back to index2019-05-05 Two Hearts
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So, let me read for us here, it says, "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse 00:00:07.360 |
ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of 00:00:15.880 |
We wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. 00:00:19.280 |
I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to 00:00:31.440 |
I am overflowing with joy in all your affliction. 00:00:36.640 |
For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on 00:00:45.440 |
But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus. 00:00:49.800 |
And not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you. 00:00:56.800 |
As he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even 00:01:10.320 |
Each time on the weekend, each time we open your word, each time we're exposed to your 00:01:15.280 |
truth, I pray, Lord, that on every level, both from our mind and the way that we think, 00:01:21.880 |
both on the level of our heart's desires, our will, and also on the level of our action 00:01:31.280 |
God, would you do your work, the spiritual work of causing your word to impact us and 00:01:39.920 |
Particularly today as we think through this topic of genuine repentance, this topic of 00:01:44.880 |
the heart of Apostle Paul, I ask, Father, that you give us great insight. 00:01:54.040 |
As you look at that passage that we just read together, there's probably a lot of initial 00:02:01.500 |
Apostle Paul speaking in very sentimental terms, emotional terms, very loving terms, 00:02:09.320 |
mentioning how he wants them to make room for them in their heart, how he's not speaking 00:02:14.320 |
to condemn, how he wants to be together with them essentially rejoicing over them, essentially 00:02:22.760 |
Now as we think about this, there's an interesting statement he makes that he wrote a letter 00:02:33.520 |
He wrote a letter to them that caused them sorrow. 00:02:37.480 |
And what's really interesting about that is he says, "At one moment, I regretted it." 00:02:43.300 |
What I'd like to do is help us understand and drop down into a kind of point where we 00:02:49.120 |
can sympathize with Apostle Paul and understand where he's coming from and why he would write 00:02:55.720 |
And that's why in order to do that, my introduction is going to be really long. 00:03:01.320 |
The very first passage I want you guys to turn to is, oh sorry, you know, we're already 00:03:09.800 |
Just take a look at verses five through eight. 00:03:12.040 |
"Flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side, conflicts without, fears within, 00:03:18.140 |
but God who comforts the depressed comforted us." 00:03:21.660 |
So as you take a moment to think about that, it is very, very fair for us to conclude, 00:03:26.640 |
Apostle Paul has been through incredible difficulties, yes? 00:03:32.440 |
He describes conflicts and pressures externally. 00:03:35.680 |
He describes a kind of tumultuous insides of fear, uncertainty, and he basically says, 00:03:44.260 |
And as we think about that, we go to the very beginning. 00:03:47.600 |
So now, I'll turn to chapter one, 2 Corinthians chapter one, and I believe we can put that 00:03:52.780 |
up there too, starting from verse eight through ten. 00:03:56.640 |
And the way that Apostle Paul describes his affliction is he says it was abundant. 00:04:01.860 |
Part of the reason why 2 Corinthians begins with Apostle Paul saying that there was lots 00:04:06.540 |
and abundant comfort for me is because there was so much affliction and pain. 00:04:12.380 |
Let's read 2 Corinthians chapter one, verse eight through ten says, "For we do not want 00:04:16.520 |
you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia." 00:04:20.680 |
So he wants the church to know how much he suffered, and he describes it by saying, "The 00:04:27.020 |
burden was excessive beyond our strength so that we despaired even of life. 00:04:33.340 |
Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves 00:04:40.040 |
He delivered us from so great a peril of death and will deliver us. 00:04:44.960 |
He on whom we have set our hope and he will yet deliver us." 00:04:50.680 |
As you hear his description, I wanted all of us to start thinking about and perceiving 00:04:56.840 |
and picturing what kind of suffering is he talking about. 00:05:00.500 |
He is talking about a kind of suffering where the burden is excessive and it is beyond what 00:05:10.040 |
And I started thinking, "What kind of hardships have I experienced?" 00:05:13.840 |
There were moments when, you know, just again, some of the more tangible, difficult moments 00:05:19.640 |
is just having a little infant baby at home, right? 00:05:22.720 |
You're tired, you feel like a zombie and the kid's crying in your face and you start thinking, 00:05:29.080 |
You start having moments and statements like that come out of you, half joking, the other 00:05:33.300 |
half is like, "For real, this is too hard," right? 00:05:35.480 |
I don't know why I'm holding the baby like this. 00:05:39.440 |
On the flip side, you guys have all had moments probably when you were at your end in terms 00:05:45.080 |
You had projects due, you had work due, you had people who are depending on you, you have 00:05:51.080 |
There were many moments in ministry where I just, at the end of the day, it's like three 00:05:54.640 |
in the morning, I'm dead tired, I have to get stuff done and I started thinking, "I've 00:06:01.320 |
And I started using funny voices to complain and et cetera, et cetera. 00:06:04.840 |
I'm sure you have all experienced moments when you are really, really tired. 00:06:09.800 |
You don't have to raise your hand, I'm just going to assume so. 00:06:13.480 |
As I started thinking about that, I started thinking, "Can that be a way of me sympathizing 00:06:19.640 |
And I started, "Probably not," because he's talking about like burden beyond like bearing, 00:06:28.840 |
And I recall to me my parents, my parents who were born in Korea a long time ago and 00:06:35.520 |
went through as a teenager, the war generation, hungry, lost, losing their parents, immigrating 00:06:43.880 |
And one of the memories that I distinctly remember that has been etched in my mind was 00:06:46.720 |
when I was in fifth grade, my parents worked at the swap meet. 00:06:50.120 |
I'm not sure if you guys have ever even heard of it now, they're very limited. 00:06:53.760 |
Down in San Diego, there's a big one right on their San Diego sports arena. 00:06:58.440 |
That was some of the hardest work they've done. 00:07:01.080 |
They'd have to get up at 4.30 in the morning, drive to the storage, get their truck, pull 00:07:06.480 |
out all the boxes, pull out the pipes, lay it on the asphalt. 00:07:12.640 |
They set up the tent, they take out the boxes, they were selling T-shirts and wallets. 00:07:21.600 |
You're under a canopy tarp, it's hot, it's very, very exhausting. 00:07:27.880 |
I was in the fifth grade and I was sitting here thinking I'd be a good son. 00:07:30.360 |
They're like, "You can go, I'll just watch the register." 00:07:35.520 |
How can they entrust me with that stuff with me and my brother there? 00:07:38.600 |
And then the other part of it is that they just kept going and going and going until 00:07:43.280 |
At which point, they're exhausted but they have to put the clothes back in the box, put 00:07:47.280 |
it in the truck, take the canopy down, take the pipes, they're all metal pipes, put it 00:07:52.160 |
And I remember my parents, after having done all that, paid their workers, they're gone. 00:07:59.080 |
They walk to the front of the truck, they go both sit inside and I just started seeing 00:08:07.440 |
And here's me just messing around with the boxes and the pigeons that are flying around 00:08:11.320 |
over at the swap meet, looking at my parents like, "What's going on?" 00:08:15.240 |
And I just realized they are at their wit's end. 00:08:20.680 |
And I remember thinking as a young kid, it was my first moment where I had this very 00:08:24.640 |
kind of worldly ambition and I said, "I'm going to work so hard. 00:08:28.720 |
I'm never going to see my parents like this." 00:08:35.160 |
And I'm sure for your own respective lives, you guys have had hardships. 00:08:40.960 |
There are various people in your life, they have had hardships. 00:08:48.600 |
And the things that are coming at us, whether it be external or internal, it doesn't care 00:08:52.920 |
whether you can handle it or not, it's going to happen. 00:08:57.200 |
And I wonder, can we sympathize with Apostle Paul when he says, "I have had pretty much 00:09:07.160 |
And then I realized, oh goodness, although I can imagine to some degree and appreciate 00:09:13.240 |
the kind of suffering and hardships he went through, this is still very different. 00:09:21.680 |
I can appreciate the kind of hardships that my parents have gone through, but what Apostle 00:09:25.680 |
Paul is going through is very different because he says, "I literally despaired of life." 00:09:31.920 |
Which means that in the moment he was looking at his current circumstances and saying, "I'm 00:09:51.120 |
Now there's other passages that continue to expand on us dropping down into Apostle Paul's 00:09:56.440 |
experience and appreciating the kind of suffering he went through. 00:10:00.840 |
Second Corinthians chapter 4, verse 8 through 12. 00:10:03.760 |
Second Corinthians chapter 4, verse 8 through 12. 00:10:06.920 |
Apostle Paul says this, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, 00:10:12.440 |
but not despairing, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed, always caring 00:10:22.440 |
So essentially what I just said, he repeated in another form, he was literally at the edge. 00:10:28.840 |
He's struck down, he's perplexed, he's pushed to his limits, he's pretty much at the edge. 00:10:34.400 |
And then he says, "So that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." 00:10:39.320 |
So we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake. 00:10:45.320 |
So that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh, so death works in us 00:10:52.360 |
Verse 15, "For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more 00:10:57.400 |
and more people may cause the giving of things to abound to the glory of God." 00:11:04.000 |
I think about this and I'm sitting here thinking, "Okay, what is there to learn about the kind 00:11:10.600 |
of hardships that Apostle Paul went through and how he went through it?" 00:11:14.980 |
What I realized is quite profound and amazing is that for people who are in survival mode, 00:11:22.960 |
If you've come from, let's say, you've been through recession, you've been through the 00:11:26.600 |
pits, maybe you had physical ailment, maybe you're an immigrant, maybe you had certain 00:11:30.920 |
life experiences that put you in a kind of circumstance where you feel like, "I am in 00:11:38.680 |
You're going to work hard, you're going to sacrifice. 00:11:40.600 |
We talk about blood and sweat and tears, right? 00:11:49.440 |
Apostle Paul says very clearly, "I am being delivered to death for first the sake of my 00:12:00.360 |
If it's not about your survival, why would you go through all those hardships and suffering? 00:12:06.680 |
And then I think, "Okay, it was good for my mind to go to my parents." 00:12:17.840 |
I always laugh and make fun of my parents sometimes. 00:12:25.160 |
It's like, "No, I'm not throwing away that Ziploc bag." 00:12:28.280 |
But when it comes to your kids, they're dropping money for everything, sporting, snacks, food, 00:12:37.840 |
They're just dropping money like crazy, like insurance, car. 00:12:45.720 |
For me, I'm not throwing away the Ziploc bag." 00:12:48.560 |
I always laughed at that because at my house back when I was a kid, we would have Ziploc 00:13:00.200 |
Apostle Paul is thinking like a parent over the entire church. 00:13:11.040 |
Apostle Paul is thinking like a parent over the entire church. 00:13:14.080 |
And he says, "I am being delivered to death for you, all things for your sake, so that 00:13:25.360 |
Apostle Paul is thinking that his suffering is more not just simply for his own survival. 00:13:33.920 |
Second Corinthians chapter 12, verse 14 through 16. 00:13:38.120 |
Chapter 12, verse 14 through 16, he says, "Here, for this third time, I am ready to 00:13:44.420 |
And I will not be burdened to you, for I do not seek what's yours, but you." 00:13:59.000 |
Because children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their 00:14:04.280 |
And here's Apostle Paul alluding to this universal principle that everybody already 00:14:07.600 |
accepts, that children do not save for parents, but parents save for children. 00:14:12.280 |
Because he sees himself exactly in that relationship to the church. 00:14:23.840 |
Verse 15, "I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. 00:14:32.320 |
But be that it is may, I did not burden you myself. 00:14:35.960 |
Nevertheless, crafty fellow that I am, I took you in by deceit." 00:14:42.080 |
And I hope you guys already start to see the scenery of what's going on. 00:14:46.840 |
He's loving them like good mom and dad would. 00:14:49.920 |
And every time he loves them, they start questioning, "What are you doing?" 00:14:55.360 |
You think I'm trying to dupe you into loving me back to get your stuff from you, like your 00:15:02.440 |
I want you to start imagining from an Apostle Paul's perspective. 00:15:06.480 |
He loves them now like his own precious children. 00:15:09.000 |
And here they are with a suspicious eye like, "What are you doing? 00:15:17.280 |
Now, another passage that talks about the exact same idea is chapter 6, verse 3 through 00:15:29.040 |
He says this, "Giving no cause for offense in anything so that the ministry will not 00:15:34.960 |
He has to uphold the work that God has ordained him to do. 00:15:42.280 |
And he says, "But in everything, commending ourselves as servants of God in much endurance." 00:15:46.640 |
Look at this long list of afflictions, hardships, distressions, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, 00:15:53.240 |
in labors, sleeplessness, in hunger, in impurity, in knowledge, and patience, and kindness, 00:15:57.720 |
in Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God, by the weapons 00:16:03.760 |
of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report 00:16:08.220 |
and good report, regarded as deceivers and yet true, as unknown yet well-known, as dying 00:16:13.880 |
yet behold, we live, as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, 00:16:19.720 |
as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things. 00:16:23.920 |
Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians. 00:16:28.520 |
You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections. 00:16:40.640 |
And I took a moment to think about, "Oh, goodness, how can I relate and appreciate 00:16:50.160 |
And the picture of the parents is right on, but think about mature parents who have children, 00:16:55.360 |
who have gained independence, gone off to college, working the dunce. 00:17:00.120 |
I remember certain times when my parents would nag me, "How come you don't go?" 00:17:05.160 |
For those of you who have more older children who are now off out of your house, you know, 00:17:11.280 |
there may be times when you're like, "God, they don't even think of us." 00:17:19.560 |
My house, the doors are wide open to you, but is your door open for me? 00:17:26.880 |
In you living, I get it, you have your work, you have your school, you have your own family 00:17:30.320 |
now probably, you have your own priorities, but is there any space for me there? 00:17:38.400 |
And for parents who are a bit older, I want to commend you. 00:17:45.120 |
For those of you guys who have older parents, I hope you understand. 00:17:49.520 |
Some parents complain like, "How come you don't make time for me?" 00:17:52.400 |
Yes, it sounds like nagging, but I want you to understand how vulnerable of a position 00:17:57.320 |
that is for a much more older, mature individual to look to their children and say, "Can you 00:18:05.240 |
Some of us aren't even willing to do that with their own friends. 00:18:07.800 |
It's too hard to ask like, "Hey, can you invite me next time when you hang out?" 00:18:15.720 |
But for older parents to ask to their own kids, "Can you make room for me?" 00:18:22.400 |
I want you to understand and feel perhaps the heartbrokenness and the affections that 00:18:33.640 |
He has to ask, "Would you open wide your heart?" 00:18:37.880 |
I'm not sure if any of us have ever talked like that to another individual. 00:18:42.420 |
Perhaps not even like romantic relationships. 00:18:44.520 |
I mean, when was the last time a young man said to a young girl, "My heart's open. 00:18:56.280 |
Apostle Paul is so open because he sees the whole church as his spiritual children. 00:19:05.720 |
We are all called to be in loving Christian ministry to one another. 00:19:12.320 |
And to what degree can we express this kind of loving affection and adoration? 00:19:17.440 |
And I say here, the reason why I'm sharing with you this because I'm a pastor, right? 00:19:24.440 |
And part of it is, yeah, like I just see everybody as my friends. 00:19:27.320 |
And the great thing is I am at a church where I'm treated extremely well. 00:19:41.900 |
It's hard for me to empathize with Apostle Paul, but we have to. 00:19:49.080 |
He says, "I wrote a hard letter to you, and I wrote it in tears, and I was in regret." 00:19:56.800 |
And for us to appreciate that, we have to think from his perspective. 00:20:02.060 |
But it gets worse because I want you to imagine. 00:20:08.020 |
He says in that passage, chapter 6 right here, verse 8, that there is evil report and good 00:20:18.180 |
That means Apostle Paul was loving this church like a parent, like a father, and some people 00:20:30.640 |
And I started thinking like, "Whoa, I want to imagine that too. 00:20:36.920 |
Go back to my scenery that I gave to you when me as a fifth grader was looking at my parents 00:20:41.720 |
crying in front of their truck because they were so tired they couldn't drive home. 00:20:49.400 |
And then imagine me sitting there thinking, "What's going on? 00:20:53.520 |
And rather than having the good son's heart and thinking, "Oh, goodness, I want to help 00:20:57.800 |
you," imagine if I had a wicked heart and I turned and I said, "Why are you crying? 00:21:05.300 |
Why are you getting up at four in the morning, going home at seven at night, and then crying 00:21:21.560 |
What pains Apostle Paul would feel in his heart? 00:21:25.940 |
And I started thinking, I just started imagining like, "What would I feel like if Yoshi did 00:21:31.280 |
And I was like, "Oh, I can't even think of it, right? 00:21:40.320 |
But that's what he's saying he's been through. 00:21:43.360 |
The buildup from chapter one through chapter seven, Apostle Paul has been through loving 00:21:48.120 |
his church, loving his church like a parent, and they regard him as a deceiver, and they 00:22:01.720 |
He says very clearly, "Listen, I have had external pains, but there's no pain like getting 00:22:09.360 |
Take a look at this, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 23 to 31. 00:22:13.880 |
This is one of the more famous lists of Apostle Paul's difficulties and pains that he's been 00:22:22.480 |
He says this starting from verse 23, "Are they servants of Christ? 00:22:29.240 |
I'm more so, in far more labors and far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, 00:22:47.480 |
I have been on frequent journeys and dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers 00:22:51.200 |
from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, 00:22:55.240 |
dangers in the sea, dangers among false brethren. 00:22:58.600 |
I have been in labor and hardship through my sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, 00:23:05.640 |
Apart from such external things, there is daily pressure on me of concern for all the 00:23:14.400 |
Who is led into sin without my intense concern? 00:23:17.520 |
If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness. 00:23:21.120 |
The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying." 00:23:29.840 |
He says just right there, "I have been through so much and I want you to know it." 00:23:39.400 |
He's not sitting there doing, "I'm going to give you a testimony, but it's going to be 00:23:48.800 |
He's saying, "I want you to understand this degree of pain I have. 00:23:55.560 |
I have all the externals, but apart from all this, more than all this, I have this concern 00:24:06.360 |
And He says, "Who is weak without me being weak? 00:24:09.840 |
Who is led into sin without my intense concern? 00:24:13.280 |
If I have to boast, I boast of what pertains to my weakness." 00:24:24.800 |
Is He talking about a kind of weakness where like, "Yeah, I've got to boast of my weakness 00:24:29.120 |
So my weakness is I can't get up to do Bible study." 00:24:31.760 |
He's not talking about that kind of weakness. 00:24:34.160 |
My weakness is I'm falling to sexual immorality and it's hard to fight temptation. 00:24:38.280 |
He's not talking about that kind of weakness. 00:24:44.520 |
What's the central point in His suffering that He's saying, "This is where my heart 00:24:55.560 |
His weakness is synonymous with a vulnerable heart of love. 00:25:02.440 |
Brothers and sisters, He has made Himself weak to feel the pain of loving the church. 00:25:11.840 |
I believe Apostle Paul has met, truly, truly met the Lord Jesus, right? 00:25:17.900 |
Who is it that has initiated and set the ultimate, ultimate example of being so vulnerable, carrying 00:25:37.000 |
What's more, it threatens you with the great, great heartache of being betrayed. 00:25:43.900 |
If you notice, Apostle Paul says right at the beginning of that, right at the beginning 00:25:54.360 |
At the beginning of chapter 11, Apostle Paul realizes, and Apostle Paul comments on and 00:25:58.800 |
instructs them, "You have these false teachers who are entering your fold. 00:26:05.160 |
How is it that you're turning to them already?" 00:26:08.760 |
On a human level, do you think Apostle Paul felt betrayed? 00:26:20.540 |
He says he works day and night, not reserving anything, not his own well-being, not his 00:26:30.140 |
After two years of ministering with them, after two years of instruction, loving, caring 00:26:34.940 |
for them, nurturing them, they say, "I don't know about you. 00:26:40.780 |
I doubt whether you're really doing this out of good intentions. 00:27:00.060 |
Because for us to appreciate 2 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 1 through 7, where he says 00:27:04.920 |
to them, "Make room for us in your hearts," where he says to them how he does not speak, 00:27:10.900 |
even though he's speaking harshly, strongly, firmly in correction, he's not speaking to 00:27:26.740 |
For us to appreciate that, we have to follow the trail. 00:27:30.340 |
And so, at this point right now, now I've finished my introduction. 00:27:39.060 |
As we look at 2 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 1 through 7, we see against all that I just 00:27:46.140 |
said, against all the pain I just described to you, Apostle Paul's loyal heart of love 00:27:54.280 |
Apostle Paul's loyal heart to his spiritual children. 00:27:58.220 |
I read again for you, and he says, "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse 00:28:03.220 |
ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in fear of God. 00:28:13.820 |
Again, he's making requests that's even hard for us. 00:28:28.440 |
And then he says, "I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in 00:28:32.340 |
our hearts to die together and to live together." 00:28:39.940 |
It's not to come down on you and destroy you. 00:28:42.860 |
He has actually said in another passage that he does not write to destroy, but he wants 00:28:49.340 |
He loves them so much he's willing to spare them. 00:28:58.040 |
You are in our hearts to die together and to live together." 00:29:02.240 |
If you highlight in your Bible, if you draw or do stars, think about what he's saying 00:29:07.560 |
when he says that, "I have said before, you are in my heart. 00:29:15.160 |
All I'm going to say is, "Wow, what devoted loyalty." 00:29:22.200 |
Have you guys seen that kind of loyalty in our day? 00:29:26.600 |
I know you're sometimes arrogant, fleshly, you're selfish, defensive, and you're accusatory 00:29:33.380 |
But I've told you before, we're going to die together and we're going to live together. 00:29:45.560 |
You might be willing to go chase after other teachers. 00:29:48.780 |
You might be thinking that you have other parents. 00:29:52.520 |
But I'm telling you now, we die together and live together. 00:30:05.700 |
And that's why when he says that he is writing this letter with tears, that's why when he 00:30:10.280 |
says that he regrets, and sometimes he doesn't regret, you recognize that the struggle is 00:30:21.520 |
Is it important for us at times in ministry to admonish, to exhort, to correct, and rebuke? 00:30:29.400 |
Because of the importance and because of the weight of ministry, whenever there is sin, 00:30:35.480 |
Whenever there is ungodliness, it must be addressed. 00:30:45.280 |
And he says, "I want you to know what kind of love I have for you." 00:30:49.680 |
And the amazing thing about it is Apostle Paul does not delight. 00:30:55.440 |
He's not rejoicing just because, "Yes, finally, you get my authority. 00:31:03.080 |
No, he says, "I'm glad because I saw and I heard report of your longing, of your mourning 00:31:19.920 |
For every single one of us, whether you're currently in ministry, in some kind of role 00:31:25.360 |
that God has designed for you to have authority and say over people as parents, husbands, 00:31:30.400 |
wives, whatever it may be, well, they made this be an inspiration for us to have this 00:31:39.040 |
And Apostle Paul models for us what John says in 3 John 3-4, "For I was very glad when 00:31:45.480 |
brethren came and testified to your truth, that is how you are walking in truth. 00:31:49.800 |
I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in truth." 00:31:59.240 |
Not that on Mother's Day, on Father's Day, like, "There better be a banquet. 00:32:15.280 |
Now it is approaching that time where it's Mother's Day and Father's Day, so I just encourage 00:32:19.160 |
every single one of you, show appreciation, you know? 00:32:25.760 |
It's like, "Man, I know you sacrificed a lot. 00:32:29.960 |
Might have done it a different way, you know? 00:32:36.520 |
That's the heart of Apostle Paul, and that's what I wanted you to see, because that heart 00:32:41.840 |
from Apostle Paul was consistent, consistent, and that heart was portrayed to the church, 00:32:48.880 |
and the church now needed to respond to that. 00:32:51.040 |
What were they going to do now that the love of Apostle Paul came to them in a different 00:32:57.320 |
Before it was just teaching, before it was just visits, before they were walking together, 00:33:00.960 |
but now this letter comes, and it's a strong rebuke, a kind of letter that could have destroyed 00:33:14.940 |
So now we move into the Corinthians' heart of sorrow and repentance. 00:33:18.640 |
Okay, the Corinthians' heart of sorrow and repentance. 00:33:21.720 |
Look at this passage with me in 2 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 8 through 12. 00:33:31.920 |
And Apostle Paul says, "For though I cause you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it, 00:33:35.880 |
though I did regret it, for I see that the letter caused you sorrow, though only for 00:33:41.760 |
And again, you almost feel it, the heart of a parent. 00:33:44.680 |
It's like he knows he has to say what needs to be said. 00:33:49.240 |
He knows he has to do something that potentially even risks having his own children give him 00:33:59.000 |
Now he's entertaining even the risk of even having bigger divide, right? 00:34:06.040 |
Then he says, "But for a little while, now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, 00:34:11.980 |
but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance. 00:34:14.820 |
For you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer 00:34:22.680 |
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, 00:34:28.080 |
leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 00:34:32.440 |
For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you. 00:34:38.220 |
What vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging 00:34:47.280 |
In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter, so although I 00:34:51.280 |
wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor the sake of the one offended, 00:34:56.040 |
but that your earnestness on our behalf may be made known to you in the sight of God." 00:35:04.800 |
For the heart of the Corinthians, what a journey. 00:35:08.280 |
It's not every single person in the church, but it seems to me that a mass pocket at least 00:35:13.180 |
of the church went through a drastic journey. 00:35:17.080 |
One where they began with very antagonistic to Apostle Paul, one they were accusatory, 00:35:24.920 |
And clearly when Apostle Paul started speaking and saying, "You guys need to stop doing that 00:35:32.120 |
Why in the world are you running to the front? 00:35:36.200 |
Don't have this immorality be permitted in your church." 00:35:40.320 |
And then all of a sudden people are like, "Who are you, dude? 00:35:44.040 |
Your speech, your image, everything about you is so-so, man. 00:35:49.600 |
And then it eventually came to a point where they did not like what he had to say. 00:35:54.520 |
However, what's clear here is that once they received the strong, strong rebuke, sorrow 00:36:03.360 |
Quickly, I ask you this question and I need you to think about a scenario. 00:36:10.360 |
Was there a moment in your life where somebody rebuked you harshly? 00:36:14.400 |
Like they said, "Listen, man, I need to say something to you, okay?" 00:36:21.120 |
And they told you, "You're doing this and that and this." 00:36:24.280 |
And it was just direct, it was immediate, and you're just like, "Whoa," right? 00:36:28.920 |
Now if you can't think of something like that, then I want you to think of a scenario where 00:36:35.640 |
Every single one of us has felt sorrow, either because someone imposed it on you and said, 00:36:39.960 |
"You need to recognize," and you're like, "Ugh," right? 00:36:43.920 |
Or every single one of us, no matter how young we are, we have felt moments of failure. 00:36:48.400 |
And I'm guessing for students, you felt like, "Oh my goodness, I can't carry this weight." 00:36:53.000 |
Maybe at certain points, you felt like you disappointed your parents. 00:36:58.520 |
Maybe for those of you guys who are working, you felt like a failure because of X, Y, and 00:37:03.120 |
Husbands and wives, you felt like a failure because you couldn't fulfill your roles. 00:37:05.760 |
Parents, you felt like a failure because you couldn't control anger. 00:37:09.420 |
Whatever it may be, we've had moments when we felt like we not only transgressed the 00:37:14.000 |
standard of God, but the standard of the people, and you feel sorrow. 00:37:27.520 |
Because the question is, how did you respond to that sorrow? 00:37:33.080 |
This passage is asking us, how do you respond to the sorrow that we are going to experience 00:37:43.640 |
And Apostle Paul says there are two distinct paths. 00:37:47.360 |
One path is the sorrow of the world and death. 00:37:51.640 |
The other path brings salvation, joy, restoration. 00:37:59.240 |
When you tell within yourself which path of sorrow you're taking, if you have moments 00:38:04.120 |
when you're being rebuked, if you have moments when you're being corrected, or you yourself 00:38:12.140 |
I'm going to walk with you down certain things. 00:38:14.840 |
A, there is a sorrow of the world, and very clearly, the indicator is that it produces 00:38:25.320 |
I'm going to say certain verbiage, certain phrases that I've heard from myself and I've 00:38:32.640 |
And you ask yourself, has your thoughts, have the internal voice ever said these things? 00:38:38.760 |
For example, someone comes to you and rebukes you strongly, and instinctually, your heart 00:39:14.800 |
"Fine, then, if you think that, then I'm no good. 00:39:23.480 |
I'm so bad, I'm not even going to try anymore. 00:39:29.120 |
I'm so bad, I'm just going to go in a corner. 00:39:36.580 |
Maybe you haven't said those things verbally, but in sorrow, have you ran away and escaped? 00:39:46.700 |
So many people, so many people resort to this kind of sorrow, and clearly it produces hopelessness 00:39:56.240 |
Right now in America, the statistic is 50 million plus people in America say they have 00:40:01.700 |
clinical depression or some kind of depression where they struggle with thoughts of suicide. 00:40:09.300 |
That absolutely breaks my heart because what it says is, "Yes, we know every single one 00:40:13.840 |
of us is going to feel sorrow to some degree, but there's a massive portion of us that have 00:40:26.240 |
We have to stop looking at, "Oh my gosh, look at my broken hand, look at my broken feet, 00:40:31.380 |
look at my feeble knees, look how weak I am." 00:40:46.820 |
And this passage is going to talk about how this reaction to sorrow, this reaction to 00:40:52.100 |
guilt, this genuine repentance is going to lead you to hope and change. 00:40:59.320 |
And so Apostle Paul says, "Rather than just having horizontal shame, rather than defensiveness, 00:41:05.020 |
resentment, rather than depression, rather than hopelessness, let there be godly sorrow 00:41:15.780 |
And you guys know that repentance is pretty much synonymous with change. 00:41:27.340 |
Is there going to be then a resulting change of action and a change of behavior? 00:41:31.420 |
But what I'd like to highlight for you as I wrap this sermon up and point to is when 00:41:36.220 |
Apostle Paul looks at these people, he says, "There has been a godly sorrow in you and 00:41:46.900 |
And he says, "Behold," and he says, "Look at this thing." 00:41:56.620 |
And he says, starting from verse 10, "The sorrow that is according to the will of God 00:42:02.740 |
produces repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world 00:42:10.860 |
Anytime he says, "For behold," you should stop there and put exclamation point. 00:42:20.700 |
"Look at the earnestness, this very thing, this godly sorrow has produced in you." 00:42:26.700 |
Essentially, he is equating godly sorrow with earnestness. 00:42:31.740 |
He's equating this eagerness, longing, and he describes it as zeal. 00:42:36.980 |
He describes it as mournful longing to be with Apostle Paul, to reconcile, and then 00:42:44.380 |
And we don't have time to go over all this stuff. 00:42:46.220 |
So those of you guys who are thinking like, "Wow, you had a long introduction. 00:42:51.540 |
My answer is going to be, we're going to fly through it and get to one singular point. 00:42:55.500 |
There is vindication, there is indignation, meaning anger towards the sin, there is fear, 00:43:01.140 |
fear of offending God, fear of sinning again, there is longing, there is zeal, there is 00:43:05.540 |
avenging, and there is a demonstration that they want to be clear and innocent of the 00:43:17.680 |
And to make sense of all this, I want to give you a tangible case scenario. 00:43:25.700 |
So lazy I grew up in absolute neglect of my responsibilities and my parents kept having 00:43:30.780 |
to scold me, "Pick up your clothes, put away your dish." 00:43:34.820 |
I went off to college and I was the laziest boy ever. 00:43:38.640 |
My roommates felt like they had to do intervention. 00:43:42.180 |
The roommates had a team meeting and said, "We need to go talk to Mark because that got 00:43:48.420 |
And then after graduating college, I was so lazy, I went back home rather than looking 00:43:52.580 |
for work, I didn't even try, I just went back home and said, "I'm here." 00:43:58.580 |
I lived at home for two, three years without even trying to find work and my parents all 00:44:07.180 |
Because I just want to show you that in this scenario, I deserve to be harshly rebuked. 00:44:13.220 |
The parents come down and say, "Mark, lazy boy, you need to understand. 00:44:19.580 |
You've been lazy in high school, you've been lazy in college and you're lazy now. 00:44:26.220 |
It's hurting your brother, it's hurting your sister, it's hurting us because we're sitting 00:44:37.500 |
And imagine lazy boy Mark goes, "Okay, I get it." 00:44:49.620 |
Lazy boy Mark said to the parents and mom and dad, "Okay, I get it." 00:44:56.700 |
Mom and dad would be like, "Look, I'm not about to talk to you. 00:45:01.860 |
Do you mean okay like I heard you but I don't agree? 00:45:05.660 |
Do you mean okay like I heard you but I do agree? 00:45:22.540 |
I know you heard me but I really want to know." 00:45:47.960 |
And the parents are like, "Oh, what do we do with you? 00:45:57.440 |
And this is what I'm talking about is true repentance. 00:46:05.380 |
You see, there is this principle I learned through doing my devotions through this. 00:46:10.220 |
You know, the reason why I walk through from Apostle Paul's perspective is because he has 00:46:18.780 |
And my first question is, have I accepted that desire? 00:46:24.980 |
And the second thing is this, my level of sorrow is directly correlated with my desire. 00:46:33.480 |
My level of sorrow is directly correlated with my level of desire. 00:46:39.620 |
And that's why when we're kids, your parents say, "No, you can't have that." 00:46:43.740 |
And you're just crying like the world is over because in that moment, that's all I want. 00:46:50.540 |
What I've also seen, there are people who come into my office crying, bawling, you know, 00:46:55.940 |
And I'm going, "Okay, got my notepad out, I'm ready." 00:47:00.140 |
They're like, "I lost my patience with my kid." 00:47:06.220 |
You know, like part of me is like, it's like it's light, you know, but why? 00:47:12.300 |
And I get rebuked by that because I realize I'm inspired, like, "Oh my goodness, you want 00:47:17.660 |
so badly to be a good parent that your moment of weakness in failing to be patient with 00:47:28.500 |
Your level of sorrow is directly correlated with the level of your desire. 00:47:33.060 |
And when that desire is unmet, your sorrow grows deep. 00:47:36.820 |
If your desire is deep, then your desire denied is going to produce in you an incredible amount 00:47:45.700 |
Is it fair for me to look at Lazy Mark and say, "It is very clear to me, you don't want 00:47:54.820 |
You can say okay to me, but I'm going to judge you right now. 00:48:06.260 |
How can you sit there and say, "Okay, I said okay." 00:48:12.320 |
As exhortation to you, we many times, we're all guilty of this. 00:48:17.900 |
There are moments when I'm like, "Oh, I should be more patient." 00:48:20.220 |
There are moments I'm like, "I should be more humble. 00:48:23.540 |
I say things haphazardly to my wife sometimes, and I'm like, "Ugh," like my mouth, gosh. 00:48:29.580 |
We all struggle with those certain frustrations. 00:48:32.100 |
If I see it like haphazard little mistakes, of course, why would I be sorrowful? 00:48:41.040 |
But there are moments, and you guys all know, when you're sober and you're like... 00:48:45.980 |
You know, like in marriage, you look at your wife and you're like, "I want to be a good 00:48:53.700 |
And even moments when I neglect you, it breaks my heart. 00:49:00.180 |
Because you know I want to be a good husband to you. 00:49:02.540 |
Because I want to be fulfilling God's design, but also I want to be fulfilling your desire 00:49:18.260 |
In areas of humility, in areas of caution, love, care, patience, in all of these things, 00:49:27.100 |
Can people watch you and say, "Behold, what earnestness." 00:49:36.620 |
Look at the longing, the mourning, the desire to be innocent, and all of this. 00:49:45.820 |
I'm asking you to look deep because the Lord looks right here. 00:49:56.680 |
And this is where Christian repentance happens. 00:50:02.700 |
God affords us the opportunity to repent simply of your desire. 00:50:07.660 |
"God, I repent of the desires that I've had to secure my own, to be fleshly, to satisfy 00:50:16.260 |
And right now, I confess to you, even though I have some of these desires, you know I love 00:50:35.700 |
And God satisfies that longing and says, "In that kind of repentance, there is no regret." 00:50:46.540 |
We today walk through Apostle Paul's heart for his church, but we know that is reflective 00:51:00.100 |
And in our appreciation of that, we then turn to him and say, "God, I trust your heart and 00:51:10.980 |
Lord, Heavenly Father, we thank you for your fatherly love. 00:51:26.560 |
And today we get a greater glimpse and a greater appreciation by walking through this passage. 00:51:33.120 |
You have sent for us, Father God, even individuals in our lives to care for us. 00:51:38.180 |
And it's all reflective of your protective, involved love and affection for us. 00:51:44.800 |
And to that, God, we say, "Thank you, thank you." 00:51:48.140 |
And Lord, I pray that all of that would then affect us deeply to trust your intent, to 00:51:53.660 |
trust your love, and to help us, Father God, to come to you with genuine repentance, submitting 00:52:00.980 |
to you not only simply our minds and our concepts and beliefs, but truly the will and desire 00:52:09.480 |
And I ask, Father God, that by the Spirit you would help us to examine, are there any 00:52:16.020 |
Are there any self-preserving, self-excusing, self-defensive mentalities in us that we need 00:52:24.380 |
And I pray that by your Spirit you would help us do that.