Sermon Tone Analysis

the bible is loaded with examples of discouragement

Elijah after confronting the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel ()

David coming home with his band of soldiers to find their village burning and their wives and children taken captive (1 Sam 30:1-6)

the very men whom he led into battle turned against him and threatened to stone him

“But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God”

Jeremiah who was given the unenviable task of preaching to a people who would reject him, his message and even threaten his life!

known as the weeping prophet

wrote a book called “Lamentations”

Discouragement is a regular part of life in a sin cursed world and it often makes its way into the lives and ministries of God’s people.

When Paul came to Corinth he was a discouraged man.

he was a discouraged man

before his 2nd missionary journey even began he had a sharp disagreement with his fellow pastor and co-labourer Barnabas which ended their working partnership

on the first part of his journey he travelled back through the places he and Barnabas had planted churches on his first missionary journey

returning to Derbe and Lystra Paul reconnected with Timothy who would become his protege and partner, this was probably the highpoint of his trip

from there his trip became more and more difficult and discouraging

as he and his team travelled through Phrygia and Galatia the HS kept preventing him from preaching the word

there must have been times when he second guessed his decision to take this journey

was he wrong in his disagreement with Barnabas?

was there some failure on his part which was the cause of the HS’s keeping him back?

when they finally reached Troas on the edge of the sea he must have wondered if they were at a dead end!

after a vision in the night they decided God was leading them to Macedonia so they travelled to Thessalonca and very shortly after arriving and ministering there they were chased out by by a mob of jealous Jews and wicked men

Paul preached in Athens as a result of his being chased out of Thessalonica and Berea by irate Jews who rejected his teaching about Jesus rising from the dead as their Messiah

they were in so much danger that Paul and his team had to be spirited out at night!

when they fled to Berea the Thessalonian Jews pursued him so that he was forced to flee again and ended up in Athens

when he came to Athens he was provoked by the plethora of idols and though he faithfully preached the word only a few were saved

though a few were saved and a church is never mentioned in Athens

it is more than likely the believers there met together for worship and instruction in the Word

Paul then left Athens and travelled the 85 kms west to Corinth

if he was provoked by the idolatry and hardness of heart of the Athenians he must have been dismayed by the cess pool of moral vice in Corinth

how do we know that Paul was discouraged?

when looking back on his time in Corinth he writes in ,

how uncharacteristic of the great Apostle Paul!!

when he came to Corinth he says he was weak and fearful

1

he was literally shaking, perhaps sick?

while Paul was in Corinth he wrote his 2 letters to Thessalonians

in his letters to them, listen to what he says about his time in Corinth,

1 Th 3:7

When Paul came to Corinth he experienced 5 discouraging emotions: weakness, fear, much trembling, distress and affliction.

(; Thess 3:7)

Paul was a hurting man!

it was out of dark time that Paul gave this counsel in ,

as he wrote this from Corinth he was writing out of his own experience

2 Thess 3:

the troubles and trials of his ministry had worn him out!

Principle:

discouragement is a fact of life

it is something we have all experienced

shattered dreams and goals, the struggles we face at work, and certainly not least in our family and church relationships

how much more so as we long to live for Christ and be faithful to him (Rom 7)

the struggles and challenges which inevitably come to us all can easily lead us to become weary, discouraged, fearful and distressed

When we face the discouragements of life and ministry we must never forget that our God is an encourager!

The names of God which speak of help and comfort: El-Roi, Yahweh-Rohi, Yahweh-Rapha, Yahweh-Jireh.

El-Roi (el-roh-ee)- God of seeing () - God saw Hagar in her distress and met her need

Yahweh-Rohi - (yahweh roh-hee) - The Lord our Shepherd () - I shall not want

Yahweh-Rapha - The Lord who heals () - God healed the bitter water and told the people that if they obeyed him they would not experience the diseases he inflicted on the Egyptians

Yahweh-Jireh - The Lord will provide () - God provided a ram in place of Isaac

Paul writes of this

the HS given to live within us is called, the Helper!

()

in our passage today we are going to see how God helped his weary servant Paul and it is my hope and prayer that as we do so we too will be encouraged in our endeavours to continue to walk with the Lord and do his will in every area of our lives

and it is my hope and prayer that as we do so we too will be encouraged in our endeavours to walk with God and do his will in every area of our lives

Paul’s Arrival in Corinth (v.1)

we see in our passage that after addressing the Areopagus, Paul travelled from Athens to Corinth

where Athens was a city of learning, of culture, of art, Corinth was a city of trade, commerce and the pursuit of the lusts of the flesh

Corinth was a city of vice and debauchery

Corinth could well be called sin city

it was so well known for its vice and debauchery that the name Corinthian came to mean someone who was given to drunkenness and sexual immorality

to Corinthianise was to go a whoring

characterized the city, from the slaves to the upper crust

the reason for this: Corinth was a centre of trade and travel

people from all over the Roman world travelled to it or through it on their trading journeys and as such it became a place to satisfy their lusts and sinful desires

[map of Corinth showing it to be critical trade route between Europe and Asia]

the isthmus is only about 5 miles wide

any north/south traffic had to go through Corinth

because of the east/west traffic by ship

because of the length of time and the treacherous waters to the south those transporting cargo east/west by ship would take the shortcut through Corinth

cargo would be unloaded and carried to a ship on the other side either by slaves or on carts pulled by animals

in some cases smaller ships would be pulled out of the water on rollers and rolled to the other side!

why didn’t they build a canal - they did but it wasn’t finished until 1893

because Corinth was in a very strategic location a tremendous amount of traffic went through it

a tremendous amount of traffic went through it

it became a place to entertain all the people travelling through

other reasons the city was a centre of vice and corruption

another reason it was a popular place was that the Isthmian games, second only to the Olympics, were held in this city

other reasons the city was a centre of vice and corruption

famous temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was located on a peak of rock overseeing the city

famous temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was located on rocky peak overseeing the city

1000 priestesses who were glorified prostitutes would descend on the city at night to ply their trade

“Korinthos, there, on account of the multitude of courtesans, who were sacred to Aphrodite, outsiders resorted in great numbers and kept holiday.

And the merchants and soldiers who went there squandered all their money so that the following proverb arose in reference to them: 'Not for every man is the voyage to Korinthos."

Corinth

Corinth was a renowned hub of commerce and vice

it is in this city, marked by gross immorality and evil behaviour that the Apostle Paul was to have a very fruitful ministry!

what is known about the city of Paul’s day?

Principle:

it is striking that in contrast to glorious Athens a church was planted in filthy Corinth

what is known about the church he planted there from his letters?

there is often more hope for those overcome by vice than those devoted to learning and art

example of Jesus’ ministry to tax collectors and sinners vs. the self-righteous religious leaders!

God may not do much with the self-righteous intellectuals but he does much with rotten sinners!

the church established there enjoyed more spiritual gifts than many others