WARRIORS FOR CHRIST
2 Corinthians 10:1-12,
17-1
BE BOLD
IN THE LORD
V:1 By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to
you — I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but
"bold" when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be
as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the
standards of this world. 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war
as the world does.
A.
Love is expressed in many ways.
1.
Love is expressed in praise, discipline, corrections,
directions, chastisement,
In encouragement and also in death.
2.
It is good when we have a balance.
3.
The church at Corinth was infused with false
teachers who denied the relevance of
Of the Gospel and questioned the authority of Paul’s apostleship.
4.
Paul dealt with these issues in his letters as a
parent of the church.
B.
In 1 Corinthians 5. Paul had to deal with a man
who was sleeping with his father’s wife.
1.
He commanded the members to put the man out of the
church and not speak
To him until he repented.
2.
Paul dealt with members who openly opposed him.
3.
He reminded the church of the gospel truths and
the suffering
He and his traveling companions endured preaching Jesus for them.
4.
In all that Paul did and endured, it was for the
love of the church.
C.
Anytime we preach Jesus we come in conflict with
the influence of the devil
1.
We are in a constant war with the devil to
maintain our devotion to Jesus.
2.
Paul encourages us to live for Jesus and not by
the standards of the world
3.
We are empowered by the Word of God and the Holy
Spirit to resist
Any teaching which was not of God.
D.
Love requires us to deal with each issue in a
manner that promotes the Gospel
Truth.
1.
In the previous chapter, Paul praised the Church
for their generous
Giving to the needy church in Jerusalem.
TAKE A NOTE
In the middle of a difficult message to the church, Paul took the time
to
Praise them for their giving.
Giving is a key characteristic of Love.
Giving shows your compassion.
Giving shows your obedience.
Giving shows your willingness to make sacrifices for others.
Giving shows your unselfish attitude.
2.
Paul commanded discipline for those in disobedience
to God’s commands.
3.
He commanded the church to hold on to the
promises of God
In times of opposition and persecution.
4.
We have to balance discipline with praise.
a.
We need praise for what we do right, and
discipline for our
Open disobedience.
b.
You don’t want to appear to be critical without
emphasizing the
Good in people.
c.
Discipline is necessary when needed, but a good
word is always required.
USE YOUR
DIVINE WEAPONS
V:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the
world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your
obedience is complete.
A.
Loving parents council their children to put on
the full armor of God
Each moment because they are in a constant
war with the devil.
1.
The world fights with guns, knives, and even the
law to defeat us
And destroy our faith in Jesus.
2.
We fight with spiritual weapons.
3.
We must understand that man in front of us is
not the true enemy
Ephesians 6:12-13
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
4.
You cannot fight Satan with a gun
5.
You are not smart enough to fight Satan with
your words
6.
You can only fight the devil with the Word of
God
7.
Jesus gave us this example after His baptism
8.
He was led to the desert by the Holy Spirit to
be tempted by the devil
9.
He was tempted 3 times but shut the devil up
with the Word.
10.
Faith cannot be developed without a trial.
B.
With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we know
what words to say when
Confronted by the devil.
1. Luke 12:11-13
"When you are brought before
synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend
yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that
time what you should say."
2. Our teacher, the Holy Spirit will
enlighten us as we study the Word.
3. When we submit ourselves to the Holy
Spirit, He will take charge of our
Conversation with the enemy.
C.
The war with the devil began when we accepted
Jesus as Lord and Savior.
1.
We are equipped with the divine power to speak
the truth in any
Situation.
2.
Anything not of God is made known by the Word of
God.
3.
We must submit ourselves to the guidance of the
Holy Spirit to
Control our inner being.
4.
Every act of our disobedience must be met with confession
and repentance.
BE CONFIDENT
THAT WE BELONG TO CHRIST
V:7 You are looking only on the surface of things. If anyone
is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong
to Christ just as much as he. 8 For even if I boast somewhat freely about the
authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I
will not be ashamed of it. 9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you
with my letters. 10 For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful,
but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." 11
Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent,
we will be in our actions when we are present.
A.
We must be careful of the tone of our voice when
face to face with others.
1.
People can misinterpret our reasonings and get offended.
2.
The tone of Paul’s letters was different than
his demeanor when face to face.
3.
People can easily mistake a mild manner for
weakness or meaningless.
4.
Paul spoke face to face with love to draw his
disciples to Christ.
5.
I am sure he understood you can catch more flies
with honey than vinegar.
B.
Paul’s letters were more forceful because they
were instructive and convicting.
1.
The printed Word of God speaks for itself.
2.
The Word of God is mind-changing. You either
accept it or reject it.
3.
When you study the Word of God, you are
communicating with Jesus.
4.
Any communication with Jesus reminds you of your
purpose, your position
And your mission.
C.
We cannot be ashamed of the Word but embrace it as
life-changing
And lifesaving.
1.
The Word reminds us that we belong to Christ and
that comes with the responsibility
Of proclaiming the Word.
2.
God left the interpretation of the Word to our
study of the Word under
The guidance of the Holy Spirit.
3.
Those who study the Word without the guidance of
the Holy Spirit will
Misinterpret the Word.
4.
False teachers can recite the Word without an
understanding.
5.
We must boldly proclaim the Word to those who
have no understanding.
LET
CHRIST BE YOUR STANDARD FOR LIVING
V:12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with
some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and
compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.
A.
We should never be proud of our knowledge of the
Word of God because we
Know little and there is much more to
learn.
1.
When we take pride in our knowledge, we commend
ourselves by ourselves.
2.
Pride is false thinking, making oneself the
standard to be achieved.
3.
There is only one standard to live by and that
is Jesus
B.
Pride makes us foolish to the truth of our
ignorance.
1.
We should take reproof and instruction as a sign
of love.
2.
We are wise to consider ourselves as nothing so
God can lift us up.
BOAST IN
THE LORD
2 Corinthians 10:17-18
V:17 But, "Let him who boasts boast in the
Lord." 18 For it is not the one who
commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
A.
It is in Christ that we live, breathe and have
our being.
1.
Without Christ we are nothing.
2.
With Christ, we can do all things because He
strengthens us.
3.
Without Christ, we have no weapons to fight the
enemy.
4.
With Christ, we have the full armor of God.
5.
Without Christ, I have no knowledge.
6.
With Christ, I have access to all knowledge.
B.
In me, I have nothing to boast about.
1.
In Christ, I have everything to boast about.
2.
I can boast about the love of God.
3.
I can boast about the grace of God.
4.
I can boast about the mercy of God.
5.
I can boast about the tolerance of God.
6.
I can boast about the protection of God.
7.
I can boast about the provisions of God.
8.
I can boast about my heavenly home.
9.
I can boast about my Savior.
10.
I can boast about my Father.
11.
I can boast about my teacher, the Holy Spirit.
12.
I can boast about the goodness of the Lord.
THANK GOD
FOR HIS COUNCIL
Rev. M.
Mitchell
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