Sermon Tone Analysis

2 Corinthians 11:1-12:10

Let’s pray church: Help us to remember Jesus that You have not designed a relationship with you to be hard, it’s what you want with us, amen

Paul starts out this section by asking the church in Corinth to bear with him, to extend him a little bit of grace here, but he is about ready to let some stuff rip…verse one again…2 Cor 11:1

OK, church, I’m going to be silly here for a moment to make my point.

These Super Apostles, the fakers that have come in among you speak highly of themselves to bring me down, allow me to speak about myself a little as well.

He goes on 2 Cor 11:2

Paul says I’m jealous for you , not of you.

Betrothed you -commited you.

When a couple says they are engaged, they have expressed their intention to marry, when they are betrothed, they have committed to marriage, not just good intentions.

In the day that this was written if someone was unfaithful during their betrothal it was considered adultery, in fact if you wanted to terminate a betrothal, it required a divorce.

Paul says, I betrothed you to one husband, the one thing I wanted to do was to set you aside to be the Bride of Christ, not a bride with divided affection or distractions, but as a chaste virgin to Christ.

It was the job of the friend of the bridegroom to protect the bride until the day of the wedding.

Paul says this is what I wanted for you guys, but I fear something, vs 3 says…2 Cor 11:3

I don’t know how many times you’ve read over that verse, or skipped it to get down to the end of the chapter where Paul lists off some of the things he’s suffered for the sake of the gospel.

But this is a powerful verse!

If we look at Paul’s emphasis on this verse, you’ll begin to realize how life changing, how freeing, what he is talking about he can be in your life.

He starts by saying I’m afraid for you guys, that you’ve been duped, or cheated out of something to the same magnitude of Eve being deceived by the serpent in the garden, that had to catch their attention!

Maybe they woke up the people in the back row, hey guys this part is serious.

Actually, let me say something for a quick second, I want to encourage you and I say this not for my sake, I’m used to you guys falling asleep, but I’ve had other people that have had opportunity share to Word of God and it has saddened their heart, and in some cases discouraged when they look out and see your heads bobbing.

I understand fatigue.

But when I show up at a meeting where the Word of God is being shared, I do everything I can to stay engaged.

I don’t just mean listen and take notes, but if I’m fighting sleep, I’m on my feet at the back of the room.

Not leaning on the wall, I’m standing because if God made it so I would be there, I don’t want to miss the part that He had for me.

So do what you need to do.

Paul says I fear that you guys may have had you minds corrupted, or messed up from the simplicity that is in Christ.

I’ve spent all week chewing on this.

Much of me wanted to do our entire Sunday morning service on this verse and searching out the simplicity that is in Christ.

But I think I’ll let you guys dig deeper into that throughout your weak.

You guys know that I’ve gone back to school and am studying theology.

I’ve had opportunities to dig deep into some topics, I’ve learned a ton, I’ve been exposed to some great thinkers and it has all been very profitable for me and I think our church as well.

There is a danger in that though, or a risk, if one begins to allow that knowledge to corrupt their mind from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Do you guys remember when the theologians of the day tried to test Jesus?

In the Gospel of Matthew we read, "34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"" - Matthew 22:34-36 NKJV Now I can honestly imagine the scholars today having academic debates over this question, or me being asked to compose a 15-18 page research paper Biblically defending my potion on the greatest commandment.

Jesus kept it simple, He said, Matt 22:37-40

Meaning if you keep it simple, if you follow these two principles, everything else will come out of that naturally.

Yeah, yeah pastor that’s a good start, but I want to be busy about the Lord’s business, I want to be used for the kingdom of God, OK, what is the Lord’s business?

What does that look like?

Well we have a simple answer to that question in the Bible.

But Again, we could form a committee if we could agree on who was going to be on the committee to explore what the work of the Lord even is, Jesus answers the question simply in John 6:29, I want to back up a couple of verses for context, so verse 27, John 6:27-29

That’s it?

That’s it!

Believe!

You want to get to Heaven, you need to believe in Jesus.

That means believe in Jesus, not yourself, not your own merit, not your works, just Jesus.

Yeah but you don’t understand, I’ve done some bad stuff, I haven’t lived right, I came to church so I could learn to do the stuff I need to do to feel better about myself.

We don’t have that kind of stuff.

In fact, once you get involved in church or religion, you can have your minds corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Because there are a lot of rules in religion!

What to say, what not to say.

There’s a special way you’re supposed to pray, bow you head, fold your hands, get on your knees, cross yourself.

Wear this, you can’t wear that.

The leaders have to wear robes or collars or a three piece suite up to 75 degrees, a shirt and tie above 80, rules, and bondage, and I just don’t think Jesus is into all that.

In John 15 He talks about this simplicity that is in Him.

Now that makes sense to me.

If I prune one the branches off of my apple tree, guess what?

No apples.

A branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine.

Jesus says He’s the vine, we are the branches, a branch can’t bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vines, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

Maybe you have been frustrated and discouraged because you see other people doing stuff and you’re not seeing fruit in your life.

Lord, I’m trying here, I’ve tried all these different things and I just can’t seem to make any progress, get anything done, look what Jesus would say to that…John 15:5

Jesus would say, yeah I know.

That’s the same for everyone.

Without Me you can’t do anything!

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve gone to church, or what position you served in the past.

Without Jesus we can do nothing, but if we abide in Him, then He bears a bunch of fruit through us.

That sounds hard.

Really?

Being a branch that it tied into the vine, that is fed by the vine, supported by the vine, what if I get thirsty, the vine is the river of life, the well that doesn’t run dry, just abide in Him.

I don’t know, it doesn’t feel right, I want to earn it, I want something to show for my efforts, yeah but without me you can do nothing…Well I’d feel better about it if I strived a little, earned it.

Not sure I just want to abide....Just continues John 15:6-8

What if I ask you to use me?

To produce fruit in me and through my life, well then it shall be done for you....

I just need to abide?

Like stay attached to you like a branch and a vine, be totally dependent upon you, be feed by you, strengthened by you?

Oh, no, there’s more…John 15:9-12

Jesus said all the law and the prophets could be broken down to two commandments, and now makes it even simpler for us, This is My commandment, love one another as I have loved you.

There is so much for us in the gospels about the simplicity that is in Christ in the gospels, the story of Mary and Martha.

Martha was worried and trouble by so many things, but Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus.

It was simple and Jesus said she chose the better thing.

The rich young ruler in Luke chapter 18 had wealth and he had power and he asked what shall I do to inherent eternal life?

Jesus said, you know the commandments and named some of them, the young man said, I’ve kept those since my youth.

Jesus told him to take all his stuff and give it to the poor, and to just follow Him.

That just seemed too simple, so he kept his stuff, walked away sad, without Jesus.

Paul’s fear was that this church was hanging on to the stuff of religion, buying into the performance of these super apostles, eloquent in speech and presentation, and missing out on the simplicity that is in Christ.

And he compared it to the deception of Satan in the garden.

Paul goes on from there, and I’m going to move quickly through this…2 Cor 11:4-7

Paul was saying I was trying to show you that I wasn’t in it for the money. 2 Cor 11:8-9

Now if you remember this region had money and wealth, those in Macedonia did not.

A Paul is saying I received from them rather than you so as not to be a burden to you or to give you anything to whine about.

That was a shot that I’m sure connected.

2 Cor 11:10-13

Too weak to abuse the sheep like the super apostles, or the most eminent apostles.

If he were to boast here’s something, but the Lord saw to it that he would not, let’s look at the first part of chapter 12

Not lawful here is similar to if I were to say it would be a crime for me to say, or that’s off limits, or I don’t have permission to say.

We find out in verse 7 that it really was Paul who had the vision, and he pleaded with the Lord to take it away, and the Lord said no, verse 9

But Lord, Satan did this, you allowed it, can’t you just allow it?

No Paul, my grace is sufficient.

By grace you are saved through faith, Paul, you’re saved, that’s enough, that’s all you need.

When you are weak, my strength is perfect.