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.
- Love is expressed in many ways.
- Love is expressed in praise, discipline, corrections, directions, chastisement,
In encouragement and also in death.
- It is good when we have a balance.
- 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.
- Paul dealt with these issues in his letters as a parent of the church.
- In 1 Corinthians 5. Paul had to deal with a man who was sleeping with his father’s wife.
- He commanded the members to put the man out of the church and not speak
To him until he repented.
- Paul dealt with members who openly opposed him.
- He reminded the church of the gospel truths and the suffering
He and his traveling companions endured preaching Jesus for them.
- In all that Paul did and endured, it was for the love of the church.
- Anytime we preach Jesus we come in conflict with the influence of the devil
- We are in a constant war with the devil to maintain our devotion to Jesus.
- Paul encourages us to live for Jesus and not by the standards of the world
- We are empowered by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to resist
Any teaching which was not of God.
- Love requires us to deal with each issue in a manner that promotes the Gospel
Truth.
- 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.
- Paul commanded discipline for those in disobedience to God’s commands.
- He commanded the church to hold on to the promises of God
In times of opposition and persecution.
- We have to balance discipline with praise.
- We need praise for what we do right, and discipline for our
Open disobedience.
- You don’t want to appear to be critical without emphasizing the
Good in people.
- 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.
- 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.
- The world fights with guns, knives, and even the law to defeat us
And destroy our faith in Jesus.
- We fight with spiritual weapons.
- 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.
- You cannot fight Satan with a gun
- You are not smart enough to fight Satan with your words
- You can only fight the devil with the Word of God
- Jesus gave us this example after His baptism
- He was led to the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil
- He was tempted 3 times but shut the devil up with the Word.
- Faith cannot be developed without a trial.
- 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.
- The war with the devil began when we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.
- We are equipped with the divine power to speak the truth in any
Situation.
- Anything not of God is made known by the Word of God.
- We must submit ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to
Control our inner being.
- 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.
- We must be careful of the tone of our voice when face to face with others.
- People can misinterpret our reasonings and get offended.
- The tone of Paul’s letters was different than his demeanor when face to face.
- People can easily mistake a mild manner for weakness or meaningless.
- Paul spoke face to face with love to draw his disciples to Christ.
- I am sure he understood you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
- Paul’s letters were more forceful because they were instructive and convicting.
- The printed Word of God speaks for itself.
- The Word of God is mind-changing. You either accept it or reject it.
- When you study the Word of God, you are communicating with Jesus.
- Any communication with Jesus reminds you of your purpose, your position
And your mission.
- We cannot be ashamed of the Word but embrace it as life-changing
And lifesaving.
- The Word reminds us that we belong to Christ and that comes with the responsibility
Of proclaiming the Word.
- God left the interpretation of the Word to our study of the Word under
The guidance of the Holy Spirit.
- Those who study the Word without the guidance of the Holy Spirit will
Misinterpret the Word.
- False teachers can recite the Word without an understanding.
- 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.
- We should never be proud of our knowledge of the Word of God because we
Know little and there is much more to learn.
- When we take pride in our knowledge, we commend ourselves by ourselves.
- Pride is false thinking, making oneself the standard to be achieved.
- There is only one standard to live by and that is Jesus
- Pride makes us foolish to the truth of our ignorance.
- We should take reproof and instruction as a sign of love.
- 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.
- It is in Christ that we live, breathe and have our being.
- Without Christ we are nothing.
- With Christ, we can do all things because He strengthens us.
- Without Christ, we have no weapons to fight the enemy.
- With Christ, we have the full armor of God.
- Without Christ, I have no knowledge.
- With Christ, I have access to all knowledge.
- In me, I have nothing to boast about.
- In Christ, I have everything to boast about.
- I can boast about the love of God.
- I can boast about the grace of God.
- I can boast about the mercy of God.
- I can boast about the tolerance of God.
- I can boast about the protection of God.
- I can boast about the provisions of God.
- I can boast about my heavenly home.
- I can boast about my Savior.
- I can boast about my Father.
- I can boast about my teacher, the Holy Spirit.
- I can boast about the goodness of the Lord.
THANK GOD FOR HIS COUNCIL
Rev. M. Mitchell
