 So today here we are second Corinthians chapter chapter 1 we're going to look at verses 15 through 24 and I chose to entitle this this particular installment of our study In him was yes and you'll see this as we go through this and what I'm going to do is I'll read verses 15 and 16 to you verses 15 and 16 and Begin at that point and then move on into the rest of the chapter So beginning at verse 15 reading verses 15 and 16 second Corinthians chapter 1 Paul writes and In this confidence. I intended to come to you before that you might have a second benefit To pass by way of view to Macedonia To come again from Macedonia to you and be helped by you on my way To Judea now I've been mentioning to you that throughout the letter Paul is compelled To actually answer some charges that have been lodged against him some intruders some infiltrators Some some people who are trying to undermine his ministry have crept into the Corinthian Church and They've been lodging charges or accusations They've been gossiping about the Apostle Paul and so throughout second Corinthians and you'll see this Paul responds to their Accusations and I'll point their accusations out to you as we go through and show you how he responds to these things that they're saying The last time we were together we looked at two of those charges That they'd lodged we saw him answer the charge that he was selfish hypocritical and fleshly and We also saw how he answered the accusation that he was a man who wasn't really completely open He used innuendo he wasn't forthright and so he basically had to deal with these these charges And so he continues now to answer charges that have been lodged against him in the charge We'll be looking at first is that he changes his mind easily the word that describes that is Vasylating or fickle and they're saying that that he's a Vasylating individual and and the reason they're saying that he Changes his mind and you can't trust him because he does is because he changed his travel plans Now I wonder how many of us in this room who've had opportunity to travel have had to change our travel plans before I? Think that's common if you travel very often you'll discover that that's just part of what happened Sometimes you planned and going somewhere at a certain time, but it doesn't work out You're unable to do it well Paul is making Given an answer to this because he was unable to keep the plans that he had planned and the Infiltrators the intruders the the ones who are calling him Into question are using his change of plans against him And so that's what he's about to do is going to answer a charge that he changes is his mind easily You see Paul originally had intended to come to them using a different route And he had he had actually made that clear if you were to look at first Corinthians chapter 16 He makes it clear there. He wrote and he told him what he intended to do. It says in 1st Corinthians 16 5 through 7 Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia, which is to the north in Greece It's modern Yugoslavia now for I am passing through Macedonia And it may be that I will remain or even spend the winter with you that you may send me on my journey Wherever I go for I do not wish to see you now on the way But I hope to stay a while with you if the Lord permits And so he had made that clear, but he had used words to help them to see that this was uncertain It may be that I'll remain he said or even spend the winter he had said He said I hope to stay a while with you if the Lord permits He had said all of that but they had taken his words and they're using them as an accusation Against him you see he was planning his journey and hope to see them and and hope to see them twice as a matter of fact And that's what he says in verse 15 He said in this confidence I intended to come to you before that I might that you might have a second benefit the second benefit would be that you May have an opportunity to be taught twice. His desire in other words was to minister to them They were a relatively young church. It was filled with difficulties. So he wanted to further instruct them That's the second benefit he's speaking about in verse 15 that they might receive further instruction as their spiritual father He wanted to personally equip them for their spiritual growth and as a pastor as modus or pure He wanted to deepen their faith and and that's the confidence he has He said it was in this confidence in this pure conscience That he was giving them these directives and sharing with them you speaking of his in his integrity You see with good intentions Paul earlier had written that he hoped to see them. He wanted to see him He wanted him parked to them more understanding of the gospel He wanted him to grow and that's what pastors and that's what Paul would want is is a church to grow And it's not just the Corinthians. He's concerned about it's a church in general Because when you read Romans chapter 1 verse 11, he said this to that church He said I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established That's what he wanted to do. That's what ministers want to do. They want to establish you They want to strengthen you they want to train you and that's what Paul was wanting to do He said I intended to come to you before that I might that you might have a second benefit You may have prolonged teaching. I could teach you come back and teach you some more That's the point he's making and that's how come he has to answer this particular charge Because it says in verse 17 and this is the charge that he vacillates. He changes his mind That's why he says in verse 17. Therefore when I was planning this did I do it lightly Or the things I plan Do I plan according to the flesh? That with me there should be yes. Yes and no No, and so he's answering the charge that he changes his mind easily that he is unstable What they're saying is paul is double-minded That he wavers he swerves he's indecisive he he vacillates and and and if he really is that way that that makes him a leader that you can't place your confidence in You cannot place your confidence in somebody who vacillates Who's saying we'll do this today and oh no, I'm going to change you just can't You can't be a good and effective leader if you're always changing your mind And so they know that they're undermining him You see in in the book of james in chapter one verse eight James said a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways And that's true in leadership. And so they're saying well, look at with you. It's yes. Yes, or no no with you You change your mind easily And jesus said no one can serve two masters For either he will hate the one and love the other Or else he'll hold to the one and despise the other and then he went on to say you cannot serve god and mammon You can't be double-minded Well, the heart of the charge is deeper than simply saying he changes his mind easily The real attack was that they were saying that he could care Could not care less for the Corinthians that he doesn't he doesn't care about them at all They're planning the thought that he's in concern for their spiritual needs and and they're planting the thought that he does not love them Because if he loved them, he would care about how they were being affected So he's showing them no consideration. That's what they're saying And by not planning properly They're saying he didn't consult the spirit He's not consulting the leading of god And every true leader knows that you have to submit your plans to god And he's not doing that obviously because he's vacillating That makes him worldly because he's not considering god's will And again in james chapter four verse 15 james had instructed and said you ought to say If the lord wills we shall live and do this or that and so they're using that against paul They're saying he vacillates and he doesn't love you. He's not a spirit filled or spirit led man But again, we just read out of first chrithian 16 verse 7 How he said I do not wish to see you now on the way I hope to stay a while with you if the lord permits He had already said if the lord wills will do this So this is unfair. It's an untrue attack on the apostle paul Paul loved the church He would not intentionally hurt them But the fact is and this is just generally true His plans were always under the leading of god's spirit And roman's 814 as as many as are led by the spirit of god. These are the sons of god So believers especially spiritual leaders are to be familiar with the movement of the holy spirit How the holy spirit leads us We might see a need somewhere That creates a burden in us We want to meet that need We might even decide that that's what the lord wants us to do But we have to take that to god in prayer When you read your bible and you read through the old testament There's a man that we all know by name. His name is david. He's the king of israel And when you read the bible the bible tells us that he was a man after god's own heart And that david loved god And and david wanted to build a temple for god At that time there was no permanent structure The ark of the covenant was actually kept in a tent in a tabernacle And that grieved david and it was in his heart to build god a temple In second samuel in chapter seven verse two david was speaking to a prophet by the name of nathan And it says the king said to nathan the prophet see now I dwell in a house of cedar But the ark of god dwells inside tent curtains. He grieved him He grieved him that he had a nicer home if you will Then god himself I dwell in a luxury home and he says I dwell in a home of cedar That's another way to describe a mansion or a luxurious home But god is in a tent. He's in a tabernacle He said that that ark is there It's just not right that I should dwell the way I do and and he's where he is and and I want to build this This temple and at first nathan says to him do what's in your heart. That's a good thing But the lord speaks to him And says this is not my will for you god planned differently God planned for david son solomon to build him a house In first chronicles 22 verses 7 through 10 david said to solomon My son asked for me. It was in my mind to build a house to the name of the lord my god But the word of the lord came to me saying You have shed much blood and have made great wars. You shall not build a house for my name Because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight Behold the sun shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest And I will give him rest from all his enemies all around His name shall be solomon for I will give peace and quietness to israel in his days He shall build a house for my name and he shall be my son And I will be his father and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over israel forever See it was good in the heart of david to want to build a house for the lord But the desire the burden is not the call And so even though you may want to do something you submit your plans to the lord and god will direct you And paul knew that his plans were Were to be submitted to god and he did this by habit It's like what it says in proverbs 16 verse 9 a man's heart plans his way, but the lord directs his steps Well because of the accusation paul is compelled to explain himself to the church because they're being influenced They're being influenced to think that paul changes his mind easily that he's unconcerned for them and doesn't love them And so he's answering that and so he says In verse 17 again when I was planning this did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan do I plan according to the flesh that with me there should be yes. Yes, and no No in verse 18, but as god is faithful our word to you was not yes and no For the son of god jesus christ who has preached among you by us by me sylvanus and timothy Was not yes and no But in him was yes For all the promises of god in him are yes And in him amen to the glory of god through us. So he continues Explaining what's going on notice again in verse 18 as god is faithful our word to you was not yes and no So this is very important. I'm going to develop this with you for a moment. God is faithful Speaking of being true to his word And what are you saying? He will do When god is faithful and you understand that you can put put your full weight of trust in him In numbers 23 verse 19 The bible says god is not a man that he should lie Nor a son of man that he should repent Has he said will he not do has he spoken? Will he not make it good? In first samuel 1529 He who is the glory of israel does not lie or change his mind For he is not a man that he should change his mind So god isn't a vacillating god And paul is saying and i'm not a vacillating individual Paul is saying god's word and god's spirit can be trusted So you can trust the one who's being led by his spirit As an apostle he faithfully ministered to them they could trust him He had a proven ministry. They were aware of the suffering he's endured And that should have established his trustworthiness and credibility to them Well notice what he says in verse 19 For the son of god jesus christ was preached among you by us by me selvanus Also known as sylas and timothy was not yes and no but in him Was yes The son of god jesus christ who was preached among you by us So paul speaks of a ministry team that joined him as he ministered ty timothy and sylas Had come to corinth to work alongside of paul In acts 18 verse 5 it says sylas and timothy came to came from asidonia and paul devoted himself Exclusively to preaching testifying to the jews that jesus was messiah But he's saying in verse 18. We did not preach a message that is self Contradictory we did not preach one thing and then change it to mean something else So he's defending his message. He's saying we preach the son of god to you while we were at corinth We made sure that it was presented clearly for what it is When he spoke to the carinthians in first carinthians he said in first carinthians 2 verses 4 and 5 My message and my preaching were very plain rather than using clever and persuasive speeches I relied only on the power of the holy spirit I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom But in the power of god And then he says in verse 20 For all the promises of god in him are yes and in him amen To the glory of god through us I want to share a few things with you that I think have practical meaning and that can be helpful In our understanding of the ways of the lord All the promises related to our messiah and the work of salvation All of them are fulfilled in jesus christ All the promises And that Is what led to my coming to faith in christ and i'm certain that All of us who are saved in this room could say the same thing god's promises are true You could rely on them 100 And when I came to faith in christ that is what Became the establishment or foundation of the way that I think today Without the word of god helping to form my mind I lived in darkness and I thought in darkness and I acted in darkness and my life choices were all filtered through a mind of lostness and And I came to find that that the way that I thought wasn't proper And so as I read the word of god I began to discover the will of god in his word And and and my life changed and and and at that time during what was called the jesus movement There were people who were speaking about people like me young people like me And they were saying you know, there's something wrong with them They're brainwashed and they used to say that they used to say that about it said that they're brainwashed And I finally came to realize that indeed I I was brainwashed because my brains were dirty And they needed to be washed by the blood of christ So yeah, I was brainwashed the lord washed my dirty little brains and he gave me his word And changed my life and that's what he does now today I want to make this applicable for today Today there are a lot of people who are Are seeming to be greatly concerned about the way things are and and there's a lot of things that are going on Their people's hearts are failing them for fear. They're they're nervous about the days we're living in And when you look in the united states and and you look around and what's going on with what is being called good You know 50 years ago was recognized as evil What you're looking at today is acceptable And as normal was looked at looked at just in my lifetime as being the wrong thing to do And yet today people are saying that black is white white is black that sweet as sour sour Is sweet up is down and down is up and it's all been changed around And so you have a generation of people who are older who are looking at the younger generation and are saying there's no hope for them They're they're so messed up. They don't even understand the word of god is the truth You see when I grew up, you know, there was no argument The bible is the word of god even if I wasn't a believer I knew that there's if there's a god which I believed in if there is a god He's got to be powerful enough to preserve his word. He's got to be or else. He's not god So I didn't have a problem with the bible at all. I just had a problem with what it said And because I had a problem with what it said, I never read it didn't understand it never was taught it But I I knew it was wrong. It had to be wrong in my mind because it has to be wrong because If if it's right, then I have to change and that was where the war came in And so I think that the generation I got saved in is not a whole lot different than the generation that's in existence today Not really we we we all go through the same kinds of things and and that's what was taking place In my life when I was a kid and so I wanted to share something I actually I gave a message a while back It's been a little while now that I use some of these things But I want to share some things with you To kind of like show you that that I have great hope in the promises of god because in christ They're yes and amen He hasn't changed our society It seems to change because each generation thinks that they have unique things they they deal with and certainly there are things that are different But there are so many things that are the same So in the 60s Well, the 60s were not the peaceful mellow love everyone generation That we fantasize it to be I have some old people in here and you know what I mean when I say that If you could remember that far back Yeah, it's true. We had what you called their love ends and your peace ends And those are public gatherings that focused on music and meditation and a lot of drugs and sex love ends these things were Really the culmination of the turbulence of the 60s in early 70s We like to fantasize we like to look back and say all those were mellow love filled days. No, they weren't they were turbulent days They were days of unrest a lot. There was no peace There was so much going on we grew up with a growing cold war against The ussr. We had a problem with russia back then We had the berlin wall The cuban missile crisis The assassination of john f kennedy We had a civil rights movement We had the assassination of martin luther king jr We had race riots student revolts the assassination of robert f kennedy We had the kent state massacre where four students died nine were wounded and one permanently paralyzed We had a little problem in southeast asia in a place called vietnam We had climate change concerns at that time the earth is freezing now. It's too hot We had increased sexual license and we had arguments against abortion What's going on today? Is basically the same thing We had a guy named timothy leary. Some of you perhaps have heard his name He became famous for his encouragement to my generation to use lsd to To turn on to tune in drop out And many of us did because we were hopeless in the midst of all of this Many of the young people my generation lost hope We had a guy by the name of john lennon and we had these four apostles You know john paul george and ringo in the beetles And john lennon said that the beetles were more popular than jesus I heard when that was said it was it was on on television. It was it was shown on tv and I agreed with them I believed that there was a group that we listened to I listened to called the doors I don't know if you've ever even heard of them But the doors where did they get their name some people know most don't The doors is a group that took its name from aldois huxley's book the doors of perception And the doors of perception aldois huxley was referring to william blake statement If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is infinite They got that from him Because huxley was known for mysticism. He was an advocate of psychedelics and the doors Was actually the doors of perception and if you ever listen to their music and read their lyrics They were extremely Extremely influential the moody blues some of you have heard of them Well, they were like priests and they had a song. I still remember it And it's it's called how is it we are here and they said this this is part of their lyrics They said how is it we are here on this path we walk In this world of pointless fear filled with empty talk Descending from the apes as scientist priests all think Will they save us in the end? We're trembling on the brink That's the stuff I listen to it's no different than what many are listening today in 1966 Time magazine ran an article god is dead or is god dead Then on june 21st 1971 they ran the article the jesus revolution. So what changed In the midst of such hopelessness god began raising up men to lead people to christ There were men like dave wilkerson arthur blessed and pastor chuck smith What was so attractive about this movement this jesus movement? It was centered and remained centered on jesus christ and what he can do in someone's life The jesus movement is founded on exalting christ expecting him to keep his word to forgive and to change us And we learned that that the jesus movement has been going on for thousands of years We knew that we needed to keep our faith in the center of our lives and nothing was going to change this world except jesus christ Through the gospel and I still believe that I still believe that jesus christ changes lives I still believe that never have changed and what is happening today if you don't mind me raising my voice a bit Because it's something i'm very very strong about What we have today is we have people who are forgetting that the central core of man's problems isn't the government It's their nature That's the problem with us. It's us It's not that I don't elect the right person is that i'm a bad person It's it's that i'm a sinful man and I need a savior named jesus christ and that's what the gospel preaches He transforms life. We can't even do the simple thing. We can't even do the simple thing The speed limit is 35. Do you always go 35? No It's the word stop on a stop sign. That's not a suggestion But it is to us Well, you know, nobody's looking We'll just kind of roll on through right? We break even the smallest laws because we're lawless because We are we have a propensity of doing so So listen by electing the right person Electing that right person isn't going to change this nation righteousness Is not elected God is going to use you and me To change people through his gospel That's how it works. Now that doesn't mean That doesn't mean that I shouldn't be concerned with what's going on I am and it doesn't mean that I should say it's all hopeless because I'm not But I I know that I should exercise my my right to vote and I do and how do I vote? I vote according to the platform of that individual running for that office I want to make sure that this person lines up the best that I can see with the things I believe to be in the word of god and I vote what is called my conscience And that's how I do it, but I don't expect that person to bring righteousness. That's not his job I'm not electing a pastor I elect a president a governor or whatever, but I'm not electing a pastor I'm not electing a savior I have a savior jesus christ, so I don't look for a president I serve a king and there's a whole difference between the two We need to serve the king and this king that we serve changes lives And this nation is made up of 300 plus million Individuals whose lives need to be changed and the only way they're going to be changed is by something that works in their heart Not just restricting their behavior because the true test of a person's character is not what they do in front of others It's what they do and they think nobody sees them And god's the one who works in the heart to make you behind your death on your desk They're behind your desk there in front of the computer Watching what you should watch and not watching what you shouldn't that it helps you when you're driving in your car And a beautiful woman if you're a guy walking you see a beautiful girl walking by it helps you to remember That your eyes you've made a covenant with the lord Why should I look upon a woman with lust because my heart is right with god? That's what does it no law is going to change your heart Jesus's gospel does and that's how it works and that's what people are forgetting God changes you from the inside From the inside so that the outside reflects what goes on inside because out of my heart proceed Adult reformication murder and all the rest that jesus speaks about from my heart So what does god do with his gospel? He transforms my heart and as he transforms my heart. I speak to my mom. I speak to my dad He speak to my brother. I speak to my sisters. I speak to my friends I live for jesus christ and eventually I speak to my church. God can change your life That's what god does. That's what the word of god teaches and that's what we need and in jesus christ Everything is yes in amen all the promises of god are fulfilled in him Why would I look to something else when I have everything I need with jesus christ? That's how it works. That's called christianity. This is christianity 101 Basic christianity. I'm a sinner. He's not I need help. He doesn't I ask him he helps why he loves me Changes my heart from the inside So paul's having to defend himself In him is yes in amen No, he didn't vacillate. Yes, he gave his promise. No, he's not a man that he should change his mind Neither the son neither the son of man that he should change his mind No, you can trust him You can trust him if he says yes, it's yes if he says no, it's no he doesn't vacillate That's our god and in him his promises come true And what we need to do is stay in the word of god We need to stay in the word of god and learn those things And then cling to those promises we look and we say oh Oh, you know the world's getting so bad and indeed it's going to get worse and worse Jesus taught us that but he also said the gates of how shall not prevail against my church We we win in the end. I read the last page of the bible. It says you win in jesus christ. I'm not concerned I'm not concerned. He's in charge. He's in charge That's called christianity And that the enemy whispers in our ear. Oh, look at this. Oh, look at that. Look at this march. Look at that march Look at this look at that list with and oh, what am I going to do? What am I going to do and sometimes I think unfortunately pastors get caught up with the spirit of this age, but guess what? Jesus christ is lord He changed his lives He changed mine changed yours Changed my dad changed my mom changed my sisters changed my brother Changed the girl who became my wife He changes us god changes lives not just because I say god changes lives But I I read the word I say god How how do you want me to live the book is filled with this pleases me and that doesn't That's why I read the word so I know what pleases him You see in jesus we have all we need he is our hope in difficult times In Ephesians one verse three Paul said praise be to the god and father of our lord jesus christ Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in christ In second peter verses one and three one one uh chapter one verse three His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and goodness Colossians chapter two verse 10 You have been given fullness in christ who has they had over every power and authority Jesus is all we need Are you lacking something that he should have supplied? Well, what did he say? Well in john 4 13 and 14 jesus said Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life John 6 35 jesus said i'm the bread of life He that comes to me shall never hunger he that believes on me shall never thirst John 10 verse 10 the thief comes not but but for to steal and to kill and to destroy I am come that they may have life and that they might have it more abundantly And matthew 11 28 through 30 come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you learn of me. I am meek and lowly and heart You shall find rest into your souls. My yoke is easy. My burden is light. I am lacking in nothing I have everything in jesus christ and that's why I have hope That's why I can look out at the world and I can say with god I am more than a conqueror. He never leaves me nor does he forsake me. I am a victor in christ I will survive and I will thrive because he is my god and even if I lose my life here I open my eyes there. I it's a win-win for me It's a win-win. I'm with the lord and that that may sound kind of odd to some perhaps it does Maybe it does That doesn't mean that things don't go in directions. I wish they hadn't it doesn't mean that That I haven't had my share of disappointments or brokenness Because I have it simply means that I read the last page of the bible And he says enter in and I will thrive Not just survive Because he's my god and he gives life To the dead That's your god whole fast to him whole fast to him Because he loves you and he said he provides for you Get into his word Let his word get into you Look at the promises of god And hold fast to them And watch what he does And paul is dealing with that. They're saying he vacillates they're saying he doesn't love you You can't trust him and he says oh no. He says you can trust god And you can trust the one who prays and seeks the lord and relies on him I wasn't vacillating. I changed my mind Because god led me in a different direction And it wasn't because I didn't love you it's because the spirit of god led me elsewhere And that's what he's sharing with them and that's what he's defending himself as these false teachers are saying he doesn't love them and he vacillates And then he continues he has to continue dealing with some of the things that they're saying concerning him look at verse 21 It says he who establishes us with you in christ and has anointed us is god Who also has sealed us and given us the spirit in our hearts as a guarantee moreover I call god his witness against my soul that to spare you. I came no more decorant Not that we have dominion over your faith, but our fellow workers for your joy For by faith You stand so now he defends himself again. This is a fourth charge The charge that he's going to be defending himself against is a charge that he's self appointed that he is not anointed By god and that's why he says he who establishes us with you and has anointed us Is god because the false teachers are saying he appointed himself and he's not anointed Remember his history paul didn't seek out the office and role of apostle. He was called He alluded to this in the introduction of the letter when he said paul an apostle by god's will paul wasn't one of the original 12 he became an apostle after the resurrection of christ But the false teacher said that since he didn't walk with jesus he's he's appointed himself Well in answer to this charge paul paul addressed this in the first letter to the Corinthians and in chapter 15 Of first Corinthians versus five through eight He was speaking of jesus and he said he was seen by seafus and then by the 12 and after that he was seen by By 500 brethren at once of whom the greater part remained to the present But some have fallen asleep After that he was seen by james then by all the apostles and then last of all he was seen by me also As by one born out of due time to the galatians in chapter 1 verse 15 He said it pleased god who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace To timothy in second timothy 1 verse 12 He said i thank christ jesus our lord who has enabled me Because he counted me faithful putting me into the ministry So he said it's god who establishes and it's god who anointed him. He wasn't self appointed God established him when he says god called paul and established that word established means to make you firm or stable In other words god constantly works to strengthen our faith in christ and to strengthen us to serve In second the salonius 3 3 he said it like this. He said the lord is faithful Who will establish you and guard you from the evil one, but he also anointed us He anointed us. He commissioned us. He imparted to us authority and gifts You see the word anointing speaks of the gifts and influences of the spirit of god So paul was anointed not by man, but by god because anointing comes from the lord It's not the work of man. It's a choice by god And then he says in verse 22 he sealed us. He gave us a spirit in our in our hearts as a guarantee When you read the word seal he sealed us when you read that in scripture sealing has at least three connotations One sealing represents a finished transaction. You see that in jeremiah 32 verses 9 and 10 And secondly sealing represents ownership You see that in second timothy 2 19 It says the foundation of god stands sure having the seal The lord knows them that are his and let everyone that names the name of christ depart from iniquity But it also represents security In Ephesians 4 30 do not grieve the holy spirit of god by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption So the day of redemption refers to when god claims us as his own And he says we have been sealed by the spirit, but notice in verse 22 He says he has given us the spirit as a guarantee the word guarantee is the word deposit The holy spirit is a guarantee of coming glory with god It's a down payment a guarantee that the rest will be paid He's saying our spiritual blessings come because we have the down payment Which guarantees future blessings The spirit is a pledge given to believers by god to assure them That the glory in the life to come promised in the gospel Is a reality and not an illusion And that's what he's speaking about So he says in verses 23 and 24. I call god as my witness To spare you. I didn't come This is a fifth charge Because the fifth charge is that he's a tyrant notice verse 24 Not that we have dominion over your faith. We are fellow workers for your joy for by faith He's down there saying he's a bully That this this apostle is really mean he's a tyrant. He lords it over you. He doesn't care about you By not coming he showed he doesn't care He's unaccountable because if he loved you he wouldn't have changed his plans But he's saying and notice this To spare you a painful visit. I chose to alter my plans Because of the many problems. I wanted to give you more time to deal with them before I came Every parent understands that Every parent understands that Your kids messing up and getting you upset So you Sitting in the room you can see the goofing up and it's making you mad And so you warn them if you want to see your 16th birthday You need to stop what you're doing I'm a as a dad, you know, I I warned my kids dads do that You don't want to press too far. You've already gone as far as you're you're gonna go It's it's time for you to stop Or i'm gonna have your mom beat you You don't want to I mean I I came home when my kids were young and I this is true. I saw it in a commercial I've seen in more commercials and it's real and I laugh at the commercials Or somebody rolls up and they start walking into the door and they hear noise in the room And they kind of stand there at the door with their key And they're thinking I don't know I want to go in there I've done I've done that in real life. I've stood there saying Because I get here, you know, my wife's saying get settled down your dad's about to be home and I'm thinking Yeah, but they don't know I'm here right now I can go back to the office and come back in an hour, you know, and this is settled and I've stood there with my keys I give it a moment to kind of calm down And then I'll open the door and walk in and normally it calms down pretty quickly You give people you would give people time I could remember my son David was having a bad day I still remember this many years ago now. He's maybe 10 11 at the time And I remember walking in and he didn't know I had walked in And he was looking at his mom defiantly and talking to Marie now Marie saw me as I walked in the door But David didn't his back was to the front door And I walked in kind of quietly He just walking in And he's going like this with his little fist tight, you know, all manly and this and that And he says I won't do that if I don't want to I still remember that if I don't want to Then he turned and saw me But I want to I'll never forget that I'll never forget that was so funny, but I want to He give them time don't you Reason with them give them time Settle down We don't want to go past this point settle down Paul in a sense is saying to spare you I gave you time to deal with what you're going through So I didn't have to show up and bring correction because I would prefer just loving you up And having to correct you every parent understands that I would rather have you know happy times with you not times of correction not that You know correction when it goes on is is never never pleasant, but it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness later on But I would prefer not having to deal with it. That's what he's saying he's saying In verse 23 I call God his witness against my soul that to spare you. I came no more to Corinth They didn't show up. I didn't I wanted to give you time to deal with what you're going through But he went on to say not that we have dominion over your faith. I'm not a bully. I'm not a tyrant But our fellow workers for your joy for by faith you stand I I want to exercise my authority to encourage you And I think you need to do that I think I think you need to you need to exercise your authority In a pleasant way, but not all people understand that not all people understand authority But sometimes you do it sometimes you have to exercise it because it's necessary because it helps that person That you're ministering to And so you have to exercise an authority. We're going to have dave true heal with us. Dave wouldn't mind if I share this with you I'm sure I meet with pastors. I've been meeting with pastors I pastor pastors and I've been meeting with pastors every month for years now I meet them on a Tuesday once a month And for years and david has been part of the group of men that I meet with And years ago now And if you know dave true heal dave came from a kind of a rough background and he he had uh, you know Rough life and and he had some tattoos. He has tattoos on his arm. I know by the way, I don't think tattoos send you to hell Just so that you know He had the tattoos and I never say anything about his tattoos except he had one of a naked woman on his forearm and I had seen it before hadn't really thought about it But then I started noticing it every time I was with him. I'd look and there's this naked gal And finally I looked at him And I said david now you have to understand our relationship. He got saved in our ministry when he was like 17 or 18 years old He worked for us for a while Planted his church. He's very dear to me. He calls me his father in the faith kind of like Like timothy spoke of paul. That's our relationship. I'm I'm his father in the faith I'm not just a guy out there called david results. I am his father in the faith And I see him as my son I love him like a father loves a son. That's how I see my david There he is with this tattoo And so he's sitting all proud In my office and I said you see that tattoo david Yes, best of david. You ought to see it. It's so it's so funny the way you talk. Yes, best of david I said you I said next time I see it I want clothes on her It's a It's the truth I want to dress on her something. I want clothes on her Uh, well pastor. No, we're not talking We're not talking Put clothes on her and I'll never forget. He just Is The next month we have her mating look at pastor. I put a dress on her Now was I mean Was I was I wrong? Listen when this man is ministering to somebody's wife and this guy's standing watching david Ministered to his wife and he's got a naked woman. You think that the husband wants him there. He has wife He doesn't he's saying this guy doesn't he have the common sense to not have that? That's how people think you know it and I know it. That's true That's true And so I was loving him And I was protecting him And encouraging him because his ministry will go further if you're wise And if you make sure that you don't offend paul's doing that kind of thing. I wanted to spare you I didn't want to have to come and deal with this. I wanted to give you time. I'm not a bully I'm not a tyrant. I love you and I want god to bless you If you understand that when we go through the word of god The corrections of god and the rebukes of god are just as loving as the exhortations Just as loving because he wants us to live a life that pleases him and could reach other people That's what correction is intended to do. We'll see that more closely next time we're together But he says we don't have dominion. I'm not being a tyrant I'm not wielding my authority as a bully. I love you. I'm not an authoritarian. I'm not leading by intimidation I'm trying to encourage you In second carinthians 10 verse 8 he says 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 The authority I have is to build you up So He's not to decide for them I'm not lording it over you By faith you stand. He's encouraging them to personally grow Because ultimately they were to stand in the lord by their faith in christ And first peter five went through four The apostle said the elders who are among you I exhort I Who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferance of christ And also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed Shepherd the flock of god, which is among you serving as overseers not by compulsion but willingly Not for dishonest gain but eagerly not as being lords over those entrusted to you But being examples to the flock And when the chief shepherd appears you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away I am a fellow worker of your joy By faith you stand I don't have dominion over you But i'm encouraging you because you are my my pride and joy if you will you Are the ones I glory in And together we're going to stand before the lord formed mature Rejoicing and that's the reason why I minister to you the way that I do he's saying Because that's how authority is supposed to be wielded with encouragement For people to stand in jesus christ That's what the church is supposed to do And that's what we want to do We want to put our full trust in jesus christ We want to live for him We want to see god move in this world Not by fleshly plans and means Not by Calling people to be afraid of how bad the world is the gates of hell shall not stand against jesus christ in his church We are more than victorious. We are more than conquerors Our names are written in that lamb's book of life and one day we shall see him face to face And that I am a hundred percent sure and I want to hear the words from his lips to my ears Well done my good my faithful servant enter in he won't he will say to us one day into the joy of the lord And that's what it's all about guys to serve christ with all of your heart and to hear him say well done That's the key