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Amen, alright we're in 2 Corinthians chapter number 1 and let me give you just an introduction here. So in 1 Corinthians, if you're here for the lessons on 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul was dealing with the Church of Corinth regarding a lot of issues that they had. Now, Church of Corinth had a lot of issues. I mean, they had doctrinal issues, they had issues in regards to their understanding of spiritual gifts, they had issues about paying the pastor, okay? But one of the biggest issues that they had was that they weren't exercising church discipline. You say, what is church discipline? Does that mean like, you know, that they have character and they're trying to be disciplined in their Christian life? No, it means booting someone out of the church, okay? And this is a concept that is not practiced today by many churches, okay? Where someone is rightfully kicked out of the church for specific reasons. Now we don't kick people out just for being sinners, okay, because everyone's a sinner. There's specific sins that the Bible highlights that qualify someone to be booted out of the church. And I'm not going to re-preach that message, but you can read that in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 where it talks about, it gives that list of specific sins that people can commit that can get them kicked out of church. But primarily the one that he was dealing with was this matter of fornication. There was a man who was committing fornication with his father's wife, okay? He was committing this wicked sin, it was known, it was commonly reported, and what happened? Nothing, okay? Nothing happened. That's why Paul had to come down, bring the hammer, and say, hey, you need to make sure you cast this guy out, purge out the old leaven, make sure you get that right, or else I'm going to come and I'm going to start cracking some heads, is what he was basically saying. Now, he was hard on them in 1 Corinthians, and obviously he was dealing with an obstinate people because these people were pretty stubborn. Some of them were saying, he's not going to come, he's not going to do this, he's not going to do that. But once you start reading 2 Corinthians, you start getting the sense of, wow, these people actually caught on, what happened? Because the guy who was committing fornication was cast out of the church. And it's interesting because in 1 Corinthians, you have an extreme where no one's doing anything about it. On 2 Corinthians, they do do something about it, but now the problem lies in them forgiving the person who actually got it right, restoring him, comforting him, and welcoming him back into fellowship, which they were not doing. So they booted the guy out, but now they're not restoring the guy into fellowship. This guy repented, he got right with God, but they weren't willing to receive him back into the fold. And so that basically sums up a lot of what 2 Corinthians talks about, but we're going to go through chapter number 1 here. And by the way, that's a good principle for us to realize, to learn, is that we need a balance of both. We can't be imbalanced in the Christian life. We need a ripped face, but also give grace. So we need to make sure that we rip face, that we don't compromise or tolerate sin in the church. We make sure that we don't compromise on any of the doctrines that God says, but when someone gets it right, we need to show some grace. Some people would look at a church like ours and say, oh, you guys are so proud, and you guys are so unforgiving, but you know what? It's impossible for you to say that we're proud because we're actually adhering to what God says. The proud person is actually the one in 1 Corinthians 5 who is glorying in the fact that they don't kick anybody out of the church. That's someone who's proud. That's someone who thinks they know more than God, whereas to the church who adheres to the word of God is humble enough to recognize, hey, I don't want to be judged by God. I don't want our church to be judged by God, therefore we're going to execute these principles, these rules, and then when the person gets right, we're welcoming them back into the fold. So we've got to make sure we rip face, but we show grace as well. So when someone who's casted out of our church comes back and they've repented, don't give that person a hard time. Don't remind them of what they did, like, hey, you stopped fornicating, so you got rid of the bottle, you're not drinking anymore, you're not being an extortioner anymore, that's good, man. Don't do that. There's no one who's ever done that, but less than you wouldn't think otherwise or think to do so, don't do that. Someone comes back, they've repented, they've gone right with God, welcome them with open arms, help them to just live out their life, to grow again. We all make mistakes, and we want to make sure that we show grace to the people who we've casted out in the past. Now look at verse number one, it says here, 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 all Achaia. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Should it 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. Now that's a lot of comfort, okay? But it goes to show that God is a God of comfort, amen? And he's saying, look, when you are comforted in your trials or tribulations, which the Bible says right there, we're going to go through tribulation. When you're going through tribulation and God provides comfort, that's not so you can just be comforted and just go move on with your life. Actually the Bible teaches us that we're to comfort others once we're comforted. You see, God blesses us so we can bless others. God allows us to prosper in our Christian life so that we in turn can be a blessing to others, and that's exactly what he's saying here. Now I believe what he's doing here is actually he's priming the pump for 2 Corinthians chapter two. Because in 2 Corinthians chapter number two, if you look at chapter two verse number six, it says they're sufficient to such a man as this punishment which was inflicted of many. So that contrary wise, this is talking about the guy who was casted out, so that contrary wise he ought rather to forgive him. And what? Comfort him, lest perhaps such and one should be swallowed up with over much sorrow. So I think in chapter one, he's like priming the pump, he's like, hey, God's comforted you in all your tribulations and all your trials. Okay, now you got to go comfort that guy. Stop being a hypocrite. And go comfort the guy who's actually trying to get right with God. He's been sorrowful. He's showed repentance, he's showed sorrow. You need to go ahead and go comfort him as well. Now here's the thing about comfort, because we all need comfort one time or another. Why is that? Because we're all going to go through trials at one time or another. We're all going to go through tribulations at one time or another. But this is not the way comfort works. It's like, well, God just come from me, and then he just puts a spiritual blanket over you and just allows you to just be comforted in that manner. No. Go close to how you're comforted of God. Go to John chapter 14. John chapter 14. If you read John chapter 14, 15, and 16, it specifically talks about the Holy Spirit, which one of the names of the Holy Spirit is what? The comforter. You know, we've seen the song, the comforter has come, the comforters. I know that song at the back of my hand because that's my son's favorite song, my two-year-old. And he tells me every single day, huh? Now he calls him the purter, purter has come, seeing purter has come. And he's constantly asking my wife, seeing the comforter has come. And we have to sing it for him every single day. Now hey, I'm thankful that he likes songs. Now there's another song he likes. It's not a spiritual song. It's called John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. His name was my name too. He loves that song just as much as that one. But that's the name of the Holy Spirit is the comforter because that's exactly what he does. Look at John chapter 14, verse 16. And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him for he dwells with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. Skip down to verse 26. But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth. Give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid. Now, I want you to notice that the comforter is also called the Spirit of truth. Well, what is truth? His word. You see, the way God comforts us is when we have the word of God dwelling richly within us. So it's not the spiritual blanket or spiritual shoulder that he gives to you for you to cry on, though that's part of the Christian life. You just weep unto the Lord and you just kind of like, you know, pour out of thine heart like water. But the main way, the way God comforts us is by the word of God that the Holy Spirit brings into our remembrance. That's why it's important that you read the Bible cover to cover. That's why it's important that you get familiar with the Psalms. Why? Because in times of trials and tribulation, that's what the Holy Spirit is going to use to bring into remembrance to comfort you in. But here's the thing. If you don't read the Bible, if you're not memorizing the word of God, if you're not allowing the word of Christ to dwell in you richly, what is he going to use? Nothing. What are you going to do then? You're going to go to your worldly songs to forget about these bowls of life? You're going to go to that old girlfriend or your friends of the world or to some drug or vice that you used to do back in the day to comfort you in a time of trial? That's not what God wants. God wants you to dwell upon his word. God wants you to remember his promises. It's his promises that allow us to basically say, hey, you know, it's okay. God's going to help me through this. He's going to give me the grace that I need. I remember the scriptures that talk about these specific promises and it helps you get through the trials. You don't have to turn there, but Psalms 119, 71 says, it is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. Verse 76 says, let I pray thee thy merciful kindness be for me, be for my comfort according to thy word unto thy servant. Look, I'm not against giving someone an encouraging word when they're going through a trial. That's good. That's okay. But you know, more so than that, you know what they need? They need the Bible. They need the word of God. They need the book of Psalm. They need to just sit down and read the Bible and allow God to just minister to that person through his word. Okay. John 15, 25 says, but this cometh the past that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law. They hated me without a cause, but when the comforters come, who I will send unto you from the father, even the spirit of truth, which proceeded from the father, he shall testify of me. John 16 verse six says, but because I have said these things unto you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you. Now go, go to Colossians chapter three, Colossians chapter three. I quoted, but we're going to look at it. So this is why it's important to read the Bible. You know, not just listen to sermons, not just listen to a Christian song or even sing songs. You know, every once in a while, most of the time, every single day, we just need to crack open the Bible and read it over and over and over again, because that's the way you remember things. Repetition is the key to learning. Repetition is the key to remembering concepts and principles. Colossians three verse 15 says, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which also you're called in one body and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Notice how the comfort and the peace are working in tandem, one with another. Go back to 2 Corinthians chapter one. So look, we all need comfort, but the way you get comfort is by the word of God, okay? You know, if any man is married, let him sing psalms, amen? If you're happy, sing a song. But you know what? If you're feeling sorrowful, it's good to just let the word of God, the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Now look at verse number five of 2 Corinthians one. It says here, for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounded by Christ. And whether we be afflicted is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual on the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer, or whether we be comforted is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the suffering, so shall ye be also of the consolation. Now, what is he saying here? Because there's a lot being said right here in these couple of verses. Well, first of all, verse number five, look down at your Bibles. Verse five is simply stating that we can rest assured that when we have trials, it's accompanied with consolation, okay? When you're going through a trial in life, just know that it's accompanied with consolation. What's that? That's comfort. So don't think, oh man, God has forsaken me when you're going through a trial or something. God allows you to go through trials, but he accompanies those with comfort as well, okay, in order to help us make it through. But it also tells us that we're suffering abounds, so does comfort. Just as the Bible said, we're sinned abounds, so does grace much more abounds. Look at verse six. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation. Consolation means comfort, which is effectual on the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer, or whether we be comforted is for your consolation and salvation. Now Paul's basically saying this, because I'm enduring afflictions, that's for your consolation and salvation. Now let me ask you a question. Does someone get saved by you enduring affliction? No. No, right? No one gets saved. You know, you get saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, you don't get saved by someone enduring afflictions. You get saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. So when the Bible often references the word salvation, it's not always in reference to justification. In other words, us going to heaven, that's not what it's in reference to. Sometimes it's just being referenced as delivering our flesh, right? You know, if I'm drowning in water and I call out to a lifeguard and say, save me. I'm not saying, hey, witness to me so I can know for sure that I'm going to heaven when I die. That's not what I'm asking. Though that would be a good thing if someone's unsaved and they're about to die, amen? But what I'm saying is save my flesh. And that's exactly what Paul's saying here. His endurance of his afflictions is effective enough to help others endure those afflictions as well. Okay? Now, go to 1 Timothy chapter 2, let me turn there also. I'm sorry, 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter number 2. Now, you'll see this theme commonly throughout the writings of Paul when he's writing to Timothy or to whomever about him enduring afflictions. In fact, look at verse number 3. It says there in verse number 3, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Verse 4, no man that worth entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier. So here he's saying, hey, Timothy, you need to endure hardness, man. You know, hard times are coming, don't be a little sissy, don't be a little snowflake, get some thick skin, toughen up a little bit, okay? Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Skip down to verse number 8. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer even unto bonds. What is it? What are bonds? What? Chains, which are what? That's imprisonment, right? So in other words, he's saying, look, I'm preaching the gospel, you know what's happening to me? They're arresting me for these things. So he's suffering trouble like as if he's an evildoer even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Look at verse 10. Therefore, I endure all things, for who? For the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Now, there's a false doctrine out there that says that the elect is referring to the Jews, okay? And they'll say, you know, oh, you know, the Jews are God's elect, these are the God's chosen people, God's not done with Israel, and you know, the list goes on and on and on and on and on. It's just like worship, okay? I don't believe that for one second. And the Bible doesn't teach that. You know who's the elect? You're looking at them. Who's the elect? It's people who are saved. And by the way, they'll point to a verse like this and say, see, Paul endured hardness for the Jews so that they can get saved. Well, people don't get saved by someone else enduring hardness. That's weird. It's like, oh, man, that guy's enduring, so I'm just going to go ahead and call upon the name of the Lord because I see that guy enduring hardness. That's not the way it works. But if you get the biblical context of what the elect is, it's saved people. He's enduring hardness for saved people. He said, but wait, hold on a second. But it says there that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. If it's saved people, why do they need salvation? Well, let's read on. Verse 11, it is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself. Now go to chapter 3 and verse number 10. Chapter 3 and verse number 10. So keep that in mind. Again, I'm enduring afflictions, hardness for the elect's sake so that they can attain salvation. All right? Look at chapter 3, verse 10, it says, but thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch and Iconium and Lystra, what persecutions I, what, endured. But out of them all the Lord, what did he do? Delivered me. So when he was going through afflictions, trials, persecutions, what did he do? He endured. And because he endured, what did Jesus Christ do? He delivered him from all those things. Okay? Because remember, salvation is not always in reference to being justified. Sometimes it just means being delivered. Delivered is just another word for salvation. Makes sense? So verse 12, yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So why is Paul enduring hardness? Well, for one, because he doesn't want to be denied the rewards that he's going to get when he meets Christ. But for two, for the elect's sake. Why is that? Because when someone sees you enduring hardness as a good soldier, what does that do? That motivates you to endure hardness. That turns a coward into a bold lion. You see someone enduring hardness is just like, man, I don't know if I can do that. But then you see the Lord delivering that person from the persecutions and afflictions and what do you say? Well, if he can do it, I can do it too. It causes people to wax bold in the Lord. Okay? Now let me further prove this point. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4. Paul's writing this and he's talking about dying. He's talking about going home to be with the Lord. And look what he says in verse number 5. But watch thou in all things endure afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist. Make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. So he's telling people, hey, Timothy, you better endure hardness, because I'm ready to be offered. And guess what? Because I endured, now that I'm ready to be offered, I'm going to receive a crown of righteousness. Which what do we see in chapter 2? He says this, if we deny him, in context of not enduring afflictions, he will also deny us. Deny us what? The crown of righteousness? You see, that's a prime motivation to make sure that you stick it out in the Christian life. You say, well, I've done so much work though, you know, and you know, what if I just backslide just a little and I get out of church and I do all these things, but I've done so many things. You know, all those things are going to perish. You only, a man is not crowned yet if he doesn't strive lawfully, the Bible says, okay. You need to make sure you're enduring to the end to get those rewards. Not for salvation, obviously. Salvation is sealed as soon as we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But after that, when we're working for the Lord, guess what? When do we get paid? When we make it all the way to the end, when we endure all the way to the end. That's what happened to Paul. He says, because I endured, I'm receiving a crown of righteousness. Now skip down to verse 14. Verse 14, Alexander the coppersmith, sorry, Alex. He always looks at me and I always look at him when we read this verse. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil. The Lord reward him according to his works. That doesn't sound like your very loving message, Paul. You know, the Lord reward him according to his works. Verse 15, of whom be thou where also for he hath greatly withstood our words. So this is a guy who was persecuting. He's afflicting the apostle Paul, right? Look at verse number 16, at my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. This is affliction. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me that by me the preaching might be fully known and that all the Gentiles might hear and I was what? Delivered out of the mouth of the lion. So again, what do we see when he endured the persecution of Alexander? All the trash talking, all the criticisms, all the hindrances, he endured all those things. What happened? The Lord delivered him out of the mouth of the lion. Verse 18, and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom to whom be glory forever and ever, amen. Now go to Philippians, Philippians chapter one. So what's the principle there? The principle is this. We need to endure hardness so that others can watch and see that as an example and endure hardness as well. You see, all of us to a certain extent have a little cowardice in us, okay? And it stems just from being afraid. We're afraid of persecution. We're afraid of criticisms. We're afraid of, you know, the homos might come and what are they going to do if they protest outside our church or whatever? Well, what will they do if they kill, what will they do if they kill us? This is what's going to happen if anybody kills you. You go to heaven. That's it. I mean, that's like the best thing that can happen to you. I'm just afraid of dying. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Death is not the same for us as it is for an unsaved person. You see, an unsaved person, when they die, the Bible says that they lift up their eyes in hell, being in torments day and night. There is no rest for the wicked, okay, when they go to hell. Whereas to us, when we die, yeah, they'll probably be like a little sliver of pain. But guess what? To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. You know? And what do you do to a man who's not afraid to die? You see, but when we talk like that and when we exemplify that, we allow others who are possibly a little bit fearful of persecutions to wax bold in the Lord. And what happens when someone waxes bold in the Lord? They start standing up for right. They start standing for the truth. They start preaching the word of God like it needs to be preached. Why? Because they're not afraid of anybody. Okay? They start standing up against the enemies of God. They start preaching against the things that need to be preached against. And what does that do? That causes for others to be confident in the Lord and saying, look, I'm afraid, but I'm not afraid anymore. I want to stand for truth as well. That's the purpose of enduring afflictions. Look at Philippians 1-12, but I would, you should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel so that my bonds, his afflictions, his imprisonment in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all the places. And many of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident by my bonds are much more bold to speak the word without what? Beer. You see, they're like, Paul, man, Paul went to jail. And they're like, let's get up and start preaching, too. Because there's something within us that obviously naturally we're afraid, but you know what? As soon as you light a fire under us, as soon as you get the right example out there, you know what that does? When you get a fire that lights a fire under your hinder parts, you start getting bold for the Lord. You see, the wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion, the Bible says. And the lion turneth away not from any, the Bible tells us. You know, God expects us to be like lions, to be bold. Okay. That's why it's important that we endure afflictions because there's people who are listening to us out there. There's people who are watching us and guess what? They like our preaching, but guess what? They're afraid. They're scared of the persecution. They're afraid. What's going to happen if they find out? Well, you know what's going to happen? You're going to wax bold in the Lord. Just put it this way, anytime there's fear in your heart regarding anything, that means the devil's trying to discourage you from doing something that could potentially change your life and the lives of those around you. That means you probably have the potential to do something great for God, but you know what he does? He doesn't send temptation. He sends fear in your heart because fear can debilitate you. It can paralyze you. It can keep you from doing worse for God. And you know what? The worst thing for a Christian to do is look back 20 years later and say, man, I wonder what it would have been like if I would have just fill in the blank. That's the worst place to be in. Better to step out in faith. Have no fear. Be bold, confident in the Lord. Have faith that God can do it and look back in 20 years and say, I'm thankful that 20 years ago I made that decision to give it all to the Lord, to stand for righteousness, to preach hard, and let the chips fall where they may. But what if? You know what if? God will deliver you out of all those things. You know what typically God doesn't deliver is cowards. He doesn't deliver them. You see that multiple times in the Bible, where people use their own understanding and their own knowledge, and they try to evade persecution. They try to evade afflictions and trials. And guess what happens to them? They're dying anyways. Look, I don't want to die. And the only reason I don't want to die is because I want to do more for the Lord. But in God's economy, the way you do that is by standing for righteousness regardless of what happens. Okay? Now look, I'm going to give you a personal example of this. I remember when we first started this church, and the week before, because we started it in a week, I told Pastor Anderson, I said, yeah, let's do it. Because he said, are you up for this? I said, yeah, let's do it. Put up the video out there, and it's just like we're starting in a week. I remember fear gripping my heart like I've never had before. And I remember thinking to myself, why am I so afraid? What in the world is wrong with me? And it was, and I asked my wife, I remember going to my wife every day, because look, my wife's my best friend, and I tell her everything. I said, Sarah, I need to tell you something. I said, I'm scared. Fear is gripping my heart. I said, I'm not going to quit. I just need to let you know for some reason, fear has gripped my heart. But I'm not going to quit. We're going through with this. We're going to go through with this. I don't care how afraid I am. But I just want to let you know that for some reason, I'm afraid. And I honestly believe to this day that it was Satan just instilling that fear in my heart, because 1,600 souls later, he's like, heck, no, we can't start this church, because then people are going to get saved. A lot of people are going to get saved. So I mean, it was like night and day. I couldn't sleep. I was thinking to myself, this is a season. This has to be a season. Satan's just fighting me all this. But I allow that to be a measure to say, well, this must be a great work. I even lost weight. I know it doesn't look like it. And my wife would even say, you're stressed, because you're not eating. And I was just like, I'm not hungry. And I would tell her, I'm afraid. I said, but I'm not going to quit. I'm just telling you I'm afraid. I told her, I was like, I don't want you to think like, I want you to talk me out of this. I'm just being honest with you. I need to tell someone that fear has gripped my heart. He said, well, how did you get out of that fear? How did you fight that? Well, I prayed every single day. Because look, at the end of the day, you know what fear is? Fear is sinful. Fear is the opposite of faith. And without faith, it is impossible to please God. So I had to come to the conclusion, I'm sinning by being afraid. So what I would do is I would pray, God, please forgive me for being afraid, for being fearful, for being a little coward in my heart. Help me to have boldness. Fill me with your power and your spirit. For perfect love casteth out fear, the Bible says. God is love. And as we pray for the Holy Spirit to fill us. And I remember praying that every single day. Just please forgive me for being fearful. Fill me with boldness. And you know what? It's almost as if it just went away. I don't remember the exact time it went away. But I remember it just went away. And I remember thinking to myself, Satan was fighting me on this. It was a pivotal point in my life when we started this church. And I think anybody who is going to do great works for God, fear is going to grip their heart. And that's normal. That's a normal part of life. But here's where you fail, is if you give in to that fear. When I used to do kickboxing, it's just like, when you jump in the ring, it's OK to be afraid. But don't let that cause you to jump out of the ring. You just put up your dukes and fight. Well, you know, in the spiritual battle, when you're afraid, it's OK. But you know what? That just means you've got to put up your dukes and start fighting. And look, if you're afraid, and you're scared, and you feel like you're a coward, then you need to get around some people who's got some boldness. Get around some people who are not afraid, who are bold in the Lord, and that will rub off on you. But don't let fear grip your heart because you're afraid. What about my circumstances? You know what? Count it all but dung. Count it all but dung. And that's exactly what I have to do. Because the reason I was afraid was, man, what about the criticisms of my old church? What about X, Y, and Z, and the emails, and the phone calls, and the text messages about criticizing us, starting the church? You know, I don't want to deal with that. But you know what? I had to count it all but dung. But you know what? You count it all but dung, then you may win Christ, the Bible says. And we started this church. And looking back almost a year later, I'm glad I didn't quit. Thousands of souls saved, hundreds of souls saved, people who have been changed by the preaching of God's word. A great work has been done. You know, there's multiple people that I've spoken to that said, I was praying for a church to start. I needed a church to start. I was going to move this week. I was going to move last week. I was going to move this week, this coming week. We were going to go. But then this church started. It was an answer to prayer. You know, think about this. If you're afraid, you better take into account of the people who are counting on you in the future. Don't be a selfish little sissy and just wimp out. You know, take into account the people, the amount of souls that are going to be saved, the people who are going to be blessed by your ministering, or whatever it may be. Think about those things. That'll help you to endure. OK? So he carries this thought even further. Back in 2 Corinthians 1, look at verse number 8. For I would not, for we would not, brethren, verse number 8, 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. He's like, man, we're going to die. Verse 9, but we had a sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raised it to the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. What do we see there? Deliver, deliver, deliver. I mean, if there's someone who's near death, it was Paul. When you got vipers jumping out of the sticks and just biting you in the arm, something ever happens to me, I'm like, I'm done. The ministry is done. I'm not going to survive this. I'm going to die right now. He was just like, threw back into the fire and moved on. How about being stoned to death? Carried out and said, yeah, he's dead. And he just gets up and goes to preach the gospel to the next city over. What about the times he was shipwrecked and he was just a castaway in the sea? All these times that he could have died and what did God do? He delivered him out of all that. And did Paul die by some hanging or did they crucify him or did they beat him to death to the point where he just died? No, he died just like a regular person. We see, he's like, I'm ready to be offered. He just died, I believe in his old age. That's how he died. Why? Because the Lord delivered him out of everything. Now, obviously there's people, there's martyrs. I'm not saying there's no such thing as martyr, but for the most part, not everyone's going to be a martyr. Now, see me in the great tribulation, there'll be a bunch of martyrs. Different story, okay? That's for 75 days. That's the 75 days of martyrdom is what that's going to be. But in current times now, persecution, you should welcome it. It's really good for you. It'll toughen you up. It'll make you bold. And within the last year, we've procured a lot of enemies but you know what? Bring it on. Amen. Because most of these enemies, they're the real cowards. You know, they're the real scared ones. They're the ones who like to criticize us and all these things. But you know what? The fact of the matter is, if we stand for the truth, we stand for right. The Bible says, God says, I'll deliver you out of all those things. But you got to trust me and I'll do it. He says right there. So over and over, we see that God is faithful to deliver us from the hands of our enemies. And this should encourage us to take a stand for right in spite of threats, in spite of people who disassociate themselves from us. You know, I've had people who are just like, they've completely ostracized my family and I. They don't talk to us. They're just like, unclean. You guys are lepers or whatever. But you know what? At the end of the day, got my wife, got my children, got my church, got my brethren. I was so into it with my brother, Hike. Life is good. Fellowship is going to be great after this. I'm happy about Nick and Ivy getting married here and on Saturday. It's been, how many weddings have we had in our church? This is what? You guys know? Fourth, fourth wedding in our church. Amen. And these two coming up, right? Put you on the spot. Can't go back on it now? Just kidding. It's on video, guys. Just kidding. Can't go back. But you know what? You know, we got to do these things in spite of the threats, in spite of the disassociations, in spite of the criticisms, because they're going to come. And to be quite honest with you, not to be jesting or anything, but it just makes life that more interesting. Makes life a little fun. If you're not getting persecuted for anything, you're not getting threatened, you know, life is just boring. You just work, go to church, hear a sermon about grace, and then you go home and that's it. I like a couple threats. You know, I like people to threaten me and to criticize me. It just gives me something to talk about. It means things are happening, okay? Now go to Matthew chapter 10. So fear, fear comes simply because we cherish our lives. Doesn't the Bible tell us that? That, you know, men, we cherish our own flesh, we cherish our lives. But the Bible tells us in Matthew chapter 10, verse 39, he that findeth his life shall lose it. And he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. So the Bible tells us, when you're actually trying to keep your life, that's when you actually lose it. But when you're willing to lose it, guess what, you get to keep it. So foolishly, people think, well, I don't wanna risk everything because I might lose my life. Well, God says, well, now you're gonna lose it because you wanted to keep it. But in his economy, if you're willing to lose it, God says, all right, you can keep it. Because then you have a man who has nothing to lose. And those are the crazy guys. That's who he's looking for in his army. The guys who have nothing to lose. The guys who are willing to lose it all. He said, Brother Bruce, but you're married. What about your son, your daughter, and your wife? I'll lose it all. I love my wife, I love my children, but I'll lose it all. If that's what the Lord wants, I'll lose it all. And by that, God says, well, then you can keep it. But people who try to hold those things precious to the point where it hinders them from doing God's will, those are the people who actually lose everything. Go to Matthew 19. Matthew chapter 19. Don't be afraid. The greatest thing you can stand for is truth. And the greatest thing you can do is stand for truth alone. And once you stand for truth alone, you'll find others who are also standing for truth alone. And then when you find those people, you have a camaraderie. You find out that you're not the only one. There's 7,000 prophets who have not bowed beneath the bale. Matthew 19, 29 says, and everyone that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name's sake shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life. Don't think, oh man, I just don't wanna give up everything. Everything that you have, God gave to you anyways. And if I were to lose everything, may I lose at doing God's will, not because I was some idiot going into debt or because I parted away all my money or something like that or I crashed my car and just lose my possessions over stupid things. I'd rather lose everything I have doing God's work, God's will. Now go back to 2 Corinthians chapter number one. So I think that's very clear. What he's saying there, what verse are we on? Verse 11? I'm in 1 Timothy, sorry. Verse number six, go up to verse six. It says, whether we be afflicted is for your consolation and salvation. He's not talking about salvation as in being safe. He's talking about the endurance, being delivered, excuse me. He's talking about, he said, I'm enduring this, the endurance of my life, I'm doing it for you. I'm enduring these things so that you know that you can be delivered out of those things as well, which we also suffer and whether we be comforted is for your consolation and salvation. So the principle that we find there is this. Hey guys, when we go through trials and afflictions and persecutions, endure those things. Don't wimp out because there's people who are watching us, okay? Now let me skip down to verse number 11. He also helping together by prayers for us that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons, things 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 by 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 that, excuse me, that what ye read or acknowledge and I trust you shall acknowledge even to the end as also you have acknowledged us in part that we are your rejoicing, even as he also are ours in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now what is he referring to there as them being his rejoicing? Well, obviously they're rejoicing and they have leaders, but when he talks about they are his rejoicing, he's referring to the fact that he won them unto the Lord, okay? That's why when people, I don't like when people say, well, you know, oh yeah, you guys saw this amount of people say, where are they at? They say, well, they're at their houses, you know, they're in Compton or wherever we won them to the Lord. But we're gonna see him again someday. And one of the, I remember when we did the Chinese marathon with Ryan, not Ryan, Justin Zong, I knew another Chinese guy named Ryan. With Justin Zong, we won a lady to the Lord and the last thing she told us after she asked us to lead her sister to the Lord, she was walking away and she says, I'll see you guys in heaven. She said, I'll see you guys in heaven. You know, that may sound cliche, but it's true. And in fact, she's gonna be our rejoicing when we get to heaven. Why is that? Because when we get to heaven, I believe we're gonna recognize the people that we won to the Lord. If I were to ask you, what was the, you know, the 10th guy you won to the Lord last month, you wouldn't remember, you'd be like, I don't remember. I think you will know them when we get to heaven. I think when you see them, they're gonna be your rejoicing. It's like, man, you're here. I mean, I knew you were gonna be here, but you're here. Verse 15, and in this confidence, I was minded to come unto you before that you might have a second benefit and to pass by you in Macedonian, to come again out of Macedonian to you and of you to be brought on my way towards Judea. When I therefore was thus minded that I use lightness or the thing that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh that with me there should be yea, yea and nay, nay. So if you remember in 1 Corinthians, Paul, the apostle was saying, man, I'm gonna come to you because there's some of you thinking I'm not gonna come. So he's almost basically, he's like threatening them is what he's doing. He says, you're saying that I'm not gonna come. I'm gonna come. And we're gonna see what you're gonna say when I come. Okay. And he says, do I purpose according to the flesh that with me there should be yea, yay and nay, nay. So what is he saying there? In other words, I'm not being double minded. Now this is a good principle because he's saying, look, if I say I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come. I'm not gonna change my mind. Why is that? Because Paul was not double minded. And the Bible says a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. That's why we gotta make sure we're like the apostle Paul. That when we determined to do something, we're gonna do it. Don't be double minded. Don't waver about, don't be like the sea tossed about. Make sure that you're settled. If you're gonna do something, do it. Okay. If you're gonna purpose to stand for the truth, do it. Paul said, hey, I'm not yay, yay, nay, nay. I'm all yay. Amen. That's what he's saying. And we should be the same. Whatever task, whatever goal. Hey, if you're interested in a girl, be all yay. He's like, oh, I like her one day and then I don't like her the next. You know, oh, you know, I'm with her at this moment. I'm not with her at the next. No, don't be double minded. Because you know what, that makes you unstable in all your ways. It's getting kind of quiet. That makes you unstable in all your ways. A double minded man is unstable. We need to make sure that when we plan something, we want something, we do it. Okay. You can't be like, oh yes, no, yay, nay, yay. No, it's all yay. Either all yay or all nay. Amen. Now, verse 18 says, but as God is true, our word toward you was not yay and nay. 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 yay and nay, but in him was yay. For all the promises in him are yay, and in him, amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now, let me just hit that one point one more time. I'm just thinking of stuff here, all right? If that's you, that's gonna be you for the rest of your life. If you're the kind of person who's just jumping around and you can't make a decision, and you're just like, I'm gonna be all in, I'm gonna date this girl, I'm not gonna date, that's gonna be you for the rest of your life. And people like that never get anything done. They talk the good talk, but they don't walk the walk. The person who gets things done is ones who determine, I'm just gonna do it, and just gets it done. See what I'm saying? What if when we started the church, I was just like, yay, yay, nay, nay? I told Pastor Anderson, all right, well, I'll do it. And then Thursday, I'll say, hey, I don't think I'm gonna do it. But let me let you know on Friday if I'm really gonna do it. He's gonna be like, no, forget this whole thing, we're not doing it. Or I say, well, yeah, I'm all in, but I'll let you know next week. That's garbage. He's gonna be like, what is this, a girl? I'm talking to a girl here? No, we need definite answers, amen? Yes, I'll do it. Can you preach? Yes, no. Like, pig, man, you need a juice. Can you do it, yes or no? No, yes. It's like, get out of here then. No, it needs to be a definite answer. Okay, I don't have all the information. Then before you open your mouth and say that you're gonna do it, get all the information. And I'm not saying all of us make mistakes, okay? There's times when we're determined to do something, we didn't know it all, and then we made a mistake and it doesn't go through, whatever. But if that's constantly your character, you're unstable in all your ways. You're double-minded, okay? You need to be all in. Should I hammer that point just a little more? I didn't get enough amens there. No, I'm just kidding. I don't care. All right, it says there, for all the promises of God in him are ye, and in him, amen, and to the glory of God by us. Now he which established 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. Now that's referring to the fact that when we got saved, the Holy Spirit of God came to live within us. And that is a perfect example of eternal security, okay? Because some people say, well, once you get saved, yeah, but can you sin again? What if you sin again? You lose your salvation, you gotta get saved again. Well, no, because it says in Ephesians chapter one, verse 13 through 14, that we're sealed with the Holy Spirit of God, which is the earnest of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. In Ephesians chapter four, it says that grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise unto the day of redemption. What is the day of redemption? That's the day that Christ comes back and raptures us or the day you die. So God says that he has sealed his Holy Spirit within us until that day. That is the earnest of our inheritance, okay? That goes to show us, hey, we can't lose our salvation. The Holy Spirit of God is sealed within us. And I typically give the illustration when I'm out sowing, when I explain to him eternal security, I said, have you ever mailed a letter? Now today, people don't do that much anymore. They use email, text messages, but most of the time they'll say, yeah, I mailed a letter. I say, you know, you get the letter, you put the contents in an envelope, you lick it, you seal it, you throw it into a mailbox, it doesn't get reopened until it reaches its final destination. Simple as that. And it's the same thing with you. God seals you with his Holy Spirit, he doesn't leave until the day of redemption. So you die and you can go to heaven, okay? Now, look at verse number, where we at? Verse 23, 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 for by faith ye stand. So I believe what the apostle Paul is saying is here, he's like, hey, I don't have dominion over your faith. Well, what is faith? Believing, right? In other words, I don't determine what you believe. You know what we have today is a lot of pastors who try to dictate what people believe. That's garbage. You can't tell me what I believe. I got to come to spiritual conclusions on my own to make decisions on my own. I mean, one of the distinctives of being a Baptist is we believe in individual soul liberty, which means I believe based upon my conscience and what I've read in the Bible, this is what I believe. You can't tell me, you can't force me to believe something, especially if it's not in the Bible. You need to believe the pre-tribulation rapture or else X, Y and Z is like, no, I don't have to believe that. Well, you have to believe it to be a part of this church. No, I don't. I can believe whatever I want. God has given me a brain and a conscience to you don't have dominion over my faith. For my faith I stand. You don't have dominion over my faith. Look, even if our church is post-trib pre-wrath all the way to the day we die, we get raptured, okay, but if someone comes here who's pre-trib, we're gonna preach post-trib, but we're not gonna kick them out because they're pre-trib. Because I don't have dominion over your faith. I don't have dominion over your beliefs. You gotta come to these spiritual conclusions. Well, you send me out if I'm pre-trib? No. You say, why not? Because if you are pre-trib and you wanna be a pastor, it goes to show you haven't really read your Bible. Right. You just disqualify yourself from being a pastor because obviously you haven't read the Bible. Oh, that's just your opinion. No, I can show you plenty of verses in the Bible that teach post-trib pre-wrath. Amen. So I don't have anything against you, but you're not qualified to pastor. Why? Because you believe in the pre-trib rapture. And that's not found in the Bible. It goes to show you haven't read your Bible enough. You're reading too many commentaries. You've seen Left Behind too much, okay. Horrible graphics. You've seen these things too much. You need to go to the Bible and study what the Word of God says about those things. But at the end of the day, just a regular church member wants to be pre-trib, amen. If that's what you want, okay. Well, I don't have dominion over your faith. I'll preach post-trib. We'll preach what the Bible says, but you gotta make that decision on your own. Now there's certain doctrines though, we can't tolerate. Because God says we can't tolerate. I believe that salvation is by works. You're not welcome here. I thought you just have dominion over my faith. Yeah, but here's the thing is the Bible clearly, distinctively talks about specific things that we're not supposed to tolerate, okay. I don't have dominion over your faith in that area, but you go ahead and take that faith somewhere else. To a church where they believe that, okay. So you're allowed to believe whatever you wanna believe, but there are certain things, well, I believe fornication's okay. Okay, that's fine, you can believe that, but you gotta believe it outside of these walls. I believe you can drink and read the Bible and still be a good Christian. Well, if you wanna believe that, that's fine, but you gotta believe it outside. You can't believe it in here. See, I don't have dominion over your faith, but guess what I do have dominion over, this church. Amen. You get what I'm saying? So especially in regards to specific things that God forbids within his word, okay. And Paul's saying that, he said, not that we have dominion over your faith, but we are helpers of your joy. That's what we're supposed to be, we're supposed to help you, right, by teaching you the word of God. And so we started the book of 2 Corinthians, and I think it's a pretty good chapter, amen. A lot of truth, I'm looking forward to the remaining chapters of this book. Let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for your word and thank you for just verse by verses that we get to study and so much richness and wisdom found within the Bible. And I pray you continue to open our understanding, open our eyes, and thank you for this great group of people. Thank you for all those who visited. And we're thankful for the wedding that's coming up this Saturday. We're hoping for Nick and Ivy, may you bless them. And bless all the rest of the follow, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.