So during my personal prayer time, I sought direction from the Lord and he led me to preach a few messages on encouragement in the meantime. In this present day and age, with our economy dealing a mighty blow to our finances, with enemies of our country still plotting to do us much harm, the people of God need to be encouraged to stand tall in the midst of pain, doom and gloom.
The Lord led me to preach an exposition out of 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 which I have tagged Strength For the Struggle. The Apostle Paul writes this 4th chapter as a continuation to what he wrote in chapter 3. In chapter 3 he tells the church there that there were a group of zealots called Judaizers who preached a mixed gospel to the Galatians that threatened to destroy the ministry.
Their major emphasis was that salvation by faith in Christ was not enough, that they had to mix faith in Christ with an obedience to the law. This gospel of legalism became very popular with the people and it undermined the correct teachings of Paul that our salvation is solely tied to our belief in the person of Jesus Christ. Paul rejected their methods of teaching as those who were false teachers leading the people of God away from the Word of God. How did Paul refute these false prophets, by showing the people the wonderful glory of the ministry of the Gospel by reminding them that this ministry was given to them by the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the sermon outline:
Text: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
Thesis: our realization of what we have in Jesus Christ, provides for us all the strength we need to handle any conflict that comes our way
I. Refuse to Discontinue the Ministry
-verse 1...therefore having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart
-he had already confessed that the trials he faced in Asia almost brought him to despair in 2 Cor. 1:8
-because of all of the struggles...all of the heartaches...all of the pain...all of the discouragement that comes along with the ministry...no matter how difficult the struggle, he will never give up on the ministry
-Jesus said in Luke 9 while talking to his disciples about the cost of ministry, tells one who wanted to say farewell to his family before he follows Jesus...he that put his hands to the Gospel plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven
II. Refuse to Deceive the Ministry
-verse 2...but we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways
-Paul acknowledges that this ministry came from the Lord...and since it came from the Lord, we must conduct ourselves as good ambassadors of Jesus Christ...we cannot conduct ourselves in a deceitful manner
1. refuse to deface the Gospel of God...verse 2...we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word
-Paul refuses to handle the Word of God deceitfully
2. refuse to disavow the goodness of God...verse 3...and even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing
-the Judaizers were guilty of hiding the truths of the Gospel to keep the people fooled into believing that their teaching was the truth
-Paul says that he has nothing to hide in his personal life nor in his preaching and he will always allow the people to see the goodness of the Lord through his Word
3. refuse to deny the glory of God...verse 4...in their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ
-Paul says that he will never deny the people from experiencing the glory of God through his faithfulness in preaching the truths of the Gospel
-the lost sinner is blinded by Satan but when sinners are given the Gospel the light of the Gospel will shine on their lives
III. Refuse to Dominate the Ministry
-verse 5...for what we proclaim is not ourselves, but jesus Christ as Lord with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake
-the awesome fact that Jesus gave them the ministry kept Paul from allowing the ministry to be all about him
-but the ministry is always about Jesus Christ
1. preached genuine humility...verse 5
2. God pours His glory into humanity...verse 6
2 comments:
Good stuff! I needed to hear this myself.
Pastor Mann, Good to be here. Long time no blog comment. But here I am... my "two cents worth" and all.
I am almost sure I posted my opinion about series preaching months ago. I had many questions about it. I asked how do you know when God is leading you to do a series -vs- week to week inspiration and direction. I also gave my personal opinion of possible pros and cons of locking oneself in an ongoing continuous sermon thought. So, I will not revisit those details today.
Now that you are here on this series break, and you have sought direction from God to preach about encouragement, I immediately became intriqued by where this blog was leading.
The minuet I read your sermon subject "Strength for the Struggle" I said to myself YESSS!! Then I listened to my heart say..."the right word, at the right time". At least it would be for me if I were in attendance. So, put it on Utube for those of us that go from one struggle to the next, especially in times like these. Love you son.
Momma
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