WEBVTT 00:00:01.429 --> 00:00:03.990 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:04.370 --> 00:00:07.009 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:07.769 --> 00:00:09.390 This fall, we're studying the book of Second 00:00:09.390 --> 00:00:12.429 Corinthians. Second Corinthians is a heartfelt 00:00:12.429 --> 00:00:15.330 and practical book calling us back to the life 00:00:15.330 --> 00:00:18.870 of the cross. We, like the Corinthians, so often 00:00:18.870 --> 00:00:22.350 pursue glory, admire eloquence, shun suffering, 00:00:22.670 --> 00:00:26.230 hide hurt, and hoard our goods. And yet the gospel 00:00:26.230 --> 00:00:29.230 of Jesus tells us that resurrection comes after 00:00:29.230 --> 00:00:34.039 a cross. comfort comes after being crushed, that 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:36.539 the way up is the way down, that the way to glory 00:00:36.539 --> 00:00:39.920 is through suffering, that his strength is made 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:44.640 perfect in our weakness. We'd love to meet you 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:46.259 and we hope you'll consider coming and joining 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:48.659 with us each Sunday morning at 10 a .m. in the 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:51.159 heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find us 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:53.880 online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:57.119 Instagram, and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:01.960 sermon. God bless. Let me pray again. Lord, thank 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:05.420 you. You say that out of the mouth of infants 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:08.739 and babes, you have ordained praise. We're thankful 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:11.299 this morning to get to hear your word from some 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:14.099 of our younger members of our church. And I thank 00:01:14.099 --> 00:01:18.900 you for the attentiveness they had in their practicing 00:01:18.900 --> 00:01:22.299 and the way that they helped that word to come 00:01:22.299 --> 00:01:25.760 alive to us a little more fully in their lips. 00:01:26.579 --> 00:01:30.599 Now, Lord, Would you do the same through me passage 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:34.560 in a second? May the words of my mouth and the 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:36.680 meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:41.099 sight. Oh Lord our rock our redeemed. I think 00:01:41.099 --> 00:01:44.099 this is just cutting in and out so hopefully 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:47.829 you can bear with me. We're in 2 Corinthians 00:01:47.829 --> 00:01:51.689 chapter six, and in many ways this first section 00:01:51.689 --> 00:01:54.030 is, and actually it will continue to a little 00:01:54.030 --> 00:01:56.329 bit, but it will build off the idea of being 00:01:56.329 --> 00:01:59.609 an ambassador of Christ, God making his appeal 00:01:59.609 --> 00:02:02.349 through us. In fact, it's part of the great argument 00:02:02.349 --> 00:02:04.689 of 2 Corinthians that power is made perfect and 00:02:04.689 --> 00:02:07.030 weak. It's not just in Paul's life, but in the 00:02:07.030 --> 00:02:10.210 life of the church, that the life of the church 00:02:10.210 --> 00:02:13.389 is also called to be the way, the means through 00:02:13.389 --> 00:02:18.300 which God makes his appeal. the ambassador reality 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:21.800 of the church. But first, I want to draw your 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:24.060 attention to Psalm 19. And I will say that this 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:27.159 was largely because when I began working on this, 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:32.479 we were going to be outside. We're not. But a 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:33.840 little bit of that, I want to draw your attention 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:35.639 to that. But first, I want to mention that I 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:38.400 was reading again, I have a little book. It's 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.699 short. In fact, it's even shorter than what it 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:44.919 looks like because there's a facsimile of the 00:02:44.919 --> 00:02:47.939 text. in the second half of this book, but it's 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:50.280 Flannery O 'Connor's prayer journal from when 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:54.159 she was a student at the University of Iowa's 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:56.159 writing workshop. It's a lovely little prayer 00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:58.539 journal. I would commend it to you. She's very 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:02.060 open and honest and such a lively and fresh way 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:06.460 with the Lord. And in that journal, among other 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:10.960 things, she writes, there is a whole around me 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:14.240 that I should be able to turn to your praise. 00:03:14.430 --> 00:03:17.289 the sensible world, the physical world, the world 00:03:17.289 --> 00:03:20.949 of the senses around her that she should be able 00:03:20.949 --> 00:03:24.789 to turn to Lord's praise. The Psalm 19 begins 00:03:24.789 --> 00:03:26.370 like this. I'm not going to read it all again 00:03:26.370 --> 00:03:28.590 for you, but it begins like this. The heavens 00:03:28.590 --> 00:03:33.870 declare the glory of God. The sky above proclaims 00:03:33.870 --> 00:03:38.469 his handiwork. Day to day pours out. Night to 00:03:38.469 --> 00:03:45.460 night reveals knowledge. we were going to be 00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:50.360 out in creation right now. And I will say, it 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:54.979 is no wonder that so many people say that they 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:59.159 have had some of the most spiritual experiences 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:05.400 being drawn near to God out in his world, out 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:10.500 in nature. I mean, I would get to be, in fact, 00:04:10.699 --> 00:04:14.599 I would hope you have had that experience, God 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:18.240 came close to you, present in a really like a 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:22.980 truly supernatural way, out in the wonder of 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:27.279 his world, maybe out hiking Hawk Rock or out 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:30.660 on the AT down in the Cumberland Valley and maybe 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:34.160 you've been out at the shore and just the expanse 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:40.399 of the ocean has spoken to you of the God, maybe 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:44.339 Yes, how small you are, but also you've had this 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:48.399 immense experience of I am valued. I am a real 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:53.819 true part of the wonder that is this world. In 00:04:53.819 --> 00:05:00.639 a sense that actually gave you breath, gave you 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:04.759 your life. Christian theology has long called 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:08.259 this reality of the witness of creation, the 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:12.230 ambassadorship. of creation, general revelation, 00:05:12.370 --> 00:05:16.290 God's revelation, revelation being the revealing 00:05:16.290 --> 00:05:22.389 that God truly and really reveals himself in 00:05:22.389 --> 00:05:24.990 nature. That that experience you had isn't something 00:05:24.990 --> 00:05:27.810 to toss aside, but God actually truly does speak 00:05:27.810 --> 00:05:32.750 in those real experiences out in the world. Out 00:05:32.750 --> 00:05:35.449 among the rocks and trees and stars and seas, 00:05:36.550 --> 00:05:41.060 out along the valley. Is this too distracting? 00:05:41.259 --> 00:05:48.620 The clicking that I just. Project. You do that. 00:05:51.319 --> 00:06:09.629 Yeah, I can pivot turn. Let's do that. Do I need 00:06:09.629 --> 00:06:12.430 to start over? You all following me? No. Okay. 00:06:12.750 --> 00:06:20.009 Let me take this up. Anyway, so this is a theme 00:06:20.009 --> 00:06:22.189 in Christian theology and throughout scripture 00:06:22.189 --> 00:06:25.329 that the creation itself is proclaiming God. 00:06:25.370 --> 00:06:28.709 It's a revelation of God. We can say that creation 00:06:28.709 --> 00:06:33.089 in fact is God's first ambassador. God spoke 00:06:33.089 --> 00:06:35.790 the world into being and then the world speaks 00:06:35.790 --> 00:06:40.660 back his praise. is the reality of what he has 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:45.040 done. I love our church building, I really do. 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:49.519 It's often that I might walk through this space 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:51.360 with somebody who's maybe at Logos and somebody 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:54.360 comes in, they go, wow, this is lovely. And we 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:56.680 have lots of reasons to give thanks for this 00:06:56.680 --> 00:07:00.420 space, we do. Think of the rooms being used by 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:03.079 Logos or our English classes. Think of actually 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:05.860 the space directly below here right now. where 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:08.459 some of our children are learning the stories 00:07:08.459 --> 00:07:11.139 of our Lord, and the liturgies of our faith, 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:13.899 the habits of life following God, and how it 00:07:13.899 --> 00:07:16.060 really is this beautiful worship space with the 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:18.199 stained glass windows there. It's a lovely space 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:20.060 for them to gather together to worship the Lord. 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:25.220 This is a gift, and you actually may know this. 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:27.740 I was reading this week some about the American 00:07:27.740 --> 00:07:30.439 chestnut. the American chestnut started to die 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:33.980 off in 1904. There was a parasitic fungus that 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:36.319 killed off the American chestnut. It took about 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:39.600 45 years or 50 -ish years, I think early 50s, 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:42.620 until they died off. But that fungus actually 00:07:42.620 --> 00:07:44.899 started to infect the American chestnut in 1904, 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:49.540 which was the very year that this wood paneling 00:07:49.540 --> 00:07:52.699 and the pews that you're sitting in and this 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:55.560 back here and that pulpit would have been cut 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:59.339 down and cured and fashioned into this space. 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:01.920 This is the American chestnut that you're surrounded 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:05.560 by right now. And how lovely it is. There are 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:10.000 many gifts that this building has, and the people 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:12.699 that have gone before us have given it to us. 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:21.399 And while this is all gift, it is a gift, in 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:25.100 some ways a greater gift, to be out in the wonder 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:26.920 of the world singing the praises of the Lord. 00:08:27.129 --> 00:08:29.329 which we were intending to do this morning, right 00:08:29.329 --> 00:08:31.689 down at Shea for a treat, because we are joining 00:08:31.689 --> 00:08:34.870 our voices in a very real way, surrounded by 00:08:34.870 --> 00:08:38.250 the chorus of the trees and the rocks and the 00:08:38.250 --> 00:08:41.389 creek there, the grass under our feet. What I'm 00:08:41.389 --> 00:08:43.570 saying is that creation itself bears witness 00:08:43.570 --> 00:08:47.370 to God. Creation is an ambassador for God. Let 00:08:47.370 --> 00:08:48.909 me press into this a little bit more. I read 00:08:48.909 --> 00:08:52.470 an article in the British news publication, The 00:08:52.470 --> 00:08:55.370 Times last week. It was about a book that is 00:08:55.370 --> 00:08:57.559 being, it was actually, The English version of 00:08:57.559 --> 00:09:00.139 the book is being published this week. It's written 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:03.120 by two Frenchmen. Its title is God, the Science, 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:07.559 the Evidence. It's sold 400 ,000 copies already 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:10.139 in French, and it's first printing in English 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:13.820 is 110 ,000 copies. They insist that their book 00:09:13.820 --> 00:09:17.220 is not a religious book, but rather a scientific 00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:21.840 critique of the materialist explanation of the 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:25.360 existence of the world. They say the theory that 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:27.419 all reality including our origins thoughts and 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:29.539 consciousness can be explained solely by physical 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:32.700 matter and physical process doesn't hold up to 00:09:32.700 --> 00:09:36.519 science they're arguing so uh this article said 00:09:36.519 --> 00:09:38.679 their book explores key scientific theories such 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:41.080 as the big bang the theory of relativity quantum 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:44.440 mechanics and the human genome each detail was 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:46.740 checked with a group of leading scientists to 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:49.320 ensure the argument could not be challenged on 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:53.009 the basis of scientific accuracy In fact, the 00:09:53.009 --> 00:09:54.990 preface for the book was written by the renowned 00:09:54.990 --> 00:09:58.289 physicist Robert Wilson, who won the Nobel Prize 00:09:58.289 --> 00:10:02.190 for physics. But the whole thing is this creation 00:10:02.190 --> 00:10:06.029 itself is pointing to the idea of a creator, 00:10:06.730 --> 00:10:10.629 of God himself. It speaks of God. It's an ambassador 00:10:10.629 --> 00:10:14.629 for God. They say we are all believers. Believers 00:10:14.629 --> 00:10:17.789 in God believe with some evidence. And believers 00:10:17.789 --> 00:10:20.029 in materialism, they believe in plenty of things. 00:10:20.979 --> 00:10:23.419 That are a little bit weird. That's what the 00:10:23.419 --> 00:10:27.399 author said What it's saying is that science 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:30.240 itself is commending the idea that creation is 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.419 an ambassador Creation declares the glory of 00:10:33.419 --> 00:10:35.799 God. It's a general witness to the grace of God 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:38.639 So back to Flannery O 'Connor after writing there 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:41.019 is a whole sensible world around me that I should 00:10:41.019 --> 00:10:44.440 be able to turn to your praise She then adds 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:48.559 but I cannot do it in some ways that she's a 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:52.470 part of creation that actually She's part of 00:10:52.470 --> 00:10:54.070 the sensible creation that doesn't always do 00:10:54.070 --> 00:10:57.230 what she's intended to do. She says, yet at some 00:10:57.230 --> 00:10:59.649 insipid moment when I may possibly be thinking 00:10:59.649 --> 00:11:02.090 of floor wax or pigeon eggs, the opening of a 00:11:02.090 --> 00:11:04.730 beautiful prayer may come up from my subconscious 00:11:04.730 --> 00:11:08.350 and lead me to write something exalted. She wrote 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:16.659 that at 21. Creation itself speaks to God. But 00:11:16.659 --> 00:11:18.559 as much as the Bible speaks about this, and as 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:21.840 much as our own experience actually does this, 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:24.259 being out in the world, out in the beauty of 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:26.919 the natural world, as much as science itself 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:30.440 is actually increasingly pointing us to that, 00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:33.139 Christian theology has also said that the witness 00:11:33.139 --> 00:11:35.240 of God is not just in his general revelation, 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:37.639 but more specifically in his special revelation. 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:40.360 of scripture, that scripture is an ambassador. 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:43.799 So maybe you caught this, maybe especially if 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:46.000 you were following along in Psalm 19, but Psalm 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:49.159 19 begins the first half with this general revelation 00:11:49.159 --> 00:11:52.919 and then it turns and it says, the law of the 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:57.860 Lord is perfect, perfect. Then it says, reviving 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:01.100 the soul. That it's actually the word of God 00:12:01.100 --> 00:12:04.580 as the ambassador of God sent out that revives 00:12:04.580 --> 00:12:08.860 our souls, that gives life. to what was once 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:14.000 dead. So turn to the special revelation of scripture. 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:17.740 And what we find in the special revelation of 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:21.159 scripture is actually part of how this chapter, 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:26.419 chapter six begins. So verse one and two of chapter 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:28.940 six in second Corinthians says, working together 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:32.500 with him then, isn't that wild? Working together 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:36.590 with him, working together with Christ. We appeal 00:12:36.590 --> 00:12:39.710 to you not to receive the grace of God in vain 00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:41.850 for he says in a favorable time I've listened 00:12:41.850 --> 00:12:44.690 to you and in the day of salvation I've helped 00:12:44.690 --> 00:12:49.269 you and that's quoting from the passage that 00:12:49.269 --> 00:12:53.730 Ruth read for us from Isaiah 49 verse 8 and if 00:12:53.730 --> 00:12:56.669 you I hope you were able to listen as Ruth read 00:12:56.669 --> 00:12:59.610 that for us, because then it goes on to talk 00:12:59.610 --> 00:13:01.450 about what the Lord has done. I mean, it's talking 00:13:01.450 --> 00:13:03.769 about the restoration of Israel, but it's actually 00:13:03.769 --> 00:13:05.950 harkening back to the whole story of what God 00:13:05.950 --> 00:13:08.850 has done in his special revelation, revealing 00:13:08.850 --> 00:13:12.090 of the works of God in Scripture. So the Lord 00:13:12.090 --> 00:13:14.429 says to the prisoner, it says, come out to those 00:13:14.429 --> 00:13:20.190 who are in darkness, appear. We see in just those 00:13:20.190 --> 00:13:23.710 few verses what we see throughout the text of 00:13:23.710 --> 00:13:27.120 God's special revelation in Scripture. What do 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:31.860 we learn about early on with Adam and Eve? They're 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:35.379 hiding. God says, where are you? It's as though 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:38.580 it's there, right there in Isaiah 49. Come out. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:42.019 Come out. What do we find at the beginning of 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:46.500 the book of Exodus? But God calling out those 00:13:46.500 --> 00:13:51.639 who are in slavery, prisoners, come out, appear, 00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:56.789 come to me. Think about even as they go along, 00:13:56.889 --> 00:14:00.309 I mean, if we could keep looking at Isaiah 49, 00:14:00.330 --> 00:14:03.309 talks about how he provides for them. Well, what 00:14:03.309 --> 00:14:04.929 does he do when they're out in the wilderness? 00:14:05.590 --> 00:14:09.950 He feeds them, he gives manna from heaven, water 00:14:09.950 --> 00:14:14.210 and the rock, the pillar of fire and the cloud, 00:14:15.110 --> 00:14:16.950 all of that, God bringing them and he brings 00:14:16.950 --> 00:14:19.809 them to the promised land. God calls them out, 00:14:20.190 --> 00:14:22.830 out of their fear of man, out of their own strength. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.779 out of their need and to himself. This is the 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:30.919 great theme of scripture. God calling us out 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:33.419 and bringing us near to himself, providing for 00:14:33.419 --> 00:14:38.059 us. I've met with many of you and I've had this 00:14:38.059 --> 00:14:39.480 kind of conversation, but I had one of these 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:42.019 conversations this week with somebody in our 00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:45.879 church who said that part of coming to God was 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:49.840 knowing that he couldn't deal with it. He was 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:53.460 going to be in darkness. who's going to continue 00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:56.320 habit, signs of sin, and this other kind of life. 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:58.720 In the hope of Christ and the revelation of God 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:03.440 in scripture. So, even this verse, even that 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:06.940 little verse there from Isaiah 49, recalls for 00:15:06.940 --> 00:15:09.639 us the wonder of God's revelation of himself 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:12.679 in the scriptures. And what I'm saying is that 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:15.000 creation itself is an ambassador for God, that's 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:18.919 true. But the scriptures themselves are a more 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:22.590 definitive ambassador for God. Look at how I'm 00:15:22.590 --> 00:15:25.250 saving you. Look at how I'm bringing you to myself. 00:15:27.009 --> 00:15:29.870 Here's an interesting thing, is if we looked 00:15:29.870 --> 00:15:32.450 actually at the passage right before Isaiah 49 00:15:32.450 --> 00:15:35.590 verse 8, earlier in that passage, what we have 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:39.429 here actually is a foretelling of the coming 00:15:39.429 --> 00:15:43.409 of Jesus. Because what we don't just have is 00:15:43.409 --> 00:15:46.129 God revealing himself in creation and in special 00:15:46.129 --> 00:15:48.370 revelation of scripture, but what we ultimately 00:15:48.370 --> 00:15:53.879 have is that God reveals himself by the Lord 00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:56.980 Jesus himself. We can say that the greatest ambassador 00:15:56.980 --> 00:16:03.360 for God is God, God coming among us. So in verses 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:15.500 six and seven of Isaiah 49, it says, To one deeply 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:17.659 despised, abhorred by the nations, the servant 00:16:17.659 --> 00:16:20.759 of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes 00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:22.639 and they shall prostrate themselves, because 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:25.179 of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of 00:16:25.179 --> 00:16:28.700 Israel, who has chosen you." It speaks of the 00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:31.340 great servant -king, God revealing himself as 00:16:31.340 --> 00:16:35.159 overall, and yet the great servant. What is that 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:38.879 but actually the Lord Jesus himself? God makes 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:44.299 his appeal to us through Christ. be reconciled 00:16:44.299 --> 00:16:47.360 to God. He who knew no sin became sin that we 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:50.899 might become the righteousness of God. The one 00:16:50.899 --> 00:16:54.960 who's over all becomes lowly, despised, rejected, 00:16:55.360 --> 00:17:00.440 scorned, spat upon, crown of thorns placed upon 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:03.960 him, that he might be the ambassador bringing 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:08.720 many sons to glory, calling them out from their 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:14.150 sin. And in all this he remains faithful, full 00:17:14.150 --> 00:17:16.630 of the Spirit of God, full of grace and truth. 00:17:18.349 --> 00:17:21.450 Christ is the great ambassador. Creation is an 00:17:21.450 --> 00:17:24.309 ambassador, Scripture is, but Christ is the great 00:17:24.309 --> 00:17:30.049 sent one by God. God so loves the world that 00:17:30.049 --> 00:17:31.930 he gave his only son, that whoever believes in 00:17:31.930 --> 00:17:37.140 him would have eternal life. Here's an interesting 00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:38.539 thing though, and this is actually what a lot 00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:42.019 of this passage here in 2nd Corinthians is about 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:45.299 Creation isn't the only ambassador and scripture 00:17:45.299 --> 00:17:50.839 isn't and actually Jesus isn't the only ambassador 00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:56.180 even though he's the pinnacle ambassador Verse 00:17:56.180 --> 00:18:00.500 one if you have your Bible open again there working 00:18:00.500 --> 00:18:06.069 together with him then we appeal to you Or verses 00:18:06.069 --> 00:18:08.529 three and four says, we put no obstacle in anyone's 00:18:08.529 --> 00:18:10.809 way so that no fault may be found with our ministry. 00:18:11.390 --> 00:18:13.609 But as servants of God, we commend ourselves 00:18:13.609 --> 00:18:19.309 in every way. And how can Paul say that? I don't 00:18:19.309 --> 00:18:21.410 know, does it sound boastful to say we can commend 00:18:21.410 --> 00:18:24.349 ourselves in every way? Well, he commends himself 00:18:24.349 --> 00:18:27.869 out of this place of being God's ambassador, 00:18:27.950 --> 00:18:31.210 the ambassador for Christ. And how can he say 00:18:31.210 --> 00:18:35.700 that, but that he is reflecting Christ in His 00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:38.980 ministry to them, specifically through His righteous 00:18:38.980 --> 00:18:41.940 endurance and suffering, first His suffering. 00:18:42.619 --> 00:18:45.079 What you see there, if we read it all through, 00:18:45.140 --> 00:18:48.480 all those verses, is this long list of what happens 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:54.220 to Paul and how he interacts with it, starting 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:56.279 in verse four, in affliction, hardship, calamities, 00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:58.220 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labor, sleepless 00:18:58.220 --> 00:19:00.619 nights. hunger, impurity, knowledge, patience, 00:19:00.900 --> 00:19:03.339 kindness, all that. What we find first is this 00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:05.859 list of afflictions, hardship, and calamities. 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:08.480 And Paul's saying that he has this general kind 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:13.079 of suffering that he has experienced. These things 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:15.559 are outside of his control and outside of necessarily 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:18.099 who he is, but he's done this for their sake. 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:20.359 And then he moves actually, so that's the first 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:23.299 little triplet there. The next one is actually 00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:26.380 sort of specific to Paul's suffering. beatings, 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:28.019 imprisonments, riots. That's not necessarily 00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:30.099 something you've experienced, but Paul's saying 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:32.140 he's experienced it, and he's experienced it 00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:35.940 for their sake. As an ambassador of Christ, he's 00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:38.099 experienced this suffering. And then the third 00:19:38.099 --> 00:19:41.519 one, he says, labor, sleepless nights, hunger. 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:45.599 In some ways, he's saying, I voluntarily do this. 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:48.920 These in some ways are voluntary things, things 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.720 that he's given up for their sake, to be an ambassador 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.579 for Christ. So part of my point though here is 00:19:56.579 --> 00:20:00.380 that Paul is saying he is suffering that the 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:02.799 sake of Christ might go forth into the world. 00:20:03.019 --> 00:20:05.779 As an ambassador, he is suffering. But he's not 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:08.460 suffering generally, right? This isn't just the 00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:10.259 fact that he's suffering, but he's suffering 00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:13.660 righteously. So verses 6 through 7, it says this, 00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:16.319 By purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:19.299 Holy Spirit, genuine love, by truthful speech 00:20:19.299 --> 00:20:21.960 and the power of God, with the weapons of righteousness 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:25.619 for the right hand and for the left. which is 00:20:25.619 --> 00:20:28.700 to say that in his suffering, he can still say 00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:31.980 that he lives in purity, in patience and kindness 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:34.400 and genuine love and truthful speech, which if 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.220 you put these together, in some ways what you 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:38.339 could say is that he's living the fruit of the 00:20:38.339 --> 00:20:42.759 Spirit and putting on the armor of God. He's 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:44.559 grabbing these ideas that he speaks of elsewhere 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:47.319 and says, this has actually been true of my ministry 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:50.839 among you, of being an ambassador for God through 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:53.910 Christ. Even in his suffering, what he's saying 00:20:53.910 --> 00:20:55.769 is it's not general suffering, it's suffering 00:20:55.769 --> 00:20:58.410 lived in light of the reality of being led by 00:20:58.410 --> 00:21:01.809 the Holy Spirit, equipped by the power of God. 00:21:04.730 --> 00:21:06.609 But this suffering, even this righteous suffering, 00:21:06.789 --> 00:21:10.710 is also marked by endurance. And so then you 00:21:10.710 --> 00:21:14.049 look at verses eight through 10. It seems as 00:21:14.049 --> 00:21:15.869 though we almost have these paradoxes at play 00:21:15.869 --> 00:21:18.490 here. Through honor and dishonor, through slander 00:21:18.490 --> 00:21:20.569 and praise, we're treated as imposters and yet 00:21:20.569 --> 00:21:22.829 are true, as unknown and yet well -known, as 00:21:22.829 --> 00:21:25.390 dying and behold we live, as punished and yet 00:21:25.390 --> 00:21:28.009 not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, 00:21:28.130 --> 00:21:30.349 as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing 00:21:30.349 --> 00:21:33.450 and yet possessing everything. And what these 00:21:33.450 --> 00:21:35.430 paradoxes, it seems like, what he's mostly putting 00:21:35.430 --> 00:21:37.589 before us or doing is, they're putting forth 00:21:37.589 --> 00:21:42.130 this idea of endurance. Of endurance. in honor 00:21:42.130 --> 00:21:47.109 and in dishonor. He's faithful, continuing slander 00:21:47.109 --> 00:21:48.809 and praise. He's treated as an imposter, yet 00:21:48.809 --> 00:21:51.750 he's true. He's continuing on for their sake 00:21:51.750 --> 00:21:56.230 that they might know God. They might know the 00:21:56.230 --> 00:22:02.349 Lord Jesus. Righteous suffering through endurance. 00:22:04.609 --> 00:22:07.069 I read this week that Christian history will 00:22:07.069 --> 00:22:10.039 convince you That the more faithful a Christian 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:13.000 is, the more difficulties accumulate in his life 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:15.680 and the more burdens he chooses to lay upon himself 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:19.400 for Christ's sake. Find me anywhere in the Christian 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:22.039 past a great man or a great woman who went to 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:25.819 heaven in an easy way. We do not find this man 00:22:25.819 --> 00:22:28.779 or woman in the Bible. We do not find them in 00:22:28.779 --> 00:22:34.640 church history. This is not just the call generally. 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:37.940 But this is the call specifically for Paul and 00:22:37.940 --> 00:22:42.359 specifically for the life of the church. Faithful, 00:22:42.819 --> 00:22:47.640 righteous, suffering, endurance. Paul is an ambassador 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:49.880 for Christ. That's partly what I want you to 00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:53.099 hear this morning. Because he's reflecting Christ. 00:22:54.700 --> 00:22:58.450 He's mirroring Jesus. Jesus comes as the great 00:22:58.450 --> 00:23:01.089 ambassador from God, not just a general revelation 00:23:01.089 --> 00:23:04.289 of creation, not just a special revelation of 00:23:04.289 --> 00:23:07.049 the scriptures, but the particular revelation 00:23:07.049 --> 00:23:14.150 of God incarnate among us. Here's God. What we 00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:18.589 find is his righteous suffering through endurance. 00:23:20.309 --> 00:23:24.789 He's enduring suffering. He's righteously enduring. 00:23:25.180 --> 00:23:28.839 suffering for our sake. And Paul comes as this 00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:32.160 ambassador for Christ, and he mimics this reality, 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:36.940 mimics the reality of Jesus. Now, children here, 00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:40.980 some of you are still with us. Ah, we actually 00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:43.779 have the older, olderish children here. So maybe 00:23:43.779 --> 00:23:47.839 some of your siblings are downstairs. My guess 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:51.759 is that maybe some of the ones that are downstairs 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:59.099 I like to copy you. It's not uncommon. Yeah, 00:23:59.099 --> 00:24:01.339 right. I get a little nod there. It's not uncommon 00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:05.140 in our house to hear things like so -and -so 00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:07.380 is just following me around doing exactly what 00:24:07.380 --> 00:24:12.140 I'm doing. Mom, they are just saying the exact 00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:18.599 same words I just said. And I will acknowledge 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:21.819 that's kind of annoying sometimes. Okay. That's 00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:28.670 kind of annoying. But, but as annoying as that 00:24:28.670 --> 00:24:30.609 is actually oftentimes that's a great act of 00:24:30.609 --> 00:24:38.509 love. Right? It's a great act of love. Mimicry 00:24:38.509 --> 00:24:44.170 is an act of love. Copycatting is saying, well, 00:24:44.170 --> 00:24:47.990 that's how I want to be. And that's what Paul 00:24:47.990 --> 00:24:53.259 is placing before them. I'm mimicking. I'm imitating 00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:58.279 the one whom I love for your sake. That's what 00:24:58.279 --> 00:25:02.819 Paul's doing. His story, you could say, is Christ's 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:05.359 story. Because what does he desire but to be 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:09.400 an ambassador, to be a reflection, to be a mirror? 00:25:10.660 --> 00:25:13.859 The Lord Jesus himself, his life as witness to 00:25:13.859 --> 00:25:17.599 Christ, who righteously endured suffering for 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:22.240 us, that we might be brought near to God. Paul 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:25.940 is saying, this is my desire in my life for you. 00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:30.059 But interestingly, so interestingly, this passage 00:25:30.059 --> 00:25:35.920 isn't just about, you know, this passage is not 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:37.640 too much actually about creation itself being 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:39.680 a revelation, but this passage isn't just about 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:42.740 scripture being a revelation or about Jesus being 00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:45.599 the full revelation or even about Paul being 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:49.640 the great revelation, the ambassador. but it's 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:52.079 also actually about the church being an ambassador 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:55.720 for Christ. It's about the Corinthians, but it's 00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:59.559 also about us. So look with me down at verses 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:03.400 11 and 13. It's kind of interesting. This happens 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:05.240 quite a bit when you look at different commentaries 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:07.279 about the scriptures, and different commentaries, 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:09.779 they break down the passages differently. Oh, 00:26:09.880 --> 00:26:11.940 it seems like in 2 Corinthians a lot. I look 00:26:11.940 --> 00:26:14.400 at one and he's like, well, the section is this 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:15.819 verse to this verse. You look at another, it's 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:18.339 this verse to this verse. And these few verses, 00:26:18.619 --> 00:26:20.819 They're kind of in one or the other, but this 00:26:20.819 --> 00:26:23.519 is what it reads. We've spoken freely to you 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:29.259 Corinthians. Our heart is wide open. You're not 00:26:29.259 --> 00:26:33.660 restricted by us, but you are restricted in your 00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:38.480 own affections. In return I speak to you as children. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:44.480 Wideen your hearts also. No doubt this is a statement 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:48.339 about Paul's love for the church. But I would 00:26:48.339 --> 00:26:51.740 suggest to you that in this context, it's also 00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:55.099 not a statement about his love, but a call. Call 00:26:55.099 --> 00:26:59.240 to them. A call to their own ambassadorship. 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:05.559 So if you look back at verse three, you'd read, 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:08.480 we put no obstacle in anyone's way so that no 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:11.240 fault may be found with our ministry. And that 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:13.819 word there, the fault may be found, actually 00:27:13.819 --> 00:27:15.619 it's just fault, the maybe found is filled in 00:27:15.619 --> 00:27:20.289 by the translator. But that word fault is often 00:27:20.289 --> 00:27:23.829 translated by ridicule or mockery. Something 00:27:23.829 --> 00:27:27.450 that you look down on, you disdain. And so part 00:27:27.450 --> 00:27:28.930 of what Paul is doing, he's speaking to this 00:27:28.930 --> 00:27:32.009 reality that they might disdain Paul's ministry 00:27:32.009 --> 00:27:34.950 because it's been marked by these kinds of things, 00:27:35.250 --> 00:27:38.029 this kind of suffering, this kind of righteous 00:27:38.029 --> 00:27:42.970 suffering. And again, the temptation was to find 00:27:42.970 --> 00:27:45.490 that this kind of ministry that was full of affliction 00:27:45.690 --> 00:27:48.309 and beatings and sleepless nights and all the 00:27:48.309 --> 00:27:51.289 rest. Was not a ministry worth commending, a 00:27:51.289 --> 00:27:56.970 life worth living? And Paul says the answer to 00:27:56.970 --> 00:28:03.170 this is widen your hearts. The object of your 00:28:03.170 --> 00:28:08.549 affection is too small. Why that seems ridiculous 00:28:08.549 --> 00:28:12.150 is because the things of this world have grabbed 00:28:12.150 --> 00:28:15.710 onto your heart. And you think that you can't 00:28:15.710 --> 00:28:18.309 give them up because that's where your heart 00:28:18.309 --> 00:28:22.829 is holding fast to. And he said, if that's the 00:28:22.829 --> 00:28:27.329 case, your heart needs to be enlarged. It needs 00:28:27.329 --> 00:28:30.930 to be made bigger to understand that God has 00:28:30.930 --> 00:28:34.509 something on offer for you much more than what 00:28:34.509 --> 00:28:39.589 this life here has on offer. If you look at the 00:28:39.589 --> 00:28:43.730 life of Paul and you say, ah, I don't... I don't 00:28:43.730 --> 00:28:47.069 think there's much there. He says then you're 00:28:47.069 --> 00:28:50.190 actually missing the whole good news of the gospel. 00:28:51.690 --> 00:28:53.750 Because it's a reflection of Jesus, but he's 00:28:53.750 --> 00:28:58.170 also saying your loves are too small. Your affections 00:28:58.170 --> 00:29:00.029 are too small and there is something on offer 00:29:00.029 --> 00:29:04.109 for you that is much, much greater. Because if 00:29:04.109 --> 00:29:08.529 you die with Christ, you will also be raised 00:29:08.529 --> 00:29:15.700 with Christ. They need wider hearts. Let me end 00:29:15.700 --> 00:29:18.759 by getting back to Flannery O 'Connor's prayer 00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:27.259 journal. There's a lot of lovely prayers in that 00:29:27.259 --> 00:29:29.119 short journal, and again, I would commend it 00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:33.599 to you. But she offers a prayer in that, actually, 00:29:33.640 --> 00:29:35.440 I mean, it's in the midst of a longer prayer, 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:39.720 but she offers this prayer that I hope is sort 00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:43.980 of the lifeblood of our church together. Just 00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:48.940 the beating heart of who we are. And I think 00:29:48.940 --> 00:29:51.920 that's what Paul is doing in this church in Corinth. 00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:55.539 He's saying, this is what I desire for you to 00:29:55.539 --> 00:30:01.700 be, for the DNA, the life of the church. She 00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:08.980 says this, don't let me ever think, dear God, 00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:17.000 that I was anything. but the instrument for your 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:22.539 story." Hear her in that? She's saying, in all 00:30:22.539 --> 00:30:28.700 that I am, in all that I do, let me be an ambassador 00:30:28.700 --> 00:30:36.240 for who you are. Let me read it again. Don't 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:41.299 let me ever think, dear God, that I was anything 00:30:42.059 --> 00:30:48.400 but the instrument for your story. Let me pray 00:30:48.400 --> 00:31:02.980 that over us. Lord, dear God, don't let Second 00:31:02.980 --> 00:31:15.950 City Church ever think ever Act or live like 00:31:15.950 --> 00:31:23.529 we are anything but the instrument for your story. 00:31:26.990 --> 00:31:39.460 In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Please consider 00:31:39.460 --> 00:31:41.880 subscribing to this podcast and joining us in 00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:45.019 person each Sunday at 10 a .m. You can find us 00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:48.359 online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Instagram, 00:31:48.519 --> 00:31:51.059 Facebook, and YouTube. Thanks again for listening. 00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:51.980 God bless.