Missions Paul

“We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.” (2 Corinthians 6 v 12-13)

Some people always like to be the victim in scenarios. The Corinthians church were one of these. Paul had to address their sinfulness and he did so firmly in the previous letter. Now it looks like they have withheld their love for him and the team and probably because they say they are hurt. What is more probably true, they are offended.

Paul calls them to be as open and honest as he was with them. For that is the only way to be reconciled. There are people hurt and offended today with someone who is completely unaware that they have been the one to make them feel this way.

Have we built walls instead of bridges?

Is there anyone we have withdrawn from, why?

We  might need to overcome our hurts, disappointments and fears in order to love authentically.

Finally, notice how Paul addresses them as children. This speaks of Paul’s love to them being one of nurture and sacrifice. I heard yesterday how one father hasn’t had contact with his son for many years. They had fallen out a long time ago. Perhaps today there is someone, a parent, a child, a friend of years ago who you stopped loving, you gave up your affection for them. The Spirit calls you to open your heart again and show the same love that God shows you.

“We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you.” (2 Corinthians 6 v 11)

I love the NKJV  which says, “O Corinthians! We have spoken …”

There are times for giving instructions and addressing issues and problems and then there are times for this:

O Corinthians! … our heart is wide open

People always know whether they are loved by you.

Opening your heart to people involves risk and disappointment. You can be rejected. Your heart can be broken and you can face the temptation to pull the draw bridge of your heart up and never to love again. But the pull of genuine connection is far too strong.

Above all it reflects the open heart of Christ for us all.

A crucible: a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures.

For Paul, since entering the life of service to God it has not been one of victory and miracles entirely. There has been a flip-side to that coin. It has been more like the crucible. Ministry has happened within the crucible of discomfort but has been proven authentic.

“We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. ⁴ Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; ⁵ in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; ⁶ in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; ⁷ in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; ⁸ through glory and dishonour, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; ⁹ known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; ¹⁰ sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” (2 Corinthians 6 v 3-10)

Paul’s service flowed from who he was not what he did. He is a servant of God and it is a tough life being so. He doesn’t sugar-coat his experiences. He has faced much difficulty and opposition.

The real credentials of ministry is never what you think it is.

Next week along with the National team of leaders I will be giving out credentials to new ministers who will be ordained the following month. Last week along with others I led a global conference of Pastors from across the world who know hardship and suffering. True credentials are not small cards or whether or not your work is successful, according to the views of people who see you on the many stages of this world; but true credentials are found in difficulty, in the crucibles of this world. The Holy Spirit is there within the crucible of suffering, difficulty and opposition and is forming who we are within them. The paradox of the reality of brokenness and celebration.

Paul doesn’t complain or react against the discomfort. He doesn’t necessarily want to avoid them. He sees his difficulties as the demonstration for the glory of God in his life. So we can sorrow and rejoice!

In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6 v 2)

Paul quotes from Isaiah 49 but adds his own “now is the time and now is the day”.

Now. Don’t prepare to change tomorrow, don’t reconcile tomorrow, the divine moment of God is always right now, in the present time.

Paul is saying to the Church they are living in a unique time of God’s favour. We are also.

Are you postponing anything that you need to do today?

Are you thinking tomorrow will be a better day to follow God?

If you truly believed that today carries the favour and blessing of God, what would you do?

Don’t wait for a convenient time, do it now. Now is now.

“As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. ² For he says, “In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6 v 1-2)

I am writing this devotion whilst the Elim Global conference is happening in London. 176 delegates from all over the world are gathered in London and there is this deep sense of being co-workers together. In fact that is the theme of the conference, Together for the Nations. But this theme has suddenly taken on a whole new meaning. We are not only co-workers together. But Paul says we are God’s co-workers.

Together with Him. Often we are asking Him to work with us. “Come and help me today” we pray and He does of course. But there is a greater call, “Come and join me in my work today.”

We work with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

It isn’t that God needs us to help Him out. He doesn’t need our workmanship. But He wants us to work with Him. It reminds me of the story of the elephant and mouse crossing the bridge. The mouse said to the elephant, ‘Wow we really shook that bridge didn’t we?!’

It’s His mission and we join Him. As we do we find that it isn’t all about what we do but it is about what He does in us. Working in the mission of God with Him changes lives, our lives. We are never the same again. And as we change we desire for more so we respond to the call to be with Him.

This work within His mission is grace. This grace encourages us to respond to the call, not to be passive but active.

Today God is calling you again to His grace, the work of His mission. As you do then you will change, for this is the day of salvation, now.

In its simplest but most beautiful form: our sins are laid on Christ and His righteousness is laid upon us.

“God made him who had no sin to be sinfor us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5 v 21)

• Jesus was the only human  who lived without sin, the spotless lamb.
• This sinlessness was essential to His mission. It had to be a perfect sacrifice. If He had sinned even only once then He would have needed saving not been the Saviour.
• Jesus was made sin for us on the cross. There he took on the full consequences of our sin. He was our sin offering bearing the full weight of divine judgment for our sins. At that moment the Father treated His Son as if Jesus Christ had committed every sin of every person who had ever and who ever was going to live.
• Christ gave us His righteousness not because we had achieved or earnt it in some way. It is received by faith .
• When God looks at you now He sees you being clothes in the perfect righteousness of Christ.
• This great exchange is the gospel message and anything that is different in even the slightest way is not the gospel.
• Our righteousness is not by our works but Christ’s work on the cross.

Our world is divided, prejudiced and abusive. It desperately needs individuals who see things differently, and we do, the Church. There is a move of God currently across the world where it seems there is an escalation of lives being transformed, renewed, changed upside down and one of the first things that happens is that the person sees their world differently.

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5 v 16-20)

When a person has been transformed by the power of Christ then their perspective on themselves, others and their world changes, they see things differently.

• They don’t see people as the world sees them, their appearances, their social status and achievements.
• They see people as God sees them, with eyes of possibility, seeing the divine in humanity.
• They see Jesus Christ more than a good man, more than a prophet or miracle-worker, but God in flesh Himself.
• They see Christians as new creatures in Christ. Everything is new.
• They see their past failures not as something that defines them anymore but it is the newness of life that gives them a new identity.
• They see the reconciling work of Christ as the key for a new relationship with God.
• They view reconciliation between people as the outcome of reconciliation with God.

May it be said of you and me, ‘From now on …” Let’s start today.

It really is the great exchange. Christ died for us all and in return we live for Him.

 ^“And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5 v 15)

• So we don’t focus on our own comfort and pleasure as the most important factor of our life.
• So we don’t make decisions solely based on our own personal benefits.
• So we don’t view relationships through the lens of what we can gain from them.
• So we don’t own anything, it is all His.
• So we do adopt what is important to Christ into our lives.
• So we do offer all our time, talents and resources as gifts to serve Him.
• So we do find our identity in Christ not in this world.
• So we do embrace a life of gratitude which flows from the cross.

Much of this is countercultural, for we stop living for ourselves and start living for He who died for us.

This is discipleship.

Have you ever had someone ask why you are a Christian? Why you live the way you do?

Paul gives the greatest motivation for his life.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” (2 Corinthians 5 v 14)

He is motivated, compelled, deeply moved into active living because of the love Christ had for him. That must be the foundation of our lives. It isn’t our love but His love for us. So we see that this love is powerful love in that it becomes a force that moves us to be a conduit of that love to others. When we have understood and received such love and when we know where it flows from (the sacrifice of God), then we have no choice but to bring thanksgiving and to live thankfully.

An old man is on the pier feeding the seagulls, they land all around him, on his shoulders, his hat, feeding off what he had in his bag. Why is this man doing this? Why does he come here every week?
The man is Eddie Rickenbacher, a famous pilot in World War 2. His plane the “Flying Fortress” was shot down in 1942 and no one thought he would be rescued. He and eight passengers survived in 2 rafts for 30 days. They fought thirst, the sun and sharks some of which were 9 feet long. But what nearly killed them was starvation, within 8 days they had no more food left.
But in these rafts they would have a daily devotion to God. One day after a devotion Rickenbacher leaned back with his hat over his eyes to get some sleep. Within a few moments he felt something land on his hat. He knew in an instant it was a seagull. They were hundreds of miles from land, where had it come from? In an instant he grabbed the seagull. They all ate the bird and the intestines they used as fish bait. Rickenbacher never forgot that sacrifice. Every week he went to the pier to feed the seagulls, to say thank you.

How much more should we carry the spirit of thanksgiving for what Christ has done for us?

Paul has just said that one day we will all stand before God as He judges what has happened in our lives, whether good or bad. This isn’t something to fear from a possible condemnation, we know there is none for Paul says that in his letter to the Romans (8:1), but we do carry a deeper meaning of fear, that of awe and deep respect, a strong desire to live out our lives in a way that will in the end be commendable by Him.

“Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. ¹² We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. ¹³ If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.” (2 Corinthians 5 v 11-13)

So what is the overarching motivation of our life? Paul gives us his perspective:-

• God can clearly see everything.
• We will stand before God.
• We want others to be persuaded to live with the same motivation we do.
• Outward appearance never outweighs the matters of the heart. People only see what they see.
• His devotion to God and his service to people are the 2 major behaviour’s of his life.