us in this life - because It. Is. Finished. It is all and was all to point to Christ and so today when we suffer, as Christians, we point to Christ in it - God is good, God is enough. Maybe your struggle is something you can walk through with someone and together you’ll be stronger in it. Maybe you’ll walk it alone, and later you’ll know someone in your same suffering and you’ll point them to know their God through it, because you’ve lived it. When we take on these words it is finished - there is power and purpose to our suffering. I want you to read this letter this week, there is some historical value to understanding his talking about coming to them, and why he didn’t or hasn’t yet - but we’re going to take a long jump to our last verses of the day, 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 but we’re going to take that jump through Mark 5:19, the time Jesus said “no” to someone who wanted to follow Him: Mark 5:19 (ESV) 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Why - Jesus said I want you to go back, to the people who knew you… who are these people he’s going to; who is this guy? In Mark chapter 5 Jesus had just calmed the sea on a boat with his followers, they cross onto the other side where a man has been cutting himself and crying out and was just going nuts - in fact, he was going so crazy mad, they chained him up outside of town to be rid of him… Jesus landed and sent the demons, who were tormenting him into the sea - now this business of pig raising is considered an unclean profession so he sent the entire economy of this outpost village into the sea for the value of one person. Then they get on the boat and leave. Now come back again with me to Mark 5:19, Mark 5:19 (ESV) 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Wait.. his friends? Guys I’m going to tell you what - if I’m cutting myself and going nuts and you tie me up with chains to in the woods, we’re probably not friends anymore… and so this guy says Jesus you’ve healed me, you’ve made me better - I love you, I want to follow you, And Jesus said no… your story, your life, and your example is going to let people see God’s mercy and call them to me for salvation. Church, suffering will reveal what you depend on and what you treasure, God will use it to reveal those things to you, and to train you to trust Him - why… Well, because if your hope transitions to something in this life, it can be taken from you and your hope crushed - so lets take that long leap: 2 Corinthians 2:10–11 (ESV) 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. Church when we realize were a bunch of people forgiven for our specific sins, and for each other in Christ either it is finished or we’ve trusted like that naked demon possessed man that Jesus calmed the sea and crossed over the sea with a group of people just to heal, we’ve trusted to tell others the great things that God has done for us, or maybe you’re like Paul found hating God and in a moment changed, church it is finished? Maybe you’ve been saved recently, maybe today, maybe last week, maybe for a year or more and you’ve not taken the step of baptism lets talk, lets make that change for you - today is Fathers Day, and your heavenly father want’s you to show off what he’s done in you through baptism and to publicly profess that you love your heavenly father, do you need to do that? Because in Christ It Is Finished, suffering, loss, lack of hope, it’s all realized purpose in Christ, now go live it out and tell your friends! Jesus, Who Brings Purpose To Pain KNOW, LIVE, BE – BE JESUS’ CHURCH – 2 CORINTHIANS: A Personal Purpose For Suffering Pastor John Weathersby Transcend Church 6 of 6 Sunday 6/18/2017