(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) Amen. Alright, we're there in 2 Corinthians chapter number 1, and of course, if you remember last week, we started a brand new study on Wednesday nights in the book of 2 Corinthians, and we're going, of course, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, through the book of 2 Corinthians. A couple of years ago, we went through 1 Corinthians, so we are now going through 2 Corinthians. And last week, we started by going through the first 11 verses, and there was a subject in the first 11 verses that was about trouble, and why God allows trouble and tribulations and trials into our lives, and the God of all comfort. We looked at that. Tonight, we're going to pick up right where we left off there in verse number 12. I want you to notice that in the remainder of this chapter, there is another theme that I'd like to just point out to you by way of introduction. If you look at verse 12, the Bible says this, for our rejoicing. You see that word rejoicing there? He says, for our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and are more abundantly to you. So I want you to notice there in verse 12, he says, for our rejoicing. If you look down at verse number 14, he says this, as also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your, notice this word, rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. If you skip down to verse 24, and look at verse 24, same chapter, he says this, not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy. You see the word joy there? He says, are helpers of your joy, for by faith ye stand. So I want you to notice that the first part of 2 Corinthians chapter 1 has a theme of trouble and comfort, the God of all comfort. Then the second part of 2 Corinthians chapter 1 has a theme of rejoicing and joy. What's really interesting to me, maybe it's not to you, I don't know, but right before we started 2 Corinthians, we ended two books of the Bible. We ended a study in the book of Job, which has a theme of trouble and trials and trouble coming into your life. And we ended our study in the book of Philippians, which has a theme of rejoicing and joy. And I don't know why I didn't plan this out this way. I'm not smart enough to do that. But for some reason, we ended a book on trouble and we ended a book on rejoicing. We started 2 Corinthians, which was already planned. I hadn't studied out chapter 1. And the first major subjects in chapter 1 are trouble and rejoicing. I don't know why that is. I just assume that God wants us to hear it and that God wants us to continue to study that and to look at it. But he talks about rejoicing in this second part of the chapter. And he gives us different reasons why we should rejoice. He gives us three, really gives us four reasons. I'm not sure that I'll get to the fourth reason. I might preach an entire sermon out of the fourth reason. So we'll see how far we get tonight and I'll let you know. We'll decide based off the time. But I want you to notice he talks about rejoicing. So let me give you at least three, maybe four reasons why you can rejoice or how you should rejoice or where you should rejoice. Look down at verse number 12 again. And again, if you're taking notes, I would encourage you to take notes when we study the Bible. And really, I don't know if you noticed, but we study the Bible every service around here. But when we're studying the Bible, it's good for you to take down some notes and take notes in your Bible, on the margins of the Bible, within the Bible, if you feel comfortable doing that. Or bring a notebook and take notes. When I was a teenager, I got in a habit of having a notebook with me at church and I would take notes at every service. And I often tell young men who want to preach, that was probably the greatest thing I did as far as learning how to write and outline. It's just years and years and years of writing other men's outlines through taking notes at church and all that. So I always encourage people to take notes and do those things. Notice there, verse number 12. For our rejoicing is this. He says, here's something we can rejoice in, the Apostle Paul says. What can we rejoice in? The testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you word. Now if you see the word conversation there, that's a word we've been talking a lot about as well as we studied Philippians. The word conversation, we looked at it on Sunday with the habit series. The word conversation means lifestyle in our King James Bible. It's an older, it's a word that's used in an older way. It means lifestyle, behavior or conduct. And here the Apostle Paul says, look, our rejoicing is this. He says we can rejoice in the fact. Now you say, well, what is the connection between the first part of 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 and the second part of 2nd Corinthians 1? If you remember, the first part has all to do with trouble, trials, tribulation. He talks about the fact that they were pressed out of measure, that they had despaired even of life. He talked about the fact that they were going through difficulty and heartaches and hard times. But then he says, look, I can still rejoice even through that, even in the trials, even in the troubles, even in the tribulations. And they might ask and say, well, how, Paul, how can we rejoice? And he says, well, here's a way that you could rejoice as a Christian. He says, for our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience. You say, how can I rejoice as a Christian? Number one, and you should write this down, as a Christian you should rejoice in your conscience. You should rejoice in the fact that you have a clear conscience before God. And the fact that you're right with God. And the fact that you're not hiding sin in your life. That you're not living a secret life of sin. That you have a clear conscience. Here Paul says, he says, look, we've had all sorts of problems and we've had all sorts of troubles. He says, but I can rejoice in this, that I have a testimony. He says, the testimony of our conscience. He says, I can rejoice in the fact that I have a clear testimony before God. And look, again, all of the connections are all there. What Job, we spent 42 weeks studying the life of Job. And what was Job's constant thing? You know, he was going through troubles, he was going through trials, he was going through all sorts of bad things in his life. But the Bible says that he held onto his righteousness. He had a clear conscience. He had a conscience that was clear and clean before God. And as Christians, we should strive to have a clear conscience. We should strive to be able to rejoice in our conscience. You've heard me say this before. The emergency room is not where you want to be getting right with God. You don't want to be getting right with God, you know, on your way to the emergency room. Please help my baby, I'm sorry for all the things I've been doing lately and acting like a fool. Paul says, I've had a lot of problems, I've had a lot of issues, but I can rejoice in the fact that I know, I know it's not God's wrath upon my life. I know it's not God's judgment and chastisement upon my life. He says, I rejoice in having a clean testimony and a clean conscience, the testimony of our conscience. Now you say, well, how can I live with a clean and clear conscience as a Christian? Or maybe we might even ask it this way. What does the Christian life look like? Because obviously we're not without sin. We're not perfect in the sense that we're sinless. So how do we know? You know, how do you know when, because you're never going to be without sin, so how do you know when you're there? Obviously we never attain. We're always working towards accomplishing more, working towards doing more. But how do you know when you can say like the apostle Paul, my conscience is clear. I'm right with God. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. Well, notice he tells us there, he says, for our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience. Okay, Paul, what, how do you know when your conscience is right? When you can have the testimony that your conscience is clear. He says, when you live your life this way, notice these words, and you ought to underline this in your Bible, if you don't mind underlining in your Bible. He says that in simplicity, why don't you notice these words, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world. You say, what should our conversation, what should our behavior, what should our lifestyle, what should our conduct be like, what should it be described as? Here's how it should be described, simplicity and godly sincerity. When you can say, I live a life of simplicity and godly sincerity, then you can say, I can rejoice in this, the testimony of our conscience, that I have a clear conscience. Simplicity and godly sincerity, that's what you should be striving for. Every once in a while, in the Bible, God gives us a little phrase that kind of tells you, this is what you should be striving for, this is what you should be going for. When we ask about, you know, what does a godly lady look like? You know, these words come to mind, meek and quiet. Well, here the apostle Paul says, if you want to know what the Christian life looks like, in general, male or female, he said, here's how your life ought to be described as a Christian, simplicity and godly sincerity. You say, well, what does that mean exactly? What does it mean to live with simplicity and godly sincerity? Well, let's break that down real quickly and let me just give you some thoughts. First of all, the word simplicity, or simple, in our King James Bible, means to be without knowledge or ignorance. Oftentimes, it's used in our King James Bible in a negative way, and I'm not going to take the time to run all the verses with you, you can do that on your own if you'd like. You go to 1 Corinthians, if you would, 1 Corinthians chapter 2. It's often used in a negative way, where it talks about someone who's maybe not that smart. The word means to be ignorant or without knowledge. Sometimes it's used in reference to children or babies, because, of course, children are ignorant of things and they need somebody to help them and protect them, but sometimes it's used about foolish people, adults that are ignorant about things. The Bible says that the law, that the word of God is able to make wise the simple, can give wisdom to the simple. The Bible says the simple believeth every word. See, sometimes the word simple or simplicity, in fact, I would say most of the time it is used in almost a negative way. It means to be ignorant. It means to be without knowledge. But here the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Paul says, I want you to live a life of simplicity. And we might look at that and say, Paul, you want us to be dumb? You want us to be ignorant? You want us to lack knowledge? In 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 2, he kind of explains the same idea. He says it this way in 1 Corinthians 2. He says, for I determined not to know anything among you. He says save. The word save means accept. Here's what Paul said. He said, for I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. You say, when he says I want you to live a life of simplicity, what does that mean? He says, I want you to be ignorant. I want you to be, to lack knowledge in the things of the world. In fact, he says, I want you to just determine, Paul says, I've determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Go to Romans 16, Romans 16. Look at verse 19. Just go back one book. He went back from 2 Corinthians to 1 Corinthians. Go from 1 Corinthians to Romans, Romans chapter 16. In Romans 16, he makes it even clearer. Romans 16, verse 19. What does it mean to live with simplicity? Romans 16, 19, for your obedience has come abroad unto all men. I am glad, therefore, on your behalf. Notice what he says, but yet I would have you wise. Here's what Paul says. He's saying to the church at Rome. He said, I want you to be wise. I don't want you to be, he doesn't say, I don't want you to be dumb or stupid or foolish. He says, but yet I would have you to be wise unto that which is good. Then he says this, and simple concerning evil. The word simple means without knowledge, ignorant. He says, I want you to be ignorant. I want you to be dumb. I want you to be stupid, Paul says, in regards to what? In regards to the things of this world. You know, he says, look, the Christian life ought to be lived. He says, it should be described this way, that we're dumb when it comes to worldliness. That we're ignorant when it comes to the things of this world. That we live with simplicity when it comes to evil. See, you say, ah, you know, ever since I started coming to this church, I don't know anything that's going on out in the world. That's a good thing. It's good that you don't know who the famous singers are and who the famous movie stars are and who all the famous basketball and football players are. By the way, let me just go ahead and step on your toes a little bit. If you do know who all the famous football players are and all the famous singers are and all the famous rock artists and all the famous movie stars and all the famous movies out there, you're not living with simplicity. God says, hey, I want you to live a simple life, an ignorant life. Ignorant to what, God? He says, look, determined to know anything. He said, determined not to know anything among you. Save Jesus Christ. You ought to be an expert on the Word of God. You ought to be an expert on the things of God. You ought to be an expert on what God says and then be simple to the world. You don't need to know everything about the world. You know, I get up and I preach about drugs and alcohol. And sometimes people ask me questions, well, what about this, you know, this hard liquor and this wine and this and they want to debate all these things. I don't know anything about that. And I don't need to know anything about that. It's alcohol. It's sinful. It's wrong. Don't try to sit there and tell me, well, there's a difference between hard liquor and beer. You're not simple enough. You know too much. You've studied the wrong thing too much. Get dumber to alcohol and drugs and smoking and rock music and all that garbage. Hey, be like the Apostle Paul. I determine not to know anything among you. Often times people bring up movies to me and my wife. They're like, you know, it's like this movie. And I'm like, I don't understand. And it's not us being ultra spiritual. I'm just really, sorry, I'm not as worldly as you are. I don't know what you're talking about. No, I didn't watch that one. No, I didn't listen to that. No, I didn't catch that game. The Bible says that we should live with simplicity. Simplicity. Go back to 2nd Corinthians, go to chapter 11, look at verse three. You say, why would I want to live with simplicity? Here's why. Simplicity to sin makes your life simple to live. You know that sin, all that sin does, it complicates your life. 2nd Corinthians 11, verse three. But I fear lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. See, here's the truth. The Word of God can make you wise. The Word of God can make you smart. The Word of God can do all those things for you. But you don't have to be that smart to follow Jesus. In fact, the Bible says, even a babe can come to Christ. Even a child can come to Christ. Living for God, it's difficult, but it's not that complicated. It's pretty simple. It's simplicity. People look at us and say, oh, you guys are pretty simple people. You're not that smart. Hey, look, there's some things I don't want to be that smart about. I'd rather be simple to the world and live a simple life. You know what's complicated? You know what's complicated? It's having all sorts of different kids with all sorts of different people, having to deal with all sorts of different things. You know what's simple? One man marries one woman, has those children, raises them for God in their home. That's simple. You know, alimony and having to pay for this kid and for that kid, that's complicated. You know what complicated is? Committing adultery. Trying to live a secret life and hide it from your wife. That's complicated. You know what's simple? Loving your wife, going home to your wife, caring for your children. It's simple. Paul says, you want to live the Christian life? He said, you want to have someone to rejoice in? You ought to rejoice in your conscience. You say, how can I have a clear conscience? He says, live with simplicity. It's not that complicated. It's not that complicated to just do what the Bible says. He says, you ought to live with simplicity. Then he says this, and sincerity. Go back to 2 Corinthians 1, look at verse 12. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 12, he says, For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity... I hope you're simple. I hope that the young people that grow up in Verity Baptist Church, that they're simple to the things of the world. It's funny to me how young people grow up in a church like this. Kids live out in the world. Their parents let them watch whatever on YouTube. Let them surf whatever on the Internet. Listen to whatever music. All those kids hate their parents, know their parents don't love them, know their parents don't care about them, wish they had parents like the parents you've got, and then you guys want to rebel, and I want to listen to all that stupid stuff on YouTube. I want to listen to all that worldly music. Hey, you know what, just why don't you just decide, I want to live in simplicity to those things. I don't need those things. I want to live a simple life, a Christ-honoring life, a life that is simple. People say, oh, you never watched that movie? No, I'm simple to that stuff. I don't need that junk. You never smoked before? I don't need that. I'm simple to that. I'm going to live a life in simplicity. Then he says this, and godly sincerity. You say, what does sincerity mean? The word sincere, go to 2 Corinthians 8. Let me give you a definition. This here means this, free from pretense or deceit. Not dishonest. Not hypocritical. It means to be honest or pure. Let me let you in on a little secret. It might shock some of you. If you're going to live the Christian life, you ought to live a life of honesty. You say, you want to have a clear conscience before God? Live in simplicity and godly sincerity. 2 Corinthians 8, look at verse 21. Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. You know that as Christians we ought to live a life of sincerity? You say, what does that mean? That means lack of pretense, lack of deceit. We're not deceiving people. We're not dishonest with people. We're not hypocritical. We provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of all men. That means that we are honest, even when it could benefit us to not be honest. We tell the truth. We live in simplicity and godly sincerity. Go to 1 Peter chapter 2. If you go backwards from the end of the Bible, you have the book of Revelation, Jude, 3 and 1 John, 2 and 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. Look, I'm just trying to tell you. You say, you want to rejoice? Here's how you rejoice. Live a life of simplicity and godly sincerity. Stay away from sin and try not to be knowledgeable about the things of this world. And live a life of honesty. Live a life of purity. Live a life that's true. 1 Peter chapter 2, look at verse 11. 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 11. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. Notice verse 12. Having your conversation. See the word conversation? You should know what it means. Lifestyle, conduct, behavior, having your conversation, honest among the Gentiles. That whereas they speak against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold glorify God in the day of visitation. You know what the Bible says? We ought to live with sincerity. We ought to provide things for honest things. We should have our conversation among the Gentiles. It should be honest. Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles. As a Christian, look, the Bible says that we're followers of Jesus Christ. Did you know that? It doesn't sound like you did. Maybe I haven't explained that to you before. When you're a Christian, you're supposed to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that? Let me let you know a little secret. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. You know what the Bible says? And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Here's what I'm telling you. In our lives, we ought not be living lives of deception. We ought not be living lives of deceit. We ought not be living lives where we're lying to our boss, where we're lying to your spouse, where you're lying about different things. You should live your life where you can say, hey, I've been honest among the Gentiles. I provided for honest things. I'm having an honest conversation, a lifestyle, a conduct among the Gentiles. I remember when I was growing up, and when my wife first got saved, she started going to church with us. The church we would go to, the pastor's name was Pastor Nichols. And Pastor Nichols would always, he would always bring up this illustration. And he'd change up the illustration a little bit, but it was pretty much the exact same illustration. And he would just bring this up all the time. And I remember my wife and I would just kind of, like, whenever he'd bring it up, we'd just kind of, like, chuckle and kind of laugh and look at each other and just, because we had this thought, like, who does that? I mean, nobody does that, right? And then I became a pastor. And then I was like, then my wife and I would look at us and kind of look at each other and chuckle, and we're like, wow, people actually do that, you know? But Pastor Nichols would constantly be preaching, and he'd always use this illustration. He'd say, it's dishonest. It's dishonest, you ladies, to go to some fancy mall or some fancy store, and you purchase a dress you know you can't afford. For one event, you know, you know you're going to purchase that dress. You're going to wear it one time. You keep the tags in it, kind of hide the tags in, you know? And you're going to purchase it for that one event, that one wedding or that one whatever you're going to, and then you're going to return it. He says, it's dishonest. And by the way, let me tell you something. It's dishonest. It's lying. It's stealing. It's wrong. And I used to think to myself, people do that? And it turns out, yeah, people do that. Let me tell you something, guys. You know what? It's dishonest. It's dishonest when you go down, you got some project you got to do at home, and you go down to the Home Depot, and you purchase some, you know, you don't want to pay to rent a tool. You don't want to pay for a tool. So you purchase some expensive $300 tool, knowing you're going to use it one time and return it. That's dishonest. That's not being pure. That's not true. Now, look, if you buy a tool and it breaks or, you know, within the world, I'm not talking about that. I'm saying when you intentionally go and say, I'm going to lie and be deceptive for gain, that's not being a good Christian. That's being a crook. That's lying. It's lying. It's lying. When you tell your boss you started at nine and you actually started at 915, you're lying. And you put it on the time card and get paid for it, you're lying. When you put it on the time card that you took a 30-minute break and you actually took a 45-minute break, you're lying. It's not true. We ought to live. Look, if anyone ought to live a life of honesty, it ought to be Christians. Paul said you ought to rejoice. You ought to rejoice in a clear conscience. You say, how can I have a clear conscience? He said, here's how you have a clear conscience. When you live with simplicity and godly sincerity. When you're pure and honest. When you don't try to lie to people and scam people and be deceptive. Then he says this. Go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 1. You say, but the whole world does it. You know, the world tells you to lie and steal and cheat. The world tells you at work to talk crap about your coworkers behind their back so that they won't get the promotion that you want. Isn't that what the world does? They say it's a dog-eat-dog world. You want to go up the ladder, you're going to have to step on some people. Hey, these things ought not so to be with Christians. And you know what? The Lord is able to give you much more than this. And you know, the Bible is full of illustrations of people who just did right. You look at Mordecai. He did right. Even though they did him wrong, he did right and God promoted him and God blessed him. You find Joseph who did right. People lied about him. People did him wrong and he just continued to do right and God promoted him and God blessed him. You quit worrying about, you know, what everybody else is doing and you worry about what God thinks about you. See, the problem is when we start having all these ideas. Look at verse 12. For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity, don't miss this, not with fleshly wisdom. See, that's the problem. The world's wisdom, our fleshly wisdom. But by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you, word. You know what the Bible says? You don't have to turn there. You can jot this down if you like. Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6, trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. You know what Jesus said, take no thought for the morrow? Look, I'm not trying to offend you when I say this, but this is what Jesus said. Stop thinking so hard, you're not good at it. And I'm not good at it. Stop trying to think so hard about what are we going to do about this, what are we going to do about this. Just do what God tells you to do and let God deal with it. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path. Look, in every area of life, in everything I do, I ought to acknowledge God. I could lie to this person. Look, let me tell you something. You go to the grocery store and you know you're supposed to get $5 back and they gave you a $20 back and you keep it? That's lying. That's stealing. Oh, it was their mistake. You know what, but God's watching and here's the thing. You say, well, the world does it all the time. Yeah, but the world doesn't have a Heavenly Father who's going to get it out of you, who's going to chastise you, who's going to punish you, who's going to correct you, who's going to make sure that you pay for that. So Paul says, you ought to rejoice in this. Living a life of simplicity and godly sincerity, he says, not with fleshly wisdom. Don't try to sit there and think about, you know, there's all these YouTube videos about how you can pay off your mortgage and you can do, you know, it's all these complicated. I've never even watched it. People tell me about these things. All these complicated, you get this credit card out and you get this credit card out and you max out this credit card and then you pay this one and while the money's floating in the air, these people don't know that you owe them this and you don't. Look, you know what? That's complicated. You know what's simple? Get a job, work hard, pay your bills, get out of debt. Just live right. Quit trying to follow all these get quick rich and get rich quick schemes and all this garbage. Just go get up tomorrow morning and work hard. Love God, love your kids, love your spouse. Live a life of simplicity with godly sincerity. Having all these complicated, I'm going to get rich in the next year by doing all these things, I'm going to get all this debt out. They're not going to know yet and the bill's not due. Look, forget about all that. Be simple to that stuff. And live in simplicity. Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, not with fleshly wisdom. Now I want you to know this. Look at the last part of verse 12. We're going to get off of verse 12 here in a minute, but I can't get off of verse 12 without you seeing this. For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation. What's the word conversation mean? Lifestyle, behavior, conduct. We have had our conversation in the world. Why don't you notice what Paul says? Paul says, we have endeavored and we can rejoice in our testimony that we've lived. That our conduct and our conversation and our lifestyle in the world has been lived with simplicity and godly sincerity. But then he says this at the last part of verse 12. He says, and more abundantly to you word. You say, what does that mean? Here's what it means. Paul says, I've lived honestly. I've lived in purity and honesty before the world. He says, but you know what? You know what's more important, that I have a testimony of righteous living? What's more important than having a testimony before the world? And by the way, we should all care about what the world thinks about us. I'm not usually able to, well, the world hates you. Yeah, but if they hate you for preaching the word of God, that's fine. Look, I'm glad you type in Roger Jimenez on Google and you're gonna find all sorts of people hate me. They hate me because I preach the word of God, because I don't back down on the word of God. Hey, that's fine. They don't reproach me, they reproach Christ. The Bible says, you know, that we should go therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. But you know, if you Google my name, and they hate me because I stole from this church I used to pastor, and then I dissolved that and started this other church and stole a bunch of money, well, that's a different story. That's not simplicity and godly sincerity. That's fleshly wisdom. If they hate you because you love God and for the word of God, they praise the Lord for that. But here's what Paul says. Paul says, I've lived with simplicity and had our conversation in the world. But he says, you know what's more important to me than what the world thinks? He says, and more abundantly to you, he says, he's talking to the church at Corinth, he's talking to fellow believers, and he says, you know what's more important to me than what the world thinks? What's more important to me is what you think. That his fellow church members, that his fellow family in Christ, he acknowledged that he lived with simplicity and godly sincerity. I heard somebody say this one time, and I wrote it down. I thought it was a great quote. Some of you should write this down. Our goal should be to be respected the most by the people who know us the best. You know it's easy to have people who don't know you respect you? People don't know you. They don't know anything about you. And they're like, oh, he's a great husband. He's a great father. He's a great this. He's a great that. You know what your goal ought to be? To be respected the most by the people who know you the best. I love all of you. But you know who I want to have a good testimony before? My wife and my kids. Because they go home with me. They see me all day long. And in fact, if you don't like me, but they respect me, that says something. It's easy to have people who don't know you respect you. But our goal should be, Paul said, we have had our conversation in the world. And more abundantly to you were, he said, you know that we've lived right. You know that we've done right. You know that we've lived with simplicity and godly society. By the way, when the people who know you the best respect you, the people who don't know you very well, they'll respect you as well. But it's called hypocrisy when people who don't know you very well respect you and your wife's rolling her eyes and your kids are rolling their eyes. Yeah, well if you knew, if you knew what they were into, if you knew what they did, if you knew the way they lived their lives, you know the things they do in their lives. Our goal should be to be respected the most by the people who know us the best. So Paul says, as a Christian, you should rejoice in your conscience. How do we do that? Paul? By living with simplicity and godly sincerity. Then he says in verse 13, go back to 2nd Corinthians if you're not there, chapter 1 verse 13, not only should you rejoice in your conscience, he says you should rejoice in your converts. Now I don't want to spend a lot of time on this because we spent a lot of time on this recently in the book of Philippians, but I'll just show it to you because it's in the text. He says, for we write none other thing unto you than thou we read or acknowledge and I trust you shall acknowledge even to the end and also you have acknowledged us in part that we are your rejoicing even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me tell you something. The day of the Lord Jesus Christ is referring to the day of the rapture, the day that we go up to be with the Lord, the way that we go to heaven. Let me just explain something to you. When you go to heaven, the only thing that will matter is what you did to get people into heaven. That's it. That's it. What you did with your life to reach others with the gospel. Now that's soul winning, but they can also be serving in church and helping a church to be able to fulfill the great commission. That of course can also be giving towards the work of God and missions and all those things, but here's the point. He says there in verse 14, as also ye have acknowledged us in part and we are your rejoicing even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. Philippians 4 and verse 1, if you would, you're there in 2 Corinthians. You got Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Philippians 4 and verse 1, the apostle Paul says this to the church of Philippi. He says, therefore my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for. He says, my joy and crown. The book of Psalms talks about bringing in the sheaves and that we will rejoice in bringing in the sheaves. 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 19, you're there in Philippians. You flip over past Colossians into 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians 2, 19, for what is our hope or joy? Notice these words, or crown of rejoicing, are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? For ye are our glory and joy. The most important thing you do with your life is reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as a Christian, you can rejoice in that. Nobody can take that from you. Nobody can take from you the work that you've done to reach others with the gospel of Jesus Christ. So Paul says, look, you ought to rejoice in your conscience and you ought to rejoice in your converts. Then he says this in verse 15, 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 15, he says you ought to rejoice in your confidence. I want you to look at what he says here in verse 15 and I'll kind of develop this here a little bit. 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 15, he says, and in this confidence, now, the apostle Paul here, he's talking about his personal confidence. Now, he's going to talk in a little bit about our confidence in God. But he says, and in this confidence, I was minded to come unto you. Now, I want to kind of break this down for you and help you understand it. He said, I had planned to come to you. He said, I was minded to come unto you before. He said, I planned to come to you. He says that ye might have a second benefit. You say, what is he talking about here? What the apostle Paul is saying is, I was planning to come to you. He said, I had this confidence. He said, it was a personal confidence that I thought I was minded to come unto you before that ye might have a second benefit. Now, what he's talking about there when he says a second benefit is that he's talking about the fact that he knew that if he came, he would be a benefit to them. He had already came once and he had been a benefit to them and he knew that if he came a second time, he would be a benefit to them, like the first time. Now, some people might look at that statement and say, Paul, you're an arrogant person. You're going to come, be a benefit. And obviously, look, let me just explain this to you. There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. And obviously, we always want to be careful not to be arrogant or be perceived as arrogant or be perceived as proud, but we should be confident in the Lord. And, you know, the apostle Paul, he says, look, I knew that if I came, it would be a benefit to you. And Paul, if you ask Paul, you say, Paul, that's kind of arrogant. He would tell you, it's not because of anything I have to offer. It's because I would bring the word of God to you because I would bring the teachings of the word of God. I would bring the revelation of the word of God. That's why it would be a benefit. And look, if I may, let me just say to you, you say, pastor, why do you try to get us to show up on Sunday morning and on Sunday night and on Wednesday night to hear you preach? You know why? Let's just be very honest, right? Living in simplicity and godly sincerity because it's a benefit to you. And you say, oh, that's kind of arrogant. You want us to come hear you speak because that will benefit us? Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but when I speak, there's not a lot of speaking going on. It's just we read a verse and I yell about it. We read a verse and I yell about it. We read a verse and I yell about it. And sometimes reading a verse and yelling about it is a benefit. And having somebody apply it and somebody tell you it's stealing the things you do and it's wrong and you ought not do it and you ought to get right with God. That's a benefit to you. That's why the Bible says, despise not prophesy. That's why you should show up to church on Sunday morning. That's why you should show up to church on Sunday night. That's why you should show up to church on Wednesday night. You say, why? Because it helps you. It's a benefit to you when the word of God is open, when the word of God is preached. And look, it doesn't matter what book. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. It doesn't matter if it's Ezekiel. It doesn't matter if it's Joel or 2 Corinthians or the book of Philippians. When the word of God is open, it's a benefit. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. It'll help you in life. If you learn it, if you receive it, if you apply it, not if you leave here angry, if you leave here and say, man, that was rough, but I needed to hear that. That'll be a benefit to you. And look, I learned a long time ago, if you need somebody to be mad at, you can be mad at me. I'm mature enough to handle that, but get mad at me and do what the Bible says. I'd rather you not be mad at me and do what the Bible says, but if you get mad at me and don't do what the Bible says, then we've really lost. Be mad at me and then do what the Bible says, and that's fine. You'll be my rejoicing in heaven. But it's a benefit to you. It's a benefit when the word of God is preached. It's a benefit when the word of God is open. We ought not despise prophesying because the word of God is profitable. So Paul says there in verse 15, he says, and in this confidence, I was minded to come unto you before that ye might have a second benefit. He said, the first time I came was so good for you. He said, I wanted to come and give you a second benefit. Not because of Paul. Paul's a very humble man, but because of the ministry of the word. And by the way, we're about to get into it in chapter 2. In a couple of weeks we're going to get into it and Paul's correcting them. I don't know if you remember 1 Corinthians, but the whole book, he's just correcting them. You're doing this wrong. You're doing this wrong. Stop doing that. 1 and 2 Corinthians are two of the most negative books in the New Testament because this church has a lot of problems and he's dealing with it. Notice verse 16, he says, He was minded to do the things he was planning on doing. He was planning on passing by you into Macedonia and to come again out of Macedonia unto you and of you to be brought on my way toward Judea. Look at verse 17. When I therefore was thus minded, he said, when I had thought these thoughts, when I made these plans, he said, did I use lightness? You see that phrase, did I use lightness? Here's what he's saying. I didn't just kind of say like, oh yeah, I think I'm going to go see the church of Corinth again. He said, I had thought about these things. I had planned these things. I was minded to use these things. He said, did I use lightness or the things that I purpose? Do I purpose according to the flesh? He said, was I in the flesh when I thought that? Was I doing wrong when I thought that? He says, no. He says, I was planning, he's saying, I was planning on coming to you. Now you say, well, why is Apostle Paul complaining about the fact that he was planning to come to them? Here's why, because he didn't come. Paul did not, he told him, I'm going to come see you, and then he didn't come see them. Let me just show you that real quickly. Look at verse 23, same chapter, 2 Corinthians 1, 23. He says, moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. He says, I was planning on coming, but then when I thought about it, he said, in fact, if you all know why I didn't come, I didn't come to spare you. He said, to spare you, I came not as yet unto Corinth. You say, why is that? Well, look at chapter 2, verse 1, just real quickly. 2 Corinthians 2, verse 1, he says, but I determined this within myself, or I determined this with myself, excuse me, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. He says, the last time, he said, I wrote you 1 Corinthians in heaviness, because there's lots of problems in your life, and I had to correct a lot of things. And then, when I really thought about it, I realized that there were still things that needed to be corrected, hence, the book of 2 Corinthians. He wrote the letter to correct these things, he said, I was going to come to you, but I decided not to come because if I came, I was going to come in heaviness. I was going to come in heart, having to correct a lot of things, and he said, I decided that I would write you instead the epistle of 2 Corinthians to try to correct some of those things so that when I came again to you, I would not come in heaviness. That's what he's referring to. That's what he's talking about. Now, go back to verse 17. He says, when I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness, or the thing that I purpose? Do I purpose according to the flesh of the name? Here's what happened. Paul said, I'm going to come see you guys. I'm going to come visit you guys. And the church of Corinth, some people got excited, I'm sure, and some people probably weren't excited. And then they found out, oh, Paul said he's not coming. In fact, he just wrote a letter, and he wants everybody to read this. He's not coming. And then people started attacking Paul and saying, ah, he's just wishy-washy. You know, he's yay-yay and nay-nay. He's yes one day and no the next. He's explaining the fact that, look, I didn't come for your benefit because I was going to spare you because I didn't want to come in heaviness. I wanted to correct some things. That's why I'm writing the book of 2 Corinthians to correct some things. That's why I didn't come. But he's addressing the fact that some people are saying, oh, he's a liar. He doesn't keep his promises. That's why he says, you know that I've lived with simplicity and godly sincerity. You know that I've lived with a conversation that's honest to man. You know that I don't just, you know, drag people along and lie to people. He says, you know that I'm not that type of person. But then he says this and he kind of turns it around and he says, but if you think I am, if you think that I'm yay-yay and nay-nay, if you think that I'm wishy-washy, if you think that I don't keep my commitments and I don't keep my promises and I don't do what I say I'm going to do, he says, you know that. He says in verse 18, but as God is true, here's what he's saying. Maybe you don't trust me, but you can trust God. Maybe you don't trust my promises, but you can trust the promises of God. Maybe you think I'm wishy-washy and I'm yay-yay and nay-nay. He says, but as God is true, our word toward you was not yay and nay, for the son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me, and Silvanus and Timotheus was not yay and nay, but in him was yay. He says, when God says yes, it's yes. He said, I'll admit to you, I said I was coming, and then I changed my mind, and I'm sorry about that, and I did it for certain reasons, and I didn't want to come in heaviness, and I, you know, maybe I disappointed you, and maybe I let you down, and by the way, human beings will let you down. Did you know that? Even the apostle Paul will one day let you down. Look, look, please, please let me down. He may as well let you down. Just know that. Sometimes people think the pastor and the pastor's wife are supposed to be these perfect people. Well, we forget things, too, and we say things we shouldn't have said sometimes, and we get in the flesh sometimes, and we mess up, and it's interesting. People always want to like judge you harshly, like, well, you, and it's like, have you never messed up? You ever heard this one, take the beam out of your own eye? But Paul's saying, hey, you know that I live with sincerity and godly, with simplicity and godly sincerity, you know that I've tried to live a life of honesty. You know that I wouldn't just lie to you and deceive you. You know that if it didn't happen, it didn't happen because I had reasons for that, and I understand. He says, but even if you don't believe me, believe this, with God it's always yay, but in Him was yay for all the promises. Look at verse 20, for all the promises of God in Him are yay, and in Him amen unto the glory of God by us. He says, you know what, I've let you down, Paul says, but God will never let you down. I may have been yay and nay, but all the promises of God in Him are yay. All right, God will never let you down. Go to John chapter 10, just real quickly, John chapter 10. We're almost done. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. John chapter number 10. We like to sing that song still. Standing on the promises. Standing on the promises. And the truth of the matter is this, you really can't stand on the promises of God. Because men will fail you. Pastors will fail you. I hope you husbands strive to be the best husbands you can be, to love your wives and lead your wives and be loyal to your wives and learn your wives, protect your wives and provide for your wives. I hope you try to be all that, but let me tell you, your wives are going to fail you from time to time. Hey husbands, your wives will fail you from time to time. Your kids will fail you from time to time. Kids, your parents are going to fail you from time to time. They might tell you, we're going to take you to Knott's Berry Farm and then coronavirus happens or something, you know. And sometimes with them, it's yay and nay. But you know who will never fail you? It's God. In Him was yay for all the promises of God in Him. And we really can't stand on the promises. I just wanted to, just in closing, let me just give you some promises that God has given you. Just to remind you of some promises that in Him, with God it's not yes and then no. It's always yes. And we could spend a whole series going through the promises of God. I'm not going to do that. Let me just share with you a few. John 10 28. Here's a promise that's always yay. And I give unto them eternal life. And I will never perish. Neither shall amen pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all. And no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. Hey, you know what? That's a promise that's always yay. That's a promise that's always yes. He will never leave you nor forsake you. God is not a liar. God is not a man that He should lie. I give unto them eternal life. That's a promise that's always yay. That's something you can stand on. Here's another promise. Matthew chapter 6. Go to Matthew. You just go backwards past Luke, Mark, and the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter 6. You know what's interesting to me? Here's what's interesting to me. You and I trust the Lord Jesus Christ and God and the Bible with our eternal souls. Where our soul will spend eternity forever. Whether or not, and our bodies, whether or not we will be thrown into the lake of fire with torment, with darkness, with sorrow, with a worm dieth not. You know, all those things that should really be concerning. We believe that, praise God, and trust that, praise God, and acknowledge that, and accept it, praise the Lord. And then God says, hey, you trust me with your soul. How about you trust me with your wallet? And we're like, I don't know about that, God. That's going to take a step of faith. Like, you trust Him with your eternal soul? Here's a promise for you. Matthew 6, 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Hey, you say, what are all these things? I'm not taking time to go through it, but go back to Matthew 6, 31, and it talks about the things we eat, the things we drink, the clothes we wear. God says, hey, you know, you worry about all these physical needs, but here's a promise for you. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. Put God first. Do right by God first. And He, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. That's a promise that's always yay. The Bible says, you know what the Bible says? The Bible says that I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread. Now, people like to say, say, oh, well, that's all saved people. But, you know, honestly, I think there's an argument that could be made that there's some saved people that do bake bread. You ever remember the story of Lazarus and the rich man? I think the I've never seen the righteous forsaken has to do with seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you. I'm not preaching a prosperity gospel to you and telling you God's going to make you rich, but I'm telling you this, God will take care of your needs. It's a promise. Romans 8, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Romans 8, look at verse 28. Here's another promise. Romans 8, 28, and we know that all things work together for good. That's a promise. That's a yay. That's a yay. That's a yay. We can have confidence in that. Now, again, hold on. Don't leave it there and don't stop it there. People are like, well, all things work together for good. That's not all it says. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. Say, well, I love God. Okay, well, you have to pass the love test with God. See, words are cheap. You say, well, how does God know if I love Him? Here's what Jesus said. If you love me, you have to pass the love test with God. See, words are cheap. You say, well, how does God know if I love Him? Here's what Jesus said. If you love me, keep my commandments. You can measure your love for God by how well you keep His commandments. So when you say, I love God, but I break all His commandments, you say, what commandments? How about we start with the big 10? Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't commit adultery. Don't kill. How about those? And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Look, that is what Jesus said. He said, well, all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. That is a promise. You can stand. When things are not going well in life, when things are not going well, your health's not well, your relationships aren't well, your finances aren't well, you can stand on this promise that I know that all things work together for good. Not all things are good, but God can work good through them. I know that. Sometimes men make promises, and it's yea and nay, but with God, the promises of God are always yea. I can have that confidence and know that it's true and know that it's real. Here's another promise for you. Philippians 4. Go to Philippians 4. You're there in Romans, 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Philippians 4. We saw this recently in our Philippians series. Philippians 4, 19. But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. You know that's a promise from God? Again, don't miss it. That's not a blanket statement to have. That's not a promise from God. That's a promise from God. Again, don't miss it. That's not a blanket statement to have. That's not a promise to everybody. If you study the context, we went through it in our Philippians series. If you give, if you support the work of God, God says, I promise, I promise that my God, Paul says, but my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. You know what Paul said? Here's what Paul said. Paul said sometimes life is tough. Sometimes, he said it earlier in the chapter, sometimes we're pressed out of measure. Sometimes we despair even of life. Sometimes there's trials and tribulations and there's heartache and there's problems. He said, but I can always rejoice in a clear conscience. I can always rejoice if I'm at the emergency room. I can rejoice that I've lived my life with simplicity and godly sincerity. He said, I can always rejoice on my converts. They can never take that away from me. I'll be able to rejoice with them in heaven. He says, I can always rejoice in the confidence that I have. I'll be able to rejoice with them in heaven. He says, I can always rejoice in the confidence that I have in God because sometimes with men, it's yea and nay, but all the promises of God are yea. I can have confidence in the promises that He has given us. So here's a question I have for you. What can you rejoice in? What are you rejoicing? Can you rejoice in a clear conscience? Maybe you should get one. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Can you rejoice in your converts? Maybe you should get one. Can you rejoice in the promises of God? Maybe you should get a hold of a promise of God. My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory. God can work all things together for good. Maybe you should get a promise and get a promise and hold on to it and rejoice in it when things are hard and tough and say with God it's always yea. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, well thank you for your word. Thank you for these verses. Lord, I pray you'd help us to be like the Apostle Paul. I know that the life, I mean we read about it, we know that the Apostle Paul's life had to have been tough. When we talked about it all through the book of Philippians, he could rejoice. And Lord, I pray you'd help us to be people that can rejoice in our confidence, rejoice in our converts, rejoice in our conscience. Lord, help us to live lives of simplicity and godly sincerity. In the matchless name of Christ we pray. Amen.