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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Shield of Faith Baptist Church. If you would, please grab your hymnals and turn to song number 147, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, song number 147. . . On the first, what a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms, what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms, leaning, leaning safe and secure from all alarms, leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms, leaning on the on the second. Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. On the last. What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms. I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. All right. At this time, we'll have Pastor come up and read us the announcements. All right. Well, good evening. Welcome to Shield of Faith Baptist Church. If you've got a bulletin. On the inside left, you'll see where it says weekly church service times. We have Sunday mornings at 1030, Sunday evenings at 6, Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Underneath there, you can see a list of our soul-winning times. If you have any questions, 208-391-5323 is the number to call. So tonight, we'll be in 2 Corinthians, chapter number one, New Testament reading challenge. Charts still on the table over there if you're interested. Don't forget the soup, Super Bowl, Sunday, February 11th. Again, not the football game. This is soup, like we talked about this morning. It's your choice. You can either have the soup or the bowl. So choose wisely. After the morning service. Also in celebration of our five-year church anniversary. Don't forget to join us Sunday, February 25th for Pastor Aaron Thompson from Sure Foundation Baptist Church. He'll be preaching for us that Sunday bowl services. And let's see here. Birthday is an anniversary. So we have Mercedes birthday on the 25th and Josh and Laura's anniversary on the 23rd. Verse of the week, Ezekiel 16, verse 30, which says, How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things. The work of an imperious, warish woman. We talked about that this morning. So we're a family-integrated church. What that means is we don't separate children from the parents for any reason. Dads, you can use this room to your left. Moms, you can use the next room through. And don't forget to turn your phone off. We'll place it on silent so it's not a distraction. Last but not least, we got these communication cards. If you have a prayer request or a praise, write it down on this card. Drop it in the box and we'll eventually get to it. So with that being said, we're going to go ahead and have one more song and then we will have the Bible reading. All right, everyone, please grab your handles one more time. Turn to song number 127. Song number 127. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. On the first. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to take him at his word. Just to rest upon his promise. Just to. Say. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I've proved him. Jesus, Jesus. Precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him on the second. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to trust his cleansing blood. Just in simple faith to plunge me. Neath the healing cleansing flood. Jesus, Jesus. How I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus. Precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him on the third. Yes, tis sweet to trust in Jesus. Just from sin and self to cease. Just from Jesus. Simply take life and rest and joy and peace. Jesus, Jesus. How I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus. Precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him on the last. I'm so glad I learned to trust thee. Precious Jesus, Savior friend. And I know that thou art with me. Wilt be with me to the end. Jesus, Jesus. How I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus. Precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him o'er. All right. At this time, we will have the Bible reader come out and they will read us the chapter. Good evening, everyone. If you would, please turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter number 1. 2 Corinthians chapter number 1. 2 Corinthians 1, beginning in verse 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in Achaia. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforted us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation, and our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf. For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you, word. For we write none other things unto you than what ye read or acknowledge, and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end, as also ye have acknowledged us in part that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before that ye might have a second benefit, and to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judea. When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay? But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea 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 yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen. Unto the glory of God by us. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God, who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth, not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, by faith ye stand. Brother Evan, would you please pray for us? All right, 2 Corinthians chapter number 1. So definitely a shorter letter, and we won't be here as long as we were the last several weeks going through the book of 1 Corinthians, but I think it's important to grasp the whole story. I think there's a valuable lesson in putting both letters together, going through them all, because you kind of get to see the mistakes and the problems that the Corinthians had at the first, in the first letter, and then you'll see as we go through this book some of the over corrections that they made. So it took a little bit of time for them to kind of get things in balance. So I titled a sermon this evening, How Paul Handles Critics. How Paul Handles Critics. And that's kind of one of the themes woven throughout the letter, is basically his response to some of their criticisms and some of the tribulations that, believe it or not, Christians are actually placing on Paul, which you'd think just as trouble with the normal people in the world, the Jews, that that would be enough, but no, now he has a third set of issues with Christian believers and especially they of Corinth. So we're not going to take the time to go there, but if you want to kind of piece the timing here and where Paul's at in the book of Acts, you would read Acts chapter 20 verses 1 through 4. That's roughly where this fits in. And so we left off last week where Paul had said, you know, I plan to come unto you. I'm not really sure how things are going to work out. And so what wound up happening after Paul had written that letter is he received word that there was even more trouble. And what happened is he had to make an emergency trip to Corinth. And basically in this letter you're going to see, and we'll look at these verses here in a second, is that Paul is going to now make a third trip to them after this letter. Just to kind of show you that, if you would, look over at chapter number 2 of 2 Corinthians and look at verse number 1. And so we'll just kind of go through a little bit of an overview of the book first, and then we'll get into this chapter. Not a lot out there on 2 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians is definitely much more popular. It's got a lot in there, obviously. A lot of basic mistakes and things like that that people make. And I guess the view amongst Christianity is 2 Corinthians is a little harder, or maybe to them a little bit more dull. I don't see it that way. I don't think you'll see it that way, but nonetheless. To kind of go with what I said here is that Paul writes 1 Corinthians. A very short period of time comes. There's a change in plans. So he has to go there again, deal with some things. Now he's been back doing his missionary work, and then he writes this letter to them letting them know he's going to come back. So look at verse number 1 of chapter 2. He says, But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. So he had to come to them that second time there in heaviness after writing 1 Corinthians. Now go over to chapter 12. Let's look at verse 14. So he says, Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you, for I seek not yours, but you, for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And of course you can see the father-spiritual-child relationship in there. Paul got many of these folks saved, started these churches, of course, with help. And so he's kind of reminding them of that. But you can see that phrase there, third time. Okay, so understand the order of events. Obviously, they start the churches. They get people saved. They start these churches in Corinth, and then they fall into trouble. 1 Corinthians is written. Paul has to make a second trip. And then now he writes 2 Corinthians and lets them know he's going to come back. And so one more to support that. Go over to chapter 13. Look at verse number 1. Paul again says, This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. And then look at verse 2. He says, I told you before, and for tell you, as if I were present the second time, and being absent now, I write to them, which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that if I come again, I will not spare. So we're not done yet with the rebuke. We're not done with some of the problems and some of the issues that the Corinthians have with Paul. Okay, there's still some carnality that needs to be dealt with. There are still people there, and we're going to look at these here in a moment, that don't like Paul, just to put it simply. They just do not like the apostles. Now go over to chapter 3 real quick. We'll just kind of look. I'll just give you about five basic key verses, that you're probably very familiar with. You've probably heard sermons about. And just to kind of throw these out there, so you kind of got a basic feel for what's coming in the next few weeks. So chapter 3, very famous verse. We use it all the time. Look at verse 17. The Bible says, Now the Lord is that spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there it is. And where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Very famous verse. Churches have established their name off of that verse. So on and so forth. So of course chapter 3, we'll be talking about that. Now let's take a look at 2 over in chapter number 5. Very famous one. Verse 7. 2 Corinthians 5, 7. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We say that all the time. And of course, we've looked at that in the Old Testament as well. Now just go 10 verses over to verse number 17. Here's another very familiar one that we often go through. So he says, Therefore for man be in Christ. Now notice this next phrase. He is a new creature. Notice it doesn't say he is becoming like this is a process. No, he is a new creature. So the moment you get saved, that new man instantly in the twinkling of an eye is inside of you. Why is that important? Well, because the modern versions change that. And they like to put a process in the middle of that verse which perverts salvation, which turns salvation into probation and so on and so forth. Then he says, Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Go on more over chapter number 6 and let's look at verse number 14. I bet this is familiar to you. Paul says, Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And of course we'll build on these when we get to these chapters. Let's do one more back over in chapter number 10. One more key verse here, chapter number 10. And of course you're gonna have your own favorites as well, but these are just very well known. 2 Corinthians 10, look at verse number 4. So Paul says, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds. So there you have it, a lot of exciting key verses, topics that will be coming up in the next few weeks from the book of 2 Corinthians. Now what I want to do is I want to kind of get into some of the criticism that's labeled here in the book about the apostle Paul. And for that I should have told you to just keep your place there in chapter 10. So if you haven't, go back to chapter number 10. Now the first one here that I want to highlight is that the Corinthians are accusing Paul of being carnal, of being in the flesh. Look at verse 2. He says, But I beseech you that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. Okay? So what is going on here is that he's been getting feedback from people that because of their bold speech and the way they conduct themselves, people are like, Hey, that's not Christ. Like that's carnality. That's not what Jesus would do. It's the same stuff we hear today. Would Jesus talk like that? You know, before the service, some clowns messaging and, you know, he's just like, Yeah, there's a person that works at a radio station that came to visit not too long ago. And he said that you basically cussed him out and, you know, said all this stuff to which never happened. The guy never visited that I have record of. But, you know, just constantly, you know, your speech is too harsh. You're too aggressive. I don't like this. No one listens to you. Blah, blah, blah. You know, it's the same old thing. And of course, guess what followed? I go to church and this and that. Yeah, of course you do. You go to a powerless church like we talked about this morning. But basically that mindset is literally what Paul is having to deal with here. He's basically just responding in this verse to those that say that he's walking according to the flesh. And of course his response here in verse three is, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. And of course we'll dive deeper into what he really means there in a few weeks. So number one here, Paul and those that are with him are being accused of being in the flesh because of their tough stance on their sins, okay? They don't like that. We don't like as people to be called out. And so therefore, how do they reason with themselves? Well, you must be in the flesh. That's not Christ-like, okay? Now, number 10 is just again another highlight of their carnality. They actually accuse Paul of just being ugly and having contemptible speech, okay? You say, what? They accuse him of being ugly? Well, take a look at the verse here. Look at verse 10. It says, For his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful. So Paul, again, he's just referring to what he's been hearing from them, okay? So they're saying, For his letters say they are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak. Okay? So they're like, wow, these letters are pretty powerful and so on and so forth. But when we see Paul is just this, you know, frail Jewish guy. He's not all buff. He doesn't act the part. He doesn't look the part. So they say his bodily presence is weaker. You could say, you know, ugly, not respectable, okay? And there's this thing, and this is definitely true in our society, and you find this even amongst Christian churches. You take somebody who is very large in stature, very muscular, very big, somebody who is in good shape, and salespeople know this, okay? They're gonna get more attention than somebody who's not, okay? It's just a part of life. We as humans judge other people based off of looks. You could say, that's not right, all you want to. The fact is, that's how it works. That's how it goes. That's why he's having to deal with this here. But look what they say about his speech. And is speech contemptible? Okay, so they're like, the voice, the body don't match what's written. Therefore, we could just go ahead and write off and not trust him. You've lost all credibility with us. And so Paul is going to let them know that ain't gonna happen. He's gonna take care of business when he gets there for the third time. Now go over to chapter 12 one more time here. Look at, we'll do one more. Look at verse 13. And basically here you're gonna see that they feel that he's not treating them properly. You've never loved us like we love you. Verse 13, he says, for what is it wherein you were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong. And then of course he goes into that third time there. And so basically their attitude was, you're treating us like we're not as good as the other churches, okay? Because he had called them out because he said, hey, you guys need to fix this, this, this, all the stuff that we had read about. And of course when they got the letter, they were sorry, but some were unfortunately very angry. Now let's go ahead and go back to chapter number one and we'll go ahead and get started here. So some key words in the book that you're gonna find, you're gonna find the word comfort, consolation, tumult, sorrow, tribulation, fastings and things of that nature. And I bring all those words to kind of highlight a pattern that you see throughout the book here. And it's really also a pattern of Paul's life. And that is number one, you'll see a stress or some kind of situation that causes a stressor. So you've got stress, consolation and then service, okay? Those three in that order, stress, consolation and service. You say, what's the big deal? Well, all of us in life go through stress. We go through hard times, we go through difficult situations. And what you're gonna learn in this chapter here is that God wants to use that stress that you experience to mature you and for you to pass that on as a comfort to other people. Why? So that they could get back into service of God. And that again, of course, is what you're gonna see here. So let's start this off here again, we have verse number one, chapter one with Paul's traditional greeting. And he says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, okay? Why does Paul constantly do that? Well, because his apostleship is always under attack, okay? And throughout the book here, there's a place where he says, hey, don't you guys forget that the signs of an apostle were wrought among you. Don't forget the signs and wonders, these things, confirming that all of this is of God. He says, don't forget those things were displayed among you. So he brings this up and he says, by the will of God. What does that mean? Does that mean we're Calvinist? Absolutely not. What that means is Paul simply stating, hey, I was handpicked by Christ. I didn't raise my hand and say, you know what? I'd really like to be an apostle. Where's the local apostleship so I can train up? No, Christ chose him. He was a chosen vessel unto God and so he's reminding them of that. And of course, he includes some folks that are with him and he says, and Timothy, our brother, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth with all the saints, which are in all Achaia. Now, verse two here begins what I call Paul's grace sandwich, okay? Look at the verse here. It says, grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. We've been dealing with Paul's letters for quite some time now, okay? And you probably already know this, but I'll just repeat it since we're here. You see that word peace? You'll almost always find it preceded by the word grace. And why is that? Because you cannot have true peace without the grace of God. For by grace are ye saved. And grace, what does grace mean? Unmerited favor, what we don't deserve. So for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. And we use that verse all the time in Ephesians. But he says, grace be unto you and peace. Now, go all the way to chapter 13. We don't have too much more flippin' to do. This will be it, I believe. Look at the last verse of the book here. Chapter 13, look at verse number 14. So he begins the letter. Remember, he understands all the attacks, all the bickering, all the insults that are coming at him. And how does Paul deal with this? Well, he starts off in a calm manner by stating his authority given to him by God and then he brings up what is important, which is edification. And he reminds them of the grace and peace that is available to them. And then he also closes the book out with this word. Look at verse 14. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all, amen. So again, from the start of the book to the very end of the book, Paul makes sure to include the fact that he doesn't hate them, that he still loves them and wants to help them continue to grow. So there you go. The beginning of the book, you see the word grace at the very end of the book. That is also what you see. Now let's move on here to verse number three. And don't forget about the pattern as we read this, okay? Stress, consolation, which is what? Comfort, okay? And then you have service. That is the order in which you will typically find yourself in life in one of those three places. Look at verse three. He says, blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, okay? We ought to be thankful that he is the Father of mercies because that is what we need. You know, we don't want to ever get caught up into this idea where we just got to hold everybody accountable for every single wrong thing that they say or do. Now there's a time and a place to have those conversations, okay? There are things that need to be brought up. I understand that. I get that. But, you know, when I look at the world and I talk to other people out soloing or people in the workplace, you know, and it's just like they just can't see the beam in their own eye. They're just constantly looking at people to find, you know, little things to pluck out of their eyes. And in the end, it's God's mercy that allows us to be able to do what we do. And so he says, and the God of all comfort, okay? So again, he's going to emphasize something here. He's going to start to highlight the trouble that he's actually in. And he wants them to understand this, okay? And he wants them to understand this because in the lowest part of Paul's life, where he's even not wanting to live anymore, which you're going to see here in a minute, he is explaining to these guys, hey, we serve the God of comfort, okay? Not any other religion can say that, okay? But the Bible, the religion of the Bible, divine accomplishment, that is what we get. God is the God of all comfort. Now look what he does for us. Here's the purpose of comfort. Look at verse four. It says, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. So what you have to realize is whatever situation that you are in that is troubling you, it at some point, God is, because he's merciful and he's the God of all comfort, at some point in time, that is going to end and you're going to look back and be like, wow. Okay, you can either get bitter or you can get better. You can say, you know what? I'm going to go and help other people facing the same situation. I'm going to be a mature person and just thank God that I'm still alive, thank God that I can still serve him and just move on, okay? That's his desire. Look at verse five. He says, for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. Again, what he's doing there is he's pointing to the importance of understanding what Jesus went through, all of it, his entire ministry, the fact that people had mocked him, rejected him, betrayed him, nailed him to the cross, all of the tribulations, all of those things you have to understand are a part of who you are as a Christian. You can pull from those sufferings, you can pull from those tribulations, you can pull from that betrayal to help anyone out that is around you. Even if you haven't suffered the exact same things yet in your life, you still have those because you have the Bible, you have the word of God. So verse six, he says, and whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation. So again, back to that stress, okay? What comes next? Consolation, comfort for the purpose of service, okay? And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings, which we also suffer, or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. So Paul's saying, hey, I go through all of this stuff, I've been beaten, I've been arrested, I've been falsely accused, and as you just already saw, he already knows the accusations they have about him, he's basically saying, I'm allowing myself to go through this, not get bitter, to better you, to get you back out there in the battlefield so that you can store up treasures for yourself in heaven. Verse number seven, in our hope of you, okay? So understand, again, as you're reading this, okay, remember the criticisms here. Paul doesn't let that stop him from edification. And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. So again, that same pattern, stress, consolation, service, okay? Or you could narrow it down even further, just what do you see? You see comfort and then affliction, okay? Verse number eight, for we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure above strength in so much that we despaired even of life. So Paul here, even in his guise, they got so low from the way that they were treated over in Asia, and of course, you can go back to Acts 19 and read about that stuff. They got to the point where they just spared life. I mean, think about the time in which they lived. They weren't operating in air-conditioned tents and things of this nature. They had to endure the harsh elements. It wasn't like you could just go down to the store, oh, somebody stole my coat and just buy another one. No, that was a big deal, just getting basic needs met back then. And so all of these things are being compromised and they're going with fastings, they're being chased, they're being lied to, they're being betrayed, all of these things. And it brought them to the lowest of the low point. And you know what they did? When they hit rock bottom, they said, well, this is great because the only way up now is up. The only direction we can go is up. And here you're reading him writing this masterpiece of edification to this church here. And he says in verse nine, but we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead. And what a hard thing it is. And I understand this, when you're going through different troubles and things and sometimes it could be like, man, does God just hate me? Is he just gonna destroy me? What's going on? Sometimes it's like, well, just destroy me already, okay? But when you feel like that, this verse here, maybe you should make a note, this is what we ought to say to ourselves, that we're not gonna trust in ourselves in those thoughts and feelings that arise out of the heart, but we're gonna trust in the God which raiseth from the dead. That is a reference to his power. Obviously, if he can raise the dead, he can help you in whatever you're going through. Verse 10 says, who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. So even at the time of this writing, they're still dealing with situations. They're still dealing with trials and troubles. And he's like, hey, we're still trusting that God's gonna completely deliver us from this. Verse 11, it says, ye also helping together by prayer for us. So he acknowledges the fact that not all of them just gave up. So it's not like they just got 1 Corinthians and were like, oh, we're done. We're out, okay? Paul hates us. Our life's over. Yeah, they struggled with it. They have some issues, but they continued to pray for them. So it says, ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf. And by the way, a good tip for all of us to build relationships, when somebody does something good, it's a good idea to recognize that, even if it's just something small to say, hey, that's a good job. I appreciate that. Appreciation can go a long ways, and Paul's doing that for this church here. So let's move on here. Verse number 12 is gonna kind of begin to explain to us the change in plans, because remember last week, 1 Corinthians 16, Paul was like, yeah, maybe I'll come to you. It kind of depends if the Lord wills, and then they changed plans and realized they had to make an emergency trip and go to Corinth. And so because of that, now comes some murmurings and comes some complaints. Look at verse 12. 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 more abundantly to you, Lord. What in the world does that mean? And first of all, Paul saying my conscience is clear. I don't feel guilty. I don't feel guilty for what I wrote to you. I don't feel guilty for coming unto you that second time. None of it. Why? Because it wasn't about fleshly wisdom. That was one of the things that the Corinthians had struggled with. They started to evaluate people's speech and say well, this person may speak a little bit better so he's better than this person and so on and so forth and he started pitting people against each other and we spent a lot of time talking about that and Paul's like, I don't have to worry about that, okay? Because I didn't come unto you in fleshly wisdom. I stuck to the basics. I stuck to the simplicity, the simple truth that is in God and then he explains to them, hey, I've had my conversation in the world. I've got a past. I've got a background. I did some things in the world too, okay? But he's basically saying I have better things and hopes for you guys that you would just move past them. Verse 13. He says, For we write none other things unto you than what ye read or acknowledge and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end. So again, a quick reference there because people in Corinth, people during this time were writing false letters and I think you can kind of see a hint of that in there. He's kind of reminding them, hey, you know, my letters have a distinction. There's the stamp of God on them, which is kind of why he has the greeting that he has, why he has some of the style of writing that he has is to basically apply a signature within the body of a signature to let people know, hey, this is actually authentic from Paul, endorsed by God, you know, scripture, if you will. So he says also that he basically hopes that they would stick to these things even until the end of their lives, that this wouldn't just be a fad or some kind of temporary thing. But he's like, you need to stick with this for the long haul, okay? Again, stress, consolation, service. That is the order in which we are to follow as believers. Verse 14. As ye also have acknowledged us in part that we are your rejoicing even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. So verse 15. He says, and in this confidence, I was minded to come unto you before that ye might have a second benefit. So again, he was minded to come to them. Remember he said, if the Lord's will, I will be able to come unto you. Now look at verse 16. And to pass by you into Macedonia and to come again out of Macedonia unto you and of you to be brought on my way toward Judea. Again, that's what we read last week. Chapter 16 verses five through eight, okay? Again, here comes the change in plan. So he says this in verse 17. When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness or the things that I propose? Do I purpose? I'm sorry, let me read that again. It says, or the things that I purpose. Do I purpose according to the flesh that with me there should be yay, yay, and nay, nay? Now again, okay, with the King James Bible, just gotta expand your vocabulary. Some of these things, especially in chapter one, are very, they can be a little bit difficult, a little bit hard to kinda understand. But basically Paul's saying here is did my change in plans seem like I don't know what I'm doing to you, okay? He's basically like, hey guys, did my yes and my no, did my maybe I'll come, maybe I won't. Did it seem like I don't know what I'm doing? Did it seem like I have no clue about planning and things of this nature, okay? That's kinda what he means by that. So again, that's why he says when I therefore was thus minded. So he was minded to go if he could. But again, remember the Corinthians, very carnal, very simple-minded people in sin, they read that and they were like, oh, Paul doesn't know what he's doing. He might come, he might not. And they probably started speculating, well, you know, maybe he won't come if we don't give a large enough offering or something of that nature. It doesn't really say we don't really know, but his change in plans had given him feedback or people were like, oh, your yes isn't yes and your no isn't no. Apparently you're indecisive, Paul, what's going on? Okay, so look at verse 18. He says, but as God is true, our word toward you was not yay and nay. So that whole letter, all 16 chapters, he's like, none of that stuff was like yes and no, do this if you can, do your best, give it your best shot. You know, these aren't commandments, these are suggestions. If you wanna have women preachers, that's cool, but it'd be better if you didn't, okay? That wasn't Paul's attitude. He was like, look, you guys are jacked up on all these things, get it right or you're gonna pay the price. That's basically it. But coming to the end, he's like, hey, in my will, I would like to come and square up with you guys and get things settled and have a conversation, but if it's not the Lord's will, then I'm not gonna do it. They took that as, oh, you just don't care or you just don't know, you're indecisive. And he was reminding them, why would you think that when I just got done like going ham on you for 16 chapters of things that you absolutely are doing wrong and need to do? So verse 19, for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. So again, he's reaffirming, hey, don't forget, even when we preach the gospel, he's like, it wasn't yes and no. It wasn't like, okay, well, you should put all your faith and trust on Christ, but if you wanna help him out and turn from all your sins, that's cool too. No, it wasn't like that. It was like, that's a false doctrine. That's a false gospel. You're saved by faith, okay? What he always preaches, what we always preach. So he's like, why would you say that I'm indecisive? Why would you say that I'm oh, yes, yes and no, no? When my manner towards you has never been like that, okay? So he's trying to teach them about discernment, okay? Think about your feelings before you just barf them out, okay? He's like, go review your history. Review how you got saved, how these churches got started. Review the words that I told you. None of it was indecisive. All of it was sure in Christ, sure on the word of God. Especially the gospel, verse 19. Now look at verse 20. So he says, for all the promises of God in him are ye, meaning yes, meaning sure. If God promises something, he always fulfills. There's never any time where it's like, well, maybe God just couldn't grasp it this time. Maybe God just changes him. He's not gonna promise us eternal. He's not gonna gift us this, okay? That never happens. If God says this will happen, you'd better understand. No matter what it looks like around you, even if it looks like it's impossible, it won't. You better believe God is going to make that happen. So again, verse 20, for all the promises of God in him are ye, and in him, amen, okay? What does that mean? That is a word of concurrence. So all of God's promises are sure. All of God's promises are amen or concurrent or agree in the Bible. They all come together, okay? It's not some are promises and some fell through. There's nothing like that in the word of God. It's all sure. It's all yes. It's all amen. Verse 21, now he which stabilisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God. And so again, throughout this entire chapter, Paul is also very clearly talking about the Trinity, making that distinction there. And you can see the Holy Ghost is in here, Jesus Christ, and God the Father, and of course, these three are one, okay? It's not like what the Muslims accuse us of being, polytheistic. Again, God is three in one. That is what you tell people when they say, oh, you still have a polytheist. Shut up, three in one. Explain it. No, you explain it, okay? You put it back on them. No, you explain it. Don't you come to me and tell me how it's going to be. I'm going to tell you how it's going to be because I have the word of God. I have the Bible. So verse 22, he says, who hath also sealed us. Again, another reference to eternal security, to that sure foundation, if you will. Again, God's promises are yes, they are sure. When he says this will happen, this will happen. So you don't have to worry about, oh, what if we're wrong about these Bible verses, about being saved forever, no matter what? You're not. He said it, it's done. So he says again about God, who hath also, okay? Notice he doesn't say all they. No, he says who, referring to God, these three in one, who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Again, when you get saved, the Holy Ghost indwells you, keeps that new man. That new man cannot sin. No one can take that new man out of the hand of Christ. You are saved forever. That surety is what they are missing. They should have thought back and said, you know what? Paul really isn't being double-minded here. He's not like saying, maybe I'll come, maybe I won't, I don't really know, I don't understand. You know, if we think back and remember everything Paul taught us, he's simply saying that at this moment in time, he doesn't know if that's the Lord's will. Oh, okay, easy, let's move on. But no, they got hung up on that, they started looking too much into what he was saying, and they reached error. Okay, that is what he is describing here for us. Verse 23, of course we're getting close to being done, he says, moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul that to spare you I came not as yet unto you, or yet unto Corinth. So, again, he's definitely a little bit upset here. He wrote 1 Corinthians, had to make this emergency trip, he tells him later in the book that he's gonna come a third time, but he explains why he hasn't made that third trip right here, because he needs to make sure that they settle down, that there's still some things that they need to grasp, okay? It's like, how many times is he gonna have to go there and explain himself and go over these things before they finally get it? So he's like, you know, moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. Verse 24, okay, and this verse here is very important for us to understand and to use in defense when people say, oh, you're part of a cult, okay? Look at what he says. He says, not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by faith ye stand. So, again, Paul is simply saying, hey, we don't have control over every single thing. He's basically giving them an admonition here and reminding them that they do have autonomy. There are things that they can do on their own as long as they fall within the parameters of the word of God, okay? They are independent, okay? That's why we call our church an independent fundamental Baptist church, because there's no person or other body or governing board that is over this church. It is literally the word of God that is over this church. It is Jesus Christ. No one can come in here and tell us what to preach, change service times, or what have you. Now, could the landlord say, hey, we've got an emergency. You have to be, yes, okay? But that's totally different. That's not what even we're talking about here. Paul's simply saying is that we don't have dominion over your faith. Can the Seventh-day Organization say that? Absolutely not, because they have their headquarters, which dictates the certain way that you absolutely must look at certain Bible verses. Guess what? Jehovah Witnesses, it's the same thing. They have the Watchtower Society, the Mormon Church. They have the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and their so-called president, Russell Nelson. They speak ex cathedra. So what they say trumps what the Bible says. You say, I don't believe you. I'll take you to some Mormons around here that will tell you that. There are some honest ones around here that will explain that to you. What about the Catholic Church? Well, they've got the pope, they've got the Vatican, and what the pope says trumps whatever is written down here in the Bible, okay? But that's not what we see from scripture. We are supposed to operate in this capacity here. So Paul's saying, not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by faith you stand. So Paul's trying to strengthen their faith, make sure they get certain things right so that they can what? Go back into service, be better at service. So again, the pattern here is stress, consolation, and service. And look at how Paul handles critics, okay? Even though these guys have criticized him, he's not like, you know what, you guys suck, I'm just done, whatever. That's how I feel a lot of times with certain people, but Paul's more mature, and he's like, hey, I'm gonna give you some edification, I'm gonna give you some things you guys are doing good, that you're doing well, and then I'm gonna come in here and let you know what you need to change and the fact that I do not appreciate you saying that I am a yes, no type person, that I don't understand how to make decisions. And so, of course, we're gonna cut it off right there, and we'll kind of review just a little bit because the first four verses of chapter two are ideal in that same passage, but since this is a shorter chapter next week, we'll go ahead and just kind of rehash some of that. So we're gonna stop there for the night. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you again, Lord, for this church, for all that you do for us. Thank you for the salvation today. And I just pray that you'd bless the fellowship afterwards. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. All right, so I have one more song, and then we'll be dismissed. All right, everyone. Please grab your hemlows one last time this evening and turn to song number 183. Oh, how I love Jesus, song number 183. On the first. There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing it's worth. It sounds like music in my ear, The sweetest name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Because he first loved me. On the second. It tells me of a Savior's love, Who died to set me free. It tells me of his precious blood, The sinner's perfect plea. Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Because he first loved me. On the third. It tells me what my Father hath In store for every day. And though I tread a darksome path, Yield sunshine all the way. Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Because he first loved me. On the last. It tells of one whose loving heart Can feel my deepest woe, Who in each sorrow bears a part, That none can bear below. Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Because he first loved me. All right, everyone. Let's bow our heads and dismiss ourselves in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, thank you for this time we had to hear your word be preached. I ask you please help us to remember these things. May God bless everyone's travels home tonight. Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.