We're learning about nothing new this morning stuff that we heard
before in the past. But I hope to bring it in a way
that we may be sheds. A little different light than we
have seen before and I hope that we can all learn something from
it. We're going to take our text
from 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 11.
And our study will go all the way through chapter 6 and verse
3. And we are title of our lesson
is just simply God, So we'll begin reading our text in second
Corinthians. Begin 5.
Beginning in verse 11, knowing therefore the terror of the
lord, we persuade men but we are well known to God.
And I also trust are well known in your constance's.
For we do not commend ourselves again to you but give you
opportunity to boast on our behalf that you may have an
answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart for
If we are beside ourselves, it is for God.
Or if we are of sound mind, it is for you for the love of
Christ, compels us because we judge thus that if one died for
all then, all died. And he died for all that those
who live should live no longer for themselves.
But for him who died for them and rose again therefore from
now on WE regard no one according to the flesh even
though we have known Christ according to the flesh yet now
we know him. Thus no longer.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation old
things have passed away, behold? All things have become new.
Now, all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself.
Self through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of
reconciliation that is that God was in Christ.
Reconciling the world to himself not imputing their trespasses to
them and has committed to us the world of reckons word of
reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ as though. God were pleading through us.
We implore you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God for.
He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we We might
become his righteousness of God in him, become the righteousness
of God in him. We then, as workers together
with him, also plead with, you not to receive the grace of God,
in vain for, he says, in an acceptable time, I have heard
you and in the day of salvation, I have helped you behold.
Now is the accepted time behold. Now is the day of salvation.
We give no offense in anything that our ministry may not be
blamed. so, as members of The church here had plans Road, and
Bleak Bakersfield May the fear of God Captivate Us in verse 11,
he says Since then, we know what is to fear the lord, we try to
persuade others. Paul says, I do.
We do we all do what we do, because of the fear of God,
there's a hunter over 300 times in different times, in the
scripture, where the fear of God is talked about 300 times.
Like in Psalms 1 11 and verse 10, says, the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. And so, when we go to the
commentaries of this passage here, in second Corinthians
dealing verse 11, we immediately read that this is talking about
about reverence and respect of God and I have no doubt in my
mind that that's partly what it means.
But I don't want us to think that when we read just about
reverence and respect, we miss to have the fear of God to fear
Him. You, when I read that, that's
what I see. And when in you know, we read
about people who came into contact with God, you know, in
the Old Testament, we read about, you know, Isaiah got a
glimpse of the glory of God and his immediate rack reaction.
Was I am dead. I am dead.
Can't even lift his face before God.
And some people say, well that's just the Old Testament, you
know, things were different back then.
Well, that's not the case. You know, if we go to Revelation
John, John, who was the Beloved disciple in the one whom Jesus
loved John. Got a glimpse of Jesus in heaven
and he says as soon as I saw him, I fell over as though I was
dead. And then he goes on to write
about of course, thousands and thousands of angels who are
bowing down to the throne of God and awe and Dreadful fear to
God. And I'm convinced that if we got
a glimpse of God here today we would not be standing.
We would be in fear and in awe of God.
And if we knew the gravity of the one who we've gathered here,
this morning to Worship in this room and he came, we would not
be standing, we'd be on our faces and that causes me to look
at my life and see such a lack of fear.
Sometimes that I have that we have from God.
You know, do we realize who were worshipping Even in prayer, do
we realize who are praying too. I know when I pray my mind tends
to wander sometimes. You know.
I think about what people are thinking of me when I pray.
What are they thinking about my prayer?
And I'm not even thinking the fact that we're praying to God
and we're about to listen to God's passages.
Here, listen to the word of God, speak to us here through what
we're going to study. And and we just need to
understand that and I hope we not of course, gather here this
morning just to hear myself, preach or hear some good Harmony
and her songs. And if we are here for that and
we've missed the whole point, the entire point.
We've gathered here to meet with God and sometimes Sunday after
Sunday, it feels like sometimes there's such a casual casual
approach to our worship to what I've done and what we do.
And that cannot be so It makes no sense.
Of course, this is casual Christianity in our culture
right now, very casual So I want us before we go any further.
I want us to think about what we've gathered here who we've
gathered here to meet with into worship.
And before we go any further, I've asked for Brethren to come
forward and and give us four passages that I've either told
them to read or that they suggested to me to read which
explains the fear of God, that shows the reverence and respect
that we got to have God and once they come up here, I will get
back up and finish up my lesson. So we'll have all start with a
with a first passage and then the brother know which ones are
coming up. For that.
So, Psalms 97 verses 1 through 6.
The Lord Reigns let the Earth Rejoice.
Let the multitude of the aisles be glad clouds and darkness
around him. Righteousness and Justice are
the foundation of his throne of fire goes before him and burns
up his enemies. Round about his Lightnings like
the world the Earth sees and trembles the mountains.
Melt like Wax at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the
Lord, the whole Earth. The heavens declare his
righteousness. And all the people see his
glory. I'm reading from Isaiah, the
fortieth chapter 1 verses 21 through 26.
Prophet Isaiah says, have you not known?
Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from
the beginning? Have you not understood from the
foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the
circle of the earth and it said to habitants are like
grasshoppers who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and
spreads them out like a tent to dwell in he brings the princes
to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth
useless. I scarcely shall they be planted
scarcely? Shall they be sewn scarcely.
Shall there? Stop take root in the earth when
he will also blow on them and they will wither and the
Whirlwind will take them away like stubble to whom then will
you liken me or to whom shall I? Be equal says the Holy One lift
up your eyes on high and see who has created these things who
brings out their host by number. He calls them all by name by the
greatness of his might and the strength of his power.
No one is missing. I'll be reading from Isaiah
chapter 6 and we will read verses 1 through 5 Isaiah
chapter, 6, verses 1 through 5. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and
the train of his robe. Filled the temple.
Above it stood seraphim. Each one was with six wings to
the covered, his face with two that covered his feet.
And with two he flew and one cried to another and said, holy
holy holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory and the post of the door were shaken by the voice of him,
who cried out and the house was filled with smoke.
So I said, woe is me for. I am undone because I'm a man of
unclean. Unclean lips and I dwell in the
midst of people of unclean, lips for my eyes, have seen the king,
the Lord of hosts. I'll be reading, I'll be reading
from Psalms 51. Chapter 16 to 23.
But to the wicked, God says what right?
Have you declare my statute or take my common in your mouth
seeing you hate instructions and cause my words behind you.
When you saw her thieve, you consent.
And with him and have been partaking out daltrey's, you
give your mouth to evil, and your tongue for frames descent.
You sit and speak against your brother.
You slander your own mother son. These things you have done and I
kept silent you thought I was that I was altogether like you
but I will rebuke you and send them in order before your eyes.
Now, consider this you who forgot God.
Lest I tear you a pieces and there'd be none to deliver.
Hi ever. Offered Praises.
Glorify me and then and to him who ordered his conduct again.
Alright, I will show the salvation of God.
I'll be reading from Revelations, the fourth chapter,
I'm reading from the King, James version, relishes for, and I'll
begin reading there in verse number 4.
And around about The Throne were four and 20 seats.
And upon the seats, I saw four and 20 Elders sitting clothed in
white raiment and they had on their heads, crowns of gold and
out of the throw proceedings Lightnings and thunderings and
voices. And there were seven lamps of
fire burning Before the Throne which are the seven spirits of
God. and Before the Throne, there was a sea of glass like
unto Crystal and in the midst of the throne and around about The
Throne were four beasts full of eyes before and behind And the
first Beast was like a lion and the second beast, like a calf,
the third Beast had a face as a man, and the fourth Beast was
like a flying eagle. and the four beasts had each of them,
six wings about him and they were full of eyes within and
they rest not day and night saying, holy holy, holy Lord God
Almighty, which was and is and is to come
just think for a moment about the way your life changes, when
you realize this is the god That we worship.
When were captivated by the fear of God, we look back up to
Second Corinthians 5 and verse 6, because down in verse 11, he
says, therefore knowing the fear of the Lord.
So we know that he's building upon something, that's why he,
that's what he just said because it says therefore in light of
this. So what's he building on
inverse? Listen to verse 6, he says
there. So we are always confident
knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent.
From the Lord. For we for we walk by faith, not
by sight. We are confident.
Yes. Well, please rather to be absent
from the body and to be present with the Lord therefore we make
it our aim, whether present or absent to be well pleasing in
him. So whether we are at home or
away, we are to please him. And then we listen to verse 10
here says for, we must all appear before the Judgment seat
of Christ. That each one may receive the
things done in the body according to what has been done
whether good or bad. So here's where I don't
necessarily necessarily think that it's just reverence of
respect for Paul here. This is fear in his own life, he
knows that one day, he's going to be standing before Jesus to
be Arched and he knows what I want to remind all of us here
this morning, every single person in this room that we are
going to be standing before Christ one day and he will be
judging us. So salt Paul says, as a result,
my aim in my in my life is to please him.
That's my only aim, that's his only goal is to please him.
And I think about, you know, my life and even in my, you know,
my teaching and singing and in this congregation My aim is not
to please you. My aim is not to please anybody
else. Like in a in a sense but not in
an arrogant way, I could care less about what you think about
me. Because in the end you're not
going to judge me. Jesus will be our judge.
We are going to stand before him and I'm going to be held
accountable for whether I did or did not do what Jesus instructed
us to do. So instructed me to do, my aim
is to please him. Our aim is to please him.
So this is where I realized the beauty of the fear of God.
It's what Proverbs 19 23 says, the fear of the Lord leads to
life and he who has it will abide in satisfaction.
So whoever has the fear of the Lord can be satisfied.
Why can't it be satisfied? Because we're free from fearing
anything else in this world? If we have the fear of God,
we've got nothing else to fear. We don't have to be afraid of
anything else. We don't have to be afraid of
death itself. We don't have to fear death.
We don't have to fear, man. We don't have to fear anything
else When We Fear, God, and it changes us, it changes you.
We live with courage. In this world, we're not afraid
to speak the gospel to those around us.
Those that we work with. We're not afraid of being
awkward around them, because of that, we're not afraid of
rejection. What we're afraid of is standing
before Christ Hyundai and being accountable for what we did in
our lives for him. Man is not our judge.
Christ is our judge and we should fear Him.
Then we think about how that compels us the way we live with
others. Then he says in verse 11 knowing
therefore the terror of the lord, we persuade men but we are
well known to God. And I also trust are well known
in your consciousness. And he's talking about the work
of the ministry is sharing the gospel with those around him,
with other people, he's trying to persuade them to come to
Christ. He does this because of the fear
of the Lord because there's not, he knows it's not just him
that's going to be standing for Christ.
One day, it's going to be everybody standing before Christ
will day. So Paul is trying to spread the
gospel and do the work that he has been instructed to do.
So we think about our friends or coworkers or family members who
don't know. Christ one day, they're going to
be Standing before Christ, as well as judge, it could be
tonight. None of us, not one of our
family members are guaranteed tomorrow or the next hour for
the next week. We're not guaranteed that.
So the fear of God leads us to persuade them today.
And here we realize knowing the fear of God is a few huge effect
on our day-to-day living. So, if we approach church or
Christianity as a casual ho-hum, then, you know, we're not
compelled the next day to go to our co-worker, or to our
friends, or those who were acquainted with and, and, and,
and say, you need to hear about Christ.
I want to persuade you to trust in Christ, why?
So they can participate in the routine that we go through.
No. When were gripped by the fear of
God. And we see a co-worker tomorrow
morning or a friend, or we talked to them, concern for
their soul concerned, for the Judgment Day or compelled to
persuade them, it even came up in a conversation.
The other day that there are roughly 2 billion people in this
world right now who have little to no access or know who Jesus
is. They've never heard his name or
don't have access. Stu the gospel.
All those people are going to be accountable as well.
There are going to be accountable whether or not
they've obeyed, Jesus for salvation, having not heard the
gospel, they will have no opportunity to trust in Christ
and Obey him. They're going to stand before
him and be sentenced to either eternity of parkour with him.
So people who fear God and know that judgment is coming, we
don't sit back and use all of our resources, making church a
little more comfortable for us or for ourselves and so, Hope
that encourages us. So some might be thinking well,
the fear of God was it all just fear and doom and gloom.
Why just fear doesn't God loved us.
Of course he does. Look at this may the fear of God
control us. So, Paul after talking about the
fear of the Lord starts, commending himself in his
ministry, he's he's describing his ministry.
He says in verse 13 before, if we are beside ourselves, it is
of god. Or if we are of sound mind, it
is for you. And then he says, in verse 14,
which is a great phrase for the love of Christ, compels us the
love of Christ. Compels us were compelled were
controlled by the love of God. One translation, I came across
said the love of Christ leaves me, no other option.
Like leaves us? No other option.
Christ's love for us. There's nothing else that we can
be doing. And it's in a sense, were
controlled by his love. because we judge this, that if one died
for all, then, all died and he died for all, That those who
live should no longer live for themselves. but for him who died
for them and rose again, So we need to contemplate the
immensity of God's love for all. So he died for all verse 15 says
now, some people take this text immediately and going to
universalism and say well that means everybody is going to be
saved in the end because Christ died for all, and that's not
what this passage is saying. At all, the passage is clearly
talking about those who have died with Christ who have
trusted him and obey the gospel call, which is what we're going
to talk about the second when it comes to reconciliation.
But we but we know of course, in John 3:16 God.
So loved the world that he gave his only son.
God loves the whole sinful world and he loves everybody.
Second Peter 3:9 says the Lord is not slack concerning his
promise as some count slackness but is long-suffering toward us
not willing that any should perish but that all should come
to repentance. He desires all people.
Everyone all to come to repentance.
We think about the worst people on the planet, where's
terrorists? You know, we just heard this
last week of guy who went to his workplace in San Jose and
decided to take a few of his co-workers lives and then his
own God desires him. Desired him at one point for
repentance. We think about people who, in
the most vile people in the world, God died or Jesus died
for them as well. He created that person in his
own image. We just need to contemplate the
immensity of that and his love for us.
So when we think about everybody around us, our friends, our
co-workers, our acquaintances God, died for them as well.
And this is what I love about Paul when he says Christ died
for all because Christ death is sufficient, Parole in Galatians,
2:20 says, I have been crucified with Christ is no longer I who
live but Christ lives in me and the life, which I now live in
the flesh, I live by faith. And the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. Jesus died for us, Jesus Loves
Me. Jesus loves you.
And so we just think about this for a minute, all these passage
that we read the god around whom thousands upon thousands of
Angels at this moment right now are bowing down never-ceasing
day and night Singing. Holy holy, holy is the Lord God
Almighty. This is the god.
Who calls the Stars by name? The God, who can, who is the
consuming fire? This is the god who spoke all
creation and came into being. He spoke a word and we got
light, he spoke a word and we receive Darkness.
He spoke a word in the ocean. We had oceans and mountains.
He spoke a word and you got animals.
This is the god right now who is sustaining seven billion people
in this world at this time and on top of that number he
sustaining all the animals and plants and weather and the
insects everything. He's allowing you to take that
breath that you just took God sustains.
All and this God loves you, and I And when we think about that,
and we understand God. It'll take and should take
control of Our Lives. It will leave us with no choice
and that's what's so interesting.
It goes against all, the self esteem in the self, take care of
yourself culture that we live in it.
And this time, you know, we think love means that we need to
think about ourselves more often.
And that's that completely opposite of what God tells us to
do the love of God for Paul, cause Paul for him to think less
about himself and to think more about living for Christ in
others. And so may the love of God
control us. The gospel of God reconciles us.
We're going to go come back in verses 16 and 17 and second but
in verses 18 through 21, he starts talking about the
reconciliation and he uses that word five different times in
verses 18. 19 and 20 be reconciled reconciling
reconciliation reconciled. And the whole picture here is
not just reconciliation to God. But reconciliation to others.
Remember, the context that were talking about here in
Corinthians Paul? It was experiencing conflict
between the members at Corinth here and he was trying to write
about reconciliation with others and with them.
And but he knows that reconciliation with them is only
based on reconciliation with God first And understanding the
gospel and that's what brings us together here in this building,
right? This is what makes the church.
The church. The gospel of reconciliation is
God reconciles himself to us. He reconciles us to each other
and it brings us together. What unites Us in this room is
not gender. Or ethnicity or socioeconomic
status of this kind, or a background of that kind or
political positions or that kind of political position.
No, we're brought here together solely by the fact that we have
been reconciled to God through Christ.
That's why we are here together. In our sin, we were separated
from God as his enemies. So members here in this
congregation in our sin we were once separated from God as his
enemies that was all of our problem.
We were all enemies of God. James 4:4 says adulterers and
adulteresses. Do you not know that friendship
with the world is enmity with God?
Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God. Because we have all sinned
against God. Every single one of us in this
room has rebelled against God and this, this holy God, that we
that we worship and every single one of us has said at some point
you are not Lord of my life. I'm going to go ahead and do
things my way, we've all done. We've all said it in every one
of us has turned aside from his way to our way.
This is The God Who Speaks in the ocean waves, obey the God,
who speaks in the clouds, go out and come in according to his
word. And this is the god who speaks
and everything in all creation responds in obedience to him
until we get back to man, you and I and this God speaks, we
have the audacity to say no. We had the audacity to reject
God. What he has told us to do.
And in our sin as a result. We have been set free from God
as his enemies. So what is this God done.
Through our substitute. We have been reconciled to God.
In verse 15. When it said that one is died
for all that preposition for means, or in the place of.
But for him who died for them in our place, he was died.
He died in raised talking about Jesus.
The same thing down in verse 21. For our sake, are in our place.
Got 44, he made him who knew no sin to be come sin.
This is where through our substitute.
We see from the very beginning of the Bible, all the way
through the Bible because of are rebelling against God, we
deserve to be separated. From him forever because of our
sin, the payment for sin is death, Eternal Death, and All of
Us in this room deserve it because of our sin against God,
we deserve Eternal Eternal debt. This is the reality of Bible
teaches it, from cover, to cover, sin, leads to death.
So what has God done? He has sent his son to come to
us and in verse 21, it says Christ had no sin in Christ had
no sin, nothing perfection. Jesus lived the life that none
of us could live. Jesus lived a perfect sinless
life but then died. So well if the punishment for
the payment for sin is death and Christ died, why did he die?
If he had no sin? How is that possible?
Well, he is the substitute for sinners.
He's dying in our place. Because of our sins.
He's taking the payment of sin do to you and to me upon himself
so that we can be reconciled to God.
But that's not the end though, it.
And that's the beauty of reconciliation is that it just
takes us one step further one Rider.
Summed it up best, he said, justification is a Judicial term
that used that's used in the court.
A judge, May acquit and accused person without ever entering
into a personal relationship with him or her.
He announces the verdict, not guilty, the accused hardly
expect to be invited over for dinner by the judge and probably
hopes. He will never see that judge
again in the judges, same for him.
But here the judge enters into a personal relationship with the
accused, which is necessary because the judge is the one who
has been sent against as the focus of the a personal
hostility. God does not simply make a
bookkeeping alteration by dropping charges against Isis.
Instead God gives himself to us. How is this possible Verse 18?
All things are of God. So get this.
The God is the author of reconciliation.
God does all this William Temple said.
The only thing that I contribute to my Redemption is the sin from
which I need to be redeemed. That's the only thing we bring
to the table is the problem and that's the beauty of
reconciliation. Every time we are reconciled,
the word reconciled is used here as a verb.
It's a passive verb. Like we are reconciled to God,
which begs the question, who's the subject who's reconciling is
It's God reconciling us to God. God is the author of
reconciliation. So, stay with me here for a
second. It can take just a couple
minutes kind of show this to you.
He's The Giver of the Gospel. We don't reconcile ourselves
where we reconciled by God, and only God can do this in us.
Then he's the gift of the Gospel.
So what's the gift of the Gospel?
That God offers offers offers in reconciliation, he offers
himself. God reconciles us to himself,
God gives himself in verse 21. His righteousness in the gospel
and God gives us himself which is why we completely turn aside
from the Contemporary teaching of persuasion in the church that
says he'll come to Christ for Prosperity.
Come to Christ for health, come to Christ for wealth come to
Christ you know for the best life and come to Christ to get
this or that. That's not why we come to
Christ. We come to Christ to get God.
And he's the one we want and he's the one we need.
We take all the things of this world.
We don't, we don't need all the things in this world.
All we need is God. He is the one we need.
He's the one were created to know and to enjoy and to worship
and to glorify forever and ever. And we want and need this God,
and he is the gift of the Gospel.
In the end, he is the goal of the Gospel, the one who gives
all this grace and he gets the glory.
He gets all God glorifies himself in reconciling Sinners
to can self. So how does he do this?
Christ is the agent of reconciliation.
It is only possible through Christ Verse 18.
Says who through Christ reconciled us to himself and
verse 19 in Christ. God was reconciling the world to
himself verse 21 for our sake. He made him sin to be sin.
He made him to be sin who knew no sin.
That's Christ. So that in him Christ, we might
become the righteousness of God. So, what does this mean?
In our sin? We were separated from God.
We went over that. And we were God's enemies and
Jesus came as our substitute. And he suffered our separation
meaning that he took our place as the enemies of God.
This is why on the crucifixion cross, Jesus looked up into the
skies and cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me
and mysterious picture of the sun becoming sin, and taking
that payment sin upon himself? And we think about You know, we
think about the sins that we've committed in our life.
We think about Everything that we've done, that is just been
despicable. We can't think of all of them of
course but the ones that come to your mind You know, we think
about that stuff. And we think about those that
we've done wrong against. we think about the cinnamon, you
know, if we display this, our sins upon this screen here, We
would shudder to think that anybody, who know that we've
done, some of the things that we've done, we would run out of
here and embarrassment and shame.
And then we realize those sins. Have been put on Jesus.
There's payment for those. There's payment for those sins
and he stepped in between you and that payment and took it.
You suffered our separation and in doing so he secured our
salvation. So that he takes our sin, this,
this glorious exchange that we can read about.
He takes our sin and we get his righteousness.
So that right now when we stand before God, and he looks at you
and I he doesn't see that sin. He sees the righteousness of his
son. And that is the Glorious truth
that we can read about. He secures our Salvation.
We are the acceptors of reconciliation.
What do we bring to the table? We simply bring the problem.
God, does it all? We would need to be reconciled
to God and having been reconciled to God.
And when you are reconciler, if you have been reconciled, what
happens is that we have a new entire identity.
And that's the beauty backing up into verse 17.
It says, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation
old things have passed away, behold?
All things have become new. New Creation, new heart, a new
spirit, new ones, new desires, New Life new identity.
We're now reconciled to the one who's created us to have life
and enjoy life now and forever. Transformed, he's transformed us
inside and out. An entirely new identity.
That's why Paul said in Galatians. 2:20 he says I have
been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but
Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the fresh
flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave
himself for me. It all comes together.
This is our identity, you are in Christ crisis in you.
And that's what defines you. And I we are not ultimately a
husband or a wife, a mom or a dad single or married widowed or
divorced we're not defined. By how we look by what we wear,
by, what you do, for a living, how much you make, where you
live, who you cheer for, who you root for your identity is not
found in your gender, your ethnicity or your socioeconomic
status. You're not defined by your past
as an addict, or an alcoholic or a victim of abuse in one way or
another, you're not. What counselors would say that
you are defined by your genetic makeup or your past history.
You are not what your boss is. My till you were defined by or
your present performance? It's on the job.
You are not what your parents and teachers might tell you that
you are based on your potential or in the future.
No, you are in Christ. Christ is in you.
He is your identity. He is who we need to model
after. Don't let this world steal that
away from you Christ is in you now and forever that is our
identity forever. We have a new identity which
leads to an entirely different perspective.
Verse 16 of our passions. Therefore from now on WE regard
no one according to the flesh even though we have known Christ
according to the flesh yet, now we know him.
Thus no longer. This is what Paul is trying to
say. We don't we don't view the world
from a worldly perspective anymore.
Or it goes back to what we said earlier about, not boasting on
outward appearance. But it's what's in our heart.
It's who we are in our heart that matters to God and we have
a different perspective on people around us as well.
And when we look at people, you know, we don't see them in
mainly terms of, you know, their status in Life or their
ethnicity or this or that or whatever it may be.
We look at people whether they're either in Christ or not
in Christ. That's what we should be going.
After is their salvation in the end.
We love and care for those around us.
We serve each other here in the church, we lay down our lives
and sacrifice for each other. Here in this.
Congregation for those in the church, that's what Paul is
saying. Here, are you saying church here
at Corinth be reconciled to God and then be reconciled to each
other. And then are entirely different
perspective on the world comes in.
We look at our neighbors and our co-workers, and we have the
courage to go to them and ask them if they're in Christ or
not. We are now at that point
privileged to work with God. Second Corinthians 6 and one.
Right after all this, in chapter 5.
Paul says we, then that's workers together with him.
Which is God also plead with you not to receive the grace of God,
in vain for. He says, in an acceptable time I
have heard you and in the day of salvation, I have helped behold
now is the accepted time behold. Now is the day of salvation.
This is quite the phrase working together with God.
How has God chosen to make this message of reconciliation?
No. We think about it, you know, God
could do anything he wanted to do right now, to let the whole
world know about his Plan of Salvation.
He could he could write it in this in the sky to us this
morning, we could look up and we could see our name or he could
put it in the Stars, his Plan of Salvation or he didn't think it
and put it in our minds and we wouldn't need the scriptures
anymore. God could do that but he has
chosen not to why has he chosen to do it that way?
Because he's just chosen to work with you and I working together
with God. It's an awesome thing to see. to
speak for God and teaching up here and I hope we're not
gathered here every week just to hear one man or you know, Go
through the motions and then rest of the week, we're not, you
know, worshipping God in other ways, we've got the privilege to
work with God every day of our life every hour that were awake
to spread and work with God. It's a privilege.
Paul is saying. Here.
Also, in verse 3, which I love verse 3, He says, we put no
obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault.
May be found in our ministry. That's English Standard Version.
Pulsing I've done everything. I can to keep from being an
obstacle for some from somebody following the gospel.
He's in all he can. And can we say that?
Can we say the same thing? Can we say that somebody has not
obeyed the gospel of Christ? Only?
Because the rejecting Christ, not because we've got the way
because we do a good job of messing.
Things up all the time, we do a really good job with that.
So let the gospel. Do its work.
Work alongside with God? So we all met stand before the
Judgment seat of Christ, one day, and being good faith with
him. That's the lesson.
We went through three points with the fear of God, Captivate,
Us me the fear of God control us and the gospel of God
reconciles. We thank you for listening to
our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
Road in Bakersfield, if you would like any additional
information, or you would like to receive a free Bible
correspondence, course by mail. Please email us at info at her
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