Embracing Authentic Love: A Call to Open Your Heart to God - Sunday Morning - October 20, 2024
Pastor Josh Massaro delivers a powerful message centered on the theme of love and its role in our faithfulness as ambassadors for Christ. He emphasizes that true love for God compels us to endure through life's challenges and to serve others selflessly. As he explores the teachings in 2 Corinthians, he highlights the importance of setting our affections on eternal truths rather than temporary worldly desires. The episode calls listeners to reflect on their priorities, urging them to examine who and what they truly love. Ultimately, the sermon encourages embracing authentic love that stems from understanding God's unwavering love for us, leading to a more meaningful and committed life of service.
Pastor Josh Massaro delivers a profound message aimed at encouraging believers to examine their hearts and the authenticity of their love for God. He begins by discussing the struggles and contradictions inherent in Christian ministry, emphasizing that the love of Christ should be the driving force behind a believer's service. Drawing from 2 Corinthians, he highlights the importance of being faithful ambassadors for Christ, particularly during times of difficulty. Pastor Josh emphasizes that while the ups and downs of life can challenge our faith, it is our steadfast commitment to God's truth and love that enables us to endure. He challenges listeners to reflect on what they love most, urging them to prioritize their affection for God above worldly distractions. The message serves as a reminder that true love for God manifests in our actions, particularly in how we respond to challenges and how we serve others. This call to action not only encourages self-reflection but also invites believers to embrace the transformative power of God's love in their lives.
The sermon unfolds with a careful exposition of 2 Corinthians 5 and 6, where Pastor Josh explores the concept of being a new creation in Christ. He articulates how the love of God compels believers to live a life of service, characterized by endurance and authenticity. He highlights the struggles faced by Paul in his ministry, illustrating that even in the face of dishonor or persecution, a true ambassador for Christ remains anchored in the love of God. This theme of love resonates throughout the message, as Pastor Josh calls upon the congregation to evaluate their own affections and commitments. He articulates that misplaced love leads to instability, while authentic love for God fosters resilience and purpose. The discussion culminates in an appeal for believers to not only accept God's love but to actively express it through their lives, demonstrating that faithfulness is not merely about enduring hardship but flourishing in the richness of God's grace.
The message culminates in a powerful invitation for personal reflection and prayer, encouraging attendees to open their hearts to God's love and to consider how that love should shape their actions and relationships. Pastor Josh closes with a heartfelt reminder of the hope and strength found in Christ, urging listeners to fix their eyes on eternal truths rather than the fleeting pleasures of the world. This sermon not only serves as a theological exploration of love and endurance but also offers a practical framework for living out one's faith authentically in a complex world. As the congregation leaves, they are left with a renewed sense of purpose and a challenge to embody the love of Christ in all their interactions, ultimately fostering a community that reflects the heart of God.
Takeaways:
- The love of Christ compels us to serve and endure through life's challenges.
- We must focus our affections on God rather than the distractions of the world.
- True love for God is demonstrated through our obedience and commitment to His word.
- In ministry, there will be ups and downs, requiring us to maintain our faithfulness.
- Authentic love involves telling the truth, even when it’s difficult or uncomfortable.
- Our stability in faith comes from trusting in God’s truth, not our circumstances.
Links referenced in this episode:
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This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of the Ask Ralph Podcast, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.askralphpodcast.com/
00:00 - None
00:00 - Introduction to the Podcast
00:23 - God's Love as Our Motivation
00:40 - Challenges of Being an Ambassador
01:14 - The Importance of Endurance in Faith
05:41 - Understanding Our True Affections
08:28 - The Contradictions of Ministry
14:54 - Stability in Instability
21:52 - Misplaced Love vs. Authentic Love
48:34 - Conclusion and Call to Action
49:54 - Outro and Additional Resources
Pastor Josh
Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.
Pastor Josh
My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.
Pastor Josh
I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.
Pastor Josh
Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.
Pastor Josh
I'd like you to turn with me, if you can, with your bibles, to two corinthians, chapter six.
Pastor Josh
Second Corinthians, chapter six.
Pastor Josh
Last week we looked at what it means to be a faithful servant of the Lord, an ambassador, as the Bible calls here in two corinthians.
Pastor Josh
And we looked at what it means to be characterized by faith and endurance.
Pastor Josh
How can we be servants of God, characterized by faith and endurance as ambassadors of God, we're called to be faithful to him in the ups and in the downs, in the easy and in the difficult.
Pastor Josh
Sometimes it is very convenient for us to be ambassadors for Christ when everything's going our way, when everything's going well.
Pastor Josh
But the true test for us as christians is to stay faithful, as the Bible says here, patient with endurance when the difficulties come.
Pastor Josh
Now, I want you to be there in two corinthians, chapter six, and probably just look back a few verses.
Pastor Josh
Maybe for you it's one page back, maybe for you it's on the same page, but two Corinthians, chapter five, verse 14.
Pastor Josh
Paul explains his motivation behind all of this.
Pastor Josh
He explains his motivation as being an ambassador for Christ.
Pastor Josh
He explains his motivation for faithful servant, for service.
Pastor Josh
He explains his motivation to be patient in endurance.
Pastor Josh
He says it here in verse 14.
Pastor Josh
He says, for the love of Christ, constraineth us.
Pastor Josh
What that means is this.
Pastor Josh
He says, it's the love of Christ that compels me to do this.
Pastor Josh
It's not necessarily a fear of missing out.
Pastor Josh
It's not necessarily a fear of judgment.
Pastor Josh
But it is God's love that he has demonstrated for me that causes me to be compelled to do this for the Lord.
Pastor Josh
And so as he lays out that new thought about being an ambassador, he says, it's because of the love of Christ.
Pastor Josh
And then he goes through what that means to experience the love of Christ.
Pastor Josh
In verse 17, he says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
Pastor Josh
Old things are passed away.
Pastor Josh
Behold, all things are become new.
Pastor Josh
And so he says, hey, this is what it looks like to experience the love of God, to be a new creation, to put your faith in the Lord and for him to forgive you for him to free you from the bondage of sin and for him to give you the opportunity to serve.
Pastor Josh
And then he says in verse number 20 of chapter five, now then, we are ambassadors for Christ.
Pastor Josh
As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God.
Pastor Josh
So he says, hey, now that you have experienced what it means to be an ambassador for Christ and your salvation, it's your job now to represent him so that others can become ambassadors.
Pastor Josh
And then he gets into chapter six and he starts talking about what it means to be a faithful servant.
Pastor Josh
It means to have endurance.
Pastor Josh
It means to go through the ups and downs.
Pastor Josh
And last week we looked at, he explained some difficulties.
Pastor Josh
He says in verse five of chapter six, in stripes and imprisonments, and even before in verse four, he says, in afflictions and necessities and distresses.
Pastor Josh
And so he says, there's going to be some difficulties.
Pastor Josh
Remember, he gave the three groups of three.
Pastor Josh
He said, the struggles that you're going to face, that we all face, the struggles that other people are going to bring to you, the struggles that you bring to yourself.
Pastor Josh
But then he says, hey, there's also blessings in the difficulties.
Pastor Josh
And he says in verse six, by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, so he says, by authentic love.
Pastor Josh
Then he says in verse seven, by the word of truth.
Pastor Josh
Now we're going to refer back to verse seven quite frequently in this sermon this morning, because we have to go back to the word of truth to trust in what God has told us in our lives when we don't see it in front of us.
Pastor Josh
So there's going to be times in our life where we are tempted to start to think that, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Maybe God doesn't love me.
Pastor Josh
Maybe God has forgotten about me.
Pastor Josh
Maybe it's not worth it to sacrifice.
Pastor Josh
Maybe it's not worth it to preach the truth.
Pastor Josh
Maybe it's not worth it to proclaim our thanksgiving to God.
Pastor Josh
He says, no, you have to go back to the word of truth.
Pastor Josh
It's by the word of truth that you can know these things.
Pastor Josh
He says, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.
Pastor Josh
And so we left off last week.
Pastor Josh
In verse seven, he says, it must be by the word of truth.
Pastor Josh
It must be by the power of God.
Pastor Josh
It must be by the armor of righteousness that we have in our lives, that we are able to stay faithful to the Lord.
Pastor Josh
And so in the passage we will look at this morning, we'll see how Paul ministered with differing results, but still kept his eyes on the truth.
Pastor Josh
He's going to say, there's going to be times where people are going to praise you, but there's also going to be times where people condemn you.
Pastor Josh
There's going to be times where people accept you, and there's gonna be times where people reject you.
Pastor Josh
It doesn't mean that we quit in the difficult.
Pastor Josh
It says here that we stay faithful in all of these things.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul explains that this type of inner peace is found in what verse seven says, by the word of truth, by the power of God, and by the armor of righteousness.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul keeps ministering in faithfulness because he keeps his eyes fixed on the truth, the truth of the love of goddess.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul explains that this type of satisfaction can come in our lives when we open our hearts to the message of God and the move of God in our lives.
Pastor Josh
And so the question is this morning, as you are serving God, and that's the assumption, that you're serving God as an ambassador for Christ.
Pastor Josh
The first question that I want to ask you this morning is, who do we love the most?
Pastor Josh
The second question is, what do we love the most?
Pastor Josh
These are questions that matter.
Pastor Josh
Why?
Pastor Josh
Because the Bible says is what we love, is what we're gonna spend time on.
Pastor Josh
What we treasure in our life is gonna be manifested by what we do, by what we invest, by where we struggle.
Pastor Josh
Folks, if you love something, you're gonna struggle for it.
Pastor Josh
If you love something, you're willing to endure.
Pastor Josh
I love my children with all of my heart, and I know that some of you that are parents can attest to that.
Pastor Josh
And there are days when I want to look at my children and say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Oh, I just don't want to be dad today.
Pastor Josh
I don't want to discipline today.
Pastor Josh
I don't want to go through this struggle today.
Pastor Josh
But it's my love for them that trumps my struggle, because I say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I love them so much.
Pastor Josh
I want them to be the adults that God wants them to be.
Pastor Josh
So I'm going to invest.
Pastor Josh
It's not because I feel good that day.
Pastor Josh
It's not because everything's going well.
Pastor Josh
It's because of my love for them overwhelmingly overpowers the struggle and the distress that I face in my life.
Pastor Josh
It's the same thing when it comes to the purpose of God.
Pastor Josh
If we love God more than whatever is in the blank here, we will be willing to go through the stresses and the struggles.
Pastor Josh
There's a passage of scripture in the book of Matthew.
Pastor Josh
Actually, it's Jesus teaching.
Pastor Josh
In Matthew, chapter six, he teaches this very same principle.
Pastor Josh
It matters what we love.
Pastor Josh
It matters what we put our affections in.
Pastor Josh
He says in Matthew, chapter six, verse 19, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.
Pastor Josh
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
Pastor Josh
So these are things that are going to last for eternity, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
Pastor Josh
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says that what we treasure, what we love, what we desire for in our lives, that's where we're going to spend our time.
Pastor Josh
That's where we're going to spend our affections.
Pastor Josh
And so the truth is that as we minister in the message of the gospel, as we minister as Christians, as ambassadors for Christ, there are going to be some really, really good times, times where we feel comfortable, times where we feel exalted, times where we feel strengthened in the truth.
Pastor Josh
But then there's also going to be times where we're tempted to fall into the trap of thinking that, you know what?
Pastor Josh
It's not worth it.
Pastor Josh
And Paul is going to list a few of those things here.
Pastor Josh
He's going to list the paradox or the contradictions of ministry.
Pastor Josh
And so I want you to look at verse number eight with me.
Pastor Josh
This is our main text here this morning.
Pastor Josh
And what Paul is going to describe for us this morning in this passage is if our heart is not set on the love of God, the difficulties that we face in our lives will outweigh the blessings that God gives us in service.
Pastor Josh
So it goes back to the love, right?
Pastor Josh
If I love God enough, the difficulties are nothing.
Pastor Josh
If I don't love God, and I love the things of this world, I love my ego, I love my flesh, I love my praise, I love my position.
Pastor Josh
When the struggles come, it's easy to say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
These struggles outweigh the blessings, and I'm going to quit.
Pastor Josh
I'm going to lose my patience.
Pastor Josh
I'm going to lose my endurance.
Pastor Josh
And so you have to remember the context of what Paul is dealing with here.
Pastor Josh
If you go all the way back to the beginning of two corinthians, the corinthian church was accusing Paul of not loving them.
Pastor Josh
That's where this all started.
Pastor Josh
They said, paul, you don't love us.
Pastor Josh
You say one thing and you do another.
Pastor Josh
Your ministry doesn't match your heart.
Pastor Josh
You are not the type of person that you told us you would be.
Pastor Josh
You are not a faithful minister.
Pastor Josh
And so he's facing accusations.
Pastor Josh
He's actually facing the accusation of not loving them enough to not love them in a proper way.
Pastor Josh
And so the corinthian Christians loved themselves and the things of this world more than the love of God and his word.
Pastor Josh
I.
Pastor Josh
And so they blame the flaws that they find in their own life on Paul and other ministers as an excuse for the problems.
Pastor Josh
So they have some issues in their life, and they go, you know what?
Pastor Josh
It's your fault, Paul, that we're not who we're supposed to be because you don't love us enough.
Pastor Josh
You weren't the type of pastor that we expected you to be.
Pastor Josh
So therefore, we're in these struggles.
Pastor Josh
And so they're blaming, they're deflecting their problems on the issues of another instead of looking into their own hearts to see if they've received the love of God in their lives.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul is going to address their love problem in this passage.
Pastor Josh
Paul had no expectation of smoothness within ministry, and he doesn't portray that to them.
Pastor Josh
And though there are blessings in ministry, there will be difficulties.
Pastor Josh
But in the end, the source of Paul's faithfulness and the source of our faithfulness is in the truth of God and in his love.
Pastor Josh
And so let's look at verse number eight.
Pastor Josh
He says, by honor and dishonor.
Pastor Josh
He says, sometimes in ministry, you will have honor.
Pastor Josh
People will honor you.
Pastor Josh
But there will also be times where people dishonor you.
Pastor Josh
He says, by honor and dishonor by evil report and good report.
Pastor Josh
There's gonna be people that give evil news about you, news that isn't true.
Pastor Josh
But there's also gonna be people that give the truth, he says, as deceivers and yet true.
Pastor Josh
Some people are gonna call you a liar.
Pastor Josh
Some people are gonna call you a deceiver.
Pastor Josh
Other people are gonna call you true as unknown and yet well known, meaning some people are going to act like you're an unknown person, and they're going to treat you that way.
Pastor Josh
Other people are going to give you the respect of being a known speaker or a known pastor or a known christian, he says, as dying.
Pastor Josh
And behold, we live.
Pastor Josh
And that idea of dying is always being in threat of death, meaning there's going to be persecution around us in the threat of death, but in the same vein, always living as chastened and not killed as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing as poor, yet making many rich as having nothing and yet possessing all things.
Pastor Josh
He says there's gonna be times in ministry where there's ups and downs.
Pastor Josh
That's what he's explaining here.
Pastor Josh
He's saying, hey, there's gonna be times where people praise you and give you honor.
Pastor Josh
There's gonna be times where they dishonor you.
Pastor Josh
There's gonna be times where you have all the things that you ever thought you needed, and there's gonna be times where you feel like you have nothing.
Pastor Josh
It's gonna be up and down.
Pastor Josh
There's gonna be a time where you feel like you're about to die.
Pastor Josh
There's also gonna be a time where you feel like you're living.
Pastor Josh
And there's all of this, in this contradiction of ministry.
Pastor Josh
Folks, I wanna tell you here this morning that as you serve God, there will be difficulties.
Pastor Josh
It will not be easy.
Pastor Josh
There will be high, high blessings, but there will also be low times.
Pastor Josh
I'm not here to tell you today that you should be like this all the time and emotionless throughout your life.
Pastor Josh
There's gonna be shadows, and there's gonna be valleys, and there's gonna be difficulties.
Pastor Josh
But what Paul says is that we can stay faithful to the truth of God and we can be faithful to his love in our life, so that those struggles and those difficulties don't define us.
Pastor Josh
We see here that there were the descriptions of how the world defined him, and there's the descriptions of how God defined him.
Pastor Josh
You know what?
Pastor Josh
If someone comes and tells you something about yourself, it may be true or it may not be true, but they're not the ones that are going to be defining you.
Pastor Josh
They're not the ones that are judging you.
Pastor Josh
Ultimately, my concern is, how does God see me?
Pastor Josh
So if someone comes up to me and they're mad, then I'm preaching the truth to them.
Pastor Josh
At the end of the day, am I concerned about their opinion of me, or am I concerned about the opinion that God has of me?
Pastor Josh
Have I been faithful to him?
Pastor Josh
Folks, my goal is to be faithful to the church.
Pastor Josh
My goal is to be faithful to my family.
Pastor Josh
My goal is to be faithful to those around me.
Pastor Josh
But ultimately, my faithfulness should be to the one who saved me.
Pastor Josh
And that's hard because so many times we set our affections on the things of this world, because this is what we know.
Pastor Josh
We set our affections on the things that we can taste and we can smell, and that we can touch and that we can see.
Pastor Josh
But what the Bible says back in two corinthians is.
Pastor Josh
That's not what we're living for.
Pastor Josh
We're not living for the things of this world.
Pastor Josh
We're living for the things that we don't see.
Pastor Josh
If you go back to second Corinthians 418, Paul has been prepping them for this.
Pastor Josh
Paul has been explaining to them that you don't live for what you see.
Pastor Josh
Second Corinthians, chapter four, verse 18.
Pastor Josh
He says, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal.
Pastor Josh
That's what Jesus was talking about in Matthew six.
Pastor Josh
Those things that you're living for in this world, they're going to be corrupted.
Pastor Josh
They're going to be gone one day.
Pastor Josh
He says, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Pastor Josh
So Paul says, in your service as an ambassador for Christ, focus on the things that are eternal.
Pastor Josh
Focus on the souls of Mendez.
Pastor Josh
Focus on the eternal investments that are gonna last forever, instead of the things that don't matter here on this earth, in this world.
Pastor Josh
So he says, this is the contradiction of ministry.
Pastor Josh
Honor, dishonest, dishonor, honesty, dishonesty, evil.
Pastor Josh
Report good.
Pastor Josh
Report, deceivers yet true, unknown, yet well known.
Pastor Josh
Then he gets down to verse number eleven.
Pastor Josh
We're gonna pause here right now, because I want you to see, number one, as a Christian, as an ambassador, you can have stability and instability.
Pastor Josh
Stability and instability.
Pastor Josh
What do I mean by that?
Pastor Josh
There's gonna be times in your life where you have instability.
Pastor Josh
There's gonna be unforeseen circumstances.
Pastor Josh
We cannot control the circumstances that are around us.
Pastor Josh
So around us, there can be instability.
Pastor Josh
But the Bible says that as believers, as ambassadors for Christ, in the midst of instability, we can have stability.
Pastor Josh
And that's all of what he's talking about there in verses eight through ten.
Pastor Josh
It's the stability and instability.
Pastor Josh
Sometimes in the christian life, we will be accepted and loved, but other times, we will be rejected and despised.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul explains that no matter how we are treated, we find our stability in Christ, not in our surroundings.
Pastor Josh
Where do you find your stability?
Pastor Josh
Where do you find your foundation?
Pastor Josh
Where do you find that center point in your life where you say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Whatever happens to me, I know this to be true?
Pastor Josh
Well, if we use our circumstances for that stability, guess what?
Pastor Josh
Our circumstances are going to be up and down.
Pastor Josh
By honor and dishonor, by the truth and by lies.
Pastor Josh
Folks, I could tell you that there are Sundays that I leave the service, and I'm like, wow, man, that was great.
Pastor Josh
People came to Christ.
Pastor Josh
People joined the church.
Pastor Josh
People were baptized.
Pastor Josh
And I'm, you know, running out on, you know, not even touching the ground.
Pastor Josh
Like, I'm so excited.
Pastor Josh
But there are also some days that things are difficult.
Pastor Josh
Maybe some people, you know, didn't like what I said.
Pastor Josh
Maybe there were times that, you know, the Sunday morning service didn't go the way that I expected it to go.
Pastor Josh
Maybe I couldn't preach myself out of a wet paper bag that morning.
Pastor Josh
And I'm like, I don't know where I'm at today.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
The truth is, is that sometimes as a minister of the gospel, I would find my satisfaction, I would find my stability.
Pastor Josh
I would find my confidence in what was going on around me, how people reacted to my preaching.
Pastor Josh
Well, if they all said, amen, I must feel good.
Pastor Josh
And so it's a good day.
Pastor Josh
If no one said anything, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Then it's like, oh, I failed.
Pastor Josh
Do you know how much of a rollercoaster that is?
Pastor Josh
And you know how much you can be so devastated when things don't go your way?
Pastor Josh
I think some of you know that.
Pastor Josh
I think some of you understand that in your life.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says that our stability cannot be found in our surroundings.
Pastor Josh
Our stability has to be found in our savior Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh
If you look at Philippians chapter four with me, Philippians chapter four, Paul speaks to this very same principle.
Pastor Josh
He's talking in Philippians chapter four about having joyous and rejoicing in the Lord.
Pastor Josh
And we would expect Paul to say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Rejoice in the Lord when everything's going well.
Pastor Josh
Well, yes, but he also says, rejoice in the Lord when everything is going on a more difficult path.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul in Philippians chapter four is explaining to us that we should be rejoicing, that we should have joy.
Pastor Josh
Rejoice in the Lord always.
Pastor Josh
And again I say, rejoice.
Pastor Josh
That's Philippians chapter four, verse four.
Pastor Josh
But then we get down to verse number ten, and he says, but I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me have flourished.
Pastor Josh
So he says, hey, you guys have taken care of me, wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
Pastor Josh
Not that I speak of respect, of want.
Pastor Josh
Verse eleven.
Pastor Josh
For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.
Pastor Josh
Folks, that's what it means to be a faithful minister.
Pastor Josh
I don't care.
Pastor Josh
I'm what my surroundings are.
Pastor Josh
I have learned that whatever situation that I have, I am content in Christ.
Pastor Josh
He goes on to say in verse twelve, I know both how to be abased that means to be brought low.
Pastor Josh
I know how to abound.
Pastor Josh
That means I know what it means to be lifted up everywhere.
Pastor Josh
And in all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry.
Pastor Josh
So he says, I face having a lot.
Pastor Josh
I face being hungry both to abound and to suffer need.
Pastor Josh
And then he says, verse 13, you guys are all familiar with this verse.
Pastor Josh
I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.
Pastor Josh
Now, he's not saying I can do whatever I want to do.
Pastor Josh
He's saying I can do anything that God has brought me to in my life because he's equipped me to do so.
Pastor Josh
So Paul isn't talking here in verse 13 of Philippians four about, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I want to go do that.
Pastor Josh
So I'm just going to go do it and God's going to bless me.
Pastor Josh
That's not what he's saying.
Pastor Josh
He's saying God has brought this into your life in the ministry, and therefore he's going to get you through it.
Pastor Josh
You can do all those difficulties in Christ because he strengthens you.
Pastor Josh
That's what he's talking about here.
Pastor Josh
Now, it doesn't mean that we're hopeless and that we're helpless.
Pastor Josh
It just means that if God has brought us to a place of victory, he's going to get us through that.
Pastor Josh
If he's brought us to a place of difficulty, he's going to get us through that.
Pastor Josh
And so stability in our service comes from inner peace that we find in a relationship with Christ and his word.
Pastor Josh
And so go back to second corinthians with me.
Pastor Josh
What does he say in second corinthians, chapter six, verse seven?
Pastor Josh
It's by the word of truth.
Pastor Josh
That is where we find our stability and service by the word of truth and by the power of God.
Pastor Josh
That is where we go back to, folks.
Pastor Josh
We have to think about our life as an ambassador, as a life based in the word.
Pastor Josh
Therefore difficulties come.
Pastor Josh
We think about it biblically.
Pastor Josh
Conflict comes.
Pastor Josh
We think about it biblically.
Pastor Josh
Loss comes.
Pastor Josh
We think about it biblically.
Pastor Josh
Folks, the greatest advice that I've ever had from a person who was mentoring me in my life, he says, are you thinking?
Pastor Josh
He asked me this question before and after I bring them all my struggles.
Pastor Josh
Okay, I'll call them on the phone.
Pastor Josh
I'll say, I won't say who it is, but I'll say, brother so and so.
Pastor Josh
I'm going through this and this problem and he goes, are you thinking about it biblically?
Pastor Josh
And I'm like, that's so mean.
Pastor Josh
Why did he say that?
Pastor Josh
He's supposed to tell me, yeah, those people are mean to me and that this is a bad.
Pastor Josh
He doesn't say that, though.
Pastor Josh
He says, I'm sorry that you're going through that, but are you thinking about this biblically?
Pastor Josh
And that's a question that we all have to ask ourselves, because the truth is, is that many times we don't think about struggles biblically.
Pastor Josh
We think about it in our flesh.
Pastor Josh
Well, that person hurt me.
Pastor Josh
That person was mean to me.
Pastor Josh
So you know what?
Pastor Josh
I just.
Pastor Josh
I'm.
Pastor Josh
Woe is me, and I can't get through this.
Pastor Josh
The bible says that thinking biblically about it doesn't mean that I think about it in my flesh.
Pastor Josh
It doesn't mean that I think about it from the perspective of humanity.
Pastor Josh
I think about it from the perspective of God.
Pastor Josh
And what does the word of God have to say about this?
Pastor Josh
And it could be different in different situations.
Pastor Josh
Speaking of loss, you know, what does this loss mean for me?
Pastor Josh
Well, biblically speaking, it means that ultimately God is never gonna leave me with something that I can't handle.
Pastor Josh
You say, what does that mean?
Pastor Josh
It means this.
Pastor Josh
If God has allowed something to happen in my life, he's given me.
Pastor Josh
This is one corinthians, chapter ten.
Pastor Josh
He's given me an opportunity to overcome this in his power and in his grace.
Pastor Josh
And so stability in our service comes from the inner peace that we have with a relationship with Christ and his word.
Pastor Josh
I want you to think about that.
Pastor Josh
So how can I have stability and instability to have a deeper relationship with Christ and his word?
Pastor Josh
And then when struggles come, we begin to think about things biblically and believe in those things biblically.
Pastor Josh
So we have here what it means to have stability and instability.
Pastor Josh
But then I want you to see, number two, misplaced love.
Pastor Josh
Because one of the reasons why we can have instability in our life is having our love appropriated to the wrong place.
Pastor Josh
And that's what Paul talks about here in verse number eleven.
Pastor Josh
He says, o ye corinthians.
Pastor Josh
He's pleading with them.
Pastor Josh
We're going to see later on in the next few verses that he's treating them as his spiritual children.
Pastor Josh
It's how you speak to your child.
Pastor Josh
Come on, oh, Corinthians.
Pastor Josh
Come on, o ye Corinthians.
Pastor Josh
Our mouth is open unto you.
Pastor Josh
He says, we've preached to you the truth.
Pastor Josh
We've given you the truth, because, remember, what are they accusing him of?
Pastor Josh
They're accusing him of not loving them.
Pastor Josh
And he says, I've told you the truth.
Pastor Josh
I'm speaking the truth in love to you.
Pastor Josh
He says, we've opened our mouth unto you.
Pastor Josh
Our heart is enlarged.
Pastor Josh
Now, that's a phrase that we don't use very frequently, but what he's saying here is, he says, I've opened my heart to you.
Pastor Josh
Okay.
Pastor Josh
I've opened my mouth in the truth, but I've opened my heart in love to you.
Pastor Josh
What he's saying here is, I've given you the truth in love.
Pastor Josh
I love you enough to tell you the truth.
Pastor Josh
I've opened my heart to you.
Pastor Josh
And the Bible speaks very clearly that the type of love that God calls us to have for other believers is agape love.
Pastor Josh
A love that demonstrates.
Pastor Josh
A love that proves.
Pastor Josh
Now we know the greatest example of that is Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh
Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
Pastor Josh
He proved his love for us.
Pastor Josh
God proved his love for us.
Pastor Josh
And so, therefore, what Paul is saying here is this, I don't care what you feel.
Pastor Josh
I've already proven my love for you.
Pastor Josh
I've opened my heart to you.
Pastor Josh
I've enlarged my heart to you.
Pastor Josh
And that's the thought that he's giving here.
Pastor Josh
And so then he says, ye are not straitened in us.
Pastor Josh
Now, you would say, what is he talking about here?
Pastor Josh
They're telling him that they're constricted in their love because of what Paul has done.
Pastor Josh
And so he says here, that's a word, straighten.
Pastor Josh
It means to constrict or to squeeze or to stomp out.
Pastor Josh
You're not strained in us, meaning we are not the ones holding you back for your love.
Pastor Josh
We are not the ones that have stopped your love for God and for others.
Pastor Josh
And for us, he says, but ye are straitened or constricted or squeezed in your own bowels, you would say, okay, what are we talking about here?
Pastor Josh
Bowels was a common reference to their affections, their love, okay.
Pastor Josh
In that culture, they didn't always see the heart as the seat of their love.
Pastor Josh
It was their bowels that, you know, you feel it in your gut, is what they would say.
Pastor Josh
A lot of times, the reference to heart was their mind actually different than our culture today.
Pastor Josh
Now, when people say, trust your heart, we mean trust your emotions.
Pastor Josh
But back then, when they were talking about their heart, they were talking about their intellect.
Pastor Josh
But in this case, they're talking about the.
Pastor Josh
The affections.
Pastor Josh
And so what does he say here?
Pastor Josh
So you could say that word bowels could be affections.
Pastor Josh
And so what he's saying here is this.
Pastor Josh
Okay, in everyday English, what Paul is explaining to them is this.
Pastor Josh
It's not our fault that you're not loving.
Pastor Josh
It's your fault that you're not loving properly because of your own affections.
Pastor Josh
Your love has changed from a healthy love to an unhealthy love, an unhealthy love for the wrong things.
Pastor Josh
And so what he's saying here, he's saying this, you've misplaced your affections.
Pastor Josh
You've misplaced your love.
Pastor Josh
Your love for God has been changed to a love for this world.
Pastor Josh
Your love for others has been changed for a love for yourself.
Pastor Josh
It's misplaced love.
Pastor Josh
And so the corinthian Christians accuse Paul of not loving them, but Paul tells them that they can't blame him for the lack of love that they have for the Lord.
Pastor Josh
It's their own struggle, it's their own affections that have been changed from the appropriate to the inappropriate.
Pastor Josh
Now, you would say, what did the corinthian church love?
Pastor Josh
Well, by context, we're gonna talk about it next week, they love the world too much.
Pastor Josh
We're gonna talk next week about what it means to be unequally yoked with the world.
Pastor Josh
And so we know by context, the corinthian church loved the world too much.
Pastor Josh
They loved the things of this world too much.
Pastor Josh
They love themselves too much.
Pastor Josh
And so what we see here is the reason why many christians are not where we need to be when it comes to our faithfulness to God and our service to God is because our love has been misappropriated away from him and to the others that he calls us to love to ourselves and to this world.
Pastor Josh
We love ourselves too much to love others.
Pastor Josh
We love the world too much to love God.
Pastor Josh
You say, well, I don't love the world.
Pastor Josh
I love God with all my heart.
Pastor Josh
Go back to that first question that I asked you.
Pastor Josh
What do you love in this world?
Pastor Josh
What you love is what you spend time with.
Pastor Josh
What you love is what you sacrifice for.
Pastor Josh
What you love is what you're willing to suffer for.
Pastor Josh
The true test is not what you say.
Pastor Josh
The true test is what you do.
Pastor Josh
So if you want to really take an account of what you love in your life, look into your life, inspect your life.
Pastor Josh
Well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
The first time someone comes against me, when it comes to ministry, I'm gone.
Pastor Josh
Forget it.
Pastor Josh
They don't deserve my love.
Pastor Josh
You don't love God?
Pastor Josh
Then what if my wife came up to me and she said, you know, honey, I think that, you know, you should wash the dishes.
Pastor Josh
You're not really helping me with anything.
Pastor Josh
Well, come on, you don't love me I'm gone.
Pastor Josh
See you later.
Pastor Josh
Do I really love her?
Pastor Josh
No.
Pastor Josh
I'm just looking for an excuse to go.
Pastor Josh
First thing comes up, problem.
Pastor Josh
All right, I'm gone.
Pastor Josh
I don't love her.
Pastor Josh
I'm not willing to do anything for her if I'm not willing to do that same thing with God.
Pastor Josh
If we truly love him, we're willing to go through the ups and the downs and the struggles and say, no, I'm pushing forward for the bigger picture.
Pastor Josh
That's love.
Pastor Josh
So the reason why we love God is because of what he has done for us.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says in one john, chapter four, we love him because he first loved us.
Pastor Josh
We don't start loving him and then receive his love and go, wow, that love's pretty good.
Pastor Josh
No, it's because of his love for us that we even have an opportunity to love him and to love love others.
Pastor Josh
And so we are designed as human beings to love.
Pastor Josh
But sometimes we love the wrong things and therefore miss the opportunity to experience the overwhelming love of God.
Pastor Josh
So go back to second corinthians, chapter six.
Pastor Josh
He says, you are not straitened in us, but ye are strained in your own bowels or your own affections.
Pastor Josh
Now for a recompense in the same I speak as unto my children, be ye also enlarged.
Pastor Josh
He says, open your hearts to the love of God.
Pastor Josh
And when you open your hearts to the love of God and live in the love of God, you're able to reciprocate that love to him and then ultimately love those around you.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul is explaining to them that your love is in the wrong place, and Paul is showing them love by telling them the truth.
Pastor Josh
That's one of the best things that we can do to someone that we love, is to tell them the truth.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul is right here proving his love for the corinthian church, whether they like it or not.
Pastor Josh
Because when we do things in love, a lot of times people expect it to be like we talked about, I think, last week.
Pastor Josh
Oh, well, it's condoning everything.
Pastor Josh
It's accepting everything.
Pastor Josh
No, the Bible says that that is not the true test of love.
Pastor Josh
The true test of love is, are we willing to tell someone the truth.
Pastor Josh
Now, sometimes we can tell people the truth without love, but when we've proven our faithfulness to somebody, then we can tell them the truth.
Pastor Josh
We do it in grace, we do it in patience, we do it in sacrifice.
Pastor Josh
And so he says, it is now time for you to open your hearts.
Pastor Josh
And so they blame Paul.
Pastor Josh
But the truth was, it was their responsibility to rest in the love of God that drives us forward in our service.
Pastor Josh
And so the real problem was that the corinthian church was restricted by their own affections.
Pastor Josh
They were held back by their own affections.
Pastor Josh
And so it wasn't that Paul, like, didn't love them or didn't love them enough, which was the claim that they had.
Pastor Josh
It was that they loved themselves too much, that they loved the world too much.
Pastor Josh
It was their own affections that restricted them.
Pastor Josh
I want you to see in one John, and obviously one John has a lot to say about love, but if you go to one John, chapter two, I want you to see something about what the Bible says about loving the world.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says that as christians, one of the temptations that we will have is to love the world too much.
Pastor Josh
We're in the world, but we're not of the world.
Pastor Josh
That's what should be our testimony.
Pastor Josh
Hey, I'm living in this world, but I don't love it enough.
Pastor Josh
I don't love it at all.
Pastor Josh
I shouldn't love it.
Pastor Josh
One John 215.
Pastor Josh
This is God's call for us as christians when it comes to loving the world.
Pastor Josh
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
Pastor Josh
If any man loved the world, the love of the father is not in him.
Pastor Josh
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the father, but is of the world.
Pastor Josh
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof.
Pastor Josh
But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says here that all that is in the world is this.
Pastor Josh
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Pastor Josh
What feels good, what looks good, and what lifts you up, right?
Pastor Josh
Lust of the flesh, what feels good, lust of the eyes, what I want, what I desire, and the pride of life, what lifts me up.
Pastor Josh
And so to be opposite of that would be to not go after the things that feel good, to not seek after those things that catch my eye in selfishness, in covetousness, and then ultimately not what lifts me up, but what lifts the Lord up.
Pastor Josh
So what Satan does, Satan always tries to twist what God has already created to be good.
Pastor Josh
You see that, right?
Pastor Josh
God defines something.
Pastor Josh
Satan twists it.
Pastor Josh
Satan is not a creator.
Pastor Josh
The enemy is not a creator.
Pastor Josh
He doesn't create something new.
Pastor Josh
All he tries to do is twist what has already been created.
Pastor Josh
See it from the very beginning in the garden, right?
Pastor Josh
He was just trying to twist already what was there.
Pastor Josh
Satan tries to redefine marriage.
Pastor Josh
He tries to redefine truth, he tries to redefine sexuality, he tries to redefine all these different things, right?
Pastor Josh
He tries to redefine what the word of God says.
Pastor Josh
You see that back with Jesus in Matthew, chapter four.
Pastor Josh
Satan comes and tries to twist the word to Jesus, right?
Pastor Josh
He tries just to move it just a little bit away from the truth so that there can be sin.
Pastor Josh
And so what we can see here in this case is that there is the opposite of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.
Pastor Josh
And that is to exalt Christ, to worship him, to die to our flesh, right?
Pastor Josh
What does the New Testament say that a Christian should do to our flesh?
Pastor Josh
Die to it, mortify our members, put it on a cross, kill it.
Pastor Josh
It's not our desires that we should follow.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says the love of money, the love of covetousness, is the root of all evil, all kind of evil.
Pastor Josh
And so we see over and over again the opposite that the world preaches is what God preaches.
Pastor Josh
The pride of life.
Pastor Josh
The pride of life is essentially this, worshiping yourself.
Pastor Josh
We are beings created to worship.
Pastor Josh
All of us worship something.
Pastor Josh
Some of us worship a celebrity.
Pastor Josh
Some of us worship ourselves.
Pastor Josh
Some of us worship a sports figure.
Pastor Josh
Some of us worship money.
Pastor Josh
Some of us worship whatever it is.
Pastor Josh
But the truth is, is that all of us are created to worship.
Pastor Josh
Really.
Pastor Josh
There's only one person to worship, and that is God.
Pastor Josh
That's the only person, as we sang this morning, that's worthy of our worship and worthy of our praise.
Pastor Josh
Why do we worship him?
Pastor Josh
Well, I'll give you an analogy that I think is the case.
Pastor Josh
And I think this is something that we can say is point number three.
Pastor Josh
We had misappropriated love, and now we see authentic love.
Pastor Josh
How do we prove our love?
Pastor Josh
Why should we prove our love to God?
Pastor Josh
Well, because the Bible calls us to have authentic love.
Pastor Josh
If you go back and look with me to verse number six, what was one of the character traits of being a faithful servant?
Pastor Josh
At the end of verse number six, in two corinthians, it says, love unfeigned, authentic love.
Pastor Josh
And so instead of misappropriated love, there's authentic love that we are supposed to have in our lives for God.
Pastor Josh
Now let me give you a little bit of an example about this.
Pastor Josh
I go to my son's flag football games, okay?
Pastor Josh
And Mike is out there playing flag football, and I'm sitting on the front row.
Pastor Josh
I'm so invested, right?
Pastor Josh
Come on, Micah, get in the play, run the ball, you know, catch the ball, tag this guy, pull the flag.
Pastor Josh
Now if Micah did not play flag football, do you think I would be showing up on a Saturday morning and being like, I want to watch third and fourth grade flag football?
Pastor Josh
Okay, no.
Pastor Josh
So let me give you a hint.
Pastor Josh
Third and fourth grade flag football means nothing to me.
Pastor Josh
But it's because my son, who I love, is playing.
Pastor Josh
And so I get excited at a third and fourth grade flag football game when someone scores a touchdown because my son's involved.
Pastor Josh
It's my love for him that drives my excitement.
Pastor Josh
It's not the actual event itself that drives the excitement.
Pastor Josh
So you say, why do we worship God?
Pastor Josh
We worship God because we love him.
Pastor Josh
Everything that we do in our lives should be an excitement because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.
Pastor Josh
We worship him because of our love for him.
Pastor Josh
We get excited for our children because of our love for them.
Pastor Josh
We get excited for t ball games because of our love for the person in the tee ball game.
Pastor Josh
Now, if some of you guys were like, I like to go out and watch five year old t ball games, they're just so intrigued.
Pastor Josh
No, come on.
Pastor Josh
We do it because we love them.
Pastor Josh
And so why do we worship?
Pastor Josh
Well, we worship because we get together on Sunday mornings and God commands us to worship.
Pastor Josh
Does God command us to worship?
Pastor Josh
Yes, but if the reason why we come in and worship is because God commands us to worship the heart of it's not there, I guess I gotta get up on Sunday morning and worship.
Pastor Josh
This is my 1 hour of worship today, folks.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says that we are to live lives characterized by worship.
Pastor Josh
Whatsoever you do in your life, whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all the glory of God, we're to worship him all the time.
Pastor Josh
Well, I gotta go ahead and pry myself out of bed, get my coffee, get to church.
Pastor Josh
And how long is that preacher gonna preach today?
Pastor Josh
We got things we gotta get to today.
Pastor Josh
I get it.
Pastor Josh
I understand, I understand that.
Pastor Josh
But the truth is, is that if we are needing exterior motivation to worship our God, we have an issue with our love.
Pastor Josh
We need to worship him out of a love that God has already given us in one John, chapter four.
Pastor Josh
We love him because he first loved us.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul's call to action for these people was to open their hearts to the love of God, to really understand the love of God, so that we can love him by our worship and so that we can love others as he's called us to worship.
Pastor Josh
So how do we genuinely display the love of goddess.
Pastor Josh
Well, it's ultimately this keeping our eyes fixed on him.
Pastor Josh
And the Bible says in scripture, this is not Pastor Josh's opinion.
Pastor Josh
You can check me on this, but in many passages of scripture, it says that loving God is proven by how we obey him.
Pastor Josh
Okay, the Bible says there's a lot of things that we can do as christians, but the thing that shows our love for him is to hear his word, heed his word and obey his word.
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
That's the true test.
Pastor Josh
Do I love God enough to be changed?
Pastor Josh
Do I love God enough to say this is what his word says?
Pastor Josh
And I'm willing, even though it's not something that I want to do, I will do it because I love him?
Pastor Josh
That's the true test.
Pastor Josh
The true test is not.
Pastor Josh
Well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I come every Sunday, pastor.
Pastor Josh
What else do you ask from me?
Pastor Josh
I could be out at the beach.
Pastor Josh
I could be at the ball game.
Pastor Josh
Well, yeah, this is one step of being here.
Pastor Josh
But we all know that we can be in our place on Sunday morning and have zero love.
Pastor Josh
Just like we know that there can be marriages that a husband and wife can be in the same room.
Pastor Josh
But there could be issues.
Pastor Josh
We know that there could be instances where, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I go to work.
Pastor Josh
Every Monday morning, I'm here at work.
Pastor Josh
But how many of us could say, hey, I can be at a job that I don't love, right?
Pastor Josh
So we can actually, at some point in time see our christian faith as a job that I come in and I punch my ticket and I do my stuff and I go home and I'm not, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I got this problem and this problem and this problem, and you know, it's that person's Fault or it's that person's fault.
Pastor Josh
Paul says it's not anybody else's fault except for you and the fact that you have constricted your love for God because of your own affections.
Pastor Josh
And so there must be this authentic love.
Pastor Josh
Colossians chapter three says for us to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, our eyes fixed on the things which are above.
Pastor Josh
I want you to go see that.
Pastor Josh
Colossians chapter three.
Pastor Josh
Colossians chapter three is talking about setting our affections in the right place.
Pastor Josh
Now, there is going to be times in our life where we are tempted to lose sight of this.
Pastor Josh
Like so.
Pastor Josh
For example, when I wake up in the morning as a husband, I wish I could tell you that every morning that I wake up as a husband, I'm like, wow, this is like sunshine and rainbows.
Pastor Josh
It's a movie.
Pastor Josh
It's a love movie every single day.
Pastor Josh
And my wife and I just get up and.
Pastor Josh
Good morning, honey.
Pastor Josh
And everything's just great.
Pastor Josh
No, there is going to be times where I wake up and because of whatever happened this time or whatever's happening in my own life, that there could be a strain on the love that I have with my wife.
Pastor Josh
And some of you that are perfect in your marriage go.
Pastor Josh
We've never had that problem.
Pastor Josh
Okay, well, come on out to the next marriage conference and you could be the speaker.
Pastor Josh
Okay, but here's the thing.
Pastor Josh
As a husband and wife, because many of us know that analogy, it doesn't mean that our love is gone.
Pastor Josh
It just means that our love can be strained for whatever reason.
Pastor Josh
And so there's things in our life as a Christian that even though we know that God loves us and even though we have a desire to love our lord, there can be things that strain that love.
Pastor Josh
And we could say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
My eyes are not on the right.
Pastor Josh
My eyes are on the fact that, hey, hey, that stuff in the kit, you know, I don't know if any of you guys have ever played this game before.
Pastor Josh
Okay, there's dirty dishes in the sink and who's going to touch it first?
Pastor Josh
Okay, we're just going to keep walking by and go, okay.
Pastor Josh
Hopefully she saw that and we're going to do a stalemate.
Pastor Josh
We're going to see how long it's going to go.
Pastor Josh
Right now.
Pastor Josh
Some of you go, no, we never have that problem.
Pastor Josh
Okay, well, for you it might be something else, but the truth is that there's times in our life where we can say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I'm not going to look to the vow that I made to my spouse.
Pastor Josh
I'm not going to look to what they have done over and over and over again by proving their love to me.
Pastor Josh
All I'm going to do is look at that very moment.
Pastor Josh
They hate me because they're not doing that.
Pastor Josh
And the truth is that there's some times in our christian life that we don't go back to the word of truth.
Pastor Josh
We don't go back to everything that we know about God and his covenant to us and his love for us.
Pastor Josh
We go to that very instance of that circumstance and go, no, he must not love me because that's not what he would do if he loves me and therefore, I'm not going to love him.
Pastor Josh
But what does colossians chapter three, verse one says?
Pastor Josh
It says, if ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, that's the eternal, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Pastor Josh
And then here it is, verse two.
Pastor Josh
Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth, for ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Pastor Josh
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Pastor Josh
So he says this, he says, don't set your affections on the things of this world that are pulling your attention away from God, your affections away from God.
Pastor Josh
Set your affections, set your eyes on the things of God and the things that are eternal.
Pastor Josh
Because you know what?
Pastor Josh
It's not going to matter what happens on the day to day.
Pastor Josh
It's not going to matter what happens in the case of the ups and downs of life, because you're going to stay faithful to him.
Pastor Josh
And that's endurance, keeping your eyes fixed on what God has done for you, what he's already proven to you in his love.
Pastor Josh
God has proven his love towards you.
Pastor Josh
First, John, chapter four, verse 16.
Pastor Josh
And we have known and believed the love of God hath to us.
Pastor Josh
God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.
Pastor Josh
I can say that that's maybe the summary verse here this morning.
Pastor Josh
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.
Pastor Josh
At some point in your life, if you're a believer this morning, you have known and believed in the love of goddesse.
Pastor Josh
And we have to know and believe that God is love and that he dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God.
Pastor Josh
He that dwelleth in love, he that is known by love, he that rests in the love of God, is resting and dwelling in God.
Pastor Josh
And so to rest in God is to rest in love, love for God and love for others.
Pastor Josh
And so I would tell you here this morning, the fix is not just try really, really hard to keep loving other people and loving God.
Pastor Josh
It's dwelling in Christ, it's dwelling in him.
Pastor Josh
It's living in that love.
Pastor Josh
It's being bathed by that love every single day.
Pastor Josh
Lord, I know that you love me.
Pastor Josh
I know what your word says.
Pastor Josh
I know what you've shown me in my life.
Pastor Josh
And so therefore, I'm not going to allow these affections of my own flesh to pull me away from the affections that I have for you.
Pastor Josh
I go back to the marriage situation because I know that's applicable for many of us.
Pastor Josh
Even if it's not applicable to you, you can understand the marriage love.
Pastor Josh
If my wife, if I go to my wife and I say, hey, I love you so much, but all I do is spend time with other people.
Pastor Josh
I go spend time with other women.
Pastor Josh
And she goes, well, he says he loves me, but he's showing those people love all the time.
Pastor Josh
What I'm doing is I'm loving, but I'm misappropriating that love.
Pastor Josh
That should go to her, to somebody else, right?
Pastor Josh
I'm taking the love that I should give to her, and I say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I'm going to give it to someone else, someone who does not deserve that type of love.
Pastor Josh
That's the exact same thing we do to God.
Pastor Josh
The love that we are to have in worship, the love that we are to have in devotion and sacrifice and service should all go to him.
Pastor Josh
But what do we do?
Pastor Josh
We take little parts of that love.
Pastor Josh
We might not take all of it, but we might take portions of that love and appropriate it to someone else or something else in our lives.
Pastor Josh
So what do we say?
Pastor Josh
We say, well, God, I love you.
Pastor Josh
I give you this much.
Pastor Josh
You should be thankful with this much.
Pastor Josh
He doesn't want part of us.
Pastor Josh
He doesn't want a little bit.
Pastor Josh
He wants everything.
Pastor Josh
He wants us all.
Pastor Josh
He wants us to be completely committed to him in every way.
Pastor Josh
And that is what it means to dwell in him.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul says, that is endurance.
Pastor Josh
That is patience, that is sacrifice.
Pastor Josh
That is what it means to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ, to love him completely and to dwell in him and allow the love of God to compel us to service and to sacrifice.
Pastor Josh
Folks, I'm gonna tell you here this morning, you can set your affections on other things.
Pastor Josh
You have the freedom to do that.
Pastor Josh
God's not gonna strike you dead here this morning.
Pastor Josh
If you love something else, it doesn't make him happy.
Pastor Josh
It doesn't give him joy in your life, but you have the freedom to love whatever you wanna love.
Pastor Josh
But why would we set our affections on anything else outside of the truth of Jesus Christ?
Pastor Josh
That's what Paul was telling the corinthian church.
Pastor Josh
You guys are constricting yourselves because of your affections.
Pastor Josh
Now we're gonna look next week at what their affections really were.
Pastor Josh
It was essentially they were yoking up with the things of this world too much.
Pastor Josh
They were loving the things of this world too much, and they were trying to meld together the world and their faith, and they wanted the best of both worlds.
Pastor Josh
And what the Lord's going to tell us in this passage is that you can't love the world and love God at the same time.
Pastor Josh
It's not going to work.
Pastor Josh
And so next week, I want you to come back because we're going to talk about what it means to be unequally yoked.
Pastor Josh
Some of you might say, well, I know what that means.
Pastor Josh
That means when a husband and wife are not christians, like one is a believer and one's not a believer.
Pastor Josh
That's one instance of that.
Pastor Josh
Yes, we will talk about that, but we're also going to talk about the deeper understanding of what it means to be unequally yoked with this world.
Pastor Josh
And it ties right together with that last phrase that Paul gave.
Pastor Josh
Your affections.
Pastor Josh
You're constricted by your own affections, the love for this world.
Pastor Josh
Now, you would say, well, pastor, do you completely love God and never love this world?
Pastor Josh
No, folks, these are things that we're going to struggle with for the rest of our lives.
Pastor Josh
Why?
Pastor Josh
Because the world is attractive.
Pastor Josh
The world is what we see.
Pastor Josh
The world is what we know.
Pastor Josh
And therefore, that is why we as christians are so attached to this world.
Pastor Josh
But the more we love God and the more we spend time with him and the more we appreciate his love for us, our grip on this world becomes less and less.
Pastor Josh
And eventually that grip hopefully is released, and hopefully we can cling on to him more and more, and those things of earth will go strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
Pastor Josh
And so I want you to think about those three things here this morning, starting out with that idea of stability and instability, and then what missed a place love looks like.
Pastor Josh
And ultimately God's call for us to have authentic love for him and for others.
Pastor Josh
I'm gonna ask if you're able to stand with me, every head bowed, every eye closed, as the music plays.
Pastor Josh
This morning, we're gonna have an opportunity to respond to him.
Pastor Josh
I hope that that very first question that I asked you this morning is something you've been thinking about.
Pastor Josh
Who or what are you setting your affections on?
Pastor Josh
Who do you love the most in this world?
Pastor Josh
Many of us, if we were honest, at some point in our lives, we would say, man, I love me more than anything else.
Pastor Josh
I'm willing to do anything to protect me.
Pastor Josh
The truth is, the Bible says that's the pride of life.
Pastor Josh
So I would ask you this morning, who do you love?
Pastor Josh
Who do you love most?
Pastor Josh
The second question is, what do you love most?
Pastor Josh
What things are you loving in your life?
Pastor Josh
What are you spending the most time on?
Pastor Josh
The Bible says it is the word of God that we should base our faith off of, not circumstances.
Pastor Josh
I know it's easy to love those things.
Pastor Josh
But the Bible says that we have to have that stability and instability by having authentic love instead of misplaced love.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you've been misplacing your love here today.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you've been misplacing your love when it comes to your family, when it comes to the Lord, when it comes to your service.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you've been so focused on the things of this world that it's been stealing your love from the things that it should be going to.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you're allowing the world to steal your love from your spouse.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you're allowing the world to steal your love for your children.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you're allowing, most importantly, the love of this world to steal your love away from God and his word.
Pastor Josh
There's no shame in that other than the fact that, hey, I need to get that right.
Pastor Josh
I need to respond right now.
Pastor Josh
I don't want to be like the corinthian christians who have been so constricted by my own affections that I'm not able to open and enlarge my heart to the truth of God.
Pastor Josh
The title of the sermon this morning was essentially this, open your hearts to the love of God.
Pastor Josh
Open your hearts.
Pastor Josh
Be willing to be used by God and allow his love to compel you.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you need to go back to say, Lord, it is your love that drives me to serve.
Pastor Josh
It is your love that drives me to study.
Pastor Josh
It is your love that drives me to sacrifice.
Pastor Josh
It is your love that drives me to a place of submission.
Pastor Josh
To you.
Pastor Josh
Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation.
Pastor Josh
Pray that you work in hearts and lives.
Pastor Josh
Pray if there's someone here this morning who does not know you as savior, maybe they have not tasted the love of forgiveness and truth, that today can be the day of salvation, that today can be the day of forgiveness.
Pastor Josh
We thank you for loving us so much that you sent your only begotten son.
Pastor Josh
We thank you for the hope that we can have that when we trust in you, in faith, that we can know you and to live and dwell in you and ultimately know that we have eternal life with you in heaven forever.
Pastor Josh
Because of your forgiveness of our sins and because of your sacrifice.
Pastor Josh
We thank you for conquering death and giving us hope in life.
Pastor Josh
Pray that you be in this time of invitation.
Pastor Josh
Pray that you work in hearts and lives in Jesus name.
Pastor Josh
Amen.
Pastor Josh
As the music plays, come here, the altar this morning set your affections on the things above, not the things which are of this earth.
Pastor Josh
If you need Jesus Christ as your savior this morning, we have some folks standing up here.
Pastor Josh
We can show you in the word of God, what it means to know him and to trust in him.
Pastor Josh
Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.
Pastor Josh
I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.
Pastor Josh
If you would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us@middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.
Pastor Josh
You can also email me directly at joshmissaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com.
Pastor Josh
if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future podcasts and updates.
Pastor Josh
Thank you so much.
Pastor Josh
God bless.
Pastor Josh
Have a wonderful day.
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