Sunday School Lesson for August 24, 2014: An Appeal for Reconciliation (2 Corinthians 6:1–7:4)

Luke 11:4
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

2 Corinthians 6:1
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

          Ok Church, what’s the point of being saved….if you are not willing to forgive? As church folk, we can be the very worst at forgiving. Somehow or another, we all deem ourselves some kind of expert on scripture, and so find all kind of reasons to justify ‘my’ opinion. I’m guilty. Yes I am. I’m guilty of having been hurt in church and then slipping into a dark place of self-righteousness and un-forgiveness. I won’t dismiss my past behavior with a flip, “Been there, done that.” I’m over it, but it has been twenty years, so I’m not so sure I can count myself as some sort of spiritual giant. What about you?

          Be honest, odds are that if you’ve belonged to more than one church in your adult life, you left one of them because of conflict and, yes…..un-forgiveness. Beloved, God means for to strive with one another for the sake of love….and peace. So then, might I dare ask, what are you doing for the sake of reconciliation? In this passage of 2 Corinthians, Paul encourages his readers to be mindful of the depth of the mercy and patience of God on their behalf to bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Savior. God’s patience is infinite, we are temporal. God lovingly waited us out, sent us marker after marker, sign after sign of His great love toward us. He made sure we heard the Gospel, then He sent us His Spirit to explain it to us in simple terms that we could understand. What a wonderful God we serve. Paul’s exhortation to us is not to receive God’s great grace and live short of it’s great power to redeem. Within grace lies the limitless power of God to heal, to deliver, to set so completely free that suddenly borders and boundaries no longer exist.

Matthew 28:2
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

Acts 16:26
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

          Grace raised Jesus from the dead. Grace set Paul and Silas free from jail. Grace opened blind eyes, healed leprous limbs, loosed mute tongues, opened deaf ears, caused crippled limbs to have strength. Grace gives us the power to forgive one another. It is the very least we can do to exercise forgiveness at every opportunity afforded to us, as it is the very first component of the great grace of God exercised toward us with the gift of His Son, Jesus.       

Romans 5:17
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Matthew 11:6
And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

                The problem with conflict resolution: it will eventually be determined that someone is right and someone is wrong. Grace is required to admit one is wrong, then be reconciled to those who were right. Grace and humility is required to be found to be right and not use our ‘rightness’ as an reason to ‘lord’ our supposed spiritual superiority over others. Pauls’ example is stark. He would not take offence….period. He refused to be offended by whatever was said to him or about him. Remarkable. Paul had  a number of detractors in the church at Corinth who were vehement in their dislike for him. They spared no insult concerning him. His response: forgive and keep forgiving. If they lie on you, forgive. If the cheat you, forgive. If they spit on you, forgive. Whatever the offence, find it within yourself to ….forgive. This is the beginning of grace. A first thing of first things. Paul appealed to them and he still appeals to us to forgive to the nth degree.

1 Corinthians 11:1
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

John 13:35
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

          One more thing. The world is watching you and ….hoping. They are hoping that what you preach is genuine. You see, if we struggle with Christ, then they struggle mightily without Him. They need you to learn the first and greatest lesson of grace: forgiveness. And they need to see that you’ve learned it by the way you treat those you call ‘brother’. When unbelievers see the power of grace reflected in your love for other church folk, they will be more willing to follow you through those very church doors and hear the same Gospel of Grace that you once heard and to receive the same great Savior that you received: Jesus.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Selah (Pause. Meditate. Think on this.)

.wb

See the video at: http://youtu.be/w6YIH-YyWVk?list=UUUg4PiFZaHV3h4tK084kxgQ

Blessings!

Sunday Lesson for August 17, 2014: Treasure in Clay Jars (2 Corinthians 4:1-15)

Haggai 2:5
‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

Jeremiah 31:25
I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

2 Corinthians 4:8
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair…

          Most of us will never face the kind of opposition Paul faced on behalf of the Gospel. However, there are many Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their belief in the good news concerning Jesus Christ, our Lord. For those of us who don’t face such persecution, what is the take away? Here’s one: I’ll come away a stronger Christian. Indeed, I’ll turn my back on the paltry challenges and pithy struggles I go through daily to turn my heart and my focus toward my brothers and sisters in distant lands who are being hunted and killed because they name the Name of Christ. I’m speaking specifically of our brethren in Iraq, who are facing dire persecution. But it’s not only Christians in Iraq that are being persecuted, there are missionaries worldwide who suffer for Christ’s sake. Those of us who don’t suffer the threat of physical harm are reminded to….. pray. Pray to God on behalf of those who suffer for Christ’s sake. Really pray. Pray until something happens. Pray until something changes. Pray until God shows up. Pray. It’s sobering to think that our prayers will mean the difference between life and death for so many. Paul understood this.

          Paul understood that the Church at Corinth had to be refocused, repurposed toward the weightier things of the Kingdom of God. There’s on ongoing struggle, a war, if you will. Corinth experienced some of this in their church, but then they got the opportunity to go home and sleep in their own bed, with and near people who loved them. So do we. We struggle with besetting sin and church issues but then, we get to go home and sleep in our own beds, relatively safe compared to many Christians enduring persecution. Now is the time for us to be repurposed, refocused toward the persecuted people of God. Can you feel it? That call toward spiritual focus on the purposes of God. How… refreshing. How cleansing.  When our perspective is corrected, how clearly we suddenly see… Amen.

2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Isaiah 45:3
I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

As Paul offers this tome of forgiveness and restoration, he reminds his readers that the entire purpose of our existence is to proclaim the glory of Christ Jesus. “It’s not about me.” It’s not. It’s about Jesus. It’s that message that the enemy seeks to blunt, confuse and ultimately, destroy. But it can’t be done. Jesus has pressed His precious Spirit into fragile, temporal, perishing earthen vessels. When these vessels are pressed, His Glory, His Majesty, His Power pour out. His Mercy, His Love, His Grace are made manifest. When that happens… the vessels are glorified. They take on the beauty of the Spirit within them. We glorify the broken vessels among us. The broken vessels glorify Christ. They and we reveal one of the mysteries of the Gospel, God’s Holy Spirit in Man. Glorious! And when His Spirit, the Holy Spirit is poured out of us, Christ is glorified. How beautiful are the feet of those who preach this Gospel of Peace..

Romans 10:15
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

                So then, Paul encourages the believers at Corinth through his trials and tribulations. His ‘death’, figuratively speaking would cause ‘life’ in the being of his readers. Refocused, repurposed, refreshed, the Church at Corinth could now rise out her ashes, out of her pain into the gloriousness befitting the ‘Bride of Christ’. His words still serve that same purpose: to raise us out of our individual miseries to be a part of the glorious bride that He is returning for. Beloved, with that in mind, let us remember our brothers and sisters facing persecution around the world, keeping them lifted and encompassed in prayer. One day, one glorious day sometime ahead, you may find that, in the few brief moments when they weren’t struggling for survival, they prayed….. for us.

2 Corinthians 4:15
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Joel 2:13
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

Selah…

.wb

Video at: http://youtu.be/LHBJEV1t6AQ?list=UUUg4PiFZaHV3h4tK084kxgQ

Sunday School Lesson for August 10, 2014: Forgiveness and Restoration (2 Corinthians 1:23–2:17)

Numbers 9:8
Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the LORD commands concerning you.”

Psalm 27:14T
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

         

          Some amount of strength is required for waiting, isn’t it? Sometimes God says, “Be still”, and it’s all we can do to be still. It takes every bit of strength we have to do nothing except …pray. Paul had been still. God was his witness. He had not wanted to return to Corinth to confront them again for their disobedience. I can relate. Confrontation is hard. The outcomes can have long lasting effects on relationships. Paul had caused enough hurt. He wanted healing for all parties. He wanted forgiveness from every quarter.

Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Matthew 6:14
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

          Sometimes it takes some distance for forgiveness to bubble to the surface. After all, words hurt, even when they are the right words, even when they are inspired words. The distance that separated Paul from the believers allowed the church at Corinth the time to heal. Healing would provide the strength to forgive. Forgiveness would work toward the reconciliation and restoration of the church to Paul and, more importantly to God.

John 12:24
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Ephesians 4:11-12
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip He his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up….

          Finally, Paul closes with this thought: “I lead by example.”  Throughout this letter to Corinth, and in many of his other letters, Paul encourages his readers by sharing his feelings of empathy with them. He can empathize with whatever it is they are going through. Empathy, rather than sympathy because Paul, himself suffers mightily for the sake of Christ. Beaten, shipwrecked, stoned and left for dead. A pariah to those whose religious views he formerly shared, Paul had seen his share of suffering. What he consistently communicated to his readers was that his suffering was for their benefit. Ultimately, God’s grace is made perfect in our weakness. That’s true for every believer, “♪..we are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes… ♪”. Beloved, the Bible is God’s witness to us of His love for us  That great love will carry us through any and every trial we encounter in life. While the outcomes won’t always seem to favor us, the certainty that God is with us will comfort us and undergird us in our weakest moments. And when those time come, and they will, His grace will be sufficient.

Blessings…

.wb

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

See the video at: http://youtu.be/IL-tZjnkbX8?list=UUUg4PiFZaHV3h4tK084kxgQ

                

Sunday School Lesson for August 3, 2014: Comfort in Times of Trouble (2 Cor. 1:3-11)

Psalm 27:5
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Psalm 31:7
I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;

          How many know that when trouble comes, God comes too? That’s what scripture tells us. He (God) comforts us in times of trouble. Not after trouble has come and gone. Not before trouble comes, as though to fill our cup before trouble gets there, so that we’ll have the anointing in excess for just such a time. He comforts in the midst of trouble. You can call on Him because God specializes in trouble. When trouble comes, God is near, literally, in your mouth and in your heart.

Isaiah 59:19
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

          You see, God is Glorious and His Name is greatly to be praised. What elicits praise from the believer more than deliverance from trouble.

2 Corinthians 1:4
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.        

          However, there is a greater takeaway for the believer. God comforts us, so that we can comfort others. Beloved, if you live long enough, trouble will come. Health trouble, money trouble, family trouble, sooner or later trouble will rear its ugly head in all of our lives. What Paul reveals to us is that whatever our trouble, we can use the experience to encourage others when trouble comes their way. Paul writes that he despaired to the point of death because of the trouble that had fallen upon him. But then he goes on to tell us that being emptied of himself, upon his reliance on his own ability put him in position to be delivered by God. The beauty of Paul’s analogy is that what he communicates to us about God is that He raises from thee dead. What Paul infer in this passage then, is that God raised him, delivered him from certain death.

Acts 14:19
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

          I don’t imagine stoning is something you just get up and walk away from, yet that’s what Paul did. He got up, or rather was raised up by God and sent on his way to be about God’s business. Each time Paul was stoned, shipwrecked, beaten, you name it… he came away stronger. Stronger because he grew in the knowledge that God was willing and able to deliver him time after time for no good reason other than that He (God) loved him. He loved Paul and would not abandon him. He did it for Christ’s sake. You see beloved, He gave His Son, Jesus, so that He might give us access over and over again to His resurrection power.

          So then, Paul had a testimony, or rather a TEST-a-mony didn’t he? And he used that testimony to assure the believers in Corinth that God, the same God that comforted him in times of trouble would provide the same compassion, comfort and deliverance for them that He had to him. Not only that, but in recording it by letter, thereby informing us of the same truth: that God, by Jesus, delivers to the uttermost.

Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

          Finally, what Paul wants you to know is that: when God delivered Him, he thanked God. When God delivered them, he was going to thank Him. And wanted the Corinthians to do was follow his example. Thus, the next time God delivered him, they would praise God, and so on and so forth. So that you had this never ending circle of praise and deliverance, deliverance and praise, prayer and deliverance and praise and prayer and deliverance and praise and… You get the picture. If this is the Church we allow ourselves to be molded into, then how glorious a bride will we become? How great a witness of the glory of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ? Truly, we’ll be that bride without spot or wrinkle, saved by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony. We’ll love not our lives unto death…. Because we have placed our hope in God, who resurrects from the dead. Amen.

Selah.

.wb

See the video at: http://youtu.be/tZNgWVxsOYo?list=UUUg4PiFZaHV3h4tK084kxgQ

Blessings!

Sunday School Lesson for July 27, 2014: Seek the Good of Others (1 Corinthians 14:13-26)

Philippians 2:5
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

1 Corinthians 14:1
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

I’ve learned a lot in the several weeks about the church in Corinth. The topical teaching in I Corinthians is so in depth that this book serves as foundational instruction for a number of different themes within the study of Christianity. However, there is an overarching theme to the book of I Corinthians that I’ve previously overlooked. The Corinthians were a church divided. That division threatened to destroy; to completely destroy the fellowship of this body of believers. Paul’s desire in penning this letter was to prevent this fellowship, this church from breaking up.

Paul was addressing a church that was severely broken, and that not in a good, spiritual way. I’ve used the analogy that: the Corinthian church could be compared to a car that breaks down during a long road trip. You’re traveling with your family on a long trip and suddenly it breaks down. You don’t abandon the car (if possible). Duct tape and bailing wire are required to get you, your family and your car safely to a place where the car can be fully and correctly repaired. Your goal is to get safely to a mechanic. You won’t be driving the speed limit, probably something well below, and you won’t, with duct tape and bailing wire holding your car together, try to make it to your planned destination… unless it’s closer than the closest repair shop. In essence, the chief priority is to save the car, not to completely ruin it by trying to get it to your destination in spite of its dire need for repair.

Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

1 Corinthians 14:2
For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.

          It is this vein that Paul proffers this passage on the use of the gifts of tongues and prophecy within the confines of the local assembly during worship. I believe that Paul was confronted with written evidence and firsthand accounts of behavior in the church that was so completely counter to what would be considered normal, expected behavior in church, that he was moved to take strong measures to correct a lot of abhorrent behavior. How was that being demonstrated in the use of spiritual gifts? It was being demonstrated by the spiritual gifts being used in a prideful, contentious, competitive manner between factions of the believers against one another. Some of the believers had become so high minded, they were ‘using’ their ‘gifts’ to somehow demonstrate that they were more spiritual than some of their less esteemed brothers and sisters.

1 Corinthians 14:27
If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.

1 Corinthians 14:29
Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.

          The verses above indicate that there was error in the way that both the gifts of tongues and the gifts of prophecy were being used in a contentious manner that did not edify the congregation at large. So then, Paul is not trying to eliminate spiritual gifts from worship, but rather, it seems his intent is to establish guidelines for a church in dire trouble.

1 Corinthians 14:5
I would like every one of you to speak in tongues…

1 Corinthians 14:18
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

Jude 1:20
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

          Paul makes it clear that he doesn’t have any issue with the gift of tongues. After all, when one speaks in tongues, he edifies himself. He builds himself up in faith. He strengthens his spirit (! Cor. 14:4). For those of us who are called ‘charismatics’, it is this principle that encourages us. We want to build ourselves up in faith. However, there have to be boundaries set within the corporate worship environment. The gift of tongues should not be ‘lorded’ over others. Loud, insistent, seemingly disordered ‘praying in the Spirit’ can disrupt a service or ‘invade’ the personal atmosphere of a fellow worshipper.

          People sometimes come to church with the weight of the world on their shoulders. They don’t come to be spiritually assaulted, not even if your only intent was just to show off your ‘spiritual gifts’. Church should always be an oasis of healing in the spiritual and emotional desert that life can sometimes surround us with. In the corporate church environment, we should be mindful of the spiritual wellbeing of those we worship with. With that in mind, pray silently. Or rather, pray in tongues silently. You will still be speaking to yourself and to God. You will still be building yourself up in the faith.

1 Corinthians 14:39
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

1 Corinthians 14:28
If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.

          In regards to our corporate worship experience, the key ingredient should be LOVE. That’s not so hard to figure out is it. If people who visit our congregations are impressed by the Love that is expressed in our warmth and genuine concern for one another, then we can be the magnet of hope that is so needed in these last days. We need to be a magnet to the lost and the weak, to the fatherless and the widows, to the sick and the wounded. That is the great task that we, the Church, are commissioned with.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Mark 16:15
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Mark 16:17
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

Selah

.wb

See the video at http://youtu.be/82mQdYRuLlI?list=UUUg4PiFZaHV3h4tK084kxgQ

Sunday School Lesson for July 20, 2014: Overcome Temptation ((1 Corinthians 10:1-22) (23-33 added))

Numbers 21:5
they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

Numbers 14:36
So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it—

                “I’m just going to give them a piece of my mind.” That about where it starts,. A little self-righteousness, a little righteous indignation and suddenly… we’re outside of the will of God… and don’t even know it. Figuratively speaking, we’ve just locked the keys in the car with the motor running and we don’t even realize it. There are four areas of sin that Paul points out in this week’s lesson: Idolatry, sexual immorality, testing the Lord (complaining against God’s provision: manna from Heaven) and murmuring: they gave a bad report concerning the Promised Land that God had sent the twelve spies into. What we fail to realize is how significant our words are in the sight of God. That Paul includes murmuring and / or gossiping in his given examples to the Corinthian church serves as an indicator of how  serious this category of sin is. Couple that to the fact that gossip and murmuring so easily beset us. It only takes an idle word to find yourself fully engaged in this area of sin. It is no small matter.

Romans 1:29
They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

          But Paul tells us that God gives us the power to just say no. If we will submit our members, including the smallest of members; the tongue to the Holy Spirit, we can overcome. Paul encourages the believers to use God’s strength to overcome temptation. Then Paul encourages to one other thing; run… turn away from sin and… run.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 Timothy 6:11
[ Final Charge to Timothy ] But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

          There are so many pitfalls we would avoid if we would do just that, avoid them. Avoid keeping company with those who don’t edify. Avoid participating in ‘harmless’, idle conversation and behavior. That is the power the Holy Ghost imbues us with, the power, not only to stand, but to flee from unrighteousness. That was a word for the Corinthian church and it’s a word for us today. At least for me, it is.

Matthew 4:7
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

2 Peter 2:9
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

          When we think so highly of ourselves that we think that we are impervious to sin, so that we participate in it without conscience or conviction, the Bible tells us that we literally arouse the Lord, our God’s jealousy. Beloved, God is jealous for you. That speaks to the intimacy of the relationship that is available to us, if we will pursue Him with our whole heart (Shout out to Brother Eric C… Good word today). God desires nothing less than all of me… from me. In order to give Him all of myself, I have to get out of my way. Selah. Get out of your own way Beloved. Let go and let God. Let go of all of your wants and He’ll supply all of your needs. Let go of yourself (it’s not about you anyway) and He will come and abide with you and in you. If you will draw neat to Him, He will draw near to you… and love you with love that is beyond our ability to comprehend.

Ephesians 3:19
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

What shall we say then: Love God with your whole heart and flee temptation. Do this and live. Selah.

Blessings,

.wb

See the video version at: http://youtu.be/yTJ7NvOQsMQ?list=UUUg4PiFZaHV3h4tK084kxgQ